Taino

I honestly don't know how much the MDL rating affects them, but I do hope that one way or another they are getting the message!

My favorite part of your well written and spot on comment is that what he is doing is not love. Also, thank you for highlighting that his approach is not romantic in any way, but more like an all out attack on a poor girl that doesn't know how to respond.

I insist that while it doesn't look like it, episode 9 made huge progress, and more compared with any previous episode even with the constant presence of SML, but with a different reaction from FL.

I consider that episode 9 is one of the best episodes so far, because for once, we had full scenes about family and discovering a wound, which is necessary to start healing. And again, even in the Love Triangle department, even with that second date, and even with ML thinking that FL is now dating SML, I feel like things are moving forward, and I don't think that these writers would shoot themselves at this point.

I believe that the subtle hints and differences are all around and are building up to the girl getting away from the stalker, and the both boy and girl start walking towards each other.

A reason why I believe (hoping it starts on episode 10) that this is slow cooking in the background is because now that ML is temporarily gone it should be easier for her to spot what's wrong with these interactions with SML.

For context, it looks like these dates are perfect for a girl, but they have never have an intimate and heartwarming moment. All these things have happened with ML and not with SML: Slept together (only sleep, but that counts), carrying her, touching her hand and hugging her.

What does this tell me? (and I don't think this is a coincidence, it is there on purpose!) it doesn't matter how much screentime and how hard SML has forced his way into her life, there are things that won't happen between them because they don't have that kind of relationship!

Let me finish this comment saying that all my hopes are on episode 10, because I don't want to believe that these writers would be so cruel as to ruin their story, waste our time and kill every little detail they have developed for their romance so far.

I feel like episode 9 was better than episode 8. At least some things are moving in some direction now.

I was joking with that idea, but it makes no sense. The writers have been developing the love triangle to have FL choosing real versus ideal, and authentic versus elaborated, but even accepting SML feeling would defeat the purpose of the love triangle. Making her uncomfortable around SML would be wasted, if ML leaves and she just falls back into SML.

I agree with this comment to 100%! Things are moving forward, but I don't see the love triangle wrapping up yet, unless the writers pull a full stop on it, which I doubt.

I have been noticing for a while now that whenever FL is with SML, she feels like she has to be there, and that's maybe out of respect because he is her team leader, or because he is older, or because they know each other from before, or because he was her crush, or all combined. However, episode 9 made it extremely obvious in different occasions. For example, in the scenes where they bring her cake and the co-workers start picking on her and the team leader she looks extremely uncomfortable, not shy, but uncomfortable, to the point that when she makes eye contact with him she looks away in discomfort.

One thing is beyond doubt, and that is that writers want to present the guy that should be perfect for her on paper, and the one who is actually perfect for her. Another example is the restaurant, she went with SML, very elegant, very date like, but it wasn't until she went home to ML when she could feel comfortable. This trope is as old as Dramaland.

My problem is that while necessary for the trope for her to go deep into these dates with SML to experience hands on the difference, this is taking too long. The diner at the restaurant and the famous first date was more than enough, but we are forced to watch a second date where he tries to replace ML in the house (which has its own purpose of making her see that nobody can replace him at home or in their family), and according to the preview there is still more. Now we have in our hands a girl who finally is showing how uncomfortable she is, but is still a pushover to SML's advantage, and if that was not enough co-workers and probably other people around her that will start talking about how good they good together and they must be dating and stuff.

As you mentioned, ML absence should be a catalyst for a change, but I am hoping that she doesn't just feel uncomfortable, I need her to feel suffocated because that's what is actually happening to her. I need FL to realize not only that she loves ML and should go to him, but that her environment is pushing her to a relationship that she doesn't want.

Additionally, I wouldn't want the writers to keep rewarding something that is wrong. SML is a manipulative person who in more than one occasion was aware that he would be breaking a family in the making, someone that is inserting himself by force in the life of a girl that just became a mother therefore taking advantage of her fragile situation, someone that is willing to go behind her back to isolate her and someone who is taking advantage of her kindness. SML doesn't deserve any more dates or any more attention, or spend more time with her outside of work.

Good luck! I personally liked the development for ML, the attitude of FL throughout the episode was important because to me, she looks more and more uncomfortable with a certain someone that keeps getting screentime.

Buckle up... he said three dates, so there is one date still on queue

I thought about the same thing! We are all expecting for him to turn back at the airport or for her to stop him before he leaves, but since the purpose here seems to be to make everyone watching this go mad, I don't see impossible that he leaves and that she cover her own eyes, go with the flow and in a blink of an eye is living an empty life where she presents a fake smile complacent and convincing herself that it was the best option where only SML is happy because he got what he wanted. The cherry on top would be that ML came back years after to find out that she is with the guy thinking that she never cared about him and is just leaving the best life, meaning that he was abandoned all over again, repeating a cycle of infinite trauma related to family.

Sadly enough, the only thing that is not a complete mess in this show right now is the male lead trauma and healing journey now that he found out about the truth. The problem is that the healing journey seems to be directly related to his ability to recover his new family for a chance of a healthy family instead of just starting from scratch somewhere else.

Because they deviated from the main plot about family and the healing journey to an annoying and unnecessary love triangle.

I'd hope for it happen before the last episode, but failing all my predictions for episode 9, I believe this is very likely.

I think we can all agree, that since this changed to a love triangle, she is the only one that can bring this to a close, because even if the ML turns out from the airport and moves back in, no progress has been made until she rejects SML, and they can go back on track with family and healing for uncle, aunt and nephew.

Amen!

I learned that even between both main leads in a romance drama, there is a prominent one. This is usually dictated by the plot itself, which usually requires only one of them to take the lead to develop the main the plot, while the other supports the prominent one and/or has its own plot that feeds the main plot in the end.

For example, in "The King: Eternal Monarch", the main characters are: Lee Gon (The king) and Jung Tae Eul. The prominent one is the king from the title of the show to the plot, since he is the center figure, while the girl is still the main female lead, but because she is his love interest and consequently because her side plot merges with the main plot afterwards.

In "Our Universe" the prominent one should be Tae Hyeong, but why? because following the main plot, this is mainly about family and the biggest family issues are on the main male lead side. The guy was abandoned by his brother, finds out his brother is having his own family (adding salt to injury) and in a sick twist of destiny ends up taking care of the son of the guy that abandoned him, but starting a journey of finding what family really looks like and a chance to finally have a healthy family through his nephew and his in-law that soon after becomes his love interest. What would also make him the prominent one here, is that the main villain is also directly tied to him, which means that he is needed to resolve the main conflict in the theme of family and moving on from a traumatic past.

However, and unfortunately, Hyeon Jin ends up being the prominent one here, because the main plot explained in the previous paragraph is pushed to the side to become almost a side plot to position her love triangle in front and center of the story. The story suddenly shifts abruptly in only two or three episodes from family and healing to the trope of a girl that falls in love with the guy she is living with, but is too afraid to do something about it while she is a complete pushover for another guy who thinks he is better and who contributes absolutely nothing to the actual main plot that is about family and healing, because every scene with the guy doesn't contribute in the slightest to who should be the prominent one (the one with actual family issues) other than making him jealous and reminding him that he is not good enough.

Yes, the girl is the prominent one from the main leads, but for all the wrong reasons.

I don't think that she will flat out reject SML advances, but going after ML and prioritizing ML should send a clear message to SML before he has tricked her into marrying him and living a sad life

With this writer's mentality, it would be even worse with more episodes, because it feels like they just did not know how to write a proper plot, so went for the easy option and used an old love triangle trope instead

That sounds very bad, thank you for sharing.

I don't know if this is the writers intention, but his behavior has not been normal for a long time. He seems like a stalker at times.

As a superior, an older man and someone she knows from the past, he started doing and suggesting things that he knew she couldn't reject, like taking her home and having her keeping him company even late at night.

He started by giving her too much work even before he knew about our uncle and the nephew, just to double down when he found out.

As soon as he found out where she lived, he started visiting without notice which also forced her to just accept and allow him into her house.

He even eliminated the possibility of a rejection when immediately after confessing he set conditions of at least three dates, guaranteeing that she goes out with him even when she has not accepted his feelings.

And, last but not least, he is overdoing the "step-father candidate" pitch with not only buying toys for the kid, but trying to replace the role of the uncle, again without prior notice, he just does these things knowing that the girl won't feel comfortable saying no.

Real feminists don't need to minimize, hurt or destroy men to elevate women.

Unfortunately, it is Okay for the man to suffer and watch quietly how the girl looks over her catalog of perfect men all crazy for her before she chooses him despite of humiliations and the pain.

However, SML is also guilty because he saw the obvious even before the main leads could see it, and is actively trying to isolate her. It doesn't matter how much a couple love each other, and they are not a couple, and she doesn't love him, but having someone becoming your shadow is very unhealthy behavior.

If you don't mind, what happened in "Last Summer"? I haven't watched that.

I didn't really understand how the team leader found out in the first place, but might be a stalker at this point.