AshesandDust

She and male lead are most certainly not cheats.
She is cheated on by her boyfriend of 10 years and breaks up with him. During their break up she gets to meet the male lead and he has clearly fallen for her. Her feelings aren't so clear but she definitely likes him. Her dad guilt trips her and she ends up giving her ex a chance. Now usually when we hear the words chance and ex we assume they are back together. But from what i have seen, she doesn't exactly get back together with him. She says that he has to earn her forgiveness and trust. She repeatedly tells him that the wedding is off indefinitely and will only be on once she is convinced. They are taking a sort of time off where they are not together but not exactly broken up. So no she's not cheating on him. The male lead is definitely making advances but she does her best to limit him. She draws a line between them, and lets him know clearly that she will not be with him as long as she's trying to forgive her ex. Thing is, her ex is still her ex. She never says they are back together. She doesn't correct people who think they are still together because there's still a chance she might forgive him and go through with the wedding. Private people very rarely let people in on the details of her life and the female lead is a private person. Why should she let her colleagues know about her relationship dynamics with ex when she herself hasn't made a decision? She constantly stops her ex from flaunting their relationship by telling him that they are taking time. That they need to work on things before anything else. This does NOT mean they are together. The first time she reciprocates the male lead's attention is when she hugs him back. And right after she makes the break up final. So no i won't say she's going around behind the SML's back. He wishes she would just so that he can say we're even but she won't do that

Well someone who's in the right certainly wont be the one who disappoints....but regardless i understand your point

Being educated and independent has nothing to do it with it though. Shifting the blame to the victim rather than the cheater is wrong. Her ex has very skillfully manipulated her for 10 years, you think she'll just be like ewwww i hate this guy? When he's groomed her for 10 years into believing she won't find someone if she dumps him? He cheats and she breaks up with him. She's guilt tripped into giving him another chance. Realizes it won't work out and breaks up again. I really don't see how the FL is the one in wrong here...

As i wrote below in reply @mooc is not entirely wrong about the plot but they over simplify it a bit. I'll give you a few more details (might miss a few things since I've only seen 6 episodes:
Basically the female lead was with her boyfriend for 10 years. She finds out he cheated on her and breaks up with him. She meets the male lead on the same night. They have a bit of a misunderstanding regarding the events that transpired between them since the female lead was drunk and doesn't remember much. And the male lead is having way too much fun teasing her. Her ex fiancé asks her to give their relationship a chance but she continues to refuse. Eventually her father tells her about this huge sacrifice her ex made for her due to which she begins to feel guilty about not giving him a second chance. She doesn't exactly get back together with her ex, the way she puts it, it's more like she is giving him a chance to rectify his mistake and if he manages to convince her, she'll marry him. That's what i understood from it atleast up until the episodes i have seen. The male lead on the other hand likes her and does not want her to settle for someone who calls 'cheating' an accident. He's constantly trying to get her to see the error in giving her ex another chance.
So yeah this is a show about two men and one woman. But one of them is a toxic manipulative douchebag and the other one just wants the female lead to have some self respect and leave the cheating douchebag. I usually dont watch such shows but ive been watching shows with dark themes back to back and wanted something light and fluffy to take the edge off. This show takes a pretty realistic approach on how torn people are about leaving their partners even after they find out they've been cheated on. Whether you watch this show or not entirely depends on the genre you like and what kind of drama you are in mood for currently. The acting and chemistry is definitely there as a plus

I feel like you're over-simplifying the plot here. Which is fine if you don't like this show. I get it, because if i didnt like a show i too would probably just write down the things i didnt like and not take too much time on explaining the plot. But for the person wanting to know whether they should watch the show, i believe the plot should be explained in a bit more detail

Yong tak :'(

I stay far far away from rom coms and generally watch shows with darker themes. But the trailer for this had me laughing out loud :P might give it a try especially since I've been wanting to see these leads in a drama after their movie

Yep, i could definitely see her cousin board the ship with all the "are you sure you're really unaffected" comments. And yes that "you can be as warm as you want" was one of my favourite lines and it truly touched my heart because eugene had been called all sorts of things up until that point but never warm. The story of these 2 characters is just so beautiful. I wish we could have a season 2 just so that we can see them again and maybe a bit of their relationship. I wouldn't want too much focus on their love life but i would definitely like to see them verbally acknowledge their feelings (and by they i mostly mean lee hyun joon.) I love shows with subtle love stories and this was definitely it. And channels like tvn make enough money every year to be able to invest in a show that may not bring a huge amount of ratings but fulfill a fandom's request. Plus if this show had aired on netflix it would have been a hit. This show and kairos are my favourite 2020 shows. Nothing else came close to them

I finished the show! And man there were so many hints telling us that eugene han and lee hyun joo would end up together (even if we dont see it happen within the show. Here are some of them:
1) we see lee hyun joo always being blunt and straightforward. She has no qualms about setting people straight when it comes to misconceptions regarding her. She doesn't care if she's talking to a senior or not, she says it as it is. When eugene first starts showing an interest in her, she tells chae yi hyun and heo jae in a very clinical way.
Heo jae: "why did eugene han tell YOU this"
Lee hyun joon: "he said he needed a reason to meet me"
She had no problem telling her superior about this. Also whenever someone would mention the possibility of a relationship between her an eugene, she would immediately tell them that such was not the case. All of this showed the essence of her character. Which is why it was particularly noticeable when her feelings started to change. See, lee hyun joo is a person who is cold and clinical yes, but she's like a child in the sense that she can't hide what she's feeling. She absolutely has to say something when she feels something is wrong or when she disagrees with something. So when eugene takes a bullet while protecting her, she cannot hide how much it affects her. It's after this particular event that things between them start to change. When the audit team asks her about the relationship between her and eugene, she answers honestly with no because they aren't in one. But in the subsequent questions I found myself noticing a difference. The previous lee hyun joo would have told the audit team straight up that there was no possibility of a relationship between her and eugene but she doesn't. Instead she does something different. She says it's her private life. She refuses to answer the questions. She's annoyed by all of it.
2) right after the audit team questions lee hyun joo, they call in chae yi hyun. Recall that previously whenever someone mentioned the relationship between eugene and lee hyun joo, chae yi hyun always scoffed and said they were being ridiculous. But this time he says in an almost accepting tone that even if lee hyun joo enters into a relationship with eugene, she will not betray her morals. Now why is someone like chae yi hyun suddenly saying that? What did he see in lee hyun joo behaviour that made him realise she wasn't completely immune to eugene han? What made him realize that her liking eugene wasn't as impossible as he had initially believed to be. I believe he realized it when he saw how shaken she was after eugene ended up in the hospital and when she defended eugene in front of him. This is lee hyun joo we are talking about, someone who is even more passionate about justice than chae yi hyun. Him realising her change and voicing the possibility of a relationship between the two is in my opinion the makers telling us viewers through a main character that this very muck likely to happen.
3) following chae yi hyun's interview with the audit team, lee hyun joo meets him in the office. She again repeats how her privacy is being infringed upon. But the question arises that when there's nothing between her and eugene, then how is this a breach of her privacy? If there truly is nothing from her side, then what private matters is she talking about? And then lee hyun joo, the character that was open about eugene wanting a reason to meet her, does not accept eugene's phone call. Why? What stopped her from attending the call? Was it because chae yi hyun was standing right there? Was is because chae yi hyun had only just mentioned how she was softening towards eugene? If she had wanted to prove him wrong all she had to do was pick up the call and show "see? Nothing there". But she doesn't do that. Not only does she not attend the call, but she also seems confused as she stares at her ringing phone. Even if she didn't want to have a conversation with eugene infront of an audience, she could have simply taken the call and excused herself. But she doesn't because chae has seen the caller id and knows who's calling.
4) the last conversation between the eugene and lee hyun joo also revealed a lot. She's relieved when he says he's not in korea. When I heard her say that my eyes legit went round and I had to rewind to make sure I had read the subs correctly. This is lee hyun we're talking about. Her sense of justice is greater than chae yi hyun. And she's relieved that eugene han, a criminal with an arrest warrant out for him is safe outside korea. Man that was a heck of a character development for lee hyun joo. That woman refused to do a smoothing operation despite the possible repercussions but she's relieved eugene is safe. Also the way she just knew was calling.
Its obvious that the purpose of eugene's call is him needing a reason, any reason at all, to stay in korea. He's desperately looking for a line to reel him in and lee hyun joo obliges. Because she's perceptive like that. She knows what he wants so she tell him "you are korean" and that seals it for him. For the first time he has a hint, a strong one and he latches onto it. Out goes the passport. And he walks back to his country. The country that will arrest him but he does it. Because he's changed too.
5) eugene's blood smearing on lee hyun joo's coat was a nice touch in that particular scene. So technically she has already worn red. Another hint by the makers given the way the scene was shot.

Well there you have it, this is my analysis. There are many other scenes but these were the major ones. Also I believe eugene returned to korea but he won't be going to jail, not if he can help it. He's probably going to find a way to negotiate things. Like helping the government take down bahama in return for no jail time or immunity. Lee hyun joo would help him become the best version of himself and he would do the same.

Ive actually seen the opposite. If the male lead is older than the female lead then everyone starts hating on the drama. But when the female lead is older, at the most people will be doubtful about the chemistry. No one hates on noona dramas. But everyone loses it when the male is older. Just go in the comment sections of dramas like goblin.

So i finished this show and I. Am. In. Awe. Very rarely does one find a drama where every single character delivers. From the main cast to the supporting cast, all of them brought their characters to life.
1) Heo jae: such an intriguing and complicated villain. Very rarely do i find myself sympathising with the bad guy and it was largely due to lee sung min's portrayal that i felt so conflicted about liking or disliking heo jae. I could absolutely understand Chae Yi Hun because it was so hard to dislike heo jae. I had to keep reminding myself that he was a murderer, that he had no qualms about killing again. But he was just so charismatic, he was just so honest about wanting to save korea....he had this ability to make even those who hated him join him in his cause. You may despise him, but when he started talking about his cause, about wanting to save korea, you got swept up in the fervour. In the end i was a little sad to see him go to jail. I genuinely wished he hadnt killed professor chae. Lee sung min absolutely shines in this role and ive become a huge fan.

2) chae yi hun. I had a bit of a hard time liking him. I related to him when it came to how conflicted he was regarding heo jae. Lee hye joon absolutely hit the nail on the head when she said he was narrow minded. He certainly was. But i think that was the whole point. He wasn't meant to be particularly likeable. He was human and flawed and obsessed with proving his father wrong. But Go Soo can act, very well at that. and when he cried upon his father's death, when he tried to warm his dead father's foot, i felt all of the emotions he felt. He was a man torn because doing what was right for his country meant joining hands with a man like heo jae. You could sense that when the fervour of patriotism was over, doubts would creep upon him because the only thing stronger than his patriotism was his sense of justice. We saw his character battle between the two and in the end it was his need for justice that prevailed because he realized that he never had to choose between the two. They were both converging paths. He could be a patriot and want justice, it was just heo jae that made him believe that being patriot meant following a man like him. Kudos to Go soo for playing such a character.

3) lee hye joon. My favourite character. I loved how she said precisely what i as a viewer wanted to be said. She was not going to take any false accusations upon her, she was not going to take any belittling. She was fire. And yes she did have an inferiority complex regarding her background and university but not once does she let it hold her back. She knew she didnt attend the best school and college and she was hell bent on proving that she didnt have to depend on such things because she HAD cleared the same exam those from better colleges had too. Also i loved her chemistry with eugene han. You cannot talk about lee hye joon and not talk about eugene han. She starts of by openly declaring her dislike of him. She had no problem telling the tobin tax team that eugene han wanted a reason to meet her. But then she goes from here to defending eugene han when chae yi hun was being his narrow minded self. And one particular scene that stood out and cemented atleast for me the fact that lee hye joon had started to feel something for him was when she was talking to chae yi hun right after the inspection team had asked questions probing into her and eugene han. The conversation was a marked difference from her usual stance. Before she was always very vocal about there being nothing between her and eugene, but now it was "this is my private life". Then "you are narrow minded" (to chae yi hun) to not picking eugene's phone when it rang there and then. Now would it not have been the perfect opportunity to pick up the call infront of chae yi hun and prove that there was nothing? But no she doesn't pick up the phone. Why? This is the same woman who had no problem mentioning that eugene han had been looking for excuses to meet her, that he was interested in her. But now she doesn't answer the phone because chae yi hun is standing there. Why? Is she afraid that she wont be able to hide her expressions when talking on the phone? And then the last conversation she has with eugene han was very telling. The fact that she was relieved that he hadnt been caught. The fact that she wanted to tell him she was believed he was korean, that he belonged to korea. And that he was a warm man capable of goodness. No one else could see this. She did. To see through someone at that level, you must feel something for them first. Also that scene when eugene got shot saving her was brilliantly shot. Especially that close up when he holds onto her coat, smearing it with blood was a nice touch. I know some people shipped her with chae yi hun but i honestly felt no chemistry between them.

4) eugene han everyone praising the actor and character are spot on. Such a complicated, beautifully gray character and played to perfection by yoo teo. Bravo to him for pulling it off so brilliantly. Loved every scene with him. The way he'd go from a rakish, devilish man to this sensitive man who was hurt by what the world had done to him and so had chosen the cold indifference of the world of money. But that isnt truly him. And lee hye joon saw that. She saw through the shields he had put up, saw through the smirk and cold exterior. She saw the warmth he was capable of and spoke to that. In doing so, she gave him a reason to throw away the passport and stay in korea. Which brings me to the last call. Why did he call her? Simple. He wanted to be given a reason to stay. He wanted to know if there was a reason for him to stay. And lee hye joon gave him that. "You are korean". The words he never knew he wanted to hear. And that was his turning point.

I wish this show had been successful enough for the makers to create a season 2. I would have loved to see it. I think it would have involved our heroes taking down bahama and eugene helping them to do so. He turned back to korea which mean he either planned on doing his time in jail (highly unlikely, he's not there yet lol) or he planned on bargaining with government to grant him immunity in return for him helping them take down bahama. I would have loved to see everyone bring korea out of this financial crisis. And of course i would have loved to see lee hye joon and Eugene han together lol :P. This drama is definitely up there with my faves like my mister, stranger, beyond evil etc. Loved it from beginning to end. Some of the terms were hard to understand but i was able to form some context and google the rest. Amazing show.

Thankyou so much for replying! I actually watched a few dramas after putting this on hold (my beautiful bride, the devil judge and rewatched my mister for the 4th time) but somehow i kept coming back to money game. So i decided oh what the heck I'll just watch it and form my own conclusions. So now im 6 episodes and absolutely loving it (some of the terms are a little difficult but i google and try to find context from the show itself).
And now your comment is an additional motivation for me to keep watching it! Not that i had any plans to drop it since i like it so much but now I'll enjoy it even more hehe. :)

Thanks for understanding my point :) also your article was great (though i havent watched some of the shows here being more of a action thriller fan) and i know now to stay away from some of these shows :P

Yes i definitely understood the point you were conveying with the article and i know this is a huge issue. Given the burning sun scandal in korea and similar cases all around the world. I mentioned the part about rape because while filming a consensual moment without one of the involved the parties knowing is definitely a horrible crime, but the fact that the character in this particular drama was raped and filmed made it even more heinous. Then she had to face people like the prosecutor who were bringing back the memory of that traumatic experience without any regard to her. It just made the whole thing so much more worse. Because the boyfriend not only raped her, but filmed it. That's a lot more different as compared to say what happened in taxi driver (which was also horrible)

No no, it was definitely not consensual. They very clearly mention that. The video he had recorded, the video he had used to blackmail her was one and the same and it was of him raping her. There's never any mention of it being consensual. The prosecution tried to make it seem like it was consensual but the character herself finally breaks down and says it took her this long to realize it was rape because she couldn't believe that someone she loved and who claimed to love her back could do this to her. There's never any mention of any other consensual moment. The moment discussed is the one recorded in the video. The boyfriend himself always calls it "that night" clearly indicating that it was the one and only time. I know all of this for sure because i have watched the drama twice.
I think you should watch it again because there were two major parts of the entire case:
1) proving it was rape and not consensual and filmed without her knowledge
2) proving self defense when she pushed him.

There is one thing you need to correct in your article. In law school, what the boyfriend recorded was how he raped his girlfriend. The entire point of the case was proving that it was rape. A gynecologist was even brought into the court room to testify how it was rape and not consensual. I don't understand how you could have missed that

Resisting the urge to watch this because i have to wait till it ends in order to binge. The reviews aren't helping either :P im hoping it ends well (i hate tragic endings and avoid them at all costs)

I have seen reply 1994 and a bit of reply 19888. I can appreciate that the series are well made and that they incorporate the important years really well, but i tend to watch action thrillers. So it's simply not my preferred genre. I tend to get bored if there's no thrill or action. Even though reply 1994 was well made and the pair I was shipping was the final pair, i found myself skipping a lot of it. And the little i saw of reply 1988 showed that the tone would be the same. So me not watching the show has nothing to do with thinking it's not good, its just not for me (also not a teenager, as i mentioned in my comment above, i am doctor so late 20s)

I don't mean to come across as rude or anything but....why would you watch a show that was never promoted or tagged as romance? I mean everyone knew that this was going to be an action thriller, any chemistry between the characters would be cherry on top. Im just saying if romance is such a must for you, maybe not watch shows that aren't tagged as such?

Shows I haven't watched (and have no plans to either):
Reply 1988
Reply 1997
Mr. Queen
Hometown cha cha
Put your head on my shoulder
Boys over flowers
Fight for my way
My Id is gangnam
Alice in the borderland
The legend of the blue sea

The shows that i will watch eventually are flower of evil, someday or one day and D.P.

Shows i havent yet decided whether to watch or not are itaewon class and Dr. Romantic S1 & 2. (Mainly because they are so different from the genre i usually watch but sound kinda interesting. The dr. Romantic series because im a doctor and itaewon class because people who liked my mister recommend it)