cattaurus

This is absolutely wonderful, Kathryn_51! It goes to show that the episodes and scenes that some here find boring/uninteresting seem to have the most significance, ironically!

Thank you! Would you mind telling me which episode convinced you of this? I seem to have missed it and would love to rewatch it when I get the time to!

You're not alone. I keep wondering where they get all the information from. For example, I rewatched Ep 14 to see if they explicitly mention whether Segi received the voice note and the anonymous letter just 3 months ago, I still didn't quite catch it lol. Sadly I haven't had enough time to rewatch this week and we are so close to the finale. :( I've just decided to let our fellow sleuths handle such information gathering. They're a lot more determined and are generally way better at it than I am, haha

I always thought he worked as a janitor under whatever company CEO Park had at the time, which I believed was Ilpum Edu even back then. CEO Park recognised NGJ's genius and turned him into an instructor. But then NGJ was kicked out for falsifying his records(Thank you, Daddy Baek 🙄). He must have gotten a job elsewhere eventually, I'm not sure if it is Master Edu because I had assumed Master Edu may have been a competitor at the time but I saw some comments saying Master Edu was taken over by NGJ and OSG and is now Gotop.

Thank you Elif Kim! You're an absolute sweetheart! 🤗

Sherlock is one of my faves so I love how your mind went to Moriarty! Now that you mention it, I do see the similarities. He's been laying traps and watching NGJ all along and has somehow weasled his way into NGJ's life without making it too obvious (so far atleast) This would be a fun twist!

Your obsession over details has really paid off, not just for you but for all of us here ;) Thank you for being so reliable as always!I agree with blueberrycakepop about why he doesn't recognise faces lol

So true, I really hope it concludes well too! Since the last few episodes can either make or break the show, they always leave me feeling anxious 🥲 on top of being sad about it ending 😭

I'm dying to see this!

We don't know anything about NGJ's life after his grandma passed away all the way upto the time he turned up as a janitor. We also know very little about Secretary Jo's past. What if this was intentional? What if his motivation is also somewhat personal? (The way he looked at NGJ when he was passing by at Baek Edu just rubbed me the wrong way, I know maybe I'm reading too much into it)

We are all well aware that CL loves to play with tropes. And what is one of the most commonly used tropes that hasn't been utilised yet? The childhood connection one! What if SJo and NGJ knew each other? What if they met at the same orphanage or something?
(I cant figure out why he hates NGJ yet, insert something that isn't too cliché)

Also if he worked at Master Edu, what if he asked Sehee to steal the papers to get back at NGJ? SJo was probably ousted along with Sehee, and was unable to work in the education industry anymore? Or maybe he just wanted to/was asked to disappear for a while? (Kang Min said some say he's a secret son of a conglomerate owner or a business man from the States, what if he really did move to the States for a while? this kind of explains why everything's happening NOW after so many years)

To regain entry, who else is the perfect candidate but the unsuspecting BSY, plus she's got the power to back him(maybe) or at the very least serves as the decoy. She knows nothing about SJo's past having left SK 12 years ago.(assuming he had no ties to the Baek family, or none to BSY)

Is it too far fetched and too late for this to happen?
I'm super sleep deprived so I'm not sure if this makes any sense or if I'm just losing my mind 🥲

Okay guys, hear me out. Here's another theory...something I haven't read about here yet..
I've been thinking about this all day and there are just too many what ifs and I know I'm going out on a limb here but....

So I thought about the murder/suicide combination a possibility as well. I think both LSA and NGJ are her targets. "If I can't have you, no one can" sort of a thing or she just really thinks he doesn't deserve to be happy after whatever he put her through.

About SJo, maybe he knows BSY would never give up on NGJ, kinda makes sense now that he looked surprised (this has been bugging me since it aired) when she suggested they take over Gotop. As per episode 15 preview, CEO Park tells her something along the lines of "Why don't you stop now? It isn't right to strike/kill twice, is it?". She seems to remember that NGJ's downfall happened once because of her, so she seems to be reconsidering or at the very least crying about it? So it could be either SJo or daddy's back up plan because they know she may get in the way.

There's also a clip of Segi looking at something on his phone and then at SJo, and asking NGJ something along the lines of "What is with you and SJo?/What are you two playing at?" (I've just put together what I could with my limited understanding of few words from his sentence, so I could be wrong)
Looks like SJo has something to do with Sehee/'s death.

Thanks! Perfect excuse for a rewatch!

Even if they do end up making Secretary Jo the ONLY bad guy, I hope it isn't because he's in love with BSY. That would be shit, but they would totally make the perfect pair, bad communication skills coupled with relentless obsession :P
I do hope it has something to do with Daddy Baek, or BSY's ex, or his own greed [maybe he wants to prove something/gain approval as the illegitimate son - such children usually take the family name of the mother so that explains why he isn't a Baek and we know Daddy Baek isn't easy to please and doesn't care about stepping on others to get to the top, so he could be following daddy's footsteps?). But you're right, there have been very few indications so far :(

On the other hand, there have been many for Na Soo Yeon, however, seems like that'll be dealt with quickly based on Ep 15 preview (there was nothing about it, almost like it didn't even happen, lol). But she definitely wants him dead.

I could say for me the first evidence of lazy writing was Segi's ignorance towards NGJ's amnesia, I mean, yeah he ate the peach but then there were other instances when NGJ casually mentioned the past and Segi never questioned it especially considering his amnesia was never meant to be permanent, so he could have regained his memories later :/

P.S. I've been really enjoying reading your progress with acceptance of Secretary Jo. I know I'm supposed to sympathize, but it's just too cute and funny at times, hahah😂

It is a fan sign event with many holding up signs that roughly translate to "you're mine".
We've also seen the fan girls say the same thing in a future episode.
So maybe it's just a way to show their love towards him and has nothing to do with the event being in Feb. Maybe it's just regular fangirling, haha
But incase it isn't then I'd expect this to be addressed as well, I mean I expect this to be addressed either way, lol

I guess the only three main mysteries remaining now, since it's safe to assume that that "someone" is Secretary Jo (unless he's working for someone else), are
1. Who exactly is he? (A secret chaebol? Loan shark?)
2. Why is NGJ his target?
3. Why/how did Sehee die?

Oooo nice catch! I didn't think of that!

It's one thing to make interpretations based on what is laid out for us and another thing to be projecting based on personal experiences.

1. There's no evidence in the show to indicate that Gotop employees were underpaid, nor any for being forced to work overtime. IIRC, NGJ reprimanded Kim Cha Bae saying something along the lines of "working over time isn't something to be proud of, it just means you're inefficient." Pretty sure he wouldn't be so careless to disregard Labour laws in SK. So I'm not sure where you're getting these ideas from unless you're filling the gaps to fit your narrative.

2. I don't think anyone here disagrees with the fact that NGJ has been an asshole to almost everyone. Shin A doesn't either. He does come across as a nightmare boss to work for. Nobody is making excuses for his behavior, nor are they asking that he be forgiven, they're just asking that he be understood. If understanding can be extended to Ms. Ma or Sehee because they're poor and had no choice, it would be hypocritical to not do the same for NGJ. Just because he is now rich and powerful doesn't mean he isn't human. Shin A realizes this in Ep 7 as well.

3. How are you so sure that NGJ is the ONLY person responsible for Sehee's death? Maybe he had absolutely nothing to do with it and is being falsely accused?
and just FYI, NGJ was a nobody at the time so he was neither rich nor powerful. (Mind you, this was before he even met Segi at which point we saw how low his bank balance was) He probably had just as much, if not more, to lose at the time than Sehee. (So this should be okay as per your reasoning because he's also poor/middle class here?) All he wanted was for her to take responsibility for her actions, which seems entirely fair!

4. You seem to have some personal vendetta against the rich and powerful/capitalism, etc, going off on a tangent here and somehow want NGJ to fit the bill, expecting NGJ to take responsibility for his actions just because he is rich, powerful, capitalist, etc while being completely okay with others walking away scott free just because they're middle class despite having done worse things because they had no choice? Do you see the double standards? NGJ may have been morally wrong, but others have crossed the line over to criminal territories.
If it's not okay for him to walk all over people, it should also be not okay for them to get even with him (some of their methods were quite the threat to his safety). How is that fair? Both parties are in the wrong.

While I agree with your last point about "deconstructing the idea of the "cold but misunderstood CEO" trope and showing what the consequences of such a person are in real life", I very much doubt that it applies to anyone else but Go Jin. The corporations that you rightly mentioned are far notorious in real life so I don't see the writers bringing/using GoJin/Gotop to explain away the evil deeds of all such corporations because those are inexcusable and irredeemable whereas Gotop/Go Jin is not nearly in the same bracket. Gotop barely even scratches the surface.

I still stand by what I said about Go Jin reflecting and coming around eventually, I wasn't just talking about the previous episode but all episodes up to this point. He has shown that he's perfectly capable of redeeming himself if he so wishes, he has realized this himself and he apologized to Ms. Ma and others despite knowing she was up to no good just to keep the peace. No normal human being would be capable of keeping his/her cool when all hell breaks loose, NGJ had a lot to deal with in the span of few hours/days so his outburst is anything but surprising. I would have had a worse meltdown myself.
Like I said, we need to practice some patience and give it time, and have faith in the writers. (Ep 15 may appease you. Kathryn_51 has posted a synopsis above. )

One thing I love about the writing of this show is how they never tried to sell this idea that NGJ is supposed to be likeable. He is not. He is flawed, but he's not a lost cause. He is taught that his actions have consequences but that he's capable of redeeming himself, that he doesn't need to be successful to be well-liked/loved. So many lessons!
And I, for one, am all ready to see him turn over a new leaf in the next episode.


Edit - Yikes, this is a long one. I apologise! I also don't intend to come off as offensive, I'm sorry if it feels that way. You're entitled to your opinions, and I even agree with some of it. I just respectfully (hopefully it comes off that way) disagree with some.

You seem to be bringing your personal sentiments based on real world experiences onto a fictional show. While it may be true in the real world, it's really not that deep here.

1. There is no proof in the show to claim the people working at Gotop are underpaid and exploited. In fact, Gong Hee Cheol, the guy who was recruited by Baek Edu said as much!

2. No matter what his faults, at the end of the day Go Jin is a man of integrity. He's not one to cheat his way through life unlike every other education company. He takes pride in it, and it's what sets him apart. His only fault is that he disregards people's feelings and is unforgiving.
A lot of this can be attributed to the experiences he's had since childhood.
It's not that he's forgotten his roots, it's that he doesn't want to be reminded of his traumatic past. He's learnt the hard way that people don't look down on you if you're successful. The only time he experienced any different is when he met Shin A's family who welcomed him without even knowing who he is.

3. Life hasn't been exactly fair to him either. He worked his way up through his own conviction and expects the same of others, if he could do it so can others. While I agree his ways of going about it aren't particularly good natured, it is by no means vindictive! At worst, he ignored them and made a bunch of snide remarks every now and then when he bothered to notice them. And this is his lesson to learn, to be kinder and more forgiving.

I doubt he drove anyone to the point of suicide, people hated him sure but they all had a support network within themselves to plot things against him while he's been fighting a lonely battle all his life. It's ironic that you're willing to extend sympathy towards Sehee without any knowledge about her past, but none towards Go Jin despite all the cards he's been dealt.
If the past episodes are anything to go by, Go Jin usually reflects and comes around within an episode and we come to realize that we've been misled and that he really isn't as horrible as we were made to believe the previous episode. It just takes a bit of patience on our end.

Are we sure that the anonymous letter was sent just 3 months ago? I seem to have missed that part. I thought it was sent many years ago right after her death which is why Segi approached NGJ in the first place.

And about the money Segi siphoned out of Gotop, lol, he walked out scott free from the prison, idk how? Ah, maybe BSY bailed him out, my bad.

Like you, I really hope the SJo revelation isn't a complete let down!