frere

it seemed to me that I-Na called him (the family) *because* of her period not because she knew she was being followed -- that entire sequence was a fake out for the audience to have us think it was because of the uncle, but based on her reaction the first time coming out of the bathroom (being surprised at her dad yelling and asking him why he got into a fight) and the scenes of/with DDH after (asking IN why she called when she saw her twisting her skirt and not being able to tell her dad, DDH going to the convenience store and walking IN out of the bathroom afterwards, telling IN congratulations and tying her sweater around her waist) she probably wasn't aware and was actually freaking out about her period

if you watch the whole episode I-Na wasn't running away from DDH's Uncle she was running*to the bathroom* because she got her period for the first time. The way it was shot/she gets there was a fake out for the audience to think otherwise -- that's why she was surprised her dad got into a 'fight' + why DDH asked her 'why did you call your dad' (and the next scene cuts to her at the convenience store buying pads and coming out of the bathroom with her and tying her (DDH's) sweater around I-Na's waist)

if it helps I did rewatch to make sure I was remembering correctly before replying to you (the whole thing was like a minute at the very end of the ep so super easy to check and I can confirm it's the truth lol

they're probably referring to On San, he was never confirmed as having (had) a relationship with her but the show outlines rumours about the two of them and her being thought to have 'broken up his marriage/caused his divorce'

both things are true! hoseung took off the overcoat but left the suit jacket on. if he had kept wearing the overcoat then the knife wouldn't have been a problem but because he took it off (likely because he was cocky and also that the whole set is heavier than regular clothes -- he made a comment about its weight earlier in the episode), man with the scar was able to find an entry point

you've probably watched the latest episode by now, but her and detective were already dating by the time she got the tip off about his partner allegedly taking bribes -- she apparently got that message from her source while the two of them were at the columbarium visiting her dad. that's why he was asking his superior when were *they* tipped off, he wanted to reconfirm the timeline

did she actually get with him to investigate his partner though? the flashback clips in the last episode seemed to show that they were already together and dating when she got the tip off -- that's why he was asking his superior when he got tipped that the partner was taking bribes, he was checking the timeline to see if it was before or after they started dating. since she got the message from her source while they were visiting her father at the columbarium that means they were already together by then (and seemingly had been for a while if they were having an introduction). that's why he rushed to go find her afterwards and was mumbling to himself 'why didn't she say anything'

even if TM discovered it after the fact he still knew TH was looking for her at that point + afterwards and still actively got in his way to stop him from finding out any additional information. By continuously interfering TM has become a willing accomplice to her kidnapping and it's aftermath.

And Grandma, knowing how she has been treated at the hands of her family for over three years, why would she expose herself without a firm plan in place and allow for them to capture her again? It's not as if they had any intention otherwise, they would have taken and hidden (drugged) her again if the cops hadn't happened to intervene in that pivotal moment with Yeom and his goons. And she knows that to be the case from the many calls she had about the situation with her daughter in law. Her son going along with the situation and her son's son having historically done whatever his mother asked also means she, at present, can't trust TM to protect her either. Especially when she knows that part of the impetus for her being locked away were her own suspicions about TH's parents death and her son+his family's desire to have and keep the chairmanship for themselves. There's a reason she called to warn TH against coming back to Korea / to stay in the US to protect himself and hasn't said a word about anything to TM. He's yet to show himself to be independent of his parents and trustworthy



re TH and his cousin, those statements to me aren't resentment but acknowledgement and resignations -- he recognises that the two of them have constantly been compared against each other but that doesn't mean that he wants to be in competition or is actively competing against him and (up until the chairman battle) he has repeatedly tried not to be. All those quotes are the actions of others being put on TH, they're not things he himself has done against TM in order to have control over him. Whereas TM has been jealous of the life he believes TH to lead (and has told him more than once that he is incapable /ignorant otherwise as a result + monologues to him about how his life isn't fair) and dreamed of having a version of TH's life for himself - Hence that wacky pursuit of HS and the imaginings he projected onto her -, TH dreamed of the comfort and love of others. That's why he unabashedly described himself as needy and lacking affection to HS and repeatedly went back to TM despite how standoffish TM has been towards him. In fact all the way up until like last week (maybe the one before?) TH was still calling TM hyung despite how harsh he's repeatedly been towards him

ETA that TM only "restarted" his efforts to find grandma so that he could find her before TH did -- he wasn't looking for her in order to protect her or make sure she was safe, he was looking for her so that he could control the situation and prevent TH from officially finding out anything

maybe there's been too many episodes but it seems to me that TM standing up to his mum is an incredibly recent development and is only related to actions she's taken against the company -- he didn't demand she do anything re TH's parents or their grandmother and even re the company he just wants her to put things - money - back where they were (which to me is still very much going out of his way to protect her) -- there wasn't even a connection for him - that we saw at least - that if this is what she's willing to do she could have easily framed TH. That's not reversing course that's trying to cover it all up once and for all.

You can be shocked by the things someone tells you with out actively dismissing their words and that's how I took TH's reactions about his dad. From what I recall he never badmouthed TM for his words and said they couldn't be family / would no longer be family and he never escalated the situation into a screaming match / physical altercation to shut him down, but that was exactly how TM respond (more than once) to TH about their grandma + his parents

Both men can be acting in service of their family, sure, but TM is doing so blindly despite the mountain of evidence he is aware of (which he *is* aware of, otherwise he wouldn't be running around trying to cover things up) and is going as far as to commit borderline illegal acts to hide things he *knows* have been illegally committed. TH just wants to find out the truth and be reconnected with his loved ones since he has so few of them left. The impacts of their actions are incredibly different and one is actively and knowingly harming the other while trying to say that the harmed person shouldn't harm him (and his) back because they're family. well if that's the case TM and his parents shouldn't have done anything in the first place

Even if TM's parents weren't actively involved in the death of TH's and it all is a matter of survivor's guilt, TM doesn't know that and is in fact acting otherwise by repeatedly attempting to prevent anyone from even broaching the topic. TH's actions have nothing to do with believing his parents are saints, it's wanting to know about their (undeniably) suspicious death. Regardless of who's at fault there's no denying the actions against TH that TM's family has taken in the years since. Given all of that, what even is there for the writer to "re-write"? it's not as if they can say "actually TH, yes your uncle was chasing them right before they died but they had already gone over the cliff by the time he caught up to them. The only reason we wanted to frame you for embezzlement+ and have been repeatedly trying to make you leave the country is because you were asking too many questions about this traumatic situation that also directly impacts you -- sorry about that!" in a way that's logical / satisfying

Why is it okay for TM to be doing all the things he's done in order to protect his (alive) parents but TH trying to discover what happened to his (deceased) parents isn't? And after finding out that the people likely involved are his *relatives*, literally his dad's older brother at that, how is wanting them to face some sort of consequence for their actions not acceptable but a "poor me/revenge is my mantra mentality"?

If TM can be viewed as a "devoted son" for his actions why not TH?

TM isn't simply a "devoted son", he's an active pawn in the games of his mother -- say what you want about what may have led him to that state but at this point in the story it's ridiculous for him to constantly go along with (and continuously cover up) the decisions + misdeeds of his parents while also lamenting woe is me as if he wasn't the one who agreed to do those things.

TH has rarely jumped to conclusions when it comes to TM -- he was open and friendly towards him in the beginning, even going to him for advice and trying to team up with him until TM made it clear that they were in a battle for it all and only one could come out on top. TH was never interested in the company to begin with, he came back looking for his grandmother and sought out TM's help to find her. TM repeatedly lied to his face and covered up the fact that his parents were / had been holding her hostage at the second house. In fact, TM was at the house when TH finally found it and chose to watch from above as the guards he sent to turn TH away literally beat him up. It's no surprise that in looking for his grandmother, TH began to question his parents' death. During this, TM repeatedly shut him down and went out of his way to stop him -- he repossessed the crashed car; he tried to bribe the cafe owner former detective who was in charge of TH's parents case; he married his soon to be ex wife in order to stop TV Live from potentially digging into and exposing TH's parents case: he tried to order TV Live delete all related footage on TH's parents case; and other things I'm probably forgetting.

Seeing the way that TM and his family were responding to his search for information is what led TH to finding out more about what was going on with the company and wanting to step in there as a way to stop them from wielding so much power and insulating themselves from consequences.

TM has known many of his parents wrongdoings for multiple episodes and his only response has been to cover everything up and lie about it, despite seeing how much effort his cousin was going through to uncover very *personal* truths about relatives they BOTH share. Yes his defence may be that the people who did wrong were his parents, but the people that were impacted were Tae Ho's

TM is the one who has harboured ill-will against TH, because of the perceived easiness of life he believed TH to have even from when they were young -- ie TH having the ability to study what he wanted, having an artist mother who was willing to nurture his creativity, etc. TH hasn't been depicted as seeing the two of them as in competition with one another -- again he was not originally interested in the company