krolick

Afterthoughts 1. Yeon Jin was a sociopath. She definitely had an antisocial personality disorder. There was no way for her to grow up because she would have to have constant treatment and therapy but I'm not even sure if it is possible to treat it. A person with such disorder does not feel remorse, does not abide by the rules of society, does not care about the feelings of others and constantly lies and acts and schemes to get their way. Her background and upbringing in a privileged, rich family was what let her have a "normal" life. In a harsh environment she would probably end up like the ML's father's murderer. They were both sociopaths but from different "class".

On your afterwords nr 4. The capital punishment in S. Korea is "on hiatus" or sth like that. I think it is common knowledge for Koreans that there were no executions since the late 90s. But there are prisoners with the capital punishment sentence (those red badges that he had are the sign of such sentence?). I think that was what triggered the ML to plan his own revenge on that guy. He was supposed to be executed but it did not happen for years. And as for those letters I think he read the first one because of his trauma and curiosity. Untill the very end he wanted to know why the guy killed his father, and he probably hoped to figure out the answer to this question in those letters so he read every one of them. He was unable to let it go because he did not work out his trauma at all. And as to why he kept them... That was messed up just like his fixation on blades. Maybe he kept it as a reminder that his revenge was justified.

3. The goons were some "acquaintances" of the FL's friend (the girl that she met in the laundry). FL asked her friend if she still was in touch with those tattooed guys, because she had a job for them in mind. The friend set up the first meeting or gave FL the contact details. And then she decided to use them when she needed some dirty work done later.

2. Spy Lady told her husband that she was approached by some unknown woman who gave her money, phone (or just a note?) and the task to send the message with the prepared script. She told him what the message was suppose to be about and that she's afraid to get involved in murder case. I'm not 100% sure, but I think there was a note with the name and address of YJ's mother also in her bag when the husband thrown it on the floor. She then told him that she changed her mind and does not want to do this "job" and plans to return the money she got in advance. Of course he fell into the trap and took the phone.

1. She did not have anything on the mothers but she was meeting them one by one (Yeon Jin gave her contact list) offering some "better treatment" for the children, probably better grades and so on. Of course she hinted on gratification and one mother agreed what led to all the mothers accusing Dong Eun of taking bribes.

That would be a perfect joke! I love your idea :D.
But if they want to stick to a cliché plot, then I want grandpa to change his mind when he sees how his “adopted” grandson gets the same treatment from Young Seo's family.
“How dare they deem Sung Hoon unworthy?! Oh, wait. I did the same to miss Shin Ha Ri.” ;)

I don't think what @Clarywayland20 meant was about "fancy" or "expensive" clothes. She is a lead designer of her own brand, and fashion designers are usually very creative people who express their own creativity in what they wear. IMO that "own style" is what is lost somehow.
I think the production team wants to make her look like a Paris-fashion-inspired woman. When you google "french chic 2021" in google images searcher you will see what I mean :P. Classic, jeans, stripes, trench coats... She looks nice, but almost all her outfits are just pieces that a "french chic wannabe" would wear. It's just elegant with expensive shoes and bags. It's ok, but I hoped for more :)

Yup. Looking more closely, you can count two mothers, two fathers... and some other older strangers interfering in the relationships of two women nearing fourty XD

Maybe you're right, and it is only me that reads more into something that is not there. And possibly I am giving too much credit to the writer :P.
For me, it is quite unbelievable that this drama could be soooo dense ;). I just can't agree that it is all clichés used with stupid intent. I stand by my opinion that it must be satirical XD. Not only that, but I just can't believe that such actors would agree to take part in something so bad :P.

And please know, that I did not want to say that people are too thick to understand this show. I never meant it like that.
What I wanted to say was that people's comments tell me they wanted something else, a totally original plot and excellent performance by SHK, and they ditch the drama because the story does not have that.
It is true that it is not groundbreaking and that SHK's face looks bland. I won't dispute that. But as I keep watching, I find many new perspectives and small, but meaningful originalities which I extremely like. And for me, a woman in late thirties, the story is worth watching because of that :)

As I read the comments, I think that this drama is maybe a bit too complicated and has too many nuances and subtlety for the standard k-romance-loving viewers. When you also look at the not-so-typical way the main couple interacts (meaning: they talk to each other and have nothing to hide!) it looks very different from the typical push and pull k-romance. I think most people just tend to fix on the parts that they do not like and not connect them to the rest of the story. I am not sure if I'm getting it right, but as the plot unfolds I catch more and more pins and needles aimed at modern Korean society and its family, social and gender boundaries that still do not change with time. On the other hand, there are so many k-drama clichés in every episode that I understand people thinking "Oh my, that is sooo typical!" or "This is sooo unoriginal". But do not let yourself be disappointed because of those parts - IMO they are there for a reason. Those parts serve as "a touch of comedy" and a pastiche of all the worn-out k-drama scenes that we all hate but like.

Have you watched until the end? Yes, she did leave. Yes, she didn't say anything. And I was also disappointed with her behavior. But later, as I watched her shout at him for not fighting at all, I was relieved. She cares so much about him, but she is also Korean - which means she feels strongly obliged to her mother, who was more emotionally unstable then. And she also said that she got angry at him for not fighting back. That's why she left. I think most of us, foreigners, seem to forget that this drama portrays Korean society. With every episode, I am more interested in the opinion of native Koreans. Do they also see the main couple as two people trying to break stereotypes? A couple fighting for their love despite the family obligations and standard gender roles, but at the same time trying to show everyone that doing what's right can be wrong?