someonesoo

Good point- where has his mother been hiding for the last 10+ years because the last we saw his step father's goons were literally on their tails. It also makes you wonder how much of the future mess we've been shown (Tae Oh covered in blood etc) is driven by Kang Oh succession politics and how much of it is Tae Oh's past catching up to him. Maybe even the same for Hye Won. But then its interesting that he's asked for that unnamed favour from the chairman though (which makes sense because you wouldn't want to be too much of a pushover in front of him) but when he talks to In Ha he pretends like he has no ambitions/goals of his own. Does he assume that In Ha will help him no questions asked or is this him keeping In Ha and his destructive streak away from his own plans. I'm becoming too speculative about everything, lol!

You're right! When she went back to him he'd changed his mind too- like he came back to his senses. I think at this point in the time any lingering feelings they have for each other are going to be a liability more than bring them anything positive.

From the preview, it looks like we'll focus a bit more on Hye Won (much to the disappointment of many, lol) but I'm intrigued by her angle and also she seems to be coming into the Kang family with a much more agressive approach than In Ha/ Tae Oh.

That makes sense. That also then makes it unlikely that Tae Oh's motives are of the revenge variety either. Well initially, at least, it seems like he wanted to be the man behind the man in the chair. Plans can evolve, though I guess. And he's managed to find a particularly psychopathic family to work with.

It actually also makes sense that he considered throwing it all away for Hye Won because just being rich/important could be thrown away for love. But Hye Won chose to go along with her plan instead, so she's possibly the one with the deeper plan than the boys.

They seem to be moving fast!!! And we should learn more about the different players, hopefully!

With the limited information we have right now, that's where I pretty much am on theories as well. Of course, this may change as we go on, but right now I'm letting my imagination go wild, lol. I'm firmly in camp Hee Ju is the heir, lol. But some of that is fueled me wanting to see her to figure herself out and want more in life

I'm also leaning towards Tae Oh maybe having his own revenge type scheme, probably related to his mother or bio dad. I don't think he's a son himself because he wouldn't have needed In Ha in his plot. So far he's only been carrying In Ha. I think he's capable enough to be both KingMaker and (with his genetic claim) King, if he was the son.

One thing that's a bit of a mystery is whether the chairman knows of the connection between Tae Oh and In Ha, and is he waiting for his moment to reveal his knowledge.

Could be that we'll still be flashing backwards and forwards until we get to the opening scene?

I mean, even without that twist I think he has enough reasons to not be involved with her. On paper it is a terribly bad idea especially as Hee Joo is a pretty chaotic personality. I just think he's not trying hard enough to avoid her, lol.

You're right-that could be the twist, but I'm resisting entertaining that as a possibility, lol. Personally, I find it kind of underwhelming after all that buildup.

Fair warning, I think I'm reading too much into this because of the edits:

I think that scene in the car park is probably the one of the few times we've seen Tae Oh this soft. And the conversation between them is probably the frankest one he's had. After the 3rd timeskip the only time I've seen his mask slip slightly is when he's around Hee Jo. He meets Hye Won secretly but he's very straight faced and composed even when he calls her out for wanting to marry In Ha.

If I didn't know better I'd have guessed something has happened between them in the last 10 years. Because she's not arguing with him to like/love her, she's arguing with him that they can be together. It's almost like she skipped a step from the time we last saw them talking. I dunno, maybe its just the rich girl determination, lol. She wants who she wants even if he doesn't like her.

But yes, he could do a better job at shutting her down. Ngl, I was convinced she had given up on him when cried in the car.
I don't know if anyone in the family listens to her for her to be an actual threat to him, but its probably not worth the risk to see.

Well yes, that is the other direction these stories go, lol. I've been choosing to ignore the fact that she alluded to dying twice in the most recent episodes. That gives Tae Oh's pep talk to her an ominous turn.

I do hope it's not her. Although who would be the man with her? The fiance?

Oh she's constant in her feelings, no question. And from the conversation between her and Tae Oh in Episode 4, you can tell this is a conversation they've had many times over the ten years, which is why some of the beats almost seem rehearsed between them. His tired "go home", her "you know I can do this all night" and when she accuses him of never taking her seriously. (I swear the number of times I have seen that scene because its everywhere I look on social media, lol.)

And like you said, she doesn't know him well enough to actually be 'happy ever after' in love with him. It's why the new potential fiance is an interesting addition- for a change she'll be the one being pursued. How is that going to change her?

I'm completely willing to give up ownership of this idea if they promise to also keep it entertaining, lol.

I dunno, I've been thinking of the idea that in powerplay stories sometimes the person left holding the 'crown' is the person who wants it the least. Hee Joo just wants to marry a guy.

It would be a bit of cosmic retribution to everyone (interestingly they're all women: In Ju's wife, the mother and Hye Won) who has suggested using her as a pawn that she becomes the one with the power.

I think this is also my bias towards spoilt, emotionally chaotic girls who generally mean well. They better not make Hee Joo turn petty and vengeful, is all I'm saying.

When the whole family was making a scene in the chairman's hospital room during his fake coma. Tae Oh comes and makes them leave, Hee Joo was the only one he bowed to when she passed by him (after that moment of eye contact).

He also knelt to put her shoe on, which is why one of my crazier theories is that Hee Joo is really the impossible heir (as noone is even considering her as a possibility) and Tae Oh will ultimately 'bend the knee' to her (in a power way, not necessarily in a proposal way, lol).

Lol, to be fair even calling Hee Joo's feelings love is pushing it a little. It's entertaining and I'm cheering for her and her feelings are genuine but its very early stages infatuation.

There's also the brief clip where he holds her hand. Hm.

From the setting of the opening scene it looks like there had been some kind of celebration going on. Surely they're not just some randoms they introduce just to be killed.

I wondered if the pause in the investigation was a cultural thing? In a couple of the dramas I've watched lately prosecutors seem to get into trouble for any harm that comes to the people they're investigating (by coming off too forceful). And I assumed it was a case of them not wanting to look like their investigation killed the chairman.
I do think its weird that they haven't considered that they could still get dragged into the investigation. Its not like the chairman's hands are clean

I did assume that In Ha was born during her marriage but you're right- more than actually resenting the chairman for being unfaithful she probably hates the optics of the infidelity.
I've assumed that In Ha is the youngest son- is that wrong, do you know?

I don't know if they've been explicit about it, but I do get the vibes that the oldest is her stepson. It's a little surprising though that she's so obvious about Hee Ju being a pawn through marriage and isn't even pretending that it's a good match for her daughter.

Her disdain for him is especially odd since the chairman doesn't seem to particularly care about In Ha either. So In Ha shouldn't be that much of a threat to her (pre- Tae Oh atleast). I think she just doesn't want her husband's love child around her own family especially because she thinks he's a bad influence on Hee Ju.

The way I'm watching it the politics and business stuff is just details. I agree, the relationships between people and the motivations behind their actions is much more interesting. It's interesting, for example, that of his legitimate children the chairman doesn't have a favourite/obvious successor. Is it because he sees them as largely useless? Or is he just a massive egomaniac?

I generally don't enjoy triangles even outside of the romance/rom-com genre but I must admit that the triangle/square/pentagon here has the potential to be interesting.

This genre is also interesting in how unpredictable it can get. There's no formulaic love plot where the first leads end happily ever after at the end, and often with power struggle stories the one left standing at the end can be completely unexpected. This is why I really hope the twist isn't just "Tae Oh is actually the illegitimate son".

I still don't quite understand why the chairman was pretending to be in a coma. Maybe he just enjoys the drama, lol. Possibly he wanted his wife to make her move before he snatched everything from under her. But now he's pretending to be a delicate older man in public so maybe he's trying for public sympathy too.

Exactly! And there doesn't seem to be any real loyalty between the main trio so we're waiting for that to get messy, lol.

This is what I've been able to piece together, roughly:
In Ha wants to take over his father's business empire as revenge for how the family treated him for being illegitimate. Tae Oh will help him (why? we dont know). Hye Won is there for her own purposes (again we don't know why).

Tae Oh has gotten into the chairman's trusted circle (without the chairman knowing his connection to In Ha somehow?). The goal is to get In Ha to become the favourite son (Tae Oh convinces the chairman to do this by telling him that he can use In Ha to do his dirty work).

They've realised that the second son and his mama are making a play to take over by taking control over whatever that institute is (again, no idea what it does, or why). Hye Won works for the politician that the second son was working with so she gets them intel on this. They (Tae Oh and the chairman) basically get the second son involved in some kind of bogus corruption investigation (this is basically what all the talks and meetings and hacking has lead to, really). And meanwhile In Ha has stepped into the role of son.

The aggressive older son hasn't made any really big moves except for trying to buy Tae Oh's loyalty. The mother is also trying to marry off the daughter in some kind of alliance that will help her son.