Reviews

Quiet acts of protection

Episode 9 felt heavy in a quiet, lingering way. The situations Hu Xiu is pulled into show how vulnerability often comes from people and spaces that are supposed to feel safe. What stood out to me wasn’t just the obvious threat, but the lack of protection from those who should have stepped in. That absence said more than any confrontation.At the same time, Xiao Zhi Yu’s response felt steady and instinctive, and the care that followed — small, almost ordinary moments — brought a sense of calm after everything that happened. This episode reminded me that safety doesn’t always come from grand gestures, but from someone noticing, staying, and choosing to act.

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When it all comes to light — connection, clues, and silencing attempts

Episode 8 feels like the moment everything starts clicking into place — and it’s a lot. After Ra-ik rushes to find out Choi Jae Hui’s condition, he’s devastated to hear it’s being labelled a suicide attempt, complete with a note. Ra-ik can’t believe it, and honestly, neither can I. It doesn’t match the person he knew, and the whole thing immediately feels off.Lost in his misery, Ra-ik ends up on Maeng Se-na’s doorstep — soaking wet, feverish, and on the verge of collapse. When he wakes up and finds Se-na lying beside him after staying up all night to treat his fever, it’s impossible to deny their connection. They’re drawn to each other in a way that feels quiet, instinctive, and real.Ra-ik becomes determined to uncover the truth, and Se-na agrees to help him. As they retrace Choi Jae Hui’s steps, the “suicide attempt” begins to look even shadier — especially when it’s revealed he left a voice message for Se-na. That doesn’t read like someone tying up loose ends… it reads like someone trying to leave a breadcrumb before being silenced.Based on the hints so far, my suspicion keeps circling back to the CEO. It feels like he’s behind a lot of what’s happening — but by the end of the episode, I’m also questioning myself. He’s clearly hiding something that would deeply hurt Ra-ik, and it seems tied to a secret involving Kang Woo-seong. That doesn’t necessarily make him the murderer, but it does make him dangerous.In the background, I’m still unsure what path Kwak Byeong Gyun will take. Will he follow in his father’s footsteps and help prosecute an innocent man, or will he actually do his job and pursue the real killer? I’m hoping for the latter. I’m also not ruling out the ex-girlfriend’s father — he’s powerful, he dislikes Ra-ik, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this is all part of a scheme to push him away from his daughter… though let’s be honest, the daughter isn’t exactly stable either.And the missing phone detail? My brain is absolutely spiralling. Kang Woo-seong’s phone is missing, and there was an object that looked suspiciously like a phone hidden behind the picture frame near the girlfriend. It really made me wonder if she has it — but I still can’t figure out why she’d keep it… yet.The more we dig, the more it feels like someone is systematically removing threats to a hidden truth — and right now, that “truth” seems bigger than a single crime.

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Sad memories and Zhuling manipulations

I am relieved it wasn’t deliberate intent from client about the mushrooms, but he is still repugnant. The costumes in this drama are stunning😍 In the game we now know Yu’s character name is his real name. He was the gentleman and tucked her in but is annoyed that she only envisions hitting him or being mean and not kissing him.🤣 He is colder to her in the game because of this, but she was stunning in that gown and he couldn’t help himself. They were a perfect couple for that dance. Zhao’s hubby finally got some free time but his boss now knows they have a side project. He did not betray his friend but he finally aired his grievances with his boss and quit. He did this respectfully and his boss now understands that he takes advantage of his workers under the guise of being magnanimous. 😝The only thing that makes me sad for him is not telling her about this while eating her favorite snacks. They are a good partnership and she should really be in the loop for this There has been a lot of speculation about the jr he ran into prior to reunion. But to me, it looked like he was running away from a one sided crush. And it wasn’t him doing the crushing.😝 This is why he didn’t think worth mentioning to Zhao. That jr was a nightmare he didn’t want to recall. 😝 Gong is funny at the coffee shop and it does look like he has a crush on Zhao. I don’t find myself favoring this like many others do. She has married a good guy and I want this couple to work out. I found it interesting that Yu and his mother were exchanging watches. I wish she would have had a chance to see the gift he brought. The gift she was giving him was elegant, but it proved she knew nothing about her son. Both Yu and Xiu are in the cemetery. Both are collapse related and this is going to have a profound effect on them both when both sides are aware. I am sad for all of them. Pei has to show up at the same time as Yu. I’m sure he knew the details because of Yu’s mom. She has a lot of bitterness even now over how things went down after the collapse. She felt alone and abandoned and I am sure the Pei family under pretense of shielding her, made her never forget or soften her bitterness. That the father said what he did makes me wonder how close they were prior. How can he think his colleague is resting peacefully with these gestures? Pei continues to poison things by threatening to reveal Yu’s family secret. He is hellbent on stirring up trouble so he has cornered the 3D market and has used Zhuling clout to get them to refuse to work on Yu’s project. Yu did make him wonder about his remark saying if Zhuling fell it would be due to the Pei family. As much as I dislike Pei, I would really like these “brothers” to put aside their differences long enough to work together to find out the truth their fathers kept hidden. I don’t know if this would give them healing to become friendly, but it could possibly set aside their differences. When Yu stopped to admire the dress in the shop window, he couldn’t get Xiu off his mind. Costume designers for this drama 😍👏🏻👏🏻 The period and current styles look good on everybody. It is well done.😍 I loved the heart monitor of watch telling on her😂🤣 reminded me of lipstick prince episodes where they keep track. 🤣😂 Yu finds her staying late trying to find a material source. It is funny how the ice pack made her look like the rabbit he said she was moving so quickly.🤣😂 This episode packs a wallop with the history of collapse impact. Pei is intent on causing damage in every way possible and I can only hope Yu’s comment will keep niggling the back of Pei’s brain to look into things.

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Surviving celebratory dinners

Xiu goes in to cafe to help her friend and learns Pei has entered game. She tries to get in but the game has started and all slots are filled. She refuses to let that stop her and once she sees Pei she is even more determined to let Yu know. They all end up in the security room and Pei is the one that does the talking. He lets them know that he is Yu’s older brother. Everybody is rather surprised because Yu has been especially secretive about his family. On the way out Pei chats with Xiu and comments that while she thinks so poorly of him Yu was a thief in his home trying to crack the safe code. This seems to be the age he was very determined to clear his dad’s name and I am betting he thought evidence was stashed in the family safe. His dish job in college proves he wasn’t after their money. I am not sure how his mother ended up with the elder Pei. They don’t seem like a loving couple. She may have felt that was the best way to protect her son after the stadium collapse and I am sure elder Pei reinforced that idea to keep the son quiet and suppressed. That congratulatory dinner was painful to watch. Brother Pei made sure to rub it in how much more aware he was of Yu’s mother’s health than Yu was. I am sure elder Pei was very aware of Yu’s dislike of onions and the fact that he ordered with no input from the other guests is just a rude arrogant way to control the meal. I am glad he had one private moment with his mom after the meal. I am not sure why there has been minimal contact between them and hoping that might be changed going forward. Gong and Xiu trying to figure out Yu’s past.😂🤣 These two are cute buddies now. They both want to look after Yu and both are equally in the dark about Yu’s family and motivations. Yu has done an excellent job of shielding himself from everybody. Even those closer to friend status are clueless about his real life. Zhao is sharing some astute details with Xiu about her feelings for her boss and vice versa. She is a very good friend. After that painful meal Yu comes back to the lane and shares a mundane task of sheet wringing. This feels so warm and cozy after that fake family meal. It is like a warm hug from people who like and appreciate your efforts just because you showed up. The mutual kindness is not something he ever experienced from that group. Even his mother’s efforts fall flat for reasons unknown. His care of her hands shows someone not foreign to hard work but she still rattles around that thief comment in her head. 😝The design team also shares a celebratory meal. Things were going quite well til their client hit on Xiu. He is more conniving than the park rat. He puts on pretense of protecting her from drinking but has put designer shrooms in her mushroom soup. He is a client of the worst sort and I am glad Yu found her before he could do something worse. He now knows to watch that client closely and to not allow any female team members be alone with him. Her seeing the weather changes like game is sweet. She also tells him how good looking he is and kisses him. He is in a dilemma because he knows she is high on something. Should he be a gentleman and get her safely home to sleep it off or respond when opportunity presents itself?

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The ending of episode lost a point

This episode could have scored a higher rating from me until the very end. The massive smithworks would be near impossible to hide within the city. The idea that they had it on the ship, way out far from anyone to see solves that problem .... but it's ridiculous. They didn't even know they were going to do this melt-down process until AFTER the silver had been stolen and so no way such a huge smith works could have already been built inside that ship. And building that type of smith works of that size on a ship is a pretty major project in itself. You have to engineer it carefully to not burn down the ship. It is a massively heavy structure so the ship has to be huge, buoyant and stable. And you also have to have a ton of fuel to burn in it. It's just not believable.

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