[Drama 2013] ★ Secret | Secret Love 비밀 ★

[the_sweetroad]

57 minutes ago, confusedheart said:

I don't think he truly loves her. She represents all that he had been aspiring for.

 

21 minutes ago, partyon said:

Agree with the fact that Do Hoon probably doesn’t love SY. He’s more infatuated with her because she is the lifestyle he wants.

 

I hadn't thought of that but I can see this now! I can see a spark of attraction between them, but you guys are right - Se Yeon really wants MH to love her back (she was so hurt after he walked off while she was singing) and Do Hoon is just on a power trip at this point.

 

23 minutes ago, partyon said:

You see, I don’t think DH is bad to the core.

 

When they made it a point to show us DH caring for YJ's father, I appreciated that. I agree - he didn't start out bad to the core.

 

However, then he killed YJ's dad, so..... But yeah, the pressure from his mom, the fact that his dad couldn't ever advance into a high-paying job, the guilt he felt over the accident....it's a lot and I can empathize with him to a certain point. Some of his own choices along the way compounded his problems and by now he's behaving very badly.

 

Thinking out loud. By the end of Episode 8, Do Hoon has:

 

- Accidentally run over Ji Hee

- Allowed YJ to confess wrongly and go to jail

- Denied YJ's parole

- Been ashamed of her/ uncomfortable around her in public

- Killed YJ's father and didn't show up to support YJ at the funeral

- Deleted evidence from CCTV showing he was the driver that night

 

Of lesser significance, DH has:

- Worked to curry the Chairman's favor and discredit MH

- Crazy smirked when YJ was disgraced at the party

 

In any of these instances he could have made a different choice. 

 

Can't wait to see MH fall deeper for YJ! And at this point I don't feel like YJ is attracted to him....will be interesting to see her awareness for him as a man grow as well. I am surprised that even though she suspects MH had something to do with San's beating in jail, that she's not lashing out in anger toward him or avoiding him. You'd think she'd have a visceral reaction to him every time she saw him.

 

This group watch with @agenthis fun!! Thanks for being here @confusedheart and @partyon!

[confusedheart]

2 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

- Been ashamed of her/ uncomfortable around her in public

That's putting it too lightly! He deliberately disgraced her. How dare he imply / call her a 'cheap' woman after all that she had done for him? This was the moment I lost all respect for him. For the sake of their past relationship, heck these two had a son, and she took a fall for him, ruined her life, and that scumbag of an ex had the audacity to cal her a cheap woman!

 

I have no sympathy for him and don't blame his parents or his mom particularly for the choices he made. He is a grown up man and he is a prosecutor, for heaven's sake. He is very well aware of the choices and the consequences. So I am not going to be kind hearted here like @partyon and blame the parents, especially the mom for the choices he made. 

 

In fact, if I remember, the FL sacrificed her career/ education so that he could go to law school! Talk about being ungrateful!

[agenth]

10 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

I hadn't thought of that but I can see this now! I can see a spark of attraction between them, but you guys are right - Se Yeon really wants MH to love her back (she was so hurt after he walked off while she was singing) and Do Hoon is just on a power trip at this point.

 

 

Seyeon looking at Dohoon: ~ oooh you're so goodlooking, kind, caring (cough cough)

 

 

 

Seyeon looking at Minhyuk: you annoying little ....

 

[the_sweetroad]

7 hours ago, confusedheart said:

That's putting it too lightly! He deliberately disgraced her. How dare he imply / call her a 'cheap' woman after all that she had done for him? This was the moment I lost all respect for him.

 

YES!! When I first wrote that he was ashamed of her I was thinking about when she was about to be a waitress at the hotel (one of her first jobs post-prison) and Do Hoon showed up as well. But you're absolutely right - at that party he completely disgraced her and called her a prostitute in so many words. NOT COOL DO HOON, NOT COOL!

 

The great thing is SHE came to her senses and dumped him first. But it was so late in the game it hardly meant anything.

 

Been gone all day but looking forward to watching Episode 9 soon. Did you get to watch any of it today @agenth?

 

[partyon]

This thread has become the "Do Hoon Rant Thread"

 

@the_sweetroad @agenth What are your thoughts about the leads:

 

1) How do you feel about the way MH has treated YJ in the past? What do you think his motivations are for treating YJ poorly?

2) Do you think he has fallen in love with her? Why do you think he has fallen in love with her?

3) Do you think that she is falling in love with him?

4) Would a relationship that started off on these terms work IRL?

[the_sweetroad]

10 hours ago, partyon said:

This thread has become the "Do Hoon Rant Thread"

 

@the_sweetroad @agenth What are your thoughts about the leads:

 

1) How do you feel about the way MH has treated YJ in the past? What do you think his motivations are for treating YJ poorly?

2) Do you think he has fallen in love with her? Why do you think he has fallen in love with her?

3) Do you think that she is falling in love with him?

4) Would a relationship that started off on these terms work IRL?

 

Do Hoon Rant Thread - he deserves it!

 

Are you a psychologist or a teacher? Good questions.

 

Let's see. I don't like how MH has treated YJ in the first half of the show, period. Messing with her parole, the wrist grabs, blocking her from getting by sometimes (except when he kept her from running into the street - that was okay), taking on her debt without telling her, stalking her, having Gwang Soo stalk her, saying that she can only listen to him. All of that sits strangely with me. So I think your 4th question is a good one, and the answer right now would be No. Unless he comes to his senses and apologizes for dominating her and intruding into her life. Especially if he had anything to do with San's beating! I'm just not sure how she would come to trust him after the stalker/ parole-abuse stuff she had to go through with him.

 

Obviously they get together in the end....and that's what keeps me watching.

 

Quesiton #2 - I finished Ep 9 last night and at the very end he says "Worrying about you is driving me crazy" so I think the answer here is that he's starting to. He sees how pure and good she is, how caring she is for her father and friends, and she's unlike anyone he's met so far. Why do YOU think he's falling in love with her @partyon?

 

#3 - Not yet. At least, not that I see. She's still trying to get away from him.

 

Do Hoon rant - in Episode 9, calling the detectives to come raid the copycat purse warehouse was a new low. That's how YJ's friends are trying to support themselves. Do Hoon is not a prosecutor anymore, so there's no reason he needs to feel compelled to turn them in. He's just being overtly mean and evil now.

 

As an aside - Do Hoon is so similar to Dong Hoon, the protagonist of My Mister. Since I'm so used to calling Dong Hoon "DH", I'm not ascribing those honorable initials to the nasty Do Hoon.

 

 

[partyon]

1 hour ago, the_sweetroad said:

Why do YOU think he's falling in love with her @partyon?

 

I would say that the reason that MH starts falling for YJ, is because he does come to see her as a very good person. She is very kind and very selfless. Something he himself is not.

I think he sees in her pure love and qualities that he probably himself would like to possess. That's why he is attracted to her.

 

MH is really perceptive though, and he does "see through her" in more ways than one. He has a strong feeling that she isn't telling the truth, and that there is more to the story. Why?

 

You see in the start he's convinced that she's evil to the core, and therefore punishes her by tormenting her. But the more he gets to know her, the more he sees what a kind and pure person she is. Can she really be a hit and run killer - when she's this kind to everyone? Something doesn't match up....

 

Therefore, his view and perception of her is starting to become conflicting, and that creates inner turmoil.

A great example is when he's drunk and he ends up waking up in YJ's home. He's embarrassed and perplexed, but decides to eat the breakfast she has prepared. At one point, YJ laughs from her heart for the first time in front of MH. MH barks at her to not smile in front of her ever again.

Because in that moment, the idea and view he has of her in his head has started to crumble to the point where he is experiencing conflicting emotions. On one hand, he still wants to hate her. On the other hand, he sees her kindness and has already started caring for her.

 

It scares him, so lashes out with anger towards her. It's his way of trying to force himself to keep the old picture he has of her in his head, instead of seeing her in a new light.

 

You see, behind the emotion anger is always fear.

In the beginning, YJ's "crime" caused anger because he was unhappy about himself and his life. His father had bullied him to the point that he was angry at him, but also himself. He lacked direction and determination. But mostly he was scared that he was the cause that his ex-gf had died by not being able to defy his father. Now his anger stems from the fear of his conflicted feelings for YJ and that he's falling for her.

Losing himself to love again after having lost a person dear to him earlier scares him to the core.

[the_sweetroad]

@agenth I finished through Episode 11 last night so you can share about Episode 10 if you wish.

 

More later

 

[agenth]

On 11/21/2021 at 9:24 AM, partyon said:

1) How do you feel about the way MH has treated YJ in the past? What do you think his motivations are for treating YJ poorly?

MH is very singleminded, has a tunnel-way of handling things. He was holding onto anger after the loss of his gf. Perhaps he was holding onto anger even more stubbornly, afraid to forget her, to forget his own penance. He was doing "things for her". This resulted in him harassing YJ - he was deliberately attacking her, ruining her life. 

 

I understand his anger all too well, and it is not healthy. It would have been better if he let go of his revenge-mind with YJ, after she got released from prison at the latest. 

 

On 11/21/2021 at 9:24 AM, partyon said:

2) Do you think he has fallen in love with her? Why do you think he has fallen in love with her?

Not yet. He does feel things for her, inexplicably. It is because he has spent so much time thinking about her, controlling her life, that his thoughts turn often to her. He probably starts to like her, at least when he finds clarity that she worries him, because she is a warm person - unlike Seyeon's hot and cold act.

 

On 11/21/2021 at 9:24 AM, partyon said:

3) Do you think that she is falling in love with him?

Probably yes. Unfortunately? She is a very giving person.

 

On 11/21/2021 at 9:24 AM, partyon said:

4) Would a relationship that started off on these terms work IRL?

With someone like YJ possibly - she is a forgiving person, even went to jail on her own behest for someone who is an uncaring guy. I don't believe DH ever loved YJ, he simply acted like a knight in shining armour, and since then she "repaid" his favours, by supporting him. She was always there for him, yet he never supported her, beyond the initial legal advice. 

 

 

[the_sweetroad]

On 11/21/2021 at 7:45 PM, partyon said:

A great example is when he's drunk and he ends up waking up in YJ's home.

 

This scene cracked me up because he woke up without a shirt on. What are you doing to a drunk Min Hyuk, Yoo Jung?!!!!

 

On 11/21/2021 at 7:45 PM, partyon said:

Because in that moment, the idea and view he has of her in his head has started to crumble to the point where he is experiencing conflicting emotions. On one hand, he still wants to hate her. On the other hand, he sees her kindness and has already started caring for her.

 

It scares him, so lashes out with anger towards her. It's his way of trying to force himself to keep the old picture he has of her in his head, instead of seeing her in a new light.

 

Great points. That helps me get into his head a bit more.

 

Episode 11 - things that made me go hmmmm.

 

If Do Hoon and Se Yeon are going full-bore after Min Hyuk's position on the board and his properties, why can't MH expose a bit of what he knows about Do Hoon? He has his suspicions, but wouldn't he be able to take those to the police and have them investigate? I feel like he's quite powerless and at the mercy of Se Yeon and Do Hoon's machinations....but really, with the suspicions he has, he could take some steps there.

 

Related to that, WHY DOESN'T Yoo Jung tell ANYONE about Do Hoon's indirect abuse of San and his abandonment of her father?!!!! She needs to get it off her chest! How can she hold it in this entire time? She could confide in MH - he's certainly seen her sad and broken-up about it...she can relieve her pain by telling him! It doesn't seem like normal behavior to me, to not tell someone that your baby and your dad were killed (indirectly) by your ex. He needs to be punished and to go to jail. As it is, Hae Jin already told her what happened in jail, but now MH is looking for Hae Jin. If YJ would just tell MH what's going on, a lot of MH's suspicions would be confirmed. Right now YJ has nothing to lose by confessing the truth of the initial secret.

 

Also - Gwang Soo is a saint. He patiently deals with all of MH's whims and orders, and actually gets stuff done. I like him. Hope he and his hyung Gwang Min survive all this mess at K Group.

 

The ending of Ep 11, though! MH can't help himself. Going off to watch Episode 12.

 

[agenth]

2 minutes ago, the_sweetroad said:

If Do Hoon and Se Yeon are going full-bore after Min Hyuk's position on the board and his properties, why can't MH expose a bit of what he knows about Do Hoon? He has his suspicions, but wouldn't he be able to take those to the police and have them investigate? I feel like he's quite powerless and at the mercy of Se Yeon and Do Hoon's machinations....but really, with the suspicions he has, he could take some steps there.

 

How DH still has his job (and social standing) is still a mystery to me. Even if Chairman dislikes his own child, the man was angry that MH's fiancée got him dismissed. If he only knew DH was the one to send material around...  Plus the way he constantly is in disagreement with KREstaurant now... It makes no sense from a corporate perspective. 

 

MH now finally tries to get DH ruined by going to prosecution's office... hopefully DH will pay for the exgf, the baby, and the father. 

 

YJ is still too forgiving to DH, even finding out some of his misdeeds. I liked how she forced him out of the car, though, to get him to "apologise". Of course DH regrets nothing. He constantly repeats that, as if it absolves him, as if it's justification. Only seducing SY and getting a rich lifestylr is what warms his cold heart. That man never loved YJ, he only took advantage of her, this here makes it clear:

 

when he said this... it actually blew my mind that he admitted it. Granted, he didn't say he murdered the father (he's a lawyer, so he knows how to talk himself out of it, he was like, yep I saw him, so what?) SO WHAT????

 

 

You are talking about the father who treated you as son, the father of the woman you "loved". Now he thinks she's some anklegrabber of his, her sacrifice was made to "grab his ankle". "i gave up everything to come top, but those who sacrificed are holding on to my ankles" What a delusional mofo... he gave up NOTHING. He just accuses YJ of guilttripping him... AS IF.

 

In fact YJ never tried to deliberately meet him. After talking about how YJ disgusts him, he comes to the restaurant to... yes, stalk her. 

 

Now DH even is physically abusive towards YJ, the way he pushes and moves her. And then when he walks away from her, he hits her shoulder too. Like Seyeon. What a passive aggressive move. 

 

Despite YJ's resolve to "get something" from DH, she is still quite timid. She has no evidence regarding her past choices, but that doesn't mean that she has no leverage. The fact that  DH blocked her parole and bribed prison girl (who now is back friends with her), thát is something that could be used against him easily. 

 

Now DH walks around as if he's King of KGroup. That's what is disgusting. And completely unrealistic how the whole board supports whatever DH (or SY) suggests. One is a NEWBIE lawyer, the other is a gallery girl... who got shares awarded (which is again, unrealistic. What chairman gives shares that he planned on selling ... just because SY said they will be family. Which they are NOT). Both of them make moves against the Chairman (and his son) and Chairman does nothing   Huge plothole there.

 

UGH these people do NOt have the professional qualifications for their jobs.

Gwangjin however is head of legal apparently, yet he never helps out kgroup... which for some mystery DH does. As if!!!!!!!

 

 

 

I finished Ep 12 now, and you? @the_sweetroad

[the_sweetroad]

I finished Episode 12 at 1:30am last night.

 

20 hours ago, agenth said:

MH now finally tries to get DH ruined by going to prosecution's office... hopefully DH will pay for the exgf, the baby, and the father

 

Yes! I like how MH is thinking now, to go to the Prosecutions office and plant seeds of doubt in Do Hoon's former colleague. Now if only he and YJ can actually team up and get real legal action going. If they put their minds together they could make some headway.

 

Sigh. Sometimes it's hard to be the omniscient viewer.

 

20 hours ago, agenth said:

You are talking about the father who treated you as son, the father of the woman you "loved". Now he thinks she's some anklegrabber of his, her sacrifice was made to "grab his ankle". "i gave up everything to come top, but those who sacrificed are holding on to my ankles" What a delusional mofo... he gave up NOTHING. He just accuses YJ of guilttripping him... AS IF.

 

Seriously, he is totally gaslighting her, the ungrateful scum that he is. I am loathing him like crazy. Whatever comeuppance he gets will be well-deserved! Any affection he has for Se Yeon (if he has any) is overshadowed by all his bad behavior. At first I thought he was conflicted and tortured....but now he's just doing whatever he can and aiming higher than ever. He is Icarus! And his poor parents will be so sad when he falls

 

That kiss at the end of Ep 12, though. Maybe it's just me these days but I am not crazy about the kisses happening on my screen recently. First NWBU and now this one where MH is kissing YJ in the car but she's vehemently trying to get her head away. Not cool, MH, not cool! I know the drama is dated and people back then thought this was romantic, but now I'm just like Ugh. Although I don't mind them kissing sweetly, eventually.

 

Hopefully the Chairman can come back soon and make everyone re-take their proper places after all this anarchy in K Group!

 

 

[agenth]

1 hour ago, the_sweetroad said:

That kiss at the end of Ep 12, though. Maybe it's just me these days but I am not crazy about the kisses happening on my screen recently. First NWBU and now this one where MH is kissing YJ in the car but she's vehemently trying to get her head away. Not cool, MH, not cool! I know the drama is dated and people back then thought this was romantic, but now I'm just like Ugh. Although I don't mind them kissing sweetly, eventually.

 

I like that she didn't let him kiss her at the restaurant, albeit DH saw them and that probably reinforces his caveman thinking (how dare YJ move on, she's supposed to be MINE - oh wait, oops no. We broke up, but hey, I still have rights to her as she grabs my ankle...)

 

The kiss at the end...  awkward. It looks like she gave in in the end to be kind rather than because she wanted to kiss him (duh). She always gives more than she receives. MH took the plunge after she said she wouldn't leave him, unless he sent her away. I'm wondering whether she will now stick around, despite being uncomfortable. Right now it looks like she is thankful to him, as MH may be rough around the edges, but in his way he did take care of her. 

 

More awkwardness can be seen during MH's unfortunate "birthday party". SY wants to humiliate YJ and makes her waitress of the night. As if such juvenile tricks would faze YJ, someone who lost so much and spent time in prison. More pathetic is DH becoming SY's slave - he'll split up MH and YJ's alliance/romance, just so he may have chance with SY who apparently is still "in love" with MH. I don't pity him, because he's being wilfully blind to him not having any real chance with her. 

 

Instead of focusing on his romance life, he should seek help.

 

Apropos DH and his parents. His father seems rather good-natured, and not really like a fool. Just a regular guy - he does not seem to have issues, except that he is not overly ambitious. Which is totally ok. But there's no gambling or drunk issues for him, which usually accompanies the starter pack for cold jerks in kdrama. However, his mother seems to hide something. She was very surprised and taken back when darling son visited them, and the camera panned to a suspicious jacket

 

[the_sweetroad]

18 hours ago, agenth said:

More awkwardness can be seen during MH's unfortunate "birthday party". SY wants to humiliate YJ and makes her waitress of the night. As if such juvenile tricks would faze YJ, someone who lost so much and spent time in prison. More pathetic is DH becoming SY's slave - he'll split up MH and YJ's alliance/romance, just so he may have chance with SY who apparently is still "in love" with MH. I don't pity him, because he's being wilfully blind to him not having any real chance with her.

 

Seriously! That was a terrible birthday party   The show is reinforcing YJ's low status, though, constantly putting her in a waitress or cleaner's position. It would be nice if she could take over that bakery and make a little business for herself!

 

Se Yeon is gross. I have zero sympathy for her anymore. Not sure why she's insisting on a future loveless marriage - the disgust MH has for her would only get amplified and worse if they actually got married. And she would end up looking to him and clinging to him even more if he were her husband. Her expectations for him are way too high.

 

I finished Ep 13 yesterday and part of Ep 14. My favorite line is when she's taking care of him when he's sick (when did he hurt his ankle anyway?!) and she says, "However. It's not like you hurt your hand," i.e. Why am I spoon-feeding you?!

 

I like these two on my screen....wish it were more of them and less of Do Hoon and Se Yeon. It's nice that YJ and MH are finally starting to piece things together....going to the toll booth was genius on YJ's part. But it's so sad to see the two photos together, and see that Daddy's missing in the 2nd photo.

[the_sweetroad]

Just finished Episode 15.

OMO!!!!! WHAT IS HAPPENING??!!!!!!

 

@agenth are you there yet??!!! If not I will leave it at that.

 

BUT OMO!!!!

 

@partyon and @confusedheart I'm not going to be able to sleep!

[agenth]

End of Secret:

 

 

 

me: 

 

 

[the_sweetroad]

Episode 16 was pretty fast-paced for a series finale. It was interesting but also a bit disorienting to see them have extensive flashbacks to the events in Ep 1.

 

I really wish MH and YJ could have had more screentime in Ep 16 - we didn't see them together at all until the very end. But first he needed to resolve his dead marriage . Even though Se Yeon chose to free him, I still think she's nasty! Her revelation about what she said to Ji Hee was only told to Do Hoon, never to MH to make it right with him.

 

So heartbreaking to watch YJ watch San and wrestle with whether or not to take him back. In the end she still gave sacrificially....I know it was probably best for San but to think that he was forcibly taken away from her and now she had to swallow that and leave him with his adoptive parents.....augh. There's no justice there, even though it's wonderful that San is alive.

 

Do Hoon's father is the only one in that family with any sense.

 

Did we find out what happened with Do Hoon's mom? Is she in jail for a while? And she didn't seem all that repentant at the end. She is terrible and deserved more consequences for sure @agenth!

 

At least Do Hoon realized all the things he missed out on and broke down.

 

I never did catch why Gwang Min was sent to jail....so when he got out of jail I was like, "Ok! Easy come, easy go!"

 

I'm happy for Gwang Min that he got to take over K Group after being so loyal to and protective of the Chairman's family. But it was a bit sad to see MH unable to fulfill his heir role after all. His redemption arc didn't include that, though he was able to still help out the company in other ways.

 

Poor Hwang Jung Eum had to cry in every single episode!! Just when I thought there might be a reprieve....NOPE!

 

Glad our OTP is together at the end, with her happy and fulfilled, even though she's lost so much. I think you're right @partyon... a Season 2 of this one would be nice

[the_sweetroad]

On 11/25/2020 at 11:52 PM, partyon said:

ahjumma is pregnant

 

Which ahjumma is this? I missed it.

 

On 11/29/2020 at 12:12 PM, Sleepy Owl said:

but I am still unsure whether she is her mom’s real daughter or not. OR whether she is chairman’s real daughter or not. Is she adopted or not. But she seems to know the truth and I think only the viewers are confused on this. 

 

Yes! Thanks for the reminder - I was confused on this! Whose daughter was she, if not the stepmom's?!

[partyon]

8 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

 

Which ahjumma is this? I missed it.

The prison ahjumma who sold fake purses and used a lot of English words.

[the_sweetroad]

1 hour ago, partyon said:

The prison ahjumma who sold fake purses and used a lot of English words.

 

That's right! They had to stuff her in the van and rush her to the hospital at the end. Then Min Hyuk showed up while Yoo Jung was alone.