[Drama 2019] The Secret Life of my Secretary / I love you from the beginning, 초면에 사랑합니다

[blademan]

This scene 

And I just noticed...the last part of the preview. Is this the first time he's actively 'taking care' of GH as GH?!!! 

His puppy eyes though 

 

[ktcjdrama]

11 minutes ago, blademan said:

And I just noticed...the last part of the preview. Is this the first time he's actively 'taking care' of GH as GH?!!! 

And I just noticed too, she has the red cardigan off...!! Can he see her face??

I can't wait for Monday to come..........!!!

[Guest]

I’m in love with  this drama ...borderline obsessed 

I want to see the BTS vid of this armpit warmer scene ! BTS stills 

 

 

[grake]

Brace yourselves for "i am not a robot" level of heartbreak once Min-Ik finds out Gal-Hee's secret.  I do not want to go through that. But we must in order to get our happy ending. 

[ktcjdrama]

26 minutes ago, grake said:

Brace yourselves for "i am not a robot" level of heartbreak once Min-Ik finds out Gal-Hee's secret.  I do not want to go through that. But we must in order to get our happy ending. 

I didn't watch IANAR, but looking at the tone of this drama, I'm guessing he won't be that mad... maybe he would even be so happy because he realizes his feelings have been consistent for one person only. I think at one point he would feel conflicted which is the one he really like, GH or Veronica Park. It seems also that the relationship with fake "Veronica Park" is supposed to be ended asap by request of real Veronica Park.

[Lmangla]

must be getting old because I feel tired after watching a few episodes. hahaha... @triplem ~ thanks for the recommendation; am enjoying this drama. feels like its been a real while since I watched a rom-com. however, it doesn't feel like some of the rom-com these days where there is a lack of substance. here, there is a bit of pathos undercurrent to both of them that it humanizes these characters and makes them feel more relatable. so here's some thoughts from watching up to ep 4.. (apologies if these thoughts already expressed)

 

-- so we have seen tons of candy characters in dramaland. the self-sacrificing overworked girl who is very nice etc. so what makes gal hee feel fresh and different? so part of it is the real disillusionment that nice people don't necessarily win. we start the drama with her mom dying and basically not amounting to anything. she almost says the saying that patience will eventually yield some reward is utter BS. so part of her feels that frustration keenly. even her sister's education is partly her own dream. she is in essence like those parents who live vicariously through their children that it is not even the children's dream. so it is going to be interesting to see how she reacts when she finds out her sister actually is hiding out somewhere in the city. did her sister have different dreams? or did she not want something so expense?

 

-- like @thistle, normally hate deception dramas. it always feels like a breach of trust is not something that a relationship can come back to. but here, gal hee' initial decision to impersonate veronica park partly stems from that disillusionment and frustration that she feels -- she will never be someone. it was interesting that secretary eul wang said gal hee was happy about stuff that she is actually entitled to -- a lunch hour, not working overtime or on weekends... so immediately gal hee is deflated when she realizes that she was taken advantage of in a sense by min ik and at that moment in the restaurant, she just wants to feel like she matters or is that special someone. so it will be interesting to see how she feels when she realizes that she was always special to min ik (based on the title "I loved you from the beginning")

 

-- so was wondering why write a side character like a blind brother and then it struck me that it wasn't random. because gal hee is used to living with someone with a disability, she is able to handle min ik's prognosis with a kind of ease. she does not make it a big issue and neither does she minimize it. she helps him when needed but she doesn't overdo it. so his face blindness isn't new in some sense to her because her brother is blind as well. it is also interesting when she tells her sister to wave bye to her mom and tells her that if her brother doesn't see them, then do they not exist? so besides the idea of blindness, we also see glimpses of the idea of sensing a presence and loving someone even if you can't see them. so we have that kind of literal "love is blind" theme in this drama.

 

-- another character that struggles with identity is dae joo. he wants to quit because he feels like a minion. when he meets veronica park, he asks if his business card isn't enough. she hilariously tells that she will spot value in any man -- card, face or body!! hhahaha... in that sense, she is well suited to be his match as she is someone who sees below the surface and spots value. since she is known for her acumen business sense, she should be able to genuinely recognize dae joo's talent. but is dae joo bad or good. considering it is rom-com and he is the second lead, he can't be bad right?.. veronica is a real hoot by the way.

 

-- min ik feels fresh in the way he feels vulnerable and so eager to please his family. there is a kind of mild sarcasm but it is not over the top. makes me wonder who the driver reports to. why do I feel like it is the adoptive mom? the uncle seems more human and accepting of min ik than the mom who does drama in front of everyone...

 

so yea, compared to a typical rom-com, we actually have interesting themes, some good depth and heart. but at the same time, it is controlled and so doesn't veer into melo territory. looks like it will be good. hopefully, stays that way!

 

[Aya Hong]

Hello!!!! Can’t help to post now. Really love the drama, I think i watched all KYK drama/movie, i like him to be paired with Anyone. But so far this is the one i like most....yes it is light romcom but worth to watch for, an everyday vitamins...

 

you will love all the characters!

[blademan]

4 hours ago, grake said:

Brace yourselves for "i am not a robot" level of heartbreak once Min-Ik finds out Gal-Hee's secret.  I do not want to go through that. But we must in order to get our happy ending. 

OH MY GOD please don't let that be true! IANAR scarred me so bad! The angst in that show was CRAZY  I hope Dom won't be AS angry, but he definitely will feel slightly betrayed for sure...just hope that, keeping in tone with the show, it won't last too long 

[Ameera Ali]

Love these two 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Ameera Ali]

 

When you want to flipped the chair 

 

 

 

 

 

[blademan]

He's fallen and doesn't even know it 

Cred. Tumblr

[enigmatic_zephy]

23 hours ago, sn2111a said:

i can't wait too!!! it reminds me of princess and the pauper kind of switched life, VP is going to have so much fun being a fairy godmother to this pauper hehehe

 

@Cayu18 Maybe... one of the future angsty parts or she gets hurt for him?? But JKJ and KYK were definitely making the reporters think they're a real couple in the interview but they just like to joke around w eachother??? 

so was the case with come hug me..

 

looks like she is naturally lovely and easy for men to be happy around her.. as a result they engage more than usual

[Lmangla]

just some additional thoughts on ep 1-4. so were folks familiar with face blindness before or what is a it a new concept for you?

 

many years ago, I watched this documentary about the brain and development and one of the stuff they talked about this. based on that documentary, some of the stuff they present here matches. so in the programme, they showed both ends -- one person who remembers every person they see and they actually called it a curse. that person felt like it was information overload and hated it. they were also side effects like intense headaches etc because of overheated brain. so the ability to forget is actually a gift!!!

 

then the programme showed this lady who had face blindness. she actually got it after a stroke or some accident. (don't remember which). but the sudden onset was quite terrifying for her. and from what she described is how the drama shows for min ik. how people's faces are blank -- so thats a great description for us to understand and it is well done by PD.

 

this lady was married and had 3 teenage kids. (all in high school I think). she was really devastated and heartbroken that she could not recognize people she loved. so something her husband did was to create a kind of uniform where he and kids would wear certain colours (so kid#1 blue, kid#2 red etc....) or outfits to help her identify who was whom. he also wore the same outfit or variations of it to help her identify him easily.

 

he also asked other family members (like siblings/parents/cousins etc) to have a kind of uniform when they met her so that she could start identifying who was whom. eventually, like min ik uses height and gal hee adds the hair cut, she was able to use other markers including voice and body build to be able to identify people. so she was eventually able to live with her condition. however, she lived in a rural area and it terrified her to visit her kids when they went to uni in a more urban area because it was filled with people. we also see that min ik who admits that he is afraid of going out to lunch when there's so many people... so many details like that, the drama did get right! so kudos to writer and PD!!!

 

also like the explanation of how gal hee is imprinted in his mind and  it isn't that he sees her. lots of old people who have alzheimer often have trouble recognizing the current person's looks but easily remember how that person was in their youth. so the youthful memory is imprinted in brain...so the drama's explanation of how gal hee is imprinted seemed logical and also plausible (at least for a non-medical person like me).

 

the other thing the drama is doing well is showing how vulnerable min ik feels with face blindness. we often take our ability to read emotions for granted but it is actually a very important skill. did you know that babies actually can read emotions and have some form of EQ? okay, I watch way too much of discovery channel but anyway. in this one documentary, they showed how babies can recognize sadness, happiness, anger, irritation. so when you smile at a baby, they smile back but they aren't necessarily mimicking you. basically they recognize that you are not a threat and that their world is safe and so it is okay. thats part of why babies smile once they like you.

 

so we may think much of our communication is verbal but thats actually untrue. about 70-80% of our communication is actually  non-verbal. so the way we say stuff, our tone, our expressions, body language -- all of that plays into how we communicate. famous business people are very good at reading a room and people. it is a necessary skill. so by min ik losing that due to his face blindness, he is indeed really handicapped because he can no longer tell people's intentions.

 

so I really like how the writer and PD have used this medical condition in a logical way and show min ik's vulnerability, character and situations....

[Lmangla]

thanks @sn2111a ~ was hoping that am not boring people when everyone is enjoying the fluff. hahahha...

 

1 hour ago, sn2111a said:

@Lmangla really like your insights!! I think you are able to extract the merits of this romcom concisely. Tho it really has cliched tropes but the PD and writer are able to show uniqueness and wisdom behind this drama. I'm glad they also showed the medical perspectives and explanation behind his face blindness so it doesn't make too much logical flaw. Also, everyone previously was puzzled why Min Ik became such an idiot not to recognise his secretary's voice, they were able to show that he did recognise her voice after all (but couldn't make the conclusion) when he confessed to Dae Ju - I'm just glad they didn't leave that fact hanging and addressed it. Partly because of his face blindness, his EQ did decrease a little since it badly affected his usual interactions with people, poor boy!! 

 

It's so much more refreshing than the face blindness in Beauty Inside and Rich Man Poor Woman!! Maybe because we got to see his whole journey becoming handicapped too?

haven't seen beauty inside but in rich man poor woman, the condition was almost like a plot detail that was forgotten after a while. here, we see a condition not only from start but also how it impacts small details of every day life that we don't think about -- like the aspect of getting lunch in a crowded room. as for the voice recognition, it is also about how he is doubting himself and his abilities as his strengths of reading people have disappeared. he correctly assessed the driver was attacking him in the dark room at ep 4 but because gal hee said that he was mistaken, then he assumes that it was his mistake. so he needs to get to a position where he can trust his judgement and recognize his other sense. that takes time.

 

so in this documentary series I watched (which I shared in above post about face blindness, it was about development of brain and different senses -- fascinating stuff), one thing they showed is how we rely heavily on some senses like sight but then when it it is lost like in a stroke or accident, the person has to learn to trust the other senses like smell and voice to recognize the person. that takes time and there is actually a biological and chemical brain process involved -- so the brain has to stop using that part of the brain for sight and rely on the areas where smell and hearing is involved. so the brain has to kind of re-wire itself. but once that happens, the person is able to easily identify someone by their walk or other movements even if they can't physically see them. so min ik does need time -- to accept his condition, for his body to re-wire itself and then, for his survival instincts to kick in and to trust himself.

[Forsythia]

To everyone here, hello! 

I am totally in love with this drama. Didn't expect it at all. All i know, i am all smiling watching them, then, i am browsing twitter, ig, and soompi all day long for them. I hope this drama will continue to deliver until the end of its episodes. 

 

I have seen some stills for future episodes in twitter taken from naver. Looks like GH will impersonate Victoria Park again and meet DMI. While Min Ik will be confused with his own feelings. My heart hurts watching the stills. GH should just confessed to MI. 

 

@Lmangla thank you for your informative sharings. Love reading them while waiting for new episodes. 

 

 

[ktcjdrama]

27 minutes ago, Forsythia said:

To everyone here, hello!

Hello!! Welcome to the thread!!

 

@Lmangla I am interested to see the documentary as well, if you still remember what channel broadcasting it... It sounds like a well-made documentary. Earlier in the thread, someone mentioned about possibility of having a drama that is the opposite - having a lead with super strong memory of faces, and maybe use it to solve crime or stuff like that. Let's hope we see it happening one day.

 

Why is Monday still so far away....?

[Guest]

38 minutes ago, Forsythia said:

have seen some stills for future episodes in twitter taken from naver. Looks like GH will impersonate Victoria Park again and meet DMI. While Min Ik will be confused with his own feelings. My heart hurts watching the stills. GH should just confessed to MI. 

Hellooo .., welcome . Ooo are you talking about this one ? I read it and wanted to see what everyone here thought about this - he thinks he’s in love with 2 women...   ahhh if only I can tell him - it’s the same girl ! . 

 

[Lmangla]

25 minutes ago, ktcjdrama said:

Hello!! Welcome to the thread!!

 

@Lmangla I am interested to see the documentary as well, if you still remember what channel broadcasting it... It sounds like a well-made documentary. Earlier in the thread, someone mentioned about possibility of having a drama that is the opposite - having a lead with super strong memory of faces, and maybe use it to solve crime or stuff like that. Let's hope we see it happening one day.

 

Why is Monday still so far away....?

@ktcjdrama ~ wish I could remember the name but am not able to place it as I watch a lot of documentaries besides dramas. the series was about neuroscience but many documentaries on that topic cover these kind of facts. national geographic channel series called "brain games" shows this kind of info in a fun way.

 

so after racking my brain, my guess is that it is most likely the series called "the secret life of brain" which had five parts and covered brain development in baby, child, teenager, adult and old age.

Spoiler

 

 

[Forsythia]

@triplem

oh yes, that's the tweet.

 

From that words, it means he realises that he likes Secretary Jung. Tbh, i prefer watching him with Secretary Jung than Victoria Park-Gal Hee. So, i am always hoping that he will stays with secretary jung only rather than running towards VP-GH eventhough both of them are same woman. This weird love triangle makes me a weird person

[Lmangla]

@ktcjdrama ~ not sure if the doc I posted earlier was the right one.. anyway, did manage to find this really short clip (about 2.5 mins) about the still face experiment. it shows how babies read faces and how important that is to them for communication. so it gives us a clue to how devastating it can be for min ik as an adult to not be able to read emotions...

 

Spoiler

 

 

so while looking for the specific clip, found some interesting stuff! apparently face blindness isn't that rare.. well maybe min ik's condition of not seeing anything at all is very severe.. but doctors think it might be one in 50 but many don't know they have some version of face blindness!!! so it can either be genetic, progressive or after a brain injury like with min ik.

 

it is quite fascinating to hear some of their stories and experiences in these two clips (it is short, one is about 5 minutes and the other is about 15 minutes) about people living with face blindness. a comment from a viewer on one of the clips: " Well done. I also have prosopagnosia, as do my sister and my father. Watching movies is very difficult because it is hard to know if a character has changed clothes or if it's a different person. It affects my life so much."...... watching these clips and that viewer comment helps me to see how this weird triangle with min ik, veronica park and gal hee is possible...

Spoiler