[Drama 2020] When My Love Blooms, 화양연화

[enchantedyears]

@triplem streaming was so laggy I could barely understand what's going on 

 

No recap tonight, guys. Sorry  I hope the subbed ep gets released fast this time. Seems heartbreaking from the spoilers I see on Twitter...

[thistle]

4 minutes ago, enchantedyears said:

No recap tonight, guys. Sorry 

 

Hugs.  Thank you for all the recapping you've done for us thus far.  I tried recapping just one time and it was too hard!  I'm so impressed when anyone can do it.

 

This drama is such a heartbreaker.  I cannot imagine a happy ending but I still love the story.

[plappi]

 

[celebrianna]

@triplem, thanks for the recaps from IG. I’m glad Ji Soo chose not to give in to the ex. I see him confronting her again about JH in the preview that @plappi posted but I’m hoping she’ll stick to her guns. 
 

@enchantedyears, no worries about the recap. The raw episode is on Viki now.
 

Well, today marks the halfway point of the drama so I hope there will be a turning point in the next few episodes. What exactly is JH doing behind the scenes although we can speculate some of it. I suppose they’ll be a war soon enough between him and the corrupt FIL. FIL already warned his daughter to start letting go of JH in preparation for this too.

[thistle]

10 minutes ago, celebrianna said:

The raw episode is on Viki now.

 

Raw is also posted on not-legal sites now.

[Tango27]

.....so are we to speculate that they slept together back then in that night ?

 

..... all of this fuss , and they haven't had any affair even ... does it mean that an affair  for a divorced mother would cost her custody in korea and  other places ? ...

 

... what are JH intentions towards her now... does he want to have his cake and eat it ...

 

....more coming up

[celebrianna]

Well, we certainly got a treat today with Ji Soo standing up for herself against the chaebol ladies. I believe chaebol wife put them up to it. Nevertheless, Ji Soo undoubtedly gave them a piece of her mind because they were aghast when she responded. The lady whom chaebol wife put to spearhead “Ji Soo's putting down/shaming” strategy also physically attacked Ji Soo and Ji Soo quickly subdued her.  If only she can continue living her life that way...standing up for herself. 
 

Without subs, I assume the clingy ex is getting involved with some kind of protest probably related to JH to appear on the news. May all his efforts lead to his own undoing. 

 

Regarding JH, I have to wonder what goes on in his mind when he’s with chaebol wife. She always does the talking and he says little. He’s really so unlike his past self. It seems to me that these investigations he’s dealing with are never ending. What’s really something is that all these investigations stem from the dealings of the FIL and the chaebol wife. The chaebol wife is the one behind the supermarket women protesting. I’m beginning to think both Ji Soo and JH are doormats in their own way.

[acuteaddict]

7 hours ago, Tango27 said:

.....so are we to speculate that they slept together back then in that night ?

 

..... all of this fuss , and they haven't had any affair even ... does it mean that an affair  for a divorced mother would cost her custody in korea and  other places ? ...

 

... what are JH intentions towards her now... does he want to have his cake and eat it ...

 

....more coming up

lol for all this fuss, they might as well have an affair since they won’t get peace either way 

jk I don’t condone affairs but I wouldn’t hate it in this context 

[ktcjdrama]

I changed my mind. SK is still going about in her despicable way to separate the OTP instead of saying it openly to her husband what she expects from him. She may sincerely love JH, but is self-serving and manipulative in her ways. I kinda miss the younger her as seen in the flashback in last episode, before they got together. She seemed to be more normal person then.

 

From the preview, it seems that SK's father has something to do with JS's father. More complicated relationship coming for future episodes.

 

That hug at the end... I really almost squealed, but since it's rather wrong, because JH is after all still a married person, I held myself back from squealing. Still feeling happy for them nonetheless.

[enchantedyears]

EP. 9 TEXT PREVIEW

"I... will go back to you."

Jaehyun clumsily expresses his heartfelt gift that he has not given to Jisoo. One of them is to face Jisoo's dad, Hyung Gu, who has turned into a pitiful figure after more than two decades. Little by little, Jisoo opens her heart to the side of Jaehyun that she loved, but Sehun confuses her by revealing Jaehyun's past mistakes in regards to unfair employee dismissal. Meanwhile, in 1995, Jisoo who misses Jaehyun who's currently serving in the military, sheds tears over the gift she received from Jaehyun's parents.

 

--

 

 

Thoughts on Episode 7-8

Huh. And I thought JS was the miserable one. 

 

At this point JH is waiting (perhaps even looking forward) to get kicked out by SK's family. There's no need for him to file for divorce, it'll come any day now. Fingers crossed. Now I get what he meant by "being the loser". We don't see it often, but he keeps getting trampled on by SK and her family 

 

His parenting will always be overruled by SK's dad as long as he's alive, and no matter how good JH is, he will never get SK's dad seal of approval in everything even after going to prison in his place for FOUR YEARS (oof, I almost cursed). Also, it's possible he's going to prison for the second time if things don't turn out the way he wants. Conglomerates are such a big backbone of Korean economy that no one can afford to see them fall (interesting read here). I just hope JH is aiming for his FIL's downfall instead of the whole organization.

 

 

On Sehun

His ways are so despicable in a cheap way. Just cheap. I have nothing but disdain for this guy.

 

 

On Seokyung

As soon as I pity SK for being "thrown away" by her mom, she slaps me with her own despicable doing. She might've deserved Jaehyun in the past, but after JH's imprisonment and her going to such lengths to publicly embarrass Jisoo for her personal satisfaction, I just... nope. Sorry.

 

 

On 5/18/2020 at 6:02 AM, acuteaddict said:

jk I don’t condone affairs but I wouldn’t hate it in this context 

 

LMAO COUNT ME IN!!!

[ponderings]

I really wanted to back out of this drama because it makes me so emotional. But I'm already so invested in this drama and I love the entire cast. the struggles!

 

I love the throwback moments of the pop culture. Ep 9: Leslie Cheung starring in Days of Being Wild...They meet again at the theatre screening Leslie Cheung's specials. That was the heydays of the Hong Kong entertainment wave; my parents experienced it. My experiencing of the Hallyu wave parallels with my parents' HK wave. 

Ep 10: JH listening to his cassette tapes!!!! Ahh sometimes I play my dad's old cassette tapes. I love that vintage sound. And I love the moment between JH and his secretary. A light laugh in the midst of the emotional chaos.

 

edit

This story is like the contemporary take on Romeo and Juliet. 

[Samuel Yohanes]

sehun gonna confuse jisoo huh.. lets hope she doesnt get manipulated because she is a strong will!

 

cant wait for next week episode.

 

and finally for the first time ever the sunday rating is higher than saturday. can we see the raising again? 

 

 

[angelwingssf]

44 minutes ago, enchantedyears said:

 

4 hours ago, acuteaddict said:

jk I don’t condone affairs but I wouldn’t hate it in this context 

 

LMAO COUNT ME IN!!!

 

COUNT ME IN too!!  

 

I hope there is a happy ending to JH and JS and not make it into a Romeo and Juliet.

 

Sometimes the relationship is so toxic between the couple, that it is better to separate and go their ways than hanging onto each other just for the sake of it.  

 

JH has very little feelings for his wife - and she hold him hostage by telling him not to abandon her like her mother.  She did not care that her father set him up to take the fall and even warning her to watch out on what he does or basically spy on him to get the goods to send him to prison.  Calling him a dog (the father of his grandson) shows the amount of disdain this person has to another human being.  That too his son in law.  As long as the person serves his purpose, he is trash for the FIL.

 

JS having been traumatized by her father and then her husband has lost all sense of direction in her life and needs to free herself from that vicious circle.  The only way is to have a break from that circle.  I hope she stays strong and does not give in to her ex's scummy tactics.  

[celebrianna]

@enchantedyears, I hope Ji Soo doesn’t fall for the ex’s lame attempts. I think that Ji Soo and Jae Hyun can have opposing opinions about employment practices, etc. but Ji Soo should at least realize that there’s a lot she doesn’t know. Jae Hyun keeps his attempts to go against the FIL close to his breast. Only those he feels needs to know, knows. 
 

Honestly, I never felt sorry for chaebol wife in any way. I don’t like people who put down others so it’s very hard for me to sympathize with them especially after their attempts to destroy someone else’s life. Unfortunately I have very strong feelings about the abuse of power and/or injustice in the right sense of the word. I know that everybody’s pain is painful to them but relatively speaking, I don’t find her pitiable. Contrarily, I feel a strong pity for Ji Soo who seemed to have endured a lifetime of trouble. I still can’t forget how her father basically told her to drop dead. He’s fortunate he’s in SK where filial duty is paramount. 
 

@angelwingssf, agreed. The chaebol wife’s brand of love is strange. She said she loves Jae Hyun but allows her father to trample all over Jae Hyun. He’s the one facing public disgrace and accusations on their behalf. What kind of love is that? Maybe she thinks sending Jae Hyun to jail will be the best way to keep him from interacting with Ji Soo. I have no doubt they’ll be pushing to send him off to prison.

[plappi]

 

[Latte_Anyday]

Bravo. So proud of Ji Soo standing up to those snooty elitist moms! She got martial arts skills LoL. Honestly, her and Jae Hyun are two peas in a pod. So so similar. Both against the world - isn't that a song eheheh? This drama is so depressing I'm not sure if I can stomach through to be honest. We're only half way through at that.   

[airgelaal]

6 hours ago, celebrianna said:

 

The chaebol wife’s brand of love is strange. She said she loves Jae Hyun but allows her father to trample all over Jae Hyun. He’s the one facing public disgrace and accusations on their behalf. What kind of love is that? Maybe she thinks sending Jae Hyun to jail will be the best way to keep him from interacting with Ji Soo. I have no doubt they’ll be pushing to send him off to prison.

 

The worse he is the best for her. So she'll be the only one by his side. And yes, when he was in jail he still was with her. And better this way then be abandoned.

It's sad, because she could love and be loved, but she spent  20 years on this useless relationship.

I still think, that in this drama many characters can be happy, but they chose to suffer. 

[celebrianna]

@Latte_Anyday Dong Jin did say yesterday that he thought the young Ji Soo and Jae Hyun were so precious but why are they living such pitiful lives. He’s right. Both are doormats to the people they surround themselves with. They need to realize life is too short to just waste it away. 
 

@airgelaal, I also think they choose to suffer. Maybe they feel a responsibility towards to the undeserving people around them. I hope they wake up before it’s too late.

 

I must say that I like that we have the four main actors starring throughout the drama. Usually the younger couple would disappear after a few episodes but our young pair is equally carrying the weight of this drama with their mature counterparts. I  all four.

[Tango27]

 

was it a lot to ask that they stay in their ( refuge asylum  ) one day out of time and create memories instead of reminiscing always .... hell is breaking loose and too much unresolved but still

 

 

I want this and I want it now

PD 

 

[thistle]

14 minutes ago, Tango27 said:

was it a lot to ask that they stay in their ( refuge asylum  ) one day out of time and create memories instead of reminiscing always .... hell is breaking loose and too much unresolved but still

 

I kinda have the feeling that their quite moment of asylum will somehow be made public in a painful way.  Dramas have a way of making nasty little twists like that.

 

I've been trying to imagine how this drama could end happily in any way at all, and I can't.  Somehow I'm reminded of a JDrama that I loved but that pained me greatly:  Hatsukoi

Spoiler

A happily married woman encounters the first love who had betrayed her.  They cannot ignore one another.  First he saves her life; then she saves his.  Ultimately, she is forced to leave her husband and her son.  Although she can now be with her great love, they can never be truly happy or at peace.  When she is terminally ill, the lover returns her to her family so that she can die at home.

I have a horrid feeling that the ending of this drama will be just as heart-wrenching.