lmangla

With first love return stories, both parties are somehow frozen in time. Here it is only MinJun.

BaekJinJu v1.0 is actually a different woman from BaekJinJu v2.0 (Chloe). BaekJinJu was kind and believed the best in people. Chloe is willing to use people and will not play pity games. She does not feel sorry for YuNa. The old version did. That is why it makes sense to me when HyunJun told MinJun that he fell in love with Chloe and not BaekJinJu.

MinJun knows and loves BaekJinJu but does he really know Chloe? The one who makes tough choices and does not look back? Would he able to accept that she has changed and he is not getting back that version of her even after the revenge is done?

When the person changes too much, there is no reset to the first love in many dramas. In some, they stick with the original pairing. The writer is not giving away the cards.

HyunJun could go the completely evil track or he could also go through this current track where he is clearly divided. Either way, it will be interesting to watch.

So MinJun's arc does not need a romance for it to be finished. It basically has him finding out the truth about his mother, the murder and now confronting Park Tae Ho. Then he can move on as Adele was never his thing. If he gets romance, it is a bonus. If he doesn't, he would still be fine.

With HyunJun, he needs to find himself. Basically it is what SeongTae said -- regardless of who the father is, HyunJun should just be HyunJun. Right now, HyunJun thinks he has been rejected/abandoned by both MinJun and Chloe and is very upset.

Basically his self-worth has taken a further dive as he thinks he was not considered important by the two people he loves. So he is trying to reclaim his sense of self by taking over Adele. However, even if he succeeds, he will still be lost.

In the end, he needs to know that he is loved and valued regardless for who he is. For that, he needs to have his brother back (MinJun) and he needs to have Chloe show him that she didn't throw him because he was no longer useful or Park TaeHo's son. So he needs to know that it is okay to just be HyunJun.

So from arc perspective, HyunJun needs the romance more which is why I don't see it as weird that Chloe has mixed feelings. However, it really depends on audience as well as writer. Sometimes writers will throw curve balls but in the end, it will come back to first love. Or if the story demands a reset and moving on, then a new pairing to conclude. Like I said, it could go either way.

Yea it can go either way. Chloe seemed surprisingly glad to see HJ (thinking he had come back to her) and actually kind of hurt that he said goodbye. Unclear whether she is feeling just guilty or more. So the writer is going to keep us guessing for a few more episodes.

Not necessarily; I think MinJun and Chloe pairing was always a bit dicey because his father killed her father. So if they got together despite that, we would need a Romeo+Juliet type passionate love story. However, we haven't really gotten that.

It was more of a first love story which can always go either direction -- restart or just close the chapter. So moving on in different directions finally free from the past could also be a good ending. We will have to wait and see which way it goes.

Yea, but that was when Chloe was single single.

I think the writer is leaning towards an arc where MinJun finally is untangled from the past but he doesn't need a romance necessarily. However, with HyunJun, his emotions are all so tired up over his self-worth where a romance would ground him.

Chloe is showing mixed emotions and so the writer is going to keep us guessing till the last few episodes. It could go either way.

Quite possible; Rather than MinJun, it was HyunJun who saved her and quietly whisked her away in the latest episode. My guess is he will keep saying he does not want to get involved but given his emotions, he will keep jumping in.

His arc has lot more story than a typical second lead who is obsessed with the female lead. Whether or not he ends up with Chloe is besides the point.

Instead, his arc is about how to make peace with his identity and figure out who he is by himself without the baggage of the crimes of his parents. It is about learning how to hold your head up and not be bogged by shame.

The actor is doing a great job showing the emotional turmoil, the loneliness, the confusion, not knowing who to turn to, where to go to.

Hope to see him in more dramas. He is really pulling the acting chops in the emotional scenes.

She thinks that Jung Ran is a joke because of how she acts. She does not realize that Jung Ran was the muscle to the chairman and has always gone beyond to do his dirty works. YuNa thinks only chairman and Min Jun are the threat. Shes mistakenly assumes HyunJun and Jung Ran are easy puppets for her to push around.

yea, he is a wild card and we don't know how his arc will turn out.

Some really good acting from the actor playing HyunJun as he uncovers yet another secret. He is holding my interest to keep checking in with the drama to see how it will go.

Unpopular opinion but I think Chloe made the right choice to get married to HyunJun. She is not in a frame of mind for romance. Till she sets things right, she cannot move on with her life.

MinJun is like his mom and utterly useless when it comes to revenge. He would have just stood in her way and said revenge is too dangerous. Like DanHee, she would have been then stuck barely inching and waiting for 30 years to do anything. He thinks he knows her but he does not realize that Chloe long ago gave up on being sweet JinJu. She would have not risen to the top as a brand consultant if she wasn't tough and knows what she wants.

HyunJun on the other hand knows the pitfalls of revenge and is okay with it. He hears what she is saying and gives her the room to speak without shutting her down. She does not try to sugarcoat or convince him. He will stand by her side if that is what she wants even if it means he will get hurt.

So at this time, she needs a reliable ally and MinJun is not it. Maybe in the end of the drama, she will get back together with MinJun or maybe she will go alone or she will go with HyunJun.

HyunJun is a better ally when it comes to revenge. If she chose MinJun, she might as well say bbye bye to revenge or wait for 30 years because he will keep getting in her way.

I wonder if the grandma was connected to the original owners. I don't see why she is helping out Dan Hee ..

who?

Poor Hyun Jun, the hits just keep on coming for the guy. Out of all the leads, hoping for a good conclusion for him.

Nah, there was a scene in an earlier episode on when the chairman ordered MyungHui to his room after he kicked out wife to the annex. So basically she got the room whenever wife got booted. Before, she was looking all sad about it. Now, she is in her black widow mode and so perhaps enjoying the thrill? 😬

Besides there was no way chairman was living like a monk for 30 years and kept her around for nothing. The guy is too self-centered.

MyungHui's revenge is like a house built of pack of cards. It does not seem like she has achieved anything in these 30 years or so. As Min Jun said, she seems to be focused on Adele to the point that he even seems like a pawn. So what exactly does she hope to achieve? Somehow, by taking over Adele, her sister's death will be brought to light? That makes no sense and even if it does happen, so what? Not like any of these characters will get prosecuted as too many years have happened. If she is supposed to be doing all this to protect MinJun, she is doing a fairly poor job considering the guy has no autonomy, no personality and no life.

Chloe has better chemistry with Hyun Jun and I wonder if audience reaction made the writer perhaps tweak the love lines?

There have been older dramas where this happened. I am reminded of the old drama "Bread, love and dreams" (also known as King of Baking). In the beginning, FL and brother#1 had a small romance. But then they split up and she marries brother#2 and both are doing it for revenge/twisted reasons. In the end, they stay together. So maybe that is what is happening here?

My guess is that he isn't actually Tae Ho's son. Instead, he will turn out to be the son of Geun Tae, the driver/bodyguard/henchman of the wife lady killer.
Clue: Hyun Jun has bombastic styles and also a kind of lazy air. Similar to Geun Tae who seems way too happy to just hang in this mad house.