sachapz

Love your take on this and the way you brought it back to “Esquire”

Honestly not sure why MDL is showing the “romance” tag. It’s not available on Netflix.

While love is a topic they cover, it’s not a romcom so this takes a back seat. The pacing is realistic IMO and they do have a strong emotional rapport. But they really aren’t at a stage where romance can happen RIGHT NOW. In the future anything could happen but given the fact that the drama didn’t use time skips/ it’s been barely a year since she joined the firm and both have been dealing with their own baggage, it’s not realistic for them to have a full on romance during the timescale the drama covered.

That being said, it’s obvious that he trusts her beyond the capacity of a junior and they are able to talk about private topics without feeling awkward.

My comment about the SFL’s situation isn’t really connected to the toxic k-drama mum genre (or the fact that Asian parents tend to be stubborn/ less willing to be accountable for their actions). It’s a different point,

My response was in response to OP’s point on how there was a contradiction with the fact that the family’s interest was supposed to be an important thing for the SFL but in the end it looked like it no longer mattered to her. From what I understood, that while the family’s concerns do matter, her main concern was that she didn’t want to sacrifice herself. Jin Woo’s declaration that he would make sure she prioritizes herself and that he will be by her side was comforting given how in her previous marriage her ex along with the in-laws used to abuse her/ how alone she was.


I can see the contradiction that you noticed but here I was merely speculating based on what we know about JW’s family and JW himself. He’s not weak and isn’t easily influenced by his sister (example he only helped his sister’s friend’s divorce request because he could take advantage of it-previously he was quite vocally rejecting the sister’s pleas). His family also truly cares about him enough to help him with even trivial things- they just want what’s best for him. Most importantly, the sister voiced her thoughts by first saying that she knows that her brother doesn’t like older women in a very casual setting over a hypothetical question. While I could be wrong, knowing their sibling bond, perhaps the sister might change her mind eventually once she realizes that JW’s hopeless for MJ and pushing them apart will just make things worse for JW?
Even if she chooses to follow the typical toxic path and resist their relationship, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where JW’s family would be able to manipulate JW. Their future together will have challenges, but as long as MJ knows that she will not have to sacrifice herself again along with JW’s unwavering support, she’ll be able to face these obstacles more confidently.

The sisters did reunite (long before KHM became a lawyer). It was shown through flashbacks. I can’t remember the exact episode but it was in the one where we learnt how KHM learned sign language with one of her room mates when they were in high school.

It certainly would have been fun to see them meet face to face in the present day but we do know that they are super close since they text a lot and KHM was even happy to help one of the sister’s acquaintances (the neurodivergent artist). 😊

Guess if we. Had more episodes they could have done something?

Oh one more thing - the leads did actually discuss the idea of them dating in a casual setting (the mock date I mentioned in my previous comment). The ML mentioned his concerns and the FL mentioned her perspective as well. Despite their differences, they still had a comforting night out together without any lingering awkwardness. They are just insanely comfortable with each other despite everything. (One of the ML’s requirements is to be with someone he could truly be himself).

I guess my advice is to not to watch the drama for the romance - if you do this, you can appreciate their private moments better since their development is quite realistic yet wholesome given the fact that they’ve barely known each other for a year.

It’s open ended.

They are not dating as of the point the drama ended since they are still trying to understand what “love” truly means to them. And in the ML’s case, he just finally found proper closure with his ex-wife so he’s ready to date but needs to take time instead of blindly rushing into it just for the sake of finding a new partner.

Will they never date? I wouldn’t say “never” since they match each other’s vibes and they know a couple that’s embraced their love despite having a similar age gap/ seniority dynamic as the main leads. I guess only time will tell (but this is up to your imagination).

We do get a mock date though and quite a lot of emotional intimate moments since the ML trusts the FL enough to let her see his messy personal life (it’s a big deal since the ML isn’t into sharing his privacy with just anybody) if it helps give you an idea.

What we do know for sure is that the ML is ready to start a new chapter in his life and the FL despite her mega crush, isn’t really disappointed with the way things turned out.

TBF I saw a lot of comments in the initial weeks that MDL apparently was the only platform that had the “romance” tag. I’m honestly not sure if it’s true though (Netflix doesn’t have the tag for instance). So I guess in my case I had even worse expectations than what the drama gave 🙈

But yes, what you said is true. The whole point of the tags is to give the viewers fair warning/ build reasonable expectations so your disappointment is valid.
Not sure who fact checks the tags.

I’d say it covers all kinds of love within a legal framework?
If you want a classic k-drama romance, there’s the second couple’s story.

Finding closure with the mother - think it’s an Asian thing in general honestly. Hell will freeze over before you can get a real apology/ true acknowledgement of their mistakes.
I guess in terms of vicious k-mothers, the twins mother wasn’t the worst (the bar is super low)? I mean sure what she did was wrong and she definitely should have explained things better to the twins much sooner. I’m glad that they showed that she knows how to speak in sign language (it is the bare minimum but there are worse shameless K-drama mums who wouldn’t even put in that little effort to try and still will be forgiven).

The real MVP is the aunt and her husband. They managed to raise KHJ into such a wonderful person - specially one who isn’t filled with malice/ envy. And all things considered, she probably had a better environment growing up compared to the stressful life KHM’s had.

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SFL’s lack of care for Jin Woo’s sister’s feelings- She already was subservient to her in-laws feelings without any support in the past. But this time she has Jin Woo. The sister’s concerns are understandable but it’s safe to assume that she isn’t toxic like MJ’s ex-family. The sister’s concern over JW’s future is more flexible since JW can talk things out with her. Things will not be perfect but at least it won’t be disastrous like last time. If anything, if the sister truly cares about her brother, she shouldn’t be shoving archaic ideas onto his life. He has the right to choose his happiness.

An ongoing debate on MDL was the fact that some of the cases didn’t really have enough closure/ justice shown for the true victims/ villainizing the ex-BF. I guess now we know why (ep 12).

It depends on what you want - if you want a steamy fast paced romance, then sadly this is not what you will get. I mean Yun just finally got closure from the Ex (even if it took him time). He needs time before he can find a new love.

That being said, the drama keeps throwing hints on their connection (for instance if you saw the ep 12 preview, an AI Dating app actually called KHM and Yun a perfect match despite their age gap/ status). It’s also obvious that Yun truly values KHM as a confidante so even if we don’t get to see them “together” officially as a couple, there is a possibility that someday they could be an option. Hell even KHM isn’t disappointed with the turn of events.
Besides, their emotional intimacy is on fire.

IKR?? Who gives away anything (let alone a living being) just because of a photograph together?

That’s why it makes sense why the drama isn’t going the usual fast paced approach when it comes to romance with the main leads- it’s too soon given their professional circumstances/ he’s still not ready to move forward.

As of ep 7-9, Yun is taking all the right steps to move forward now that the Ex finally gave him complete closure . He cannot completely cut ties with the Ex until he gets sole custody of Hash but it’s good that he has now given clear boundaries to the ex wife. Based on how ep 12 ended, perhaps in the future Yun will be in a better position to date (the FL or anybody else).

Like they said - love has many shades and is ever changing. The stills they used right after the final “esquire” kind of can be interpreted in any way.

Anyhoo, the dating app agreed that they were perfect and Yun enjoyed the “date” enough to not act awkward around her later. His reasoning also is quite temporary seeing as his work besties are in the same situation and yet Jin Woo managed to make MJ feel comfortable enough. So I guess we can’t say “never ever”? The fact that Yun and KHM are comfortable enough to discuss love so much means that at least they care for each other beyond a professional capacity which is ideal for now

Nahh…if it helps, the first 2-3 stills were of their “date” and special moments so you can use your imagination if you wish 😉

Connecting the final stills with the last scene actually was quite smart - shades of love/ different kinds of love. If they added a still of Hash, it would have been perfect but I still love how they wrapped it up.

Let me know if you ever find out 🙈

New goal- find someone who can love you like how Yun unconditionally loves his Hash (and yes, be worthy of that kind of love)🙂‍↔️

Kim Hyeon did care in the sense that he treated her like a normal student- saw past her messy hair/ obvious crush and found her interesting too (specially considering he was Mr. Popular).

It's just bad luck on his part that she saw him like a god. Nobody is at fault 🥲

When they showed the train and mentioned America? I swear it felt like PTSD for a moment there🙈