Business Proposal

Chapter 3: keeping up appearances

Ha-ri signs the contract to pretend to be Tae-moo’s fiancé, but part of that is impressing Chairman Kang, which is a far more complicated process than simply remembering the made-up facts about “Geum-hui” and her family.

Family is emerging as a theme since there’s something about the accident that killed Tae-moo’s parents that prompted Chairman Kang to fire all the blood relatives in the company for his protection – I like his relationship with his grandfather, which seems like a somewhat rare one for film and TV to explore. But the bigger idea is of Ha-ri and Tae-moo predictably falling for one another outside the terms of their arrangement. Tae-moo smiles when Seong-hoon describes her as being endearing. He’s got a point.

Speaking of Seong-hoon, he and Young-seo are brought physically closer together when Young-seo decides to move out to stop her father from badgering her about blind dates, resulting in her being cut off from the family funding and moving in right next door to Seong-hoon. She suggests the two of them should get to know one another personally, but he’s not keen on the idea at first.

There’s also the matter of Ha-ri trying to hide her identity at work, and trying not to get too attached to Min-woo, who she discovers on a date with his ex, Yoo-ra, prompting her to break down in tears. Through an unlikely series of events, Tae-moo becomes privy to her upset but doesn’t mention it. Thanks to Chairman Kang they end up at a concert with the tickets Min-woo gave to her for her birthday, and he has requested a song for her as a nice gesture for always being there for him. This only prompts further waterworks, as Tae-moo tries to awkwardly comfort her.

The episode ends with Ha-ri getting hit in the face by a baseball and having to attend work the next day with a black eye – not ideal for someone trying to conceal their identity.