They Don't Kiss Until Episode 16

The first two episodes of Queen of Tears were not disappointing at all. Let’s get into it. 

Queen of Tears is about what happens when love fades from a marriage. So, while it is a romantic comedy, it is not about whether they will or won’t get together but about whether they will or won’t stay together.

Queen of Tears stars Kim Ji Won as Hong Hae-in, a chaebol heiress for the conglomerate Queen’s Group and the CEO of the Queen’s Group line of department stores. Kim Soo Hyun plays her husband, Baek Hyun-woo, the conglomerate’s legal director. 

The show premiered March 9 on Netflix. It is not bingeable, so I have to tune in every Saturday and Sunday for two episodes. I hate this format, and that might be because I first started watching K-dramas that had already aired. My K-drama-watching style is binger, but that’s okay. The show is good enough that I don’t mind tuning in every week.

Episodes 1 and 2 set up the action and high-jinx for the rest of the show. 

In Episode 1, we are introduced to the couple being interviewed for a high-society magazine that features high-society couples. Hyun-woo and Hae-in have been married for only four years now, but it is clear from the interview that they are no longer in love and that their marriage is on the rocks. We learn how they met.

Hyun-woo was a new recruit to the Queen’s Group.  Hae-in after years of studying abroad returned home to assume the mantel of running the company. Of course, if you have seen any chaebol-centered work drama, she has to intern at the company that she will eventually inherit. She goes in anonymously and Hyun-woo catches her trying to make copies and kicking the uncooperative copy machine. He stops her from kicking it by helping her. 

She is immediately attracted to him but makes it seem like he is hitting on me. She continues to abuse the copier, and he continues to stop her, finally teaching her how to use it. One rainy day he tells her that she is going to get fired if she doesn’t tighten up. She is not good at her job and always gets scolded by her superiors. 

He tells her it makes him anxious. She asks him why. Why should he be concerned if he isn’t the one getting scolded? Finally, he tells her you know what I like you, but he does it in the sweetest way possible. Future husband, if you are reading this, take notes.

He tells her that he didn’t want to brag, but he got into Seoul National University (which, if you have seen Sky Castle, you know that this place is to die for), he has a law degree, he comes from a farming town but his family owns 34 cows, 35 if you count the calf just born, his parents are respected in his community, and even though he had wanted a wife who works, he is willing to do all he can to support the both of them because clearly working ain’t for her. He then gives her his umbrella and runs out in the rain leaving his little confession/proposal out there.

They start dating but don’t see the details. Eventually, he finds out her identity and breaks up with her, quits his job, and goes back home. She, in epic style, helicopters to his town and says hey, you just gonna leave me standing here. 

He says no and runs to her, LOL. I love it. She promises him (we learn this in episode 2) that she will protect him from her family.

They get married; it is considered the marriage of the century, breaking all kinds of class boundaries.

Fast forward four years later, and they live like strangers. They have separate rooms at the end of the hallway. At work, it is worse. Hae-in makes sure to let him know I am your boss, which doesn’t help the dynamics of their relationship. They should technically be a power couple but she gives him the same stress that we see in all of our work dramas: I am your boss, I want an unreasonable task performed, I don’t want to hear your thoughts, this is your job, make it happen.

The worst part is that this happens with all the family on all levels. He lives with his in-laws, who, in true conglomerate fashion, are suffocating, overbearing, and, in no short order, emasculating. I don’t like using the word emasculated; I think it is overused, but Hyun-woo is truly emasculated.

In addition, he is not respected in the world of law. He is seen as the slave of the Hong family/Queen’s Group, and in truth, sometimes, he uses unethical practices to get the family what they want.

After four years of this, Hyun-woo wants out, but in his few interactions with the family, he feels that if he divorces Hae-in, the family will come after him hard. On top of that, divorce in Korean society is still seen as a no-no.

By the end of episode 1, Hyun-woo has given up and decided he is going to get a divorce. He prints the paperwork and brings it to Hae-in, only for Hae-in to tell him that she only has three months to live before he can ask for a divorce.

Now in episode 2, we learn that though Hae-in seemed icy and cold. I mean she is, she does have one warm spot, and that spot is Hyun-woo. While they have grown cold and distant from each other, and while she would like to be closer to him, we learn that she simply doesn’t know how. Growing up a chaebol, the money and company come first, family is leveraged as far as the money and the company are concerned and there is really no space for love. Hae-in’s mother is suing her for using land that she initially told Hae-in she could have.

In short, Hae-in feels alone, but though she doesn’t like feeling alone, she also responds to it as if it is just natural. So she never tells even her husband that she has seen a doctor because she has headaches and loses time. She doesn’t know where chunks of time have gone, she forgets meeting people, and she forgets appointments. 

When she sees him at the elevator in episode one she simply orders him to go with her somewhere instead of telling him, hey I have a doctor’s appointment, and I need you to go with me. But communication is not her strong suit.

She learns she has Cloud Cytoma which I am still not sure is real, but in short, she has small tumors throughout her brain that are inhibiting her memory and giving her headaches, and she only has three months to live.

When Hae-in tells Hyun-woo about her diagnosis, he of course doesn’t tell her about his desire for divorce, in fact, he is thrilled, which I will admit is difficult to watch. He feels he will have a clean break from the Queen’s group family with Hae-in’s death.

His friend tells Hyun-woo to spend these three months, wooing Hae-in in order for her to change her will.

So, I need to rewind. There is a matchmaker who seems a little dubious. She makes matches among Korea’s elite but, of course, didn’t match Hae-in. For some reason, this bothers her, and the matchmaker wants to rectify this by breaking up Hae-in and Hyun-woo. Right now, we don’t know who the matchmaker is working for or with, but she is definitely up to no good.

This matchmaker meets with Hyun-woo under the guise of asking his help for one of her clients to draft an iron-clad will that will ensure that the husband gets nothing upon the wife’s death. She also states that she got the idea from Hae-in, who drafted such a will before she married Hyun-woo. Of course, Hyun-woo didn’t know of this will and this is the nail on the coffin to push him towards wanting a divorce.

Hyun-woo tells his friend this but his friend as stated has told him to use this time to see if he can get Hae-in to change the will. 

I think this is terrible! But Hyun-woo proceeds to change his behavior toward his wife, much to the chagrin of his wife and onlookers, who find the behavior weird since they haven’t been lovey-dovey in years.

Hyun-woo goes back to the doctor to ensure that Hae-in will in fact die in three months. The doctor when pushed, and thinking this is a distraught husband tells him she could die in three months or live much longer.

Hyun-woo goes back home to google and sees all of these miracle articles about people being diagnosed to only have months to live but actually live for decades after. He is horrified. He is hoping for a quick, easy exit in three months.

 To be honest, I don’t like this premise. I didn’t expect him to be happy that she is dying. I guess he isn’t really processing the finality of death, but I expect Hyun-woo to have a bit more morals.

Anyway, Hae-in goes into her husband’s room after staying at work late and sees him asleep at his desk and sees that he has tab after tab of articles saying that it is possible to live for many years after the diagnosis she received. She takes it as Hyun-woo still being in her corner.

For Hae-in, we learn that she is still very much in love with Hyun-woo; she just doesn’t know how to express or maintain that love, and I think I might be reading too far into it, she was hoping that Hyun-woo would do that heavy lifting but he couldn’t or maybe didn’t expect to have to do 100% of the emotional work. I also suspect she thinks that he isn’t in love with her anymore, but with the articles, I think she assumes that he still genuinely cares about her. She tells him she was suspicious of his intentions at first but seeing him research the articles, she believes that Hyun-woo wants her to live.

Hae-in tells Hyun-woo that she is going to fight for her life just for him. Hyun-woo is dismayed.

Now, here is where I love my K-dramas. In episode 2, we have two major incidents that make even the audience swoon for Hyun-woo, and we get introduced to Man Number 2 to form a proper K-dramas love triangle.

So swoon moment one involves this new guy, Korean American Yoo Eun Seong, who goes by David in the States. He is a super wealthy man who is connected to this well-known brand named Hercyna. 

The head of Hercyna hosts a party to get to know the Asian market, I guess. Hae-in, who owns a very successful department store in Korea, is, of course, invited. At the party, Hae-in’s nemesis confronts her. Her nemesis tells her that the head of Hercyna believes in family, and if she notices, everyone here has brought a family member. Additionally, she will need to get David Yoo on her side. When Hae-in sees David Yoo, she realizes that David is Yoo Eun Seong, her ex-boyfriend. 

Hae-in frantically calls her husband to come to this event, but he is truthfully in a trial. But just when she thinks she will have to go alone, Hyun-woo shows up, right by her side, telling her he won and hurried to make sure to be there for her.

I mean swoon worthy am I right?

Eun Seong is not too pleased to see Hae-in’s husband and we see that there is some tension there. Eun Seong calls out Hyun-woo, I forget the exact exchange, but he tells him either Hyun-woo trusts Hae-in completely or he doesn’t give a damn about her.

Well.

Hae-in’s mother learns from the meddling matchmaker that David Yoo is in town and moreover that her daughter knows him. She wants to meet him. Hae-in agrees to invite David to a family hunt only if her mother withdraws her lawsuit. The mother agrees.

So now we have a modern and Korean version of a Downton Abbey episode, and everyone goes on a hunt. We learn that Hyun-woo has never made a kill, and he is unbothered by his family’s taunts about this. 

The family breaks off into teams and into different sections of the hunting ground (that they privately own, by the way). Hyun-woo and Hae-in are together, and Hyun-woo is like why do you care about making the most kills? And Hae-in goes on about recognition, proving you are capable of taking over, if you have seen any historical c- or k drama you know the deal. 

Somehow, the hunting game proves your ability to be a leader, when in fact, it proves you have good hand-eye coordination.

Somehow Hae-in and Hyun-woo get separated, and Hyun-woo crosses paths with David Yoo. David Yoo makes some intimidation moves, and Hyun-woo tells him, hey, don’t be walking around in another man’s territory. David attempts to kill a deer, and Hyun-woo shoots in the air, scaring the deer off and replying, don’t do ANYTHING in another man’s territory.

Boop. 

And this is where you realize that Hyun-woo doesn’t realize that he is still in love with Hae-in, he is just frustrated. He thinks it is because he wants to inherit something from Hae-in’s will but really, even if Hae-in did leave him something significant, the family would drag him through court and make his life a living hell. It would behoove him to let Hae-in divorce him and then sue her if that exists in Korea, I don’t really know. 

Anyway, if now you are wondering, should a woman with memory loss be wandering outside with a gun, you would be thinking the exact same thoughts I thunk. 

Hae-in has an episode and leaves her gun and begins wandering, discombulated through the forest into the territory of a boar. Now, how did the boar get in? Someone cut the wire fencing and let the boar in. That someone, I suspect is the meddling matchmaker. I think she is working with David Yoo. I think David has an agenda beyond the outside appearance of wanting to get Hae-in back.

Just when we think the boar will skewer Hae-in, Hyun-woo appears with nerves of complete steel and busts a cap in the boar.

Hae-in is stunned. One because she thought she was already dead, but two because this is the second time now, Hyun-woo has come to her rescue in grand fashion. 

One, this shows that Hyun-woo has long known how to hunt, and could have outnumbered all the others but simply chose not to. For me, that is very sexy.

But more importantly, his instinct is to save Hae-in. It has always been his instinct, but somewhere along the way, things have gotten lost in translation.

Anyway, I truly look forward to seeing where this show is going for the next episodes. Here are some things that I hope are covered in the next two episodes:

1. This dead sibling. It is implicated that there was a third sibling, but that child died, and it seems to be that the mother blames Hae-in for that child’s death and Hae-in seems to blame herself as well.
2. Why did she break up with David Yoo?
3. What is the matchmaker’s angle, like why is she trying to divorce and remarry Hae-in?
4. Does David Yoo have money, or is he poor and a scammer?
5. When did Hae-in and Hyun-woo start falling apart?

So far, I am loving this show. I hope the pacing stays consistent. I’ve noticed that the 12-episode Netflix k-dramas are sometimes lacking so I am looking forward to seeing how they unfold the story for the next ten episodes because the setup was chef’s kiss.