Why Hasn’t Anyone Fired The Tutor?
Episode 3 of Mine begins back at the mansion as Sung-Tae realizes how much the antiques and artwork are worth. He gasps, desperate to break into the vault but to no avail. Min-Su can only watch with disdain.
This scene then paves way for a new day, as the family arrive to hear the board’s decision. Jin-Ho is due to take over as head of the group. When Soon-Hye finds out, she laughs hysterically. She claims this is only natural for him to be picked, especially as he’s the eldest child.
Hi-Soo eventually heads home and sits with Ja-Kyeong, who questions her employer over whether she’s bothered by her husband not being picked. Ja-Kyeong continues to stir things up, claiming there’s more than first meets the eye. Is she referring to herself?
Well, the fact Ji-Yong wasn’t picked does cause ripples throughout the family. And it even causes Ji-Yong and Hi-Soo to fall out later that evening over dinner. It’s just the opportunity Ja-Kyeong needs to continue her deceptive ways. In fact, she’s the one who orchestrated Jin-Ho being picked too apparently.
Seo-Hyun meanwhile, brings one of the workers, Kyung-Hye, into her study and hands over an envelope holding 1 million won. She wants her to be an informant of sorts, feeding back any information regarding untoward activities she finds while cleaning. Heading back to her room, she thoughtfully sits at the desk thinking over this turn of events.
With phones now banned in the mansion after the incident last episode, each of the family members have a buzzer they can use to summon the maids at any time. Soon-Hye’s delight soon turns to despair when she turns on the news and sees Jin-Hee’s outburst in all its ugly glory.
Given Hi-Soo promised to keep this hidden, she takes the full brunt of Soon-Hye’s anger, partly to protect Ha-Joon and his birthright. Jin-Hee is put in the firing line and forced to face the angry press. Well, she’s taken back to the mansion and sheltered, where Soon-Hye tells her she needs to control her rage. Given how much she kicks off and shouts, it’s pretty ironic that she’s the one to tell her.
It takes Seo-Hyun showing up to quieten them both down. With food plastering the walls, she eventually takes Hi-Soo’s side and tells Jin-Hee she needs to leave and stop making a scene.
Seo-Hyun eventually takes some time to herself, checking the laptop where she finds fashion pieces for Suzy Choi online. She rings work and tells them it’s going to be very valuable soon. Well, Suzy Choi is certainly special, and she’s the girl we’ve been seeing in those flashbacks.
With Jin-Ho now the acting president of the company, he’s the face of the press but Ji-Yong is still the one who wins over the crowd, as all the other workers sit around him. Jin-Ho eventually heads home and once again scratches off the lottery tickets.
Soo-Hyeok shows up at Yu-Yeon’s door that night, unable to sleep. He suggests they go for a walk but talking in the hallway brings him into her room. It’s short-lived , especially when Yu-Yeon is called away to work. In the time she’s gone, Soo-Hyeok falls asleep in her bed. Yu-Yeon winds up sleeping at the desk.
In the middle of the night, Hi-Soo awakens to find Ja-Kyeong sitting on the end of the bed with Ha-Joon, rubbing his foot. It’s weird, it’s creepy, and it should bring her to phone the police. Instead, Ji-Yong creeps up on Hi-Soo and together, the pair check inside the room. There, they find her putting Ha-Joon to bed properly.
In the morning, Seo-Hyun learns about Soo-Hyeok’s adventures the previous night and decides to set up cameras about the place to keep an eye on the hired help. Yu-Yeon is questioned over her antics but she remains puzzled, keeping up her façade and where she was.
Hi-Soo runs into issues at school when Ha-Joon worries that she may be a “fake”. Of course, she confirms that she’s his real Mum but it’s clear that Ji-Won spreading rumours has caused him a lot of distress.
Hi-Soo immediately goes on the warpath and confronts her son’s bully’s Mother, threatening the woman and promising to make her life hell if she continues on this path. Just to prove a point, she makes sure all the other Mums don’t invite their children to Ji-Won’s party. Just to interject here, that’s really out of order to use a child as a weapon.
Anyway, Hi-Soo heads home and confronts her tutor, believing she’s crossing the line and invading her territory as a Mother. Ja-Kyeong brings up her parentage and claims that no matter how hard she tries, she’ll never be Ha-Joon’s real Mum.
Believing the birth mother to be dead, Ja-kyeong suddenly retorts and ask what would happen if that Mum was still alive. Any guesses that Ja-Kyeong is the birth Mother?
Honestly, Ja-Kyeong should just be renamed spoon here because she continues to stir things up. After a horse riding accident, she convinces Ha-Joon to keep secrets from his Mother and not tell her what happened. She even hands over a necklace too, telling him it brings good luck.
Ja-Kyeong finds out Ji-Won is the name of the person bullying him and heads over to confront his Mum. She slaps her several times across the face and heads home.
When Hi-Soo finds out, she confronts Ja-Kyeong and still struggles to see what everyone else has probably worked out long ago. Anyway, she eventually apologizes as Hi-Soo reminds her that for now she’s just an employee and should remember her place.
The Episode Review
Mine returns this week with more familial drama as we start to see shades of grey peek through the obvious contrasting black and white personas. The painfully obvious truth with Ja-Kyeong is just waiting to be revealed and to be honest, even Stevie Wonder would be able to see that coming.
Of course, I could be completely wrong and it may be that she’s not related at all but how on earth she hasn’t been fired yet for her behaviour is beyond me.
In true makjang fashion, there’s a whole slew of other characters battling it out for dominating screen-time, with each sub-plot varying in its degree of interest. There’s the faint flickers of romance with Yu-yeon and some budding office rivalry between Ji-Yong and Jin-Ho but it all feels like a tonal mish-mash; an unfinished mosaic of colours that doesn’t mesh well together.
Hopefully the future episodes can calm down soon but aside from the intriguing Seo-Hyun romance, there’s really not a lot else worth getting excited about here.
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Episode Rating
(2.5)
I just started the drama haven’t and I could be wrong , but I think the tutor is the birth mom there’s too many coincidences. Her asking what if the birth mother isn’t dead, getting emotional when the adopted mom says she would do anything for HiJoon(?)and the w fact that she is way way too close that goes beyond nanny duties (let’s face it they say she’s a tutor, but she’s more of a nanny) and it doesn’t seem like revenge even when she gives him the necklace she says “it circled back to you.”
I think that there is a lot going on in the first few episodes. The groundwork is being laid for the stories that will eventually come to light as the drama continues through the upcoming episodes. All the information that is revealed kept my interest
active, and I am still am anticipating what the stories will be. I obviously do not like all the characters, but there are several
that have strong personalities as women and it is about time that women are portrayed in this manner. The tutor role is too obvious and I am not impressed by her. I cannot wait to see the weekly episodes–very intriguing !
True. I hope something interesting happens. My gut is with the hints that Jakyeong is not the birth mother. She was a tutor of the previous family of the real birth mother who i think she’s close to who died and is now avenging her death to Hi Soo’s family. I hope that’s the twist or something better. If not ill drop it if it doesn’t get any better halfway.