Dramas excel at few things more than the visually appealing, harmlessly fluffy, and easily palatable romance. She Would Never Know (also known as Sunbae, Don’t Put on that Lipstick in Korean) initially appears to be the perfect example of this.
The show, which is set in the glamorous world of corporate cosmetics, is focused on the straightforwardly angst-filled romance between hoobae Chae Hyun-Seung (SF9’s Rowoon) and sunbae Yoon Song-ah (Won Jin-ah). A group of hilarious coworkers and lovely family members surround the main pair, creating a sometimes melodramatic but generally relaxed atmosphere.
However, if you look closely, She Would Never Know is actually dominated by several obviously problematic relationships, despite its bubblegum exterior. That’s not altogether unfavorable.
She Would Never Know manages its more severe story arcs with a surprising amount of delicacy and maturity, especially when it comes to its side plots. She Would Never Know occasionally hits the sweet spot between lighthearted humor, enjoyable melodrama, and insightful interpersonal exploration.
Unfortunately, She Would Never Know’s main relationship falls short of striking this equilibrium. She Would Never Know entirely ignores the dysfunction that continuously occurs between Song-ah and Hyun-Seung, in contrast to the many interactions between various characters in the program that are shown with healthy self-awareness.
She Would Never Know’s entire impact is poisoned and destroyed by the central couple’s unresolved poisonous relationship because they control such a large portion of the drama.
The majority of She Would Never Know’s run is devoted to emphasizing how perfect a dreamboat Hyun-Seung is. He undoubtedly has the physical characteristics of a model drama hero. He is noticeably wealthy, fairly tall, and frequently seen donning expensive knits.
In a drama with the clear end goal of a happy main pair, Hyun-Seung also starts off the program as the amorous pursuer, which naturally makes him a sort of audience surrogate. He is a wealthy, good-looking man who is actively attempting to produce the idyllic romance that we all desire. Why not adore it?
Unfortunately, limits do exist, and Hyun-Seung has a nasty habit of crossing them. Even though his pursuit of Song-ah, his boss at work, maybe motivated by real passion, he treats her independence and intelligence with complete disdain.
By having him and Song-ah interact during a period of personal crisis for her, when she needs emotional support, She Would Never Know attempts to justify his meddling tactics. But if anything, this situation makes his intrusive and patronizing actions even more repugnant.
The fact that Hyun-Seung regularly presents his dubious behaviors as romantically motivated in She Would Never Know makes them all the worse. His compulsiveness, over-protectiveness, and haughtiness are exalted on the show.
The incidents in the pilot episode vividly illustrate Hyun-destructive seung’s behavior and the drama’s involvement in it. The majority of the first episode is devoted to Hyung-seung’s struggle with his solitary crush on Song-ah.
He makes many advances, but Song-ah always rejects them because she prefers to keep things professional between them. Song-ah is eventually revealed to be not only uninterested but also incredibly unavailable due to her hidden office romance with Lee Jae-shin (Lee Hyun-wook).
Jae-shin turns out to be a deceitful liar, which is convenient, but that doesn’t justify Hyun-strange seung’s actions. He observes Song-ah and Jae-shin while they converse in private and makes inappropriate and uninvited personal remarks to Song-ah.
Hyun-Seung, in other words, won’t accept “no” for an answer. He also thinks he has the right to meddle in Song-life ah’s just because he has romantic feelings for her. These are unmistakable warning signs, however, the drama looks sympathetically upon Hyun-Seung rather than criticizing his actions. He’s just a sweet lad in love, says She Would Never Know.
The closing scene of the first episode is the result of Hyun-terrible seung’s decisions. Song-ah is confronted by Hyun-Seung about her relationship with Jae-shin, and he issues veiled threats against her about disclosing it to the entire office. Then, seemingly overcome by emotion, Hyun-Seung reaches down and, without Song-knowledge ah’s our consent, forcibly wipes lipstick off her lips with his thumb.
This behavior goes against both established physical boundaries and general consent. Given that it occurs in their workplace, it also raises concerns about workplace harassment. But She Would Never Know portrays this exchange as a loving one that purports to show Hyun-Seung’s devotion to Song-ah.
She Would Never Know goes so far as to frequently use this incident as an illustration of their love, demonstrating how unaware the drama is of the damaging stereotypes it is promoting.
She Would Never Know’s dynamic between Hyun-Seung and Song-ah is less dysfunctional in the middle section of the episodes, partly because by this point the relationship has fully reciprocated. But the duo swings back into unsettling terrain in the drama’s concluding arc. The story successfully contrasts Song-work ah’s with their relationship before painting Song-ah as the villain for preferring to pursue her career goals over giving up all for love.
In the epilogue, Song-ah begs Hyun-Seung for a second chance and expresses regret over not prioritizing their relationship.
She seemed to be quite appreciative that he took her back. It would take all day to analyze this relationship resolution’s glaring gender inequity, damaging romantic notions, and troubling psychological undertones, but suffice it to say that it’s horrible. She Would Never Know, a program that exalts this behavior has a lot to answer for.
It is important to note that Won Jin-ah and Rowoon have excellent chemistry and deliver likable individual performances throughout the entire drama. The actors’ fantastic romantic comedy potential makes the eventual destructive nature of their characters’ relationship all the more regrettable. It might have been so much more effective.
Its compelling subplots are another example of She Would Never Know’s unrealized potential. Frequently, side tales are the torment of drama fans’ lives because they drag on and consume time that could be better used to build main narratives.
The best parts of this show, though, are the subplots, where She Would Never Know truly dissects and deftly confronts the problematic relationship patterns upon which its premise is based.
Song-ah and her mother Oh Wol-soon have a noteworthy side story (Lee Ji-Hyun). It is immediately apparent that mother and daughter are in significant conflict. Wol-soon is a fascinating character; she is a girlish woman who shirks all obligations and is an expert in subtle but deadly emotional manipulation. This puts a heavy load on her daughter, who resents and mistreats Wol-soon as a result.
No one is depicted as a total hero or villain, which is what makes their story so appealing. Despite their tragic actions, Song-ah and Wol-soon’s motivations are entirely comprehensible.
Both are damaged individuals whose distinct traumas interact with one another to provide the ideal conditions for family discord. Song-ah and Wol-Soon’s reconciliation seems earned and is realistically flawed when they eventually come together by being open and accepting responsibility for the hurt that has been inflicted. The voyage of Song-ah and Wol-soon is a thorough and pleasant analysis of parent-child issues.
She Would Never Know is even more striking because it has a powerful and poignant gay plot. The series opens with Hyun-sister seung’s Chae Yeon-Seung (Ha Yoon-Kyung) in a seemingly ideal home with her successful doctor husband Kang Woo-Hyun (Lee Dong-ha), with whom she shares a sweet kid named Ha-eun (Park So-Yi). Though he is deeply in denial and self-hatred about his sexuality, Yeon-Seung finally learns that her spouse is gay as the episode progresses and she begins to notice fractures in their marriage.
She Would Never Know again treats all of its characters equally. Both Woo-Hyun and Ryu Han-Seo (Choi Jung-won) are shown with unwavering sympathy. The challenges Yeon-Seung and Ha-eun face as a result of Woo-dishonesty, Hyun’s however, are neither overstated nor ignored.
She Would Never Know also conveys a strong message of support for queerness through the tale of this family. The scene in which Yeon-Seung and Woo-Hyun meet to discuss a divorce is the most heartbreaking in the entire production.
Yeon-Seung gives a touching speech in which she implores Woo-Hyun to be honest with himself and allow himself the chance to live and love freely. It’s a lovely instance of catharsis and emotional kindness.
It would be good if Woo-Hyun had more screen time and agency as a separate character, but it is still impressive to see a queer storyline so successfully blended into a mainstream drama.
The only completely functioning relationship in the show, Lee Jae-Woon (Lee Gyu-Han) and Chae Ji-Seung, as well as other subplots in She Would Never Know, all shine (Wang Bit-Na). Additionally, the program successfully corrects the awkward dynamic between the secondary pair Jae-shin and Lee Hyo-Joo (Lee Joo-bin).
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She Would Never Know’s intense relationship plotlines occasionally clash with the drama’s bubblegum aesthetics and overall romantic comedy vibe, yet this contradiction is also mildly captivating.
She Would Never Know may have been a bit disorganized yet entertaining light-hearted soap opera treat if the same consideration had been given to the main coupling Song-ah and Hyun-Seung as is demonstrated in the drama’s relationships as a whole.
Unfortunately, almost all of She Would Never Know’s excellent work is overshadowed by the failure of Song-ah and Hyun-seung’s love.
She Would Never Know has a lot of potential, but in the end, it’s just another romantic comedy that teaches people to love lessons they shouldn’t be hearing.
