The Sins Of A Mother
Episode 7 of Mine starts with Butler Joo in her office. She opens up an envelope which holds pieces from the ripped up photo Soon-Hye threw away. As she assembles them together, she notices it depicts Hye-Jin and Ji-Yong together. It was perhaps obvious that this was the case but now the hired help have found out. She’s a clever lady too, convincing Jin-Ho not to file the necklace as stolen to the police. That’s just as well too, as he and Joo together find a hidden staircase leading to a room under the mansion. Among the possessions is a record player and a projector with numerous photos. This seems to have belonged to Ji-Yong’s birth mother, and the pair decide to keep this a secret for the time being. Meanwhile, Hye0Jin confronts Hi-Soo at the fundraiser, promising to get back what’s rightfully hers. Seo-Hyun convinces her sister-in-law to leave, and holds her hand for sympathy as they head back home. She’s distraught, stuck in bed with her pregnancy to think of among everything else. Seo-Hyun tells her to stay strong, going on the offensive and threatening Hye-Jin, forbidding her from showing up at her house. Seo-Hyun is desperate to find the real Ja-Kyeong and oust Hye-Jin for the fraud she is. However, en-route she comes across Suzy by the sidewalk and it distracts her. Seo-Hyun fails to pick up her call too, letting the tears flow freely as she watches her from the car. Finally, she meets the real Ja-Kyeong, who confirms the story and how she and Hye-Jin switched identities for a year. Hye-Jin posed as her in order to get closer to her son. This much is especially true when Seo-Hyun sits down with Hye-Jin. Seo-Hyun outright calls her a criminal and questions her right to Ha-Joon. Seo-Hyun calls her bluff and encourages Hye-Jin to come out and admit the truth about their family. Hye-Jin instead changes tact, claiming she can’t leave because of her contract. Meanwhile, Hi-Soo confronts her husband about his secrets. She still doesn’t know about his gambling but the lies about Hye-Jin are enough for her to question what he’s been doing. He spins the whole story and claims that he only found out about Hye-Jin when he looked into her history. He encourages Hi-Soo not to listen to Hye-Jin. As he leaves, Seo-Hyun slaps Ji-Yong across the face as a warning. She promises to kill him herself if she carries on. Seo-Hyun makes her move though in a different way, shuffling all the workers around at the mansion. Joo is flustered (partly because Jin-Ho is still stuck in the underground vault) but does her best not to anger Seo-Hyun, promising to be her loyal dog. Among those being transferred is Yu-Yeon, meaning she won’t be anywhere near Soo-Hyeok anymore. Soo-Hyeok is furious and confronts Seo-Hyun about this, who in turn reminds him that Yu-Yeon can be destroyed and miserable if he continues on. Hi-Soo comes to blows with Hye-Jin, learning she’s only doing all this so she can get Ha-Joon back for herself. She asks her to hand over parental rights, defiant that Ha-Joon still remembers who she is. Hi-Soo refuses to play ball but interestingly tells her to “choose Ji-Yong instead”. Well, just like earlier in the season, the poetic way Yu-Yeon and Hye-Jin cross paths on their way in/out of the mansion serves as a beautiful visual. It also illustrates that it’s all change at the mansion. Meanwhile, Jin-Ho heads off to visit Mother Emma, admitting that he feels lonely and unworthy. After all, with Ji-Yong’s birth mother so beloved, he’s put in a difficult position and he opens up to how he feels. Despite Jin-Ho being given the task of taking Hyowon Group forward, Ji-Yong senses an opportunity. He’s going to start an emergency shareholder meeting to try and usurp Jin-Ho from his position. Even worse, it turns out he’s coerced Soon-Hye into submission too, telling her to keep her mouth shut all this time about Hye-Jin Well, through all of this, Hi-Soo and Ha-Joon have a lovely day together. However, it culminates in heartbreak when he pleads with Hi-Soo to let his birth Mother see him. Hye-Jin waits by the mansion entrance, pleading with the helpers to let her in. Instead, they silently shuffle her suitcase outside. It’s not until Hi-Soo shows up that things change. She decides to take responsibility for this and tells the guards to let Hye-Jin back inside. Once there, Hye-Jin admits the truth about Ji-Yong and how he abandoned her when she was pregnant. She implores Hi-Soo not to trust her husband and claims he’s deceptive. Clutching her stomach, Hi-Soo begins hyperventilating. That’s only made worse though when Soon-Hye spills all to her, confirming that Ji-Yong planned this and admitting that he’s a dangerous wildcard in the family. When Hi-Soo heads back home, the sickening sound of blood spattering on the floor sees Hi-Soo collapse. She’s bleeding and it seems to be the baby. Seo-Hyun holds her hand and brings her sister-in-law close as tears ring through the air.
The Episode Review
That’s better! Mine finally shakes off the shackles of its “mystery that’s not really a mystery” and actually leans into its makjang beautifully. While it’s not quite as poetic as Sky Castle nor is it as crazy as Penthouse, this drama strikes a neat balance in the middle between the two. Thankfully, it’s nothing like Love ft. Marriage and Divorce, with an actual story here worth telling. Finally the horrors of Ji-Yong’s character comes tumbling out and what a way to reveal all! There’s also an interesting shift across to Jin-Ho here as well, painting him as a more sympathetic character in the shadow of Ji-Yong’s growing power. However, it seems like the latter is ready to make a power play at work, threatening to change everything. The real drama here though comes from the Hi-Soo/Seo-Hyun/Hye-Jin situation, and with the secret about Hye-Jin now out, it allows this drama to finally grow some wings and fly. Hopefully not quite as awkwardly as that peacock last episode! Either way, Mine is just starting to settle down a bit now, allowing its narrative to play out a lot more organically. Roll on the next episode!
