She Would Never Know – Full Review

 

Welcome to She Would Never Know  – Full Review.  A young trainee for the marketing department at a cosmetic company falls in love with his more experienced trainer.    If you haven’t watched this drama yet, I recommend checking out my unspoiled review here.

She Would Never Know

Aired:  January 18 – March 9, 2021

# of Episodes:  16

Where to Watch:  iQIYI

Genre:  Romantic Drama

Starring: Won Ji Ah and Rowoon

.

She Would Never Know - Unspoiled Review

The Story

 

She Would Never Know - Full Review

Yoon Song Ah is a successful marketer for a cosmetic company.  Known for her devotion to the company and  constant hard work, she dreams of owning her own cosmetics brand one day.  Chae Hyun Seung joins the company as Song Ah’s trainee.  Hyun Seung has always had a crush on Song Ah, but due to their trainee/mentor relationship, she has never considered him romantically.  Now Hyun Seung is ready to make his feelings known and to try to win Song Ah’s heart.

She Would Never Know -  Unspoiled Review

The Leads

 

She Would Never Know - Full Review
She Would Never Know - Full Review

Won Jin Ah as Yoon Song Ah

Yoon Song Ah loves her job as a marketer for KLAR Cosmetics and dreams of having her own brand one day.  Her life has revolved around work and her company.  But secretly she is also dating her director.  Until the young man she is training finds out that not only is she dating, but her boyfriend is actually engaged to the Chairman’s daughter.  Hyun Seung forces Song Ah to confront the situation and promises to pretend to be her new boyfriend as a way of getting revenge and moving on.  Of course, in the midst of this “fake” relationship, Song Ah develops real feelings for her apprentice and the two begin dating, also in secret.  Or so they think!  

She Would Never Know - Full Review

Yoon Song Ah is driven and mature.  She has a complicated relationship with her mother due to the death of her father when she was young, which makes her emotionally guarded.  Won Jin Ah is a quirky and charming actress, but I didn’t love her in this role.  The character felt flat and there seemed to be a lack of chemistry on her part.  It was hard to develop any kind of emotional connection to Song Ah because there wasn’t a lot of depth to her character.  

Rowoon as Chae Hyun Seung

Chae Hyun Seung met Song Ah at a job fair at his university, and chose to work at KLAR because he was instantly intrigued by her.  Although he is only 1 year younger than her, Song Ah has never considered him romantically because she is his superior at work.  When Hyun Seung finds out Song Ah is in a relationship with their director, he is disappointed.  But after learning the whole truth about the director’s engagement, Hyun Seung decides to use the situation as a way to spend more time with Song Ah, and hopefully finally get her attention.

She Would Never Know - Full Review

Chae Hyun Seung is a sweet and optimistic character, even if that makes him a bit naive at times. It also makes him honest and straight-forward in a way that is admirable and endearing.   Some felt that his actions toward Song Ah felt stalkerish and opportunistic, which I guess could be true.  His determination to take care of her does go above and beyond at times, even to his own detriment.  But once Song Ah makes it clear that his actions are inappropriate and make her uncomfortable, Hyun Seung takes a step back and alters his behavior.  Seeing Rowoon take on a more mature role was really fun and I thought he handled it well.  You can see how he has grown as an actor and I found the role to be genuine and charismatic.

She Would Never Know - Full Review

Supporting Characters

 

She Will Never Know - Full Review
She Would Never Know - Full Review

Lee Hyun Wook as Lee Jae Shin

Lee Jae Shin is the director at KLAR that Song Ah is dating.  Because of a debt he owes to her brother, he agrees to marry Hyo Joon after she tries to kill herself.  Eventually he gains the courage to chooses his own path in life, but unfortunately for him, it is too late to win Song Ah back.  

Lee Joo Bin as Lee Hyo Joo

Lee Hyo Joo has had an unrequited crush on Jae Shin since they were young.  When he refused to return her feelings, she tries to kill herself in a desperate attempt to hold on to him.  This almost leads to their marriage, until Lee Jae Shin calls off the wedding just weeks before the ceremony.  Now Hyo Joo must learn to live life without the one thing she wanted most.  

She Will Never Know - Full Review
She Would Never Know - Full Review

Lee Kyu Han as Lee Jae Woon

Lee Jae Woon is the president of KLAR cosmetics, but his grandfather holds all the real control.  With Jae Shin’s help, he hopes to prove himself as a strong leader and good business man.  One day he meets a beautiful woman in one of his stores and falls instantly in love.  Little does he know, the mystery woman is Hyun Seung’s sister!

 

Things I Liked

 

♥ The Sisters

To be honest, there were points where the main storyline of this drama dragged a bit and the secondary plots became more interesting.  Hyun Seung’s sisters, Ji Seung and Yun Seung, are great characters.  They are smart and complex, and they help drive the episodes when it is needed.  Both actresses did an amazing job of creating characters that the audience could understand and appreciate, even with limited screen time.  

♥ Park So Yi as Kang Ha Eun

This little actress is one precocious power house.  I loved all her scenes with Rowoon, her mom, and her aunt.  These kinds of characters can get unrealistic in a hurry if the concept is pushed too far, but in the case of Ha Eun, I felt her elemetary school insecurities mixed into the adult conversations. Her sense of timing and depth of emotion are well beyond her years, and I look forward to seeing her in many  more dramas in the future.

♥Turning the Tables

Song Ah’s admission that she has never had to pursue a guy she was interested in was a bit arrogant for me.  So I was thrilled when she came home from her work abroad and suddenly had to be the one to win Hyun Seung back.  Hyun Seung deserved to be shown some appreciation after all he had gone through for her, and I liked that they finally turned the tables in their relationship.  

She Would Never Know - Full Review

Things I Didn’t Like

 

Ha Eun Never Ages

Okay, this may seem a bit petty but at that age, after three years, Ha Eun would have aged quite a bit.  I love this young actress and so a part of me was glad they didn’t change her out. But still, it is not at all realistic to think she would look the same after that amount of time.  Even Song Ah had a longer, more mature, hair style.  But for Ha Eun to look exactly the same after all that time just isn’t realistic.  

 

More Information, Please

Because this drama makes such great use of their secondary roles, there are a few stories that I would have liked to see more of.  For Ji Seung, I would have liked a little more backstory.  What exactly happened with her ex-fiance, that led to her years of solitiude.  We see a bit, but I didn’t get the feeling I really understood how she got to the place she did.  The opposite is true for Yun Seung’s husband, Woo Hyeon.  We get plenty of backstory, so that we become invested in it and then we never get any closure.  Does he finally admit his feelings for Chef Ryu?  Does he at least admit that maybe he is “like him” after all?  There was a lot more they could have explored with these characters and I found myself wanting more.  

 

Serious Problems

Kdramas often have characters whose pyschological problems border on the extreme, but I found the characters of both Hyo Joo and Song Ah’s mother, Wol Sun, to be a bit disturbing in their severity.  These women have some very serious issues that need to be dealt with more than just by self-reflection.  There is a fortune’s worth of therapy in these two roles.

 

She Would Never Know - Full Review

The Ending

 

“She Would Never Know” does an okay job wrapping up the stories.  Ji Sueng and Jae Woon are in the process of getting married, although they still have some communication issues to work through.  Yun Seung and Woo Hyeon, in contrast are on their way out of their marriage.  Ha Eun isn’t taking it well, but the couple have promised to work together to make it as smooth as they can for her. Hyo Joo and Jae Shin are both learning to stand on their own.  They were even able to meet and have a friendly conversation with no lingering attachments.  Song Ah’s mother is spending time with friends and focusing on her own life, instead of Song Ah’s .  And after working hard to convince Hyun Seung that she still loved him, Song Ah pops the question while randomly standing in a crosswalk.  The series ends with the happy couple posing for wedding photos.  

She Would Never Know - Full Review

Should I Watch

 

She Would Never Know - Unspoiled Review

“She Would Never Know’ is a typical office romance.  The slow-paced love story makes it feel a bit more “real life”, but there isn’t anything distinctly unique about the plot.  Rowoon fans may be happy to see him in a more mature role, although his character still has the kind of dreamy optimism he portrays so well.  If you are looking for a more melodramatic love story this one may be a good choice.  The main storyline drags a bit at times, but the supporting cast does a nice job of taking up the slack.   I give “She Would Never Know” a 7 out of 10 ramen.

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