A gambler and conman pretends to be the long-lost brother of a rich heiress in order to get the money to repay his gambling debt.  But his plans begin to falter when he finds himself falling in love with the innocent young lady who has lived a lonely and frustrating life.  At some point along the way, he finds that he is more concerned about protecting her than paying back the dangerous loan sharks threatening his life.  And when he learns that she is facing a life or death health crisis, he vows to save her at all costs.  But will she ever be able to trust him again, once she finds out that their whole relationship has been based on lies?

Song Hye Kyo as Oh Young

Oh Young was extremely close to her brother growing up, so when her parents divorced and her mother chose to take her brother and leave Young with her father, she was understandably devastated.  Shortly after, Young lost her eye sight.  Since that time, she has spent most of her life locked at home, lonely and angry at the world around her.  After the recent death of her father, Young is determined to finally find her brother and bring him home.  And she is thrilled when Jang Sung tells her he has found him.  Young insists on having her brother move back home.  But Soo tells her he can only stay for 3 months.  Wanting to make up for all the time they have lost, the two begin an intense relationship where they are seldom apart.  But Young is hiding the fact that the brain tumor she had removed as a child seems to be back and she is afraid to face the painful treatment she remembers from her childhood.  

Oh Young is naive and quick tempered.  Because of her blindness, her friends and family have always sheltered and caudled her.  But when Soo comes home, he challenges her to finally grow up.  He teaches her to fight for what she wants but also how to ask for help when she needs it. And most importantly, he helps her learn how to be honest with herself about her feelings.  This was not an easy role, and I felt like Song Hye Kyo channeled Young’s complex emotions admirably.  You could feel the internal conflict and it made the character realistic and genuine.  

Jung Eun Ji as Moon Hee Sun

Moon Hee Sun is the little sister of Soo’s first love.  But after her sister is killed in a motorcycle accident after having a fight with Soo, Hee Sun holds Soo responsible for her death.  Hee Sun acts tough and unfeeling, but she really loves Soo.  And even though she tries to hold on to her anger, they both know that she would protect him at all costs.  Hee Sun helps Soo get information about Young to make everyone believe he is really her brother.  

 ♥ Side Kick

This drama has some great side characters and my favorites are those closest to the leads.  Jin Sung and Hee Sun are a great couple.  Kim Bum really shone in this role and I enjoyed his story.  His constant quest to win Hee Sun’s heart was cute and I was happy to see him finally succeed.  On the other side, I really appreciated Lawyer Jang for his constant love and support of Young.  Even though he had romantic feelings for Secretary Wang, his first responsiblity and loyalty was always for Young.  He followed her wishes without question and I loved that about him.  

 ♥ The “Real” Oh Soo

I’m glad that this drama gave us a brief chance to see and get to know Young’s real brother, Oh Soo, before his death.  The few scenes we see of him shows his warm and loving personaltiy.  And it made it easy to see how Young must have missed him over the years.  Also, seeing his sincere friendship with Soo and Jin Sung made Soo’s posing as him feel less callous.  He wasn’t just using his friend’s identity to take their family money.  There was a part of Soo, even from the beginning, that wanted to protect the sister his friend had treasured so much.  

So Ra and Myung Ho

I don’t really think we need these extra love interests.  Neither character was very interesting.  In fact, they were both downright irritating.  And the leads were never interested in either one of them, so there wasn’t any romantic tension.  While each one does tie back to the lead’s pasts, these elements could have easily been introduced without them.  Actualy I would have loved more screen time for Moo Chul and his story with his sister.  

Secret Room

With Secretary Wang watching Young’s every move, how exactly did a blind person discover and set up her own secret room without her finding out?  And even if it was possible, what is the purpose of a blind person having a collection of photos she can’t see.  The movies make sense, since she can at least listen to them.  But the pictures were obviously chosen by Young.  I guess Lawyer Yang could have helped her get the pictures, but it doesn’t make the room itself any more believable for me.  

“That Winter, the Wind Blows” has one of those messy, open-ended endings that leaves fans to interpret on their own.  What we see is pretty straightforward.   Moon Chul collapses on the street after getting into a fight with one of his boss’ thugs.  Jin Sung finds him and carries him to the hospital, but he dies on the way.  We see Young going in for surgery on her tumor. ​And the Big Boss blackmails Jin Sung into killing Soo to save his own family.  We see Jin Sung stab Soo, and then Soo is lying on the ground bleeding.  One year later, we find Jin Sung and Hee Sun together in the country.  Hee Sun is flirting with some random guy, but Jin Sung jumps in to stake his claim.  And the couple talk about taking flowers to Soo.  Next, we see Young, who still carries a cane, but later walks cofidently on her own proving at least some of her eyesight has returned.  She sees Soo on a bicycle, but while he stops momentarily, he eventually keeps going.  Young arrives at a restaurant and the cook there is Soo.  There is some back and forth before Soo realizes that she knows who he is and she is here to see him.  The 2 kiss and then we see them walking hand in hand through the cherry blossoms.  The final scene shows them sharing a kiss.  So, here are the 2 camps.  First is the face value theory.  Soo survived and after staying away for a year, presumably for Young’s safety, she finally goes to him. The blurry frames represent what the picture looks like to Young, who still can’t see clearly. The other side says that one or both of them are dead, which is why the frames are blurry and why Jin Sung was taking flowers to Soo. So there it is.  You be the judge.  I think I will cling to the first idea, that Soo magically survived and they will finally get to be together.