Questions: Asked, Answered, and Otherwise

As we watched Secret Love Affair, many questions arose in the Soompi thread.  We created a Master List in the hope that one day we would have the answers.  Here they are, edited for clarity, and in no particular order.

Feel free to answer a question here or on the Open Thread or add your own question to the list.  Make sure to note the Question # in your post.

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MASTER LIST OF QUESTIONS

1.  Why did Hye Won and Professor Kang marry?  Did she marry him because his social status and family background met her need for a marriage of convenience?   Did he marry her because of her relationship with the Seo’s even though he considered her “an empty shell”?

2.  Why did Madam Han have Hye Won’s assistant ask the tailor if Seon Jae was going to make it as a globally famous musician?

3.  What is the point of Young Woo’s fortune teller in the drama?  Is it to misdirect Professor Kang in order to allow Hye Won to have an affair with Seon Jae?

4.  There seemed to be several hints that Hye Won was pregnant.  Was that intentional or inadvertent?

5.  What was the purpose of Hye Won forgetting to wear her skirt?

6.  Why did the production team replace Hye Won’s iPhone?

7.  When did Hye Won first start to fall in love with Seon Jae?  Was it love at first sight as Professor Kang suggested?  Following their first encounter, she did appear to have feeling for him going so far as to say that he is”so beautiful”.

8.  Did Seon Jae peeling eggs with his friends symbolize anything or have any special meaning?

9.  Did the kites symbolize anything or have any special meaning?

10.  In the pottery studio, what did Seon Jae mean when he said “I used to say I love you every time I opened my mouth.”?

11.  Did Seon Jae give Hye Won an ultimatum at the pottery studio?

12.  What was Hye Won thinking when Seon Jae was scrubbing the floor for her?  Was it sexual or something else?

13.  Why was the Dom Perignon opened so slowly?  Was it to foreshadow the need for patience?

14.  Why did Seon Jae underline the words ‘crazy bastard’ in the  book?  What did they mean and what was he saying to Hye Won?

15.  Why didn’t Seon Jae let Da Mi sit on his mother’s bed?

16.  What was the purpose of Cello Girl’s character?  The Quintet?

17.  What was the intent for each piece of music played?  What is the main role of music?

18.  Why was the autobiography of Sviatoslav Richter chosen as the means of communication between Hye Won and Seon Jae?

19.  When acting the character of a younger man in love with an older woman, what are the differences and similarities of how a younger man loves and behaves as compared to a man similar to Hye Won’s age?

20.  When acting the character of an older woman in love with a younger man, what are the differences and similarities of how a younger man loves and behaves as compared to a man similar to Hye Won’s age?

21.  Why did Writernim choose the particular story/dynamic between Hye Won and the Seo family as the counter-force pulling the two main characters apart?

22.  Do the actors have a favorite line or scene?

23.  Why does Seon Jae say “It feels strange” and then won’t tell Hye Won why before they listen to Piano Man?

24.  What do Hye Won’s friends think about the affair?  Did they support her?  Consider it an indiscretion?

25.  Was Madam Han’s secretary malicious or just jealous?

26.  What is Madam Baek’s role?  What does she think about Hye Won?

27.  What is backstory for Hye Won?  What was her family like when she was growing up?  Was she a prodigy?  How did she become involved with the Seo’s?

28.  What made Hye Won desire status and money over everything else?

29.  What is the backstory for Professor Kang?  Did he ever want to pursue his talent?  What‌ shaped and motivated him to become like he is today?  Why did he and Hye Won decide not to have children?

30.  How long was Hye Won’s jail sentence?

31.  At what point did Hye Won decide to turn the evidence over to the Prosecutors?  Was it before, during, or after shaking Husband Kim’s hand in the police station.

32.  Why did Seon Jae’s hairstyle change during the drama?

33.  What happened to the adultery photos?  Why did they appear in the preview but not the drama?

34.  Once she decided to become involved with Seon Jae, what was Hye Won’s plan for Seon Jae?  Why did she want to send him overseas to study?

35.  What is the point of Hye Won forgetting her phone at Seon Jae’s?

36.  What was the point of Hye Won forgetting her perfume at Seon Jae’s?

37.  Why were the actors faces so shiny?

38.  Did Writernim have any alternative endings?

39.  Why did the Director’s Cut DVD survey fail?

40.  Did Seon Jae consider himself married to Hye Won as several of his references to them as a couple would suggest?  Did he in fact openly propose marriage to her in the prison visit scene?

41.  Was Seon Jae jealous of Min Woo because he was a former student of Hye Won?  If not, why did he refuse to exchange phone numbers with him when they first met after the audition?

42. In Episode 5, Seon Jae says to Hye Won, “Even if it might be a bit cowardly, I don’t want to be found out until the end.”  What did he mean by until the end?  At that time, did he think they had no future together?  If so, when did he change his mind?  When was the moment he realized he wanted her for good?