3 Times When Things Went Sideways In Episodes 3-4 Of “The Affair Was Just The Beginning”

Suspense and chaos have overtaken the lives of Kyung Hee (Kim Hye Soo) and Jae Hong (Kim Ji Hun) ever since their daughter Ye Ji (Jeon Si Hyun) confessed to a hit-and-run.

Well aware of the repercussions it would have on her future and their reputation as a family, the parents do what parents have got to do: hide the body and cover all the tracks. This could also affect Kyung Hee’s status as an influencer. After all, social media is an unforgivable place. The other person who wants to cover her tracks and trample all evidence is Soo Jung (Cho Yeo Jeong). Since her daughter Min Seo is equally complicit, maybe even more so, she tries to manipulate the truth.

But it seems the triangle between the neighbors is turning out to be a quadrangle when Jae Hong gets an extortion message. His truth will be out unless they pay up a hefty amount. As Kyung Hee and Jae Hong try to save their family, it seems the reality of the situation is far trickier. Here are three times when things went off track in the latest episodes of “The Affair Was Just the Beginning.”

Warning: spoilers for the drama below.

The nature of Ye Ji and Min Seo’s friendship

The complexities of teen angst manifest in many ways through rebellion or compliant surrender, which threatens to explode. Perceptive and observant, many teens do assimilate and soak in a lot from their surroundings. The need to be seen and heard, especially by those closest to them, often is the root and influences how they act and react to situations.

Min Seo’s wish to study art and design is constantly overlooked by Soo Jung, who wants her to pursue a career in medicine. To make matters worse, she is caught in a custody battle between her two warring parents, who are more focused on winning against each other. The young girl realizes that her parents use her against each other.

On the other hand, Ye Ji is the pampered child. But what one fails to see is that she is a spare tire in her famous mother’s persona, as her mother capitalizes on the perfect family fantasy she has sold to millions. The young girl, who poses and smiles for the many social media posts, craves to be seen for who she really is. For her, Min Seo, the cool and prickly neighbor, could be that person.

We see Ye Ji trying to fit in with Min Seo, listening to the music she likes and even going along with all her plans, including drinking on the sly. Her heart breaks for Min Seo, who says that between both her parents, the truth is that none of them care for her. She shows Ye Ji her many designs, mostly pertaining to cars, which impresses her. Ye Ji also shows off that she knows how to drive and promises to take Min Seo for a spin in her father’s car someday.

A tender moment is exchanged between the two girls, subtly telling us that this is not just a friendship but something more, as we see couple rings exchanged and sweet, cute posts celebrating their togetherness.

The fateful day of the accident starts with Ye Ji sneaking the car out. But when the hit-and-run happens, it is Min Seo who is behind the wheel. Ye Ji takes the fall for her, confessing to her parents that she was the one driving.

Soo Jung, far more perceptive, probes deeper into why Ye Ji is protecting Min Seo, who keeps quiet since she has promised Ye Ji she won’t divulge the truth about their relationship. Soo Jung manipulates the situation, taking the dashboard footage from Ye Ji on the pretext of keeping it safe, only to destroy it. She clears all evidence of Min Seo’s involvement. But more than that, she is concerned that the incident may cost her the custody battle with her husband if the truth leaks out.

Even as Kyung Hee and Jae Hong wonder why their daughter has done what she did, there is turmoil brewing within Min Seo. Will she come clean?

While it seems the adults are trying to help, each one is ultimately looking out for themselves. But beneath the fear of what will happen over the accident is another, more personal anxiety. Are the girls more frightened of the consequences of having run a man over, or are they afraid of what will happen if their parents discover the truth about their relationship? For two young girls, the possibility of their parents discovering that this is more than just a friendship adds another layer to their fear. Their silence is not just about protecting each other from the accident but also about protecting the little world they have created together.

The recording’s big reveal

Kyung Hee has been following Jae Hong on the suspicion of an affair. As the tracker she has planted in his wallet takes her to the accident site, she is horrified to find him trying to hide a body. But since the hit-and-run involves their daughter, between turning her in and trying to cover up the incident, Kyung Hee and Jae Hong have hidden the body, buried it, and made sure there is no evidence left.

Their reasons and motives are clear. Kyung Hee is going to land the investment she so desperately seeks, Jae Hong is finally getting to write a drama, and they cannot allow all that to go to waste. Also, the thought of their daughter ending up in juvenile detention is something that could destroy their carefully curated family life.

But we do get a glimpse into Kyung Hee. She feels guilty and morally conflicted. Wishing it had just been an affair instead of this mess, she prays the truth never catches up with them. Kyung Hee, unlike the self-consumed Soo Jung, retains a sense of conscience even though she has pushed herself into making a questionable choice. That is, until an extortion message undoes everything. Jae Hong is threatened with exposure if they don’t pay 5 million won (approximately $3,500). The family’s cover will be blown if the recording is uploaded.

Kyung Hee, always the one in charge, gets their savings together with Jae Hong pooling in. But given her knack for details, she puts the tracker in the bag carrying the ransom. That’s when she gets an even bigger shock. The blackmailer is the same staff member at Soo Jung’s clinic who happens to be a fan of Kyung Hee. And the video’s reveal is an even bigger shock. It isn’t of them disposing the body but of Soo Jung and Jae Hong in a compromising position.

The woman asks Kyung Hee why she is married to a man like Jae Hong and how she should divorce him. Here is when we see the dilemma and conflict of a woman who has worked hard to turn her family’s fortunes around. Is her husband’s betrayal hurting more, or is it the fact that her life now lies exposed in front of a fan? Or, even worse, has this made her look like a woman to be pitied, as though she is somehow less because her husband chose to betray her? Has Kyung Hee, in her relentless pursuit of success, also driven her own family away?

Kyung Hee is too stunned to react. She doesn’t confront her husband but quietly tells him that she has sorted out the business.You can’t help but feel bad for her, but you are left waiting to see how she reacts now that she has been provoked.

Will the real culprit please stand up?

But things are not over until they are. What are the chances that the investigator, whom Soo Jung had hired to track her husband Bo Sung’s (Kim Jae Chul) lawyer, would end up being run over by her daughter? The absurdity of it, though far-fetched, is precisely what could change the game.

Even though both families have covered their tracks, destroying evidence and doing everything they can to conceal the accident, there is an eerie development. When Jae Hong goes to the police station to report his car as missing, which he has destroyed to make it look like a robbery, he doesn’t notice a man sitting in the corner. It is the very lawyer who had been threatened by the investigator who said that he would leak several explicit videos.

A flashback shows us that the two men had got into a fight, with the lawyer being knocked unconscious. But when he regains consciousness, he finds the investigator trying to get up after being knocked down by the girls. The men get into another fight, and this is when the lawyer strikes a blow that kills him.

Though this detail has been carefully hidden, it seems Kyung Hee may find an unlikely ally in Bo Sung. The two have already had a brief encounter, but that seemingly insignificant meeting could now become much more important. Could their paths crossing at this point change the equation for both families?

Until then, the game is far from over, and one waits to see what lies ahead for Soo Jung and Jae Hong as the carefully constructed web around them begins to unravel.

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Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.