'When I was the Most Beautiful' Episode 15 promo sees Ye-ji tell Jin she loves Hwan and he overhears it
'When I was the Most Beautiful' is not a show about a love story. It is not about who gets the girl, or who will be abandoned for true love. This show is a reflection of how relationships can be traumatic, selfish, and even abusive despite starting on a good note. The relationship between Ye-ji and Jin is exactly this. It started on a happy note definitely, especially since Ye-ji who never belonged to a family got to be a part of a loving one. However, within months, Jin began to feel extremely restless because he had given up on racing.
This caused unease in Ye-ji who had then learned about Carrie Jung at the same time as well. She had even thrown a huge fit about how just because she did not have anyone to lean on doesn't mean that she would put up with cheating as well. At this time, she tells him that she would prefer if he followed his passion and promised to stay safe instead of suffering. It is this race that hurts him and leaves him injured. She spent just a few days with him and spent the rest of their marriage waiting. Waiting for him to return dead or alive, and her only safe haven was Hwan. However, when Hwan made a move that one time, she drew a strict line and ended up breaking up with him as a friend. This hurt her as much as it did him and that is something Hwan realized after he went through a similar situation with Amber.
Since Jin returned, he has been suspicious about Hwan and Ye-ji's relationship. Even now, when he tells Ye-ji that he will let her go and not burden her anymore, he seems to be wondering if her decision is being influenced by what she feels for Hwan and finally, as if a dam had burst after all that she had held in over the years, she tells Jin that yes, she does love Hwan. What neither of them expected is that Hwan might overhear their conversation. Then, in another scene, we see Hwan ask Ye-ji if she loves him, or if she loved him and she has no answer to give him. We wonder if this was before or after he heard his brother and Ye-ji's conversation.
Did Ye-ji really mean what she said about being in love with Hwan? Since the beginning, the two of them were far more compatible than Jin who only treated Ye-ji as someone who has to deal with a different kind of guilt as she lived her life. He believed that he saw a kindred spirit in her, who could understand why he had to cut the rope as a child. He is still feeling guilty for what he had done all those years ago and how that had fractured his family and even broken his father's spirit. However, he was selfish enough to not reveal the truth to Hwan who had dealt with his fair share of guilt as well. Hwan had believed all this while that his father had been injured while saving him and so he had put his life on pause to take care of him. It was a result largely due to guilt and now that Hwan has realized the truth, he may just exact revenge against his family by leaving all of them behind.
'When I was Most Beautiful' will air on MBC on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9.30 pm KST. It will be available on Viu outside South Korea.