I wondered why "Mine" for a title, but now I clearly see why; despite all its riches, nothing this family owns is truly their own, not even themselves. More than Mine's premise, what drew me to it was an article I read where the writer Baek Mi Kyung explained why she cast the two female leads in their respective roles.
She said that “As a writer, the fact that I’m able to work with the unfailingly talented actresses Lee Bo Young and Kim Seo Hyung is an honor in and of itself". “Because they’re actresses who are powerful in terms of both their acting and their auras, I think the script was even more empowered after they were cast. Also, they’re so well-suited to their roles that they leave nothing to be desired in terms of matching up with their characters. I think of [their casting] as a blessing.”
It's so true when they say money doesn't buy happiness; it buys choices. It's what one does with those choices that make them happy, but then no one in this family, despite having money, even has the capacity to make their own choices. The hardest decisions in life are not between good and bad or right and wrong, but between two goods or two rights, as clearly shown in Seo Hyun's choices between having a traditional family even if it meant her unhappiness or foregoing that for her true happiness -- choices. And watching her stoically try to accept the choice she made hurts.
And the flip side of that has the freedom to make a choice only to find out it was the worst decision ever. To say that Hi Soo is the brightness of this demented family is an understatement. I loved seeing her stay steadfast and not letting them make and dynamic of such a wealthy family weigh her down. But like everything in life, nothing really ever goes as planned. She starts to see the cracks in her picture-perfect family when she witnesses the close relationship between her son, Han Ha Joon (Jung Hyun Joon), and his private tutor, Kang Ja Kyung (Ok Ja Yeon). Kang Ja Kyung doesn’t bother to hide her affection for her pupil in front of the boy’s mother or anyone else for that matter. More surprisingly, Han Ha Joon also doesn’t look at his mother but instead has eyes only for his tutor.
And what makes matters worse is the intimate nature or at least what appeared between Kang Ja Kyung (Ok Ja Yeon) and Han Ji Yong (Lee Hyun Wook), the two secretly brushing fingers and the way they knowingly look other. And what's even more troubling for Seo Hyun more than anyone else is the budding relationship between Han Soo Hyuk (Cha Hak Yeon) and Kim Yoo Yeon, especially since she found out they had been switching rooms his return to South Korea. It's a family rife with festering issues that are bound to blow up and sweep them all to no return. I cannot wait to see if any or all learn they cannot truly own anything without owing themselves first. Watch episodes 3 & 4 here.