Bonbonsue

It seems like many people are a bit confused about the plot of this story, so I’ve put together a small summary. This is a drama-filled story with many details that can be easily missed if not read carefully. Additionally, the author’s somewhat chaotic narrative style makes it a bit hard to follow. This gonna be long lol:

The parents’ generation:
Jitae’s mother is the official wife of Baek Jitae’s father, while Ji-an’s mother is just a mistress or perhaps a concubine(?). She holds a position in the Baek family’s company, but neither she nor Ji-an is respected. That’s why I believe Jitae’s father never officially married her.

As for why Ji-an is older than Jitae, it could be because Jitae’s parents knew and loved each other before Ji-an existed. During that time, Jitae’s father was either trapped in a scheme or simply unfaithful, sleeping with Ji-an’s mother and being forced to take responsibility for her child. Perhaps, since it was just a mistake, Jitae’s father kept it hidden from his lover. Later, he and Jitae’s mother got married and had Jitae.

At that point, Ji-an’s mother showed up, claiming Ji-an was Jitae’s father’s child. Jitae’s mother was furious when she discovered her husband’s betrayal but couldn’t do anything and resigned herself to the situation. Meanwhile, Jitae’s father was useless and failed to protect his wife and child, leading to Jitae’s mother being kicked out of the house.
Jitae’s father likely still loved his ex-wife(?), which made Ji-an’s mother jealous. Out of envy, she planned to kill Jitae’s mother and even tried to kill Jitae to seize the inheritance.

The children’s generation:
After Jitae’s mother was kicked out, Jitae was abused by his stepmother. However, since Ji-an was treated the same way, Jitae didn’t care much—until his biological mother died and he met Mi-eum. At some point, Jitae was kidnapped and nearly killed by Mi-eum’s father as part of an agreement with Ji-an’s mother. However, Mi-eum saved him, which led to Mi-eum losing his memory.

Determined to stop himself from searching for Mi-eum, Jitae decided to study abroad. During this time, Jin gave Jitae a black tape containing footage of Hajoon, Ji-an’s mother, and Mi-eum at the crime scene. This caused Jitae to doubt Mi-eum and explained why he treated Mi-eum so poorly in the early chapters.

As for Ji-an: In chapter 42, Ji-an’s mother said to him, “If you wanted power, you wouldn’t have followed me into this house and would’ve spread your legs for those in power instead.” This implies that Ji-an and his mother lived separately at some point before she went to the Baek family to demand recognition. At that time, Ji-an was six years old, but it’s unclear if he moved in with his mother immediately. Her words also suggest that Ji-an only joined the Baek household when he was older.

Ji-an’s mentally unstable mother raised him in an extremely abnormal way. Despite being her biological son, she used and controlled him for her own benefit while believing she had given him everything. This led to Ji-an falling into addiction and promiscuity. He was also harmed by Hajoon, Ji-an’s mother’s subordinate, who increased his drug doses to deepen his addiction and make him easier to manipulate. To make matters worse, Ji-an recently discovered that he isn’t even Baek’s biological son.

And that’s the story of the Baek family.

Yesterday, I was busy feeling sorry for Ji-an, but now I realize Ji-an’s mother was really so stupid. How could she be so easily provoked and act so foolishly, yet the Baek family allowed her to run wild for so many years??? The whole absurd paternity setup—are chaebol families really that easy to deceive, where DNA test? Maybe she had something on Jitae’s father?

There are so many unanswered mysteries surrounding the parents’ generation, and now the children’s generation is a complete mess too @@