Secret

Secret (Secret Love) was released on September 25th, 2013 and lasted through November 14th of the same year. It has sixteen episodes full of melodrama and action featuring Ji Sung, Hwang Jung Eum, Lee Da-hee, and Bae Soo-bin.

Plot

Raised in a rich family only eager in using others as their personal stepping stool, Jo Minhyuk (Ji Sung) falls in love with a lower class woman, Seo Ji Hee. She was raised by a single mother who struggled in making money. While Minhyuk's father and stepmother completely refused his interactions with Ji Hee, Minhyuk went behind the company and family to continue seeing and having this ongoing relationship.

After a turn of events, Ji Hee finds out that she's pregnant with Minhyuk's child. Opposing business partner and future wife of the rebellious badboy, Shin Seyeon, Minhyuk's childhood friend, uses this brand of information to threaten Ji Hee. Stating that the child Ji Hee is carrying will be taken from her and raised under the Shin's care, Ji Hee cuts all contact with Minhyuk and struggles to hide from him.

Desperate to the see the love of his life, Minhyuk sends out his personal bodyguard to find Ji Hee unbeknownst to the fact that she is pregnant with his child. On a rainy night, Ji Hee realizes that she's being followed and flees.

Across town, a newly engaged couple celebrate their love with one another. Studying to become a prosecutor and also coming from a lower class family, Ahn Do Hoon falls in love with his long time girlfriend, Kang Yoojeong. Though his mother doesn't favor her, Do Hoon goes ahead and proposes to her in hopes of starting a new life together.

During their venture back from a fancy dinner, Do Hoon and Yoojeong's life is at risk when a truck wrongly enters the intersection. Do Hoon swerves to avoid a collision and ends up entering a construction site. Hitting barrels and nearly avoiding more damage to his car, Do Hoon exits the car to see what he hit and examine the damage. After telling Yoojeong to stay put, he goes back to see that he had swerved into Seo Ji Hee who was previously crossing the road. Instead of calling for help, Do Hoon abandons the girl at the side of the road and returns to the car without telling his fiance.

After three hours, Minhyuk gets a call stating that Ji Hee is in critical condition. After heading to the hospital, he learns that she was previously pregnant with his child. Unable to do much, the doctors leave Ji Hee be after tending to her as much as they possibly can. She doesn't make it through the night. Minhyuk vows to find the person responsible for her death and that he will make their life far worth of living.

Overall

Starting from the first episode, Secret pulls in the viewer with four different characters and their intricate personalities. Even as the drama progresses, character development and their betrayals was enough to keep me occupied.

Having previously favored and seen Ji Sung in Protect the Boss, it was nice seeing him again in this melodrama, especially when it concerned a deeper meaning behind his character and personality. Portraying a rich "bad boy" with a rebellious attitude against his father while also patronizing Jung Eum's character was interesting, especially since he manages to fall in love with her later in this drama.

Up until the last episode, I was hooked. It's probably the fastest I've ever been through a drama (3 days) which was startlingly. Maybe it was just me fawning over Ji Sung or maybe it was the beginning of Spring Break. Regardless, this was a decent drama. I'd recommend it to anyone in favor of melodrama or action.