"That Winter, The Wind Blows" Bae Jong Ok appears as a very unique evil stepmother.
During the SBS drama "That Winter, The Wind Blows", Secretary Wang (Bae Jong Ok) had lived with Oh Young (Song Hye Kyo) for over 20 years. Recently however, Oh Young tells her to leave after she learns about Secretary Wang's secret schemes.
Oh Young says goodbye to Secretary Wang and Oh Soo (Jo In Sung) in a recent episode. Disliking what is about to happen, Secretary Wang grabs Oh Young's hand and says, "Are you done using me now? You knew from the beginning that I ruined your eyes" and continued to question her about why she was left alone. Oh Young replies, "I was young, my dad was sick and I needed somebody to run the company" trying to be as steady and unemotional as she can be.
Secretary Wang then begins trying to explain about the death of Oh Young's father. In the first episode, Secretary Wang appeared as though she left Oh Young's father to die even when he was very ill. Even though Oh Young was very suspicious of her, Secretary Wang just listened to her complaints and outburst of anger throughout the years. The truth is that Secretary Wang had saved Oh Young's father multiple times even when he refused to be saved. Secretary Wang however, had never told her this part. Even after the death of her father, Secretary Wang wanted Oh Young to keep living even if it was because she couldn't bear to die, letting Secretary Wang "win".
Secretary Wang says, "You're my daughter. Just let me stay next to you" but Oh Young replies, "When I open my eyes after my surgery, I don't want to see you. I lost my eyes and you're losing the person you devoted your whole life to. The calculations must be exact."
At Oh Young's cold words, Secretary Wang says, "I loved you like a real daughter but why do you keep seeing me as something you use. I'll leave then. Why? Because I'm a mother" and begins to pack.
The next day, Secretary Wang leaves and hesitates for a second about where to go.
Wang Hye Ji, Secretary Wang (Bae Jong Ok) is very different compared to all the evil stepmothers in previous dramas. She stood at a place where she couldn't be considered as a "good guy" but she didn't stand at a place where she wasn't the "bad guy" either. When all other stepmothers have been obsessive over things that could be seen with our eyes, Secretary Wang obsessed over the things that could not be seen.
Every odd thing about Secretary Wang can be concluded to be her sign of affection and love for Oh Young and she continued to think of her as her own daughter even in the moments when she was moving out of the mansion for good. Unlike other evil stepmothers, Secretary Wang obsessed over love. Even though her methods of expressing it were not always correct, her love for Oh Young was just as great as her biological mother.
The love of a lonely woman only left her with scars. Viewers are curious about what Secretary Wang will do in the final episode after being abandoned by the only person she considered to be her family.
