My Secret, Terrius – Do You Need a Babysitter?

“My Secret, Terrius” is a 2018 Korean drama series, with 32 episodes, and categorized as Spy Thriller, Family, Romance, and Comedy (Rom-Com).

SUMMARY: A woman’s husband is murdered and a secret agent who happens to be her neighbor, volunteers to babysit her kids because she does not know she and her kids are also in danger.

♦ I’m Not a Spy, I’m a Mom

In “My Secret, Terrius”, a clueless innocent woman is dragged into the ruthless undercover world of espionage loaded with good and bad spies, spying on her and each other, and engaging in all sorts of cloak-and-dagger activities. Go Ae-Rin got married and had adorable twins, a boy and a girl. Her husband is the full-time breadwinner and she does whatever she can to make money and help pay the bills. One day her husband died. It was so sudden.

Yes. When someone murders you, it’s usually sudden. But she did not know her husband had been murdered. Go Ae-Rin thought her husband died because he had a heart condition. Even so, his unexpected death was quite a shock! She now had to fully financially support her family. Before her husband died he interviewed for a job as a secretary but was rejected. Since she did not get a full-time job, she worked various part-time jobs to make ends meet.

Why Did Go Ae-Rin’s Husband Die?

It all happened so fast. Go Ae-Rin and her husband argued and he wanted to make up. He went to get a nice gift and on his way home he witnessed a murder. He did not know the man being killed or the killer, but he had seen too much. Just like that … he had opened the door to undercover spying and he saw a bad spy doing something very bad!

He tried to escape and thought he had gotten home safely. But this was a trained killer who tracked him down and killed him instantly. Go Ae-Rin’s husband had witnessed the murder of a top government official in charge of national security. He had also seen the face of the killer. This is why he had to die. There can’t be any witnesses.

• Go Ae-Rin does not know about any this happened and so she had no reason to suspect foul play regarding her husband’s death. She also does not realize that now she and her children are in danger.

• Go Ae-Rin rarely spoke to or interacted with her neighbor whom she called “Mr. 803”, so the thought probably never occurred to her that he was a spy, code-named “Terrius” AND he was wanted.

The National Intelligence Service has been searching for Terrius but he dropped off the grid. He is suspected of being a mole and having something to do with the disappearance of a nuclear scientist from North Korea. Terrius had been lying low while trying to find out who the real mole was, where the scientist was, and hopefully clear the “black mark” off his record as he is a loyal government agent.

♦ What Does Terrius Know?

“Mr. 803”, Kim Bon, CodeName: Terrius, also does not know his neighbor’s husband died or why he died. He does know that someone called “The Magician” (the bad spy) is back on the radar and he has been trying to track his movements. When he heard the news report that a top government official in charge of national security had died, he suspected it was the work of “The Magician”. According to the news, the government official died because of a heart condition.

Terrius decided to attend the memorial services for the government official, but while he was there, he noticed another funeral and saw his neighbor crying. That was when he realized her husband had died. However, he did not make a connection between the death of the government official and the death of Go Ae-Rin’s husband.

Go Ae-Rin’s children were at a park playing while she was attending her husband’s memorial services. They think their dad is on a business trip. The killer showed up at a park and tried to abduct the two children. Terrius was in the area and overheard the adults alerting each other about the missing children. He got close to a woman on the phone and tried to glean some information.

Someone had taken a picture of a man with the two missing children. He asked if he could see and recognized that the man who had taken the children was “The Magician”. WHY? Terrius is bewildered. His mind is filling up with all kinds of questions. But the main question is: What’s the connection? Why is “The Magician” after those children? Is he after the woman too? WHY?

Do You Need a Babysitter?

Terrius is clueless, but not nearly as clueless as Go Ae-Rin. He knows enough to know that Go Ae-Rin and her children are in danger. He’ll figure out why later. Right now he has to keep them safe from “The Magician”. Go Ae-Rin got a callback and was offered the secretary job at the company that had rejected her. If she is going to work full-time she will need a babysitter.

Terrius volunteers for the job. He made up an excuse telling Go Ae-Rin he needed money and she needed someone to look after her kids. It was a win-win proposition. After her friends vetted him and approved saying that he was probably competent and would be able to look after her kids, Go Ae-Rin hired him.

And just like that … Kim Bon (Code-name: Terrius), one of the country’s top secret agents, became a full-time babysitter/bodyguard. “The Magician” won’t be doing any disappearing tricks as long as he’s around.

Main Characters:

• Kim Bon (Code-name: Terrius) (played by So Ji-Sub, “Confession”, “Doctor Lawyer”, “The Master’s Sun”)
• Go Ae-Rin (played by Jung In-Sun, “DNA Lover”, “Psychopath Diary”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.6 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8.3 of 10 stars
• Letterboxd: 3.4 out of 5 stars
• Google users shared a public rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Google users.

This delightful K-drama was not a 2024 release but was the perfect way to end the year. The sweetest mom ever, the cutest kids ever, and a secret agent with a heart of gold who also happens to be a good neighbor.  

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Flash Review: Terius Behind Me [My Secret Terius] | The Fangirl Verdict

KDRAMA Review: My Secret Terrius (2018) – A Fangirl’s Heart – Entertainment and Lifestyle Blog

Good Ol’ Review: A Perfect Balance Makes “My Secret Terrius” a Bright, Charming and Exciting Series | DryedMangoez.com

South Korean drama ‘My Secret, Terrius’ predicted the coronavirus pandemic, find Netflix users | The Hindu

TRAILER/TEASER:

F. Now with Farhan. “My Secret Terrius – Inteqaam.” YouTube, 30 Apr. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wyzXBbmrko.

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