Aahana Swrup
In ‘Love Next Door,’ the rom-com K-Drama, the chaos of Seok-ryu’s return to her hometown continues into episode 2, titled ‘Hate,’ in which the narrative fleshes out some of the more complicated central dynamics. In the wake of her recent drastic life choices, Seok-ryu still refuses to provide her family with an explanation, furthering the divide between her and her mother, Mi-sook. Meanwhile, Seung-hyo’s new business plan through his firm, Atelier In, throws unforeseen obstacles, bringing him back to a familiar place in his life. Consequently, the story’s slow build continues as the episode finds the once-next-door-neighbors assimilating back into each other’s orbits. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Seung-hyo and Seok-ryu’s Shared Childhood
Seung-hyo and Seok-ryu’s relationship has always been defined by their tendency to fall into easy squabbles with one another. Even so, through all the insults and biting remarks, a deep friendship presided in their teenage years, even when Seok-ryu used to trick Seung-hyo into dishwashing part-time jobs under the ruse of fancy meals. Thus, stories of old naturally come out when Mi-sook sends Seok-ryu on an errand to deliver rice cakes to Seung-hyo’s office. While the latter is nonplussed by her stories, his colleagues are keen to learn about a young France-born Seung-hyo, who spent all his time at Seok-ryu’s house as a child due to his mother’s demanding job.
Still, in regaling these tales, Seok-ryu takes more than a few liberties, painting herself out to be a dedicated babysitter to the boy—never mind their similar age. In her retellings of their childhood, she looked after his healthy diet and introduced them to other kids. Nonetheless, Seung-hyo clarifies his experience was a lot more different—comparing his neighbor to a lunatic who used to push veggies off her plate into his and always stick him with less fun roles during group games. Nonetheless, Seok-ryu exits the office with an invitation to the firm’s grand opening extended by Seung-hyo’s co-worker, who quickly parses out the duo’s close friendship.
A Peek Into Seok-ryu’s Time in America
While Seok-ryu socializes with Seung-hyo’s colleagues at his office, her mother also finds herself at the center of the town’s socialization—but only in the worst way. Ever since Mi-sook’s loud and unpleasant interaction with her daughter outside her house, the entire neighborhood has come alive with gossip about Seok-ryu’s broken engagement and unemployment. The young woman’s patented refusal to provide a valid explanation for her decisions and insistence that she plans to remain happily unemployed for a while further grates on her mother’s nerves.
As a result, Mi-sook takes matters into her own hands and rashly tries to contact Seok-ryu’s ex-fiancé to learn about what transpired between them in America. Nonetheless, the attempt leads nowhere. Afterward, Seok-ryu realizes that her mother doesn’t want her to attend the opening for Seung-hyo’s office. The conversation further develops, leading the former to learn about her mother’s attempt to contact her fiancé. Perhaps her mother still believes she’s responsible for the end of their relationship.
In actuality, Seok-ryu was incredibly overwhelmed in America, where she struggled to fit in with her peers at work. She felt alienated within her social circles since her drive pushed people to label her competitive, a trait they considered “too Korean.” For the same reason, she felt pushed to her limit, leading to emotional breakdowns. During one such breakdown, she tried to find comfort in her fiancé, who ignored her calls. Afterward, once she arrived at a party he was attending, Seok-ryu found him cheating on her with another woman. Nonetheless, she doesn’t share any of the same with her mother, silently deleting her fiancé’s number from her mother’s phone to ensure the incident doesn’t repeat itself.
Seung-hyo’s Office Party
More than a little discouraged by her mother’s actions, Seok-ryu decides to skip the opening party for Seung-hyo’s office, knowing that her mother didn’t want her at the ceremony. Still, she gifts him a pomegranate plant after bumping into him outside her house. On the day of the party, Seok-ryu stays at home while her mother dresses up and leaves. However, the party doesn’t prove to be any more enjoyable for Mi-sook in her daughter’s absence. The town gossip about Seok-ryu had yet to die down.
In fact, at the opening ceremony, Mi-sook reunites with her former high school classmates—who are all significantly better off than her. The women pointedly fish for information about Seok-ryu’s broken engagement, enjoying her mother’s embarrassment over the same. Therefore, once the young woman ends up making an appearance at the event—to bring over the brooch her mother had been looking for earlier—it further agitates Mi-sook. Consequently, she ends up spinning tales about how Seok-ryu had left her old company, Griep because she received better offers from other firms.
Naturally, Mi-sook’s attempts to fictionalize Seok-ryu’s life to make it more palpable for her friends don’t go over well with the latter. As such, once the duo returns home, it leads to a scathing confrontation. Mi-sook is devastated that her daughter has thrown her successful life away, partly because she believes it throws away years of the family and Seok-ryu’s own hard work. Still, the daughter can tell her mother is sad that she can no longer use Seok-ryu as a pawn to brag and make up for the failures of her own life. The argument ends with Seok-ryu storming out of the house, only to find Seung-hyo outside, his pitying expression making it abundantly clear that he overheard the entire conversation.
The Return of Seok-ryu’s Bedroom
In the aftermath of the stormy argument with her mother, Seok-ryu finds herself at a playground nearby with Seung-hyo. Although the woman attempts to avoid the elephant in the room by reminiscing about their childhood together, the latter compels her not to run away from her feelings. Thus, she sobs her heart out to her next-door neighbor. In turn, Seung-hyo also offers vulnerability of his own by sharing that his business is facing some issues with the client pool, which is making him anxious about the firm going under. Even though neither of their problems is solved, the misery shared proves to be misery halved.
However, a surprise awaits Seok-ryu the next day when she returns home in the afternoon. As it turns out, her conversation with her Mi-sook made the woman realize something crucial about her daughter’s return to her home. In her fury, the mother had entirely neglected Seok-ryu’s feelings and made her feel unwelcomed in her own home. Therefore, she hires the professional help of Seung-hyo to redecorate her daughter’s room back into a bedroom rather than the storage space it had turned into. As such, Seok-ryu finally returns to the actual bedroom from her childhood—complete with the neon stars on the ceiling. Moreover, another instrumental part of her youth seems to have returned as Seung-hyo moves back into his parent’s house, finding himself in the room right outside Seok-ryu’s bedroom window.
Read More: Love Next Door Episode 1 Recap: Comeback
