The Interest of Love (Season 1), Episodes 7 & 8: The previous episode ended with two pivotal moments. For anyone who is following this show, it is clear that Sang-su is deeply infatuated with Su-Yeong. However, he now seems to be charmed by Mi-Kyung, who has had a crush on him since the day she joined their bank. In a new development in this tale of romance, we see him accepting Mi-kyung’s proposal to be in a relationship. While their relationship seemed to be on a happier path, it hurts to see what happened to Su-Yeong’s relationship with Jong-hyun. Let’s see what’s in store for these love birds.
The Interest of Love (Season 1), Episodes 7 & 8 Recap:
After spending days being enamored of each other’s presence, Su-yeong’s relationship seems to have reached a dead end. Jong-hyun, who takes a leave of absence from the bank, meets her after what feels like a long silence and goes on to break up with her. It seems to have devastated her since she genuinely liked him and cared for his well-being. On her way back, she reminisces about the times when he strongly believed in their relationship and did not think they would ever break up. So it hurts her even more to see it happen. She walks back home alone.
On the other side, Sa-sung does not seem ready to commit to a relationship with Mi-Kyung. He hesitates while entering the bank, probably out the fear of how to face his colleagues with this news. Meanwhile, since Mr. Yuk is not in the office, the assistant manager takes charge of the bank and also invites his employees out for a hiking trip.
Sa-sung and Su-Yeong go out together for a mutual work task, and on their way back, he gets a call from Mi-Kyung. She invites Su-Yeong to have lunch with them and Gyeong-pil. They go to Su-yeong’s parents’ place to have a meal. While Sa-sung seems pretty well-acquainted with this place, she is still awkward due to her familial issues. Since Gyeong-pil and the new couple used to study in the same college, he pokes fun at her seeing her interest in such food. He realizes that she and Sang-su are dating and makes him confess, but agrees to keep it a secret for the time being. While he and Mi-Kyung return by their car, he sees Su-Yeong in a bus next to them, and they both get slightly emotional due to their shared past.
While he and Mi-Kyung have a romantic night out through their awkward interactions, Su-Yeong goes to Jong-hyun’s place to find him packing up all his stuff and leaving the city. After being pressed to tell the reason, he shares his father’s diagnosis and wants to return to the village. He seems to have lost all hope in his future and in himself, not just because of a poor exam experience but due to the realization that he won’t be able to match her level of success and provide her with the happiness that he thinks she deserves.
The next day, back in the office, Mi-Kyung’s mother arrives and mentions that she has a new best friend. Despite speaking about Mi-Kyung needing to be in a relationship, she does not reveal her dating Sang-su. The mother later meets Sang-su’s mother (her best friend) and shares how happy she is just to speak her mind with someone. They share their hopes for their respective children but have no idea that they are dating. Meanwhile, Jong-hyun shows up at the bank’s doorstep and happens to meet Su-Yeong. She tries her best to persuade him to stay, but in the end, he decides to get on the bus to return.
On the hiking trip, Mi-Kyung becomes particularly flirtatious with Sang-su. At a moment when they assume that they are alone, she goes on to kiss him. Two of their colleagues see it and then reveal their relationship status to everyone. Meanwhile, Su-Yeong goes to Jong-hyun’s village home and meets his mother, who thanks her and the bank for helping out her son with a huge sum to cover his father’s treatment costs. She goes out to find him working in a garage and then learns that his exams did not go well either. Until now, she assumed it to be only the father’s diagnosis, but this new knowledge makes her persuade him to return to the city and pursue his dream with the same optimism that he used to imbibe in her.
She tries to make him not give up on his dreams since he was the one who used to say how they give him the strength to go through any ordeal. In the city, Mi-Kyung returns home with Sang-su, and they speak about the big reveal. He did not want their relationship to be public due to the fear of their possible break-up turning the workplace unworkable for both. She coyly suggests that he should never break up with her at all if that is the case. On the other hand, it seems like Su-yeong’s pep talk worked on Jong-hyun to return to the city. While he is hesitant to return to the city, she assures him that she will support him with a home and living until he attempts the exam again and becomes what he wants.
Now that Jong-hyun returns to the city with Su-Yeong to her place, he becomes hopeful about his future. Meanwhile, Sang-su, who isn’t committedly involved in Mi-kyung, struggles to match her level of enthusiasm. She even goes to his apartment late at night and invites herself in. It looks like she is trying to build a stronger interest with her love interest. The next day in the bank, Mr. Yuk returns, which creates a tense environment among the employees. In their lunchroom, he orders Sang-su to do a petty task. He mentions thinking he was in love with Su-Yeong, which made him take a decision, but now that he is dating Mi-Kyung, his suspicion is put to rest.
Su-Yeong, who is curious about what he did for her, asks Gyeong-pil about it. He lets her know that Sang-su spoke against Mr. Yuk for her and that he is the kind of good person who will do it not just for her but for anyone. That changes her perception of him. Later, she sees him struggling with an accidental task he gets stuck and goes on to help him out. She also notes knowing that he is a good person. Meanwhile, Mi-kyung’s father makes her think about finding a suitable partner for herself instead of working for a job that he considers beneath him.
She gets upset by that and leaves the house to meet Sang-su. He is, meanwhile, attending a party that his colleague is giving for his marriage. Su-yeong, who is also present there, gets out of the room, and Sang-su follows her. They have an intimate conversation about their hopes for their future partners. There is a playful suggestion in their interaction that their interest in each other is still present. Their chat gets interrupted by Mi-Kyung, who comes up to him and shows him a ring box. He gets worried, thinking that she is proposing to him. But she opens it to show a golf ball and invites him to go play with her. They have a great time playing the game while teasing each other much more openly than before.
On the other hand, Jong-hyun is over-the-moon due to his relationship with Su-Yeong. While he spends the entire day studying, she prepares a meal for him. Her relationship with her mother also seems to be mellowing down since she goes to her place to have a meal, and she seems genuinely concerned for her. In the office, Mi-Kyung asks Sang-su to go out for lunch together and then assigns a task of hers to Su-Yeong. While not pumped up to do it, she accepts it. Upon taking the stuff that Mi-Kyung asked her to pick up, she goes to her place, only to find her along with Jong-hyun and Sang-su, who had planned a birthday party for her.
The two couples share a table and have a meal while Sang-su and Su-Yeong continue to interact awkwardly with each other. While Mi-kyung praises them for being a cute couple, Su-yeong shares the same praise for them. While Jong-hyun shares details about his life, education, and work, Mi-Kyung seems oblivious to his side of the struggle due to her upbringing. But she does not disrespect him and empathizes with him without any pretense. Since the gifts she gave Su-yeong are too heavy, she tells Sang-su to drop them both home by his car. Su-yeong eventually tells him not to since she wants to speak with Jong-hyun on her way back. He begrudgingly agrees.
Back at home, she opens up her gifts after getting out of a shower. He feels guilty for not being able to treat her on this special day and promises to do so next year. There is also a hint of the impact of the lavish dinner they had Mi-kyung’s home, which makes him feel guilty for not being able to afford that kind of joy for Su-yeong. Yet, there is enough warmth and understanding between them that it becomes immaterial to her. The next day, Mi-kyung’s mother comes to the bank and asks her daughter about the employee she is dating from the bank. She does not like her mother’s nosiness and refuses to share the name.
Meanwhile, Su-Yeong takes Jong-hyun out shopping and tries to make him buy him something good. But he feels pressured due to the costs and later shares his worries about their marriage, contemplating how much that would cost. They revel in the charm of their simple, unassuming joys. Meanwhile, Mi-kyung’s mother is still persistent in learning about her daughter’s partner and tells Sang-su to follow her while pestering him about it. He finally reveals that he is the one who is dating her daughter, and the three end up having a meal together.
Since she is curious about who her daughter has chosen to date, she asks him about his interests & hobbies. While Mi-Kyung tries to stop her pestering, he answers the question, which satisfies her. She gives her approval of 20% to him and promises to keep their relationship a secret from Mi-kyung’s father. Back at Su-yeong’s place, Jong-hyun is still stuck with his guilt for not being able to afford a luxurious life for his partner. He ruminates about what their life would be like if he was wealthy.
The Interest of Love (Season 1), Episode 8 Ending Explained:
All the bank employees attend the wedding of a colleague. Mi-Kyung arrives with Sang-su as a couple, and so does Su-Yeong arrive with Jong-hyun. Standing on different sides of the room, Sang-su and Su-Yeong keep eyeing each other every now and then while playing with the idea of being involved with each other. They both sense that they would not be just to their partners, who are infatuated with them. While none of them thinks of getting into this mutual affair, she leaves the party and asks for a room key at the restaurant.
She texts Jong-hyun that she won’t be returning home and will be staying at a friend’s place for the night. Meanwhile, Sang-su also leaves the gathering to rush toward someplace. In the final moments of the episode, we see Su-Yeong opening up the door of her room to find Sang-su outside. Meanwhile, he stands there, dumbfounded. It is still not clear whether this is something that they had planned together beforehand or a sudden impulse. Only the next episode will tell whether these two love birds decide to act on their love or to be faithful to their partners.
