The Interest of Love (Season 1), Episodes 5 & 6: With an on-and-off romance tale between four co-workers, The Interest of Love tries to add different layers to the story. Be it the wealth and social position or the parental trauma, this romantic drama is fascinating to watch and look forward to every week because of wanting to see these characters being unraveled further. Let’s now look at what happens to Sa-sung and Su-Yeong after their awkward hug at the end of the previous episode.
The Interest of Love (Season 1), Episodes 5 & 6 Recap:
The 5th episode begins with a brief background of Jeong Jong-hyun’s way of conduct and living and his ever-optimistic attitude. He gets a place in a relatively cheaper neighborhood so that he can help out his father with financial support. We also see a moment from his initial interactions with Su-Yeong (Moon Ga-young), where it didn’t take much for them to get smitten by each other. After giving that glimpse, the narrative returns to the cliffhanger moment from the previous episode, where Sang-su (Yoo Yeon-Seok) gave her a hug.
He asks her if she would have kept dating her if he had been in the restaurant for their date on time or if he had not had second thoughts. Then the friends from their seminar call him, and the interaction does not reach any conclusion. The next morning, when they are on their way back to the city by bus, she invites him to meet that night to talk about it. However, she gets asked by Mr. Yuk asks her to join a client meeting with him after working hours. So, she could not keep up with her plan with Sang-su.
During that dinner, she does not indulge in bonding with him and goes straight to the point. As a result, afterward, Mr. Yuk scolds her calling it unprofessional behavior, and tells her the importance of entertaining the client beyond work. She gets hurt, but to make himself feel better, he gives her some money to go back by cab instead of a bus. Even when she rejects the offer, he forcefully makes her take the money. The next day, he asks her again to join him for a similar meeting, and she denied it since it was not during office hours. He takes it personally and bullies her to do menial work.
Mi-Kyung (Keum Sae-rok) sees it as a clear sign of injustice and offers to help. But Mr. Yuk refuses her to support Su-Yeong and to focus on her duties instead. Other colleagues do not help but only state it is abuse and find her tenacious enough to work it out. Sang-su goes to offer help, but she rejects it. While it looks rude on the surface, it is mostly because of her attitude of self-reliance that she has built over the years out of necessity.
The next day, Sang-su goes out with Mr. Yuk for a deal with a client on a golf pitch. While Mr. Yuk attempts it, it is he who manages to seal it. While the client gets highly impressed by his quick thinking, Mi-Kyung comes in and abruptly ends the interaction. While going out with her, he learns that this client is actually her father, with whom she has a complicated relationship. He later joins her for dinner at a wedding ceremony. Over there, an old of hers pokes fun at her family’s wealth which makes it incredibly easy it is for her to get whatever she wants without proving her worth.
After being embarrassed in front of him, she invites him to get drinks together and then shares her vulnerabilities with him. She mentions how she tried to get things without using her family’s name of privilege to benefit. She then calls it a spoiled brat’s sob story, and Sang-su comforts her feeling of guilt. Meanwhile, Su-Yeong goes to her father’s food joint and sees that it is closed. She then goes to where he and her mother lives but leaves without having a conversation with her. In the office, she overhears Sang-su saying to other colleagues that it was a matter of choice in her case, where she could have just chosen to comply. She gets emotionally hurt by him feeling she had a choice like that and not seeing that she was a victim of the superior’s abuse.
After spending her day doing menial work at the office, she decides to go and meet her mother. She opens up about seeing her father with another woman after being AWOL for months. She was angry at him for not being present when her brother needed him the most. It is hard for her to digest that her mother forgave him, who empathized with him due to their shared sorrow of losing a child. While returning from this interaction, she starts empathizing with Sang-su’s hesitation.
Upon reaching her place, she meets Jeong Jong-hyun, who sees her crying. He decides to cheer her up with his spontaneous behavior and takes her to run like kids in the rain. At the end of their night, he asks her if he can be her boyfriend. His selflessly caring approach comes to her mind whenever they meet, and she accepts being his girlfriend. The next day, at the bank, an audit committee comes in to speak about Mr. Yuk’s inappropriate behavior with her. Yet none of them is given any details besides the two employees are asked about it.
After their conversation with the committee, Mr. Yuk enters the bank, enraged at Su-Yeong, and Sang-su steps in to save her from his attack. He feels insulted by that gesture and asks Ms. Ahn to meet him in his cabin. While he keeps insisting his behavior is just, she remains firm on her stance about his abuse of power. She states it clearly to him and then leaves the room. Later, when Sang-su goes out for a client meeting, Mi-Kyung goes out with Su-Yeong. She sees her receiving a text from someone and learns that it is her boyfriend. While she assumes it is Sang-su (since he also protects her from Mr. Yuk), she reveals that it is Jong-hyun.
In a shopping mall, Mi-Kyung gets approached by one of her wealthy friends, who is angry at her for sharing some secret of hers. While she goes on to physically attack her, Sang-su’s mother (who happens to be there) stops her. As a result, Mi-kyungbu pretty much forces her into being her friend. Later in the office, Sang-su goes into the storage room for a file for his meeting and gets locked up with Su-Yeong because a colleague did not realize that they were there. Because of this forced isolation together, they continue their unfinished conversation from before.
He apologizes to her for not thinking that her issue with Mr. Yuk is a big deal. She wouldn’t have wanted to date him even if he had come on time to the restaurant because they are different. His hesitation also felt to her like a sign of Sang-su realizing it. While this chapter of love is paused for the time being, Jong-hyun keeps up with his sweet gestures toward her and makes every effort to make her smile.
The next day in the office, a colleague makes Sang-su confess that it is he who made a complaint against Mr. Yuk. He feels that Sang-su should not continue with his interest in Su-Yeong. Soon after, when he chats with Mi-Kyung, they notice her with Jong-hyun. She mentions that Su-Yeong is dating him and that they make a cute couple. Later he goes out with Mi-Kyung and has a pleasant time with her, to his surprise. While he did not go all-in with his interest in her, it seems like with Su-yeong’s disinterest in him (and since it seems like she is moving on), he is getting interested in Mi-Kyung. Meanwhile, Jong-hyun prepares for his exam the next day.
The Interest of Love (Season 1), Episode 6 Ending Explained:
While there is a strong bonding between these couples, an unlikely friendship starts blooming between Mi-kyung’s and Sa-sung’s mothers. She even comes to her massage service center to treat her with a meal and takes on her appointment. Sa-sung’s mother does not understand how to react to this awkwardly sweet gesture. Back in the office, a woman walks directly into Mr. Yuk’s office, and then soon after, another woman walks in. Through the gossip between the colleagues, we learn that one of them was his legal wife while the other was his mistress.
While that happens, Jong-hyun does not come to the bank after his exam, and a substitute is appointed for the day. Su-Yeong gets worried, and while tries to reach out to him, he does not respond to her in any way. Then later, she gets a response from him, and they decide to meet at night. Upon meeting, she shows him wearing the shoes he gifted her more comfortably than heels. With a heavy heart, he breaks up with her. Meanwhile, Sang-su joins Mi-Kyung on the run and gets smitten by her. At the end of their interaction, he agrees to be in a relationship with her.
With these new developments, the show is taking an interesting turn, which would likely shake up the dynamic of romance between these four co-workers. Who knows? Maybe Su-Yeong would want to approach Sa-sung again and would end up getting her. Maybe Sang-su would want to date her because of her break-up, and it would mess up his relationship with Mi-Kyung. Much of its narrative will likely be built around these complications.
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THE INTEREST OF LOVE (SEASON 1) EPISODES 5 & 6 LINKS: IMDB, WIKIPEDIA
THE INTEREST OF LOVE (SEASON 1) EPISODES 5 & 6 CAST: YOO YEON-SEOK, MUN KA-YOUNG, KEUM SAE-ROK
