The Interest of Love (Season 1), Episodes 11 & 12: The first few episodes of this K-drama made us believe that the central romance is one-sided. While Ha Sang-soo was infatuated with Su-yeong, he received the cold shoulder from her. And who can forget his hesitation before meeting her at the restaurant? With all the ups and downs in their personal & professional lives, their bond has only strengthened. So, despite a number of cliches, the show strikes a chord. It is also interesting to see how their social and economic backgrounds come into play. Since they both have already gone through so much emotional turmoil, you hope these two love birds somehow end up together.
The Interest of Love (Season 1), Episodes 11 & 12 Recap
The previous episode showed Su-Yeong (Mun Ka-young) actively thinking about breaking up with Jong-Hyeon (Jung Ga-ram). It ended with a shared kiss between her and Sang-Soo (Yoo Yeon-seok) on the ice rink. Afterward, he drives her back toward her place. She stops and asks whether he would like to have drinks together. She plays a bittersweet game of lies and ends up sharing the truth about her feelings toward him. He gets emotional hearing that. Mi-gyeong keeps calling him during this time, highly suspicious of his affair with Su-yeong.
However, he keeps cutting her calls, unsure how to face her after the momentous night. Su-yeong returns to her place to find Jong-hyeon, who prepares so much food for her. However, since she already had a meal with Sang-su, she only joins Jong-hyeon during his dinner. On the other hand, Mi-yeong goes to sleep with all her calls unanswered. The next day, Mr Yuk asks if someone would volunteer to work at another branch for a few months. Su-yeong decides to volunteer, and when Sang-su is about to join, Gyeong-pil accepts the offer.
Later, Sang-su’s mother comes to the bank and notices his interest in Su-yeong. She asks him for a loan to pay off the security deposit at her workplace. While he offers to chip in, she decides to do it on her own with a loan. Mi-gyeong comes out after she leaves and suddenly hugs Sang-su. He keeps asking for her time to talk about something. But she keeps postponing his request, being well aware that he wants to end their relationship.
On her way back, Su-yeong meets Jong-hyeon and his study-friend Cha Seon-jae. She notices his interest in this young girl and nudges him to talk about it. But he quotes seeing her as just his annoying friend from the study group. The next day at the bank, the employees discuss an online post that hint at recently wedded Yang Seok-hy’s extramarital affair. In the photo, he is seen taking this woman to an OB-GYN facility, which raises another set of suspicion.
Since Sang-su and Gyeong-pil are his friends, he later reveals that it is her premarital check-up. But he also confesses that he is in love with his ex. Then, Gyeong-pil and Su-yeong go to the other branch for work. Sang-su calls Mi-gyeong, who had not come to the office that day. She realizes that she slept overtime and rushes out. While Su-yeong reminisces her memories with Sang-su during her lunch break in a nearby park, he joins her. They have a romantic walk, which Gyeong-pil sees from a distance.
He later asks her if she wants to join their new branch’s colleagues. They bring up the subject of Mr. Yang’s affair, implying Su-yeong is that woman. She gets enraged by his insensitive remarks that he considers a casual joke. Gyeong-pil records his conversation and threatens to expose him if he does not shut up. She then leaves the restaurant, and he follows her. Meanwhile, Mi-gyeong refuses to have time alone with Sang-su but goes to meet his mother. She offers to help with her security deposit issue.
He appears just as she is about to leave. But she is so afraid of facing the truth that she flees immediately. Gyeong-pil asks Sang-su to join him for a drink and shares his knowledge of his affair with Su-yeong. He points out how he (Sang-su) is not enough to make it work. The next day, after a series of dodged requests, Mi-gyeong finally agrees to join Sang-su for some time together. Upon reaching the restaurant, he realizes that she has also invited Su-yeong and Jong-hyeong to her birthday celebration.
During their meal, she keeps bringing up conversations about their respective pairs while trying to notice the signs of his and Su-yeong mutual interest. Neither of them speaks anything about it and awkwardly continues with the dinner. On their drive back home, Sang-su finally decides to do the deed. However, she knows that he will break up and tries to stop it from happening on her birthday.
Since he still goes on to break up, she discloses that Su-yeong is living with Jong-hyeon, to make him jealous but also to make him see his relationship with her seem impossible. Meanwhile, Su-yeong gets utterly dumbfounded when Jong-hyeon asks whether she genuinely likes him. Instead of directly giving him an answer, she questions if love is the only way they can convey their feelings for each other.
The next episode begins with Sang-su and her in a hotel room, being intimate with each other. It also shows Mi-gyeong’s brief dialogue with Gyeong-pil about her knowledge of this affair. Gyeong-pil believes that she should not have gotten so involved with Sang-su if she had a hint that their relationship was doomed. Then the narrative switches back to their lives after their awkward interactions at the restaurant. Sang-su shows up near Su-yeong’s place, and they go on a walk together. Jong-hyeon notices that but does not intervene.
The next day, Mi-gyeong apologizes to Su-yeong for their awkward dinner. She also makes a plan for another double date. Mr. Yang is being disciplined for his affair. He becomes a topic of gossip for the bank employees. While Su-yeong continues her work in the sub-branch, Sang-su goes for lunch with Mi-gyeong and other colleagues. After this lunch, she tries to convince him to stay with her. Since there is already a case of Mr. Yang, she manipulates him by making him fear official action.
She scares him about the damage their affair will cause Su-yeong. Through her dialogue, you can sense her urge for him to stay with her despite not having the same feelings. Meanwhile, after closing their branch, Su-yeong goes to have drinks with Jong-hyeon and friends from his study class. Cha Seon-jae presses her to speak between them both. On her way back, she sees his old place being closed for good. It makes her reminisce about the sweet moments they shared over there.
Sang-su, who comes all the way to her place to meet her, turns back after seeing the couple together. He returns home and finds his mother, who makes him talk about his feelings for Su-yeong. He opens up about how she makes him feel and confesses that his relationship with Mi-gyeong is over. The next day, Su-yeong and Jong-hyeon go out for a movie and a meal together. While returning, he gives her a ring, yet not with the thought of proposing to her.
Mi-gyeong’s mother invites Sang-su to go shopping with her. He gets awkward with her cordiality and feels guilty for not being clear about the relationship status. So, he asks her to talk somewhere else. They go to a restaurant where Mi-gyeong soon joins them. Despite her efforts trying to stop him from sharing the news, he tells her mother that they have broken up. She leaves abruptly, and the interaction makes Mi-gyeong even more distraught.
Despite his interest in Su-yeong, she threatens him that she will not let go of her feelings for him. She is heartbroken that he can’t feel love for her the way he does. It is weird how she considers such feelings can be faked. But, considering her mental state, her reckless behavior does not feel downright odd. Due to the same heartbreak, she meets Su-yeong the next day, making her feel guilty if she chooses to act upon her feelings toward Sang-su.
There is an awkward interaction between her and Gyeong-pill about dating a wealthy person. The next day, she does not come to her branch, and Sang-su is told to sub for her. He goes there to work, but when he calls her, he realizes she is on the beach. He decides to head there right away. Gyeong-pill decides to stop him, but he does not pay heed to him and decides to act upon his impulse. On his way, he listens to Chopin’s The Farewell Waltz on her iPod. It makes us think about which relationship will be bided farewell.
He reaches the beach, and they share a jolly time together. She talks about her native town, where she hated beaches but loved making sandcastles since they did not cost her anything. She also acknowledges their transitory existence. By the time he comes back from a nearby store with soft drinks, she leaves the place. Just like the sandcastle being swept away by waves, their happy time together seems to have ended with the waves of real-world anxieties.
The Interest of Love (Season 1), Episode 12 Ending Explained:
Distraught Sang-su goes to her place, hoping to get in touch with her. But he fails at his attempt. Meanwhile, she goes to meet her father, who had indulged in an affair despite his happy marriage. He opens up about how he could not control his romantic feelings for that other woman. And he returned to his marriage after feeling guilty about taking those impulsive steps. It gives Su-yeong so much to process about her affair with Sang-su outside of their respective relationships.
Right then, she sees a photo of the sandcastle she made on the beach, sent by him. After contemplating for a few moments, she calls someone to come meet with her immediately. The next day at the bank, Jong-hyeon hurriedly and furiously enters to confront someone. While we assume he is coming to attack Sang-su, he instead attacks Gyeong-pil. His interaction with Su-yeong also shows an entirely different, violent side of him. When things have almost started to work out for the central couple, they are yet again confronted with another set of complications.
<< Previous Episode
The Interest of Love (Season 1) Episodes 11 & 12 Links: IMDb, Wikipedia
The Interest of Love (Season 1) Cast: Yoo Yeon-Seok, Mun Ka-young, Keum Sae-rok
