K-DRAMA RECAP: “Love Next Door” Episodes 5 and 6

Things take a frustrating turn on the romance front this week as our male lead takes his sweet time to come to terms with the fact that he has been in love with our leading lady all along. Confessing to her is a different story, though. He would rather keep his distance from her than get caught out. Which makes me wonder as to what he has learned over the past decade.

Meanwhile, our heroine figures out what she wants to do in her life. And with that level of passion and devotion, we can only root for her success with all our might.

Love Next Door Episodes 5 and 6 Highlights

A flashback shows us that after Seok-ryu went to study abroad, Seung-hyo went to see her and confess his love. But unluckily, he was a little too late because she already had a boyfriend by then. Now that they are back in each other’s vicinity, we can hope for a different turn of events this time, right?

Alas, Seung-hyo overhears Seok-ryu say she isn’t over her ex-fiancé yet. And instead of asking about what she meant by those words, Seung-hyo keeps his distance from Seok-ryu, turning down the suggestion to have her help out with the flagship store.

Sensing something is off, Seok-ryu tries to talk things out with Seung-hyo, but he crosses the line, telling her to focus on finding her dream and stop lazing around. As if the situation isn’t tense enough, Seung-hyo’s ex-girlfriend (cameo by Seo Ji-Hye) shows up with an enticing offer for Seung-hyo to join her on an important project.

The next morning Seok-ryu gets shocked having spotted a shirtless Seung-hyo sleeping in her younger brother’s bed. One thing leads to another and Seung-hyo trips and injures his toe. Since she is partially responsible for his injury, Seok-ryu offers to drive Seung-hyo to his ex-girlfriend’s studio where they are supposed to meet, but Seung-hyo plays hard to get at first yet eventually gives in.

Arriving there, Seok-ryu is thrilled to see the big jars filled with sauces and pastes and after learning the ex-girlfriend and the neighborhood ladies plan to make some more that day, she gets more enthusiastic. It seems like Seok-ryu has finally found her passion, doesn’t it?

Between Seok-ryu getting jealous when spotting Seung-hyo and the ex-girlfriend working closely together and getting reminded of catching them kissing in the past and Seung-hyo getting worried about Seok-ryu and rushing over when she accidentally breaks a jar, we can see the sparks are there. But what is the use of our leads to keep what they truly feel to themselves and leave the misunderstandings to fester?

Two perk of that sudden trip is #1 Seok-ryu realizes she wants to cook. Dreams don’t have to be grand or elaborate and the devotion she puts into making food are enough for us to root for Seok-ryu to follow her dream. #2 Seung-hyo admits he has been in love with Seok-ryu all along. Running away, avoidance, or denial are all useless. One smile from Seok-ryu is enough to have Seung-hyo grinning.

[자각엔딩] 정해인, 웃는 정소민을 바라보며 확신한 마음…♥ #엄마친구아들 EP.5 | tvN 240831 방송

Dropping off some food at Seung-hyo’s house, Seok-ryu uses the chance that he is showering to look around for Seung-hyo’s letter. He has read her letter, so it is only fair she reads his, too, right? But the contents of the letter turn Seok-ryu speechless.

Spotting the letter in her hands, a flustered Seung-hyo is just as shocked if not more, snatching the letter from Seok-ryu and getting it torn in the process. Once again, rather than be honest, he brushes it off as a joke and tosses the letter away, leaving Seok-ryu more confused.

From then on, Seung-hyo keeps avoiding Seok-ryu whenever they run into each other. And poor Seok-ryu doesn’t know how to react to this. While I understand that Seung-hyo is scared of ruining their friendship in case Seok-ryu turns him down, ironically his actions are causing them to tear apart. His pain is more self-inflicted than it is about his relationship with Seok-ryu.

To celebrate Seok-ryu’s decision to sign up for a cooking class, Mo-eum suggests they throw a little party. But Seung-hyo doesn’t show up and instead spends the night venting to Dan-ho who advises him to muster up the courage before it is too late. Mo-eum, who knows everything but opts to watch from the sidelines, also agrees with him. But unless Seung-hyo steels his resolve, things will remain the same.

Seung-hyo might act nonchalant before Seok-ryu, but behind her back, he looks up the certificate she wants to get, helps her father get back the money he was scammed out of, gives a scammer a flying kick when he hurts her and uses his necktie to wipe her nosebleed. But what is the use if Seung-hyo can’t utter the most important thing and just says absurd things when Seok-ryu confronts him about avoiding her?

정해인의 타임캡슐 편지를 읽고 생각이 많아진 정소민, 어색해진 두 사람 #엄마친구아들 EP.6 | tvN 240901 방송

Under the pretext of returning the favor, Seok-ryu gifts Seung-hyo the first dish she cooked in class which also happens to be his favorite food. But he just keeps saying the same nonsensical things and crosses the line, telling Seok-ryu to stay away from him before taking off.

It suddenly dawns on Seok-ryu that the only thing she doesn’t know about Seung-hyo is his first love. Seok-ryu is sharp enough to connect the dots and figure it out. Yet she wants to hear the answer directly from him. But it seems we need to wait until next week to hear Seung-hyo’s answer. Hopefully, it will be something different from the nonsense we got this week.

[처음엔딩] 정소민, 모든 걸 안다고 생각했던 정해인에 대해 몰랐던 것! #엄마친구아들 EP.6 | tvN 240901 방송

Love Next Door Episodes 5 and 6 Musings

Honestly, I am not fond of the pace of the drama is going by. After last week’s hug scene, I thought Seung-hyo would finally admit that he is still in love with Seok-ryu. But it took him a whole episode to come to this realization and then one episode and maybe more to decide to confess his feelings.

For someone, who missed the timing once and had to lose the girl he loves to another guy, it seems Seung-hyo learned nothing from his past mistakes. And his reluctance to tell Seok-ryu the truth isn’t doing their friendship any favors either.

Luckily, Seok-ryu refused to take the nonsense Seung-hyo kept saying and insisted on getting the words out of his mouth without budging an inch. Way to go, girl!

As for our second lead couple, the theory of Dan-ho being a single father is confirmed this week though Mo-eum learns about it in the worst way ever. Leaving a sick little girl alone at home and having her call for help isn’t an appropriate thing to do, right, Dan-ho?

Make no mistake, though, Dan-ho genuinely cares for his daughter and is ready to give everything up for her. But according to Mo-eum who was raised by her mother after her father died, giving up on his dreams won’t make his daughter happy but miserable.

Speaking of dreams, we got some snippets that Mo-eum wants to apply for the research center at the South Pole and she is currently preparing for it. I have no idea where the drama would go with this arc but hopefully, we will get a win-win situation where no one has to give up on their dreams.

[7화 예고FULL] "이번엔 꼭 말할거야" 정해인, 어긋난 정소민과의 사랑 타이밍을 바로 잡다!? #엄마친구아들 EP.7

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