Dream man building a dream restaurant for his dream girl? Dream or not, the now finished K-Drama, ‘Love Next Door’ inherits the qualities of a man written by a woman— Shin Ha Eun, female script writer of the drama.
The stars of the show include Jung So Min (main female lead), who plays the role of Bae Seok Ryu and Jung Hae In (main male lead), who plays the role of Choi Seung Hyo, who transform a chaotic childhood turned friendship into newfound romance. Unlike the typical enemy to lover trope, this plot follows a ‘frenemies to negligence to friends to lovers’ trope.
I’m sure you’ve already guessed I’m going to be reviewing it (only main couple’s relationship). Warning, there are spoilers ahead
Here’s a quick glimpse + review of the episodes:
Episode 1. “Comeback” : Bae Seok Ryu, who is currently working abroad in the United States and engaged to her long-time boyfriend, returns to Korea, without any explanation. She meets Seung-Hyo during an awkward encounter (inside of a cardboard-box) in which she tells him not to tell anyone she was back.
Review: I thought the episode name was perfectly correlated to how the story unravelled from Seok Ryu’s return to the States. Normally, there is no correlation in a Korean drama between names of the episode to the plot of the story. It’s always the name related to a thematic concept the story entails. The unusual origins of a story like this make it interesting from the get-go, so I would give this episode a 9.3/10.
Episode 2. “Hate” : Though her parents pester her to give an explanation— that is, why she quit her well-earning and highly-influential job— she refuses to verbalize her worries out loud.
Review: I love how they showed that someone can’t change instantaneously. It was realistic and down-to-earth, the way the mother felt both rewarded by her child and hurt by her child. I like how they refined the mom’s perspective and showed that the daughter can be right at times, and that a mother should support her daughter’s dreams, even if she hasn’t found it yet. Because of this heartwarming episode, I rate it an 8.9/10.
Episode 3. “Stop Line” : Seung-Hyo struggles to come to a consensus with one of his team member’s about a potential investor in their architecture company while Baek-Ryu struggles to find things to do with her stagnant life, evoking anxiety about her questionable decisions.
Review: I skipped a lot of this episode because there were not many interactions between the male and female lead, which made it in layman terms, boring and dry, in some places. I would rate this episode a 6.5/10, because overall, the episode was important for the plot development.
Episode 4. “Past Perfect” : Seung-Hyo gets a work opportunity to work with Baek-Ryu’s old company, to which Seung Hyo’s colleague wants Baek-Ryu to help. Baek-Ryu agrees to help them with the project through an online meeting. To seal the deal, workers from the company set up a physical meeting in which Baek-Ryu had accompanied Seung-Hyo and his colleague and ended up in a sticky situation.
Review: This episode was one of my favorites from the series, because there are developments in both the main character’s trust and understanding of each other, namely. I also like Baek-Ryu’s rising confidence and ability to stand up for herself. Looking from an aspect of character development and pursuing romance, I give this episode a 10/10.
Episode 5. “Go Back” : Seung-Hyo’s feelings resurface for Baek-Ryu, which causes him to act awkwardly with her, giving her mixed feelings.
Review: I hated the lack of communication within this episode, though it is quickly resolved and fast-paced. Though they did face it head on, I hated how they avoided each other. The entire episode was awkward and it felt more like procrastination than a romantic development. Therefore, this episode was a 4.3/10 in my books.
Episode 6. “Your First” : Seok-Ryu reignites a childhood passion—which she struggles to express to her parents. However, when her father is caught gambling hefty funds, the family’s weaknesses are exposed and left in shambles.
Review: I liked seeing Seok-Ryu find something she’s passionate about; however, I wish they could have done it gradually. It came off unrealistic because it didn’t take her a long time to figure out what she was “meant” to do. This episode, at most, would be a 6.4/10.
Episode 7. “Love is All About Timing” : When Seok-Ryu’s ex reappears, it ignites old memories and sparks tension within the family. Seung-Hyo is forced to come to terms and light with his feelings, leaving the end with a predictable cliffhanger (if you know you know).
Review: I came to respect Seok-Ryu’s ex because he looked and acted like a decent and caring person. However, I didn’t like how he interfered with the main characters’ relationships especially after they broke up. Hence, I rated this episode a 7.2/10.
Episode 8. “His Secret” : Seung Hyo comes clean with his feelings for Seok-Ryu—which leaves the ball in her court. As he awaits an answer, Seok-Ryu faces another challenge when her parents discover and disapprove of her newfound passion.
Review: I liked how the confession was rather quick compared to the other dramas I’ve watched. However, I didn’t really notice a development from their friend to lover journey. Because of that, it was awkward to see Seung-Hyo confess his feelings while Seok-Ryu was still dead-set on their platonic relationship. This episode felt a bit messy and it was too fast—leaving me with no choice but to rate it a 5.6/10.
Read Part 2 to get insight on the last 8 episodes!
