True Intentions & Hidden Desires
Episode 8 of The Interest of Love starts with Sang-su deciding to head up and chill with Mi-gyeong at her apartment after all. She wants to know about his history, so Sang-su discusses his mum and how she’s as strong as a rock. Even when his father passed away, she kept all her grief inside and never showed him crying. That’s not unlike Sang-su, given he keeps most of his emotions pent-up. She wants him to show his emotion more but Sang-su simply smiles weakly. Eventually the pair part ways and they say goodnight once they’re home. Mi-gyeong admits that she misses him, but Sang-su believes it’s the alcohol speaking and tells her to take a hangover tablet and go to bed. Meanwhile, Jong-hyeon continues to act cautiously, unsure whether this is the right step forward with the pair living together. It’s a big step forward and before they enter, Su-yeong reveals what her passcode is in the hallway. Hopefully no one else has heard her! Anyway, the place is a bit of a mess and as such, Su-yeong works tirelessly to take out boxes and the like from her spare room. After clearing the place out, all that’s left is a bed and a few other possessions, including Jong-hyeon’s books. Mi-gyeong shows up at Sang-su’s place later on. She admits she missed him so much and wanted to see him. “I’m not going home tonight.” She says, boldly declaring that the pair are now going to be staying the night. Oh my! When Mi-gyeong wakes up, Sang-su has made a whole bunch of food for her. As for Su-yeong, she awakens to find stuff piled in her room… and Jong-hyeon out in the kitchen making breakfast for her. At work, everyone claps the first “official couple” in Sang-su and Mi-gyeong, while Su-yeong is back with Jong-hyeon and seems to be better now than she was. She even congratulates Sang-su on his new relationship in the break room. Mr Yuk also returns too, although given the way he went out in the blaze of glory last time, he immediately mentions how Sang-su went out of his way to help Su-yeong. She’s unsure what this means and he doesn’t pry, although Su-yeong does later find out what he did for her and helps Sang-su while he’s in quite the bind over at the fish shop. She calls him a good man for helping out. Back home, Mi-gyeong is encouraged by her father to get married and settle down rather than working for “chump change” over at KCU Bank. She’s not happy and eventually goes for a drive, stopping at a nearby charging station. After, she heads to see Sang-su with a ring box. She talks about her father wanting her to find a prospective partner and asks Sang-su… if he’ll go and play golf with her. He breathes a sigh of relief as she laughs along, while Jong-hyeon heads to his study group and gets talking to a girl there. She’s pretty upfront and asks if he has a girlfriend, which he confirms he does. That afternoon, Su-yeong stops by to pick up her project work as Mi-gyeong isn’t able to. She tells her to drop it by her apartment later on. It turns out Sang-su, Jong-hyeon and Mi-gyeong are all there and it’s actually for her birthday. Tellingly, Mi-gyeong just throws her project on the floor nonchalantly. She’s also snatched up the artwork that Su-yeong was interested in at the gallery too, placing it in the bathroom. When the attention turns to education, Jong-hyeong points out that he didn’t pass his test when he was just a few points shy of it. After, Mi-gyeong takes the initiative and tells Sang-su to drive the pair back home again. Outside, they decide to leave on their own. Su-yeong opens her gift and finds a lampshade. After work the next day, Su-yeong and Jong-hyeon head out for a date together, with the former deciding they should go shopping. As they wander around, Jong-hyeon refuses to accept a new t-shirt but the pair pose as newlyweds as they look through a whole bunch of different household appliances. Studying the price up on the rooftop, there’s a really nice moment where Jong-hyeon draws out a ring on her finger. Mi-gyeong’s mum is desperate to find out who her daughter is dating so she ends up tagging a lift… with Sang-su of all people. As they continue on, Sang-su lets slip that he knows who Mi-gyeong is dating but doesn’t mention exactly who. That is, until she rings him and tells Sang-su that she misses him. Uh oh! It’s incredibly awkward, especially as they eventually head out together and she probes Sang-su about his hobbies and social status. She also brings up that Mi-gyeong was an amateur figure skater too, which catches Sang-su off-guard. He eventually tells Mi-gyeong’s mum that he’s not taking this relationship lightly but has no intention of getting married just yet. His approval rating is up to 20% so far. At the upcoming work wedding that weekend, Su-yeong and Sang-su find themselves locking eyes and trading glances across the room. Sang-su believes he’s lost what could have been and he’s going to honour the choice he’s made. As for Su-yeong, she’s going to do the same thing and decide to stick by her chosen partner. Or does she? As the episode closes out, Su-yeong gets herself a hotel room and phones Jong-hyeon, claiming she’s sleeping over at a friend’s place. Only, Sang-su shows up outside a hotel room.
The Episode Review
So it would appear that Sang-su and Su-yeong are going to meet in private and hook up together but given how many misunderstandings and contrivances there have been across the run-time, I feel like this is going to be another. The camera angles are very specific and careful over not showing who is at the door for the other, so it could well be that we’re being led to believe these two are together when they’re not really. Or there’s the ultimate curve-ball and our two males are hooking up while the two females do the same, although the chances of that are incredibly remote! This episode really accelerates Mi-gyeong’s true intentions, including her selfish and materialistic side. The juxtaposition between how she throws the mat down on the floor compared to Su-yeong is telling, especially as it seems like Mi-gyeong’s goal all this time is simply to manipulate and take what Su-yeong has. And that brings us to the subject of Sang-su. Does she really like him or is he like the artwork in the bathroom? Su-yeong saw it first and really liked it so Mi-gyeong decided to swoop in and take it. Could the same be true for Sang-su? Given the history she has with Gyeong-pil, that could well ring true. Either way though, The Interest of Love is an absolute car crash but it’s unmissable drama that you just can’t take your eyes off. This is a proper guilty pleasure right now.
