What a rollercoaster! The first half of Love
Next Door, rounds up with SeungHyo’s love confession and the disclosure of SeokRyu’s
long-held secret. SeokRyu’s collapse at the end of the recently concluded episode 8 of Love
Next Door, finally opens her can of worms. She was diagnosed with stage two stomach cancer and
had 70% of her stomach removed in the US. This discovery is going to cause some waterfalls in the
next episode. This means that the second half of the series, will be about how SeungHyo and SeokRyu
overcome this troubling phrase, and the shift in their relationship from friends to lovers. The
last episode took the viewers through emotional highs and lows, and it looks like the viewers'
hearts will break alongside SeungHyo’s in the next episode. I must say that SeokRyu’s ex-fiance,
HyunJun, is annoying and obnoxious. Admittedly, he and SeokRyu had once loved one another in a
faraway country, and had almost gotten married. He might have even been there for SeokRyu during her
frail health and subsequent treatment. However, as she recalled, he cheated on her and wasn’t
there for her, when she needed him after her colleagues ostracized her. Worse still, he
was the one who broke the engagement. But now, just when she’s finally picking up the
broken pieces, and with a potential love interest on the horizon, he wants her back out
of the blue. He persists in winning her back, neglecting her declaration of disinterest in
getting back with him. He’s smug and confident in his ability to win her back, just because
he’s the only one who knows her health secret. As SeokRyu’s father and SeungHyo observed, he’s
shameless and obnoxious. On the other hand, he must have been good to SeokRyu and had loved her
in his own way. This could be why it was difficult for her to get over him, after their broken
engagement. And as she said to him here, they both did their best in the relationship. This is why
there are no hard feelings between them. However, to others, like her mother, it just looks
like they still have feelings for one another. SeokRyu’s mother was just as annoying as
HyunJun. Admittedly, neither SeokRyu nor HyunJun, is sharing the reason behind their breakup. But
this doesn’t call for her to be a matchmaker between them, without knowing the why. She wants
SeokRyu out of Korea and back to the US, without getting to the root of why she left in the first
place. I fear she’s living through her daughter, and is failing in her duty as a mother. Finding
out that SeokRyu is attending a cooking school, caused a huge commotion at home. Her mother,
who wants her successful and back in the US, feared the shattering of that dream, while her
father doesn’t want his daughter to experience the hardship he did in the kitchen. Sadly, they
hold SeokRyu in high esteem, thereby having high expectations of her, while having little to no
expectations of their grown son. MiSook pampered her son because he had a hole in his heart as a
child. However, it became a habit even after the hole closed up, making him irresponsible. This
makes me wonder how regretful she’ll feel when she learns that her daughter, who had dogged it
in the US, did it while going through something life-changing alone. I cringed when her father
made a point to remind her that she couldn’t even keep a job for 10 years, not knowing what
his daughter went through in the States. The good thing is that SeokRyu finally let her pent-up
frustration out, which will eventually make room for growth and acceptance. KyungJong and GeunSik
were the much-needed comic relief in the episode. Who else laughed at KyungJong’s drunken habit? The
reason behind the Choi’s strange family dynamics became clearer. I had thought that SeungHyo,
was the only one who suspected his mother’s extramarital affair with her boss. But his father
had known. HyeSook had loved her job more than she loved her family, and could barely spend time
with them in Korea. She dumped her son, SeungHyo, on SeokRyu’s mother, and zoomed off to her next
assignment. After SeungHyo saw her with her boss, and KyungJong found out about the affair, they
must have associated her job with her affair, and learned to get by without her. KyungJong
thought that the affair had ended, and tried his best to celebrate her birthday, just to
see her with her boss. This broke his heart, as he fears his family will fall apart. What’s
more, SeHwan seems to have a proposition for HyeSook now that SeungHyo is grown. Meanwhile,
SeungHyo and SeokRyu had a sleepless night after his confession. SeokRyu is warming up to the
idea of being more than friends with SeungHyo, as she’s loved him even as a child. She currently has
nine days left to give him an answer. But there’s trouble in paradise. Having no idea of her medical
history, SeungHyo bought popcorn for SeokRyu, who indulged in it. However, she’d been feeling
sick, and the trans fat worsened her condition, worrying HyunJun and SeokRyu. Not wanting SeungHyo
to find out about her medical history, she brushes off his hand and asks HyunJun for assistance. The
look of confusion and hurt on SeungHyo’s face, couldn’t be mistaken. SeokRyu was diagnosed with
stage two stomach cancer, which required 70% removal of her stomach, and underwent chemotherapy
in the US. This was why she took a year off from work, and why the incorrigible Chris seemed
interested in her health. She hid her illness from her family and friends. This is going to be
a bone of contention in the next episode. SeungHyo and HyunJun have a war of nerves, as HyunJun
gloats about knowing something about SeokRyu, which SeungHyo doesn’t, just when SeokRyu is
leaving the hospital. SeungHyo drives SeokRyu home, but there’s a strain in their relationship.
SeungHyo confides in Moeum about his worries, saying there’s a gap between him and SeokRyu,
and HyunJun is inside of it with a part of SeokRyu he doesn’t know. The situation at his
office, with SeokRyu brushing his hands off, must have made him realize SeokRyu is keeping
something from him. HyunJun is confident that their shared secret will win SeokRyu over.
He picks her up after her cooking class, and proposes to her for the second time, with her old
ring. Just as her mother had hoped and wanted; he wants her to go back with him to the US to pursue
her cooking dreams. This makes SeokRyu recall his first proposal in the US. Her relationship with
SeungHyo becomes more strained, as she tells him of HyunJun’s proposal. What’s more, DanHo spent
a day with Moeum as a paramedic. This created an avenue for them to know more about one another.
Moeum can be seen offering support to an emotional DanHo. Meanwhile, SeungHyo is heartbroken to
learn SeokRyu’s secret. He feels sad that their friendship meant little to SeokRyu, for her to
have gone through such pain and a life-changing situation without telling him. On the other
hand, this situation is not easy for SeokRyu, who feels like nobody understands her feelings.
Overcoming this phase will only make their love and relationship stronger. Who else can hardly
wait for her answer to SeungHyo’s confession? On a scale of 1 to 10, how eager and excited are you
for the next episode? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. If you liked this
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wonderfully K-drama. Thanks for watching, bye.