The first episode of ‘The Interest of Love’ introduces Ha Sang-su, a bank clerk, who likes his coworker, Ahn Su-yeong. The episode is now streaming on Netflix.
Recap
Ha Sang-su works at the KCU Bank. He tells the audience how his bank discriminates among its customers on the basis of their wealth, a determiner of one’s status in modern-day Korea.
He is a part of the office ice hockey team, and he likes Su-yeong, a coworker who always eats her lunch alone. She was his immediate supervisor when he was a rookie three years ago.
Sang-su is a kind man, helping customers and those around him, sometimes at his own expense. He offers to take some of Su-yeong’s customers. He gets distracted while attending to a customer and ends up giving a VIP customer the wrong card.
The two are then forced to go to Jeju Island to resolve the situation. They are reminded of the days when he was a rookie and often made such mistakes. Sang-su helps Su-yeong put a fallen egg back into a bird’s nest.
Sang-su and his two friends, Seok-hyeon and Gyeong-pil, are known as “The Three Idiots of Youngpo” at the office. The three go out drinking with their seniors, who discuss the rumors about Su-yeong being seen with a new man every day.
Su-yeong drinks alone at the bar and replies to a message from Sang-su, telling him she had fun because of him. She lives alone and ignores her mother’s calls.
When Su-yeong takes the street shift that no one seems to like, Sang-su follows to spend some time with her. He asks her to sit down and does all the work on his own. He then asks her to go out with him on the weekend, and she agrees.
They watch a movie together, have dinner, and then he walks her home. He gets to know her better when she shares more about her life like how she loved painting but could not go to art school because her family could not afford it.
He asks her to go out with him again, and she tells him she does not like undefined relationships. After telling her that even he prefers clear and defined relationships, he promises to treat her to something tasty.
Seok-hyeon breaks up with his girlfriend even though he was in love with her because he comes from a rich family and his girlfriend’s family is not as rich.
He tells Sang-su that in this world, one can only be with the person who belongs to the same social status as them.
Su-yeong excels at her work. Her senior, Mr. Ma, who was rejected by her once criticizes her behind her back as she is just a high-school graduate who comes from a family that is not exceptional.
On the day of their date, Sang-su gets stuck at work late and his phone breaks down, while Su-yeong waits for him at the restaurant. By the time he gets there, she is nowhere to be seen.
He apologizes to her the next day, but she does not respond. He leaves snacks on her desk every day, but they are left untouched. He sends her a series of messages after getting drunk, but they are also left unanswered.
There is a rumor at the office that Su-yeong is dating the security guard, Mr. Jeong. Su-yeong is interrogated at a team dinner by their seniors about the same, making her uncomfortable.
Sang-su wants to defend her, but his friend stops him. Sang-su tells him that he likes Su-yeong.
He follows her home to make sure that she is okay. However, she rebuffs him for asking now but being silent like everyone else when she was being targeted.
He apologizes again and confesses his feelings to her even when she says that she is not interested in knowing how he feels. She coldly rejects him by telling him that she is in fact dating Mr. Jeong.
Review
- Sang-su’s character as the boy next door seems familiar to the viewers, but there is a hint of something else lying just beneath the surface, which is intriguing.
- The events in the episode take place at a slow pace but without making it dull. It looks like the last line, which was unexpected, promises a twist in the next episode.
- The viewers are introduced to the characters and the environment of the office where they work. The plot did not have much to it as this was the first episode.
Also Read: Trolley episode 1 recap & review: Prelude