Name: The Interest of Love season 1 episode 8
Director: Jo Young-min
Released: 2023-01-14T15:36:34

The eighth episode of The Interest of Love sees Sang-su and Su-yeong trying hard to move on and adjust to their respective romantic relationships. The episode is now streaming on Netflix.

Recap

At Mi-gyeong’s house, Sang-su tells her about his mother and about how she never lets him see her sadness or pain. Mi-gyeong remarks he is just like his mother. The two confess that they are not as nice as the other thinks.

Su-yeong brings a hesitant Mr. Jeong to live with her, as he spent his security deposit on his father’s treatment. She clears her spare room and converts it into a bedroom for him.

She tells him she brought his books here from his old apartment. While she tries to adjust to him living in her house, she does not let him see that.

Mi-gyeong shows up at Sang-su’s house soon after he returns home. She tells him she plans to stay the night. In the morning, he cooks her breakfast, and they go to work together.

Mr. Jeong does not want the other employees to know about his and Su-yeong’s relationship. When he comes back to work after his leave, Mr. Ma reprimands him because he had to do the menial tasks in his absence, but Sang-su comes to his rescue.

Su-yeong offers to make Sang-su coffee and congratulates him on his new relationship. Mr. Yuk also returns after taking a leave. He wants Mr. Jeong to get his shoes repaired, but Sang-su offers to do it in his place.

Mr. Yuk tells him that since Sang-su went out of his way to help Su-yeong, he thought he was interested in her. Once he leaves, Su-yeong questions him about the same and offers to run the errand for him, but he shrugs it off.

Seok-hyeon is getting married, but he still cannot seem to get over his ex-girlfriend.

Sang-su is asked by a woman in the market to look after her shop. When a customer requests him to gut a fish, Su-yeong comes to help a clueless Sang-su. She had earlier asked Gyeong-pil about Sang-su’s involvement in Mr. Yuk’s disciplinary action.

She thanks him for going out of his way to help her. He tells her not to be uncomfortable, as he would do that for anyone, and she replies that she already knows that because he is a good man.

Mi-gyeong’s father wants her to get married. She tells him that he has never acknowledged or trusted her and that she would choose her own partner. She adds that she is already dating before leaving. Her father asks her mother to find out who is she dating.

Seok-hyeon brings his fiancé to meet his colleagues. Sang-su asks Su-yeong if she is alright since she suddenly left the other day.

She replies that she understands that people need to marry those who are similar to them, like Seok-hyeon and his fiancé. She tells him not to feel sorry about their past anymore or get on Mr. Yuk’s bad side for her.

She points out that he should be worrying about Mi-gyeong, who takes Sang-su out to golf with her.

A girl in Mr. Jeong’s study circle asks him if he is single, and he happily tells her that he is dating someone. He comes home to a meal cooked by Su-yeong for him.

At work, Mi-gyeong asks Su-yeong to pick up her tufting project for her and drop it off at her house. Su-yeong is reluctant, but she agrees. She then goes to her parents’ restaurant, where her mother cooks for her because it is her birthday.

She goes to Mi-gyeong’s house later to drop off her project. Mi-gyeong, Sang-su, and Mr. Jeong, who had told her he was busy, surprise her with a birthday dinner.

Su-yeong realizes that Mi-gyeong bought the painting she used to like looking at every day. Mi-gyeong tells her that she fell in love with it the first time she looked at it with Su-yeong and bought it. The painting is in her bathroom.

Mi-gyeong talks to Mr. Jeong about college, which makes Su-yeong uncomfortable, but only Sang-su notices her discomfort. Sang-su and Su-yeong are uncomfortable throughout the dinner, seeing each other with their respective partners.

Mi-gyeong gifts Su-yeong a lamp, while Mr. Jeong gifts her a scrunchie. She asks him if they should tell everyone at work about their relationship, but he tells her that they are not like Mi-gyeong and Sang-su. He does not want people to gossip about them.

Su-yeong sees people at work mistreating Mr. Jeong; they believe he is not one of them and that he is below them. They go shopping after work, but Mr. Jeong does not let her buy anything for him.

When she tells him that she wants a big rock on her wedding ring, he draws a ring on her finger.

Mi-gyeong’s mother forces Sang-su to follow her daughter with her to find out the identity of the person she is dating. When she inadvertently discovers that she is dating Sang-su, she asks him if he will marry her daughter.

He tells her that it is too early for him to think about marrying her, but he is taking the relationship seriously, which earns him her approval. She promises to keep their relationship a secret from Mi-gyeong’s father for now.

Su-yeong asks Mr. Jeong whether he would have stayed with her if he was rich. He tells her that he would have done everything to make her happy if he had money. He wants to succeed to make her happier.

At Seok-hyeon’s wedding, Su-yeong and Sang-su watch each other from afar and think that they could have been together, but they lost their chance.

They decide not to think about it because they want to honor the choice they have made for the sake of their partners. Furthermore, they are scared of desiring each other again.

Su-yeong is seen entering a hotel room. She lies to Mr. Jeong that she is staying with a friend. Sang-su also walks towards a hotel room and rings the bell.

Review

It is refreshing to see Su-yeong and Sang-su not being cold or at odds with each other. However, the episode still managed to portray that there is tension lying just beneath the surface.
The cliffhanger was sudden and unexpected. It fulfilled its purpose of surprising the viewers and keeping them on the edge of their seats.
The first half of the episode focused on highlighting Sang-su’s kindness, and that did not seem out of the blue. The writers have been very carefully charting out the events to convince the viewers of the claims made in the show.
The show never disappoints in terms of making full use of symbols. The painting becomes another one of those things that Su-yeong loves but cannot have, and Mi-gyeong acquires it on a whim, without much thought, only to put it in an insignificant place.