Name: The Interest of Love season 1 episode 9
Director: Jo Young-min
Released: 2023-01-18T23:56:28

In the ninth episode of The Interest of Love, time passes, but Sang-su does not open up to Mi-gyeong, and Mr. Jeong’s insecurities make it hard for Su-yeong to hold on. The episode is now streaming on Netflix.

Recap

Sang-su imagines a future with Mi-gyeong, but does not see himself being happy in that future. Meanwhile, Seok-hyeon goes missing right before his wedding, and Sang-su finds him crying over his ex-girlfriend. He convinces a crying Seok-hyeon to marry his fiancé.

Mi-gyeong’s mother tells Sang-su’s mother about Sang-su, still unaware that she is his mother. She adds that Mi-gyeong’s father is a conservative man who might not like the fact that Sang-su was raised by a single mother.

Su-yeong realizes that Mr. Jeong concedes a little too much and does not express his own wishes. Mr. Jeong tells Su-yeong that he does not want her to please him too much. He then pays her for his living expenses, and she accepts when he says it would make him feel better.

On the other hand, Mi-gyeong finds the journal with Su-yeong’s notes in Sang-su’s room and leaves his house immediately. She realizes that there were so many signs that pointed towards Sang-su liking Su-yeong, but she never noticed them.

Sang-su’s mother tells him that Mi-gyeong’s family is extremely rich compared to their family, but she says she supports his relationship because she thinks he is just as good as her.

To make the house more comfortable for Mr. Jeong, Su-yeong gives away her plants and gets rid of her piano; she gives up on her favorite place in the house to make space for him. When Mr. Jeong questions her about it, she makes up excuses.

However, he tells her that he feels like he is disrupting her life by making her compromise. When she replies that he would have done the same for her if she was the one struggling, he refuses to discuss this subject or his feelings anymore.

Mi-gyeong meets Su-yeong and questions her about Sang-su’s dating history at work. When Su-yeong feigns ignorance, she states that she is the one he likes now, so his past does not matter. This bothers Su-yeong, who does not want to look at the couple’s picture on Mi-gyeong’s phone.

Su-yeong is still thinking about it when Mr. Jeong comes to her room. He tells her he is staying with her because he likes her a lot and apologizes to her for being useless. He kisses her then and sleeps with her.

At work, Su-yeong and Sang-su discuss applying for jobs at the HQ. He gives her a book to help her prepare for the test, even though he needs it just as much, and tells her to ask him for help if she requires it. She compliments him on his growth as a bank clerk.

An increasingly insecure Mi-gyeong sees them alone and calls Sang-su her boyfriend to lay her claim on him.

Ms. Seo knows about Su-yeong and Mr. Jeong’s relationship. She would keep it a secret, but she advises Su-yeong to do what makes her happy.

An acquaintance from college meets Sang-su, and they go out for a drink. The man tells Sang-su that Gyeong-pil was Mi-gyeong’s first love in college, but he broke her heart by sleeping around with her friends.

A shocked Sang-su does not confront either of them about it. He goes to meet Mi-gyeong’s friends at a hotel, wearing the expensive blazer that Mi-gyeong gifted him. She then gifts him a car because his car seemed old to her.

He does not accept the gift and asks her to leave with the new car. The blazer, the car, the hotel bill that was out of Sang-su’s budget, and the people around him constantly calling Mi-gyeong his insurance disturb and upset him. He runs into Su-yeong on his way, who had come to the hotel to be away from Mr. Jeong for a night.

Months pass, but Mi-gyeong’s anxiety regarding Sang-su’s feelings for Su-yeong gets worse. Su-yeong and Sang-su interview for the positions at the HQ, while Mr. Jeong appears for the police exam again with Su-yeong’s support.

Mr. Jeong disappears for two days after getting his exam result, without a word to Su-yeong. Meanwhile, Sang-su evades the topic of Mi-gyeong moving in with him or meeting his mother.

Mr. Jeong returns and tells Su-yeong that he failed his exam again. When she tries to cheer him up, he asks her to stop. He tells her that he got into a fight with his friend because his friend rudely commented that she feeds him, gives him shelter, and sleeps with him.

He thinks that his friend was just stating the facts. He tells her he never should have come to her house with her. He gives her the cold shoulder at work as well.

Su-yeong and Sang-su both fail to get jobs at the HQ. Mr. Lee tells the others that Sang-su did not get the job because he displeased Mr. Yuk by aiding Su-yeong. This makes Mi-gyeong anxious, but she acts like she already knew about it.

Sang-su and Su-yeong are then sent out of town to attend a VIP client’s funeral.

When Gyeong-pil acts friendly with Mi-gyeong, she tells him that she has still not forgotten what he did to her. When she further taunts him, he points out that she says she trusts Sang-su, but he can see that she is anxious about him going out of town with Su-yeong.

At the funeral, Sang-su tells Su-yeong about his father’s death, while she recounts her brother’s death. She tells him she decided to be happy for her brother, and that is what she is trying to do.

On their way back, she assumes he regrets helping her, but he tells her that if he had not helped her, he would have regretted that more. She makes it clear that she will not let one failure drag her down and that she will keep trying until she gets that job.

When the train passes by Jeongdongjin, Su-yeong admires the view, and Sang-su asks her if they should get down. They get off the train and spend some quality time at the beach.

They reminisce about their trip to Jeju Island. Sang-su thinks he should have made himself clear to her back then, but she tells him she thinks it is too late now.

While waiting for their train, Su-yeong thanks Sang-su for everything. She admits that she laughed after a long time because of him. He sincerely asks her whether she is happy. She does not reply but asks him if she should break up with Mr. Jeong with tears in her eyes.

Recap

There was a lot of tension in this episode. Mi-gyeong’s rising anxiety and disappointment every time Sang-su refused to take their relationship to the next step were very apparent. More than Su-yeong, she was trying to convince herself that Sang-su likes her.
While Mi-gyeong’s mother seems kind, class and background matter to her as well. The episode stresses that no matter how kind or nice a person is, they cannot completely let go of discriminatory societal norms, as they cannot stop being a part of society.
This episode also highlights Su-yeong and Sang-su’s efforts to let go of each other and move on. No matter how hard they try, they cannot find the happiness with their partners that they managed to find with each other in a few stolen moments.
The writers tried to show that Su-yeong and Sang-su like each other because they understand each other better than anyone else; they have both faced losses at a very young age. They feel comfortable sharing their pain with each other when they barely ever express it in front of anyone else.