The second episode of Love Next Door starts with a scene from the past showing Seok-ryu persuading Seung-hyo to assist her in cleaning barbecue grills at a restaurant for her part-time job. He is angry because she lied to him, pretending she wanted to go to a nice place. She clings to him as he tries to depart, then after their work is over, goes with him to a shop where she spends her earnings on glow-in-the-dark star stickers for her bedroom ceiling and a gold brooch for her mother. Her mother was thrilled when she found the brooch stored in a rice cooker for her.
Nevertheless, currently, she awakens in a storage room that was once her bedroom. While Seung hyo wears fancy clothes in his well-decorated room.
Seok ryu’s mother continues to be in a bad mood, declining to prepare breakfast for her. In a flashback from the night before, Seok-ryu’s parents tried but failed to get her to confess the truth about her return, leading them to believe she had cheated on her fiance. Her mother attempts to uncover the true story but she is unwilling to disclose it. Seung-hyo and Mo-eun arrive to make sure she is okay. Seung hyo pays no attention to her as he delivers food for Seok ryu’s mom, while Mo eun worries that Seok ryu may have been fatally attacked by her mother, who nearly broke her leg while running away from home years ago.
Seok ryu’s mother feeds everyone else except for her, causing her to feel upset. Mo eun is willing to share with her, but Seong hyu is not and rejects her request to talk to him later, saying he only came to see Aunt Mi suk, her mother. Seok ryu disputes with her brother who accuses her of being a pest. Angry at them, her mother storms out of the kitchen to the basement, where she drums to release her frustration.
Later, Mo eun questions Seok ryu about her reasons for quitting her job and ending her engagement due to her perfectionist nature, but Seok ryu remains tight-lipped and Mo eun leaves for work as she is running late. Seok ryu chokes Seung hyo for his betrayal the night before, but her mother shows up to rescue him. She instructs Seok ryu to bring rice cakes to his workplace. Seok ryu becomes envious as he observes their strong bond. Seok-ryu accompanies Seung-hyo to his new office, bringing rice cakes along with them. The co-workers are clearly fascinated by their childhood tale, in which Seok-ryu portrays herself as Seung-hyo’s rescuer because he was born in France and didn’t know how to speak Korean. However, Seung-hyo quickly destroys the charming image she has of herself by revealing that she was not only messy as a child but also lacked respect for personal space—sneaking a peek at him in the bathroom and bullying him into being “it” in their childhood games. The two are in disagreement about who is correct and incorrect. Seong yu’s coworker, who is fixated on him, believes they are very intimate and questions their relationship because she had never seen Seung hyo act so childish before.
In another location, due to Mi-suk, Seok-ryu’s mother, getting angry in public the night before, everyone in the neighborhood now believes that Seok-ryu lost her job and was unfaithful to her fiancé. Mi-suk talks to Mo-eun’s mom, Jae-suk, about it and finds out that their high school reunion will be held during the grand opening of Seung-hyo’s office building.
At the same time, Seok-ryu is thoroughly enjoying doing absolutely nothing. Her mother is displeased with the situation and argues with her father, who secretly feels guilty that the engagement might have been called off due to his lack of wealth compared to Seok ryu’s fiancée’s family. Seok ryu and Mo eun are having a good time when Seung yu decides to join, despite having declined to do so before. Mo eun departs to purchase drinks as Seok ryu queries Seong yu about his presence despite what she saw at his company. He seemed to have project delay with payment issues, but Seung Yu avoids the inquiry, urging her to concentrate on her cooking. Seok Ryu teases Seong Yu about her cooking skills, mentioning that she has a cooking vlog channel. Nevertheless, the conversation becomes serious when he inquires about her plans, as she cannot delay revealing the true reason for her return to her family and Mo eun. Seok ryu is enraged because he feels like he doesn’t care to know, stating that he will be the last person she would confide in. However, Seong yu still suggests that she should be truthful with her mother but finds herself feeling deceived once more, convinced that it was her mom who influenced him to persuade her. The following day, Seok-ryu’s mother attempts to contact her ex-fiancé, but Seok-ryu later discovers and angrily removes his number from her phone.
In another location, Seung-hyo’s business is facing challenges early on because of payment delays and a shortage of clients, even before starting their projects. They are scheduled to have a meeting with Dan-ho, who questions them about their latest business project but Seung hyo notices him assisting an elderly lady whose cart got stuck on the street. The pair accompanies the woman to the scrap yard to help her sell her belongings. The two men become more close following this event.
At the same time, Seok-ryu continuously travels on buses, pondering about the actual event that caused her to leave. Here we discover that she got fired and faced racism at her job. She also experienced betrayal from her fiancé Hyeong jun during a difficult time. In the meantime, Seong hyo’s parents have a strained relationship and appear very tense in each other’s presence.
On her way home, Seok ryu purchases a pomegranate tree as a present for Seung-hyo’s grand opening. She hands it over to him once they meet outside her house later that evening. He warns about getting rid of it but Seok ryu points out that pomegranate trees symbolize prosperity and without it, his business will fail. He instructs her to bring it the next day, but she responds that she won’t be able to because she has prior commitments.
The day after, Mi-suk and Seok-ryu’s relationship appears to settle down as Mi-suk plans to attend the grand opening event while preventing Seok-ryu from joining her due to her embarrassment about their situation. During the grand opening, Mi-suk is made fun of for her daughter’s unexpected return despite her boasting. We find out that Mi-suk was intelligent enough to attend college, but was unable to do so due to poverty, therefore she finds her self-esteem solely from Seok-ryu.
Mi-suk is struggling with her high school friends, particularly Seong hyu’s mother’s friends, who are dominating and haughty. When Seok-ryu suddenly arrives to bring Mi-suk’s brooch. Seong hyu quickly observes that she appears anxious. Regrettably, Mi-suk’s friends encounter Seok-ryu as well, leading Mi-suk to fabricate a story about Seok-ryu’s imminent departure to the U.S. after being recruited by a major company. Seung-hyo observes this interaction from afar.
When they return home, Seok-ryu and Mi-suk engage in a significant disagreement when Mi-suk attempts to pressure Seok-ryu to return to the U.S. Despite Seok-ryu’s efforts to communicate her hardships to Mi-suk, she remains unmoved. In the end, Seok-ryu departs from home with Seung-hyo following her, having listened to their intense argument.
Seung-hyo accompanies Seok-ryu at the park as Seok-ryu attempts to conceal her feelings, thinking back to their childhood while it rains. In the end, she releases her emotions and weeps sorrowfully, while Seung-hyo silently stays by her side. In Seok ryu’s room, her mother sets the gold brooch on her garment and sheds tears too. Later, Seok ryu is in improved spirits and makes a wish with Seung hyo under a star. Afterwards, he divulges his financial struggles and expresses his optimism that his business will survive. Both of them agree to dine at a later time.
The following day, Seok-ryu spends the entire day outside, however upon her return she discovers the storeroom now resembles her previous room. Turns out Mi-suk requested Seung-hyo’s assistance in completely redesigning her room. Seok ryu is delighted to see her mother wearing the gold brooch, showing that she regrets their argument. That evening, Seok-ryu prepares for bed but notices the luminous stars on her ceiling. She contacts Seung-hyo, who informs her that he has replicated her humiliating history. He instructs her to make sure her windows are shut. While she is adjusting her curtains, she catches sight of him through the window of the house next door, directly opposite hers. He sarcastically mentions not wanting to see anything unpleasant upon waking up. That is how her hair and face look in the morning. She questions his statement as he doesn’t live at home anymore, but she is shocked when he reveals he moved back.
In a flashback, we see Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo sharing an intimate moment on a bed after Seung hyo catches Seok ryu after she trips while putting the glow-in-the-dark stickers in her ceiling.
Jung So Min is a versatile actress. How can she be so completely different in every drama she has? No doubt, showcasing her skills of being a veteran actress with tremendous skills. Anyway, this episode is really interesting and I’m living for the chemistry between the leads.