Summary
Romance in the House gets a little silly in Episode 2, and the vibe may be detrimental down the line depending on how things go.
The premiere of Romance in the House largely worked on the basis of mystery, but nobody – including me – stopped to wonder if perhaps this premise is a little too farcical to be taken especially seriously. Episode 2 of the K-Drama leans into some of that silliness to an extent that might be worrying down the line.
But let nobody accuse me of being joyless. The show’s still pretty enjoyable for now and there’s no cause for panic. This is just my job, folks.
Anyway, let’s get on with it.
Unhappily Married
You’ll recall that the pretty big cliffhanger of Episode 1 was that Moo-jin, the presumed-dead father of Mi-rae and husband of Ye-yeon, is actually alive and well and is now their new landlord. Yikes.
In terms of timeline, since this is quite important, Ye-yeon (though technically Mi-rae) threw Moo-jin out 11 years prior, but has only believed him to be dead for a year. By all accounts their marriage was miserable and Ye-yeon deeply regrets it beyond having the kids to show for it, but the idea of him bring dead was still taken quite seriously, hence the anniversary ritual.
So, we have a mysterious guy with an athletic background, multiple failed businesses under his belt, who disappeared without a trace for a year and returned with enough capital to buy the Family Villa outright in cash.
That’s plenty of mystery to be going on with.
A Tempting Offer
Mi-rae isn’t the biggest fan of her father, for good reason. His borrowing money he couldn’t afford to pay back wrecked a restaurant that Ye-yeon had opened in her name and that mother and daughter were happily running together. Hyun-hae is, admittedly, a little bit better disposed to the idea of his father being back, which is sure to cause some issues.
Mi-rae, then, thinks that they should move out of the Family Villa ASAP, but remember in the previous recap, I said that class and money are pretty important here. It isn’t especially easy for a struggling family to find somewhere else to live, which makes Moo-jin’s offer for them to live in the Family Villa rent-free rather annoyingly tempting.
Romance Is Blossoming
Despite being stretched rather thin, Mi-rae still has time for her developing romance with Tae-pyeong, but it means having to deal with her petty ex first.
Mi-rae’s obsessive ex keeps badgering her and trying to embarrass her publicly, and getting rid of him essentially means conceding to some of his more ridiculous claims. But after this, Mi-rae has another fall, which is ideal since it means that Tae-pyeong can come to her rescue yet again.
You know what they say – there’s only so many times someone can pick you up before you fall for them. Well, people don’t say that, actually, but they should.
Crossed Wires
Romance in the House Episode 2 ends with a funny moment of confusion and chaos that might have some repercussions down the line. It also involves Tae-pyeong, funnily enough.
But it starts with Ye-yeon running into Moo-jin in a café and having a little chat which takes a rather circular route around the obvious question – why has he bought Family Villa, and is it because he knew they were living there?
This amounts to the closest thing to a confession from Moo-jin that we’re likely to get at this early stage. Yes, he knew his family was living there, and he’s hoping to show them how much he has achieved in his absence. It’s not exactly romantic on paper, but maybe it is in his mind.
Or, more likely, there’s much more to it.
Nevertheless, though, Moo-jin gets a little handsy with Ye-yeon, and an arriving Mi-rae happens to see it. She yells for him to let go, and who should burst out of nowhere yet again but Tae-pyeong, who gives Moo-jin a violent smack in the face, popping his nose.
Oops?
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