Summary
At the midway point, Romance in the House seems to be getting all of its ducks in a row to contrive a predictably happy ending.
In Episode 6, you can kind of feel Romance in the House gearing up towards a happy ending. That’s expected, obviously, but one wishes it wasn’t quite so obvious. Moo-jin is essentially being absolved of the darker suggestions of his past, Mi-rae and Tae-pyeong’s burgeoning romance is becoming a rubric for Ae-yeon and her ex-husband, and the mutual misunderstandings do feel like they’re biding time before the inevitable.
It remains charming, for sure, and sometimes quite funny, though mileage may vary in that regard, but I’m just not totally convinced yet. And now we’re at the halfway point, I’m beginning to suspect I’m not going to be.
Moo-jin and Jeong-in’s History
As we learned in Episode 5, Ae-yeong strongly suspects that Moo-jin has had some kind of romantic past with Jeong-in, and Episode 6 finds her still mulling over the implications of this and trying to keep herself distracted to mask her frustration. However, her suspicions are quickly dispelled, since Jeong-in confirms it wasn’t Moo-jin who knocked her up and abandoned her, while Moo-jin handily deals with the threatening owner of the neighbouring villa, who wants to scrap over the flyers stuck all over his fancy car.
There are signs of life in this romance yet, folks.
So, what actually happened between Moo-jin and Jeong-in? Let me explain.
As it turns out, they did know each other in Thailand, but Jeong-in hasn’t held onto the photograph as a memento of her time with him, but of being pregnant, since that’s the only snap from the time. To help her with her predicament – and, of course, to atone for his own familial situation – Moo-jin gave her his fortune to escape Thailand and return to Korea.
But how did Moo-jin get his fortune?
Moo-jin earned his fortune in an… interesting way
There has been plenty of speculation about the source of Moo-jin’s seemingly vast income, and Episode 6 of Romance in the House addresses this at least in part by providing a sillier but less sinister motive. It is worth noting, though, that there are still plenty of Moo-jin’s activities over the last few years that remain unaccounted for, so he isn’t entirely off the hook.
Anyway, he made his money modelling high heels at a shoe store. His goal was apparently always to make it back to Ae-yeon, and he continues to persist in his objective of winning back her affection by buying her gifts and helping her out at work. When she hurts her foot and Moo-jin helps her out with that, there’s a clear, slightly cheeky moment of bonding that suggests the walls are coming down.
Later, there’s a brief discussion about how he made the rest of his money and what it has to do with the carp tattoo which apparently obscures a big scar, but no more of this for now.
Tae-pyeong’s Family Matters
We get a bit more about Tae-pyeong in this episode. When Mi-rae runs into him early in the episode he has to rush off to deal with his father. He has been invited to a family function that he doesn’t want to attend which is later revealed to be funeral for Tae-pyeong’s grandfather.
However, it’s revealed at this ceremony that his apparent father, Chi-yeol, is actually his half-brother. Tae-pyeong was born out of wedlock to another woman and, to avoid familial disgrace, was registered as Chi-yeol’s son, so his dead “grandfather” is actually his biological father. This explains a lot about that frosty relationship.
For what it’s worth, Tae-pyeong continues to run into Mi-rae throughout the episode, including driving her home after taking a break in her car from working 30+ hours straight to ensure the product launch is completed before their scheduled trip to Thailand.
Misunderstandings
Romance in the House Episode 6 ends with a double misunderstanding.
Ae-yeon and Moo-jin are definitely getting closer, though refraining – the former is, anyway – from taking the next step. It’s the same with Tae-pyeong and Mi-rae. Something’s there for sure, but there’s reluctance because of their mutual family issues.
But these two dynamics cross paths at the very end, with both “couples” spotting the other and assuming more is going on than really is, and it’s within this bit of comedic chaos that the episode ends.
The story continues in Romance in the House Episodes 7 & 8, which progress both of the show’s central relationships.
