Summary
In Episodes 7 & 8, Romance in the House makes great progress in its two core relationships.
Romance in the House enters its second half with Episodes 7 and 8, thankfully focusing on the right areas – the parental relationship between Mi-rae and Ae-yeon and the romantic ones between Mi-rae and Tae-pyeong and Ae-yeon and Moo-jin – and getting bogged down less in slapsticky claptrap.
Perfect? Not, not really, but nothing is. If nothing else it’s a show that is making progress in its drama instead of just continuing, and that’s something we can work with.
Things begin in Romance in the House Episode 7 by, naturally, picking up from the ending of Episode 6, in which a motel mix-up caused some crossed wires. Mi-rae is so annoyed at the prospect of her mother and father potentially getting back together that the Thailand trip is a no-go and she warns that reconciliation will mean her moving out.
There is also a bit of slapstick silliness, as it happens, but I did say “less” of that and not “none at all”.
Ae-yeon, like most mothers – though admittedly not the ones in Korean dramas – blames herself for Mi-rae’s issues with Moo-jin, since she badmouthed him all the time when she was struggling. Still, Mi-rae would have seen that struggle anyway, so the same conclusions would have likely been formed.
But hindsight is 20/20. Lamenting the circumstances of one’s birth is something that Tae-pyeong, at least, can relate to. And those kinds of commonalities only make romance more likely. We’re just there… but not quite. Not yet.
Episode 7 does largely proceed with this rhythm; Mi-rae and Ae-yeon bicker when the former keeps assuming that the latter is falling for Moo-jin again, she takes solace in Tae-pyeong, and through both flashbacks and present-day sequences, we see how Mi-rae’s history with her father informs her current burgeoning relationship.
Daddy issues – a tale as old as time.
Threaded throughout this is Moo-jin’s gradual realizations of how his past actions – and also unclarified assumptions, like the bike thing, that he was never paying enough attention to notice at the time – have damaged the family he supposedly loves so much. After an accident, Moo-jin and Mi-rae finally get the chance to have a heart-to-heart, and Moo-jin is able to explain some things. It’s a nice moment.
But to recap, there are still a lot of issues here – Moo-jin hates himself for having been insufficient as a patriarch back in the day, Mi-rae hates him and herself for the wounds he caused and her inability to heal from them, and Ae-yeon hates herself for relying too much on her daughter in the years since. As for the latter, the simple sight of Mi-rae with a man in a motel is like the ticking clock on their relationship chiming on the hour. Is she ready to fly the nest?
Eventually, the two are able to reconcile, which is good news for Tae-pyeong, since it frees Mi-rae up for a date. Their relationship is also helped along by Mi-rae refusing to follow CEO Nam’s instructions to convince Tae-pyeong to take a higher position in the company. Even behind closed doors, she supports his right to make his own decisions and will support him in whatever he chooses. As if Tae-pyeong wasn’t smitten enough, he now has tacit approval from his father, who respects her sense of responsibility. Romance is a go!
The same can be said for Ae-yeon and Moo-jin, too. When the contents of Moo-jin’s secret bag are exposed, they just turn out to be family memorabilia, which reassures Ae-yeon that his intentions are probably genuine. She also needs his help. She wants to borrow some money so that she can push Mi-rae to leave the apartment and spread her wings, which she can’t do on her own since she spends almost everything she earns being the head of the family and has no savings.
Who would replace her in the home? Well, I think that’s obvious.
This means that, by the end of Romance in the House Episodes 7 & 8, both Ae-yeon and Moo-jin and Mi-rae and Tae-pyeong are making a go of it – the latter couple even manage to sneak a quick kiss without being interrupted.
From here, things can go one of two ways. We’ll either do the usual K-Drama thing of contriving obstacles that’ll get in the way of the couples, or we’ll allow the relationships to develop while we spend time on some of the show’s still-lingering mystery elements.
Either way, I think we’ll be fine.
Good news! Episode 9 of Romance in the House is the best one yet.
