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Romance in the House: Episodes 11-12 (Final)

Our finale ties up loose ends and resolves the mysteries in the plot, as our characters find their place, thrive, and enjoy their romance in and out of the house.

 
EPISODES 11-12

Our final week opens with the non-mysterious mystery of how Moo-jin made his money. After the landlord of Ae-yeon’s snack bar raised the rent, Moo-jin took out a loan to purchase a store space in a redevelopment area. Unfortunately, the redevelopment was a scam, and the loan sharks ruined the snack bar to get their money back. After hearing that the scammer fled to Thailand, Moo-jin followed suit and spent the next ten years doing all sorts of odd jobs until he found the scammer. Moo-jin then joined forces with a rich madam (cameo by Seo Yi-sook) — whose daughter was also scammed out of 4 billion won — and when he caught the scammer, he handed him over to the madam.

In return, Madam gave Moo-jin the 4 billion won because: 1) she wanted revenge, not money; 2) she “failed as a parent” because her daughter fell for a scammer, and she wants Moo-jin to return to Korea and become a better parent; 3) she was a fan of Moo-jin during his baseball athlete days. Pfft. For homage/gratitude/aesthetic purposes, Moo-jin got an enlarged version of Madame’s arm tattoo on his own arm (to cover up a scar from the scuffle with the scammer’s thugs), and the legend of his “made money via gangsterism” was born. Heh.

In the present, Moo-jin admits that he couldn’t tell anyone about how he got the money because he didn’t earn it. But in a way, I’d say he did. Ten whole years looking for a scammer is no joke! And it was really thoughtful of him to refund the other scam victims when he returned to Korea. The money mystery is a little over the top — and at the same time slightly underwhelming — but it gave us the hilarious nightclub scene of the dance performance while beating up the thugs, so I forgive Show.

As for our elevator couple, they continue with their secret office romance until jealous co-workers expose them via a blind item. The vicious gossip devalues Mi-rae’s hard work in the company and makes her out to be a gold digger enjoying favoritism from CEO Nam. Tsk. Although Mi-rae is demoralized, she determines to hold out until the rumors blow over, and her boomer manager ends up being the one to break the ice on their team. I love that Mi-rae’s team stuck up for her to the jealous co-workers, and best of all, that Mi-rae and Tae-pyeong didn’t even consider a noble idiocy breakup. A top notch couple for real.

I’ve always liked CEO Nam, but I respected him more when he apologized to Mi-rae for causing the rumors by introducing Tae-pyeong as his son and placing him under her mentorship. CEO Nam then proposes to make Mi-rae his daughter-in-law, but Moo-jin is having none of it. How dare you covet my daughter after dragging her into unsavory rumors at work? The two fathers argue over whose child is better than the other — temporarily pausing to agree that Mi-rae is the future (mi-rae) of J Plus, lol — until the kids stop their bickering fathers.

Mi-rae is embarrassed by her dad’s actions, but she admits that it felt good to have him go to bat for her. On the other hand, my heart broke a little for CEO Nam when Tae-pyeong bid him goodnight and walked off without another word. Later on, Moo-jin comes to apologize to Tae-pyeong, and he makes an excuse for CEO Nam’s actions as well. After all, it’s hard for a father to remain calm when someone is badmouthing their kid. Moo-jin helps Tae-pyeong see that his dad has his best interests at heart, and Tae-pyeong ends up calling his dad out for a drink.

Tae-pyeong asks why CEO Nam decided to be his father, and Nam replies that it started out of a sense of responsibility, but it soon turned into genuine fatherly love. “I’m lucky to have a dad like you,” Tae-pyeong says to CEO Nam, and this sends me to the kitchen to cut some onions. Tae-pyeong tells his dad that after the internship at J Plus is over, he will return to being a full-time taekwondo instructor. Although the suit and tie life was an interesting experience, now that he has tried it, he knows for sure that it’s not his place. In return, CEO Nam honors his promise not to push his son further to join the family business.

As for the rest of our characters, Mi-rae’s hard work earns her a promotion at work. Moo-jin becomes a children’s baseball instructor, and Ae-yeon’s home shopping modelling career takes off. Everybody has found their place except for Hyun-jae — who’s hurting because no one in the family listens to him or believes in him. Honestly, I couldn’t care less about him, but his feelings are valid. Everyone in the family overlooks him as the maknae, and they almost never take his feelings into consideration. The family apologizes to Hyun-jae and they all make up. They also acknowledge that he is the better version of Moo-jin, business wise — and while they encourage his business ideas, they still send him for job interviews which is a more solid option. Lol.

As the drama comes to a close, Jae-geol apologizes for being a jerk to Moo-jin and they mend their friendship. Jae-geol and Hairdresser Tenant also kickstart a romance of their own. Househusband Tenant’s webnovel about Moo-jin’s adventures in Thailand becomes a hit, and his wife announces her pregnancy. In all of this, the tenants are curious as to whether Ae-yeon and Moo-jin will get back together. But while Moo-jin wants to get back together, he assures Ae-yeon that just being there for her and the kids is more important. Mi-rae is no longer opposed to her parents getting back together, and she tells her mom to do whatever makes her happy. She also tells her dad that she’s done resenting him and that she’s glad that he’s back, and this brings Moo-jin to the verge of tears.

In the end, Ae-yeon decides that she likes living alone, and she wants to keep things that way for now. Although she’s technically back together with Moo-jin, I think her decision not to move in with him was pretty realistic after everything they’ve been through. “We don’t have to live together and go through all the drama to be a family.” The drama concludes with Mi-rae’s narration that they are enjoying their lives as a family. Sometimes apart, and sometimes together. But most importantly, they’re all pretty happy right now.

There we have it folks, a satisfying end to a cute little show. Romance in the House was unambitious, didn’t do too much or drag with unnecessary drama. The plot went at a consistent and steady pace from beginning to end, and the show was all the better for it. My best part of the drama was Mi-rae and Tae-pyeong’s romance — which is currently in my top three romances this year. Amidst the many childhood first loves and destined love stories out there, it was really nice to see a natural progression of two adults going from strangers to lovers.

I came for the second chance romance, but Mi-rae and Tae-pyeong’s love story captured my heart and didn’t let go. Theirs was a well-done slow burn that didn’t annoy or frustrate the audience, and the chaebol parent fully supporting their relationship was the icing on the cake. I was curious to see if the drama would dare to be different by giving us a romance without marriage as its end goal, and I’m glad the drama honored Mi-rae’s decision not to get married and didn’t try to change her mind. Mi-rae’s relationship with Tae-pyeong is going strong, they’re happily living their best unmarried couple life, and that is enough.

 
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I really loved the ending!! was surprised show didn’t force everyone to live together. Everyone chose their own happiness and yet were bound to each other like family. Sweet!!!

By the end of the show Moo Jin really grew on me. He was the same person he was but matured enough for the family to be happy.

I also liked a different take on the Maknae. He spoke for all of them Maknae in kdramaland.

Kudos to writers for giving Mi Rae a happy ending she wanted. And her romance really adorable from start to finish.

I loved the cameo and the fangirl wink!! lol. What a fun reveal it was. It made total sense he got money this way.

The drama might not have been great but it kept me wanting to continue week after week. The characters felt real. And their growth was satisfying to watch. A condensed 12 episode weekender!!

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This was a cute ending to a cute show. I enjoyed it for the low stakes drama it was. Just lovely.

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I was watching this alongside Love Next Door. What a surprise that this show delivered the romcom experience as I expected this show to be more melo. I'm going to miss this show providing the counterbalance while I continue to hate watch Love Next Door.

I agree that it was refreshing to see a trope-less ending with Ae-Yeon deciding that living separately was ok and Moo-Jin was ok with it and didn't go on a tantrum. As for our younger couple, perhaps the writer could have added an epilogue with them eventually getting married and CEO/Father in Law turning things over to Mi-Rae? That's just me thinking out loud

Overall, an enjoyable watch with some very photogenic actors/actresses.

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I agree with the epiloque!!!!! In my mind, that is what happens. LOL

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I really liked that nobody suddenly became a whole new person at the end of the show - Ae-yeon continued to live alone, Mi-rae is still not interested in marriage and Tae-pyeong is still staying away from corporate life. It was just small changes and communication that healed the family and brought them together. Sweet show!

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Same! I love that the drama never tried to play it as the characters being "wrong" and not knowing what they really wanted or needed in life.

I'm glad that the show just let them be who they are.

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Towards the end, the story ran out of steam. Even the big secret of how the father got the money, which turned out to be pretty unspectacular, hardly interested me any more.

Instead, I enjoyed every scene with the CEO and his son/brother. It was so obvious that the father loves his child, which made the conversation and dinner together in the last episode all the more enjoyable.

Overall, I thought the ending was good for the respective characters. I can understand why the mother doesn't want to remarry and prefers to live alone for the time being.
The daughter's decision is also understandable because of her experiences with her parents' marriage. However, I can hope for the sake of her boyfriend that celibacy (if I remember the subtitles correctly) only refers to not getting married.

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This drama is possibly the surprise of the year for me.

I wasn't intending to watch it but Netflix kept pushing it at me and so I got hooked on the Mi-Rae/Tae-Pyung romance.

It's what LOVE NEXT DOOR should have been.

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The last episode was perfect! Unlike shows that start strong and then meander or fully fizzle to nothing at the end, i feel like this show meandered through things and then got some solid emotional exploration and closure for a very satisfying ending. There were some very good moments of comedy too. I'm not sure if I'll revisit it, but I'm glad I watched it.

I loved what Moo Jin and Mi Rae ended up as, he's not trying to playact a genial patriarch and she's not letting her years of hurt keep her from building a new relationship with him. I love that she's finally calling him her father and telling him she was hurt more because she did love him, and his teary eyed delight at hearing her call him father and reciprocating his fatherly overtures was lovely.

I also loved the father son moments with Tae Pyong and the ceo. He'd always been a good father, no matter what their convoluted biological history was, and i loved that Tae Pyong thought about it, returned the affections as his son, and promised to stay in his life, while also making sure he went back to his chosen career path with taekwondo.

I loved that Ae Yeon chose independence without it being unhappy or bitter. She wants Moo Jin around but also wants her hard earned long overdue space, and gets to have it in a delightful grown up way. The romance was very sweet and the resolution to how they move forward was excellent.

Ji Jin Hee does really good kissing scenes lol, the chemistry was great. Moo Jin's character growth was great too, i really liked that he came back to be a support, not try to force his way back into the family, but ended up finding himself well loved with his sincere efforts anyway.

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I learned a new word from the subs translator of RiTH last week, "Situationship."

Seems to me that this word sums up the relationship for every single couple in this drama! I ended up loving the growth of our hairdresser and embezzler the most, frankly. There was something truly endearing about them for me.

Throughout the drama, I also appreciated that the styling team had me totally buying that Ji Jin-hee was a former baseball player...even before they dressed him up as a Little League coach. He can rock a pair of heels too. 😉

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Such a satisfying ending! Haven't seen one in a while.

I'm very grateful to this drama for staying true to itself and its characters. No sudden revelations or sacrifices were made. Everyone chose themselves, no matter what everyone said or expected. I love that.

1. I was convinced the drama was going to end with a wedding for Ae Yeon and Moo Jin. That always happens in dramas, "we couldn't have a proper wedding in our youth so let's have it now", but, as a pleasant surprise, I liked that even though everyone was pressuring her to get married again and live with Moo Jin, she prioritized herself. I really liked watching her learning to be comfortable with herself, alone.
They may have a wedding or live together in the future, but there's no rush. I like that.

And talking about the "future", I love that when dad and mom said that it is okay they didn't become the best hit or wtv, but they have "Hyeon Jae and Mi Rae", you could also interpret it as them saying that they have "the present and future". So whatever they want to do, they can start doing it now. #tears

2. And about Mi Rae and Tae Pyeong, I think there's nothing else to say. They're in my top 3 of the year too. I haven't seen a couple feel this right in a while. Like, since Sand Flowers.

3. I also liked Hyeon Jae's ending. I wasn't expecting this kid to make me cry, but everything he said was so sad. And I can relate with the "no one tells me anything" in my childhood days.

I liked mom's response and that she appreciated all the work he did for his app.

4. Tae Pyeong's talk with his dad... 😭 They're so adorable.

Anyway, I loved this drama. This heals all the wounds left from the failed weekenders over the years. This is how you make a family drama KBS... 🙄

Such a gem. One of my favorite surprises of the year.

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I liked the family relationship part of this drama. I liked how the drama didn't force the couples to get married. But, I feel like the ending wasn't great. The purpose of the drama is that when they put expectations on each other and tried to force their lives, they became miserable. The solution shouldn't be to not choose marriage, but to be open to any changes in their relationship in the future because they developed mutual trust. I think this would have fit the story better. So, the writer should have made it a point to say no marriage for now. Instead, it became an anti-marriage story which doesn't really fit.

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My interest in the show had waned in the middle- i think I even skipped eps, but it turned out so good and sweet at the end. I liked how the relationships within the family were resolved, both as a unit, and with each other. I loved that they didn't force marriage as means to an end. A signature doesn't really guarantee happiness, but what matters is love, respect, and commitment between a couple.

What I most appreciated was that between mother and daughter- they recognised that they were both adult women, and needed their space away from each other, yet knowing that they always have each other. This maturity was what was missing from Not Others, where the mom continued to behave childishly until the end. Ae Yeon was such a good mother, cutting the apron strings from both her kids, but telling them that she'll always have their back. I'm so glad everything ended well for this family.

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Reading this recap made me realise exactly why I felt unsatisfied with this show throught. It's the fact that TaePyeong's heart-to-heart with his father over drinks made me emotional the way none of Moo-Jin's attempts at reconciliation with his family did. When he went off at the CEO for creating problems for Mi-Rae I felt irritated with him for behaving like a man-child yet again, but when CEO defended his son I swooned.

The parents of the main family just didn't feel authentic, which is surprising since these are veteran actors. I may have dropped this show if not for the younger couple's romance. It was such a joy to watch two very decent and rooted people create a relationship that started with mutual respect and then grew to love.

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The ending was unexpected but satisfying. I loved that both couples were happily together, but neither ended up getting married. How refreshing! The writing was consistent throughout, with minimal makjang and zero murders. It had all the expected family-drama beats, a few silly comedic moments, a light-hearted mystery, and romance. I related to Ae-young so much, and as a middle-aged woman, I definitely get the appeal of having romance without sharing your living space. Anyway, this drama wasn't perfect, but it hit just right for me.

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Thank you for the recap @unit! Some hyped shows this year were either disappointing or frustrating while this one stayed true to its genre and was a pleasure to watch.
Glad this ended with a happy note and was close to reality.

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