Romance in the House: Episodes 7-8

by Unit

The second half of our show kicks off by putting the mother-daughter relationship to test, and while they work out their feelings, our returnee dad works on rebuilding his relationship with his daughter. In addition, there’s great progress with both romance arcs this week, and that’s what I’m really excited about.

 
EPISODES 7-8

Following last week’s double run-in at the motel, Mi-rae and Ae-yeon’s Thailand trip is off the table. Mi-rae packs a box and leaves home — but not before texting her mom that she will leave permanently if Mom gets back together with Moo-jin. Tae-pyeong sees Mi-rae stalling on the road, and they have a chivalry vs. independent woman battle for her suitcase — which ends when she falls on her face, and she has to go to his place to change her stained clothes. Lol.

At home, Ae-yeon blames herself for the bad blood between Mi-rae and Moo-jin. Apparently, she bad-mouthed Moo-jin to Mi-rae whenever she had to clean up his mess in the past, and now she feels bad for using her daughter as an “emotional trash can.” But venting sessions or not, Mi-rae grew up watching her mom struggle, and she tells Tae-pyeong that her parents should never have met. Tae-pyeong points out that she’d never have been born if her parents didn’t meet, and she replies that maybe it’d have been better.

Tae-pyeong can relate to the feeling of not wanting to be born, and he lets Mi-rae in on his birth secret. Mi-rae strokes his head as she tells him that it’s a good thing he was born, and that he’s doing great. But when he repeats her action and words back to her, the mood instantly changes. “Why do you keep doing this to me?” Mi-rae asks, and he leans in closer. “Do you really not know?” Tae-pyeong replies, and we are this close to getting a kiss when some outside noise interrupts the moment. Aish!

Mi-rae returns home ready to bury the hatchet with her mom, but she flares up when sees two empty cups on the table and assumes that her parents were together while she was away. Mom and daughter resume another round of arguments, and despite Ae-yeon’s pestering, Mi-rae refuses to explain why she was at the motel with Tae-pyeong.

The following day, Tae-pyeong sees Mi-rae in a bad mood, and to lift her spirits, he offers to teach her how to ride a bike. Mi-rae is initially reluctant, and as we come to learn, her reluctance stems from Moo-jin putting off bicycle riding lessons in her childhood, in favor of meeting up with an old friend.

Via a flashback to Moo-jin’s meetup with the friend, we learn that he quit baseball after a shoulder injury — which he got from manual labor to raise money for Mi-rae’s hospital bills. According to the friend, the gossip in the baseball circuit was that Moo-jin’s daughter tied him down, and that if he didn’t have her, his baseball career would have flourished. Unfortunately, Mi-rae overheard the conversation, and ended up thrashing her bike — putting an end to prospective bicycle riding lessons.

In the present, as Moo-jin watches Mi-rae riding Tae-pyeong’s bicycle, he realizes that she overheard the conversation, and that it’s the genesis of her “Even if you never wanted kids…” statement from last week. Moo-jin is so rooted in the shocking realization that he doesn’t see a scooter heading in his direction. But Mi-rae spots the scooter, and while she’s able to prevent the accident, she falls off her bicycle and ends up hurting her arm.

Father and daughter finally have a long-awaited conversation to clear the air, and Moo-jin apologizes for not keeping his promise to teach Mi-rae how to ride a bike. He reiterates that he didn’t hate her or regret having her, he hated himself for being an incompetent head of household. Father and daughter fight off tears as Moo-jin says his family is the best decision he ever made — and while he and Mi-rae don’t become best buddies automatically, it’s the start of a healing arc in their relationship.

Unfortunately for the father-daughter duo, Ae-yeon finds their pledge, and she’s furious! Since Ae-yeon didn’t expect anything much from Moo-jin, the bulk of her fury is directed at Mi-rae, and mother and daughter get into yet another argument. In hindsight, Ae-yeon’s annoyance with Mi-rae all week stems from how upset she is with herself as she comes to terms with just how much she relies on daughter — which is way more than she realizes. It’s one thing to ruminate on the possibility that your daughter/pillar of support might one day leave the nest, but it’s another thing to see actual signs of an imminent departure — because according to mom math, Mi-rae + a man in a motel = Mi-rae ready to move out.

Ae-yeon agrees with Moo-jin later on that Mi-rae is overwhelmed with her head of household responsibility, but she also admits that she doesn’t know how to let her daughter go. As for Mi-rae, while the argument might have been cathartic and she was able to get things off her chest, she acknowledges that her frustration also led her to say things she didn’t mean. Mi-rae ends up apologizing to Ae-yeon — who acknowledges her effort over the years — and they make up. Finally!

Mi-rae and Ae-yeon’s reconciliation makes Tae-pyeong the happiest man in the world, because Mi-rae promised to go on a date with him after she makes up with her mom. But our elevator couple have not even arranged for their date when CEO Nam summons Mi-rae. Mi-rae imagines a “take this money and stay away from my son” scenario, but CEO Nam just wants to have tea with an outstanding employee. And to talk about his son. Cue: Mi-rae coughing up the tea. Lol. CEO Nam respectfully requests Mi-rae’s help in coaxing Tae-pyeong to take up a more befitting position in the company. But Tae-pyeong is not pleased when CEO Nam mentions his meeting with Mi-rae later on.

CEO Nam reveals that Mi-rae turned down his request, stating that Tae-pyeong should be the one to make decisions for himself, and that no matter what he decides, she’s going to root for him. Tae-pyeong breaks into a smile on hearing Mi-rae’s reply, and you can tell that he’s so obviously impressed with and smitten by Mi-rae. CEO Nam also acknowledges Mi-rae’s sense of responsibility, and it feels like he is giving Tae-pyeong his blessings to pursue the relationship. No backsies, Mr. Daddy!

Hyun-jae finds Moo-jin’s secret bag while cleaning up the apartment, and he tells his mom to go check out the contents. But for all of Moo-jin’s efforts to keep the bag hidden, there’s no evidence of nefarious/criminal activity inside. Instead, the bag contains family memorabilia and a picture diary of happy memories with his family. Ae-yeon is touched as she goes through the diary, and she recalls how her love story with Moo-jin started during his baseball player days.

Speaking of which, we had an earlier scene where Moo-jin ran into his former junior on the baseball team. Junior was all shades of condescending — disguised as admiration for Moo-jin — but since Moo-jin is rather non-confrontational, Ae-yeon stepped in to call Junior out on the bullshit. Junior is now the coach of a failing team, and he invites Moo-jin to attend one of his team’s games with Ae-yeon. But Moo-jin does not think Ae-yeon would go with him, so he gives the ticket to Hyun-jae.

Unsurprisingly, Ae-yeon shows up at the baseball match, and she asks Moo-jin to lend her some money. Ae-yeon plans to kick her baby bird out of the nest so that birdie can spread her wings. But she needs money to give Mi-rae a head-start since Mi-rae has no money in savings after using the bulk of her earnings to support the family. As for how to fill the void Mi-rae will undoubtedly leave behind, Moo-jin tells Ae-yeon that she can start searching for things to do with him. “Why go through all this for me?” Ae-yeon asks. “Because it’s you,” Moo-jin replies. Ae-yeon decides to give her relationship with Moo-jin another go, and thus, their second chance romance begins.

Our elevator couple is not left behind, as Tae-pyeong confesses his feelings to Mi-rae. She replies that it’s difficult to ignore his status as the CEO’s son, but it’s harder to ignore her feelings for him. Aww. Mi-rae admits that likes Tae-pyeong too, and they kiss! And I have no further comments. I’m happy with where we are in the show as regards the romance and the parent-children relationships. Right now, everyone is so honest and clear about their feelings, and committed to rebuilding and strengthening their relationships. They are leaving no room for misunderstandings, and I’m loving it.

On the other hand, I’m side eyeing the mystery plots about how the late landlord is rumored to have killed himself after getting scammed and losing all his properties. And the part about the landlord’s daughter having “unfinished business” with Moo-jin. And the part about Jae-geol embezzling Moo-jin’s money and having the egotistic nerve to be upset that Moo-jin has known all along. Tsk. But when we get to these bridges, we shall cross them. That’s if Househusband Tenant — and his mystery novel investigation — doesn’t get there first.

 
RELATED POSTS

• Premiere Watch: Romance in the House
• Prodigal father Ji Jin-hee rekindles Romance in the House
• Ji Jin-hee is newly landlord of Romance in the House
• News bites: July 18, 2024
• Ji Jin-hee tries to win back Kim Ji-soo in Family x Melo
• News bites: July 8, 2024
• Ji JIn-hee
• Sohn Na-eun
• Min-ho