The Interest of Love (사랑의 이해) is a Korean romantic-drama series directed by Jo Yeong-min and stars Yoo Yeon-seok, Mun Ka-young, Keum Sae-rok and Jung Ga-ram in lead roles. The series is based on the novel by Sarangui Ihae by Lee Hyuk-jin. The series takes over JTBC’s Wednesday-Thursday 10.30 PM KST timeslot previously occupied by Insider starring Kang Ha-neul.
The Interest of Love episode 5 has a runtime of 69 minutes.
Netflix’s description reads:
FOUR MEN AND WOMEN WORKING AT THE SAME BANK GET ENTANGLED IN A COMPLICATED ROMANCE AS THEY DISCOVER HOW FAR THEY’RE WILLING TO GO FOR LOVE.
– The Interest of Love Episode 5 Recap Contains Spoilers –
The Interest of Love episode 5 starts with us getting a look at Jong-hyeon starting at KCU Bank and immediately being smitten with Su-yeong. Jong-hyeon is such a pleasing character to watch, and it’s nice to see how calm, quiet and positive he is in every aspect of his life.
After a brief rundown of his time with Su-yeong, we go back to the night when Sang-su hugged her. After getting out of the embrace, he asks her whether she would’ve dated him had he gone to the restaurant that day. However, before he can get a reply, he is called out for a smoke, and the discussion is dropped soon after.
That night, both Sang-su and Su-yeong toss and turn in bed for different reasons. He wonders whether she is really dating Jong-hyeon while she thinks back to the hug. After a restless night, it’s time to go back and while on the bus, he apologises to her for making her uncomfortable. She brushes his concerns off and asks him to meet her after work to discuss things.
However, at work, an antsy Mi-gyeong asks Sang-su to go to a mutual college friend’s wedding, and in spite of being initially unsure, he quickly agrees to the plan the moment Su-yeong comes into the room. When he leaves, Mi-gyeong excitedly tells Su-yeong that she finally told him about her feelings, and although they aren’t official yet, things might just look up for her.
Poor Su-yeong just looks uncomfortable in the situation. The day just gets worse for her as she gets called by Shi-kyung for a business dinner and has to cancel plans with Sang-su. Unfortunately for her, she gets harassed at the dinner as well after Shi-kyung puts her in an uncomfortable situation.
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The next day at work, there’s tension in the air between Su-yeong and Sang-su, and the day doesn’t get much better after Shi-kyung asks Su-yeong to accompany him for another business meeting. This time, however, Su-yeong strictly refuses to entertain guests and makes it clear that it’s not her job to conduct business after hours when no business is conducted in the end.
The entire office is left shocked and silent, and Shi-kyung is left embarrassed as well, and in retaliation, he asks her to clean out the filing room. It’s a lot of work, and knowing this, Mi-gyeong offers to help her. However, the boss warns everyone to mind their own business, essentially bullying Su-yeong for not bending to his will.
As Su-yeong gets ready to work through the weekend, Sang-su gets her dinner for the night since she refuses to let him help.
Over the weekend, Sang-su goes to the wedding with Mi-gyeong and imagines Su-yeong as a bride. It’s all flowers and rainbows for him while Su-yeong continues to toil at work. At the wedding, meanwhile, Mi-gyeong gets handed a few truth bombs by a friend, which leaves her feeling a bit heartbroken. Sang-su takes her to drink her sorrows away later, while Su-yeong gets a text from her mother that they are closing down the shop and decides to pay them a visit.
Unfortunately, she turns back before actually allowing herself to talk to them.
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On Monday, while her colleagues start rumours about her, Su-yeong is still filing documents away alone. Sang-su meets her and starts to help her but gets frustrated when he realises that she has hurt herself. He mentions that instead of taking the difficult route, she could’ve found another way to go about things. But, Su-yeong is taking none of it and tells him that she had no choice in the matter and it has been like this from the very first day.
Her contempt for the situation increases as the bullying continues from Shi-kyung, who belittles her and her work. The final dagger to her heart comes in the form of her colleagues bad-mouthing her as well. Unfortunately, she walks away when she hears a snippet of Sang-su’s comment and misunderstands what he meant to say.
A worn-out Su-yeong meets her mother to discuss the pain she felt when she learnt of Su-hyeok’s death and discloses that on the night she got the horrible call, she saw her father with a woman. She surmises that Su-hyeok, too, must have seen the same thing, and that’s why he wound up in that neighbourhood.
Hearing everything, her mother reiterates that his father is a good man and that she shouldn’t hate anyone. A frustrated Su-yeong tells her to keep the restaurant open, and just when you’d think that things might get a bit better, Su-yeong is left shocked to see her mother walking with a limp. Angry again, she asks her why she must live like this and then walks off in a huff, leaving her mother crying in the street.
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Going back home in the pouring rain, Su-yeong acknowledges the reason why Sang-su hesitated that day because she understands exactly how he felt at that moment. Just like him, she is stuck in her ways as well. Lost in her thoughts and soaking wet, Jong-hyeon finds her and tries to make the mood light.
They run together in the rain, and eventually, she asks her why he is so nice to her. He calls her a fool if she truly doesn’t know. As she thinks through all of her interactions with Jong-hyeon, she realizes what he means to her. He, too, lets it slip that he wants to be her boyfriend, and in the heat of the moment, she agrees to be his girlfriend. Jong-hyeon is simply left deliriously happy at the revelation.
The Interest of Love Episode 5 Ending
The next day at work, the audit team arrives to ‘ask some questions’. They call Du-sik and Eun-jung to the conference room to ask some questions. Right after, Shi-kyung walks into the room, ready to manhandle Su-yeong. But just as he’s about to reach her, Sang-su stands in front of her to protect her.
The Interest of Love Episode 5 Review
Who would’ve thought that the drama would be going this deep when it first started?
With the class divides apparent and the skeletons in the closet being excavated, the story is getting more and more difficult to watch because it’s just so relatable. At one point, your heart simply breaks for Su-yeong and Jong-hyeon. The former gets the shorter end of the stick because she faces harassment not only for her financial and educational background but also because of her gender.
It’s also interesting to watch Su-yeong’s relationship with Sang-su continue to become this complicated mess over the course of time. They are very similar yet so different, resulting in them constantly getting into one misunderstanding after another.
Plus, Su-yeong’s past is just so heartbreaking. I mean, come on. Sang-su’s reality is also pretty bleak, but at least he shares a sweet relationship with his mother. Come to think of it, the series showcases that regardless of how bad or perfect life might seem from the outside, there is some good and bad aspect in everyone’s life. Everyone is struggling with something or the other.
I wouldn’t have believed you if you had told me two episodes ago that I’d actually look forward to watching this show, but with where it’s going, The Interest of Love is quickly becoming a very interesting and twisted show. I am thoroughly looking forward to where it goes from here.
The Interest of Love is streaming on Netflix.
Also Read: All of Our The Interest of Love Reviews
I hate the FL character. She is unusually cruel to ML. He is the only person who will defend her and really loves her. FL continues her relationship with the stupid security guard. He is truly worthless. WHY WASTE YOUR TIME WITH HIM? He did not step up for her when she needed him. COWARD. The bank employees are the worst. Women are jealous and the men sexually harass her all the time.
How does FL endure these bastards? Then the worst manipulator starts her BS as well, the rich bitch. The entire series, it is heartbreaking and too close to home.