Things are getting cute and adorable between Seok Ji Won (Ju Ji Hoon) and Yoon Ji Won (Jung Yu Mi) in the recent episodes of “Love Your Enemy.” Both are trying hard to convince the world and each other that they can’t stand the sight of the other, but nothing could be far from the truth.
In last week’s episodes we saw Seok Ji Won moving into the campus residence soon after his inauguration as Chairman of Dokmok High School. He took on his father at the inaugural ceremony, making his stand clear to everyone except Yoon Ji Won, who is convinced he has an ulterior motive. Now as housemates, the two are in each other’s hair and space beyond school hours, which leads to some hilarious as well as tender moments between the former lovers. Here are three things we loved and one thing we hated about last week’s episodes.
Warning: spoilers from episodes 5-6 ahead!
Loved: Seok Ji Won’s jealous yet caring heart
Seok Ji Won has moved bag and baggage into the school residence. His reason is to get close to Yoon Ji Won and also keep his eyes on student teacher Gong Moon Soo (Lee Si Woo), the other inhabitant on the premises. Gong Moon Soo shares an easy rapport with both Yoon Ji Won and her grandfather Yoon Jae Ho (Kim Kap Soo), which constantly irks Seok Ji Won. As Gong Moon Soo shows his culinary skills, Seok Ji Won tries to show-off as well with some disastrous consequences. When Yoon Ji Won’s grandfather suggests it is fine for Moon Soo to date her, even though she is seven years older than him, Seok Ji Won burns with jealousy. Ju Ji Hoon aces the jealously comical former lover act to perfection. His expressions when he observes both Moon Soo and Yoon Ji Won washing the car and playing with water is a riot.
However, Seok Ji Won proves he is a worthy handyman. As he sets to repairing and fixing the dilapidated residence, he is also making a blueprint to refurbish the place. Of course being a housemate comes with its own challenges, and as he keeps trying to one-up Moon Soo, Seok Ji Won’s antics get more hilarious and adorable in every frame.
It is clear he cares about Dokmok mountain and the town as much as Yoon Ji Won’s grandfather does. And as he continues putting a spanner in his father’s plans, a skirmish between his father and Mr. Yoon gets ugly, and Seok Ji Won apologizes to Mr. Yoon on behalf of his father. Even though Yoon Ji Won accuses him of being a money grubber like his farther, he only replies that one has to understand that the small incident of the past may have impacted the decisions of the present.
Another cute moment is when he offers to give a lift to both Yoon Ji Won and Gong Moon Soo to Seoul, and he turns up the car’s temperature when he sees Yoon Ji Won coughing. You can clearly see the concern in his eyes, but he acts rather nonchalant. Another moment is when his iPad gets swapped with hers and he looks at her screen saver, and even though they squabble when they exchange it back, his smile says it all.
Seok Ji Won is a man whose expressions speak louder than his words, which are often in conflict to what he is doing. His lingering warm gazes toward Yoon Ji Won as he watches her and immediately turning gruff when she approaches are dead giveaways that he is masking his feelings and vulnerability where she is concerned. Though he is a 36-year-old man, it is obvious that Seok Ji Won is still the 18-year-old boy at heart who cannot get over his first love. Ju Ji Hoon plays Seok Ji Won as a well-lived in character.
Loved: they sealed it with a kiss…
If not snarling, Yoon Ji Won’s glowering expressions towards Seok Ji Won are pretty hilarious. She acts as if she doesn’t care, but the details are in the subtleties. Seok Ji Won’s room in the house is the only one without heating, and he braves the cold every night and catches a chill. Yoon Ji Won’s grandfather asks her to get him an electric blanket, to which she says she doesn’t know where it is and couldn’t be bothered.
When she seems Seok Ji Won heading into his room looking grossly unwell, she is concerned, even though she acts as if it is no big deal. She enters the room and checks his temperature, and next thing we see her nursing him with cold compresses on his burning forehead. Seok Ji Won, who is in a state of delirium, is dreaming of his heartbroken 18-year-old self, crying on the steps near Yoon Ji Won’s home. In his dream he sees 18-year-old Yoon Ji Won approaching him, and in the present we see the delirious Seok Ji Won catch hold of Yoon Ji Won’s hand who is sitting next to his bed. And he plants a kiss on her lips.
The moment is tender, sweet, and hilarious as Yoon Ji Won is surprised and shocked in equal measure. She spends a sleepless night thinking about the kiss, and who would blame her? Though the next morning, Seok Ji Won does not recall what’s happened, and Yoon Ji Won keeps staring at his lips.
And when Yoon Ji Won’s friend and colleague Cha Ji Hye (Kim Ye Won) calls Seok Ji Won manipulative, Yoon Ji Won springs quickly to his defense, saying that he may be many other things, but he would never lie. She clearly knows him well.
The push and pull that Yoon Ji Won faces is relatable, and there are moments when you want to tell her, “I told you so,” even though she is constantly in denial about her feelings. Jung Yu Mi’s snarky expressions are a riot, and her character trying to put up a brave “I don’t care” front is also well done.
Loved: the memories and blooming lilacs
Yoon Ji Won wonders why Seok Ji Won keeps scowling at her whenever he talks about their summer romance 18 years ago. One night, Seok Ji Won by chance finds the attic in Yoon Ji Won’s home. As he peers through the dusty haze, his eyes fall upon a box. When he sees an old polaroid picture of the two from 18 years ago, there is a sad smile on his face. When Yoon Ji Won sees him with the box, her alarm bells go off because she doesn’t want him to know that she continues to cherish the memories of their past. In a hilarious turn of events, as she lunges to get the box from him, she pulls his pants down by mistake, much to the embarrassment of all gathered there, including Seok Ji Won and Ji Hye.
She sees her old phone and recharges it, fondly scrolling down the pictures of the two of them. When confronted by Seok Ji Won on why she saved the picture, she savagely remarks that she forgot to burn this one. To prove her point to him, she throws it away. Of course, our man retrieves it and cutely gazes at it. Based on his actions, Seok Ji Won is still stuck in time at the moment outside her home 18 years ago, and throughout the show we see him continuing to revisit the moment.
Another cute moment is when Gong Moon Soo tells the two that if the lilac flower has five petals, one’s love would come true. The two smirk, but both eye the tree expectantly. Though Yoon Ji Won doesn’t want it to bloom (or so she wants us to think), she asks Seok Ji Won why he wants to date her, to which he responds, “So I can dump you mercilessly.” She looks at him with disgust wondering why he has so much disdain. Despite his response, the scene itself is an utterly adorable moment. When we see the first blossom, there is a victorious, yet happy look on Seok Ji Won’s face and Yoon Ji Won looks taken back.
The passion with which these two show their dislike for the other is just a cover-up for the love that was never lost. Though both are unaware of the misunderstandings caused between them, when they are together, their 18-year-old selves comes to the surface. There are moments when one wishes Yoon Ji Won was not as clueless as she seems to be towards Ji Hye’s subtle intentions towards Seok Ji Won, but this is a couple who will win your heart and support.
Hated: the manipulative Ji Hye
After being rejected by Seok Ji Won, Cha Ji Hye strategizes her next move. She invites herself to Yoon Ji Won’s home, and it is an eerie moment when she goes to Seok Ji Won’s room and sits on his bed. During the same night, when Seok Ji Won discovers the memory box, Ji Hye is taken aback seeing Yoon Ji Won’s phone and how she had cancelled Seok Ji Won’s call and blocked his number. She is a bit affected but wonders what an old phone could do. After all, a lot of time has passed since that incident when Ji Hye deleted Seok Ji Won’s message to Yoon Ji Won secretly so many years ago.
In order to get close to Seok Ji Won, she says she had confessed her feelings in a moment of an anger and wants to go back to being his friend, especially since he did take care of her when they were in school. She wrangles a ride with him to Seoul, only horrified that he offers a lift to Yoon Ji Won too. Seok Ji Won’s gestures and gazes toward Yoon Ji Won further make her jealous, and she is irked when Seok Ji Won tells Yoon Ji Won to wait for his call so that he can drive her back home.
Ji Hye does what she does best… play cheap. When she sees Yoon Ji Won waiting for Seok Ji Won’s call, she gets irritated, and when Yoon Ji Won leaves her phone to go to the restroom, Ji Hye takes the phone, switching it off, and hiding it in her bag. As Ji Hye makes an hasty exit out, you can’t help but wonder why Yoon Ji Won did not notice that her phone is not on the table. Even though she sees that there is something off about Ji Hye’s behavior, it seems like she doesn’t read too much into it, which can be frustrating.
It’s unfortunate that Ji Hye comes across as desperate and obsessive. And even though she has read the room and the sparks between the two leads are all set to flare up, Ji Hye is still doing her best to create situations and trouble. But it seems it is only a matter of time until our two sparring lovers find their way back to the other and get a blazing love story in the upcoming episodes!
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Puja Talwar is a writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.
Currently watching: “Love Your Enemy,” “When the Phone Rings.”