“Love Your Enemy” keeps getting better and better with each episode. As the lilacs bloom, Yoon Ji Won (Jung Yu Mi), dreading the thought of dating Seok Ji Won (Ju Ji Hoon), tries to wrangle out of the arrangement. But he tells her that they will break-up soon after the blossoms wilt, which is in two weeks. However, Yoon Ji Won makes a startling discovery from 18 years ago and realizes that she has never stopped loving Seok Ji Won ever. As these two find their way back to each other, it seems there are those who keep throwing curveballs in their direction. Here are four times our cute lead couple dealt with their own feelings, jealousy, and the conniving schemes of others.
Warning: spoilers from episode 7-8 below.
Yoon Ji Won finally letting her guard down
Yoon Ji Won is not amused with either Seok Ji Won or the lilac tree, which has finally decided to bloom as if in cahoots with Seok Ji Won. As the school cheers that their PE teacher and the chairman will finally be a couple, Yoon Ji Won tries her best to get out of the “silly” arrangement. “I’d rather shave my head than date him” is what she says to everyone in school.
To make matters worse, Seok Ji Won has finally recalled the kiss they shared, and she warns him to not think about it. But it seems her treacherous heart is all set to betray her. In episode 7, when Seok Ji Won refuses to have dinner, saying he is not well, the concern on her face is obvious. She cooks him porridge, only to see him sneakily eating ramyun in his room.
She agrees to date him for two weeks, acting as if it is no big deal. When he asks her if she ever missed him, she denies it, saying that she dated quite a few men. But it seems her dating history is sparse, and she is lying through her teeth. Though their first date doesn’t go the way she intended it to, they are the little gestures from Seok Ji Won which win her over. As they sit on the very spot they had dated years ago, Seok Ji Won remembers every detail and thing about her. He is unabashed that he doesn’t care if people hate him, which reminds her of the 18-year-old Seok Ji Won who had the same nonchalance and only cared about her.
In the meanwhile, the data from her old phone has been downloaded on her computer, and she makes a startling discovery. In the spam folder are all the messages that Seok Ji Won had sent her from the very number that Ji Hye (Kim Ye Won) had blocked from her phone.
As her friend Ji Hye tries to plant the seed of hatred in Yoon Ji Won’s heart by saying he is playing around with her, Yoon Ji Won vulnerably confesses that she likes him too much and has never ever stopped loving him. We see Yoon Ji Won’s snarl give way to a loving smile, and it is clear that Seok Ji Won is the only man for her and to whom her heart belongs. Finally the barricades she had put around her heart come down. It is adorable when she runs to him at the end of episode 7, expressing how much she missed him. Here is a girl who had carefully guarded her broken heart and hidden her tears, so it’s great to see her wanting to reclaim her love for the only man she has ever loved. Jung Yu Mi’s expressions are natural and relatable.
Seok Ji Won wearing his heart on his sleeve
Seok Ji Won can’t hide his excitement when he sees the “crazy lilacs” blooming. He tells Yoon Ji Won she needs to keep her end of the bargain. Happy to be pursing her again, his grand dating plans don’t go according to plan, since he asks his secretary to guide him. When Yoon Ji Won mocks him saying it’s clear he has no dating experience, he shows off saying his last relationship was seven years ago. And though women pursue him, he has no time. Liar!
But Yoon Ji Won’s grandfather warns Seok Ji Won to not disrespect his granddaughter with his silly bet, he feels sheepish. And Ji Hye, who has been seething, is further irked with the entire dating business. She tells Seok Ji Won that his silly ideas are only making things tough for Yoon Ji Won.
When Seok Ji Won discovers a letter Yoon Ji Won had written, he sees that while she cursed him out, she also heartbreakingly signed off that she misses him too much that it hurts. He understands the years of hurt and pain that the two have gone through were due to a serious misunderstanding. And his doubts are confirmed when he catches Ji Hye red-handed with Yoon Ji Won’s phone. His face clearly expresses his disappointment in the woman that both he and Yoon Ji Won thought was a friend. Even when Ji Hye comes clean, that she was the one who had made trouble 18 years ago, he says it would be best if she tells Yoon Ji Won herself. It is not for him to tattle.
Seok Ji Won as a man in love is rebellious, awfully jealous, and super indulgent. He has already butt heads with his father, making it clear he doesn’t want to be a pawn in his petty revenge, and he doesn’t want to commercialize the town either. To top things off, he also has to deal with Gong Moon Soo’s (Lee Si Woo’s) adoring devotion toward Yoon Ji Won. He burns with jealousy when rumors start that Yoon Ji Won has a thing for the teacher-in-training, Mr. Gong. But still, he arranges a lavish workshop for the teachers at school at his own expense when he hears Yoon Ji Won telling Moon Soo that it is not something the teachers enjoy. The cutest antic on his part is when Yoon Ji Won and Moon Soo are asked to sing a love duet, and he springs on stage and sings along with Moon Soo instead.
Seok Ji Won is playful, mischievous, and a romantic at heart. Even though he is 36 years old, at heart he is still 18 years old, hopelessly in love with Yoon Ji Won. Ju Ji Hoon has ticked all boxes when it comes to this character, who is cute and charming in every possible way.
The main leads finding their way back
When Yoon Ji Won asks Seok Ji Won why he wanted to date her, Seok Ji Won had said that he could break up with her mercilessly. Now that he has won the bet, his joy knows no bounds. Though he tells her their relationship will end when the lilacs wither, it’s clear he doesn’t want that at all. When both discover the messages and letters from the past, it is a tender moment as they run out to seek each other. Under the lilac tree, with his voice choked with emotion, Seok Ji Won tells Yoon Ji Won to end things here. As she gazes up at him with teary eyes, he says, “Let us be together.” It’s the moment viewers had been waiting for all along. The effortless ease with which the two transition from squabbling with each other to holding hands together is too cute.
But the two cannot admit to their relationship openly and have to continue acting as if they are still at loggerheads, which they are quite good at. Seok Ji Won moves out of the school residence and gets himself a new place. At school, they start a secret office romance, being all cute together, but are sworn enemies in front of everyone else.
They know their way around the other, sharing an easy camaraderie as they have fun and tease each other. But waiting to erupt is all the pent-up passion of the years spent apart that they have been holding down. It is a sweet moment when he chucks stones on her window pane as he did years ago. When Yoon Ji Won chastises him for spending his own money in organizing the workshop, he asks her, in a romantic setting, if that’s all she can think about. These two are adorably cute!
Ji Hye’s and Seok Ji Won’s fathers’ nasty schemes
Though Seok Ji Won and Yoon Ji Won belong together, it seems the rest of the world doesn’t want them to be. Cha Ji Hye tries to confuse both by saying how one is playing and hurting the other. She is caught by Seok Ji Won as she wonders what to do with Yoon Ji Won’s phone that she had hid on the trip to Seoul. Even though she comes clean, that she was the one who had stirred trouble that summer 18 years ago, it seems she is beyond redemption. She confesses she is jealous of Yoon Ji Won—she hates and loves her at the same time, and unlike Yoon Ji Won, she is not a consistent friend.
Seok Ji Won has made it clear he has never had any feelings for her. And despite knowing that she caused trouble, he tells her he won’t be the one to tattle. It is for her to come clean. Does this mean Ji Hye will turn over a new leaf? You’d think so, but apparently not. Her obsession drives her to the brink, and now she has found a worthy ally in Seok Ji Won’s father. Seok Ji Won’s father uses Ji Hye’s father, an influential town councillor, to his advantage. And not only does Ji Hye tattle on where Seok Ji Won is staying, but she also seemingly takes his father to the room where both Seok Ji Won and Yoon Ji Won are together. Her motive, it seems, is to still bring Yoon Ji Won down.
Then there’s Seok Ji Won’s father, who is riled up with his son going against his wishes. He has sworn to bring the Yoons down. He has found an accomplice, who is none other than Senior Yoon’s most trusted aide and his adopted son, on his side.
Can Yoon Ji Won and Seok Ji Won weather the storm on their way? Is their love strong enough to brave the ordeal of an age-old family rivalry, as well as convincing adversaries? This show makes it hard to wait as you want to see what happens in the forthcoming episodes as Seok Ji Won has to choose between the woman he loves and his family, while Yoon Ji Won needs to decide what would be best for her grandfather and the town he loves the most. It seems things are way more complicated than they were 18 years ago!
Start watching “Love Your Enemy”:
Puja Talwar is a Soompi 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.”
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