Having been estranged from his family for over a decade, a prodigal father makes a sudden return, hoping that his family will welcome him with open arms and let bygones be bygones.
This is just wishful thinking, especially since his sweet daughter isn’t about to let this estranged father back into the family or allow him to get close to her dear mother.
Bunny S. watches Romance in the House on Netflix
Opening Week Rating:
Romance in the House Opening Week Story
“The father we discarded long ago came back as the owner of our house.”
We are first introduced to Daughter Byeon Mi-rae (Son Na-eun), a hardworking corporate employee who assumed the head of the family role after her father Byeon Mu-jin (Ji Jin-hee) abandoned both his family and his post for a whopping 11 years. Mi-rae’s motto in life is that if one tries to do everything, they will get somewhere as a payoff for their hard work. We can see clearly in how Mi-rae tries her best to hold up and remain on top of the game even after pulling an all-nighter and barely getting barely 3 hours of sleep.
Unluckily, despite her tenacity, Mi-rae’s body couldn’t keep up with the immense workload. While at work, Mi-rae faints and gets transferred to the hospital. As if things aren’t stressful enough. Mi-rae gets a call from her mother, Geum Ae-yeon (Kim Ji-soo), relaying the tragic news that their house got caught on fire. Hence, Mi-rae cuts her treatment short and rushes home. Thankfully, everyone got out safely, yet sadly, the landlord got caught in the fire and lost his life.
Shortly after, another bomb hits Mi-rae’s family. The previous landlord’s daughter sold the building to a new landlord who wants one tenant evacuated so he can move into their place. And now, Mi-rae and her family are about to get kicked out on the streets. Luckily, with a “fake” pity party, Ae-yeon manages to evoke the landlord’s sympathy and get him to reconsider his decision.
But the surprising part was Ae-yeon declaring herself as a widow. And no, it isn’t a lie she came up with to get the new landlord to take pity on her. The thing is the whole family believes Mu-jin died in an accident a year ago. So one can only imagine their shock when Mu-jin drops by uninvited while they are holding a memorial service for him. Moreover, Mu-jin reveals himself as the actual new landlord. Was he expecting a welcome party by chance?
To be fair, Mu-jin seems just as surprised to see his family there. (Or, so I guessed.) He only bought the building as an investment because the area is about to get redeveloped in a span of a year or two. Yet, this turn of events has changed everything regarding Mu-jin’s initial plans to kick out the tenants and sell the building at a high price. (Or, that is how it looked.)
“You know, you can continue living here. I don’t mind.”
For now, Mu-jin settles to stay at the unit where the late landlord used to live until he thinks things over and decides what to do. But it is Mi-rae who can’t stand living in the same building as Mu-jin and resolves to move out. This should come as no surprise, given how Mi-rae practically kicked Mu-jin out of the house while in high school, arguing she no longer had a dad.
House hunting, however, is no walk in the park and the soaring housing prices are making it difficult for Mi-rae to stay true to her words. On the other hand, Ae-yeon starts to have a change of heart after Mu-jin offers to let them stay rent-free.
Taking the bull by its horns, Ae-yeon meets Mu-jin and asks him point-blank if he knew beforehand that they lived in that building. At first, Mu-jin tries to lie his way out, but he eventually admits to having known about it before buying the building, arguing that he worked hard to save money all those years and now he wants his family back. (Side note: I am growing curious about where Mu-jin got that huge amount of money from, enough to pay for the building in cash?)
Spotting them together, a mad Mi-rae yells at Mu-jin to stay away from Ae-yeon, dashing over with an expression implying Mi-rae wants to kick Mu-jin’s face. While Mu-jin got kicked, the culprit wasn’t Mi-rae but her colleague and potential love interest, Former Taekwondo Athlete Nam Tae-pyung (Choi Min-ho), who works as a security guard while hiding his chaebol background. The poor guy only stepped in assuming that Ae-yeon was harassed by Mu-jin, only to get shocked after learning they were Mi-rae’s parents. What a messy situation!
Romance in the House Opening Week Musings
That was one interesting premiere enhanced by those many entangling relationships. My favorite of which is our mother-daughter duo. This is hands down one of the most healthy and refreshing familial relationships I have ever seen in K-drama land. Originally, I was worried about getting another family member having to sacrifice herself to provide for her family. But here, both women are equally supportive of each other and the montage of their scenes together was one of my highlights this week.
Through flashbacks, we learn that Mu-jin had an entrepreneurship syndrome, wasting the family’s hard-earned money on failing businesses. To her credit, Ae-yeon gave Mu-jin multiple chances and even used every cent she had to set up a snack bar to provide for their family. But Mu-jin let her down yet again and borrowed money from loan sharks, using the shop as collateral. Which was the final nail in the coffin. After that, Ae-yeon made up her mind to get a divorce. It was also when Mi-rae cut Mu-jin off and told him to stay away from them.
I won’t judge or take sides, but Mu-jin had better have a plan in mind if he wants to win his family back. He can’t just barge in and stir up their peaceful life unless he plans to take responsibility till the end. The only one who might be on Mu-jin’s side is Youngest Son Byeon Hyeon-jae (Yoon San-ha). And seeing how easily Hyeon-jae got swayed by a couple of new electric home appliances and redecoration, it won’t take long for Hyeon-jae to move in with his father. The women in this family keep suffering because of the men.
On a less interesting note, it seems like the drama is building up a mystery regarding the fire. There are some hints of foul play and that the culprit might be Mu-jin. And while that plot line is probably a red herring aimed to provoke some tension, it really put me off. Why do dramas shove mystery elements, no one asked for, into romcoms? Is it a must nowadays? Anyway, I am inclined to just ignore that part and tag along to see if Mu-jin has truly learned his lesson or if he would just cause another trouble before disappearing again.
Photos and Videos: JTBC Drama
