Based on the novel, “Sarangui Ihae,” by the writer, Lee Hyeok Jin, “The Interest of Love” is a story about four people working in different positions in a bank and their different understandings of love. Actors Yoo Yoon Seok, Geum Sae Rok, Moon Ga Young, and Jung Ga Ram feature as the main characters. This realistic office romance is written for the screen by Lee Seo Hyun and Lee Hyun Jeong and directed by Jo Young Min.
Spoilers Ahead
How Does Sang Su Miss The Dinner Date?
Ha Sang Su is a section chief at KCU Bank’s Youngpo branch. He has been working in the bank for three years and has a crush on the senior clerk, Ahn Su Yeong. Sang Su believes that in this era where people talk about non-discrimination, it still exists based on people’s wealth. People have different statuses in society based on how much money they earn, and this divide exists in Sang Su’s office as well. Su Yeong is just a clerk, and he is a chief, which makes a lot of difference in how much respect they get. Su Yeong is often gossiped about by other employees because she is still a clerk on contract after many years of service. Sang Su’s colleague and friend, So Gyeong Pil, is aware of Sang Su’s crush on Su Yeong.
Su Yeong has a rush of customers at her desk, so Sang Su takes over some of her customers to ease the burden. Bank employees often have to deal with rude customers, and it is a bad day for Su Yeong as a customer blames her for the money he lost. Sang Su gets concerned as the customer gets aggressive, and he has to stop him from getting violent. However, Sang Su makes a mistake because of this chaos. He gives a low-tier credit card to a VIP client and gets scolded by the deputy manager. He has to travel to Jeju with Su Yeong to deliver the correct card to the VIP client. Even though Sang Su is in trouble, he is happy to travel with Su Yeong for company. After delivering the card, Sang Su asks Su Yeong if she wants to roam around, but she refuses. Instead, they end up putting a bird’s egg back in its nest.
Both Su Yeong and Sang Su are kind-hearted people. Su Yeong trained Sang Su when he newly joined the bank and often covered for his mistakes, as she still does. Sang Su always helps people in need and doesn’t think twice before doing so. Sang Su joins his colleagues for a drink after work, but he makes the excuse of buying cigarettes and gets away from them for a while. They are gossiping about Su Yeong again, and he doesn’t like it. He texts Su Yeong to see if she has reached home safely and thanks her for going to Jeju with him. He gets flustered with only one reply from her. The next day, he volunteers to go for field work with Su Yeong and asks her out for dinner on the weekend.
Su Yeong can see that Sang Su has a crush on her, and she teases him on the weekend that she cannot make it to their date. However, she shows up, and they enjoy a movie and dinner together. Sang Su drops her off at home, and on the way, they talk about themselves and their families. Su Yeong never went to college because she never felt like she could study more. Before Sang Su leaves, he makes a dinner plan with Su Yeong again for the next week. At the bank the next day, Sang Su finds out that Yang Seok Hyeon has broken up with his girlfriend because she is not as wealthy as him, and he is having a hard time because of it. However, he accepts that his love is shallow.
Sang Su has been making many mistakes these days in his work, and on the day of his dinner date with Su Yeong, he has to stay back in the bank until he resolves the issue. Su Yeong took a day off and reached the restaurant on time. Sang Su is already late, and his phone stops working on his way out of the bank. He reaches the restaurant, but Su Yeong has left. Sang Su gets drunk alone and sends embarrassing texts to Su Yeong. He apologizes to her, but she doesn’t reply. The next day, Su Yeong behaves as if nothing has happened between them, which confuses Sang Su, but he hears a rumor about her that makes him restless.
Team leader Lee saw Su Yeong and security guard Jeong having lunch together in a park and thought that they were dating. At the company dinner, Lee brings up the topic, and both Su Yeong and Jeong deny the rumor of their dating. However, the atmosphere becomes uncomfortable, and Jeong leaves first. Sang Su follows Su Yeong after everyone else leaves, and he asks her if she is really dating Jeong. She is uninterested in talking about her personal life to him, but Sang Su confesses that he likes her. Su Yeong’s expression doesn’t even change, and she coldly tells Sang Su that she is dating Jeong.
Why Doesn’t Su Yeong Get Along With Her Colleagues?
Su Yeong came to Youngpo from the small town of Tongyeong to make a living for herself and had to work many part-time jobs just to get by until she found the recruitment notice from KCU Bank. Su Yeong was desperate and not only got the job but managed to keep it for a long time, even though she was just a contract employee. During her early years, she also faced the reality that she could never switch positions because she was just a high school graduate and college graduates would always get preference over her, despite her skills. She knows that other employees have drawn a line between her and them, and Sang Su also belongs on the other side of the line. This could be the reason she bailed on their dinner date, even when she saw Sang Su coming, and the reason she claims to be dating Jeong.
Both Seok Hyeon and Sang Su get drunk to cope with their relationship issues, while Gyeong Pil consoles them. Su Yeong still pretends as if nothing has happened between her and Sang Su, which makes Sang Su uncomfortable around her. Moreover, the deputy manager has been stressing Sang Su out as his performance has not been satisfying lately, and the manager’s job is at stake if his subordinates do not show a good performance. On the other hand, another rude customer comes to the bank and lies down on the floor. He refuses to get up until he meets the branch manager, who is on a business trip. When no one else takes the initiative, Su Yeong gets up from her seat and kneels down next to the customer. Sang Su follows her, and then others follow him. Some employees appreciate Su Yeong, while others think that it is not a big deal.
Sang Su went to an elite high school, but his financial situation was poor as his father passed away when he was young, and his mother raised him by herself. His friends in school were all rich, and they were still rich. They have a friend’s reunion as one of them is getting married soon. It is a chance for Sang Su to get more customers for his bank, but he has to leave his pride behind for that. However, Sang Su has good friends, and one of them, who is in the construction business, opens the bank accounts of all of his employees at Sang Su’s bank. It relieves a lot of stress off Sang Su’s shoulders as his manager finally lets him off the hook. The bank has announced the change in personnel, and thankfully, both Sang Su and Su Yeong haven’t been transferred to other branches. However, a new assistant manager has been assigned to the Youngpo branch.
‘The Interest Of Love’ Episode 2: Ending
Park Mi Gyeong is the only child of her rich parents, but she refuses to live off them and wants to live her life as she wants. She enchants everyone at the bank with her beauty and her style and immediately steals Su Yeong’s title as Youngpo’s goddess. Mi Gyeong and Sang Su get assigned to a project together, and Mi Gyeong introduces herself to Sang Su as his college junior. Sang Su remembers her from college, and it rekindles their old friendship. Both of them go out to have some dinner, and Su Yeong spots them together. The next day, other employees start teasing Sang Su and Mi Gyeong as they seem too comfortable with each other. A colleague had asked Su Yeong if she wanted to go out on a blind date, and she agreed to it after seeing Mi Gyeong and Sang Su together.
“The Interest Of Love” has two adults who still don’t understand what love is. Su Yeong pushes Sang Su away because she is afraid to get hurt, and Sang Su is not ready to give up on her yet because he has liked her for three years. People can grow old with age, but that doesn’t mean that they will understand everything that is in life. Adults can make mistakes too. Su Yeong’s blind date doesn’t go well when she tells the guy that she is just a high school graduate. On the other hand, Sang Su gets restless and texts Su Yeong to know whether she is on a blind date and if she can meet him. Su Yeong is already on her way back home, but when Sang Su reaches her home, he sees Su Yeong hugging Jeong, which yet again breaks his heart.
