Popular K-drama Love Next Door aired episode 3 on Saturday, August 24, 2024, at 9:20 p.m. KST on tvN. The series follows the story of two childhood friends, Choi Seung-Hyo (Jung Hae-In) and Bae Seok-Ryu (Jung So-Min).
Episode 3 of Love Next Door saw both Choi Seung-Hyo and Bae Seok-Ryu come to terms with their past. While the former reflected on his life as a swimmer, Seok-Ryu tried to establish her identity. The two struggled to keep up with their traumatic memories. They even visited their high school for different reasons but found a way to connect as they got hold of the time capsule they had buried years ago. It turns out that Seung-Hyo has had feelings for Seok-Ryu since their high school days.
Love Next Door episode 3 spoilers
The recent episode of Love Next Door began with a flashback to the 2007 Seoul National Swimming Championships. Although Choi Seung-Hyo’s parents couldn’t make it, he found Bae Seok-Ryu supporting him from the stands. Eventually, he ranked first, qualifying for the Olympics. Seung-Hyo, dreaming about the event, woke up to Seok-Ryu’s sleep in the middle of the night. The two bickered as he moved into his home, which was beside her house.
Choi Seung-Hyo embarks on a new project
The following day, Seung-Hyo had breakfast with his parents. His mother tried to make conversation, but Seung-Hyo and his father left for work, indicating some tension in the family and Seung-Hyo’s distance from his mother. At the office, he received good news about a client asking his company to be in charge of a retirement home. Seung-Hyo, however, was focused on transforming his high school’s pool as part of a new project.
Meanwhile, Seok-Ryu’s parents discussed how they had let their daughter figure out her own path and not pressure her. Seok-Ryu rested for the day and met with her friends Seung-Hyo and Jeong Mo-Eum (Kim Ji-Eun) at a comic book store. The next day, Seok-Ryu offered to help her parents at the shop when she met with her high school teacher. She accompanied the teacher to the school and found Seung-Hyo there.
Bae Seok-Ryu deals with unemployment and stagnant life
Bae Seok-Ryu led the teacher to believe that she was still working at the US company Greip. Seung-Hyo was aware of this but didn’t say anything. Meanwhile, the teacher asked Seok-Ryu to share her experience with the existing students. While interacting with the students, Seok-Ryu told them about her work at the company. When one of them asked if it was her dream job, she denied it, leaving her to contemplate her life.
While heading home, Seok-Ryu met Seung-Hyo, who demanded they find the time capsule they had buried while in school years ago. The friends had promised to look at it after 10 years, and the time had long passed. They came close to finding it before Seok-Ryu offered to leave. Inside the capsule, they had written letters to their future selves.
Seok-Ryu came home to realize that she was stuck in her life with others moving forward. Meanwhile, Seung-Hyo prepared for both the pool renovation and the retirement community project. The next day, Mo-Eum tended to an emergency patient but encountered traffic while taking him to the hospital. She saw a man help clear out traffic for the ambulance to pass through, but she couldn’t see his face. She later called him her “ideal type.” Back at work, she saw that Kang Dan-Oh (Yoon Ji-On) had sent her rice cakes to express his gratitude.
Seung-Hyo and Seok-Ryu struggle with their past
Seung-Hyo attended the meeting for the retirement community with his co-founder, Yoon Myung-Woo. However, his values didn’t align with those of his clients, who asked him to plagiarize foreign designers’ ideas. This led to an argument between the two founders.
However, Myung-Woo argued that Seung-Hyo was still stuck in the past and had failed in his swimming career. This made the latter emotional as he left the venue. Meanwhile, Seok-Ryu met with a recruiter who offered her multiple positions in prestigious companies. While heading back, Seung-Hyo saw Seok-Ryu when she told him about the meeting. Seung-Hyo noted that it took a lot for her to return and advised her not to return to the exhausting job and to follow her dreams. This only frustrated Seok-Ryu more as she felt he was privileged to get back on his feet and achieve success.
Seung-Hyo noted that he had also had a hard time once. He looked back at his past when he met with an accident just before he had to participate in the Beijing Olympics. The doctors noted that he wouldn’t be able to swim anymore. The following day, Seung-Hyo mended his issues with Myung-Woo and also understood Seok-Ryu’s position.
By the end of the episode, Seok-Ryu told her teacher about how she quit her job. The teacher expressed that Seok-Ryu would find a way soon and told her to visit the pool where Seung-Hyo was. Seok-Ryu discovered Seung-Hyo opening up the time capsule and reading her letter out loud. He jumped into the pool and reminded Seok-Ryu of how persistent and helpful she was in taking him out of his slump in the past. He wanted her to return to her chirpy self.
When Seung-Hyo helped her, Seok-Ryu jumped into the pool without knowing how to swim. He asked if she could return to her job abroad and not end the engagement. However, Seok-Ryu denied it, which relieved Seung-Hyo. The episode ended with the discovery that Seung-Hyo had decided to confess his feelings for her in the letter.
Don’t forget to tune in to Love Next Door episode 4 on Sunday, August 25, 2024, at 9:20 p.m. KST on tvN and later on Netflix.