Love Your Enemy: Ep 1 & 2 First Impressions

I recommend this if you want something funny and familiar. We know well the tropes of a story about enemies turned into lovers, but I like that this show has some quirks to make it unique. For instance, two leads share the same names and birthdates. I’ve never seen that before. To avoid confusion, I shall refer to the female lead, Yoon JiWon, as Yoon JW, and the male lead, Seok JiWon, as Seok JW.

The couple are rivals from birth because their families have been at war, like the Montagues and Capulets. The feud purportedly began when their grandfathers fought over the same girl and the Seok patriarch won the fair lady from the Yoon patriarch.

However, I think there’s also a tinge of socio-economic class warfare going on. The Seok family were originally the tenant farmers of the Yoon family. They only became rich when they ventured into the construction business. Since the Yoons were the landed gentry, I wouldn’t be surprised if they looked down on the Seoks as the upstarts. Losing the girl to an inferior Seok would have been a bitter pill for the Yoon elder to swallow.

Fast forward a few decades, and now, the Yoon elder discovers that even his life’s work, i.e., his beloved school, is being taken over by the son of his former rival. Though he vehemently opposes the Seok son’s plan to convert the school into a golf course, he has no choice in the matter as his board of trustees vote to oust him as chairman in favor of the Seok son.

Side note: I suspect that his right-hand man — the one he trusted like a son — sold him out. His right-hand man is being played by the actor Lee SeungJoon. He was the affable dad in “Love Next Door” and the abusive dad in “Castaway Diva.”

Anyway… why am I spending so much time explaining the family background instead of the couple?

Well, for one, I think the past is prologue.

Although the female lead suspects the grandson Seok JW of having a nefarious motive and working to turn the school into a golf course according to his father’s plan, I think he’ll actually be the one to save the school and end the family feud.

To me, it’s revealing that Seok JW only changes his mind to chair the schoolboard in a fit of pique. He’s so enraged by the gossip that Yoon JW denied any recollection of him in high school that he decides to pay her a visit at school and make her remember him up-close and personal. If he’s willing to protect their memories together – and the school is the physical repository of all these precious memories – then there’s no way that he’ll agree to bulldoze the buildings and grounds to turn into a banal golf course.

Likewise, there’s no way that the two families will sever their ties from each other irrevocably despite the tumultuous past of the Yoons and Seoks.

For another, the prevailing theme in Korean romcoms this year is that love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Remember “Love Next Door” and “Doctor Slump”? This drama doesn’t stray far from the norm.

The enmity between the Yoon and Seok families will be reconciled by great lllloooove of the grandchildren. I’m guessing that Seok JW will revert to some sort of tenant farmer…err…lackey of the Yoon grandfather to rescue the school from his own dad’s mission, and to win the heart of Yoon JW.

For sure, she’ll continue to fight with him and protest his attention in the next episodes. I don’t expect anything less from her given her feisty character. But based on her recurring dreams of waiting for someone at the famous Namsan Seoul Tower, and her teary-eyed reaction when she was rejected by her colleague, I’m also guessing that she isn’t as unaffected by him as she looks. She too must have been distressed by their fall-out in high school and is still suffering the effects of their separation.

It’s great that there are flashbacks to their high school days to give context to the present emotional connection and re-connection. I also like that the flashbacks are delivered piecemeal. To drop their backstory all at once would have been information overload, considering that we were also getting the history of the family feud. I also like that the young actors who play the young Yoon and Seok JW not only look good together, but can act well. The young Yoon JW is convincingly oblivious to his growing attachment to her, while the young Seok JW is so endearing whenever he tries to hide his confusion from her or feign coolness. The switch between the past and present characters is seamless.

End note: I didn’t expect this from the lead actor, Ju JiHoon, because I always associated with him tsundere-ness, but to me, he’s carrying the show with his comedic performances. This scene in particular had me in stitches.

#love your enemy from kateknowsdramas source: kateknowsdramas’ tumblr