Is a second chance at love possible for a divorced middle-aged couple with grown-up children? And can the man of the house come back to the family home he left ignominiously after a decade?
These questions come to mind when viewing the quiet family drama Romance in the House that ended with decent ratings and kept its lead stars Ji Jin Hee and Kim Ji Soo as well as Choi Min Ho and Son Na Eun on the list of Most Buzzworthy actors for its entire 12-episode run. The series also stayed among the Top 10 most viewed dramas in the Philippines.
The action in this heartwarming Netflix drama centers on Family Villa, an apartment building where reside our principal characters: Geum Aeyeon (Kim Ji Soo), mother to daughter Byun Mi Rae (Sohn Na Eum), and son Byun Hyun Jae (Yoon San Ha), plus their “youngest” Medal, an adorable little dog. San Ha is the famous youngest member of the Korean band Astro.
Mirae is an overworked food merchandiser at J Plus Mart. Her mother Aeyeon is the salesperson at the tteokboki station. Mirae, the family’s breadwinner, pays the rent of the unit they occupy in Family Villa. Harried and frantic at work, she survives a random inspection by the company’s CEO Nam Chiyeol (Jung Woong In), but faints out of exhaustion. Handsome security guard Nam Taepyong (Choi Min Ho) carries her on his back to the emergency room.
While at ER, she gets an emergency call that Family Villa is on fire. Mother and daughter rush home to get Medal. They learn that only the landlord’s apartment was burned and the latter died in the fire. But the bad news is that the accident might have been a case of arson. The tenants expect the landlord’s daughter to inherit Family Villa so they are shocked to learn that the building has been sold and the new owner, known only as Mr. Landlord, plans to reside there. And, since the old landlord’s apartment was destroyed in the fire, the new landlord will be staying in one of three units occupied under soon-to-expire contracts.
Each of the occupants—Aeyeon being one of them—plans to renew his contract and to give a different reason to convince Mr. Landlord why he or she should be allowed to remain at Family Villa. Aeyeon uses the widowed mother-of-two card. Mother and son initially don’t disclose this to Mirae, because aside from paying rent, she’s also shouldering Hyun Jae’s college tuition.
Cut to the first death anniversary of the former man of the house. Aeyeon plans a memorial, but Mirae is adamantly against the idea. They kicked their Dad out of their home 10 years ago, and he had been a virtual stranger to them until they heard of his death the previous year. Aeyeon feels that helping her children bid a proper farewell to their father is her duty as mother. She says: “We are living well, let him go his way in peace.” Mirae agrees reluctantly provided their family of three continue with their lives exactly the way they have all this time.
On the day of the memorial, the family leaves the front door open so that the ghost of Dad can come in for his memorial. Aeyeon wails to soothe his spirit, intoning, “We are living much better now than when we lived with you. Let go of your resentment and rest in peace.” Just then, a man in black suit appears on the doorstep, and the family of three is dumbfounded. It is their husband and father Byun Moo Jin (Ji Jin Hee) in the flesh—the very person who was supposed to be dead.
What is even more shocking is that he is THE new landlord of Family Villa.
A man in black suit appears on the doorstep…. It is their husband and father—the very person who was supposed to be dead
At this point the story of Romance in the House actually starts. Viewers are taken to the scene 11 years ago when Byun Moo Jin was kicked out of the house for being a useless and irresponsible father. His wife Aeyeon then filed for a divorce and got full custody of their children.
On his comeback, Moo Jin lets it be known that he wants to be in their lives again, to make Aeyeon fall in love with him a second time. He even drafted an agreement that should he fail to do so, he will sign over ownership of Family Villa to Aeyeon, Mirae, and Hyun Jae. But after the divorce, Aeyeon became determined never to see Moo Jin again, saying that her children were the best things that happened to her, and the worst was meeting him. She raised the two, Mirae eventually becoming her principal support and confidante.
Moo Jin and Aeyeon married at a young age, and when Moo Jin became a father, he quit sports—he was a promising baseball player—to make money to support his family. But he had no talent as entrepreneur, and all his businesses went under. Aeyeon then invested her life savings to put up a tteokboki diner that did well, until it went bankrupt because Moo Jin had to pay loan sharks who were after him.
In the ensuing years, the family never heard about him until his supposed death. In his dramatic comeback, all sorts of rumors spread around the neighborhood: about how he made that much money to be able to buy Family Villa, and that he had become a member of a drug ring. This after they saw a dragon tattoo on his shoulder. Spoiler alert: In a later episode, it was revealed that he led the Dragons baseball team and he had some following. There were even whispers that he might have caused the fire that killed the former landlord.
There are some really serious allegations and dark rumors swirling around the Family Villa and the neighborhood. We get a very angry and bitter Mirae, who tells her mother that they should leave Family Villa rather than be beholden to her father.
On the surface, there is nothing new in the Romance in the House, but what made the difference? Despite the fact that there is enough melodrama in the story and some really combustible scenes (can’t help the allusion to fire, since suspicions of arson and murder were whispered about in some episodes), its director Kim Da Ye (While You Were Sleeping) and writer Kim Young Yoon (My Secret Romance) kept a very tight rein on this project.
The narrative flowed seamlessly. And aside from viewers wanting to know how Moo Jin came upon such a huge fortune, the writer and director threw in enough hijinks to keep them watching. There are gossiping neighbors, hints of possible crimes, but no dark overtones. These are interspersed with comic scenes. An example, Ji Jin Hee modeling women’s high heels in Thailand, one of many odd jobs he took while on the trail of the scammer who got his wife’s money.
Aside from viewers wanting to know how Moo Jin came upon such a huge fortune, the writer and director threw in enough hijinks to keep them watching
The ageless Ji Jin Hee, 54, has very good comedic timing. One of the best actors of his generation, he has starred in suspense thrillers (Designated Survivor in 2019) and high stakes drama in the broadcast industry (Misty in 2018), but he also has One Warm Word (2013), a family drama with Kim Ji Soo, who also played his wife. Eleven years later, their chemistry is lovely to see. The beautiful Kim Ji Soo, 53, hasn’t aged as well.
The young lovers Mirae (Son Na Yeun of Apink) and Nam Taepyong (Choi Min Ho of Shinee) are a goodlooking pair that shows another perspective about love and marriage. They start as secret lovers but are soon outed. To confound this, it is revealed later that Taepyong is the son of CEO Nam Chiyeol, who asked him to join the company for at least three months. The CEO is played by Jung Wong In, almost always a drama villain, but this time he isn’t the nasty father disdainful of his son’s relationship with an employee of his company. He also allows his son to go back to his real dream of setting up a taekwondo school for kids.
Aside from avoiding the use of family drama tropes, the writer of Romance in the House has put a refreshing spin on the tired happy-ever-after rom-com formula. Aeyeon and Moo Jin do get a second chance at love but they do not marry again. Moo Jin’s relationship with daughter Mirae improves, and she tells him she doesn’t mind if their parents get back together, that Mom can move in with Dad if she wants to. But Moo Jin, never pushy with Aeyeon, just lets things fall in place. They stay in their respective apartments, he upstairs, Aeyeon in her third floor unit.
Mirae and Taepyong’s love story is a slow burn that doesn’t annoy or frustrate viewers. They have moved in together and are enjoying life, without marriage as immediate goal. Taepyong’s CEO father fully supporting their relationship is icing on the cake. Hyun Jae is pursuing his own career. On certain days, they all get together at Family Villa and enjoy meals like any ordinary family.
Romance in the House is that rare, heartwarming drama that is best watched on a stormy day when you are marooned in the house, and want an easy viewing experience that will not have you crying your heart out or hating an obnoxious character that gets in the way of love.
