Gangju might be one of the most unfortunate ML characters in any KDrama. The writer-nim is really hitting him hard continuously.
When can we see Gangju be happy? OMG. How almost everyone in the drama has mistreated him boils my blood.
- He put the money back under the mattress to save Darim's family of thieves. - He had to put up with how his stepfather treated him. His father called him back home for coffee only to tell him that he'd lost the position to Tae Woong and he had to clear his things at home so Tae Woong could take over his room in the house. Even I had a big shock seeing how Chairman Ji treated him. - He had to put up with how Tae Woong and Cha Rim treated him when he had to vacate his office for Tae Woong. - He had to lie to his mom about the money. - He had to lie to the Love Company gangsters about the money. I am worried that this might cause an issue for him later. - Last but not least -- he loves Darim but after all this while, Darim still doesn't have feelings for him. Yes, she is very grateful to Gangju, sympathises with him for losing the director job, and wants to support him in his new business, but yeah that's all for now. His love for Darim is not yet reciprocated.
When can we see Gangju being happy? Why he is so unfortunate and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for him?
Jiseok might hate her for being kind and always caring about others rather than herself.despite not being blood…
Yes I remember Jiseok didn't want Hana to be in charge of him and the younger siblings after his parents' death. That might be the reason why he moved to the US.
But I still don't understand why Jiseok shunned Eunchong like that. He is just a little kid. I am sure he was still a baby when Jiseok left them for the US five years ago. What has the little kid done wrong to him?
I still don't get it. Either the writing doesn't make sense or Jiseok's thinking is really flawed as what you said.
I also want to express my appreciation for Kim Geon-u, the child actor who portrays Eunchong. He is still 5 years old, going to be 6 years old at the end of this month, but his acting skills are amazing for his age -- especially his facial expressions.
So Jiseok wants to pull his younger siblings off Hana not because he hates her for causing their parents' death. It's because Jiseok hates Duna and Eunchong, and doesn't like Hana raising Eunchong.
Ep 14 was very sad! But hopefully in 106 episodes it gets better? 🤔SangAh is a horrible mother. 😡NamJin…
"When you’re a parent your kids need to come first 99% of the time."
This!!
I still don't understand how a parent can neglect their own child and prioritise their own life over their children's life. Well it may be true when the children have grown up, but not at the time when they were still young.
According to the synopsis, yes Yujin/Duna died (off screen during the time-skip) and Hana took care of her son…
To make it clearer: Hana took care of Yujin/Duna's son.
Hana and Yujin/Duna were best friends at the orphanage, they are almost the same age.
Hana was adopted by Jiseok's parents, so she became Jiseok's adopted elder sister. But then their parents died, and Hana took charge of her 3 younger siblings (Jiseok, Jieun and Jichang).
Yujin/Duna was adopted by a family, and then they moved to the US. It was presumed that Hana and Duna were still keeping in touch since Hana received a postcard from Duna showing a photo of Niagara Falls (where they dreamt of going when they were still children).
Duna then had a son (Eun-chong)—it was not clear whether she was married or not when having Eun-chong—and for some reason, she died. So Hana took charge of taking care of Eun-chong (not too sure how she took him). These were all off-screen and happened during the time skip.
Yujin/Duna's life after she was adopted and migrated to the US was not shown on the screen. It's just presumed that she died after the timeskip on the 6th episode. That's why there is no adult actress portraying her character (only her character as a young girl was portrayed by the beautiful and talented child actress: Lee So Yoon).
That is what we understand as of now based on the synopsis so far. We don't know if there will be any plot twist later (e.g. Yujin/Duna turns out to be still alive) -- we don't know yet. :)
Ep 14 was very sad! But hopefully in 106 episodes it gets better? 🤔SangAh is a horrible mother. 😡NamJin…
Agree that both Sang-ah and Namjin are bad. And yes they are, unfortunately, perfect for each other.
Seonju and So-woo do not deserve them. I hope Seonju and So-woo will eventually get close and form a new family with Ji-hyun and Tae-ri. It's heartwarming to see Ji-hyun and Tae-ri's interaction in the library couple of episodes earlier. Hope they will become sister and brother in the end.
The synopsis seems to be wrong. Check Viu's synopsis for a more accurate description.
Synopsis: Ha Na's life has been unfortunate. She knows nothing about her mom, and her dad died in a fire when she was seven. She was adopted by her dad's friend but had to become the guardian of three younger siblings after her adoptive parents died. On top of that, she had to take care of her best friend Du Na's son after she passed. Driven by a sense of responsibility, Ha Na worked as an international tour guide, hoping to raise a worthy family. However, she loses her job due to a bad relationship with the president of Hyesung Tours, Hwang Jin Goo. Luckily, she was scouted back after a VIP member gave her recognition for her guiding skills. Working alongside Jin Goo, who's always sincere and bright, she develops feelings beyond admiration. However, she knows he's taken and pushes her feelings aside to focus on work. One day, Jin Goo tells her something shocking. "Your mom is looking for you." Should Ha Na believe him or not? Once again, Ha Na finds herself at another crossroads in her life.
I am watching episode 14 and it's really heartbreaking to see Jihyun pretend to be sick (she even tried to get stomach-ache herself, but failed) just because she wants to see her Dad back home. And when her Dad came, he scolded her mom instead, in front of her, and then left.
How can a Dad be so cruel to his own daughter and wife? Okay, he might not love his wife anymore since he's having an affair. But how about his daughter? Does he care about his daughter and how she might feel to see her parents tearing apart like that?
OMG Namjin and Sang-ah are really boiling my blood!
1 
https://asianwiki.com/Kim_Geon-U_(2018)
Name: Kim Geon-U
Hangul: 김건우
Born: December 27, 2018
He's not yet 6 years old and his acting skills and facial expression is already amazing.
Apparently, there is another actor with the same name and born in 2011. MDL might have that wrong info.
When can we see Gangju be happy? OMG. How almost everyone in the drama has mistreated him boils my blood.
- He put the money back under the mattress to save Darim's family of thieves.
- He had to put up with how his stepfather treated him. His father called him back home for coffee only to tell him that he'd lost the position to Tae Woong and he had to clear his things at home so Tae Woong could take over his room in the house. Even I had a big shock seeing how Chairman Ji treated him.
- He had to put up with how Tae Woong and Cha Rim treated him when he had to vacate his office for Tae Woong.
- He had to lie to his mom about the money.
- He had to lie to the Love Company gangsters about the money. I am worried that this might cause an issue for him later.
- Last but not least -- he loves Darim but after all this while, Darim still doesn't have feelings for him. Yes, she is very grateful to Gangju, sympathises with him for losing the director job, and wants to support him in his new business, but yeah that's all for now. His love for Darim is not yet reciprocated.
When can we see Gangju being happy? Why he is so unfortunate and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for him?
But I still don't understand why Jiseok shunned Eunchong like that. He is just a little kid. I am sure he was still a baby when Jiseok left them for the US five years ago. What has the little kid done wrong to him?
I still don't get it. Either the writing doesn't make sense or Jiseok's thinking is really flawed as what you said.
"Love Next Door" is the English title. "Mom's Friend's Son" is the translation of the Korean title.
He will be going places when he grows up.
The question is, why?
this might be inline with the earlier strange synopsis which we thought is inaccurate (about "fake parents" and "adopted by the family's enemy" etc).
interesting!
Not too sure about FL finding her birth mom. Let's see how the story unfolds. :)
This!!
I still don't understand how a parent can neglect their own child and prioritise their own life over their children's life. Well it may be true when the children have grown up, but not at the time when they were still young.
Episode 14, which was supposed to air last week Thursday, was only aired on Monday.
Episode 15, which was supposed to air yesterday/Tuesday after last week's cancellation, got cancelled again, so it will only be aired today.
Hana and Yujin/Duna were best friends at the orphanage, they are almost the same age.
Hana was adopted by Jiseok's parents, so she became Jiseok's adopted elder sister. But then their parents died, and Hana took charge of her 3 younger siblings (Jiseok, Jieun and Jichang).
Yujin/Duna was adopted by a family, and then they moved to the US. It was presumed that Hana and Duna were still keeping in touch since Hana received a postcard from Duna showing a photo of Niagara Falls (where they dreamt of going when they were still children).
Duna then had a son (Eun-chong)—it was not clear whether she was married or not when having Eun-chong—and for some reason, she died. So Hana took charge of taking care of Eun-chong (not too sure how she took him). These were all off-screen and happened during the time skip.
Yujin/Duna's life after she was adopted and migrated to the US was not shown on the screen. It's just presumed that she died after the timeskip on the 6th episode. That's why there is no adult actress portraying her character (only her character as a young girl was portrayed by the beautiful and talented child actress: Lee So Yoon).
That is what we understand as of now based on the synopsis so far. We don't know if there will be any plot twist later (e.g. Yujin/Duna turns out to be still alive) -- we don't know yet. :)
Seonju and So-woo do not deserve them. I hope Seonju and So-woo will eventually get close and form a new family with Ji-hyun and Tae-ri. It's heartwarming to see Ji-hyun and Tae-ri's interaction in the library couple of episodes earlier. Hope they will become sister and brother in the end.
Synopsis: Ha Na's life has been unfortunate. She knows nothing about her mom, and her dad died in a fire when she was seven. She was adopted by her dad's friend but had to become the guardian of three younger siblings after her adoptive parents died. On top of that, she had to take care of her best friend Du Na's son after she passed. Driven by a sense of responsibility, Ha Na worked as an international tour guide, hoping to raise a worthy family. However, she loses her job due to a bad relationship with the president of Hyesung Tours, Hwang Jin Goo. Luckily, she was scouted back after a VIP member gave her recognition for her guiding skills. Working alongside Jin Goo, who's always sincere and bright, she develops feelings beyond admiration. However, she knows he's taken and pushes her feelings aside to focus on work. One day, Jin Goo tells her something shocking. "Your mom is looking for you." Should Ha Na believe him or not? Once again, Ha Na finds herself at another crossroads in her life.
How can a Dad be so cruel to his own daughter and wife? Okay, he might not love his wife anymore since he's having an affair. But how about his daughter? Does he care about his daughter and how she might feel to see her parents tearing apart like that?
OMG Namjin and Sang-ah are really boiling my blood!