At the beginning of episode 13 of Love Next Door, after a passionate night together, Seung Hyo (Jung Hae In) and Seok Ryu (Jung So Min) exchange sweet words, but the romantic atmosphere is disrupted when Seok Ryu’s parents return home earlier than expected. The young couple pretends they’ve been reading comics together since early morning, but Seok Ryu’s mother doesn’t suspect anything, even though Seung Hyo’s shirt buttons are misaligned. During a shared meal between the two families, neither set of parents notices anything unusual about their children.
Following this, there are more humorous and adorable moments as Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu secretly continue dating. Meanwhile, the couple Mo Eum and Dan Ho keep avoiding each other, and even Dan Ho’s daughter can no longer visit Mo Eum’s home. To completely end any hope from the other side, Dan Ho bluntly declares that he doesn’t like Mo Eun.
Of course, Dan Ho has his own reasons for this, which Mo Eun soon discovers when the two accidentally meet at a memorial. There, Mo Eun’s daughter stands before the portraits of two people and addresses them as her parents, revealing that Dan Ho is actually her uncle. In the past, Dan Ho’s parents, sister-in-law, and brother all died in an accident, and Dan Ho has since raised Yeon Du as his own daughter.
After this revelation, Dan Ho continues to avoid Mo Eun, but eventually, he can no longer hold it in. In front of Mo Eun’s mother, Dan Ho declares that he will marry Mo Eun, despite feeling that he isn’t “good enough” for her.
In another storyline, Seok Ryu begins focusing on pursuing her dreams. Meanwhile, her younger brother finds himself in trouble after investing money in a mold-based protein product that hasn’t been approved. As the family argues over how to resolve the issue, Dong Jin expresses his frustrations about wanting to be as special in his parents’ eyes as his sister. However, after a few words of advice from Seok Ryu, Dong Jin understands the situation and finds his own path forward.
Good news arrives when Seok Ryu wins a competition and becomes a culinary artist. She decides to soon look for a job and become a chef. Meanwhile, Seung Hyo wins an architecture award and is invited to the award ceremony. He wants Seok Ryu to go with him, but she declines, not wanting to meet people she knows. However, the reason doesn’t seem that simple, as Seung Hyo later discovers that Seok Ryu is looking into studying abroad. Upon learning this, Seung Hyo feels hurt, fearing distance between them and saddened that Seok Ryu didn’t open up to him. At this point, Seok Ryu admits that she’s sent her resume to several places but hasn’t received any responses, and she feels insecure about accompanying Seung Hyo to the event. After revealing her feelings, Seok Ryu asks that they not meet for a week because she’s feeling conflicted.
The two then stop communicating until Seung Hyo has an accident at a construction site. Seok Ryu rushes to the hospital, crying uncontrollably, only to find that Seung Hyo has merely sprained his ankle. Right at the hospital, Seok Ryu confesses her love and admits that she shouldn’t feel insecure about their relationship. They embrace and promise to always stay by each other’s side.
Love Next Door airs every Saturday and Sunday night on tvN.
