First Impressions: "Love Your Enemy" Is A Charming Rendezvous Of Rivalry, Revenge & Romance

“Love Your Enemy” is here, bringing us a roaring rendezvous peppered with rivalry, revenge, romance, and laughs aplenty. Ju Ji Hoon returns to the rom-com space after 18 years since his charming portrayal of Crown Prince Lee Shin in the 2006 hit “Princess Hours.” Joining him is Jung Yu Mi, who also returns to the genre after a decade since “Discovery of Love.” It is match, set, point! as our two charmingly whacky leads retaliate, compete, and try every trick in the book to love-to-hate the other and not fall in love… again. Keep reading to see what you can expect from this latest K-drama rom-com!

1. Love to hate you, hate to love you

A strange fate ties Seok Ji Won (Ju Ji Hoon) and Yoon Ji Won (Jung Yu Mi). They were born on the same day, in the same town, and were given the same names. It’s a match-made in heaven, or rather hell in their case. Their families have been sworn enemies…a feud which goes back in time when both their grandfathers had come to blows over the same woman. They both went to the same school, and since toddlers have been at each other’s throats, and as high schoolers competing for the best grades. Keeping away from the other for most part of their adult life, they have now come face to face after 18 long years. But time has not extinguished the bitter resentment the two feel toward each other. The company of Seok Ji Won’s father, Seokban Construction, has bought out the floundering Dokmok High School Foundation, which is led by Yoon Ji Won’s grandfather. Yoon Ji Won is a homeroom and physical education teacher at the same school, which is also the same institution she and Seok Ji Won graduated from 18 years ago. When Seok Ji Won returns to Dokmok High School as the new chairman, it’s clear he has one purpose, which is to settle scores with Yoon Ji Won. Their first encounter brings back memories of their teenage years, with Yoon Ji Won pinching his face as she did way back then. Vocal about her dislike toward him, Yoon Ji Won’s guard is up whenever she sees Seok Ji Won around. Seok Ji Won, on the other hand, knows exactly how to rankle her nerves. As he once did back in high school, he again challenges her to a bet, and if she loses, she has to date him, well-aware that she would rather die than be with him.

The two have history, and it is not their bitter rivalry but rather a resentment which stems from having been in love. Flashback moments show a teenage Seok Ji Won confessing his feelings to Yoon Ji Won. His affection is apparent in his loving gazes and care for her. While Yoon Ji Won, who is a bit of a tyrant toward him, looks shocked but not surprised entirely. But the passion of youth faded with time, and our couple is no Romeo and Juliet. They would rather kill the other than die for each other.

“Love Your Enemy” is setting up to be a classic enemies-to-lovers story as well as with the feuding families trope but cleverly woven in with the backdrop of the redevelopment of the town and the need to preserve over commercials. The quirky main characters never give a dull moment and make the perfect pair.

Seok Ji Won, the snarky yet funny chairman

Seok Ji Won can hold a grudge, and the object of his disdain is Yoon Ji Won. When we meet Seok Ji Won, he is an astute businessman but has no interest in father’s plans for revenge, in this case buying the Dokmok High School Foundation. But the moment he is told that Yoon Ji Won is a teacher there and doesn’t remember him at all, he is irked to no end.

On his arrival, he is taken aback when Yoon Ji Won walks past him without any sign of recognition (due to the lack of her glasses). When he is properly introduced to her, she instinctively attacks him—after all, this is what she has always done. As these two spar and squabble, one cannot help notice that the wry Seok Ji Won gets rather ruffled in Yoon Ji Won’s presence. He isn’t oblivious to her as he makes it out to be. Even his teenage self, who loathed the feisty Yoon Ji Won, had felt something tender for her. He is a charmer, and his dating bets are his way to get her attention and rile her up.

Ju Ji Hoon showcases his flair for comedy once again and endears as the sardonic Seok Ji Won, whose plans for revenge look all set to go haywire, given his untamed heart whenever Yoon Ji Won is around.

Yoon Ji Won, the oddball homeroom teacher

Yoon Ji Won was popularly known as the crazy dog of Dokmok High School. But it seems the ferocity of her teenage years seems to have diminished. She is constantly awoken by dreams of her teenage self who is seen waiting for someone and chides herself as to why is she thinking about that time. As the homeroom and physical education teacher at her grandfather’s school, she is aware of the financial crunch the foundation is under. But her hackles rise when she learns it is her arch-nemesis Seok Ji Won who will be the new chairman. Her hatred for him is clear as she warns her colleagues about befriending him. She is revisited by the dream of her teenage self waiting again, but there is a clue: the person she had been waiting for is none other than the 18-year-old Seok Ji Won. Awoken from the same dream, her hatred is refueled, and she is hell bent on giving him the cold shoulder.

However, at the school staff dinner, Seok Ji Won catches her in a weak moment, when she is rejected by the school teacher she had confessed her feelings to. He balks at the sight, but we see a tinge of jealousy. On the other hand, when she mistakenly hugs Seok Ji Won, thinking him to be her granddad, it seems like her heart skipped a beat. Our leads are in denial, especially since it seems they will hate the other until death separates them. Or are the intensity of these feelings all set to take the form of a passionate love affair?

Jung Yu Min is a delight as the eccentric yet sensitive Yoon Ji Won. Her straight-faced humor and the effortlessness with she emotes brings the character to life.

Moon Sang Min’s and Bae Hyeon Seong’s cameos

Moon Sang Min and Bae Hyeon Seong star as the younger versions of the two grandfathers to Seok Ji Won and Yoon Ji Won. Unbelievable right? “Love Your Enemy” has given us charming cameos by these two young stars, who hilariously play the younger version of their grandfathers. As these two handsome young boys scuffle and pound fists at each other, this could well be a K-drama bromance waiting to happen. Hopefully they make another flashback cameo later in the series!

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Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yang Yang and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.

Currently watching: “Family by Choice,” “Brewing Love.”