3 Pivotal Moments Faced By Seo Hyun Jin In Episodes 7-8 Of “Love Me”

In last week’s episodes of “Love Me,” we see that Jun Kyung (Seo Hyun Jin) has come a long way. She is no longer the cynical person she used to be. This perhaps has a lot to do with her relationship with Do Hyun (Chang Ryul), which has brought her comfort as well as confidence. Well aware that his teenage son, Daniel (Moo Woo Jin), dislikes her, she remains non-reactive and calm.

As she and Daniel finally break the ice and form a bond, another situation arises, and it’s one that flusters her and puts her emotional quotient to the test: the arrival of Daniel’s mother, Do Hyun’s former partner, Im Yoon Ju (Gong Sung Ha). Jun Kyung is shaken and uncomfortable. She is aware the other woman is there to stake her claim not on just Daniel but on Do Hyun as well.

On another front, Jun Kyung is caught off guard when her father announces he plans to sell the family home and move toward a camp site. As the familiar wave of loneliness threatens to engulf her once again, an unexpected face from the past steps in, offering comfort when she needs it the most. Here are the moments which highlighted Jun Kyung’s life in last week’s episodes of “Love Me.”

Warning: spoilers from episodes 7 and 8 ahead!

Jun Kyung breaking the ice with Daniel

Jun Kyung has hit a wall with Daniel. The teenager despises her and has made his hatred toward her apparent. It’s so much so that he asks his father to break up with Jun Kyung. Do Hyun is devastated, as he does not want to be placed in a position where he has to make a choice.

Jun Kyung, however, remains unperturbed. There is something almost cute and playful about the way she consoles a bawling Do Hyun, reassuring him that everything will be all right. She understands Daniel. After all, she has faced an almost similar situation with her own father’s girlfriend.

She later encounters Daniel while he is skateboarding, and the teenager, still seething with anger, bumps into a car. Jun Kyung immediately springs into action to help him. When the car driver scolds Daniel and questions Jun Kyung for being protective, she boldly declares that she is Daniel’s mother and asks how he dares to blame her son.

It is in this moment that Daniel truly sees her for the first time. As Jun Kyung tends to his wounds, he admits that he disliked her and sheepishly confesses he is also feeling bad for asking his father to break up with her. Jun Kyung laughs, playfully telling him that perhaps she should show him her mean side. As he embarrassedly tells her that he named the fish she had given him after the person he dislikes the most, she laughs and says she rather likes the name.

The ice is broken, and the two strike up an unexpected friendship. Daniel realizes that Jun Kyung is neither trying to replace his mother nor mark her territory with his father. The camaraderie and easygoing banter between the two takes Do Hyun by surprise, but his relief is palpable.

This is also the first time viewers see the usually cynical Jun Kyung exude confidence. It is not just about her relationship—it signals her own transformation as a person. She treats Daniel as an adult and as an individual in his own right. He, in turn, trusts her because she does not snitch on him but chooses to confront him instead.

The bond between Daniel and Jun Kyung reflects both maturity and playfulness. It’s a quietly sweet moment that unfolds with ease rather than drama.

Jun Kyung’s encounter with Yoon Ju

Things start to go well for Jun Kyung, Do Hyun, and Daniel. They become almost like a family, settling into a rhythm. Confident and self-assured on the surface, Jun Kyung brings both father and son home, introducing them to her own father and brother. Things could not be better, until she meets Daniel’s mother and Do Hyun’s ex Yoon Ju.

After Daniel’s first stage performance, Jun Kyung and Do Hyun proudly embrace. And Daniel turns around excitedly to greet someone, but it is his mother, who has returned to Korea.

As Jun Kyung comes face to face with her, her expression shifts through a range of emotions as she quietly reads between the lines. Though Yoon Ju is friendly on the surface, she is clearly marking her territory. These are her boys, and Jun Kyung is made to feel like the spare wheel. A subtle but telling moment captures her nervousness: Jun Kyung instinctively takes a few steps back. No one else notices, but her body language gives her away. Her insecurities surface, and the confidence she carried earlier begins to slip. The moment works because it resists melodramatics, allowing Jun Kyung’s unease to unfold quietly. And that restraint makes it hit harder.

The familiar wave of loneliness washes over Jun Kyung once again. Even though Do Hyun makes it clear that there is nothing between him and his ex, Jun Kyung’s discomfort lingers. It’s rooted not in distrust but in her fear of being out of place.

As if fate is mocking her, Jun Kyung runs into Yoon Ju again. The encounter unsettles her further when Yoon Ju casually comments on the bouquet in Jun Kyung’s hand after a wedding ceremony, suggesting she either get married within six months or wait three years. The remark sounds like a passive threat—and a warning that she is preparing to make her move on Do Hyun. Jun Kyung is left bristled and shaken, feeling powerless and unable to respond.

Feeling increasingly suffocated, Jun Kyung grows frustrated with herself. Even as Do Hyun apologizes, it is Jun Kyung who feels left out. After all, Do Hyun and Yoon Ju share a history, and Daniel is living proof of it. She is the expendable one, the person who can be easily discarded.

Jun Kyung’s encounters with Yoon Ju are marked by quiet tension rather than open conflict. Each interaction unsettles her not because Yoon Ju is overtly hostile but because she represents a life and shared history Jun Kyung can never fully enter. Her presence heightens Jun Kyung’s self-doubt, bringing buried insecurities to the surface and forcing her to confront her fear of being peripheral in Do Hyun’s life.

What makes these moments effective is their restraint. There are no dramatic confrontations; instead, meaning is conveyed through silences, body language, and what goes unsaid. Yoon Ju’s familiarity speaks for itself, while Jun Kyung absorbs the discomfort inwardly, quietly questioning her place. The encounters feel less like rivalry and more like an exploration of emotional displacement and vulnerability.

Jun Kyung finding an unexpected ally

Yoon Ju’s return has left Jun Kyung feeling emotionally raw, and things worsen when her father announces his decision to sell their family home and move away. While her brother reacts with anger, Jun Kyung outwardly stays composed, though a flicker of sadness betrays her. The house has always been their emotional anchor, and with her relationship already on unstable ground, she feels her sense of balance slipping.

On her drive back home, Jun Kyung receives a call from Yoon Ju, who claims she wants to apologize for kidding around with her. Jun Kyung curtly responds that they are not close enough for such conversations. However, the call is cut off, and still blistering, another car aggressively overtakes her, and the driver shouts at her. Jun Kyung’s pent-up rage finally spills over. What follows is a comical yet dangerous exchange between the cars, which ends in a collision and a trip to the police station.

There, Jun Kyung encounters an unexpected ally. The officer in charge turns out to be the same woman from the convenience store whom Jun Kyung had once helped during a bleak moment. That small act of kindness had left such an impression on the young girl that she had even spoken about it on a radio broadcast. When Jun Kyung had heard it, it had made her feel quietly happy, though she had never imagined their paths would cross again.

The officer steps in to support Jun Kyung, making it clear that it was she who was provoked by the other car and is not at fault. The incident at the station makes Jun Kyung confront something she often doubts about herself: that she is not selfish nor emotionally warped but is capable of genuine compassion that leaves a lasting impact. The camaraderie between the two women is simple yet poignant, rooted in the fact that they had met each other at their lowest moments. Once Jun Kyung had brought comfort, and now it’s the officer’s turn. But will this moment embolden Jun Kyung, who is teetering between self-pity and anger? Only this week’s episodes will tell!

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Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok 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.