When I said I was expecting a lot of banter in this episode in the recap of the first one, I knew I was getting it for sure.

Recap

We start this episode from a few minutes before Su Jeong barges into Ju Yeon’s office. He is looking at her profile on his table, which makes him remember Su Jeong as the one who gave him trouble in traffic. He turns around with a sigh and starts to undress just as Su Jeong enters the office, and that is when we get the scene that ends our last episode. Shocked, Su Jeong calls Ju Yeon a psycho pervert, and he counters, establishing that he is the victim and that she is the one who peeped at him. Su Jeong finally recognizes him but there is no time to process it as he dismisses her after getting her promise never to speak of what just happened or of ever meeting him. In fact, they've never met before. After she leaves, Ju Yeon records a memo to remind himself that Su Jeong is dangerous and he must be on alert.

Meanwhile, Su Jeong is back at Seo Ha Jin’s bar ranting about how it doesn't make sense that a player and a psycho with a dragon tattoo is also her boss. She has a bad feeling about this because Ju Yeon seems like someone who keeps grudges. The discussion naturally progresses to how the bar is not getting customers when the food is so good, and Su Jeong casually suggests that Seo Ha Jin could advertise the bar on Instagram. Later when she is alone, Seo Ha Jin uploads an ad as Su Jeong suggested.

The next day, Ju Yeon finally addresses the team members, informing them of the goal to double the existing sales of the company and overtly declaring war on Su Jeong, telling her she will not be able to exercise her ‘killer director’ power on him as she would lose if the two of them ever got in a fight. I know he thinks he looks fierce right now, but I cannot wait to laugh at him when he finally discovers she is the first love who rejected him.

While he sits in his office, Kwon In Kyung, who serves partially as Ju Yeon’s secretary but is obviously a spy for the chairwoman, brings him a triple-shot espresso. After a sip, he cheekily acts cool about it, but his face scrunches up in disgust once she leaves. Now I wonder what else he has put up with just to create a perfect image of himself so the chairwoman will accept that he is deserving of the successor’s position.

Su Jeong is on her way back from lunch break with her team members, who are advising her to suck up to the new director since it seems he doesn't like her already. Su Jeong cannot hear the rest of the story as she sees Ju Yeon at an outdoor café salivating over a chocolate drink picture. As soon as he notices her, he wears his pretense cloak again and orders an espresso to show Su Jeong that he only drinks espresso, a drink he later trashes in the bin. Just then, he notices a toy game at a stand and he can barely contain his excitement as he moves to get it, only for a kid to pick it up at the same time as him. I literally have to cover my face with my palm in shame on behalf of Ju Yeon because what do we call an adult who fights a kid over a toy game? Fortunately for the kid and unfortunately for Ju Yeon, Su Jeong shows up again, and he has no choice but to lie that he is getting the toy game for the kid after accusing her of following him around, an accusation she responds to by telling him she only wants to pick up a package. She walks away while looking back to watch Ju Yeon pay for the toy game, and he reluctantly hands over his black card then dramatically hugs and kisses the game goodbye. He walks away noting that Su Jeon is definitely dangerous and has to be eliminated.

Back in his office, in a conversation with In Kyung, he declares war on Su Jeong and vows to make her leave the company on her own volition.

We move on to a boardroom meeting where he directs a question to Su Jeong and switches from speaking Korean to Spanish(?) just to have her in a corner, but trust Su Jeong not to back down. As if she expects it, she has the right answers for all his attacks. After the meeting, while Ju Yeon promises In Kyung never to back down, Su Jeong encounters a senior who attacks and insults her in the restroom. But by now, we already know she will never let herself be bullied, so as expected, she gives as good, or even better than she gets, putting the senior in her place. Kim Shin Won meets one of the team members of Su Jeong’s team and asks her to grab coffee with him after he successfully flatters her, which she agrees to without thinking. I sense foul play already.

Shin Won meets Ju Yeon, and from their conversation, it is obvious Ju Yeon has asked Shin Won to gather information about Su Jeong. This explains why he asked her team member out for coffee earlier. We see Shin Won again, in a restaurant this time, waiting for someone while a waitress flirts with him. Soon, his guest (girlfriend) arrives and expresses her dissatisfaction about the restaurant since someone is flirting with her man in it. This seems like a regular occurrence, and he placates her by promising to take her somewhere nicer next time.

We get to see a team dinner or, better still, a welcome party team dinner for the director, who is not present. However, they all get the shock of their lives when he walks in with In Kyung and joins them. They clearly don't want him around, but he sits anyway. An unspoken competition of soju chugging soon begins between Ju Yeon and Su Jeong, and every other person, starting with In Kyung, leaves until only the two of them remain. Although they both can obviously hold their alcohol, they become tipsy and begin a drunken conversation, which steers towards a friendly settlement before Ju Yeon unexpectedly says he is out to eliminate Su Jeong because she's dangerous. This gets her angry, and she orders more soju. Meanwhile, Shin Won, on the other hand, is busy in his apartment looking for the best restaurants on Storygram, and the only one he finds is Se Mi’s own. Our second lead love story?

Back at the team dinner, Ju Yeon is finally defeated as he is drunk, while Su Jeong is still standing as if she has been drinking water all along. When Su Jeong moves closer to ask for his address, he drunkenly murmurs ‘chocolate milk.’ Although she mocks him for acting tough earlier, she buys him the chocolate drink and sends him off to his house in a cab while she goes to meet her father, who is on his way to pick up another plumbing job. Su Jeong gently expresses her dissatisfaction and tells her father to take it easy since she works now and can take care of him.

Ju Yeon wakes up the next day to a chocolate milk stain on his shirt and face. He collapses in embarrassment as the memory of the previous night flashes through his head. He vows not to forgive Su Jeong for destroying his public persona. We're taken to a meeting between Ju Yeon and the chairwoman, where it is finally revealed that she is his grandmother (called it!), and we get to see another flash of a memory where he is begging her not to burn something as a kid. I am guessing it is his video games, but it might be more serious than that.

He walks into the office just as Su Jeong confirms to her team of admiring co-workers that she won the drinking battle the day before. Just as she mentions his request for chocolate milk, Ju Yeon angrily shuts her down by asking if they are not working. He throws her words from their drunken banter the day before back at her, and tells her to know her place if she doesn't want to be gotten rid of before stomping off to his office. But as always, who never lets someone talk down on her? You guessed right because what she does next is barge into his office to give him a piece of her mind, asking him to let them argue outside the titles they both hold at the office. To this, he responds by asking her to resign. One of the team members comes just in time to drag her out of the office, while In Kyung warns Ju Yeon about the possible consequences of his exchange with Su Jeong. He can't fire her now unless he wants to risk being called out for workplace bullying and abuse of power. Ju Yeon stoically agrees that he went too far, and Su Jeong admits the same on the rooftop with her colleague who finally reveals Ju Yeon’s true identity as a chaebol and the successor of the company to Su Jeong.

After a moment of panic about the possibility of getting fired, her next statement, “I have never seen a chaebol without flaws,” gives me goosebumps, and now I am sure it is going to be a back-and-forth battle between the two of them, each trying to bring the other down. Ju Yeon finally meets Shin Won again, and just as I guessed, Shin Won has met every team member to ask about Su Jeong. Shin Won, who is under the impression that Ju Yeon is romantically interested in her, cheers for him as he can finally get over his first love and date again. Ju Yeon simply replies that he does not care anymore. Later that day, while everyone else has already left for home, Su Jeong is still at the office, and so is Ju Yeon. As Ju Yeon steps out of his office to leave, they exchange deadly stares before he walks off. Like a sasaeng fan trailing an idol, Su Jeong discreetly follows him, hoping to uncover something about him. She gets exactly what she wants when she watches him walk into a changing room in a suit and come out as an entirely different person in his rocker outfit; leather jacket, sunglasses, chains and all. She follows him to Rockman Studio and almost gets caught, but she is saved when the performance starts. Su Jeong watches, confused as Ju Yeon rocks out to the music with all enthusiasm.

Back home, she pieces the puzzle together and realizes he is living a double life. That is why he initially wants to forget their traffic encounter. She sends him the pictures, and guess who is at her door at that odd hour? A panicked, sweaty Ju Yeon, of course, prompting her father to ask if she has a boyfriend. They move to a restaurant, where Ju Yeon offers her a contract. He tells her he has changed his plans for her from being eliminated to being watched and protected. So she must delete the pictures and never disclose his personal life or activities in exchange for a guarantee that she will never lose her job. Su Jeong happily agrees. He gently murmurs about how much her name bothers him again.

The next morning at the office is a mix of happiness and curiosity for the team members, as Su Jeong enters energetically and throws a bold greeting at Ju Yeon, which he responds to with a smile to the surprise of the other team members. We're the only ones who see his evil smile and the two small horns growing out the sides of her head.

Cut to a montage of Ju Yeon repeatedly calling Su Jeong at inopportune moments and sending her on random errands. With her job now secured, the least she can do is work harder.

When he calls her into his office again, Su Jeong seizes the chance to ask why he is so desperate to hide the pictures. Ju Yeon asks if she has forgotten who he is, and he reminds her that he is the successor of the group, and he can't show any imperfections. Just as she is about to leave for the day, Ju Yeon receives a text from Seo Ha Jin asking about a picture she is supposed to send. Ju Yeon peeks at her phone, and the sight of the mentions of pictures in the text immediately puts him on the defensive. Su Jeong argues it is just a food picture.

At this point, I am not sure if she is now his official secretary because he takes her shopping, tries on a few suits, and even tells her to get changed too. When she does, there is an awkward exchange between them because, apparently, Ju Yeon has his breath taken away. He refuses to let her close work for the day and she begrudgingly follows him.

Meanwhile, Shin Won finds Seo Ha Jin's restaurant, and their initial falling and holding scenario, at first sight, is all the confirmation I need to start shipping them together. Adding to this, Shin Won breaks up with his girlfriend while they are eating at the bar, and Seo Ha Jin randomly comforts him.

Ju Yeon and Su Jeong arrive at a party, where he tells her he is there to meet a client and asks her to wait for him. However, he ends up encountering a group of losers who try to bully him by bringing up how his grandmother abandoned him. But you already know our male lead and female lead duo will not stand for bullying. On the other hand, a pervert attempts to harass Su Jeong, and, like a knight in shining armor, Ju Yeon comes to her rescue. Grabbing her hand, he confidently declares, "Babe, let's go." And that is exactly when we get our "See you next week" moment.

With just two episodes in, My Dearest Nemesis is already a definite yes for me. The drama's buildup is delivering exactly what I hope for. Now that our duo is getting closer, the next episode will probably feature more bonding, bickering, and self-discovery, hopefully with some past memories thrown into the mix.

Just like this episode is telling us today, see you next week!