To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Lara Jean’s father attempts to cook Korean food, one of his ways of trying to keep the girls close in spirit to their mother. His dinner is terrible, and the girls pretend it’s delicious. They love and appreciate how hard their Dad tries to keep them connected to that side of their family and culture, even when he can’t get it quite right. They even eat the Korean meals in the dining room, a more formal and special way of having their dinner. Her father tells her to invite Josh over, so Lara Jean tries to remind her family that Margot’s breakup with Josh means that things will change between the family and Josh. Her father is surprised to hear about the breakup, however, he maintains that Josh is still welcome in their home and is a friend to all of them. Meanwhile, Josh texts Lara Jean, suspecting that they’re eating Korean because the dining room light is on. Lara Jean ignores his texts, and he gives up.

The next day, Lara Jean is helping a neighbor by walking their dog when she runs into Josh. He asks her how things are going with Peter, and she seizes the opportunity to tell another lie to end the whole thing: She tells him she and Peter broke up that weekend and that she’s quite sad about it since she’s liked him for so long. Josh is confused, and tells her that at his job at the bookstore, he ran into Peter, who told him that he’s very happy to be with Lara Jean. Now, Peter is also lying about being Lara Jean’s boyfriend. Shocked, Lara Jean pretends to call Peter and runs away from Josh.

The next day at school, Lara Jean and Peter discuss the lie. Lara Jean tells Peter he doesn’t have to lie for her because she told Josh they had broken up over Genevieve. This comment doesn’t sit well with Peter, who is eager to prove that he isn’t “whipped” by Genevieve. Lara Jean reminds him of the time he and Genevieve broke up for a month a year earlier and Peter started dating Jamila Singh. Genevieve went out of her way to cut Jamila out of their social group and even wrote anonymous letters to her parents that eventually got Jamila transferred into private school. Lara Jean is clear that she doesn’t want to face Genevieve’s wrath, but Peter wants to continue with the fake relationship so that Genevieve will accept that things are finally over between them. Peter’s idea is that the two of them will extend the lie until both Genevieve and Josh are no longer suspicious of them. Peter and Lara Jean establish that neither of them are actually into each other, so the arrangement would be beneficial for them to save face and avoid the bigger problems with their significant others.

Peter and Lara Jean begin to show their pretend relationship publicly. They hold hands around school, a first for Lara Jean. People stare, and Lara Jean starts to get nervous. Peter and Lara Jean decide on some ground rules. They agree to tell people that they started dating when he offered his help after her car accident. Their ground rules become a contract, with guidelines such as no kissing, no buying Lara Jean flowers, and no watching movies the other doesn’t want to watch. One of the rules is that Peter will write a note to Lara Jean each day, something Genevieve wanted him to do for her. Lara Jean admits that she’s never had a boyfriend before and wants to keep some experiences sacred for her real first, which Peter is empathetic about. He surprises her with his generosity and his thoughtfulness. They don’t decide upon an end date for their pretend relationship, instead preferring to keep it open until they don’t need it anymore.