At the Karaoke Episode 2 of A Love So Beautiful lands us in the cafeteria where Dae-Sung is giving the best parts of his lunch to Sol-I, claiming he’s watching his weight. Heon tries not to notice. Jin-Hwan jumps through that mostly open door suggesting karaoke as a great way to lose weight. Everyone declines. (This is going to be a thing.) He laments the lives of poor students, begging for an hour of song to replace their dreary after-school classes. They do end up under the multi-coloured lights and go for it with all their might. Everyone sings except Heon, who studies through the hour, occasionally glancing at the spectacle. They try to get him to sing for the last minute on the clock. Outside, Dae-Sung gets an earful for doing anything other than training but doesn’t let on to the others. Instead, he invites them to his upcoming swim meet. Just as they settle plans, someone spots the principal and they grab for their bikes – hmm, guess they were meant to be studying! Sol-I’s bike’s been stolen, Jin-Hwan can’t remember his combination and general mayhem ensues. As they rush about, Dae-Sung knocks his shoulder protecting Sol-I but says he’s fine. He gives her a ride on the back of his bike while Heon takes Jin-Hwan on his. At home, Sol-I’s mother is furious she lost another bike. She’s told to buy another but puts it off, hoping she can ride on the back of Heon’s. Instead, we find her walking. Dae-Sung stops to pick her up, offering a daily ride. She asks what he’d want others to do if he were sad. Just be there, he says. In class, Sol-I reads a story written by Heon. He recalls a day spent with his father as a child. Walking home after school, Sol-I tries to cheer him up, but he gives her his bike and asks her not to follow. Heon returns to the place where he’d spent time with his Dad. Ha-Young and Sol-I shop at a grocery store, buying fruit for Heon. Ha-Young asks Sol-I what it feels like to like someone and she explains how everything else becomes dark while light shines upon the one you like. Like a celebrity halo effect. At the swim meet, Dae-Sung is a favourite, having won gold the previous year. He’s pleased to see Sol-I, Jin-Hwan and Ha-Young in the stands as they happily cheer him on. Winning silver instead of gold by a hair Dae-Sung’s coach is not pleased. During his media interview, Sol-I is cheering loudly so he accepts silver with grace. But his shoulder injury seems to be a problem. At home, Heon is cleaning ceremonial plates. His mother says she’s not able to come to Korea as his sibling is ill, and hopes he can manage the memorial. She promises to visit the following month. Sol-I waits for Dae-Sung after the match but isn’t able to stay for dinner, saying she has somewhere important to be. Dae-Sung offers her his silver medal in exchange for the poster she’d made for him, even though his name is misspelt. She heads to Heon even as he’s saying its unnecessary. He holds the memorial for his father on his own. Sol-I shows up midway through but he sends her home, saying he doesn’t need any help. Sol-I’s parents discuss Heon’s circumstances at dinner saying it’s not right to leave him home alone for extended periods while his mother works. She gives Sol-I vitamins to take to Heon. After dinner, she heads to his place. The door is open and she finds him asleep on the couch. Tough day. She realizes he’s ill and gets a compress for his head, but can’t resist getting an up-close look at his face. Of course, he wakes. That’s standard, my friends. At the end of the episode, we get a rewind to the karaoke room where Heon takes his turn singing but the music suddenly stops. Jin-Hwan managed to turn the system off by mistake. Heon grabs his bag and leaves, probably feeling he’d just gotten the giant hook.
The Episode Review
The ready-steady-go pace of this drama grabs your attention as the kids dive right in. There’s no aimless wandering about the hallways for this crowd – every minute they’re discussing or doing something, even if it’s silly. And some of them even study. In a slightly more sombre episode that the last, we find out a bit more about Heon and gain some insight into his introverted personality. His father died, his mother works out of the country and has taken the younger child with her. So, he’s on his own in the house that used to be their home. My mother would have been feeding that kid every night, but it seems like he’s not the type to club along. I guess everyone decides to just leave him be, as they say. Poor guy. How do you reverse that? Certainly, it explains a bit of melancholy. On another planet completely, Sol-I is a typical dreamy kid doing what she must to get by in school but without any real goal. Except to see Heon, of course. Though I did quite a bit more studying than she (indeed), the social aspect was always my favourite bit of school too. Meanwhile, athletic ‘brother’ Dae-Sung is more than just a swimmer, actively competing for medals. Played by Yeo Hoe-Hyun who can be seen in multiple dramas, including Marry Me Now (Viki), Dae-Sung has a big job ahead of him if he plans to pry Sol-I’s eyes from Heon. We’ll have to wait and see on that. Unless you’ve already seen the Chinese version of course, in which case you know exactly where this is going! Don’t give it away – as there’s much more amusement to come. A Love So Beautiful will drop 3 x a week on Netflix – Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays. You can find each episode recap and review here on go-live day – or as swiftly as possible thereafter. I’ll do my best to get them up for you quick-smart. Are you watching this one? What do you think of the drama? Let us know in the comments below!
