Non Troppo, Not Too Much
Episode 4 of Do You Like Brahms begins on the back of the devastating reveal last episode, as Song-A struggles to get in the party mood. As she leaves the rehearsal room, Joon-Young walks the girl outside. Given everyone is waiting for her to celebrate, Joon-Young gives her encouragement and tells Song-A it’s okay not to go and see the others. Speak of the devil though – Dong-Yoon shows up at the worst possible moment. As she’s pressured into going to the bar, Joon-Young agrees to tag along for moral support. As a true friend, he stays by her side and silently watches out for her. Although they don’t directly talk to one another, she shoots some appreciative glances his way. Afterwards, they spend some time together and talk by the river. Specifically, they discuss the implication of the Min-Sung and Dong-Yoon situation and how to deal with this. With Joon-Young agreeing to do the performance and Song-A busying herself with work, the Foundation looks to be on the up. However, as Kyung-Jung reminds Moon-Sook, if her Mother was still alive there wouldn’t even be a foundation. Tensions are clearly high between them but for now this is kept at arm’s length. Meanwhile, Hyun-ho meets Kyung-Jung and offers her a late birthday present. As they exchange rings, she definitely doesn’t seem too enthused. Especially when she leaves it in the bathroom for Song-A to pick up and give back to her. Not long after, Hyun-Ho shows up at the rehearsal room and gives his friend the good news. Tellingly, Joon-Young struggles to hide his disappointment when he finds out. This is only made worse when Jung-Kyung herself shows up for rehearsal. When the trio fail to play at the same tempo, Joon-Young eventually leaves. Jung-Kyung follows him out though, especially after her comments moments before about him “doing what he wants”. In the hallway, she asks about her birthday present. Unbeknown to her, Song-A happens to be waiting in the wings listening to everything that’s happening. Only, her phone goes off and it’s enough for her to come out from hiding and unintentionally save him from this awkwardness. Only, that’s not the end of the conflict. That evening, Hyun-Ho and Joon-Young start drinking in his apartment. Hyun-Ho gets pretty drunk and tells Joon-Young to leave. Not the apartment but Korea. He wants Joon-Young to go back on tour again. At the Hankook Arts Middle School, Song-A shows up and gets into the swing of things with her new job role. Only, as one of the finance workers starts talking down to her, Jong-Young shows up and acts like the knight in shining armour. That rescue eventually leads to dinner and some really meaningful conversations. They sit by the fountain and talk, with Joon-Young admitting that he missed her and that she makes him very happy. The next day they meet and head up to the Centre together. Joon-Young is going to be a special guest for the lecture. On the way, he talks to Song-A about the pressure of playing but admits to shrugging that off given he had to make a living. In the wings, Song-A listens as Joon-Young has to put on a facade and avoid saying what he really wants to. As they keep talking, a picture of his past comes out which brings up the topic of unrequited love. In particular, his feelings toward a certain individual in the past. Girls are smart though and Song-A knows something is up here. As Kyung-Jung arrives and watches in the crowd, Joon-Young is quizzed over what song he’s going to play. Before he makes his decision, the episode comes to a close.
The Episode Review
With Dong-Yoon out the picture for now, the attention turns to the more immediate love triangle on the table. With Hyun-Ho sensing something afoul, Jung-Kyung seemingly is now starting to have true feelings for Jong-Young. This in itself would be fine… if he wasn’t in the midst of falling in love with Song-A. Gosh, what a melodramatic mess! The drama has been good so far though and this character-driven ensemble is definitely hitting the right notes. While the series doesn’t necessarily do anything outstanding or incredible, the characters are well written and they play their parts well. Song-A in particular is an easy character to warm toward and she has such natural chemistry with Jong-Young. Hopefully this continues going forward but the ending definitely leaves the door wide open for the future episodes. What song will Joon-Young play? I guess we’ll have to wait and find out!
