Green With Envy
Jealous Soo-Jin begins episode 12 of True Beauty determined to win Soo-Ho over. As she leaves, Soo-Jin heads back home and is immediately slapped in the face by her Father for being late. Hurrying into her room, she shuts the door and holds it as her Father pounds on the other side. Ju-Kyung and Soo-Ho discuss the latter’s Father and all the resentment he’s kept pent up toward him. Well, Joo-Hun’s confession seems like the start of his road to redemption as Soo-Ho heads back home and checks out his piano. Only, it turns out Se-Yeon actually left a note for Soo-Ho and Seo-Joon kept down the side of the piano. Within the note, he thanks Soo-Ho and Seo-Joon for brightening up his life and how being with his precious friends was the best moment of his life. Well, the healing continues as Seo-Joon and Soo-Ho both visit his grave and apologize to one another. After a close-call with a group of thugs, Soo-Ho and Seo-Joon hitch a ride back to the town again. Meanwhile, Ju-Kyung arrives at the beauty college to enroll. She’s overwhelmed by the sights and prepares to fill out her application form. Afterwards, she rings Soo-Ho to say goodnight… but is immediately interrupted by her brother arriving and farting. In the morning, Soo-ho arrives to pick Ju-Kyung up and take her to school. However, trouble brews as Soo-Jin finds Hye-Min and begins walking with her. She runs straight into Ju-Kyung but she hurriedly ignores her old friend. Soo-Jin senses what’s up and heads into class. There, the girls fuss over the upcoming Goddess of Instagram competition. Ju-Kyung is in second place but in first place is her old bully, Park Sae-Mi. At break, Soo-Jin approaches Soo-Ho and asks to talk later on. Well, Soo-Ho outright admits to her that he’s currently in a relationship with Ju-Kyung and only sees her as a friend. Back inside, Hye-Min mentions her old school and Soo-Jin does her best to goad Ju-Kyung into admitting she’s from the same school. Instead, she decides to walk away. Soo-Jin immediately senses something is up and sets out to humiliate Ju-Kyung. Before that though, Ju-Kyung arrives at school and learns that she’s won the Instagram Goddess competition. Ju-Kyung is not happy and while the other students crowd around and applaud her, Soo-Jin remains in the corner watching expressionlessly. On the way home from school, Ju-Kyung runs into Sae-Min again. While Hye-Min is being bullied, Ju-Kyung takes the girl aside and saves her from her ordeal. Unfortunately, Soo-Jin stays there and asks the bullies about Yongpa High. With scheming taking place, Ju-Kyung asks Hye-Min to keep her past a secret and tells her she’s struggling to forgive her. Soo-Ho senses something is up with Ju-Kyung, especially when he talks to Seo-Joon about what’s happening. Well, Soo-Ho’s later conversation with Ju-Kyung doesn’t bring up any clues but at school the next day, tensions are high. Soo-Jin snaps pictures of Seo-Joon to send over to Sae-Mi while she receives pictures of Ju-Kyung without makeup on in exchange. After losing her necklace, Ju-Kyung frantically looks everywhere for it. However, Soo-Jin is the one who has it and she keeps quiet. That is, until she runs into Soo-Ho later that day. She throws the necklace in a flaming bin and tells Soo-Ho that she likes him. She asks Soo-Ho to break up with Ju-Kyung and begs him to like her instead. She even tries to kiss him too. Obviously Soo-Ho rejects the desperately, clingy girl and leaves her to stew. Soo-Ho decides to plant another necklace in a flowerpot nearby where Ju-Kyung is looking and eventually kisses her. Only, school security rock up and force the pair to hide out in the classrooms. Only, that’s precisely where Hee-Kyung and Joon-Woo are Uh oh! After an awkward dinner, the two couples head home while Sae-Min finds out where Ju-Kyung lives and heads straight there to cause trouble. Seo-Joon follows in hot pursuit though and asks them exactly what they’re doing. When they show her picture from Yongpa, he looks shocked and eventually smashes the girl’s phone on the floor. Given how Se-Yeon was bullied, he’s having absolutely none of this and purposefully walks away. At school the next day, snow is falling but Soo-Jin puts her plan into action and spreads all the pictures about Ju-Kyung. When she shows up in class, all the students approach her and show the pictures from Yongpa. Ju-Kyung is understandably shocked and struggles not to cry as her painful past comes back. She rushes out thee school as Soo-Ho can only stand and watch her leave.
The Episode Review
Soo-Jin is the absolute worst. She’s the perfect embodiment of a fake friend. Underneath her perceived good looks, she’s a nasty, bitter character and no amount off family trauma can make up for what she’s done to Ju-Kyung. You can’t control a person’s emotions and trying to force Soo-Ho into liking her and breaking up with Ju-Kyung is pretty shifty – especially given Ju-Kyung was brave enough to tell her the truth and admit she’s dating the boy she likes. And then to have the audacity to out her to the whole school like that and humiliate Ju-Kyung without caring about the damage it’s done to her is really out of order. Of course, this is testament to the great writing – and acting from Park Yoo-Na – who perfectly exemplify those aforementioned themes about bullying and beauty. This, along with the memorable characters, has made this a really well executed Korean drama. The ending certainly hints that Soo-Jin will be going one step further in the future to set her plan into action. Will the school accept Ju-Kyung for how she really looks or will she have to transfer to another school? We’ll have to wait and see with that one but in the meantime, True Beauty delivers another very good episode.
