Life Is Beautiful
Yeon-Su reflects on her past, specifically how she grew up poor and kept many of the other girls at school at arms length. Not only that, she also practiced breaking up with Choi-Ung in the mirror, struggling to compose herself and hold back her tears.
According to Yeon-Su, she told Choi-Ung about her family’s financial crisis during a drunken phone call. The two had been drinking heavily that night and may have misspelled the words “post-break-up” when they were talking about her ex-boyfriend.
In the present, we follow Yeon-Su and Choi-Ung as they try to figure out why they broke up. Yeon-Su denies that she was tired looking for a part-time job and walks away.
The thing is, Yeon-Su’s grandmother is not afraid to tell him the truth. When Choi-ung heads over to her place, she opens up and reveals everything. She mentions Yeon-Su’s affection for him and urges Choi-ung to be by her side for a long time.
The first episode of the documentary is released and it’s a big success. The ratings are higher than they’ve been in a while and Park Dong-Il is super excited. Ji-Ung keeps a level head though, reminding him this is just the first episode. ..
The episode is also watched by those at Yeon-Su’s workplace, who admire Yeon-Su and comment on how cute she is. The gang are flustered when they notice Yeon-Su behind them, who urges them all to focus on their upcoming project. She also forbids them from talking about the documentary at work too. ..
Yeon-Su agrees to go out with them on a work night, and they’re ecstatic. The thin sliver of a smile crosses her face. ..
The documentary is big news and Jin-Seob, who wasSol-Yi’s ex, shows up after hearing her interview. He claims he really missed her and believes she misses him too, after what she said. When Eun-Ho appears in the middle of this, things are awkward. Jin-Seob is eventually ushered out but Eun-Ho is obviously a bit jealous.
That night, Jin-Seo was on the phone with someone discussing how to swindle money out of Sol-Yi and treat her like a sucker. He also mentioned how she belongs to the bank and is swimming in debt. ..
Sol-Yi overhears a part of this conversation, but only the beginning bit about her being taken. She believes he chivalrously stuck up for her and it’s super cute when the pair interact with one another inside after.
NJ and Ji-Ung end up going for food together, where the former discusses how she doesn’t really have any friends. Ji-Ung offers some words of encouragement, understanding the pain of trying to get over someone you care about. This helps to comfort her, but as she steers the conversation around to Choi-Ung and what he’s been up to recently, Ji-ung admits he hasn’t spoken to his friend recently and leaves.
Yeon-Su opens the envelope to find a letter from a specialist medical service. She is worried that her grandmother will leave her soon and she starts to cry.
Yeon-Su is trying to keep her grandmother around by trying to make her stay at home. She doesn’t want to be alone and wants to take a few days off from work. Yeon-Su urges her not to leave, but her grandmother doesn’t want to go.
Ji-ung returns home to his mother, who wants him to film her. Why? Well, it turns out she’s going to die soon so she wants him to film her before she’s gone.
The Episode Review
Yeon-Su is struggling with how to let go of her insecurities and embrace the people around her. She’s worried that she’ll be on her own if she stays with her grandmother.
Although Yeon-Su’s actions are admirable, the thing about happiness is that you’ll never truly find it until you’re happy with yourself. What you feel about yourself when you’re by yourself will ultimately decide how the rest of your life plays out.
Ji-Ung’s scenes in this chapter are moping and frustrating, but there is no development of his character.
Sol-Yi and Eun-Ho are a great match. They have a great chemistry and their on-screen relationship is very palpable. ..
Next week’s double bill should be quite the dramatic affair, with the ending hinting that there’s plenty more drama to come. ..
