K-Drama Reaction: Do You Like Brahms?

Park Joon-young knows how to answer a gobaek like a pro.

Questions

Instead of getting an outright answer, Chae Song-ah (Park Eun-bin) received a question from Park Joon-young (Kim Min-jae) after her confession. Will she wait for him? She answered a resounding yes. I think she’s really confident at that time. Operative phrase: at that time. I think when Song-ah said she could wait for him, she didn’t take into account other factors that affect their relationship.

For her part, she’s sure is over Yoon Dong-yoon (Lee You-jin) but it isn’t the case with Joon-young. She hasn’t set the record straight on whether Joon-young still has lingering feelings for Lee Jung-kyung (Park Ji-hyun). She’s not aware of Joon-young’s internal woes because even though Joon-young’s comfortable with her, he still doesn’t share everything about him.

Hence, as time passes, Song-ah becomes more and more restless. Anxious on whether or not Joon-young likes her or does she even stand a chance? Is he really worth waiting for? And this is why I was a bit torn on what to feel about this ‘waiting thing’ Joon-young brought between them. If he likes her, he should just say it then and there. But I guess, it was just him sticking to his personality. He was written as someone who kept things to himself and needs time to evaluate everything. So I guess, even if he knows deep down Song-ah has already entered his heart, he still needs to process that fact. That’s one good justification for this confusing unlabelled mutual understanding.

Hierarchies

We finally got an answer on why Jung-kyung suddenly kissed Joon-young in his New York concert. It was out of spite and jealousy. She was a child prodigy who never shined as bright as Joon-young. This is another reason why I hate what Jung-kyung is doing to herself, even looping Joon-young to her mess. She probably does love Joon-young but right now, her feelings seem shallow and ingenuine. She has to wake up and realize she’s only hurting herself in the process.

That’s why I really love how Han Hyun-ho (Kim Sung-cheol) handled their break-up. He’s obviously hurt by Jung-kyung. She failed to see the effort he put in on making himself suitable for her. He’s not as privilege as Jung-kyung and he only has his own skills to rely on. But enough is enough for him. He walks away from Jung-kyung unblinking. The break-up is painful for both of them but they will obviously survive. As Jung-kyung’s grandmother said, we have so much to do in life to be lost in love.

One thing that I discovered in this week’s episodes is that Joon-young values other people’s feelings more than his own. So even though he said other people’s opinion doesn’t matter to him, he still took into account what Song-ah might feel about the false rumors going around their university. If it’s just him, I don’t think Joon-young would really mind the nasty comments of people around him. But those ugly words are not directed at him. Those words are aimed at Song-ah and he’s determined to protect her. But Song-ah seems to misunderstand Joon-young’s effort.

Equals

Maybe the misunderstanding comes from the fact that Song-ah, herself, puts Joon-young on a pedestal. She has a faint idea that Joon-young had it rough as well but she doesn’t see the whole dark picture Joon-young’s trying to hide. The well-known world-class pianist has hidden insecurities and worries just like Song-ah. It is evident on how he tolerates the verbal assault of Professor Yoo Tae-jin (Joo Suk-tae). It’s obvious he doesn’t agree with this man but Joon-young thinks Professor Yoo can help him win in another prestigious competition; a thing he dreaded but needed to do because of his family.

Speaking of bad teachers, Professor Lee Soo-kyung (Baek Ji-won) doesn’t seem to really care about Song-ah and her future. But Song-ah, of course, doesn’t think that way. As her sister pointed out, she has a tendency to be a pushover. It stems from her lack of self-confidence. Surprisingly, Jung Kyung heard it in the way Song-ah plays her violin. The master class scene is one of my favorite parts of this week’s episodes. Jung-kyung is actually likable if she’ll stop pushing herself to people who obviously don’t want her anymore. Jung-kyung accurately told Song-ah that she lacked conviction. That observation, I think, applies to everything about Song-ah. She knows what she wants and she does her best to get it. But the thing is, Song-ah holds on to things that she wants very lightly. One could threaten her with a plastic knife and I bet she’ll let it go without a fight. Jung-kyung will probably be the one to make her realize, it’s time to stand her ground.

Answers

Dong-yoon likes Song-ah. It’s a known fact but we finally got a solid confirmation this week. I really want to like Lee You-jin’s character here in DYLB but I hate Dong-yoon’s trite excuses just as much I hate his character in Be Melodramatic. Dong-yoon said he was afraid to confess to Song-ah because it might ruin their friendship. But I doubt that he doesn’t have any inkling that Song-ah likes him too. Song-ah and Joon-young have precious friends to consider. It was understandable for them to keep their feelings secret. But it wasn’t the case for Dong-yoon. I might be being too harsh to this character but I think he’s just plain coward. He missed his timing because of himself.

Luckily, Joon-young didn’t let his chance slip away. He answered Song-ah’s silent questions earlier. Is he really worth waiting for? Yes, yes, and yes!

He likes her. He said so there will be no further misunderstanding between them. And as if his words weren’t enough of an affirmation, Park Joon-young pulled Chae Song-ah into a kiss that hopefully erased any doubts on Song-ah’s mind. Because you know, as cliché as this may sound, one’s actions could mean more than any mellifluous words out there.

Maknae’s Week 4 Verdict

Dramagenies are on a roll this week, showering kiss scenes everywhere. But unlike last week’s confession, I think I kind of expected this kiss to happen. Since we’re halfway through the story, they will need something to mark this point in the story. And giving us a kiss is not (definitely not) a bad decision. It’s about to happen anyway, given Joon-young seems to be holding back his feelings for Song-ah. But now that they’ve confirmed each other’s feelings, we should brace ourselves for more hurdles that will come in the way of our musician couple.

Afterthoughts

-The Violin Sonata that Song-ah’s planning to play for her exam/audition is a well-known composition by musician César Franck

-Can we please have a duet with Joon-young and Song-ah on stage, jebalyo?