"Do You Like Brahms?" drama: Episode's three and four recap

 Air Dates: August 31st until October 20, 2020  Monday and Tuesdays at 10:00 pm on SBS

Ratings for these two episodes, 3.8 and 5.0%

Main Cast: The college referred to is Seoryeong University, a very prestigious music school though it does have many other programs.

Park Eun-Bin as Chae Song-Ah.... 'Chae' sounds quite a bit like the Korean word for sorry and she constantly has to tell others it's her real name. Song-Ah is 29 and graduated from the university at 22 with a business degree. However she hasn't had a steady job since then as her first love was playing the violin. After four attempts she was finally accepted into the school's musical program, she's finished three years yet is still not a very accomplished player.

Kim Min-Jae as Park Joon-Young.... He's an award winning pianist and the same age as 
Song-Ah. He too graduated from Seoryeong University and for many years has been touring the world performing concerts. He's a very respected pianist yet has returned to the university for their graduate program but see no reason why.

Lee You-Jin as Yoon Dong-Yun.... Friend of Song-Ah's and went out briefly with Min-Seong. We didn't see him in this first episode as he was in Italy but has just returned in this show. He owns a violin shop though doesn't play much these days.

Bae Da-Bin as Kang Min-Seong.... Song-Ah's best friend who is going to the same college, she's getting her Masters in Chemistry.

Park Ji-Hyun as Lee Jung-Kyung.... She's just returned from America where she tried so hard to become a professor of music at some colleges but failed. She's a violinist whose mother died when she was fourteen, she's been semi-dating Hyun-Ho though she secretly wishes to be with Joog-Young

Kim Seong Cheol as Han Hyun-Ho.... He too has just returned from America and is a talented cello player. He's best friends with Joon-Young and has been dating Jung-Kyung but he's more serious about their relationship than she is.

Lee Ji-Won as Kim Ha-Nae....Also a violinist who is seven years younger than Song-Ah but both have just started at a Summer internship for the Kyunghoo Foundation.

Seo Jung-Yeon as Cha Young-In.... Manager of Song-Ah and Ha-Nae at the foundation.

Ye Soo-Young as Na Moon-Sook.... Director of the Kyunghoo Foundation and whose daughter died in 2006 who was the mother of Jung-Kyung.

 Added in a few new characters in the above cast list and also did a bit of tweeking for the mini bios. At the top of every post will be a video, could be a trailer, interview, behind the scenes or whatever. For today is a scene that took place in this episode at a coffee shop with Young-Joon and his secret crush Jung-Kyung, that is a secret to everyone save for the pair.

 The first recap for a series is usually the longest but as I mentioned in the above post that was the perfect length I've been striving for. Would like to keep this at that length but it may be more difficult as so many characters were finally introduced plus we learned much more about our two main leads. Would like to give them a nice round of applause for in this drama they actually play their instruments. On the violin is Eun-Bin, playing the piano is Min-Jae and both practiced for months before the filming began. In so many dramas it's really not the actor doing the actual playing but this time around it is which may be a rarity.

 That top screenshot is of a flashback from 2013 when Song-Ah graduated from college with a business degree. Instead of entering the workforce she's decided to reenter Seoryeong University to study the violin, everyone was against that including Song-Ah's family and her best friend. But sitting next to her was Dong-Yun who supported her since day one and actually gave her tutoring lessons. That's him in all of the above screenshots and he had been met at the Incheon airport by Song-Ah, he was returning from Italy where he was helping restore some violins. Dong-Yun himself graduated from the university majoring in the violin but decided to not to pursue playing as a career, that was after he finished his mandatory stint in the military.

 Dong-Yun owns his won company repairing, restoring and making violins but he may be the only employee. That's him with Song-Ah in his small office which is packed with violins, she's been having a problem with her playing and could be take a look at her violin? To their surprise there was a small crack in it which Dong-Yun was able to repair, hopefully that'll help out Song-Ah as she hasn't been doing well with her playing as you read in the first recap. Dong-Yun really seems like a decent chap and for the most part so doesn't everyone in this drama though I have my doubts about Jung-Kyung who we'll finally meet soon. At one time Dong-Yun dated Min-Seong who is the best friend of Song-Ah, she's hoping to rekindle the romance but don't think it'll happen..

 That's because for so long Dong-Yun has had a crush on Song-Ah, he's never admitted it but have an inkling deep down she knows and also shares the same feeling. At his office Dong-Yun said the words 'I Love You', Song-Ah's heart skipped a beat but instead Dong-Yun said it was words she should say to her repaired violin! The pair after went to a 'welcome back' party for him that was thrown by Min-Seong but they had to arrive separately as not to arouse any suspicions. Now that I think about it these opening ten minutes were the only time we saw Dong-Yun in these episodes but he does/will be playing an important part in this series. Now a bit about Joon-Young, he was so quiet in the first two shows but opened up a bit in this pair.

 Will get back to Song-Ah as she has a few more major events. When Joon-Young picked up his buddy Hyun-Ho from the airport to his surprise with him was Jung-Kyung, both were returning from America. Won't delve into too much in this recap but Joon-Young has such a crush on her and they did have mini kiss which you can see above. That happened at a concert Joon-Young gave in NYC the previous Christmas, she instigated it but both are pretending it didn't happen. Not sure how close they really are but Jung-Kyung is dating Hyun-Ho and both saw a lot of each other in America. He's a cellist and a very good one too but it hasn't been revealed yet what the future holds for him, playing in an orchestra or perhaps becoming a professor. He's so in love with Jung-Kyung but though she may show it deep down she doesn't share those feelings for Hyun-Ho.

 Did say above that Jung-Kyung may be an unlikable character or at least compared to the rest of the cast. That sentiment for now is true but there's a few reasons for why Jung-Kyung rarely smiles and for now may not be so likable. Her mother's name was Kyung-Seon, say was for she died at the age of 42 back in 2006 when Jung-Kyung was fourteen. On occasion we hear this woman's name mentioned and she does have a connection to Joon-Young which for now is unknown. After her mother's death Jung-Kyung was raised by her grandmother Na who seems like a decent older lady, she also has an elder brother Lee who still lives with the grandmother. You can understand how losing a mother would affect a teen and bet that's a main reason for her sullen demeanor. At one time Jung-Kyung was near the top of the heap when it came to playing the violin, she's still an excellent player but her skills have eroded over the years and she's not as well respected. She had traveled to America hoping to land a position as a music professor at a university or to work for a large orchestra, neither panned out and life hasn't gone well for Jung-Kyung in some time.

 Won't get too much into Hyun-Ho in this post, though he had a lot of screen time we didn't learn much about his character. As mentioned his cello playing is still top notch and he may have a few solid options on what to do in the future. But have a strong feeling Jung-Kyung won't be a part of that future, seems as though marriage may be something he's considering but Hyun-Ho would be turned down if he ever proposed. Standing in the way could be his best friend Joon-Young who also has deep feeling for Jung-Kyung, both know it but if I was to make a prediction neither man will end up with her. Joon-Young is still a star at a very high level though he may have been eclipsed by the younger pianist Seung Ji-Min. We didn't meet him in these episodes but his name was mentioned a few times. His new CD has outsold any of Joon-Young's, while he once placed second at a Chopin competition Seung has won a few and will he be playing a major part in the story soon?

 Joon-Young had overheard a conversation Song-Ah and Hae-Ne had at a music store, Hae-Ne had been saying how much more popular Seung is these days. To her Joon-Young is only remaining a star because of his good looks, Song-Ah didn't agree though kept her mouth shut. She then noticed that Joon-Young had heard the comments and tried to corner him to say she was on his side but he managed to elude her in the crowd. After that is when Joon-Young had a long walk and talk with himself, he doesn't say much to others but always to himself. He's never enjoyed entering competitions which is why he hasn't done so well at them, Joon-Young is also a bit ashamed about his family as he needed a scholarship to attend school. We met his mother briefly in the first episode when she asked her son for the family's monthly stipend, seems like the father is very irresponsible and a drinker?

 Didn't notice it during the second show but Song-Ah's mentor at the Kyunghoo's Foundation office is pregnant, her name is Im. She had a minor scare in this show but luckily Song-Ah was there to help her, the baby is fine though Im will need to stay out of work. So Song-Ah is picking up many of her duties and if she can do well it may help her get a job at the foundation if her musical career doesn't pan out. Her main task is to organize and be the liaison for a trio Joon-Young is forming to play in a concert or perhaps several. He'll naturally be on the piano with Jung-Kyung playing the violin and on the cello will be Hyun-Ho. It would be like old times again as the three played so often together in their younger days. That news took place near the end so there's not much known about it yet but I just have a feeling that somehow Song-Ah may end up playing in the small group. There was a Korean series back in 2016 titled "Page Turner", was very interested in viewing it yet never did but now my interest is back.

 A page turner is a person who turns the pages of music for a pianist and is what Song-Ah was asked to do for Joon-Young. He was helping a young violinist out named Yang who is quite an excellent player and he would be backing her at a recital. They were songs Joon-Young didn't know well so he needed a page turner which turned out to be Song-Ah. It's not a difficult thing to do but one small slip could wreck the whole song. The rehearsal went well but Yang's mother seems to be such an impossible person to please as she berated her daughter after it.

 However the mini recital worked out well and there may be another in the future. Song-Ah had been embarrassed once again to be around Joon-Young and that's because of the conversation he overheard at the music store. Seems he's not the type to hold a grudge and was very friendly towards her as he may realize Song-Ah didn't say any of the negative comments. It's now the end of the fourth episode, after the recital Song-Ah was heading home while Joon-Young was stopping for a bite to eat. She left but while he was eating Song-Ah entered the restaurant to talk with her new friend(?), the two of them having a dinner is what closed off the episode.

 Don't think it'll be possible but would like to have a post for Eun-Bin tomorrow. Just did one for her last week so there's no new things for a post, the reason is that tomorrow which is September 4th she's celebrating her 28th birthday. Eun-Bin is my fave actress these days and she looks so fabulous in this show, you may have noticed that in the screenshots. Perhaps a post will happen but don't place any $$ that it will. Once again was able to keep a recap at a reasonable length which should happen for the rest of the series. It being a holiday in the States next week will be taking a pair of days off from posting or viewing any dramas. That means won't be able to have the recaps for episode's five through eight next Thursday but hopefully just two days after that.