"Do You Like Brahms?" drama: Episode's fifteen and sixteen recap

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

Ratings for these two episodes, 4.4 and 6.3%

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.

Choi Dae-Hoon as Park Sung-Jae.... Employee at the foundation.

Ahn Sang-Ein as Jung Da-Woon..... Another foundation employee

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.

Yoon Chan-Young as Seung Ji-Min.... Very talented younger popular pianist

Baek Ji-Won as Professor Lee.... Song-Ah's professor who is pushing her to enter the graduate program but is more interested in who she knows than Song-Ah's music

  
  Once again the ratings for these two shows translated to a little over a million viewers but the second show received the highest rating to date. Mentioned in the last recap about how 'depressing' in a way this series has become. Not the viewing of it but how the characters all seem to be so down as their romances are all failing and for the most part so aren't their careers or future dreams. As said in that previous post when you view the screenshots you'll notice how little everyone smiles, it was bad in the last two shows but not to the extent in this pair.

 It appears the process in hiring a new musical string professor at Seoryeong University will be a long and difficult ordeal, think about ten are applying. One of course is Jung-Kyung and have mentioned that in many previous recaps. She's going against the wishes of her grandmother Na who rather see her become a full time director for the Kyunghoon Foundation but Jung-Kyung still loves music and wants to make a name for herself. One test is working with students in front of the hiring panel so they can judge your musical ability and how well you work with others. To Jung-Kyung's surprise Song-Ah was a person she had to work with but that was just because the original student had bailed out. Odds are quite high it was just because of the panel but Jung-Kyung came off as a decent person during and after Song-Ah's performance. She played a sonata by Franck which was a difficult piece but to me she played better than ever and Song-Ah has been working much harder again at the violin.

 What was impressive about Jung-Kyung was that she too noticed how well Song-Ah played and told her that in front of the panel. Of course Song-Ah wasn't perfect so Jung-Kyung gave her some advice right on the spot and also did another nice deed which I don't think the hiring panel noticed. She had written notes on Song-Ah's music sheets and gave them back to her in hopes she'll improve. But it just came to mind that perhaps the panel will have Song-Ah perform again and how well she improves will be a plus or minus to Jung-Kyung. Her ex-boyfriend Hyun-Ho is also going after the upcoming open professor position, he didn't 'teach' in front of a panel but that should happen in a future episode.

 In that bottom screenshot above is Cha on the right and to me he's one of the more likable characters, she's the office director for the Kyunghoon Foundation. With her is Park who has just turned in his resignation after working there for five years. To Cha's (furious?) surprise Park has obtained a position working for Joon-Young's American agency and it's possible he may soon become Joon-Young's Korean manager. Park did say to Cha that Joon-Young really needs a jumpstart in his career and the foundation has been failing him. He told that to Joon-Young the following day who wouldn't admit it but deep down knew Park was right. But in the gap in time Cha had met with Joon-Young who knew nothing about his American agency breaking off ties with the foundation. He's quite torn on what to do as the foundation did pay his way through college yet he realizes how his career has gone downhill. 

 Hopefully you read the above recap or the ones before that where I talked about Joon-Young's dismal fiscal situation. After being a world famous pianist for seven years he somehow only has $3,800 in his bank account and where did his money go? Some to his parents but then again was he irresponsible with his earnings over the years and exactly how much did he make? One idea for him is to enter a Tchaikovsky competition which was against the wishes of his long time professor Yoo. This man is disappointed in Joon-Young these days and feels his playing has passed it's peak but he's still helping him out with the the competition. One thing Yoo has been stressing is not to play with musicians on a lower level than Joon-Young and there was a reason for the advice.

 Yoo has probably heard of the rumors that Joon-Young was dating Song-Ah though they're not true or at least for now. She has to pass a recital exam to enter graduate school and even though she's worked so hard is still ranked at the bottom of her violin class. Her professor Lee had paired Song-Ah up with a pianist as the recital is one with a piece featuring a violin and piano. However Song-Ah couldn't relate to this pianist who put Song-Ah down for her playing. What Song-Ah is secretly wishing for is that Joon-Young will volunteer to be her partner at the recital. That thought has entered his mind too but for now he has what Yoo said in the back of his mind. But Yoo did give one insightful idea to him about doing the recital with Song-Ah, if she does very well wouldn't the judges think it's because she was paired up with Joon-Young?

 As you can see above Jung-Kyung and Hyun-Ho did run into each other and guess it's hard not to when you're in their small musical field and attend the same college. But I like the spunk Hyun-Ho is showing as he's over the relationship to the dismay of Jung-Kyung who may want him back? Those rumors about Song-Ah and Joon-Young dating began in the previous recap and are getting much more intense. Someone has been sending texts of their possible relationship to all of the students and staff at the college, at the present time have no clue who it is or why they're doing it? Some students are now giving Song-Ah the cold shoulder because of the rumors, even Hae-Na who had worked with Song-Ah as an intern at the foundation. Just came to mind that there could be more to this pair fighting it out soon as Hae-Na was turned down at an American university for a graduate program and perhaps the pair will be battling it out for the spot in the Seoryeong University's Master's program?

 In that top screenshot is Song-Ah's best friend Min-Seong who we once again so little of. That's been happening ever since she spent a night with Dong-Yun and still can't understand why these two are so immature and innocent about sleeping together. Also above is Joon-Young talking with Song-Ah, as usual there was a small misunderstanding and for the first time he was the one hurt. Joon-Young keeps telling her to 'wait' for him but after a while she's questioning what the wait is for? When the pair first met he was so much more open with Song-Ah but that's fallen off so badly over these last few recaps.

Joon-Young hasn't told her about his mother having an operation, how low his finances are, his possible change in agencies along with a few other things. Song-Ah is just a bit fed up with all of the secrets and Joon-Young better start opening up if there is to be a future between the two.

 Another face we haven't seen much of is the one of Dong-Yun who has been secretly in love with

Song-Ah for about a decade. Us viewers have known it but don't think anyone else in the show save for perhaps Joon-Young. Dong-Yun had arranged for the long time friends to go out to dinner to catch up on things but Song-Ah completely forgot but this being a drama the pair of course ran into each other on the street. Instead of dinner the two went back to Dong-Yun's office/apartment which is mainly where he repairs violins. For the first time ever which you see above Dong-Yun has confessed his feelings to Song-Ah who couldn't believe her ears. She soon left after that though wasn't mad but did utter a few words which we couldn't hear but think it'll be a flashback in an upcoming episode as it seems what Song-Ah said was quite meaningful.

 The following morning who should arrive at Joon-Young's apartment than Jung-Kyung. He told to leave immediately as he's wanted to have nothing to do with Jung-Kyung for so long now but she just won't stay away. For the first time we did hear Jung-Kyung be a bit open and honest with someone as she told Joon-Young about so many of her problems. Such as how she's been so jealous of his success and how she's felt left behind, few other things which you should know of if you've read the previous recaps. To make a long scene short her confessions touched Joon-Young's heart and he's agreed to be her partner at an upcoming recital, Jung-Kyung has to present one for her professorship application.

 In the final scene Joon-Young has come to the conclusion he needs to be so much more open with     Song-Ah or risk losing her. So he called and said to meet him at the college ASAP which is what happened. There Joon-Young told Song-Ah of his playing with Jung-Kyung at her recital and she couldn't believe her ears, Joon-Young wanted to meet her so quickly just to say that?! As I've said too often Joon-Young means well but just can't get his true feeling across in the proper way. Knowing he had better do something to make up for his ineptness Joon-Young finally said to Song-Ah that he liked her! About time and as the episode came to it's conclusion the pair were about to have their first kiss.

 

 Perhaps that kiss will lighten the tension up a bit and it happened at exactly the halfway mark of this series. Am at a bit of a loss on how I'll do the last eight recaps, for now will continue to have two a week. But also am thinking about waiting for the show to end and do eight in a row but by then may forget too much of what's happened. Odds are will do two more weeks of a pair of posts and then have the final four in a row, guess you'll find out soon enough.