"Do You Like Brahms?" drama: Episode's seventeen and eighteen recap

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

Ratings for these two episodes, 3.6 and 5.5%

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.

Joo Suk-Tae as Yoo Tae-Jin.... Joon-Young's music teacher from the ages of 14 to 22. Their relationship was a bit rocky but the pair are now working together again.

  
  After getting it's highest rating to date for episode sixteen the pair for today really dropped off and for some odd reason lost 80,000 viewers. Perhaps that happens often in a long series and it does seem most drama's highest ratings are for it's final episodes. Did add in a new character who is at the bottom, that's professor Yoo who we've seen here and there but his role is now becoming a bit larger.

 Last post had been undecided how I would do the final sixteen shows which equals eight recaps. This and next week will remain on the same schedule which is to have back to back posts. After that will take a week off and then have the final four recaps in a row, first time in a while I've been able to keep up with a long series such as this one. We ended off the previous episode with Joon-Young finally confessing to Song-Ah that he liked her, shortly after is when the pair shared their first kiss.

 The new couple are both 29 in age but with the way they're acting it wouldn't surprise me if this was the first time either had been dating someone regularly. Both are acting a bit 'giddy' or that was the word that popped into my mind. Jumping ahead a bit there really weren't any problems with the lovebirds in these four episodes and as long as Joon-Young remains open with Song-Ah there shouldn't be any problems. He still does keep important stuff hidden which we viewers know about but he's mainly doing it to spare Song-Ah's feelings. One bright spot about them dating so early is that we finally were able to see a few people smile. Mentioned that in the previous recap about how dour everyone was and wish the tension loosened up a bit which it did though just for the pair. Joon-Young isn't afraid to let the world know about his happiness as at lunch with Song-Ah he told her classmates about them dating and the news traveled like wildfire around campus.

 Before I forget want to bring up one item which wasn't talked about in either episode. That's of the finances of Joon-Young which are at a very low level. Three recaps ago he had the small sum of $3,800 in the bank and since then has had no income, how is he able to live as he resides in a semi expensive apartment. His financial situation is the main reason Joon-Young will be entering a Tchaikovsky competition but it's no sure thing he'll win any money. Joon-Young has reunited with his old teacher Yoo to help him train for the competition but things aren't going well for the team. Yoo was his teacher for eight years but the pair drifted apart and their past was a bit of a rocky one. However it seems that Joon-Young feels only Yoo can pull him out of his piano playing funk but even after the next pair of shows it hasn't happened.

 Song-Ah is still dreaming of entering the graduate program at Seoryeong University but she's still ranked at the bottom of her class. To me and a few other observers of Song-Ah she's being used by her professor Lee who claims she'll do anything in her power to get Song-Ah admitted. By 'being used' what Song-Ah has been doing is arranging an orchestra performance for Lee's group that will include Song-Ah on violin. But Song-Ah is doing all of the work such as assembling all of the players, selling tickets, she arranged the venue and many other things besides having to worry about her own studies and practicing. While she does that Lee just sits around and looks at her phone while doing virtually nothing, don't know how this situation will turn out but have a feeling not the best for Song-Ah. Almost forgot to add in that Hyun-Ho had been recruited to play the cello at the performance as his finances too aren't all that healthy.

 

 Both Jung-Kyung and her ex-boyfriend Hyun-Ho are both applying for the new professorship that's about to open up at Seoryeong University. Hyun-Ho is a bit of a long shot as he isn't as well known as Jung-Kyung but does have the support of her grandmother Na. The question soon may be will she be allowed to go through with her dream of being a professor and making it on her own? To Na she feels as that Jung-Kyung would be the perfect person to be the main director of the Kyunghoo Foundation as Na is getting up there in age plus her health is slipping. Through fifteen shows Jung-Kyung was such a devil woman but has improved her attitude as too many people were turning against her. She even opened up to Joon-Young about her problems which did impress him. Not enough for them to be friends again but he will play piano at Jung-Kyung's recital, all applicants going for the professor position must prove their musical ability.

 So the pair had ben meeting in a coffee shop where Jung-Kyung gave him the sheet music for her performance, it'll be a sonata by Franck. As you can see above when the pair were leaving the cafe watching them was Hyun-Ho though it was a chance encounter. Her had been at the restaurant across the street having a mini reunion with his old high school mates and had gone outside to make a call. Hyun-Ho was shocked to see the two together and he demanded to talk to Joon-Young right then about what was going on. Hyun-Ho was in such a rage at his one time best friend and can't understand his fury. Joon-Young tried to explain they were just discussing her recital. But to Hyun-Ho why would he help out Jung-Kyung after what she's said about him, for a while it seemed Hyun-Ho was over their breakup but it appears not so. During the discussion Joon-Young did tell his ex-friend about him dating Song-Ah but that didn't quell Hyun-Ho's anger.

 The Kyunghoo Foundation has been Joon-Young's agency in Korea for seven years though his main one is located in America. But it doesn't seem the foundation has been doing enough for Joon-Young as his finances are so low and his popularity has waned the past few years. Park is a man you've seen often in screenshots as he was a valuable employee at the foundation. But he's recently left them to work for Joon-Young's main agency, it appears Park may become his new manager which Joon-Young isn't pleased with, his loyalties are still with the foundation. This could be a very important part of the story yet it's never discussed as much as it should be, it's one secret Joon-Young has kept hidden from 

Song-Ah but wouldn't think for much longer.

 The lovebirds both have busy schedules, of course described some of what Song-Ah has been doing plus Joon-Young is practicing for the competition and Jung-Kyung's recital, also he's going for his Masters degree at the university. So the pair can't see enough of each other which always isn't a bad thing. They did have one mini date towards the end which ended in another kiss, it is kind of funny yet heartwarming how innocent both are acting. They couple did have ice cream on the date and it's when Joon-Young admitted he really didn't enjoy eating it. But as he says above he had used it as an excuse to spend some time with Song-Ah and it's small moments like that which make this drama so superb.

 The last few recaps have said how small the roles of Min-Seong and Dong-Yun have become, them and Song-Ah have been so close for ten years. But not as much recently with the main reason being the night Min-Seong and Dong-Yun spent together. Can't believe how they've acted at spending one drunken night together and they've been acting like they should be in a convent. Min-Seong did try to get back with Dong-Yun to no avail and has asked Song-Ah should she look for another man? The answer was yes and that night one of their friends was having a small party at a restaurant. that friend told Min-Seong there would be some men there for her to check out. So that's her plan and Song-Ah will also attend, naturally not for a date but to see her old mates.

 However Min-Seong was running late and called the restaurant to tell Song-Ah. Not knowing she was on speaker phone Min-Seong asked Song-Ah if she was truly dating Joon-Young and now the cat was let out of the bag. Sitting at the table was Dong-Yun and it was the first he heard of it. He did confess his love to Song-Ah two shows ago, she turned him down but we never did hear what she said and presumed it was being saved for a future flashback. It still may be but after everyone had left Song-Ah told her old friend the rumor of her dating was true, while at one time she really liked Dong-Yun those days have passed which brought us to the end of the episode. However this scene begins off the next recap as unknown to them their conversation was being overheard.

 Right above is Eun-Bin and can't think of the last time I've seen someone so attractive in a drama. She's always looked so fabulous but even more so the older she gets, she turned 28 about a month ago. Been wanting to do some posts for Eun-Bin but being in a drama like this takes s much time, once the filming is completed sure we'll see attend a few events or some of the end of the year award shows. As usual plenty of screenshots from the episodes and the next post has the recap for the next two shows.