10 Things I Hate About You
Episode 3 of Our Beloved Summer begins with Choi Ung in the hot-seat. With the camera on him, Ung decides to give 10 reasons why he hates Yeon-Su. In order to showcase this, we cut back in time and see moments of Yeon-Su’s various flaws play out. I won’t list them all here but there are 10 in total, spread our across the episode. The thing is, we also see another side of her, which contradicts everything Ung has just said, including moments of her being selfless and romantic. That is, until she breaks up with Ung out of the blue. Back in the present, Ung continues to deliberate over the live painting. While he contemplates whether to do this or not, he instead doubles down on his other work. Ung calls NJ, who plays it cool despite being really excited about getting his call. Ung is going to take up her idea of drawing buildings but as it’s commissioned work, he wants to see the buildings firsthand. As they arrange a meet, Eun-Ho happens to be listening intently. He’s definitely a little annoyed that he’s not the one to arrange this, given he’s the manager here. After setting things up, Ji-Ung shows and pitches Choi Ung the idea of the documentary. This, of course, is the cliffhanger from episode 2. Anyway, he’s completely against the idea, although Ji-Ung spins this as a good opportunity. Choi Ung is having none of it. Now, some of this stems from how Choi-ung acted after the break-up with Yeon-Su. We’ve heard he’s a mess but his craziness is unrivaled, especially as we see him go off the rails. Further flashbacks show him throwing himself into doing stocks, exercising vigorously and trying his best to keep himself busy. The thing is, nothing seems to work – Ung is still miserable. However, this eventually sees him stumble upon drawing, as his room is strewn with numerous pictures of buildings. But is all of this worth the risk of bringing old feelings out to the surface again? Ji-Ung seems to think so, working hard to try and set this up in the present. Interestingly, the School Life videos between Ung and Yeon-Su begin trending again online. Yeon-Su is intrigued and decides to settle in and watch those videos. She scoffs at the naivety of her old self, bemoaning Choi Ung for being lazy. The thing is, the videos also show a sense of innocence and playfulness that’s lacking from both their lives right now. Fate has a funny way of bringing two people together. After being apart for 5 years, having never run into each other, all of a sudden they both seem to cross paths all the time. When the pair both spill their groceries outside, they end up talking. Yeon-Su winds up Ung though, telling him that the company are going to go for an alternate artist known as Nu-A. He’s a knock-off artist and apparently nowhere near good enough. Only… that’s not okay with her clients. Everyone is counting on Yeon-Su and they don’t want anyone else other than Ko-o. Ji-Ung meets Yeon-Su at the office as her colleagues debate over whether Yeon-Su is dating him or not. Regardless, they head out together, where Ji-Ung pitches her the idea of the documentary. Ji-Ung certainly talks a big game, discussing the precious nature of life and preserving a snapshot of one’s life. Speaking of preserving a life, NJ heads home, still reeling over Ung not messaging her back. She’s torn over what to do, messaging her friends and receiving mixed messages back. When she heads online, NJ checks out Eun-Ho’s Instagram and notices pictures of Choi Ung, drunk. Now, just prior to this, Choi Ung comes up with a genius idea (which we’re frustratingly kept out the loop of!) but also confirmation that Choi Ung will work in the project. All of this is part of his masterplan to make Yeon-Su suffer. During the epilogue, we cut back and see Yeon-Su’s nonchalance to breaking up with Choi Ung. Her best friend Sol-Yi watches her, believing she’s keeping her feelings bottled up. Well, when Yeon-Su heads home, away from everyone, she heads into the bathroom and begins crying. She does care… but what drove her to actually break up with Choi Ung?
The Episode Review
Our Beloved Summer has been a really solid watch so far, with a great blend of comedy, romance and drama. The story is perhaps a little predictable, with it seemingly obvious that Choi Ung and Yeon-Su are going to get back together by the end. Drip-feeding more about the school years with the pair is a nice way of adding more context to the past though. It also allows us to experience things from both Yeon-Su and Choi Ung’s perspectives. Seeing Yeon-Su crying like that at the end, off the back of the break-up she instigated, brings up a big question – why did she end things in the first place? It’s not really explained here, beyond her claiming that he’s the easiest thing to give up. Now that we’ve seen more of the story (and her reaction) it’s clear that’s not the case. The little subplot involving NJ is a nice touch though, and there are decent moments involving her character as well. Seeing her heading home, all alone, surrounded by lavish furnishings but no one to actually welcome her speaks volumes about the loneliness of fame. It’s also cute to see how taken she is with Choi Ung, but I’m sure we’ll see a curve-ball in here somewhere. Does anyone else think she could end up with Eun-Ho or Ji-Ung? Either way, the ending hints that we’ve got lots more romance and laughs to come in the episodes to follow!
