What is the perfect show to watch when you want to have something soothe your troubled 2020 overwhelmed mind? If you ask me it would be the sweet music-themed romance Do You Like Brahms. I enjoy watching this drama so much that I decided to recap it. So join me as I chat about episode one.

Hey, Kmuse here. Just a quick note that this is going to be more a recap of rambling thoughts. I usually don’t go scene by scene, so if that is more what you are looking for then this probably won’t work for you. If you have questions or thoughts that I don’t address, feel free to comment below since I am always open to chatting further.

Our leading lady, Chae Song Ah, opens up the drama. Her friends and family are celebrating Song Ah being accepted into a musical college. The twist is that she is much older than your normal college student since she completed a degree in business before she decided to follow her musical dream of playing the violin.

Whether it is due to her late intro to professional music or just her lack of skills, Song Ah remains at the bottom of her class. She was even kicked off of her final performance, where she would have finally, after four years of schooling, performed for the public. Deciding that the violins are too overbearing for the performance, the director kicked off the bottom two chairs. One of these girls is Song Ah. Despite trying to stand up for her right to perform with everyone else, she is removed and must watch from the wings as everyone else gets to play. This is also the moment she meets our leading man, piano genius Park Joon Young

Park Joon Young is an up and coming pianist who has won many competitions despite his young age. His talent and his gorgeous looks make him a favorite among the musical crowd, and everyone seems to want a piece of him. We see that there is some kind of backstory when his mother meets him at the performance. Looking out of place and uncomfortable, she talks a bit to Joon Young about his performance fees and comments that his father is doing better. She leaves, and Joon Young gazes after her with a sense of melancholy.

Due to her poor grades, Song Ah doesn’t have many options now that she has graduated. Unlike the more talented students who are going on to perform abroad, Song Ah only has an offer to attend an internship for Kyung-hoo Cultural Foundation. And even that is not for playing the violin but is actually for the administration behind the music. The support from her family has decreased over the past four years, and they encourage her to go back to her business background. But Song Ah is determined to stay in music and accepts the foundation internship.

This reconnects her with Joon Young, who is also working with the foundation as a performer. Our OTP (One true pairing) has multiple awkward meet-cutes, and with each accidental meetup, you can tell that the two characters are being pulled closer together.

The final accidental meeting is while both Joon Young and Song Ah waiting at the airport for old friends. As they wait, they chat about their current work situation and Song Ah shares that she got the internship by creating a music performance which used the theme of Brahms, Clara, and Shumann’s love triangle/friendship. This is a huge foreshadowing moment as we learn that Joon Young is waiting for his two best friends from when he was in college. Two friends that end up arriving together and obviously in a relationship. We officially have a love triangle.

Final Thoughts:

I love everything about this drama. The classical music theme, the beautiful tones of the set and styling, and of course, our amazing OTP. Song Ah and Joon Young both have an air of sadness about them, and it really increases the layering of their budding friendship. This drama looks like it is going to be a slow burn romance with the music and the leads’ attempts to find their path in the musical world being the focus. This drama is so comfortable and is the perfect thing to take my thoughts away from reality. Which is something most of us probably need right now.

Til the next classical interlude,

Kmuse

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi