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Mi-rae and Kyung-seok take a trip down memory lane and revisit middle school memories together. In the process of doing so, they repair the lost relationship that they almost had back in middle school and work to make it right this time around. Meanwhile, other relationships are focused on this episode and while some survive and make it out alright, some leave you wondering if they will also do the same.

My ID is Gangnam Beauty Episode 5: The Handsome Guy’s Counterattack

Mi-rae and Hyun-jung walk back home together after a day of school. Mi-rae shares with Hyun-jung the request that Kyung-seok’s mom has asked of her to do. Although she’s hesitant, Mi-rae eventually gives in to Kyung-seok’s mom and will fulfill her request for her.

At that moment, they hear a noise from behind them which causes the two to become alert. They turn around to find someone hiding in the shadows of a tree not too far away. While Mi-rae chases after the man to capture him, Hyun-jung notifies the police. The young teenager is arrested and taken into custody. He explains that he was following Mi-rae because he mistakened her for a celebrity and just wanted to check to see if his instincts were correct. He had no other intentions.

Mi-rae’s dad storms into the police station angry at the young teenager for following his daughter. However, Mi-rae is more surprised than anything to see her dad. The young teenager is ultimately released and Dad stays to pick up Mi-rae. The other police officers there are doubtful that he’s her guardian though and even asks for his I.D. to check for proof. Upon reviewing his files, they discover that Mi-rae’s dad had been reported missing by Mom. LOL. After a long night, Dad walks Mi-rae back to her house.

Hyun-jung invites Dad for some tea at their place so he heads inside. After having a few sips of some hot tea, Mom drops by to pick up Dad and they walk back together. Mi-rae bids farewell with her parents who are finally reunited again and sends Kyung-seok a text message afterwards. She asks to meet him the next day at school.

Their school festival is approaching. As Won-ho and Sung-woon gleam over news of the festival, Soo-Ah is encouraged to serve as a waitress at the festival when the time comes. Since she and Kyung-seok are the more popular students at the school, they’ll attract more customers. As she processes the information, she glances outside to find Mi-rae and Kyung-seok standing across from each other. Mi-rae and Kyung-seok grab some drinks with each other.

After taking a few shots, Kyung-seok apologizes to Mi-rae for venting out on her after he witnessed her with his mom. He hopes she isn’t mad at him in which she responds that she isn’t. Mi-rae takes a few more shots to gather up the courage to ask Kyung-seok about his mom. Does he really not want to talk to her? Kyung-seok becomes disappointed that this was the reason why Mi-rae wanted to meet with him.

She continues to persuade him though by sharing with him a story about her relationship with her dad. Although Dad was disappointed in her for lying to him and getting plastic surgery when he didn’t want her to, he still cared for her and went through so much for her. All those nights where Mi-rae felt like someone was stalking her as she was walking back home? It turns out it was just Dad all along who was following Mi-rae to make sure that she got home safely.

Listening to Mi-rae’s story leads Kyung-seok to reflect on his encounter with his mom after many years of being separated. Maybe he’ll have a change of heart.

Mom shows Dad the video of Mi-rae dancing to PSY’s ‘New Face’ that she performed at orientation. Meanwhile, Kyung-seok and Mi-rae discuss about her plastic surgery. He too once poked fun at her back then in middle school. It was the night when they were both waiting at the bus stop and she was practicing some dance footwork while waiting for the bus. He laughed at her. Kyung-seok defends himself though and claims that he laughed not at her but because of her footwork. That’s how he was able to recognize Mi-rae at orientation. Aww. In all of middle school, there’s only been one time where Kyung-seok’s laughed… and it was because of Mi-rae (OMG SOMEONE HOLD ME I’M GONNA CRY).

Mi-rae and Kyung-seok finish their drinks and head back home. While crossing the crosswalk, Mi-rae almost gets hit by a car, but is thankfully pulled back by Kyung-seok right in time. They stand right across from each other with their faces inches apart and Mi-rae’s hand near his chest (EEEEEEK I’M SCREAMINGGG). They stand frozen in the position for a few seconds before moving again. They arrive at the bus stop safely (okay, but thank goodness there was no incident. Definitely wouldn’t want another one of those!).

At the bus stop, Kyung-seok asks Mi-rae to perform the same footwork she did years ago on the same night they were waiting at the bus stop. Although Mi-rae doesn’t remember the dance moves, they’re still fresh as new in Kyung-seok’s mind. He hasn’t forgotten that night. Since they’re already on the topic of middle school memories, Mi-rae asks Kyung-seok about the day he asked her about the perfume she was wearing. Why did he ask her about that? Kyung-seok was aggravated that Mi-rae was wearing the same perfume that his mom would wear when he was younger. His mom abandoned him and his family when they were younger, but the night she abandoned them was also the same night that she had rescued Mi-rae from her suicide attempt. The perfume that Mi-rae wore back on that day in middle school brought back bad memories for Kyung-seok.

Kyung-seok’s mom meets with the very first Korean model representative of her perfume label Kelun (Yoon Bora). After the meeting, Kyung-seok’s mom receives a phone call from Mi-rae who updates her on how her meeting with Kyung-seok went. It didn’t go too well and it doesn’t seem like Kyung-seok has changed his mind or heart. Kyung-seok’s mom thanks Mi-rae for her work and asks to meet again another day.

On his way back home, Kyung-seok can’t stop thinking about how adorable Mi-rae was earlier that night when she was stumbling from side to side on her way to the bus stop. Mi-rae too can’t stop thinking about Kyung-seok. After clarifying misunderstandings stemming from middle school to college, Mi-rae realizes that Kyung-seok is not the person she thought he was. He’s never been mean to her and in fact, has always been the opposite. She squeals just thinking about him and I am too. Aksjf. Meanwhile, Hyun-jung’s dreams of becoming a rapper are finally starting to come to light. Rapper Junoflo who she had met and sent her mixtape to wants to meet with her. Ahhh.

Meetings to finalize plans for the upcoming festival are underway. The planning committee that consists of the class representatives from each grade level chooses Mi-rae, Kyung-seok, and Soo-Ah as servers so they can make more money.

Mi-rae sees Kyung-seok in a different light now that she has a better understanding of who he is. Even just the smallest thing like drinking some cider is attractive. Asdkjfd. Kyung-seok catches Mi-rae staring at her while he drinks his cider so he catches up to her. He asks her what her plans are on the day of the festival, but she’s uncertain. Freshmen representative Yoo-Eun asks Kyung-seok if he’d like to wait tables on the day of the festival and as expected, he says no. Lol.

However, Soo-Ah and her friend Ji-hyo are willing to serve tables at the festival. Mi-rae needs a little more time to think about the offer as she was planning on selling candles at the festival to make herself some money. It’s obvious that only those who are pretty are chosen to wait tables. Soo-Ah encourages Mi-rae to accept the position. She also brings up the observations she’s noted regarding Mi-rae and Kyung-seok’s relationship with each other. Maybe they’re closer to each other than everyone thinks.

Mi-rae, Soo-Ah, and Ji-hyo all meet with the planning committee to discuss about the festival and exchange introductions with one another. Yoo-Eun seems a bit upset and disappointed that all the individuals serving the table are girls. All thanks to it being “tradition.”

Woo-young meets with a realtor to explore different potential places he can move into. The landlord at his current place plans on increasing rent and the deposit. As he looks around different places, he encounters Hyun-jung who volunteers to help him look around. She’s familiar with the neighborhood.

The meeting with the planning committee continues. Although Yoo-Eun opposes to having the girls wear skirts while serving tables, the rest of the council approves of the idea. They even go around and ask each of the girls for their sizes. Jung-ho and one other male student in particular continue to make snarky little comments, especially at one of the female students named Kim Tae-hee. She’s not as small and thin as the other ladies so she suffers from their teasing and jokes, but Mi-rae finds her pretty.

Thanks to Hyun-jung’s help, Woo-young is able to learn about the little dirty and hidden details of every place he explores. When they finally call it a day, Woo-young thanks Hyun-jung and suggests they grab beer later on with Mi-rae. She agrees.

The meeting about the festival finally ends. Yoo-Eun and Mi-rae complain about the lack of respect and communication in the meeting, but they unfortunately can’t do anything about it now. Yoo-Eun then receives a phone call from friend Jung-boon inviting them both to have some drinks with her at Woo-jin’s bar. They head over to join her.

Jung-boon observes Woo-jin work diligently at his bar (and this time ‘Fake Love‘ is playing in the background! YAAAS). However, she witnesses something that she was not expecting. One of the female employees kept the money that customers had used to pay for their drinks and hid the money in her pocket. Jung-boon tries to bring this to Woo-jin’s attention, but he doesn’t listen to her. He grows angry at her and kicks her out of his bar. Yoo-Eun and Mi-rae witness the situation as they approach the bar. Yoo-Eun chases after an upset and frustrated Jung-boon. Meanwhile, Mi-rae, Hyun-jung, and Woo-young meet at the bar to have some drinks.

Kyung-seok arrives home and is encouraged by their maid to have some lobster. She cooked some for Kyung-hee since Kyung-hee was craving seafood this late into the night. Kyung-seok approaches his sister’s room, but stops when he reads the sign she had posted on her bedroom door. Kyung-hee is busy doing a Mukbang livestream of her eating lobster so she doesn’t want any interruptions. Haha. So cute.

Kyung-seok addresses with his father the plans to send Kyung-hee off to the United States. Dad is only doing so not to help Kyung-hee but to save his reputation. Dad doesn’t find it a big deal though and believes sending Kyung-hee abroad will be beneficial to her in some way. He also advises Kyung-seok not to talk to his mother. She’s back in Korea so she might try to reach out to him, but he shouldn’t be in any form of contact with her no matter what.

Mi-rae, Woo-young, and Hyun-jung all get along over some beer. They discuss about things from Woo-young’s house searching to his stable financial status to encouraging him to speak informally to them since they’re his juniors. Meanwhile, Woo-jin grows angry and upset upon discovering that money had been stolen from the bar by the female employee. Kyung-seok enters the bar at that moment and witnesses the trio sitting together at the table. He confronts Mi-rae and asks her what she’s doing at the bar. Things get intense.

Meanwhile, Soo-Ah is visited by three male students at her part-time job. One of the students in particular named Park Yong-chul converses with Soo-Ah and asks her if she remembers who he is. She liked a few of his photos on Instagram. Soo-Ah finally recalls who the man is and they make plans to grab drinks after she finishes with work.

Kyung-seok joins the trio at their table. After discussing how popular Kyung-seok was in middle school, they move on to talking about the upcoming school festival. Kyung-seok discovers that Mi-rae is serving tables which surprises him. He’s even more surprised (and a little jealous hehe) when Mi-rae and Hyun-jung are invited to Woo-young’s housewarming party that he’ll be holding soon. Since they live in the neighborhood near his new place, they’re invited.

Seems like jealousy has got to Kyung-seok. He too is interested in that housewarming party that Mi-rae is invited too. Hehe. Woo-young’s a little shocked that Kyung-seok wants to join, but he’s opened to the idea. They bid farewell and the night comes to a close.

It’s the day of the festival. The planning committee all help set-up for the festival in a classroom. Tae-hee is once again teased for her looks and bigger body by one of the male students, but all the girls in the room defend her. Soo-Ah pleads for the guy to stop making comparisons between her and Tae-hee. Though she might seem thin, she’s always been concerned about her thin body ever since she was young. Moving forward, the girls receive their outfits and change into them.

Kyung-seok encourages Woo-jin to attend the festival with him. However, Woo-jin is too worried about how to apologize to Jung-boon for yelling at her and kicking her out of his bar. She was right: money had been stolen. He should have listened to her, tsk tsk tsk.

Mi-rae, Soo-Ah, and Ji-hyo all change into their outfits. The reactions to the red tops and short white skirts are mixed, but Mi-rae especially doesn’t like it. She feels uncomfortable.

My Thoughts:

Oof, this episode was a hard one to watch. From the constant teasing of Tae-hee to the outfits that the three girls have to wear to making only girls serve at waiters because it’s “tradition”, I was constantly angry and upset at how misogynistic the guys were. It felt like I was watching another episode of ‘Miss Hammurabi’ who also addressed similar issues in that drama. Regardless, this was one of the hardest episodes to watch yet because of how often the girls in this drama were being criticized and shut down. Hopefully, things will change in the upcoming episodes and the girls will stand up for themselves and be the ones to shut down the boys once and for all.

There wasn’t much going on in this episode as it was primarily about preparations for the festival. Therefore, the main highlights in this episode (and every episode) was the relationship development between Kyung-seok and Mi-rae. I’m so so glad that she finally realizes that he’s not the evil jerk that she originally thought he was; he’s a kind man and he had reasons behind his actions and behaviors. Now Mi-rae finds him so much more attractive and I find it so cute how she pretends to act like she doesn’t. We see you Mi-rae! We see you and it’s perfectly fine if you’re falling head over heels for Kyung-seok. You’re definitely not the only one. Hehe.

Mi-rae and Kyung-seok’s relationship jumped to another level since they cleared any misunderstandings and thoughts they had about each other. Now the two can just freely interact and talk to each other without worrying about what the other thinks. However, I do still have my worries about Kyung-seok who is slowly becoming jealous because he wants Mi-rae’s attention. That scene in the bar when he confronted Mi-rae over having some beer with Woo-young made me tilt my head a little. He’s still uncertain over Woo-young and Mi-rae’s relationship with each other and in a way perceives Woo-young as his threat. To ensure that he will get Mi-rae in the end, he doesn’t want her to be affiliated with him in any way. I hope Kyung-seok and Mi-rae will talk this specific issue out as they did with the issues they had in middle school so that all things are cleared. I wouldn’t want them to lose their friendship with each other nor Mi-rae to lose her friendship with Woo-young.

The crosswalk scene in this episode was so heart-fluttering. If I’m already squealing as crazy as I am over this simple scene (but really it wasn’t simple because it was their most intimate and touching scene together yet), just imagine what it’s going to be like when they kiss! AHHHH. I’m already screaming just thinking about it. Anyways, the way Kyung-seok pulled Mi-rae in and not only saved her life but also stood closer to her made me smile so much (I was swooning over Kyung-seok! Ahh). Their relationship is developing slowly but so pleasantly and every interaction or reaction is worth it. Now that their concerns about each other are out of the way, they see each other in a different perspective (or at least Mi-rae sees Kyung-seok differently now than before) and their interactions will also be different. I can’t wait to see how Kyung-seok reacts when he witnesses Mi-rae at the festival.

Speaking of the festival, the drama has focused on it quite frequently the past few episodes I’m actually expecting it to be grand and big! I’m expecting something big to happen at the festival. Maybe Kyung-seok’s going to save Mi-rae like he did a few times in the past or maybe he’s going to fall for her even harder when he watches her serve tables and pour her efforts into doing her job. Best yet would be if he stops her from serving tables so she can enjoy the festival with him. Now THAT would be the ideal situation, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens at the festival that the drama had been hyping up the past few episodes.

A small minor detail that I noticed in this episode and hope the drama explores was the comment that Soo-Ah made about her body. While short and brief, she shared her concerns about her thin body and how she’s always been worried about it at a young age. I really hope the drama explores this aspect of her character because it’ll not only finally be a nice change in utilizing her character differently but the drama will also address the larger issue relating to body shapes and sizes in society. The drama has already been focusing on physical appearances in terms of plastic surgery, but I also think it’ll be great if the drama explores discussions surrounding body sizes. If the drama does choose to talk about these topics, I think it could be a really good way to bring awareness about these issues and could serve as a platform to get viewers to reflect on these topics themselves.

Kyung-seok hasn’t opened up to his mom even with the conversation with Mi-rae which is expected. However, I wonder for how much longer he’s going to keep this up before he finally gives in and maybe reaches out to his mom to talk to her. While it’s clear he resents her at the moment for abandoning him and his family, I feel like another part of him still thinks about her in the back of his mind. He’s a kind person and I don’t think he’s completely shut her out. Maybe just finally talking about her with Mi-rae got him thinking twice about everything. What his mom did was unacceptable, but I can’t help but think that Kyung-seok is curious as to why his mom left them. Now that he’s much older he definitely has the ability to ask his mom for answers and to discover the truth.

The other highlight in this episode would definitely have to be Dad’s return back home and his interaction with Mi-rae after many weeks. I was so happy and glad to see him pick her up at the police station and walk her home. What was even more heart-warming was the way he would follow her just to make sure she got home safely. With that sub-plot, I was expecting Mi-rae to get kidnapped or something. I totally didn’t think it was Dad who was following Mi-rae so that was a nice surprise plot twist and I’m glad that Dad still shows that he cares for Mi-rae even if it’s not directly. She is his daughter after all and he will always love her – with or without plastic surgery.