Love is in the air for our newly founded couple. Though they might have had time to themselves to navigate their relationship, they now have to learn how to act around everyone else and to prepare for the worst. But as we shall see, sometimes things aren’t as bad as they always seem. There’s no need for constant worrying and brooding as everything will eventually be alright.
My I.D. is Gangnam Beauty Episode 15: My Boyfriend is Do Kyung-seok
Kyung-seok gives Mi-rae a back hug in the kitchen and adds that he’s in love with the perfume she’s wearing. She does the same back to him, and the two finally remember about their candle-making activity. They then strike a conversation about honesty and being honest with everyone about their relationship. Mi-rae makes the final decision to tell everyone about their relationship after listening to Kyung-seok’s phone call with Woo-jin. She’ll be fine. They should tell everyone.
The couple enter the company building for another day of their internship. Mi-rae is anxious to reveal to everyone about their relationship, but Kyung-seok reminds her to not rush things. Meanwhile, Ye-na and Tae-hee ask Yoo-eun questions about Soo-Ah. They discuss the rumors they heard about her in regards to Tae-young and Chan-woo and just want to know if Yoo-eun knows anything about Soo-Ah.
Soo-Ah meets with Won-ho to ask him about the photos she found of herself online. She assumes he must have been the one who uploaded them since he was caught taking pictures of her before without her permission. Though Won-ho claims that he sent them only to a few friends, Soo-Ah demands that he delete all the photos before she reports him. Her true colors begin to show.
Everyone receives their last assignment at the internship program. They are given the opportunity to make their own perfume. The instructor teases Mi-rae and Kyung-seok and comments that they can make a perfume together since they’re a couple. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Mi-rae admits in front of everyone that yes, she and Kyung-seok are indeed a couple. Kyung-seok acknowledges the relationship as well. Everyone reacts in shock and happiness except for Soo-Ah and Ji-hyo.
After the internship, Mi-rae and Kyung-seok walk back home together. Everyone else might have reacted positively to the news, but Mi-rae worries that Soo-Ah will be hurt if she saw the two of them together. Kyung-seok reassures her not to worry so the two decide to go grab some food together.
Yoo-eun checks in on Soo-Ah to see how she’s feeling after the news about Kyung-seok and Mi-rae’s relationship. Soo-Ah claims that she’s doing fine. It’s not like she and Kyung-seok were dating or anything. Meanwhile, Mi-rae and Kyung-seok enjoy lunch with each other. While eating, Mi-rae can’t help but notice the group of high school students sitting near them. She feels envious of the students as that was always something she wanted to do when she was in high school. Kyung-seok reminds her that it’s never too late and volunteers to eat with her in their high school uniforms which they both still have to this day.
Kyung-seok’s Dad is criticized for gifting Kyung-hee with a luxurious bag which she showed off in her streaming videos. His job as the mayor should be to help the public instead. Back at the laboratory, Tae-hee prepares to confront Soo-Ah about her meeting with Tae-young. When she and Ye-na arrive at the restroom, they overhear Soo-Ah puking into the toilet. They assume she must be throwing up after having eaten. Mi-rae passes by the two and lies that Soo-Ah is puking because of her upset stomach. Soo-Ah storms out of the restroom after hearing their conversation.
Soo-Ah doesn’t want Mi-rae to protect her or worry about her. She comments that Mi-rae was only able to win over Kyung-seok after having gotten plastic surgery. Mi-rae shouldn’t think she’s better than anyone else just because she’s with Kyung-seok.
Soo-Ah marches out of the building. Not even Yoo-eun can stop her. As she makes her way to the exit, she witnesses Won-ho and Sung-woon staring at pictures on Won-ho’s cell phone. She grows paranoid and grabs his cell phone to make sure they’re not staring at any photos of her. Unlike what she assumes, they’re staring at photos they’ve taken of themselves. Won-ho doesn’t like Soo-Ah like that anymore and he’s gotten rid of anything on his phone that has to do with her. Won-ho adds that maybe it was a good thing Kyung-seok chose Mi-rae over her. Oof. That must have hurt.
Kyung-seok and Mi-rae return to their respective houses to find their high school uniforms. After finding his uniform, Kyung-seok gets ready to leave the house (aka his Dad’s house), but he overhears some noise coming from his dad’s office. Dad hasn’t changed one bit and still blames Mom for everything. Kyung-hee shouldn’t have escaped and gone to Mom’s house. Kyung-seok remains worried for Kyung-hee though. He shares with Dad that Kyung-hee just wants their affection and attention, but isn’t receiving any of that because of Dad.
Mi-rae informs Hyun-jung of her decision to go public with her relationship. She’s told everyone at the internship program and most of them reacted positively to the news. Mi-rae worried about their reactions for nothing.
The next morning, Kyung-seok and Mi-rae sport their high school uniforms and revisits the home town their middle school is located in. Nothing’s changed much and they reminisce old middle school memories. The couple stops by a cafe to grab some food. Mi-rae still wants to look pretty in front of Kyung-seok so she only takes a bite of her burger once Kyung-seok turns his head and closes his eyes. Lol. They’re so cute.
Rumors and gossip surrounding Soo-Ah continues to spread throughout the school. Even Ji-hyo is worried for being affiliated with Soo-Ah. All the gossip gets to Soo-Ah and she can’t stop thinking about how others feel about her. Yoo-eun thankfully reaches out to her and asks to meet.
Kyung-seok and Mi-rae eventually make their way to their middle school campus. Thanks to Hyun-jung, Mi-rae was able to feel at ease when she was still a middle school student. They revisit their classroom and discover a bunch of young kids playing basketball outside. Mi-rae envies the girls sitting on the sidelines cheering for the boys. She’s always wanted to do that too so Kyung-seok gives her the opportunity to finally try. Kyung-seok joins the middle school boys in playing some basketball while Mi-rae cheers for him fervently as she watches. After the game, the two lovebirds agree to eat some dinner and go watch a movie.
Soo-Ah meets with Yoo-eun at a cafe. Yoo-eun wants to get to the bottom of things and know why Soo-Ah doesn’t like Mi-rae. Soo-Ah admits that she feels inferior to Mi-rae. She dislikes that Mi-rae’s plastic surgery operation was successful and made her look pretty.
Won-ho meets with Woo-young to discuss his concerns about the photos of Soo-Ah that were posted online. He shows Woo-young the pictures of her on the internet and pleads for Woo-young to help investigate the truth behind the photos.
As Kyung-seok and Mi-rae settle in at the movie theater, they overhear an adult make demeaning comments about their relationship. Though Kyung-seok grows enraged and tempted to confront the man, it’s Mi-rae who advocates for them and says something to the man. He leaves the two alone and disappears from the movie theater. Mi-rae and Kyung-seok are able to enjoy the movie peacefully afterwards. LOL, yaaaas! I love me a strong, confident, and bold Mi-rae!
Soo-Ah is reminded of her middle school days when she would be criticized and poked fun at for her looks. One day, she’s reunited with her mother for a short while and finally has someone to take care of her and look after her. It was then that she then changed and started to receive compliments from many of her peers for being smart and beautiful. She grew attached to those kind of comments ever since and did anything to keep them coming. After reminiscing the middle school memories, she returns to the present and overhears camera shutter noises. Soo-Ah grows paranoid.
After the movies, Kyung-seok and Mi-rae hurry to the bus stop to take the last bus. However, they’re two minutes late and there aren’t any taxis available to take them home. Since Mi-rae’s parents live near by and aren’t home, the couple heads to her house to rest there. While Mi-rae changes out of her uniform and into her pajamas, Kyung-seok finds an old photo of Mi-rae when she was younger. Mi-rae is so occupied in taking the picture away from Kyung-seok that she doesn’t even realize that she laid on top of him on the couch to retrieve the picture. However, that’s all Kyung-seok can focus on and he grows nervous.
He apologizes for having wanted to look at the picture and promises to not look at it again. Mi-rae can’t seem to fathom how he can fall in love with her after knowing how she used to look like in the past. But to Kyung-seok, looks has never mattered to him. He fell in love with Mi-rae for who she was.
Mi-rae’s concerns start to fade and she allows Kyung-seok to stare at the same photo of her again for a good three seconds. She’s still a little insecure though and can’t seem to wrap her head around the fact that Kyung-seok likes her. At that moment, he swoops in for a kiss and kisses her on the lips. One kiss isn’t enough so he goes in for another one again a few seconds later.
My Thoughts:
WOOOOOT, LOOK AT ALL OF THAT LIP ACTION. LOL. Anyways, there were so many great things about this episode and it probably has to be my favorite one yet (which doesn’t say a lot because each episode has delivered in some kind of way or another). This episode was truly dedicated to our new couple and their ability to navigate their new relationship that is an entirely new experience for the both of them.
Watching Kyung-seok and Mi-rae spend time as a couple was so dreamy, wholesome, and adorable. You can literally just see why the two are meant for each other and why they’re so compatible. Kyung-seok helped Mi-rae achieve some of her biggest wishes such as cheering for a boy while he plays basketball or going out and about and hanging out with friends in her middle school uniform. All these things are finally possible now that Mi-rae has Kyung-seok and it was so adorable watching this. Kyung-seok continues to remain the respectful, loving, and caring person that he’s always been, and I love how he always takes into consideration Mi-rae first. He’s always placed Mi-rae first before himself, and he shows it in the smallest ways possible. The two remain as adorable even as romantic partners and there are so many great things about them to watch. I also just love how realistic their relationship is, especially in regards to the part where Mi-rae still wants to look pretty in front of Kyung-seok. They’re still in their honeymoon phase, hehe.
While I’m not necessarily satisfied with the direction that the drama took with Soo-Ah’s character in this episode, I’m glad to say that we at least received something about her. Though a little too late into the game, we finally learn the motives and reasons behind Soo-Ah’s story and childhood. I can see how having such a toxic and insecure childhood has lead Soo-Ah to become the adult she is now, but in no way does it justify or excuse what she has done to Mi-rae or any of the other characters. Soo-Ah’s hurt many people and has done many horrible and tragic things in college. I appreciate the drama trying to show us her reasons and for painting her in a different light, but my thoughts on her still stand. I don’t feel pity for her and I don’t think her character should be redeemed as easily as the drama is making it out to be. She needs to serve the consequences for her actions and decisions.
With the last episode airing in just a few hours, I wonder if Kyung-seok’s parents are ever going to reconcile or at least attempt to. Now that Dad’s in trouble, he might find that he might need Mom’s help to better the situation. Maybe this will then present an opportunity for the family to reconvene and be truthful with one another about everything. It’s what the family needs at this point and everyone should set aside their own thoughts to consider how the other feels. Kyung-hee and Kyung-seok had a difficult childhood growing up and they deserve to at least witness their parents own up to their mistakes, admit their faults, and take steps to move forward in life with or without each other.
Watching Mi-rae and Kyung-seok navigate their first relationship as a couple made me happy (and lowkey envious because now I’m suddenly wanting a partner too! Lol). I’m glad that the drama didn’t focus on the issue of everyone’s reaction and instead played it off safe. I assumed that with how much the drama was focusing on it the last few episodes, everyone was going to react negatively to Mi-rae and Kyung-seok’s relationship and then the two were going to have to learn how to manage these reactions. Instead, the drama taught us (and Mi-rae) not to worry and chose not to make their relationship a big deal which was nice and relieving. I think it also proves the point that there shouldn’t be anything surprising or shocking about the fact that Mi-rae and Kyung-seok are in a relationship with each other. As Kyung-seok mentioned, he’s in love with Mi-rae because of her sweet personality and that’s something that everyone else should realize and accept as well. Now that we’ve gotten this issue out of the way, there shouldn’t be much standing in the way of our lovebirds.
With only one more episode left to go, it seems like our couple will finally earn that happy ending that they missed and strived for when they were younger. I don’t know what it is about the 15th episode of dramas I’ve watched so far, but this episode was so sweet, lively, cheerful, and bright. It in a way reminded me of the 15th episode in ‘Miss Hammurabi’ where the two leads there also went on a date and had their first kiss with each other! Here’s to hoping that there are many more kisses and hand-holding and movie dates between Mi-rae and Kyung-seok. They deserve to be happy after all that they’ve gone through, and what a better way to be happy than with each other.
One response to “My ID is Gangnam Beauty: Episode 15 Recap”
Very very nice. I enjoyed it. Thanks for recapping