I originally wasn’t going to even watch this particular drama because its about adultery and having been the jilted spouse, I have strong opinions about that sort of thing. I also don’t like watching shows that have behavior that I don’t want to emulate. Monkey see, monkey do really does apply to life. A friend of mine told me that the first episode has some really great piano playing in it and knowing how I like that sort of thing, she suggested I just watch the first episode. Fine. So, with prejudice in hand, I watched the first episode and found myself intrigued by the characters I saw.
First was our married couple. Kang Joon Hyung, played by Park Hyeok-Kwon, is a piano professor who is surrounded by more talented colleagues. His wife is Oh Hye Won, played by Kim Hee-Ae, an elegant former pianist who now works for the foundation that sponsers the school that Joon Hyung works at. She must balance her loyalties between her two bosses who are the second wife and first wife daughter of the foundations/school’s president. To say that Step Mom and Step daughter are at odds for control of the school is putting it mildly. Her marriage to Joon Hyung is friendly but loveless. She is a kind, straight as an arrow sort of person who gets the job done. She lives her life in an upstanding way and is considered almost a stick in the mud by her more corrupt bosses, but they like her anyway. She also has a knack for knowing excellent piano playing when she hears it and is often asked by her husband to listen to potential new students.
Lee Sun Jae, played by Yoo Ah In, is a poor delivery boy who loves the piano. He’s basically taught himself to play and has next to no formal training. He listens to good piano players and then copies their style to improve his own. He comes from a world where his love of music are unrecognized or seen as just a quirk. He has a girlfriend who is more into him than he is into her. He is a very needy character looking for approval. When he unintentionally plays a piano tuned for a major concert, he comes to the notice of Professor Kang who asks his wife to judge whether he is really as amazing as he seems.
Sun Jae honest and loving playing captures Hye Won’s musical heart as any music lover knows too well. She sees before her an amazing talent that needs some direction but that is all. Sun Jae however is captured by her care and appreciation of him and his music. Her first evaluation of him lasts like 8 hours and both are emotionally spent by the experience. Sun Jae quickly develops a crush on his beautiful teacher and in a twist, confides this love to an online confidant that turns out to be Hye Won in disguise, who unbeknownst to them both had been talking to him for awhile over piano playing and an illness that Sun Jae had. Charmed by his confession but not interested in confusing the boy, she keeps things at arms length. They convince Sun Jae to enroll in their school but on the day of his audition his mother passes away.
This puts Sun Jae into a tailspin. His mother died while she was out getting him something for his audition and he feels guilty about it. He sells off his piano and enlists for civil service, running away from what he loves most as he tries to hide from the pain. Not wanting him to totally give up on his music, Hye Won sends him a book about a famous pianist with underlined phrases to help shake him up and bring him back to his senses. Moved by her care and desperately needing comfort, he ends up at her house and confronts her with his confused feelings, leading to a kiss neither of them are prepared for.
While Sun Jae is more than willing to start something with his beautiful teacher, Hye Won is not about to jeopardize her life. Once she comes to her senses she tells him to leave and pretends nothing happened. This hurts and angers Sun Jae and later on contributes to him getting in trouble and lands himself in jail.
Professor Kang comes to the rescue to get him out and he brings him to his house as a way to protect him. Hye Won, this whole time, has been mulling over all their interactions and is struggling with his effect on her.
This is where we find ourselves by the end of the 4th episode. I hadn’t intended to watch all four up to this point, but I was curious how such a straight laced character would get herself into trouble. Having a needy musician desperately needing your comfort could do it if you don’t keep those boundaries up and I think Sun Jae is going to push them to the limit.