A Love So Beautiful – K-drama Episode 12 Recap & Review

Declaration of Love

Episode 12 of A Love So Beautiful begins in Spring of 2018 and they’re now seniors. Se-Heyong spots his new target as Mi-Nyeo catches his eye. Jin-Hwan rushes in to announce breaking news; Ms Moon is back and they’ll have a volunteer day – and a picnic. Everyone is excited. As soon as she arrives, they jump on Ms Moon, asking if their picnic can be a camping-style barbeque.

School lets out and Sol-I follows Heon, fantasising about the love confession she wishes to create. She checks her funds and Dae-Sung asks what she’s planning. They hit a party store and play, sampling various masks and headdresses. She buys the decorations she’d been picturing.

Coach calls Dae-Sung back to school to meet the coach from the national swim team. He tells Sol-I he can’t walk her home and she confirms that he’ll attend the class barbecue.

Heon is outside with his half-full bag of trash, waiting for Sol-I to return. He asks about the box she’s carrying and she says it’s a surprise. She wonders if he was waiting for her but he denies it, muttering to himself that he must be crazy.

Ha Young follows Mr Lee to the cinema again but Jin-Hwan trails her and insists on joining her. As they argue Mr Lee appears so they all watch the movie together, Jin-Hwan sat in the middle. He tries to feed Ha Young popcorn and chats through the movie, annoying her and killing the plan.

Everyone clears trash at the volunteer day with pairings taking their course. Sol-I follows Heon as he cleans but he doesn’t seem to mind. Se-Hyeong tries to put the moves on Mi-Nyeo but she’s not biting. Jin-Hwan tries to make up with Ha Young, only she’s still angry at him.

Meanwhile, at school Dae-Sung swims for time in front of the national swim coach.

During a break, Sol-I finds Heon lying on a blanket, eyes closed. She slides in next to him and when he rolls over they’re face-to-face. They both turn away, effected by the moment.

Ha Young is watching Mr Lee and Jin-hwan volunteers to be her backrest. He tries to tell her how he feels but she ignores him, more interested in watching Mr Lee’s expressions. Jin-Hwan puts an earbud in her ear and she turns to him to ask about the song. Their up-close moment just about kills him and he runs away. She returns to gazing at Mr Lee.

The national representatives tell Dae-Sung he’s got a shot at the team and even the Olympics. He and Coach are thrilled.

At the barbeque, Hui-Ji asks Heon to open her water bottle for her. Sol-I, sitting on his opposite side, watches the moment and frets at her own water bottle. He reaches over and opens hers too. Soon after, Sol-I decides the moment and asks Heon to meet her at the path in five minutes.

She, Ha Young and Jin-Hwan hang decorations and light candles at the spot. Ha Young and Jin-Hwan hide as they hear Heon approach. Staying out of sight, they’re not able to see Heon but count his likely steps to the meeting place.

Hui-Ji approaches Heon to talk and as Ha Young hits the lights, Hui-Ji grabs Heon and hugs him, keeping his back to Sol-I. Sol-I steps out, expecting to see a surprised and happy Heon, but instead witnesses the hug. Dae-Sung arrives and turns her away from watching Heon. Heon finds them among the lights and candles, her head on Dae-Sung’s shoulder, surrounded by banners pronouncing Day 1.

The Episode Review

The title of this episode alone made me edgy. If you’ve watched any K-dramas before, you know love confessions come with spectacle and mix-ups. Of course, this is based on a Chinese series but same realm – drama, drama, drama.

Sol-I does tend to go a little overboard when it comes to Heon. She can’t help herself. But wow, that’s quite a display. The banners declaring Day 1 seemed a bit much. But you can’t knock her sincerity, it’s always at a pinnacle. No wonder Dae-Sung can’t get enough.

This episode was rife with misunderstanding, leaving Heon witnessing Dae-Sung with Sol-I – not really what was happening. He may be a little upset, but nothing to the heart-break Sol-I must be experiencing, having spotted Heon in a clench with Hui-Ji. And just as she’d psyched herself up to confess.

As this is drama-land, the confusion won’t be cleared up with a simple chat. To be fair, if this happened in your school, a conversation wouldn’t be the next event either, would it? Rarely is anything so simple. At mid-way through the series, I have faith they’ll eventually clear things up. It just may take a few episodes…