A Love So Beautiful – K-drama Episode 8 Recap & Review

Happy Birthday

Episode 8 of A Love So Beautiful begins during a class break as other kids are chatting. Sol-I writes a note, tossing it to Heon. He doesn’t reply, so she flings another one. Heon knows how this goes, so he drops a reply on her desk. With this, they’ve agreed to get together next Saturday and she shrieks in happiness.

Ha-Young invites Sol-I to the Dream Concert on Saturday, but Sol-I says she’s watching Manchester United that day with Heon. Jin-Hwan overhears, astounded that she has tickets. Oh, isn’t there plenty of time? Jin-Hwan brings her back to Earth.

Sol-I cleans at home and asks for allowance, enough to buy tickets. Begging doesn’t seem to help either.

Ha-Young gives Jin-Hwan a month’s worth of allowance to club in for a birthday gift for Sol-I. Dae-Sung overhears – how did he not learn about this sooner? They tell him to just concentrate on his upcoming swim meet. As ever, Heon keeps an ear open, but doesn’t join in. Ha-Young tells Jin-Hwan he’s dead if he loses her money.

At the swim meet, the whole gang is there cheering for Dae-Sung along with their classmates. It’s a big one – if he wins, he’ll be the best in Korea. And he does, gold medal for Dae-Sung!

TV stations line up to interview him afterwards, asking how he overcame his slump to win again. He says it’s thanks to her, pointing to Sol-I. Interviewers jump on it, asking if she is his girlfriend. So does Se-Hyeong, teasing her. Heon walks away.

In the classroom, Se-Hyeong is ready for the gossip asking when they’ll officially announce their relationship. When she spots Heon in the doorway, Sol-I runs to him reminding of their plans for Saturday.

Sol-I seeks a part-time job but isn’t having much luck. Dae-Sung happens to be working at a burger place she enters and they chat. She asks what he wrote in the Game of Truth and he panics, going with – burgers. He loves burgers. She’s beyond pleased as you know what that means. It must have been Heon.

The next day Sol-I approaches Heon to give him something before Saturday. She presents a signed Park Ji-Sung team shirt. He says he doesn’t need it. Disappointed and saying she’d gone through a lot to get it, she mentions Dae-Sung but before she can say else, Heon asks how much the shirt cost. He hands her the money and says he won’t be there Saturday either, trouncing her. She throws it back at him and they both walk away angry.

Jin-Hwan goes to pains to avoid Ha-Young, so she knows something is up. He lost the money. She alters plans and stalks Heon. You know Sol-I is trying to get a ticket to the MUFC match, right? Why do you think? She tells him the Dream Concert with all Sol-I’s favourite singers is on the same day. And it happens to be her birthday.

Outside school, Coach is looking for Dae-Sung. Sol-I tells him how great Dae-Sung is and how much he loves swimming. She tips him to the burger place.

Coach buys a meal from Dae-Sung but doesn’t say anything until he’s leaving – then asks him to please come home. Dae-Sung clues in his co-worker (and us) with ‘that’s my Dad.’

At home, Heon calls Jin-Hwan to find out how to get Dream Concert tickets. Then he calls Sol-I to ask her the lunch menu and hangs up. She gets the message but claims to herself that she’s still angry. Her Dad surprises her with two tickets to Man Utd.

At school, Heon greets Sol-I, which is rare in itself. Dae-Sung thanks Sol-I, confirming he went home the previous night. Heon listens during the complimenting and hears Dae-Sung invite Sol-I to hang out the following day so he interrupts, asking for the correction tape.

Sol-I is waiting at the entrance to the match and Heon is waiting at the entrance to the concert. He runs to meet her but the tickets turn out to be counterfeit. They say ‘Manchester Unit’ – awesome. Her Dad had bought them as two-for-ones online.

They sit outside the stadium and Sol-I asks about the Game of Truth. He shows her that he picked his own note. It reads: ‘I don’t want to play this game.’ Heooonnn. Really?

Sol-I’s had said: ‘The person I like is here.’ A flashback to Dae-Sung who looks like he knows what that means.

They head for home and Heon wishes Sol-I a happy birthday.

Jump forward and we see Sol-I is wearing a light on her head, looking for the money she’d thrown at Heon. He points out that it was days ago, so of course it’s not still here. She says the match shirt looks great on him anyway. He chuckles, saying Park Ji-Sung’s number is actually 13 (not 31). Doh.

The Episode Review

Another cute and funny episode of Sol-I trying, always trying, to make things work. Well, all of them are like that really. But in that inevitable way, if something can go wrong, it does. Many gold stars for intention.

Sol-I plans in advance for Heon’s birthday but its not nearly early enough to get tickets to see Manchester United. It would have sold out in minutes, starring national treasure Park. But it’s sweet she tries – and as a gift to him on her own birthday. This episode takes place in 2007 so Park Ji-Sung did play for Man U then. And here’s an image with his number, just as Heon says.

An expensive episode in money lost, if you count all the scams and incidents. Poor Mrs Shin – it’s better if she doesn’t know.

When Sol-I asks Dae-Sung point blank what he wrote in the Game of Truth – hamburgers, he claims. Yes, that makes complete sense. And oh how Sol-I wants to believe it’s true – as that would meant Heon must have written that he likes her. It actually didn’t land as disastrously as it could have. As in, at least her misunderstanding wasn’t pronounced publicly in front of either of them.

Unlike Dae-Sung pointing out Sol-I after his gold medal win. Oh dear, that’s got implications. But other than juicing up Se-Hyeong, it seems to have faded – at least for now.

*Dream Concert is one of the largest K-pop concerts in South Korea, featuring a line-up of popular artists. Running since 1995, it’s typically held in a stadium in Seoul.