Soundtrack #1 – Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

Track 3 – Unrequited Love

Episode 3 of Soundtrack #1 begins with Eun-Soo asking Sun-Woo about his crush “Jennifer.” Sun-Woo refuses to say much, telling his best friend to drop it. Of course, we know that Sun-Woo’s crush is actually her.

Eun-Soo inevitably hangs on this revelation, and in fact she seems to be repressing her own feelings, given some of the lyrics she’s written in her notebook. This also links back to a moment from school where tun-Soo got him a new camera and the pair discussed the future.

Back in the present, Sun-Woo receives some great news. He’s been accepted to collaborate with a really talented artist. The flip side though, means he needs to leave Korea within the next week. You can tell Sun-Woo is conflicted, especially as he knows how this would affect Eun-Soo.

Meanwhile, Eun-Soo heads in to see Wooil and shows him the new, improved lyrics. “You’re doing great” He says, allowing her to see Jay Jun and sorting out a dinner for the following evening. Only, she hasn’t actually told Sun-Woo yet. Instead, she broaches the subject of love with her friends, Ma-Ri and Gyeol-Han, later that night. These two were actually friends beforehand, and turned to lovers in the past.

Back home, Sun-Woo admits that it’s been 8 years since he started liking his crush. That is, of course, when he and Eun-Soo started getting closer together, especially if the dates on his computer are anything to go by.

Sun-Woo is going to tell his crush… but when? Well, that’s a question spinning around in Eun-Soo’s mind when she wakes up in the morning. She’s not ready though and gets cold feet, hurrying out in the morning to the studio without hearing Sun-Woo out.

At work, Wooil expresses how much he likes Eun-Soo, and that night the pair end up having dinner together. in the middle of their food, Sun-Woo comes bundling in and awkwardly decides to crash their party. This is a nice way of showing the jealousy and protective side of Sun-Woo, who stares daggers through Wooil.

Back home, Sun-Woo shows off his best friend’s bike, which he’s fixed up for her. Sun-Woo looks close to revealing the truth again but this time Eun-Soo knocks him down, pointing out how good their friendship is. However, that’s not what he wants to talk to her about.

Sun-Woo reveals that he’s leaving in the morning and his big photography gig means he may well make good on his promise to be famous. It catches Eun-Soo by surprise. Because of that, Sun-Woo keeps his true feelings a secret.

While Sun-Woo prepares to leave, Eun-Soo urges him to listen to her song when she releases it. This moment sees Eun-Soo reflect on a similar segment from the past, where Sun-Woo was leaving and he arrived to see her at work, hugging his friend goodbye. When Sun-Woo left though, the news hit Eun-Soo like a white truck, causing her to break down into tears.

“Maybe ‘ll be able to write the best lyrics this time,” Eun-Soo thinks in the present, finally understanding about unrequited love given that’s what she and Sun-Woo appear to have.

During the Bonus Track of the episode, we’re in the past, just after the moments involving Sun-Woo revealing that he’s leaving to Eun-Soo. He visits Ma-Ri at the restaurant and reflects on how he feels about this. When he leaves, Sun-Woo passes the restaurant from earlier and notices Eun-Soo crying.

The Episode Review

The penultimate episode of Soundtrack #1 sees Sun-Woo and Eun-Soo dance around their true feelings. For Sun-Woo, he’s always had feelings for his best friend but he’s kept that bottled up for such a long time that now he doesn’t want to ruin what they have.

Juxtaposing that is Eun-Soo, who now knows about Sun-Woo’s feelings. For her, Sun-Woo has been a constant rock in her life, someone she can rely on and turn to at every step of her life. Now that he’s going, that heartache and longing seems to show that she really does have romantic feelings for her friend. At least, those are the vibes being projected anyway.

This sets up a really interesting final episode because this really could go either way. Do we get a happily ever after conclusion? Or is everything going to be left on a bittersweet note? We’ll have to wait and see but for now, this show has been a really solid K-drama offering, despite its short run-time.