Youth Of May – K-Drama Episode 3 Recap & Review

Mistaken Identity

Episode 3 of Youth of May starts with Myung-Hee and Soo-Ryeon both standing in front of Hee-Tae. Without skipping a beat, he greets Soo-Ryeon without giving away Myung-Hee’s secret. They’re both obviously awkward about this, and it’s made worse when Soo-Chan shows up and puts his hand on Myung-Hee’s shoulder.

Sitting down to dinner, Soo-Ryeon and Hee-Tae are both asked what they like about the other. Awkwardness inevitably ensues, especially with Myung-Hee sat silently watching this unfold. Well, eventually Hee-Tae and Soo-Ryeon head outside together where they air out their concerns.

Once there, Hee-Tae admits that he likes Myung-Hee. However, her friend is pretty scheming and claims Myung-Hee doesn’t really like him. Well, this soon hits a big snag when Hee-Tae heads inside and hands over a slip of paper for her at the door. Tellingly, Soo-Chan sees this unfold but doesn’t say anything.

When Hee-Tae leaves, Myung-Hee is forced into a difficult position. She tells Soo-Ryeon she’s not going to see Hee-Tae again but the truth is, the slip of paper is an invitation for their third and final date. Eventually she makes her decision and shows up, where Hee-Tae reveals that he knows she’s the cheeky nurse from the ER and not some upper-class girl.

While they talk, Jin-A happens to show up and she immediately becomes infatuated with Hee-Tae. She fumbles her words – and even more so when he agrees to take her number. Myung-Hee isn’t exactly happy but when their bus shows up, she hurries away.

In the morning, Soo-Chan speaks to Myung-Hee and breaks the bad news – Soo-Ryeon and Hee-Tae are going to get married soon. Well, at least that’s what their parents want anyway.

In reality, Hee-Tae isn’t exactly happy about rushing after Soo-Ryeon at her protest. When Soo-Ryeon falls, Hee-Tae shows up at the ER with Soo-Ryeon. The two bicker but Myung-Hee mistakes it as the two growing closer together. That is, until Hee-Tae reads Myung-Hee’s mind and tells her he doesn’t want to stop seeing the girl. Myung-Hee shatters his expectations though when she reveals she’s going abroad in a month’s time.

Back home, Myung-Hee speaks to her brother, Myung-Soo, who’s not exactly enthused about wearing his new shoes. A lot of this stems from Jung-Tae of course, who was bullying the boy last episode. Unfortunately things go awry when both Myung-Soo and Jung-Tae happen to be in the exact same room for their upcoming training. Even worse, they come to blows over a jacket and are forced into a punishment.

The next day, Myung-Hee shows up ready for the wedding preparations. Hee-Tae struggles to keep his eyes off her though, and interestingly his Father notices too. He doesn’t say anything but Hee-Tae most certainly does.

He brings Soo-Ryeon outside and tells her she has 3 days to admit the truth to her parents. If that time passes and she hasn’t said anything, he’ll do what he wants. That’s certainly bound to cause problems going forward, especially given Hee-Tae’s father is a dangerous guy and clearly has a short temper.

Hee-Tae heads over to Myung-Hee’s house but she’s not exactly thrilled to see him. In fact, he becomes distracted and slips, tumbling backward. As he does, Myung-Hee falls with him and lands on top of him. Jin-A watches wide-eyed from afar. It turns out Hee-Tae is actually there to be her tutor!

As day turns to night, Hee-Tae heads out and plays his guitar in the courtyard. Myung-Hee comes out to see him though, where he admits to liking her. In fact, Hee-Tae wants their last month together to be really special. “When I think of you Myung-Hee, I can’t help but sing.” After this cheesy hook, he asks her to go out with him until the end of May.

The Episode Review

Ah, this drama is so heartwarming! The comedy and romance is absolutely on-point and the chemistry between our two leads is off the charts. Their scenes really crackle and sparkle, with a great pacing to their dialogue. The supporting characters all play their part of course, but it’s clear this one is gearing up for a pretty emotional second half.

With the relationship only going until the end of May, I’d imagine we’ll get our obligatory time jump after that where the two wind up together again. That’s all speculation at this point though so take that with a pinch of salt!

The story itself works really well so far, with the four main characters all entwined together. In a way, it feels quite reminiscent of fellow kdrama She Would Never Know earlier this year, but unlike that tepid affair, it feels like this one has enough story to last across the entire run-time.

Either way, Youth of May is a wonderful Monday/Tuesday treat and this drama excels through the strength of its characters. Roll on tomorrow’s episode!