Currently, I'm bedridden and Netflix is my best friend as of late. I've rewatched most of my favourite shows, animes and korean dramas, which I'm guessing is to supplement for the fact that there are no Japanese dramas on netflix—but I'm rambling. Anyway, I've just finished rewatching You're Beautiful and I recently heard of a drama that came out not too long afterwards called Heartstrings, that starred two actors from the show: Park Shin Hye and Yonghwa. Heartstrings, from what the other wiki tells me, is a story of two university students who are musicians. Lee Gyu Won (Park Shin Hye) is a traditional korean music major from a prestigious family who wants to make her grandfather proud and she crosses paths with Lee Shin, an attractive, equally cocky and talented boy, who has an affinity for western style music and is in a rock band. I thought it sounded interesting so I decided to watch it and of course, liveblog it.
If you just want to skip to my opinions on it, then just scroll to the bottom~
The first episode starts out with Gyu Won, getting her and her grandfather's luggage at an airport. Her grandfather, I can only guess, is a well-renowned traditional musician; but he's also very stubborn and a huge jerkass to Gyu Won. He tells her to meet him at the hotel and stay there in their room. Gyu Won ends up breaking off one of the wheels on her luggage and it's here we meet Lee Shin, as he passes by, picks up and carries her luggage for her impatiently onto the bus with Gyu Won clumsily thanking him. It seems he's on vacation, biking around and seeing the sights. They end up sightseeing in the same place, coincidentally. Gyu Won notices Shin, but her concentration breaks as she gets an angry call from her grandfather, telling her to return to the hotel immediately. As she runs off, Shin notices her and takes a picture of her running off.
Gyu Won returns to find her grandfather gone and, seeing that she's only left with 2000 won (about two dollars), waits for him hungrily. Meanwhile her grandfather is eating lunch with some colleagues, it seems, and one of them mentions changing up the traditional with the new and Grandfather storms out of lunch and as soon as he gets back to the hotel, he barks at Gyu Won to grab their luggage because they're going home NOW. It hasn't even been ten minutes into the show and I'm already calling her Grandfather an asshole.
Fast forward to the near future, and Gyu Won is running to give a musical presentation in class and guess who just so happens to be in said class? One word. Rhymes with Shin. Anyway, she finishes her gayageum dperformance and the teacher yells at Shin to wake up and tell the class what he thought about Gyu Won's presentation.
- Lee Shin: nothing really...it made me fall asleep, though. *cue entire classroom laughing and Gyu Won shrinking in embarrasment*
Gyu Won later meets up with her friends and they ask her to come with them to go see this band called Stupid that are basically the Big Guys On Campus. She declines at first, due to other responsibilities such as finding entertainment for a fundraiser and ironing her grandfather's shirts, but they say that when she sees the band, she'll want to hire them on the spot because having them perform will make the fundraiser a success, so she decides to go.
The girls get to the venues and as soon as they survey the area for places to sit, Gyu Won gets an angry phone call from her grandfather because she never ironed his shirts. When she gets off the phone, she sees and accidentally eavesdrops on a conversation between Shin and a random girl.
- Random Girl: So, do you want to go out with me?Shin: No.Random Girl: Why? I thought you weren't seeing anyone else. Do you like someone?Shin: I just don't like ugly girls.
As soon as that line leaves Shin's mouth, the random girl bitchslaps him and walks off. Gyu Won is left with her jaw on the floor, stammering when she notices Shin being aware of her presence at that moment. Shin walks up to her and asks snobbly if she plans on asking him out too and she thinks he's out of his mind. He leaves and Gyu Won is left with the impression that Shin is just full of himself and voices said impression to her friend. Meanwhile, the band is starting up their performance and to Gyu Won's surprise, Shin's the lead singer and guitarist.
After the performance, she's ushered to go talk to Shin about recruiting his band for the fundraiser, when he gets onto his bike and directs him to another member of the group, who is actually the leader and rides off. Later, Shin is seen parked in front of a building where schoolgirls are coming out and commenting on his looks. His little sister comes out of the building and asks him to say Happy Birthday to one of the girls she left with. He does so and to Shin's surprise, the birthday girl pays his little sister before they head for home.
Gyu Won arrives at home to find her Western records and C Ds crushed and broken in the courtyard. She confronts her grandfather, who says that he didn't approve of "such nonsense" in his home and she retorts with the fact that he had no right to go through her things and do that with the presents her father sent her and her grandfather waves it off as if he had the right to do so and he should've done it secretly, while calling her a brat. It's shown that a long time ago, her father was going to leave and take Gyu Won with him but her grandfather wouldn't allow it because of his affiliation with Western style music, so Gyu Won stays with her grandfather, who then groomed her to be a Traditional prodigy. Gyu Won salvages whatever C Ds weren't completely damaged and cries alone in her room.
The next day, Gyu Won visits her teacher while she's in the hospital and tells her about the fundraiser and hiring Stupid to play. Gyu Won then tells the teacher to get better as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Shin gets approached by Yeo Joon Hee and finds out about the fundraiser. He at first declines and refuses to do it, but Joon Hee had already spent the money they were paid up front with, so they had no choice. Gyu Won then shovels her lunch down her through and runs off to write a paper in the library and she ends up seated in front of Shin, who's napping when suddenly, the random girl from the night of the show shows up with a basket of candy and assorted goods and apologizes before she walks off. Shin then gets up to leave, leaving the basket of candy with Gyu Won, who follows him to give him the basket and says that he shouldn't judge people by appearances and he accuses her of doing the same thing. She's left without anything to say when Shin tells her that he won't go out with her and he doesn't like ugly girls before turning back around to walk away. Gyu Won's pretty much pissed at this point and is probably going to tell him where he can stick his basket but she trips over herself and both the basket and herself have fallen to the ground, with Gyu Won clinging to Shin's leg. This part's where you start wincing in embarrassment because of the conclusions people are coming to due to what they see.
- Person 1: She must've been dumped.Person 2: I feel sorry for her.Person 3: Doesn't she have any self-respect?
Shin asks her if she's okay and then shakes her off before slinking away, leaving Gyu Won on the ground.
The "B plot" of the story hasn't anything to do with any of the other characters yet, so it hasn't grabbed any of my interest whatsoever therefore I have no idea what has happened or is happening, except something having to do with two people who love each other but they're angry at each other and the woman, Jung Yoon Soo, is actually a dance professor and while she's practicing that night, she falls and hurts her ankle. Shin surprises her by showing up and very tenderly, taking care of her ankle. Yoon Soo coldly rebuffs him, saying that her ankle is fine and he should go. He replies back that it's not okay just yet and goes back to tending to her ankle. It's implied that he might have feelings for her.
Joon Hee is then shown sitting atop a hedge, drunkenly speaking to himself and drinking. He then complains about how hungry he is. Okay, I'm pretty sure he has a bottomless appetite. The first scene we see him in, he's eating a bun talking about how he spent the money the band got paid upfront on food, then he goes on to scarf down two trays of food in the cafeteria. Anyway, as he's complaining about being so hungry, he says "mmm, smells so good..." and suddenly realizes that he can smell seasoned chicken being cooked and decides to follow his nose. He suddenly stops at the sight of a girl dancing alone in a studio. While she's strutting about and dancing with the accompaniment of a chair, he just dazedly walks right in. The girl notices him and asks what he's doing there before demanding that he leaves so she can practice. He makes a comment about her being his Natasha and she snaps at him, asking him if she looks like a foreigner to him and barks at him to get out. He remarks she has a weird personality but it's okay because she's really pretty, before going back on his quest for that seasoned chicken, leaving the girl completely dumbfounded and confused as to what happened and who the hell he is.
Shin and Yoon Soo walk home in what seems to be awkward silence. Shin then starts to make small talk about her foot feeling any better and how talented she is, when Yoon Soo says for him to not come and see her dance anymore like he did earlier. Then goes on to tell him to not do anything and just try to like someone his own age. Shin tearily refuses and bikes home
- Yoon Soo: Shin? Don't ever do that again. Don't come and watch me at the studio. And don't wait for me until late. Don't worry about whether i eat or if I'm hurt. Don't do anything. Try to like someone your own age.Shin: I don't want to.
The next day, a whole bunch of girls are screaming in front of a board with a poster that announces the cafe fundraiser Gyu Won's working on with Stupid as the musical guests and then we are treated to a montage of Gyu Won's traditional music group and Shin's band Stupid performing traditional-style and rock-style mashup of "Habanera" from Carmen.
The next day, Gyu Won is running to class with her gayageum in tow and Shin happens to stop beside her on his bike long enough to make a smartass remark and then he bikes off with Gyu Won yelling behind him not to be late for the fundraiser. Yoon Soo is working in her office when Shin walks in, telling her to come if she can make it and presenting her with a ticket to the fundraiser. Before she can say anything, he stops her and says that he won't bother her anymore and he walks out of the room. In the hallway, Shin pauses to look at her office door and then solemnly walks away as he flashbacks to the first moment he ever met her; it was one night he had stopped his bike to look at it and was distracted by Yoon Soo, dancing. He was instantly mesmerized and then she had fallen, spraining her ankle. While attempting to help her, Shin notices a large scar on her ankle before she had covered it up with her dress and told him to leave.
More B-plot stuff with two men, the man from before and his little brother who owns the venue, talking about Yoon Soo and how the other man had ran into her to his disappointment. It's said here that Yoon Soo had dumped the man and afterwards, the younger brother asks him to stick around for the band.
Joon Hee dreamily stumbles in while the members are practicing, declaring that he thinks he's in love.
- Joon Hee: You guys...I think I'm in love.Member: Huh, someone must've bought him a meal.Joon Hee: Nope.Member: A burger?Joon Hee: Nope.Other member: ...wait, she really didn't buy you any food?Joon Hee: Mhm...*snaps* Why?Member: You ALWAYS fall for girls who buy you food.Joon Hee: REALLY? WAS I ALWAYS THAT EASY?!Member: You mean you didn't know?
Joon Hee says he's for real and once again states how he thinks he's found his Natasha. Once he says that, the boys then try to figure out what the hell a "Natasha" is until it's time for their performance. Shin's phone rings and it's his little sister, Jung Hyun, who states that she thinks she's dying and Shin freaks out. He then bikes to the hospital. Meanwhile, Yoon Soo is staring at the ticket Shin gave her and is contemplating whether she should go or not. She then picks up her purse and the ticket is left on her desk.
The venue is packed with people and Gyu Won's group, Wind Flowers, opens up the fundraiser and thanks everyone for attending, for their proceeds will go towards Gyu Won's sickly professor's hospital bills. The dancer Joon Hee encountered is standing in the back all the while.
While all this is going on, Shin is sitting in front of the O.R. when his and Jung Hyun's mother comes rushing in asking what was wrong. It turns out she had acute appendicitis and needed to have surgery. They both decide to wait until she gets out. Shin remembers what time the performance was and when he's caught staring at his watch, his mother asks if he needs to be somewhere else, and he states that he doesn't.
The remaining members of Stupid have hit the stage without Shin and the crowd starts to murmur in confusion. Some girls start to complain about how they've been setting up for hours and maybe Shin isn't here and they complain even louder about how they only showed up to see him and how they feel they've been scammed. The band gets heckled while waiting for Shin.
Gyu Won's friend, Bo Wun, states that everyone's only here because of Stupid and wonders what they're going to do while Gyu Won states that he is dead meat. The dancer that Joon Hee met states there's no way Shin would've played for the fundraiser. The crowd gets completely restless and chants for Stupid to start already. Gyu Won gets up on stage and asks the boys to start playing. The crowd then quiets down and the band begins to play with Gyu Won singing in Shin's place. The girls who were once heckling the band to start are now swaying back and forth to the music and everyone seems to be satisfied with her voice.
Jung Hyun's just gotten out of surgery and Shin and their mother are with her when Shin is told to go home while their mother stays with Jung Hyun. Once he's in the lobby, Shin checks his watch and realizes that the fundraiser is over by now. Gyu Won and her friends are left bowing deeply and apologizing to the audience members who feel scammed because they only showed up for Shin.
- Girl 1: I feel so scammed right now!Girl 2: Shin didn't even sing!Girl 3: Who the hell is she? Why did she even sing? Fucking annoying!
The last line was said right in front of Gyu Won, who feels even more horrible that the night went completely sour due to Shin's no-show. Joon Hee says that Shin never skips out on a performance, so something important must've come up. Gyu Won curtly replies that it's not like she didn't know what kind of person Shin really is and how she actually kind of expected this. Bo Wun then asks why Joon Hee refers to him as 'Hyung' and Joon Hee replies that anyone who buys him food is a Hyung to him. Gyu Won storms off, leaving Bo Wun and Joon Hee wondering what they should do. The man from earlier who was the older brother to the man who runs the venue had been paying attention throughout the entire show, paying particular attention to Gyu Won, and says to himself that Korean Music could be fun.
Gyu Won and Bo Wun are sitting at the bus stop when Bo Wun leaves and the man comes up to Gyu Won. She states how she's not really in a good mood and it's best that he leaves her alone. He states he himself is in a good mood and asks if they can talk. She then hugs her gayageum close to her and asks if he's a pervert to which he replies that she'd have to look like Girls' Generation before that could ever happen. He asks her if she's ever sung before and complements her singing and she thanks him for coming to the fundraiser because they had raised a lot of money for her professor's medical bills. Her bus arrives and Gyu Won thanks him once again. The man notices that she had left something behind so he takes a cab to the hospital and looks for Professor Kim, the sick professor. He enters her room but no one is there. The man asks a nurse if Professor Kim is anywhere and the nurses states that the Professor had passed away. Speechless, the man leaves the hospital only to find Gyu Won hand over the money for Professor Kim's hospital bills and tearfully walk away. The man follows her and she asks why. Before he can properly answer, she says that it's always like this; how nothing turns out correctly and how she can never do anything right and how she was too late because professor Kim's passed away. Gyu Won starts to weep and the man puts his arms around her for comfort and her weeps turn into complete sobs.
The next day, Joon Hee is sleeping at his desk when someone calls for him because someone wants to see him; that someone turns out to be Shin. Joon Hee races out of the door and bombards Shin with questions and relays how the concert went and tells him to pay back the girls but be extra careful because they're all pissed, especially Gyu Won. Shin asks him to come along and Joon Hee says no. Shin tries to bribe him with barbeque and Joon Hee uncharacteristically says no and walks back into the classroom, so Shin goes off to find the girls by himself.
Shin searches through classrooms and suddenly stops at the sound of music. He stops at a door and watches through the window as Gyu Won plays her gayageum. When she stops, Shin lets himself in and she is NOT happy to see his face. Shin tells her that he came to give the money back and throws the money at her. Gyu Won states she doesn't want it, and through gritted teeth, she tells him exactly what she thinks of him and throws the money back at him.
- Gyu Won: You think you're so great, don't you? Because you're good-looking and popular? I heard your music too. *pats heart* It didn't even reach HERE. Don't think you can fool me!
Shin tells he gets why she's upset but she should take it because it was for her professor's hospital bill and that sends Gyu Won off the edge. She says she could never understand why girls would want a jerk as horrible as he is and yells at him to get lost and out of her sight before sending her hand straight for his face. Shin grabs her wrist before her hand has a chance to land and asks her if she really wants to see why they go for a guy like him.
AND THE FIRST EPISODE ENDS THERE.
Okay, so if you read all of that, I salute you.
My opinions? I like it so far. As always Park Shin Hye is playing a bubbly, clumsy cute character and I really like Joon Hee—he's so presh! Yonghwa as Shin makes me want to strangle him oh my God and the asshole fangirls and the asshole grandfather and just poor Gyu Won has;ljkdfsdf ah! It was an insane first episode. Didn't exactly bring on any kind of feeling except anger though. Lots of anger. And the random SNSD references...um. what? but yeah okay first episode gets a 3.5/5 yay
I don't think I'll liveblog anymore because that was grueling compared to just making snarky comments one after another on tumblr but this was a new experience so yay okay bye
