Soundtrack #2: Episodes 1-2
by solstices
A winsome heroine, an earnest hero, and post-breakup enemies-to-lovers — what’s not to love? Soundtrack #2 is off to a great start, introducing our setup with zippy humor and lovely music. We’re only a third into the story, but I’m already rooting for these characters and their happiness.
EPISODES 1-2
The first thing we learn about DO HYUN-SEO (Geum Sae-rok) is that she has an aptitude for music, evidenced by how she quickly manages to play a song by ear despite hearing it for the first time. Unfortunately, even with her illustrious achievements during her academy days, music hasn’t been able to pay the bills. After folding her dreams, Hyun-seo now makes a humble living doing food deliveries, taking odd jobs, and running a quaint snack bar. The only connection Hyun-seo has left to her musical passion is her piano tutoring job.
Meanwhile, our man of the hour JI SOO-HO (Noh Sang-hyun) is the esteemed CEO of a successful streaming company. Everything is going well, until all of a sudden it’s not — a sudden bout of tinnitus sends him fainting to the office floor. Turns out Soo-ho’s workaholic tendencies have gotten the better of him, and his doctor prescribes him a dose of rest supplemented with a recommendation of classical music.
Soo-ho’s best friend and business partner CHANG-SHIK (Kwon Seung-woo) has his back, which means he puts on his best sad-puppy-eyes look to convince Soo-ho into a month of rest and piano lessons. On Soo-ho’s behalf, Chang-shik contacts Hyun-seo through a mutual acquaintance, unknowingly reconnecting the two exes.
When Hyun-seo arrives at Soo-ho’s luxurious house, she’s appalled to find out that he’s her new employer. Never mind the double-time pay that she’s already received in advance — she’s outta here! Soo-ho isn’t any more enthused about the situation than she is, and a flashback tells us why.
Four years ago, Hyun-seo stood Soo-ho up at the airport moments before a romantic getaway. She hadn’t seen a future beyond their shaky financial situations, and she told him as much over the phone. It’s over between them. A glimpse into their past reveals that the pragmatic Hyun-seo had been nursing such concerns for a while, and Soo-ho’s efforts to cheer her up had come across as naive and idealistic, causing the rift between them to grow.
In the aftermath of their breakup, Soo-ho had wallowed in misery. Yet in the years since, he’d managed to get back on his feet and climb out of his humble semi-basement home, progressing all the way to the financial security Hyun-seo had aspired towards. Now, Soo-ho doesn’t miss any chance to flaunt his wealth in Hyun-seo’s face, his wounded pride triumphing over any gentlemanly etiquette.
It’s that same pride that has him following Hyun-seo out to assert that he’ll proceed with the lessons, just as Hyun-seo strides back in to declare that she’ll continue teaching him. What feelings? What breakup? They’re just teacher and student, no strings attached at all! (We’ll see how long that lasts.)
Both Hyun-seo and Soo-ho may claim that they’re one-hundred-percent over their past romance, but neither their friends nor their hearts are that easily convinced. When Hyun-seo digs out an old music book to use for their lessons, she accidentally rediscovers a memento from their past. Back when they’d been in love, Soo-ho had scribbled corny jokes in the margins of Hyun-seo’s sheet music — and they bring a smile to her face in the present, just as they had all those years ago. Aww.
Also, can I just say that I love the humor in this show? For all his suave posturing, Soo-ho’s a giant manchild who eats cereal straight out of the box and blows on window panes to doodle on them (much to Chang-shik’s fond exasperation). Not only does Chang-shik have to literally pry Soo-ho’s laptop out of his grubby hands, but he also has to confiscate every last electronic device to prevent Soo-ho from sneakily doing work while his back is turned.
At least Soo-ho gets to keep his phone, which he uses to mindlessly scroll through social media until he chances upon someone that catches his eye. It’s the singer-songwriter “K” (Sohn Jung-hyuk, a.k.a. Demian), crooning a melodious tune, and Soo-ho immediately contacts him with a business proposal.
K winds up meeting our heroine too — they’ve coincidentally taken up the same temp job of queuing in line on someone else’s behalf. He helps Hyun-seo retrieve her lost AirPod from a ditch, she adds piano harmonization to his latest composition, and just like that they’re huddling together through the overnight cold and striking up a friendship.
When Soo-ho listens to the piece, he’s amazed by how much better it sounds with the piano chords. Excited, K asks if his “piano friend” can join the project, and Soo-ho doesn’t give it much thought before agreeing. After all, this project was K’s request — he wants to complete it together before finalizing a contract.
Since K will be temporarily returning to the States in a week, he hasn’t quite figured out accommodation yet, so Soo-ho offers him a room in his sprawling abode. K gratefully accepts, which means he’s strumming away on his guitar when Hyun-seo arrives for Soo-ho’s piano lesson — resulting in a three-way point-and-stare of confusion, hee.
Looks like we’ll be getting the fallout — and the hijinks — next week, and I can’t wait! With both episodes clocking in at less than an hour each, the drama is short and sweet with none of the filler and all of the feel-good joy. I love that both our leads formed genuinely good relations with K independent of each other, which gives me hope that the love triangle will remain wholesome and not devolve into irrational jealousy. (Plus, I don’t think K’s puppy crush even stands a chance, lol.)
Also, I’m enjoying the “bonus track” epilogue scenes! What a cute way to offer a little more insight into our characters, and to end each episode off on a pleasant note. Unbeknownst to each other, our leads are already reconnecting on a deeper level, sharing a heartfelt conversation through anonymous comments that eases them into a peaceful sleep. They may get on each other’s nerves, but they also know the way to each other’s hearts.
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Tags: Geum Sae-rok, Noh Sang-hyun, Soundtrack #2
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1 KDramaTipsy
December 7, 2023 at 2:30 PM
It's good! I can feel the romance - which is becoming more and more rare with Kdramas nowadays. SuHo is clearly not over their relationship and it has affected even his health. HyunSeo seems to have done a better job of moving on, though it may seem so coz she is too busy living hand to mouth.
Not a fan of love triangles and definitely don't want one here after all the heartbreak SuHo has gone through. However, there is a huge financial difference between our couple now. HyunSeo won't come across so pathetic in comparison if there's another guy who is interested in her. It kind of levels the playing field.
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vienibenmio
December 7, 2023 at 3:40 PM
That's why I'm okay with the love triangle, too
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2 Kafiyah Bello
December 7, 2023 at 2:53 PM
It was cute, although it seem HyunSeo was in the wrong here, but we are only 2 episodes in.
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KDramaTipsy
December 7, 2023 at 3:08 PM
HyunSeo had a mark on her wrist. I'm guessing she had an accident or surgery and couldn't continue being a professional pianist. The break up was most probably noble idiocy on her part 🙄
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lynnB
December 7, 2023 at 6:14 PM
I can also already tell that she's never going to have to genuinely apologize for deriding his dreams and belittling his chosen "art". All because he made it, it would have excused her from admitting that his dream was no more idealistic than hers were. The best we can hope for is that like in Our Beloved Summer, she'll acknowledge his talent/skill. I find it really hypocritical of her character to actively try to dissuade him from his creative dreams (trying to make him a civil engineer) all the while pursuing her creative dreams of being a pianist. Especially in this time period where let's be real, he had a better chance of making a living as a content creator than she did as a classical pianist. I wonder if we will get to see any real change in her? Or the show is just going to reveal that she experienced trauma and hardship, so it was "okay" for her to treat him that way. Kdramas do that a lot, excuse really terrible behavior from FL (and parental) characters with past trauma or pain.
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KDramaTipsy
December 7, 2023 at 6:55 PM
That's true. Loads of times terrible behavior is ignored coz the character had 'noble intentions' or past trauma. No matter what the intention behind the break up was, it was cruel the way HyunSeo broke up with him over the phone, especially when he had spent so much of his hard earned money to book that trip. Let's see how the show handles this.
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Scottie
December 8, 2023 at 4:56 AM
I think she is harsh, because she lost her dream for some reason, has to face up to a very difficult reality and does not want to support somebody who insists on living in what she sees as a fantasy, taking a seemingly childish pleasure in playing with slime and other toys. I understand that. The way she broke up was not great!
I am worried about the drama's message, if they can fall in love again, because he is rich and successful now! There is a lot more soul searching required before that, but I think the drama will do this. It is written pretty well so far.
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KDramaTipsy
December 8, 2023 at 5:22 AM
Me too hope the drama's message falls right. And no glorifying noble idiocy.
vienibenmio
December 8, 2023 at 5:47 AM
Yeah, I think there's a way to pull it off and they'll be able to. We'll see!
Kafiyah Bello
December 8, 2023 at 4:08 AM
SIGH, sadly this sounds correct.
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3 vienibenmio
December 7, 2023 at 3:39 PM
It seems a LOT like Our Beloved Summer, even in terms of the FL's personality, the ML having a hobby that she found a waste of time that later made him rich, the FL acting like she doesn't care about the ML when we all know she does, and the FL hiding her reason for the breakup for some reason. I hope they don't take too long to let us see how she's really feeling, because right now it kind of feels like the ML likes her more than she likes him (I know that's not the case, but that's just how it feels right now).
I don't get how his business works, though. Why would a vlogger sign up with him? Doesn't he just take their profit? What do they get in return?
That being said, I like it so far. I'm okay with the love triangle, but hope it isn't too dragged out or frustrating. I also liked them connecting over the origami video lady.
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LaurenSophie
December 7, 2023 at 4:02 PM
My guess is that the artists get exposure and a cut of the ad revenue.
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Kurama
December 7, 2023 at 11:32 PM
It's pretty current for youtuber/vlog to have an agency. They give them the material : camera, micro, etc. ; studio ; professional editor who makes the montage, cut, add music, subtitles, inscription, etc.
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indyfan
December 8, 2023 at 1:44 AM
You were right! It totally has shades of OBY. I was half expecting him to throw salt when he first saw her. 😂
But this drama’s got no time for that. It’s already shown us the ML’s heart. I’m sure the rest will quickly follow.
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4 LaurenSophie
December 7, 2023 at 4:01 PM
I really love this. My only complaint is that the episodes are so short and there will be only six of them!
The writing is wonderfully efficient, and considering how there are at least a few musical interludes per episode that stand in for dialogue, I'm impressed with how much character development occurred in such a short duration. I loved the way the flashbacks showed Suho as the manchild his doodling on the window and eating mini Oreos (I had no idea until I read this recap that that was actually a box of cereal) hinted he might be despite the flashy car and designer sunglasses. The scenes giving us a glimpse into both the highs and the lows of Suho and Hyunseo's previous relationship were so bittersweet and I loved the way their conflicts felt real and organic.
For now, it definitely seems like Hyunseo has managed to put Suho mostly behind her, whereas he very clearly never got over her, but maybe in the next set of episodes we'll see more from her point of view regarding her post-breakup life.
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5 sakuradaydream
December 7, 2023 at 4:06 PM
I couldn't finish the first Soundtrack as I lost interest but this...THIS one caught my eye with the second chance romance, angst and tension I got from the teaser. I was hooked and eagerly anticipating its release.
Safe to say I'm obsesses and im looking forward to seeing hyunsoo's POV of the breakup and the emotionally charged exchange between them when everything finally comes crashing down and they bear their hearts to each other.
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letataves
December 7, 2023 at 6:25 PM
Same here!
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Kroy
May 11, 2024 at 1:05 AM
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6 Mrs Buckwheat
December 7, 2023 at 5:20 PM
I really like it and love that there is no filler.
I had to google the FL after watching the first episode as I knew I had seen her in something but couldn't remember only to find out it was Interest in Love.
I look forward to the next episodes and it's great to have something to watch midweek.
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indyfan
December 8, 2023 at 1:39 AM
I quite liked her In the Interest of Love so I’m glad she gets a chance to be a lead. But Noh Sang-hyun is new to me—and I’m grateful. I will be examining his, uh, fine facial bone structure closely in the coming weeks. 😀
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Mrs Buckwheat
December 8, 2023 at 2:16 AM
I have only seen him in Pachinko and he was very good in it. He does have lovely facial bone structure 🤣
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john
December 8, 2023 at 2:58 AM
Pachinko
In June 2023 they were shooting Season 2
Waiting 😑
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Mrs Buckwheat
December 8, 2023 at 3:13 AM
It seems far too long between seasons.
I really enjoyed the first season and the book it based on. Do you know when season 2 will air?
indyfan
December 8, 2023 at 3:19 AM
I don't have access to Pachinko unfortunately. 😞
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john
December 8, 2023 at 4:01 AM
No, the shooting info was the latest I could find.
I loath these multi part K dramas . They lose their K drama-ness and become whatever Netflix or Hulu or Disney or Apple or yada yada decides. 😡
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Mrs Buckwheat
December 8, 2023 at 4:57 AM
I agree. It’s a pity they waited until after it had aired to even think about the second season.
vienibenmio
December 8, 2023 at 8:44 AM
I read here that in Pachinko he was supposed to viewed as like a step down from Lee Min-ho? THIS guy? Seriously?
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Mrs Buckwheat
December 8, 2023 at 3:14 PM
Wow, that’s a big call.
vongole
December 10, 2023 at 10:51 PM
Isak (played by Noh-Sang Hyun) is not a step down from Hansu (played by Lee Min Ho) in Pachinko. He marries the female protagonist who gets pregnant from her sexual relations - assaults, really - with Hansu (who is already married). This is from the book. Not sure how this plays out in the series.
Kurama
December 11, 2023 at 12:50 AM
He's sick. But he accepted the FL being pregnant with another man and took the child like he was his.
He was my favourite character!
7 🌸 Seeker 🌸
December 7, 2023 at 9:49 PM
Considering how wary we were for a Soundtrack #2 this was most definitely a pleasant surprise. The push and pull in a romantic relationship is bread and butter of a OTP which not many dramas can achieve. Wow I can't believe there will be only two more weeks. Will the drama be able to justify the narrative or make it feel rushed. This week did a good job of both setting up the past and present interactions as well as introducing the third wheel. 😋 Nice to be pleasantly surprised. Thank you show! Hwaiting!!
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indyfan
December 8, 2023 at 1:47 AM
Is the key low expectations? It sure beat those. Hwaiting!
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🌸 Seeker 🌸
December 8, 2023 at 3:44 AM
This winter we are getting lots of good watchable dramas that we kept searching for throughout the year. 🤞 Hope they are all good till The End.
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vienibenmio
December 8, 2023 at 5:45 AM
Right? Did they just save all of them for the end of the year until we were beaten down and had almost zero expectations?
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🌸 Seeker 🌸
December 8, 2023 at 6:50 AM
We would have really appreciated some of these dramas to have come out earlier in the year. 🤣
8 Nefret
December 7, 2023 at 11:29 PM
The café/restaurant where Hyeon-seo's friend works is the same one that appeared in Soundtrack #1, isn't it? Just with different staff.
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Mrs Buckwheat
December 8, 2023 at 2:13 AM
I think it is, just different staff.
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9 zindigo
December 8, 2023 at 6:02 AM
I'm really enjoying this. And as with Soundtrack #1, the music is fantastic. Disney is slow as usual in getting OSTs uploaded to music streaming sites. But they did release one song on Disney Plus Korea's YouTube channel. It's the very lovely "When I Saw You" sung by Yoo Seung Woo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POH0ie_hjZI&list=RDMMPOH0ie_hjZI&start_radio=1&ab_channel=DisneyPlusKorea%EB%94%94%EC%A6%88%EB%8B%88%ED%94%8C%EB%9F%AC%EC%8A%A4%EC%BD%94%EB%A6%AC%EC%95%84
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10 ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
December 8, 2023 at 6:03 AM
I’ve already been hyping it up on the fan wall so I’m happy to see everyone’s reactions to the episodes were also overwhelmingly positive. It’s good to get a romance without the obstacles of past lives, serial killers or chaebol-isms - even if Soo-ho is still a CEO (him going from male candy to hotshot CEO in five years is way too insane for me to unpack so let’s ignore that). And our leads have great chemistry too! You could feel the angst and the weight of the everything unspoken in every interaction. After a year filled with mostly middling couples, this is exciting. Even if the presence of a love triangle, I’m not too worried because the show seems to be more focused on the trio’s creative collaboration than their tangled romantic potential - and that it’s too short to stretch out my misery in case I’m wrong.
Things that could bring back my misery though: the very inevitable noble idiocy. I don’t believe for a second that Hyun-seo broke up with Soo-ho simply out of irreconcilable differences. This is dramaland, not real life. I bet my life savings something awful happened to her/someone close to her right before that trip. I’m looking forward to seeing her perspective in the upcoming episodes because there was a distinct focus on Soo-ho’s feelings rather than the other way around and while she comes off as cold and apathetic from his vantage point, audiences can tell she’s not unaffected.
And could she not be? If my exes looked like that, I would never get over it.
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KDramaTipsy
December 8, 2023 at 8:05 AM
He was the most perfect boyfriend ever! And he looks like THAT. There's no way she broke up with him due to irreconcilable differences.
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vienibenmio
December 8, 2023 at 8:39 AM
The corn puns alone! Or whatever the Korean language equivalent of that was
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Neolttwigi
December 10, 2023 at 5:56 AM
The final pun was (english alphabet) Amazing ( A maize ing) so it must have been corn puns in Korean or english words transliterated into Korean for that to work
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11 vienibenmio
December 8, 2023 at 8:46 AM
I wanted to add that I actually love how the ML is, deep down, a total dork, and also reeks of nouveau riche (my husband brought that up a few times)
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12 Kurama
December 8, 2023 at 10:47 AM
I want an ex in lovers story when the leads are not angry and petty... Why it's always the same story with the leads being so childish that I would prefer they never see each other again...
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13 Dino
December 8, 2023 at 2:37 PM
So far so good but (IMO) not as good as #1… maybe because of the stronger acting presence of So hee and Hyung sik. I’m not a fan of the “love triangle” storyline, especially here when they’ve gone 4 years without really seeing anyone else then BAM! here comes the third wheel out of nowhere. I’m curious to see if we’ll get a clearer image of her backstory. Has she always been aloof and fearful in both love and life? That scare on Hyun seo’s wrist… could it be she tried to take her own life due to trauma and that’s why she couldn’t be with Soo ho? I hope we get more answers to their breakup and less Ménage à trois (unless she’s becoming interested in K as in more than friends). Still not sure why the writers would do that in a six 45min episode series.
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14 Neolttwigi
December 10, 2023 at 6:01 AM
Having fun with this. Much better than Soundtrack #1, which was bland and easily forgotten. The character of the ML has a rather unbelievable collection of character traits- He is rich and selfish enough to own four cars, but still cares about someone who he thinks dumped him four years ago for being poor? But I'm sure all of his bad side will be forgotten in ep3 anyway.
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15 Neolttwigi
December 10, 2023 at 6:12 AM
Also, Chang-Shik puppy eyes...was that a Blues Brothers reference or was it just me?
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16 vongole
December 11, 2023 at 12:38 AM
Counting the days and hours till the next episodes, and not just for Noh Sang-Hyun's cheekbones.
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17 ryunami
December 16, 2023 at 2:05 PM
I picked this show with a mental note that I dropped Soundtrack #1 .. but I am surprised that #2 is different and totally fall for the first two episodes!
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18 Kroy
May 11, 2024 at 1:20 AM
I really enjoyed the first 2 episodes, there were so many moments. I loved the ML's pettiness and attempts to show off to the FML.
And the FML I loved that smile she kept to herself when she found the bill for the expensive refreshments the ML bought that morning to show off, it was almost her remembering how adorable his antics are and why she fell in love with him.
Them bickering in the yard was hilarious and the first lesson with the pointer. The cute flashback of their relationship before the breakup was lovely. All in all really great episodes, I enjoyed this more than the Sound Track 1.
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