Our Movie: Episodes 3-4

20 June 23, 2025June 23, 2025

by Dramaddictally

Romance picks up this week as our film crew starts to shoot. We’ve got exes on set, where new love also blossoms, and jealousy rears its ugly head. As our heroine’s illness leads to a close call, our hero starts to close the distance to be by her side.

EPISODES 3-4

Our Movie: Episodes 3-4

Well, last week I asked for slower development on the romance, but that is not what we got at all. This romance is steaming along, and I’m a little perplexed about where all the fast feelings are coming from, at least on one side.

We jump back in with Da-eum getting the leading role in Je-ha’s remake movie. She’s floating on air, but there’s a little hiccup with the casting. Je-ha’s producer, BU SEUNG-WON (Seo Hyun-woo), has already sent the script to the leading lady from Je-ha’s last movie — a.k.a., Je-ha’s ex, CHAE SEO-YOUNG (Lee Seol). Seo-young has become a big name since her breakout role in Je-ha’s debut, and everyone thinks she’s perfect for this new role as well.

Our Movie: Episodes 3-4

Everyone, that is, except Je-ha. He’s made up his mind about Da-eum and goes ahead with casting, asking Da-eum to sign a confidentiality agreement so that no one will find out she’s terminally ill — since, ya know, it might seem a little exploitative on his part. She agrees to sign on the condition that he doesn’t ruin the movie. The original makes her cry for its ode to love, and Je-ha’s rewrite is staunchly anti-love.

But Je-ha sticks to his guns, and his rational thinking, and says that it makes no sense for the female character (who’s based on his mother) to love the man who left her just as she was about to die (that would be his father). For Je-ha, the man is selfish and the woman is foolish (and I’m very interested in how this may or may not repeat in our main storyline as this thing shakes out).

Still, Da-eum signs the agreement, and then Je-ha heads over to negotiate with Seo-young about taking a supporting role in the film. Seo-young accepts, but there are some subtle implications. First, we know she’s not over him and it seems like she might take any role to be on his movie set. And second, when she asks who got the lead, adding “she must have something that I don’t,” I can’t help but read it as her calling him out on taking an interest in his female leads.

With both women signed onto the project, Je-ha needs to secure a crew and also do a test shoot to convince the investor that the casting is correct, since it feels like a risk with an unknown lead actress. To prep for this make-it-or-break-it shoot, Seo-young calls Da-eum to her studio to rehearse. Da-eum is a huge fan of Seo-young and, as Seo-young learns, they’ve actually randomly met before.

Da-eum is super happy to be rehearsing with someone she admires so much, but then has a seizure during practice. Seo-young rushes her to the hospital, as Da-eum pleads to not let anyone see her in this condition. The doctor doesn’t tell Seo-young what’s wrong with Da-eum, but Seo-young guesses that she might be sick, and we know that Seo-young has a motive to use this information later if it suits her.

Our Movie: Episodes 3-4

Da-eum decides not to tell Je-ha about her seizure and goes forward with the test shoot. It turns out great and everyone’s nerves are calmed. Je-ha feels more secure about not having filmed in five years, Da-eum has more confidence about being a rookie actress, and the investor sees how good Da-eum’s acting is. But the investor also offhandedly mentions the original film, and how the lead actress was an unknown at the time, too. “What happens to these female leads after the movie ends?” he asks. (Hmm. Is this a theme? We know that Je-ha’s dad was rumored to be having an affair with his leading lady, too.)

When it all works out with the funding, Da-eum takes Je-ha to a spot in the hospital that she thinks would be perfect for shooting one of the scenes. She tells him it’s a scene where the female lead would likely fall apart because she wants to live so badly, but death keeps chasing her. Here, we see a rare break in Da-eum’s mask of over-saccharine smiles and Je-ha gently touches her head in comfort.

Later, when Seo-young’s agent, KO HYE-YOUNG (Seo Jung-yeon), tries to woo Da-eum to come to her agency, she tells Da-eum not to trust Je-ha. This is rooted in her seeing Seo-young devastated after their breakup. But Da-eum says she totally trusts him and declines Hye-young’s offer. She then runs smack into Je-ha and Seo-young in a lip lock in the hallway.

Da-eum looks shocked and backs out of the room, just before Je-ha pulls away and asks Seo-young what she’s doing. Seo-young says that none of the replacements made a difference to her, so she wanted to see if the original would satisfy her again. Je-ha looks disgusted and walks away saying that they should just focus on the movie because “that’s all there is between us now.”

We get a little flashback to how things started between Seo-young and Je-ha on the last movie set. She’s crying that she can’t get the emotions right for her role, and he tells her that he’s making the movie because he doesn’t know what it’s like to love someone. She’s very intrigued and the next thing we know, they’re sitting in a car and she’s leaning across to kiss him. In the present, she hurls the great line, “You’re like a grease stain that I can’t scrub off my heart.” Haha.

Our Movie: Episodes 3-4

After seeing Je-ha and Seo-young kissing, Da-eum is pretty hurt. She makes excuses to have lunch with Je-ha and then finally tells him about the seizure she had in front of Seo-young. She knows she sort of violated the confidentiality agreement and expects him to be angry, but instead, he’s worried about if she’s okay. She tells him he’s a good person, but he’s not so sure about that.

And to make me question the same, we get a scene where Je-ha drives out to see the actress from the original Love in White. He confronts her about knowing that the script was not written by his father. For some reason, Da-eum is there, hiding in the back, and Je-ha is furious when he sees her. He didn’t want her to overhear what he just said.

Da-eum follows him outside and says she was only there to meet the woman who played her role before. She’s about to let him angrily leave, and starts to go back inside to tell the former actress goodbye, but he tells her not to. And then we see Da-eum in his passenger seat as they leave.

I know he’s got historical hurt to contend with, but this scene follows another one where Je-ha has told Da-eum not to meet the movie’s male lead outside of formal script readings. He says it’s because he doesn’t want her illness to be found out, but it feels to me like he’s isolating her — which reminds me of her father.

Our Movie: Episodes 3-4

In the background of all this, Da-eum is still in conflict with her dad, LEE JUNG-HYO (Kwon Hae-hyo). After she left the hospital on her own accord, he was searching for her. When he stumbles on her, she’s practicing a scene where she falls to the ground and he thinks she’s really in trouble. He rushes up and calls for medical attention, only to have her excitedly exclaim that she landed the lead in a movie.

Later, when she goes to his office acting cute and hoping for him to come around, he initially ignores her. Then, he tells her that she has to live a little longer because he has hope in the new clinical trials. She doesn’t want to waste her time in a hospital and then have the trials fail, and she tells him that she’s scared and hurt every time he refuses to admit that she’s dying.

At an event with the whole movie crew, Je-ha watches Da-eum from afar. Seo-young catches him watching Da-eum and looks very upset by it. And then, the movie’s male lead, KIM JUNG-WOO (Seo Yi-seo), notices Seo-young looking at Je-ha and begins to stir up trouble.

The four of them end up eating dinner together, where Jung-woo blurts out that he and Seo-young have been seeing each other. Da-eum reacts with loud congratulations, while Seo-young gets pissed (she clearly doesn’t care about Jung-woo). There’s jealousy all around and Seo-young is spiteful, asking Da-eum if she’s not drinking because she’s sick. Je-ha and Seo-young go outside, where he tries to cover for Da-eum.

Da-eum and Je-ha leave and she asks if it’s possible to kiss someone when you don’t love them, or if you’re not even sure how you feel about them? It’s a question about the script, she tells him. He answers that they can talk about it later, and she should bring questions about the script to him.

Our Movie: Episodes 3-4

They go their separate ways, but then later that night, she shows up at his apartment unannounced in the rain. She wants him to come outside and play in the rain to lower the pressure he feels. “It’s like you’re made of concrete,” she tells him.

But he’s worried about her health and holds an umbrella over her head. She asks him to lower it for one minute, he does, and they both start laughing. After one minute, he reinstalls the umbrella above them and she takes off his glasses. She refers to a scene that calls for a soft kiss, and then leans in and kisses him softly. He keeps his eyes open and at first appears unmoved. But when she reminds him that he told her to use him to understand the script, he drops the umbrella and begins kissing her under the rain.

Our Movie: Episodes 3-4

That’s where we end and I want to like it, but where did all this intensity come from? Yes, she’s dying, so we have a ticking clock, and I get why she’s into him (she has no prior experience, he’s hot, and he’s right there — also, it might be her last chance). But I’m not so sure about the attraction in the other direction. Maybe we’re just supposed to see him falling in love fast so he can learn that not everything is so rational as he believes?

Whatever the reason is — even if I didn’t feel a real connection between them — is it really a good idea to start this up while she’s working on his set? Are we seeing a pattern? Or are we being misled about what happened between Je-ha and Seo-young? (And maybe about his dad’s case, too?)

Da-eum asked, “Can you kiss someone if you’re not sure how you feel about them?” While I’m still not totally sure how I feel about this drama, I will definitely be back next week for the kisses.

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1 Kafiyah Bello

June 23, 2025 at 1:20 PM

Yeah.....This is messy and a little predatory. Especially when he fell in love with his ingenue in his first movie. It is certainly a pattern. To be fair, I would argue he has been intrigued by her since he met her. However, the age gap, her naivete, and his pretending her disease is an issue to in order to keep her to himself makes me itch. Hmmmm, particularly because that was a KISS, hmmmm.🤔🤔

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2 Mrs Buckwheat

June 23, 2025 at 10:23 PM

Hmmmmm....that kiss at the end felt way too soon and also leaves me feeling a little uncomfortable. The power dynamics, ML's history with his other leading actress and as Kafiyah Bello pointed out naivete, age gap, terminal illness of the FL all make this a bit questionable behaviour from the ML. I hope the next episode sets this right.
The acting though is fabulous.
Thanks for the great recaps dramaddicatlly.

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3 empressgirl

June 23, 2025 at 11:36 PM

Last week, I wrote about family legacy and inheritance - what exactly did our parents leave for us, or inside us?
https://dramabeans.com/2025/06/our-movie-episodes-1-2/#comment-4269583

This week it becomes more apparent that perhaps the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.

The love triangle (yes, the most hated geometric trope shape in drama relationships!) is back in Version 2.0 (director rumored to be having rekindled flames with ex & SFL star, but in reality is having secret love with the rookie FL)

Thus echoing an intriguing variation of OG Love in White 1.0 (director rumored to be having affair with lead actress, but may well be untrue. His true love was his wife and writer)

How bitter an irony if he found out the truth - that he is more like his father than he thought, and that perhaps, all that hatred was less warranted than he thought

Anyhow NGM said to suspend judgement until Ep 5, so I will hold my horses (and tongue) for now lol

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PYC

June 24, 2025 at 10:03 AM

I too think the father’s true love is his wife, and responses from that actress (who did the original movie) every time she met Je-ha firms up this theory. His frequently away from home would be a kind of escapism. Je-ha was unfortunately a low priority for his dad and became someone indifferent to love. He wasn’t pursuing Seoyoung during the first movie though as shown in a scene in these last two episodes.

Datum, on the other hand, intrigues him from day one. If anything, he falls for her first.

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empressgirl

June 24, 2025 at 6:38 PM

I will be disappoint if either of them has already fallen in love with the other - that would be kind of cheap; it should be more hard earned.

Instead I think neither of them has at this point yet (in spite of the obvious intrigue, interest, empathy etc).

She asks him: "Can you kiss someone even when you don't love them? even when you are unsure?"

I see their skin-ship (or kisses) as a battle of ideologies - her (as the eternal romantic who believes the core message of Love in White 1.0 - love helps us overcome and survives even the harshest reality - death)

-- VS he, the love cynic and nihilist (Love in White 2.0: "this is an anti-love story. Why do we need love in this story?")

This is a story of who will win in their ideology of love/anti-love. (we know how this goes down eventually, cos he fell for her, so says the synopsis)

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4 Dorotka

June 24, 2025 at 1:12 AM

I didn't see the kiss as super romantic either... what the leads have is more fascination with each other than love. They also sometimes look like being in their own world, on some special wavelet... and I personally don't see much imbalance in the emotional aspect - uri Rookie Actress definitely awakes a lot of emotions in the usually calm and sarcastically blunt Director.

It also seemed to me that the last rainy segment, referring to the old moment with Mom, points to the need of opening and healing of our Hero and that it is our Heroine who may be the older one here... and balancing out the age gap, perhaps.

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PYC

June 24, 2025 at 10:09 AM

Agreed that Daeum awaking emotions in Je-ha like no one does before. I’ve re-watched Ep1-2, and the rain scene is definitely reminiscent of her time with mom about enjoying the rain and other beautiful things in life. Those mother and daughter scenes are precious with Moon So-ri playing and that wonderful little girl actress.

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5 Dorotka

June 24, 2025 at 1:15 AM

An another thought, while watching these episodes and seeing Director trying to manipulate everything and everyone to speed up the making of the movie (because of the hidden illness), I was thinking, perhaps the same happened with Father, the whole claiming the script and rushing out of the house to shoot was because he was trying to finish the movie before Mom would die? Because that was her wish? And he wanted to fulfill it?

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empressgirl

June 24, 2025 at 6:33 PM

Interesting point

I think those intercutting brief snippets of his memories as a child witnessing his sick mom writing the script furiously, taking meds, and of dad working with his collaborators on the movie --- all these will be violently interrogated as he begins to remake Love in White 2.0.

As he begins to walk in his father's shoes, vicariously reliving uncannily similar dynamics and the tyranny of the urgent (cos terminal illness is well, terminal) it will change him irrevocably.

His painful childhood memories will not change; his interpretation and reading of them will.

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6 Nirbhaya

June 24, 2025 at 1:59 AM

I wasn’t sure how to explain my discomfort with this drama until I read the recap. Ugh. The older male director finding a muse in his leading lady—and a little extra on the side—but only until the next pretty young thing comes along. A tale as old as…cinematic time, but do we have to romanticize it?

I hope I’m wrong so I’ll watch more episodes (unlike much of SK). I like both NGM and JYB but not how she portrays her character here. It feels off; it doesn’t suit her. I’m sure we’ll eventually see the sad face under her childlike mask. But since Be Melo we’ve seen the complex characters she can portray so why so basic in this supposedly mature drama…

I just hope she doesn’t manic-pixie her way to death while she “opens and heals” the hero. (How are we still defending this trope?) But perhaps the drug trial is foreshadowing…

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Nirbhaya

June 25, 2025 at 1:24 AM

It isn’t that Da-eum has no power, but that it is an imbalance of power. It’s a film, art, whatever, but it is also a job, where directors have more power than unknown actors.

Imagine if in other workplace settings, the team lead has to find romantic inspo with one of their team members in order to deliver the project. If you say, art is different, I give you female directors (and many men too) who don’t sleep with their lead actors—and still make great art.

I’m not saying genuine workplace romances can’t happen. But two in a row is harder to overlook. If Da-eum dies, will Jae-ha move on to actress #3 to heal his grief and inspire his next creative burst?

I’m looking forward to seeing how the next episodes address this uncomfortable fact—or will this be swept under the rug?

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7 Scottie

June 24, 2025 at 5:31 AM

The film director kissing a rookie actress certainly looks bad, but the power dynamic between these two is not just that simple.

As the director he is her mentor, but she is actually not just the mentee, but also a mentor, or as she calls it, a consultant for him, not only about terminal illness, but also about the characters in the drama, aka his parents.

In a way they are also using each other. He needs her specific acting ability and she does not want her first kiss to be from her fellow actor in the drama, but a 'romantic' kiss. It did not really look very romantic to me, because there is not a strong love behind it (yet).

The mirroring of the love triangle from the old film to the new film is quite interesting.

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Dorotka

June 24, 2025 at 6:17 AM

There is also another aspect - he may be using her and her talent (and her illness) for his own movie (and fame), but she may be using his talent and fame to tape her last moments (and be brilliant and famous) to be remembered forever.

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Aigoo-ka-choo

June 24, 2025 at 12:21 PM

Whilst there is a power imbalance here, I think the FL is able to hold her own, and even knock the ML off-balance in a rather wonderful way, so the kiss in itself wasn't a huge issue for me.

More problematic (red flags waving in the background!) was his emotionally controlling behaviour:
* 100% was jealously guarding her from spending time with her male co-star and making up crap to stop them from getting close
* Similarly even tried to stop her from getting close to his ex, again showing that he wants to be her ONLY source of creative input.
* Despite being actively hostile to his ex (in a way that would make you think that she ended things, rather than him doing so), he still reacted jealously to her dating the actor, which is emotionally selfish in the extreme ( I don't want you, but I don't want anyone else to have you).

The only concern I have about the kiss is how much of a continuation of this pattern it is for him. i.e. is he only kissing her because he wants to supersede the kissing scene she will be doing with her male co-star?

Another worry is that she will immediately go into full 'we're together and in love' mode and he will continue to vacillate between being unnecessarily cold and cruel and then warm and affectionate. Hopefully she calls him out on his BS though :)

I fully sympathise with our ML's issues with the past and his creative slump, but the idea that he just 'hasn't been in love before' seems a poor excuse for treating these women badly...

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8 Minnie🫘👩🏻‍🚀Pioneer and Teacher 👩🏻‍🏫🌱🏹

June 24, 2025 at 6:59 PM

Why, oh why, is friendship between a male and a female so underrated?

I swooned at the chemistry ep 1 and 2, but by the end of 4, I'm frustrated. There is so much depth here. Little things that are beautiful - like her understanding how wound up he truly is.

But either it's deliberate - at some point he will understand that he is as predatory as his father - or the execution is terrible, where they are simply forcing on the chemistry for which feels like cutting open an unripe mango that is sour. In fact, her interest in him is so random that even her jealousy is a bit jarring. That kiss was not earned.

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9 loveblossom🌸

June 24, 2025 at 10:19 PM

Didn't know we were getting a love square. Je Ha is too obvious with his interest in Da Eum! More people are going to notice.

I wish that Je Ha hadn't had the scandal last time with him and Seo Young dating. I'm dreading the likelihood that Da Eum will be caught in a similar scandal. Why did it have to be him being the director + them being his leading ladies in both movies. Is he going to realize that he and his father are actually alike?

I was hoping Seo Young could be more of an enigma with unclear motives, but it looks like she's all in on getting back together with Je Ha.

The overall story is still interesting and I'm curious about the end. I wasn't invested (and still not) in the typical romantic aspects. Slow burn would have been good. Or Je Ha learning to love from interacting with Da Eum and seeing things from her perspective. But he doesn't pursue her, losing his chance in the end.

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10 Kurama

June 25, 2025 at 12:37 AM

I think the story and the characters are more complicated than this drama recap explained them.

Je-ha was attracted by Da-eum before she became the main actress of his movie. It's more the parallel with his mother and the memories of last moments he has that make Da-eum interesting. She has this unique energy when he was apathetic for a long time.

Da-eum is not this naive girl. I think it's her way to cope with her terminal illness. She chose to use the same way than her mother, enjoying everything, each moment like it was new and the last time. She could have been bitter, angry, pushing everybody away.

Je-ha is taking a bigger risk by choosing her as his main actress than her being manipulated. Every decision he took was about her, the shooting needs to be fast, the locations can't be too far, etc. When he asked her to not spend time with her costars, it was quite logical. One person has already doubts and her alerts on her phone about her food, medics + her seizures could be easily found. But he's jealous too and I'm sure he used his artistic reasons because of it even he's not aware of it.

Je-ha seems to have a very false idea of what happened in the past with his parents. I liked how Da-eum saw he was afraid by the truth. She's pretty sensitive and sees through him. They can be vulnerable when they're with each other.

I liked the kiss scene. I was happy she could have a first kiss with him instead of her costar in front of people and cameras.

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empressgirl

June 25, 2025 at 1:38 AM

second that

and I don't think he is predatory. At all. C'mon, Da-eum doesn't have Down Syndrome; she has a terminal illness. Give her more credit for her mental capacities and judgment.

He has been nothing but honorable and protective thus far - even to his supporting actress A-lister who's still having the hots for him. He has never taken advantage of Seo-Young even when SY threw herself at him. On the contrary, he ran away.

Likewise, Da-eum initiates the kiss (and even the foreplay - leading Je-ha to astutely call her out as "low" for using her dead mum to score sympathy points)

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spazmo

June 26, 2025 at 4:09 AM

i like your take - i think once he realized who wrote the screenplay, he wants daeum to realize her dream, because his mother wasn't allowed to or able to.

and yes, thank gawd her first kiss wasn't with that actor but someone she cares about!

and of course we shouldn't be surprised about "that kiss"...