Episode 4 We commence episode 4 of Live On to much excitement as we’re 15 days before the festival. The team decides to Livestream their broadcast over YouTube so students can get involved on the day. Flashback to Ho-Rang’s panic attack where we landed last week. Ho-Rang explains she wasn’t feeling well that day and thanks Eun-Taek for the gift he’d given her. At the mall, Yoo-Sin tries to get Jae-Yi to tell him what’s going on with her. He guesses she and Woo-Jae have broken up again but she denies being upset. Yoo-Sin sees right through her. She claims she’ll never get back together with him. Neither of us believes that. She dresses up for cram school but Woo-Jae doesn’t show. Eun-Taek takes a call from his Mother, not recognising the number. She’s visiting Korea and invites him to dinner. He says he’s busy, andthat he’ll check his schedule for the following week. Going through broadcast room footage, he spots Ho-Rang singing a song from the album they bought together, which cheers him up. The next morning, Eun-Taek and Ho-Rang have a moment at the wishing tree. Meanwhile, Jae-Yi tells Woo-Sol that the breakup is different this time but as Woo-Jae’s sister, Woo-Sol believes there’s still a chance. The team gets ready for the festival; testing cameras, mics, etc. We zip to T-minus 3 days to the festival and the team are still hard at work. Ho-Rang reluctantly agrees to festival shop with So-Hyun. Flashback to earlier that day, Min-Gyu calls So-Hyun wanting to meet up but she’s not interested. It seems like there’s a rumour about the two. Yoo-Sin shows up to lighten the mood with a bag of sweets. He tells her that she’s his priority. As she heads to class, Min-Gyu sends a sarcastic text. Back at the shop, Yoo-Sin calls So-Hyun but she says she’s shopping with Ho-Rang and has to go. He immediately calls Ho-Rang to get her to subtly ask what So-Hyun thinks of him. She turns to So-Hyun and flatly delivers the question, sending Yoo-Sin into shrieks of embarrassment. Then she hangs up on him. At home, Woo-Sol asks Woo-Jae about his breakup but quickly backs out of the conversation. She tells him to call Jae-Yi himself if he’s worried. At the studio, Eun-Taek sends everyone home but stays to re-film a crashed file. Ho-Rang drops off her bag of supplies and joins him, keen to learn about filming. They chat about the negative social posts Ho-Rang receives as well as discuss Eun-Taek’s disappointment over broken promises. As they’re leaving, Eun-Taek confesses to Ho-Rang that he likes her and she is absolutely speechless. The next day at the festival, they check out their booth together. Meanwhile, Jae-Yi forces Yoo-Sin to choose a lipstick for her. He’s way too busy thinking about So-Hyun and says lipstick won’t get her boyfriend back but approves her chosen colour anyway. Setting up for the broadcast, Eun-Taek directs the team. He reminds Ho-Rang about some technical bits she shouldn’t mess up. Even though he claims to feel more at ease with her, she notes how he sounds the same whether giving direction or professing his feelings. At the booths, Jae-Yi and Woo-Jae end up working side-by-side, sneaking glances at each other. Eun-Taek asks Ho-Rang for a USB drive but when she struggles to find it he scolds her, looking disappointed. Afterwards, a guest performer from another high school approaches her and Eun-Taek notices. At the booths, one of the teachers remarks on Jae-Yi and Woo-Jae in their aprons, noting that they seem to be playing house. Silence. Then other students awkwardly hustle him away. Jae-Yi is about to speak to Woo-Jae but some girls approach him to ask if he has a girlfriend. She looks crushed when he says he doesn’t. He stops himself from helping her when she burns a finger but conversely doesn’t give the girls his number. At lunch Eun-Taek is acting like a boyfriend, baffling Ho-Rang even further. He’s very matter-of-fact about his feelings. She questions the way he acted when she lost the drive vs his restating of his feelings and he explains that they’re two separate things. ‘Ah, that’s because you’re Ko Eun-Taek’ seems to sort it for both of them. So-Hyun receives a text from someone wanting to see her during the festival but she ignores it, continuing her work. Eun-Taek and Ho-Rang check out some of the booths. She notes one delivering flowers. As he tries to stealthily find out whether this is something she would like, she quickly shuts it down claiming it a waste of time. With only 20 minutes left to kill, they duck into a booth showing one of Eun-Taek’s favourite movies. He explains that he likes it because its heart-warming and comforting. Ho-Rang suddenly receives a text from her stalker confirming that it’s someone nearby. Woo-Jae receives a text from Jae-Yi saying that she accepts the break-up and is calling it quits. He’s about to ask after her burn, but changes his mind and wishes her well. The broadcast team is in charge of all the stage performances, running lighting, audio, photos and video. On stage, Yoo-Sin reveals himself to be one of the masked performers. As he unveils, flowers are delivered to So-Hyun behind the board. While he’s doing his introduction, a guy grabs So-Hyun and drags her out of the auditorium, so he cuts things short to chase after her. Outside, the guy (presumably Min-Gyu) seems not to have met her in person before but refers to their flirting. She tells him to get lost and to stop telling people she’s his girlfriend… and turns around to find Yoo-Sin watching her. Embarrassed, she walks off and Yoo-Sin tells the guy off. He finds So-Hyun to cheer her up. She makes it clear that if he’s going to assume a relationship with her, he should stop texting her too. He promises not to make her feel uncomfortable but then wants to know how many guys she’s actively texting. They land at six so he’s happy to be in with a chance. The team prepares for Ho-Rang’s show in the auditorium. The room is packed and she invites the audience to join the Livestream for a segment called ‘Confrontation.’ She begins to read submissions and provides snappy deadpan commentary to cheers from the audience and a slew of supportive SM feedback. In the background, someone is counting down from 30 seconds. When the end is reached, every student’s phone gives a notification chime. There’s tons of reaction and a torrent of negative comments popping up about Ho-Rang. A link has been sent to everyone. When Ho-Rang clicks it, she’s surrounded by memories. We cut to a smiling girl who’s pleased to reveal the truth about Baek Ho-Rang. Ho-Rang staggers from the table as students click photos of her. As she falls to the floor, So-Hyun kills the stage lights and Eun-Taek draws the curtains. He offers his hand as the episode closes.
The Episode Review
By the second half of the episode and kick-off of the festival, there’s a noticeable build-up of energy. Finally, a little oomph as at least two of our heroines get caught out. We haven’t yet gotten the full picture of what was in the Ho-Rang link, ending on an episode cliffhanger. It looks too like Ho-Rang will find solace in Eun-Taek’s even keel, as he seems – at least in the moment – unaffected by the contents of the attachment. Perhaps he hasn’t seen it yet, as he ran to close the curtains. So-Hyun too has been exposed, revealed to be having online relationships with a number of guys. It seems to be purely digital and likely a device to build self-esteem. Yoo-Sin is helpfully impervious to the commotion, proving he’s a friend as well as an admirer. Or just extremely determined. For Woo-Jae and Jae-Yi, the groundwork has been laid to finally end their break-up-get-back-together cycle. I don’t believe it, but we’ll see. The Eun-Taek/Ho-Rang confession scene was a little on the unfulfilling side. A clear admission, shocked staring, chipper music – that’s all we got. Then on to the festival and a little awkward smiling. But they’ve kept in line with the character’s personalities and by the end of the hour, we can see that Eun-Taek is on the unique side and that this could be a good thing. Now that things are moving, I’m looking forward to seeing next week’s big reveal. What could the Ho-Rang content be that would get such an immediate reaction? One of the social comments refers to violence, so presuming there’s a video clip or perhaps a revealing photo. Are you interested in finding out? If so, I’ll catch you for the next one.
