'True Beauty' Ending Explained: Seo-jun steals the show hands down with romance, music and friendship

After seeing Seo-jun hug Ju-kyung, Su-ho takes Seo-jun out for a drink and asks him if he still likes Ju-kyung and if he did confess his feelings. Seo-jun responds 'No, we are now dating,' as if to indicate that it was not one-sided
PUBLISHED FEB 4, 2021
A still of Hwang In-yeop and Moon Ga-young in 'True Beauty' Episode 16 (tvN)
A still of Hwang In-yeop and Moon Ga-young in 'True Beauty' Episode 16 (tvN)

'True Beauty', the latest hot Korean drama has from the beginning been about who Ju-kyung (Moon Ga-young) would end up with -- Su-ho (Cha Eun-woo) her first love or Seo-jun (Hwang In-yeop), her best friend who has the potential to turn into her love. Now that it is the final episode of the show, the answer is just around the corner. 

After seeing Seo-jun hug Ju-kyung, Su-ho takes Seo-jun out for a drink and asks him if he still likes Ju-kyung and if he did confess his feelings. Seo-jun responds "No, we are now dating," as if to indicate that it was not one-sided. However, Su-ho says he doesn't believe him and Seo-jun, the sweet guy that he is doesn't disagree. Instead, they just sit down for a drink together.  

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In the meantime, Ju-kyung doesn't seem comfortable in leading Seo-jun on anymore and she decides to tell him the truth. He doesn't give her a chance however and ends up helping her and Su-ho reunite instead. He lies to Ju-kyung and tells her that Su-ho is set to return to the US again, and now that she was not ready to accept him, she should at least bid him goodbye.

A still of Ju-kyung with Seo-jun in 'True Beauty' episode 16. (tvN)

So Ju-kyung, who had intended to tell Seo-jun that things won't work out romantically between them, ends up hurrying to meet Su-ho instead. Turns out, Seo-jun had lied to her, with her best interest in mind, and given her and his best friend Su-ho the opportunity to reunite. So as much as we can cheer for Su-ho and Ju-kyung's ship sailing at this moment, we are heartbroken for Seo-jun who had no one to help him as he broke down in tears all alone.

A still of Seo-jun during his debut in 'True Beauty' episode 16. (tvN)

Also, it turns out that the promo of the episode was definitely misleading. Seo-jun said "Today was the last day" not to Ju-kyung but to Su-ho. He had tried to explain how that date was supposed to be his final chance to confess and get rejected right away by Ju-kyung so that he can move on and grieve the process of losing his first love. Also, Su-ho stopping Ju-kyung from leaving was not connected to Seo-jun at all, but to him not wanting to let her go as they had just reunited.

Ju-kyung meets Seo-jun to apologize to him and to thank him as well. Seo-jun rises to the occasion yet again and says how he had to confess to her and get rejected to be able to move on and that is something that he cannot be sorry for, but instead tells her to not feel sorry for him. He also promises her that because of his debut, he will be too busy to ponder on his failed first love. Of course, that cannot be 100 percent true, but it is definitely progress considering how he had been pining for her for three years now.

A still of Su-ho and Ju-kyung in 'True Beauty' episode 16. (tvN)

The show is well known for not leaving loopholes, especially compared to the webtoon, so we see Soo-jin return to apologize to Ju-kyung for having hurt her. She explains that this is something she had wanted to do as soon as she returned from abroad. She also tells Ju-kyung that her father and mother got divorced, which led to her leading a life away from his abuses and that has done her some good. 

A still of Su-ho, Ju-kyung and their happy ending in 'True Beauty' episode 16. (tvN)

With a lot of callbacks, some extraordinary bromance between Su-ho and Seo-jun that includes a brilliant rendition of Su-ho and Se-yeon's composition sung by Seo-jun and a hilarious walk down the aisle by Hee-kyung, and Joon-woo, 'True Beauty' came to an end on Thursday, February 4. While Su-ho did get the girl, Seo-jun won our hearts with music, romance, and his take on friendship. 

All episodes can now be binged now on Viki.

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