'Do you like Brahms?' Episode 1: Kim Min-jae, Park Eun-bin's characters are a part of torturous love triangle
The recent SBS Korean show 'Do you like Brahms?' is inspired by the personal life of legendary musician Brahms. The first episode introduces us to the main characters around whom the show revolves - passionate violinist Chae Song-ha (Park Eun-bin), genius pianist Park Joon-young (Kim Min-jae), and how their paths cross because of music. Both are involved in a love triangle similar to the one that Brahms was involved in. He had been in love with his best friend Robert Schumann's wife Clara. Similarly, Song-ha is in love with her best friend's former boyfriend while Joon-young is in love with his best friend's wife.
The two of them meet because of a concert where Joon-young is the star pianist and Song-ha was expected to be part of the orchestra. However, the conductor of the concert decides that the violins are too loud and so he asks her to leave the concert. Not just that, the conductor also shames Song-ha, for getting bad grades in music school. This turns out to be the first time that Joon-young notices her. The fact that Song-ha's full name Chae Song-ha sounds similar to "apologies" might tickle the other musician's funnybone but not Joon-young. He understands how embarrassed she could be and breaks the ice for her to be able to leave the concert hall.
This incident destroys Song-ha's confidence as a musician, however, she continues to play her violin. Even when she gets selected to intern with a cultural foundation that is well-known for organizing concerts, she continues to practice her violin religiously and all of this intrigues Joon-young. On the other hand, what interests Song-ha about Joon-young is his passion for music and how that shows in everything that he plays. The first time she heard him play, she felt the music deep in her bones and such passion impressed her. What begins as something purely based on respect for each other progress into friendship when Song-ha realizes that the foundation that she works for is organizing a concert with Joon-young playing the piano. She gets permission to practice in the foundation's concert hall and to coordinate their schedules, the two of them share phone numbers. Their interest in music is clearly the common denominator that helps them open up to each other, but it is towards the end of the episode that we learn about something else that is common between them.
The fact that the two of them are crushing on someone that they shouldn't. The both of them learn about this at the airport where again, they cross path by coincidence. Song-ha is at the airport to welcome her friend and her best friend's boyfriend. He is a violin maker who is returning to Korea after having studied in Italy. She also hopes that he gets a good look at her violin that she feels is not tuned right.
Joon-young, on the other hand, is at the airport to welcome his best friend. It is at this time that the two of them get talking and from the way Joon-young speaks about her proposal that won her the internship -- a concert featuring music of Brahms, Clara and Schumann -- Song-ha realizes that there is something about her proposal that rubs Joon-young the wrong way. While her idea was to highlight the friendship between Brahms, Clara and Schumann, Joon-young had assumed that her project was about love that was destined to be unattainable.
That's when the Song-ha asks him "Do you like Brahms?" and he responds that he doesn't. Also, turns out Joon-young also intentionally stays away from the composer's music. All of it, because of one woman and to Joon-young's shock, she arrives at the airport with Joon-young's best friend.
'Do you like Brahms?' airs on SBS on Mondays and Tuesdays at 10 pm KST.