'When I was the Most Beautiful' Episode 3: Hwan, Jin and Ye-ji's love triangle centers on selfish desires
The third episode of 'When I was the Most Beautiful' portrays how selfish human desires can paint relationships. Seo Jin's (Han Seok-jin) past, his act of cutting the rope and letting his brother and father fall to plausible death has influenced a huge part of his life and his need for speed, racing, and living life at the edge comes from all the guilt that he had accumulated within himself. After all, his one weak moment transformed the lives of his family members and also resulted in his father suffering from a physical disadvantage.
So in the present, Jin believes that humans are flawed creatures who are only meant to hurt each other and in Ye-ji (Lim Soo-hyang), he sees a kindred spirit. While Jin has consciously managed to safeguard his heart from any sign of weakness, Ye-ji safeguards herself from fear of becoming a part of a relationship in which she has little to no say. Ye-ji is also intrigued by her student Hwan's brother Jin but despite the mutual interest, she decides to not make a move at all because she wants to first distance herself from her toxic relatives, become independent, and pursue her passion for ceramics before she even thinks about relationships.
Hwan (Ji Soo), Ye-ji's student is also in love with her and does everything that he can to show how he feels to her. Ye-ji is moved by his actions but is not moved by him enough to consider him in a romantic manner. Instead, she sees Hwan as her savior who has given her a lot in the matter of a month. This is also why she feels extremely guilty when she finds out that Hwan got into a fight with one of his classmates over her. She is surprised to hear that Hwan, the sweet kid who had managed to worm his way into her heart has instincts for violence in him. However, this doesn't stop her from attempting to help him escape a lawsuit.
The episode also saw Hwan come across Jin plant a kiss on Ye-ji and this disappoints him deeply. He runs out and away from the two of them because he had to face reality, and accept the fact that his teacher may not be interested in him. Initially, he is also extremely mad at his brother who keeps belittling his feelings for Ye-ji as something along the lines of it being nothing more than a one-sided crush. Then he figures out that he cannot see Ye-ji be with anyone else, so he tells her that he would prefer that she be guarded around him than be treated like a kid and that's when it becomes clear. Each of the characters in the show is moved only by their selfish desires, at least for now.
So for them to move beyond the trauma that their lives have inflicted on them, they would have to see beyond prejudice and hate, and watching how the love triangle unfolds will be interesting.
'When I was Most Beautiful' will air on MBC on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9.30 pm KST. It will be available on Viu outside South Korea.
