Episode 4 of Soundtrack #1 starts with Eun-Soo doubling down on her music. She’s focused on making her lyrics zing but interestingly, keeps Sun-Woo’s scarf close to her this whole time. She’s made it, becoming a prolific lyricist. In fact, she’s so good that even Taeyoon wants to work with her. As Ma-Ri retorts later on when she finds out, he’s a “music god.”
While Eun-Soo revels in sharing the news with Ma-Ri and Gyeol-Han, she very clearly misses Sun-Woo. It’s not the same without him. She messages her best friend and lets him know the exciting news about Taeyoon but he doesn’t reply.
Sunwoo finally does ring Donghyeon but his signal is intermittent and unfortunately, he’s not able to stay on the phone. He also doesn’t ring Eun-Soo either, who finds herself disappointed that it’s Producer Wooil ringing instead, inviting her out to dinner.
Whilst they sit together, Wooil puts her on the spot and admits that he wants to date her. He’s set up this whole dinner as a way of trying to force that through.
Eun-Soo speaks plainly, admitting that she’s not really a fan of wine and her heart no longer flutters when she’s around him. For that reason, she’s not particularly enthused about dating him. Wooil laughs it off and thanks her for being honest, deciding to get the beers in instead. Thankfully they still get to work together, and change the tone of the entire evening to friends instead.
Eun-Soo’s mum eventually catches up with her daughter, and the pair inevitably end up talking about Sun-Woo. Eun-Soo encourages her mother to read her tarot cards. Just like Sun-Woo several episodes back, Eun-Soo ends up choosing the same card her best friend picked, the one showing shadows of a couple holding hands.
It turns out this card actually means someone very close to your heart, not physically far away. Eun-Soo’s mother lied to try and protect Sun-Woo, noticing his shocked look and wanting to save him from any embarrassment.
After messaging Sun-Woo playfully and telling him he’s dead when he returns, Eun-Soo checks out the stuffed bear he got Eun-Soo and notices a card and a necklace in the back. The note reads that he’ll always be by her side no matter what, which causes her to message him, revealing she has something to say.
Just like that though, Sun-Woo suddenly returns, leaving a flower shop and bumping back into his best friend. He’s only in Korea for 10 days before heading off to Prague though. The flowers aren’t for Eun-Soo either, they’re actually for Ma-Ri, given it’s her birthday. Gyeolhan surprises her with a little song and a brand new ring that night too, making the evening a joyous affair.
The next morning, Eun-Soo heads over to surprise Sun-Woo at the studio – but he’s not alone. He has a new assistant in Seo-Yeon. Inevitably, she ends up getting jealous. When Seo-Yeon gets a taxi home that night, Eun-Soo encourages Sun-Woo to walk her home. In doing so, Eun-Soo takes a leap of faith and broaches the subject of the pair dating. However, she can’t bring herself to actually ask him and instead, is forced to agonizingly watch him walk away.
Eventually Eun-Soo does admit how she feels to Sun-Woo, apologizing for not realizing her true feelings (and his too) before it was too late. Taking that important step, Sun-Woo writes in her lyric book (the one he got for her) and finishes the song with one sentence: “Please stay by my side, I love you.” As Sun-Woo leans over, the pair kiss passionately.
During the Bonus Track of the episode, Sun-Woo and Eun-Soo spend time together, enjoying each other’s embrace while listening to music. At the table behind them, Gyeolhan, Donghyeon and Ma-Ri all talk about how they knew the couple would be together like this eventually.
The Episode Review
Soundtrack #1 bows out with a satisfying final episode, one that wraps up all the big plot points that finally sees Sun-Woo and Eun-Soo together. It’s been a long time coming but this simple but sweet K-drama manages to wrap up everything beautifully without compromising on character or tone.
Although I personally would have liked Soundtrack #1 to have expanded out a bit and really dive into Sun-Woo’s time away – along with Eun-Soo’s career taking off – these are minor quibbles in what’s otherwise been a very solid watch overall.
Eun-Soo and Sun-Woo make a great couple and their chemistry has been pretty palpable right the way across the run-time. It’s great to see them finally together and it’s a very satisfying way to end the show.
Satisfying is probably the best word to describe Soundtrack #1; a solid, no-nonsense romantic drama that manages to tell a competent story across its four episodes. Despite being short, this has been a surprise dark horse this year. Could we see a second season of this one? We’ll have to wait and see!