I am so happy that this show is finally out. Hopefully it will be light and breezy with plenty of adorable moments. I want our ugly duckling to succeed, y’all!
In the meantime, let’s give a warm welcome to Hello Drama back to Drama Milk! Hello Drama Box makes adorable mailer boxes filled to the brim with everything you love in Kdramas. (It is seriously filled! PACKED). They are offering a discount on two of their boxes this month! Continue reading below for more.
SPONSORED BY HELLO DRAMA BOX
**DISCOUNT ALERT** Hello Drama is offering a 10% discount on their new Hello Drama Box and their new Hello Drama Snack Care Box. Just put in the code MILK10 to claim your discount! If you want to learn more about Hello Drama Box then check out our interview with them!
Caution: Be wary of typos
How to Watch: Viki
How we do this: This live recap will be in two parts and we segment each post around every 10 minutes. Sometimes sooner, sometimes later depending on the scene. There will be typos which we have fantasies of fixing once the episode finishes airing. Also, if there is a preview then we will try and translate it. Look for that at the bottom or on a separate post!
KOREAN DRAMA RECAP
TRUE BEAUTY EPISODE 1 – PART 1
——-dramamilk.com——-
#1
We open with an adorable shot of a baby. This is a baby girl but everyone thinks she’s a boy. The mother is pushing the baby in the street and has a lot of interest from street mamas. Though people think her sister is prettier.
VO – Ever since I was little, I sensed it, that I wasn’t pretty.
Time jump to a family meeting. Ju-kyung is nerdy with bad skin. The father side is all handsome so hey tell her that she takes after her mothers side. The Grandpa says she looks like she is an outside marriage kid. All the other family members chuckle and comment. Her mother tells her to study hard, that is all you have to do.
OMG this girl is adorable, she watches a cartoon on TV as kid.
VO – I dreamed of a cartoon where a normal girl becomes a fairy (this is hilarious, this show they are showing is a new show, but the flashback should be like 5 years ago).
She imagines that she is the fairy in the cartoon and decks herself out in her princess gear. But everyone laughs at her at school because she dresses like the Princess in the fairytale. They start to spray water at her from their water guns. Poor thing!
She runs home and turns off her TV show that is the princess show.
VO – Rather than the heroine in a romance cartoon….
She picks up a horror book
VO – … I realized that I am closer to a horror cartoon character with a cursed mask.
PRESENT DAY
Im Ju-kyung runs to school. She drops her horror book (the same book she picked up as a little kid) so she runs back to grab it and then runs up to the school.
Inside, the teacher tells the class that class ended. So all the girls run to the mirror and puts on their makeup.
But Im Ju-kyung is not. She is sitting at her desk and reading her horror book. Her skin is splotchy and pimpled. She tries to get the girl in front of her to read the book, she is another ugly duckling, but the girl doesn’t want to.
So Ju-kyung plays her heavy metal music with her head phones and has a good time reading her book.
The girls occupied with their looks start to talk about who is the prettiest and all that. One of them say that no matter what they do they will not be the prettiest in the school.
So of course they decide to pick on Im Ju-kyung. They call her dumpling and tell her to leave to do something for them. So she runs off to do it. The other kids laugh. She bites her lip and goes back inside, almost as if she will tell them off. But she doesn’t, she just confirms their order and smiles.
So she runs to the school cafeteria and gets the stuff for the bullies. The person selling it knows her order, that is how often she gets it.
On the way back, she looks for one of her oppas. He walks right up to her without her noticing. She is super happy to see him. They share earbuds. He tells her that they are the same, they have super same music preference.
He starts banging his head to the music like it’s going to pop off. Meanwhile, Ju-kyung is about to go crazy because he is her really big crush. She yells at her heart to stop acting up. He thinks she is yelling at him so she has to say nothing.
The bully kids look out the window and see Ju-kyung and the oppa dancing and having fun chatting. So of course something is about to happen.
Later during lunch, Ju-kyung stands in line with all the other kids and tells the other ugly duckling kid that oppa is cool and she wants to confess. The other ugly duckling is not that into this conversation. She notices that some bullies might be targeting her so she tells Ju-kyung that she will eat later.
Ju-kyung stands in her oppas line to get her food and asks him if she can see him after lunch Monday. She says yes. The bullies look at that and sneer.
HOME
That night, Ju-kyung cooks a lot of super cool looking cookies for her oppa crush. They are pretty adorable cookies. She also packs them really adorably too.
Her mother tells her to study more, your grades went down at your last exam. Ju-kyung yells that she will and takes off to her room. The mother wonders who she takes after and looks at her husband. But then she shakes her head annoyingly and tells him to massage her shoulders.
The appa gets a text message that looks kind of bad. Perhaps a failed investment?
Then the sister runs in, she is gorgeous and has to poop (because it would not be a Kdrama is someone did not have to poop in a hurry). The parents tell her to use their room because the son is in the bathroom.
In Im Ju-kyung’s room, which looks like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coco had a baby that exploded all over it, she is looking at a scary cute doll and pretends to kiss it. Her brother barges in right in the act, with lips puckered, so she kicks him out.
MONDAY
The next day, while waiting for the school bus, Ju-kyung tells an online support group that she is going to confess to her crush and that she is super nervous. They wish her luck.
Ju-kyung gets on the bus and tries her hardest to protect her cookies amidst all the shaking and rattling that the bus does.
The bus stops and the pretty trio gets on the bus. Everyone gets out of her way as the pretty bully sits at the spot she wants to sit at in the back.
In class, Ju-kyung accidentally bumps into the full of herself bully so she says she will go buy mandu. She runs off. The bullies see her cookie package and look inside it and laugh. Then they go to the cafeteria and ask the cafeteria oppa if he is dating Im Ju-kyung.
The bully tells cafeteria oppa that he is fresh water and the other girl is dirty sewer water, you are too different. You are too nice of a person, that is why she is hitting on you. When I heard the rumor that you were dating, I was so mad!
(She says this in a little kid way like Kim Ji-won did in Fight My Way.)
The cafeteria oppa tells her not to cry or worry, I will text you about it. The girl says okay and then turns away talking bad about Ju-kyung.
#2
MAMAS BEAUTY SALON
Ju-kyung’s mom, Hyun-sook has her own hair salon, or perhaps works at this beauty salon. She tells one of her clients that her eyebrows are perfect! Then she starts to do her face. But some gangsters come in and ask where her husband in.
Back at the school, Ju-kyung gives cafeteria oppa her gift. He is completely different. He’s mean and asks what this is. She tells him it is a concert ticket and cookies and….my heart. I like you oppa!
Oppa – You are confessing to me? I am Wang Hyun Bin. Hyun Bin.
JK – Huh?
Oppa – Did you think I would date you if he confessed.
JK – You said I was a nice girl and we have similar taste in music….
Oppa – hey, I was nice to you because you were ostracized. How dare you, you should at least know what is going on if you aren’t pretty. Don’t you see who you are?
He hits her box to the ground.
Oppa – next time you want to do this, look in the mirror, okay?
He bumps into her when he walks away. She starts to pick up her stuff. Then the bullies come run over, they recorded the entire thing and are still recording it. They run up to get an interview with JK to see how she feels after getting dumped.
The bully tells her that this is daebak, you are really ugly like this. JK pushes her away a tiny bit. The other guy bully pushes her and dumps her cookies on her.
The ugly duckling kid is the one that is reluctantly filming it.
JK – Why do you hate me so much? *teary* I did nothing wrong to you, so why do you hate me so much? *sniffles*
Bully – Do you want me to tell you? It is because you are ugly.
She hits her finger to her forehead. The other bullies tell her that ugliness will transfer to her, don’t touch me! The other ugly duckling looks sadly at her.
AFTER SCHOOL
Ju-kyung walks home and looks at all the comments from the video. She cries and cries and runs off to a department store bathroom.
She washes her face in the bathroom and looks at herself.
VO – Hey look at yourself. In the time you waste doing this, you should know yourself….Because you are ugly.
Ju-kyung throws her glasses on the floor and sits sadly in the bathroom.
The next day, she goes to school and the bullies get the entire class to cheer Bomb Bomb Bomb. She kind of wonders what is going on then sees that they are watching her video in the room. But it looks like this is just a dream. She is still in the bathroom.
She wonders how she can go to school tomorrow and starts to cry.
She rides her fancy elevator up to her house. Her glasses are broken. She goes to the top floor and to the roof. She is about to jump off the side. She takes another step closer to falling, then another small step and looks over to the ground. She takes a deep breath….
Then she looks at the skyline and sees a huge image of an Idol that died. He died at 18 years old so his fans are giving him a tribute. It appears that he also killed himself. She thinks he is a poor guy and thinks, I wont die.
She starts to shiver and says it’s cold.
But then another kid sees her. He runs over and pulls her off the rooftop. Her glasses fall off, his headphones fall off. He crashes to the ground, she falls on top of him.
SH – Ah, that is good.
There is a makeup ad playing on the sign now.
Ju-kyung tries to see his face, but she can’t without her glasses. She hops up and asks what he is doing. Then she starts to look for her glasses.
He stands up and asks what she is doing? Were you about to jump out? Are you crazy? Insane? Why did you want to commit suicide? Why would you make this kind of choice!
JK – I wasn’t about to
SH – You should fight with the courage of you trying to kill yourself. Don’t you think your family will be sad?
JK – I….
SH – Someone will be in pain forever because they couldn’t rescue you. You understand? You can’t do anything for the dead, so don’t die.
He grabs his head phones and walks off. But he stops and looks at her again.
SH – What? If I leave, are you going to jump?
JK – No, no, well, my glasses, um….
She starts to follow him back down the steps. But she is slow going because she can’t see anything.
It appears that the elevator isn’t working perhaps so hey have to take the steps. She calls for him to wait, ajusshi! I can’t see anything! I lost my glasses because of you! Without my glasses I don’t even know if thats poop or dwenjang ARGH!
She trips over the last few steps and splays on the floor.
JK – Are you still there? Ahhhh, my life….*wine*
But he is still there. He puts his arm out to help her stand. She grabs his booty accidentally so he pushes her away.
She apologizes and says she didn’t mean to! So he gives her a piggy back ride instead. She tells him that she is heavier than she looks. He says she looks heavy also. And why are you calling e ajusshi?
They start the long trek down the steps.
JK – I have a question, why did you come to the rooftop?
SH – Ajumma! Just say it loudly.
JK – It is scary if I say it loudly here. And I am not an ajumma, I am a student in a school uniform.
SH – *ignores her*
JK – Someone from the rooftop like me….you know, you rescued me even though you don’t know me and got angry so I just wondered if someone you know died.
SH – If you say one more thing then I will abandon you here.
He keeps walking down belaboredly.
SH – Ah, this is so heavy.
JK – Cheer Up, Cheer Up.
SH – Ajumma!
JK – *quiet*
He finally gets to the bottom. A man gets off the elevator.
SH – Ajusshi, I thought the elevator was broken?
Man – I just checked it, didn’t you hear the announcement
SH drops JK.
JK – So maybe we should have waited a little bit?
SH sighs.
#3
OUTSIDE
He practically pushes her into a taxi and starts to leave. She calls him ajusshi!
SH – Ah, ajusshi again?
He turns to look at her.
JK – I shouldn’t say this but, cheer up.
SH – *looks at her*
JK – The dead will not want their family to be sad for long. So cheer up.
The taxi drives away, he watches it go.
Inside the taxi, Ju-kyung mutters to herself that she is so dumb. She didn’t even have the courage to kill herself. And my new glasses, mom will be so upset.
She thinks back to calling her mother and leaving a message about how it is good that she is not hearing her mothers voice otherwise she would definitely not kill herself so she leaves this super long blubbery message about how she hopes she will be born pretty in the next lifeeeee. Wahhhhhh.
In the taxi, Ju-kyung thinks that her mother might have heard that message! Oh no! She shouldn’t hear that! Ajusshi, hurry!
HOME
But she needed worry because the mother has the family around the coffee table because the father has lost a lot of their money. She wants to rip him a new one. The son and daughter try to hold her back, but Umma breaks free with umma power.
Umma talks about how he is a ship wreck and all their gold is going to the bottom of the ocean! She keeps yelling at this at him. He tries to apologize and gets to his knees to beg her forgiveness.
She tells him she will KILL HIM TODAY! Then proceeds to chase him around the living room. She throws her phone at him, probably breaking it.
SU HO’S HOME
Soo-ho gets home. He also lives in a fabulous condo but it appears that no one else is there.
he looks at a mark on his elbow and thinks back to rescuing Ju-kyung. This sends him to a flashback with trying to rescue his friend who jumped off the building. He sits and thinks about what Soo-ho said about the dead not wanting their loved ones to suffer long.
He looks at a bracelet in his drawer and then puts it back.
JU KYUNG’S HOME
Ju-kyung gets home and sees her mother sobbing with tissues all around her. She says she should be the one to die. Ju-kyung thinks it is because she listened to her message. So Ju-kyung tells her not to kill herself! It is because I wasn’t born pretty! I am ugly like you, that is why I did it!
She starts to cry.
Her brother and sister are looking at her like she lost her mind. Ju-kyung says she won’t die to can I have plastic surgery? Her mother hits her upside her head then tells her to not add more to this situation!
Ju-kyung blubbers and cries, WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT’S UGLY while her brother and sister drag her away to her room.
While in her room, Ju-kyung thinks about texting her ugly duckling “friend” but the friend didn’t even read her message. Ju-kyung thinks she might be the only one that thought she was her friend. She wants to quit school.
Her sister comes in so Ju-kyung tells her that she wants to sleep. She has on another pair of glasses now. Her sister goes out drinking with their mom.
DRINKING
The mother tells her daughter that they have to sell this apartment. That will pay all the debt, then they can go back to their old house. Hae-kyung tells her not to do that, I can quit work and make all the money back by getting the retirement money. I can borrow money from the bank and pay our debt.
the mother tells her not to, he is her husband so she can take care of it.
INSIDE
Ju-kyung talks to her online support group. They are curious as to if she confessed. She tells them that she was dumped because she is ugly. They tell her to study hard and get plastic surgery.
But she tells them that she is not smart and can’t get plastic surgery.
One of the girls asks if she knows how to do makeup? I can show you a miracle before and after. She sends s text. Ju-kyung’s mind is blown, she can’t believe that this is the before and after. Daebak!
END PART ONE
SPONSORED BY HELLO DRAMA!
Hello Drama is offering a 10% discount on their new Hello Drama Box and their Hello Drama Snack Care Box. Just put in the code MILK10 to claim your discount! If you want to learn more about Hello Drama then check out our interview with them.
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