[recap] school 2015 - episode 15

7/24/2019 [Recap] School 2015 - Episode 15

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DRAMA RECAPS

Who Are YouSchool 2015: Episode 15

bydramallama|June 16, 2015 |54 Comments

As the show nears its end, our students and teachers gain perspective on their

relationships facilitated through the constant of school. We see children face theirparents, friends confronting friends, and rivals supporting each other all with

maturity and compassion. While 18 is an age of rebellion, ambiguity, and urgency,

these youths have the capacity to find value, friendship, and wisdom even in a

school occasionally inundated with meaningless hierarchy and incompetency.

EPISODE 15 RECAP
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Looking on with disapproval, Yi-an watches Tae-gwang planting a quick peck on

Eun-bis cheek. Mortified by his instinctual kiss, Tae-gwang cringes and asks Eun-bi

to hit him or go home. He cant look at her properly, so she takes it as her cue to

head home.

After the awkwardest parting ever, Tae-gwang walks away with a spring in his step.

Broody Yi-an watches the giddy boy walk away, taking another look at the medal

Eun-bi gifted him.

At school the next morning, Yi-an brings Tae-gwang to the roof to admit his feelings

for Eun-bi. He doesnt hate her; in fact, he likes her. Tae-gwang responds that hes

liked Eun-bi from the beginning, but Yi-an doesnt care who was first. Hes starting

now. Last minute love triangle?

Even with Director Gong taking full responsibility for Soo-ins death, Teacher Kim

insists on his resignation. He doesnt feel confident in teaching his students. The vice

principal respects his decision, and Min-joon overhears this information as he drops

by the office.

The new English teacher has arrived (cameo by Sam Hammington), and students

are entertained by his thorough understanding of Korean and slang. His comic relief

juxtaposes the tension between Tae-gwang and Yi-an, both sitting with their arms

crossed.

Eun-byul interrupts Tae-gwangs nap to confirm her suspicions about his interest in

Eun-bi. Seeing that he went all the way to Tongyeong, she knows that he likes Eun-bi. But does she like him back?
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Eun-bi works at Moms shop as she waits to transfer schools. She asks Mom to send

her to tutoring to make up for missed time in class, and Mom gladly agrees. As Mom

greets a customer, Eun-bi picks up a call from Tae-gwang.

Tae-gwang waits nervously for Eun-bi, his legs trembling. She sits down next to him

with an awkward buffer space. He starts to apologize about yesterday, but she stops

him. Her mind is racing, so she doesnt know what to tell him. Tae -gwang smiles at

her lack of response or her lack of rejection and quickly catches up to Eun-bi,

teasing her for blushing. How cute.

During lunch, So-young sit next to Ki-tae and Hae-na. They throw out backhanded

compliments about her confidence and shameless attitude. Ki-tae even goes to call

her a criminal. So-young merely glares at the group and chokes down her food.

So-young throws up in the bathroom from indigestion, and she runs into Eun-byul.

She threatens Eun-byul with more nonsense about revealing the truth about the

twins, as if it were still relevant. Eun-byul responds by advising So-young to take a

look at herself in the mirror and reflect. Can you hide your guilt by acting

aggressive? I know that feeling of wanting to erase the past and run away from

everything.

Eun-byuls pointed comment seems to hit home, and So-young stares at herself,

brimming with rage. She throws something at the mirror and looks angrily at her

broken reflection.
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So-young nervously sits with her father and starts to bring up Eun-byul. He stops her

and quotes Shakespeare (really?) to make his point: Weeds spread because the

gentle wind. Improper care will result in dense weeds. If you dont want to get

stepped on, theres only one alternative. Step on them first.

She shakes her head and asks to transfer, but her father wont risk his politicalnomination. Hes already had enough trouble because of her, so she can either step

on others or live quietly. She wont have her way this time.

Yi-an finds Eun-bi on her morning bike ride and asks for her phone. He reminds her

that they agreed to be comfortable with each other, and to do that, he needs her

number. As he returns her phone, he sees a message from Tae-gwang asking about

her search for tutoring academies. Yi-an offers to help her, but she quickly declines,

which tells Yi-an that shes going with Tae-gwang.

Yi-an shrugs it off, saying that he briefly considered skipping practice to accompanyher. He adds that Eun-bi needs to keep her promise until he wins his gold medal,

which confuses her. What promise?


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In class, Min-joon announces Teacher Kims leave. Ki-tae suspects that its because

of Soo-ins death, and this catches Tae-gwangs attention. Min-joon suggests that

they do something. They cant just let Teacher Kim leave, right?

Tae-gwang meets with Teacher Kim on the roof and confronts him about his leave.

Teacher Kim tells the story about when he decided to become a teacher. In his

second year of high school, his homeroom teacher was the kind of person who didnt

keep the expected distance between himself and his students. He struggledovernight in the countryside searching for a student who ran away from home. That

teacher was Tae-gwangs father.

Teacher Kim visited Director Gong at the police station and tells Tae-gwang that his

father worries about him. He admits that he doesnt know if hes a good teacher, let

alone a good person. So hes taking time off to reflect. Tae-gwang understands but

still complains: what about him? Teacher Kim headlocks him and tells him to call

whenever.
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A rude man accuses Yi-ans father of causing the dent in his car, and though Dad

tries to talk it out, things start to get rough. Yi-an interferes, and as Dad tries to hold

Yi-an back from fighting, he gets hit. Beyond all good judgment, Yi-ans strong sense

of loyalty prompts him to throw some punches.

Tae-gwang attempts to his father at the police station, but just as he reaches the

cells, he stops. He cant get himself to go further, and he walks back out.

Dad tries to calm Yi-ans temper, which continues tobe provoked by the rude man.

They try to come to a mutual agreement, and Dad uses his extreme patience to get

through.

Yi-an walks outside and sees Tae-gwang talking to Detective Park. Tae-gwang asks

the detective to take care of his father, and as all the pieces come together, Yi-an

realizes that Director Gong is Tae-gwangs father.

As Yi-an walks out with his father, their paths cross with Tae-gwang. Dad recognizes

the school uniform and confirms with Yi-an that Tae-gwang is a friend. Unaware of

the rivalry, Dad suggests that Tae-gwang join them to eat and drags the two

reluctant boys out for food.
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So-young goes to the store to get her cracked phone replaced. The salesperson

asks if she needs her data backed up, and she nods. She lists the photos and the

videos then shes suddenly reminded of something on her phone and asks that

every single thing be backed up.

Dad thanks Yi-an for stepping up for him, even though hes done very little for his on.

He reminds Yi-an to take care of his body before jumping in a fight, but Yi-an shakes

his head. Hed do the same thing if this happened again. Tae-gwang watches their

interaction with a deep longing in his eyes.

Turning to Tae-gwang, Dad asks why he was at the police station. Did he cause

trouble? Tae-gwang says thats usually the case, but this time He doesnt finish his

sentence and continues to eat.

As they part ways, Yi-an talks with Tae-gwang separately. He asks Tae-gwang if

hes okay, to which Tae-gwang looks back in confusion. Yi-an reminds him that hes

just started, and he doesnt want his competition to weaken so fast. He tells him to

keep his spirits up and leaves with Dad.

At home, Tae-gwang changes his fathers contact name from Legal Guardian to

Father. He says it out loud, with a change of heart.


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Mom gives Eun-bi the information for her new school, which concludes her Sekang

High School memories on a bittersweet note. Eun-bi talks to her sister in bed and

requests that she have one more day at Sekang to apologize to everyone.

Eun-byul agrees to switch out for a day and then apologizes for taking out the bear in

the room without her permission. Eun-bi says that it was from Yi-an, before he knew

she was Eun-bi. Eun-byul nods, saying that if he knew it was Eun-byul, he would

have never bought the furry bear.

So-young goes through her phones new data, looking specifically for a video. She

seethes that Eun-bi and Eun-byul have yet to find peace. Shes just making this

harder on herself.

A girl runs into class with the latest gossip: Director Gongs son goes to their school.

Tae-gwang and Yi-an overhear the conversation as Ki-tae speculates Director

Gongs son as Gong Tae-gwang. They laugh off that possibility, and another girl

insults Director Gongs two-faced nature.


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Tae-gwang gets up, and Yi-an quickly follows to ask where hes going. He

nonchalantly answers that hes going to the bathroom and heads out. Ki -tae and his

posse breathe a sigh of relief when Tae-gwang walks out without any confrontation.

In the facility, Director Gong overhears a fellow inmate bragging about a letter from

his son, whos ranked at the top of his class. He thinks back to Tae-gwangs dilemma

about revealing the evidence, regretful of his assumptions about his son.

Eun-byul reads a book, and Yi-an sits by her. He reminds her of their younger days,

when they would do the same thing. Eun-byul would read, and Yi-an would bother

her while waiting. They reminisce over old times, and Yi-an echoes Eun-byuls

words: Weve outgrown their younger days, and a lot has changed. He hesitates to

tell Eun-byul something and decides against it. He ruffles her hair and says hes

headed to practice.

At Soo-ins grave, Eun-byul apologizes and asks if she can visit her occasionally,

since theyre friends. Teacher Kim and Min-young watch from afar. She asks him

what hell do after leaving his teaching position, and he responds that hell work on

becoming a person worthy of being a respectable teacher before returning.

Teacher Kim addresses his class about his departure. He first apologizes and gives

them a nugget of advice. The times you are experiencing now are at times lonely,

difficult, and uncertain. But its all okay because you all are still 18. He ends the

class there and receives one last parting bow from his students.

When Teacher Kim gets to his car, he stops in his tracks. He sees his windshield

covered with notes from his students thanking him for instilling wisdom and


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encouraging them. His students yell out of the window, wishing him the best and

begging him to come back. He cant help but spill some tears of gratitude as he

waves back at his students one last time.

Yi-an finally gives Eun-byul his gold medal as promised in their youth, and Eun-byul

commends him for remembering after all these years. He tells her that hes here tobreak off his 10-year-long one-sided love for Eun-byul. She confesses that shes

been confused about their friendship as well, and Yi-an nods that he knew. Its one

of the reasons why hes waited so long.

He then adds that no matter how much you think about it, your heart already knows.

Eun-byul admits that she may look back and regret this in retrospect. She may

belatedly realize that she liked Yi-an, especially without him by her side after 10

years with each other. But shell deal with the consequences of her decision. This is

his decision, his feelings.

Yi-an reminds her that theyre not breaking up forever, hes just breaking off his one-

sided love. Of course theyll still see each other. Eun-byul agrees and jokingly asks

why she would cut ties with a friend whos willing to work hard for her. They poke

and tease, both relieved that their friendship remains intact.


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Tae-gwang dresses up to visit his father and adds the one missing element to his

outfit: the tie gifted by his mother. Father and son exchange smiles when they see

each other, and Tae-gwang tries to lift the mood by reporting his good behavior at

school. Dad nods and apologizes for excessively intervening when Tae-gwang would

have done fine if left alone.

Dad compliments Tae-gwangs tie, and Tae-gwang tells him that its from Mom. Tae-

gwang admits that the house without Dad feels empty and that he doesnt feel

embarrassed by him. Dad elaborates on his apology, I used to think that I had a lot

to protect. But in the end, I only needed to protect one thing. That was you, Tae-

gwang.

The visiting time runs out, and Tae-gwang wonders where all the time went. He

promises Dad that hell visit again and calls him Father. On the car ride home, Tae -

gwang cries thinking back to Dads words.

Yi-an sees Eun-bi on the bus and jumps on to accompany her. Their friendly rapport

is back, and Yi-an seems adamant about spending more time with Eun-bi. On their

walk home, Eun-bi tells Yi-an that shell be going to school one last time as Eun -byultomorrow to say goodbye. She says that under her sisters name shes gained Mom,


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a teacher, and loving friends so effortlessly. She even gained Yi-ans admiration as

Eun-byul.

Looking around, Yi-an asks if Eun-bi remembers where they are. She nods, since

theyve visited this park quite often. But Yi-an clarifies that its the first timehes here

with Lee Eun-bi. He says that there will be many firsts with Eun-bi to come and asks

that she stay. Or he could go to her. Yi-an walks towards her and hugs her.

Eun-bi arrives on her last day at Sekang, and Tae-gwang does a double take. To

make sure that its Eun-bi, he pokes her forehead and quickly shields himself. When

he doesnt get a smack, he happily greets Eun-bi. Ha, is that how you distinguish the

two?

So-young watches their interaction from afar, and having confirmed Eun-bis identity,

she calls Eun-byul. She tempts Eun-byul with a fun video from Tongyeong and

claims to have an event planned to reveal it today. Eun-byul immediately rushes out

to grab a cab to school.


13/16

Eun-bi steps up to the podium and asks for the classs attention. She nervously

begins, and So-young watches intently, waiting for Eun-byuls appearance. The

truth is

Eun-byul bursts into the classroom, and all eyes shift from one twin to the other.

Theyve been played. So-young steps up to the front and announces to the class that

she was right. Lee Eun-bi from Tongyeong is alive.
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COMMENTS

Im completely done with So-young. Shes our one source of pure evil and lacks

complexity to convince me that she has a chance at redemption. No one cares for

her antics anymore, and shes come to the point of sad irrelevance. Anything you do

will mean nothing. Do you hear me? No one cares! The only reason I want her to

continue on with her mad behavior is so that Eun-bi can get a chance to crush her. It

was satisfying to see Eun-byul look into So-youngs soul and call her out, but again, I

wish Eun-bi would do something. I know Eun-byul has the personality and

experience to deal with So-young, and maybe she is the best person for the job. But

if this series ends without proper closure with Eun-bi and her notorious bully, I will be

sorely disappointed.

As for our other source of evil, Director Gong, Ill just let him pass. I do agree that the

turnaround was way too fast to be convincing and that Director Gongs redemptioncame too late to be believable. Ill take Teacher Kims word for it, but I actually don t

believe that Director Gong could have been that dedicated teacher he described in

the past. Maybe a few flashbacks or more cracks in his character may have

convinced me, but alas, all we got was a stoic Director Gong who prioritized his

schools prestige over all. Im just letting that slide for the sake of Tae-gwangs

solace. After a lifetimes worth of misunderstanding and resentment, Tae-gwang

deserves some parental love and support. Although Id like to say that Eun -bis

support and possible growing affection may make up for it, theres nothing like

sincere apology and acknowledging your wrongs to make amends.

I was such a fan of Yi-ans character in the beginning, and I was so hopeful for his

performance. But the character just fell flat. It seemed like Tae-gwangs character

grew and developed at the expense of Yi-ans arc. He finally decides to speak in


15/16

todays episode, and while he makes his position pretty clear, I still feel like Im in the

dark about his reversal. Like Director Gongs reversal, I think it came too late in the

game for it to be really believable.

I did think that Yi-ans candid conversation with Eun-byul was poignant and mature.

Eun-byul is a winning character, and I was blown away by how she handled Yi-ans

confession about his expired feelings for her. Shes self-aware and knows shes

responsible for her own decision to retreat from a romantic relationship with Yi-an.

Every decision will have its consequences, and shes aware (not necessarily

prepared, but aware) of her responsibilities. Now, why cant ever damsel in distress

have this awareness? I would totally watch a drama with Eun-byul as the main

character, or better yet, I would watch Eun-byul and Yi-an be friends forever and

then suddenly realize one day that theyre actually the ones for each other. Or

maybe if they remainBFFs for 17 more yearstheyll be stars of another drama.

Im left longing for more Teacher Kim. His run was too short and condensed in the

latter third of this drama, and I can only imagine how much better the series would

have been with more of his wisdom and struggles. I like how he brings it full circle byreminding the students that theyre only 18. Their struggles are real, but with some

perspective, they need not wallow in their current misery. The lessons Teacher Kim

taught Eun-byul and Min-joon were particularly impactful, and you can see these

lessons manifested in the students decisions. Its not embarrassing to make

mistakes, but its wrong not to acknowledge your mistakes. Its better to take the right

way than the easier way. Its rewarding to see the students really understand the

meaning behind his advice and thank him for his guidance. Its a shining moment in

this series. I only wish there were more opportunities for Teacher Kim to shine

because when he does, he shines bright like a diamond.
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Heading into the finale, I find this Schoolinstallment lackluster in comparison to its

previous ones. If were going to compare this to its immediate predecessor, there

was significantly less teacher involvement, teen angst, and bromance. Its difficult to

live up to previous installments, especially with the expectations that come as

baggage its just the nature of this series. The show did have flaws in its swiftacknowledgement of details (like Tae-gwangs mother gifting the tie: too late and too

fast to have it register) and belated plot developments; however, as an individual

drama, the twin set-up was compelling, and the budding relationships were

heartwarming to watch. Kim So-hyun delivered convincing performances as both

Eun-bi and Eun-byul, having a clear understanding of both characters. For a show

thats always one step behind where it should be, I hope that the finale will catch us

up and leave us with uplifted spirits amidst the darkness of high school.

[recap] school 2015 - episode 15

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