The latest Korean BL web drama adaptation has finally arrived in GagaOOLala! From the same producer of ‘A Shoulder to Cry On’, this eight-episode series stars rookie actors Ji Ho Geun and Jin Kwon alongside Kim Jeong Hwan and, believe it or not, also from Omega X, member Hangyeom.
Based on the web drama with the same name, ‘Jazz for Two’ tells the story of a budding piano artist who has always wanted to set himself apart from his family of classical music geniuses and a trumpet major who has started to hate piano due to a traumatic memory from the past. Together, in a series of unfortunate and hateful encounters, they begin to create music that they have never played before. In this BLTai recap, find out what transpires in the pilot episodes of ‘Jazz for Two’
Warning: Spoilers alert. Read at your own risk.
Episode 1: Summer Time
Running his fingers on an old piano in an abandoned practice room at their school, Se Heon remembers crying while sitting on the stairs with the heavy rain pouring on him. A hand holds out an umbrella to cover him, and he finds his classmate, Tae Yi, looking at him worriedly. Tae Yi asks him why he is there, and Se Heon answers that he no longer has any place to go to. Tae Yi helps Se Heon walk on the pavement as he covers them both with his umbrella. When Se Heon accidentally trips, Tae Yi holds the back of his waist immediately to help him up, resulting in them facing each other with just a few inches in between. As the rain pours on them continuously, Tae Yi cages Se Heon’s face with his hands and kisses him.
Se Heon practices playing the piano as he uses his music sheet to guide him. Behind him and reading a book is his father, who is a renowned music professor at a famous university majoring in classical piano. Around their luxurious home is a row of certificates in recognition not only of his father’s expertise but also of his brother’s natural talent for playing the piano as well. Despite his life being made up of just eating, practicing, and homeschooling, Se Heon knows that he is considered a mutant in their musically genius family. After he hits the last note, his father calls him out for looking at his music sheet despite having played the same piece multiple times already. As his father continues to express his disappointment in him, Se Jin arrives, and his father’s mood changes instantly. After Se Jin resorts to his bedroom, Se Heon’s father tells him to observe how the people in his new school play the piano and reminds him to continue practicing or else he will fall behind. What his father doesn’t know is that Se Heon is excited to be in a real school, not because it is the first time but because he knows he can play any kind of music there and also take a break from the routine that was insisted on by him. Inside his bedroom, he excitedly watches the Hanson Jazz Band and imagines himself playing jazz on the piano like the artist. Se Jin interrupts his trance about becoming the first jazz pianist by entering the room, carrying a box filled with his notes and compositions. Se Heon asks Se Jin if his plans to go out of the country are going well, but he only gets a shrug from the latter and words to not let their father know about his interest in jazz music.
The following day, Tae Yi wakes up and prepares to go to school, Wooyeon Arts School, monotonously. Before leaving home, he receives a reminder from his uncle about their plans that afternoon, although he does not reply. Meanwhile, as Se Jin has expected, Se Heon finds himself losing his way on his first day. He bumps into a handsome man whose companion, an equally handsome man as well, arrives and helps him find his way. He thanks them for helping out before he goes on his way. The two handsome men who helped him started bickering at each other, bumping into a cute guy like Se Heon. On the other hand, Tae Yi’s friend, Do Yoon, a blue-haired drummer, catches up to him and asks him what he wants for his birthday, which turns out to be happening the next day. While Do Yoon is used to Tae Yi’s broody mood, he still teases him about it until they see their senior student, Joo Ha, who was recently suspended, standing around the walkway. Joo Ha approaches them and ignores Do Yoon; instead, he talks rudely to Tae Yi about how he is annoyed that his younger sister likes him romantically. Do Yoon tries to get in between as tension arises to avoid a fight from coming, but Joo Ha just orders them to go out of his sight after he says mocking words towards Tae Yi.
On the other side of the building, Se Heon, who just got his books and uniforms, bumps into a female student who was carrying a small gift in her hand. The female student calls out Se Heon, whom she taught, as an outsider. Se Heon decides to roam around in the meantime and look for the piano room to practice. He once again loses his way and ends up in the old building of the school, where he hears a piano playing and follows the sound. He ends up in a secluded practice room where an old piano stands in the middle and takes the seat to play it. Meanwhile, Tae Yi, who is napping outside the very same building, wakes up to the sound of the piano, which reminds him of watching his brother, Tae Joon, play for him. Tae Yi rushes to the practice room and initially sees Tae Joon playing the piano and becomes endeared; however, the fondness immediately dies after he realizes that it is a complete stranger. Tae Yi questions the stranger, who turns out to be Se Heon, and pushes him off of the piano. Se Heon tries to explain that he isn’t an outsider, but Tae Yi interrupts him and orders him never to play in that room or on that piano again. He sternly instructs Se Heon to get out of his way. Later that day, Tae Yi meets his uncle, who then drives him to a cemetery, where they drop flowers for Tae Joon. Uncle tells Tae Joon’s grave that Tae Yi still needs time to adjust before he promises to come back next year. On the other hand, Se Heon is unable to forget his encounter with Tae Yi and is frustrated at how pushy he acted in front of him. In another dream, Tae Yi watches Tae Joon play the piano and complains about how he is playing the same song all over again. Tae Joon simply answers that he loves the song so much that he’d die for it. Tae Yi wakes up and grabs his now-empty bottle of sleeping pills. He decides to run in the middle of the night to distract himself from how the memories he tries so hard to forget start resurfacing again after hearing the guy from the afternoon. He convinces himself that he will never encounter that person again.
The following day, Se Heon officially joins his class, where he excitedly introduces himself as the transferee until his eyes meet the eyes of the person with whom he had an unfortunate encounter the day before, Tae Yi.
