Summary
Episode 17 has the characters growing up quickly as it platforms the importance of university acceptance, and brings the first kiss that everyone was waiting for.
This recap of Netflix K-Drama series A Love So Beautiful episode 17 contains significant spoilers.
After the feeling of a transition in the last chapter, episode 17 opens in November 2008. Sol-i asks Cha Heon how he did on his CSAT exam. Ha-young asks Jin-hwan the same question in the hospital; she hasn’t given up on him, despite him pushing her away. As Jin-hwan talks about his future, he wonders if he will ever have a girlfriend — Ha-young tells him that she is his girlfriend and that he can tell everyone. Jin-hwan is ecstatic and is very animated. It’s about time these two characters made a breakthrough; Jin-hwan’s moodiness was getting a little irritating.
Sol-i gets good results
Sol-i finds out her CSAT results, and she gets her highest score yet. She’s in shock. Afterward, she goes for a milkshake with Cha Heon. He gives Sol-i his milkshake. As she consumes his milkshake, she counts using the same straw as a kiss.
University places
A Love So Beautiful episode 17 then veers to a pivotal moment in teenage life — university places.
When Cha Heon gets home, he finds out he has been accepted to the medical university he wanted to go to. His mother congratulates him, but you can tell she is displeased. He calls Sol-i to deliver the good news, but she doesn’t answer the phone.
Ha-young and Jin-hwan celebrate getting into their universities. Meanwhile, Sol-i is deeply upset; she didn’t get into the university she wanted, and she’s gutted. Her parents try comforting her by telling her that university isn’t everything.
Cha Heon meets Sol-i at a cafe, and she breaks down in tears again. He tells her to go to an arts university and offers to help her by tutoring. This cheers her up; she’s happy that Cha Heon will support her in retaking her CSAT exam.
Dae-sung goes for the swimming finals
As for Dae-sung, he tells his father that he will get to the finals. His father tells him not to overwork himself. Dae-sung rings Sol-i and expresses how confident he is. Sol-i watches Dae-sung in the finals on TV. He wins the gold medal and Sol-i and her father celebrate. In the media after, Dae-sung shouts out to Sol-i to hang in there. This upsets Sol-i as she feels everyone now knows that she failed to get into a university.
The episode then flits to the summer of 2009 and Sol-i is applying for art university. Music goes into a full flow as the characters enjoy the next phase of their life studying hard. Later in the evening, Cha Heon calls Sol-i, but she tells him she’s too busy studying. She’s taking studying seriously, and clearly does not want the distractions.
Sol-i gets in
In December 2009, Sol-i is still painting constantly, and Ha-young, Jin-hwan, and Cha Heon visit her. He cheekily asks when she last washed her hair as she’s smudged with paint. Dae-sung then appears and asks for a hug, but Cha Heon stops her. The next day, Sol-i learns she has been accepted into art university, and she celebrates with her family. All that hard work has paid off for her.
The ending
Episode 17 then brings a moment that has taken ages to come — the first kiss.
To celebrate getting into arts university, Sol-i goes for drinks with her friends, and they all congratulate her. Everyone leaves eventually apart from Dae-sung and Cha Heon. Sol-i is super drunk and slaps Dae-sung, thinking it’s Cha Heon, and calls him a pr*ck. Cha Heon grabs her and helps her home. Dae-sung is understandably confused.
On the way home, Cha Heon kisses a drunk Sol-i, hoping that she will remember their first kiss. The drink is giving confidence to these teens.
A Love So Beautiful episode 17 has the characters growing up quickly as it platforms the importance of university acceptance, and brings the first kiss that everyone was waiting for.