Ah-Jin’s mother Sun-Ye is drunk in the house in Dear X episode 1. She beats Ah-Jin. Ah-Jin runs to the bathroom to dress the wound. Ah-Jin’s father Seon-Gyu shows up. Ah-Jin asks her father to do something when her mother beats her. But he claims that he can do nothing when her mother is insane. He complains it to her that her mother didn’t agree to get a divorce.
Seon-Gyu drags his wife out of the house. He throws her down the stairs. Ah-Jin walks out of her house with an umbrella. She sees her mother lying on the ground. She suspects that her father pushed her mother. He claims that the woman fell down the stairs on her own. He reveals he got a rich mother for her. He threatens her that he will throw her down the stairs if she’s not obedient. Ah-Jin walks to her mother. She’s cold and indifferent. She tries to leave. But her mother grabs her ankle. She begs her to call an ambulance. Ah-Jin shakes off her mother’s hand. She walks away. Her mother is dead because she didn’t save her. Ah-Jin becomes a super star after many years. She looks innocent. But we know that she killed two people. She’s planning her next murder.
We go to Singwang High School in July 2016. Ah-Jin is studying in the classroom when other students go to attend Teacher Kwak’s birthday party. Teacher Kwak is very happy when the students wish her a happy birthday in another classroom. But her boyfriend breaks into the classroom. He slaps her. He takes out some photos. He’s furious to ask her to explain it. He throws the photos on the floor. The students pick up the photos. They try to take a look at it. But the photos are taken away by Teacher Kwak.
Principal scolds Teacher Kwak in his office after he saw the photos. He learns that she cheated on her boyfriend. He reveals he has received numerous complaints from the parents of students. So he has to fire her. Teacher Kwak walks out of Principal’s office. She trips after she suffered a setback. Ah-Jin supports the teacher. She asks her if she’s fine. But the teacher is told that Ah-Jin prepared the present for her. Because the teacher thought Ah-Jin is vulnerable. The teacher is scared to run away after knowing the truth.
Sung-Hee enters the school building. She checks the notice. She finds out that Ah-Jin replaced her to be the first place. She visits Class 2-4 teacher in the office. She wonders why she’s the second place. The teacher reveals Sung-Hee is the second place because of the art test. Sung-Hee takes a look at the art teacher. She remembers Ah-Jin met someone in the classroom. She tried to got into the office. But she was taken away by Jun-Seo.
Sung-Hee finds Ah-Jin in the classroom. She suspects that Ah-Jin and the art teacher were in the classroom alone. Ah-Jin thinks Sung-Hee is too slow. She tells her that she will be the first one to die if she appears in a movie. Sung-Hee shudders because of Ah-Jin’s words.
Jun-Seo won an award in the essay contest. Class 2-4 teacher asks Jun-Seo and Sung-Hee to prepare for the debate competition. But Jun-Seo leaves the chance to Ah-Jin. Sung-Hee, Ah-Jin and the girls talk about the debate competition in the library. Sung-Hee volunteers to be the main debater. But Ah-Jin goes against it. She thinks everyone should have a chance to debate. Sung-Hee offers to make the decision in the next meeting. Ah-Jin is happy to agree.
Sung-Hee’s mother comes to the school to pick up Sung-Hee. Sung-Hee gets in the car. She throws a fit to her mother. Sung-Hee’s mother learns that Sung-Hee isn’t happy because of Ah-Jin. She decides to take care of the girl for her daughter. But Sung-Hee wants to know the tutor Ah-Jin hired. Sung-Hee’s mother mentions what Teacher Kwak said that Ah-Jin is an orphan who cannot afford the academy.
Jun-Seo goes to Ah-Jin’s rental apartment. He peeks at Ah-Jin outside when she practices fake smiles in front of a mirror inside the house. He’s caught. Jun-Seo has a nightmare that Ah-Jin is drowned in the bathroom. He wakes up. He finds out that he’s with her in the house. She thinks he’s sick. Because he has a fever. He claims that he’s fine. He rejects it when she persuades him to go home. Because he prefers to stay with her. He lends the literary notes to her.
Sung-Hee calls Jun-Seo. She thinks Ah-Jin asked him to give up the debate slot. He denies it. He explains it to her that he thought it doesn’t suit him. She thinks they should take part in the competition together because they’re the president and the vice president. But he points out that they will win if Ah-Jin replaces him. Ah-Jin finds the love letter Sung-Hee gave Jun-Seo. Jun-Seo guesses the girl put it into his school bag. He asks Ah-Jin to throw away the love letter. But she thinks he should reply it to Sung-Hee. She volunteers to do the job. He agrees.
The next day, Ah-Jin goes to the school. The girl Ga-Yeong reports it to Ah-Jin that Sung-Hee told Yu-Bin that she doesn’t have parents. She worries that everyone will know it. Ah-Jin meets Class 2-4 teacher in the office. The teacher reveals the parent doesn’t want Ah-Jin to take part in the competition.
Sung-Hee introduces her parents to her classmates via a tablet in the classroom. The classmates think Sung-Hee’s parents are very rich. Sung-Hee takes a look at Ah-Jin. Ah-Jin remembers her mother beat her. Sung-Hee brings up that Ah-Jin was kicked out of the debate team. But Ah-Jin knows Sung-Hee has feelings for Jun-Seo. She gives the letter to the girl. She reveals the letter was given by Jun-Seo. Sung-Hee reads the letter. She learns that the guy rejected her.
Class 2-4 teacher summons Sung-Hee and the girls to her office. She informs them that the competition was cancelled because someone reported them. Sung-Hee walks out of the teacher’s office. She sees the news that the parents of the students bribed the teacher. Sung-Hee is furious to go to the restroom. She calls her mother. She knows the person who did it was Ah-Jin. She swears not to forgive the girl. Ah-Jin shows up. She wonders what will happen to her.
Sung-Hee returns to the classroom. She checks Ah-Jin’s handwriting. She finds out that the letter was written by Ah-Jin. Ah-Jin walks out of the restroom. Sung-Hee throws a bucket of water at Ah-Jin. She tells Ah-Jin that she will regret if she provokes her.
Jae-Oh visits the restaurant owner. He asks her to pay him back because her son owes him the money. Ah-Jin returns to the classroom. She’s soaked. Jun-Seo puts the coat on her. He takes her to the infirmary. Jae-Oh runs into Ah-Jin and Jun-Seo in the hallway. Jae-Oh has a fight with Jun-Seo because he mistakes that Jun-Seo and Ah-Jin skipped school. Ah-Jin denies it. She reminds Jae-Oh that he should conceal the AirPods. He remembers she caught him when he stole the AirPods. She asked him to collect payments for her. Jae-Oh bumps Sung-Hee’s desk before he runs out of the classroom. She picks up the cell phone he left. She sees the messages of him and Ah-Jin.
Ah-Jin and Jun-Seo are in the infirmary. Ah-Jin guesses Sung-Hee doesn’t like her because she’s with Jun-Seo. Jun-Seo thinks the girl did it too much. He decides to report it to the teacher. But Ah-Jin claims that she will handle it with her way. He helps her lie in the bed. She reveals she’s scared. She asks him to help her.
The next day, Ah-Jin comes to the school. She’s told that Jae-Oh was caught because the guy lent money at exorbitant interest rates. She finds Jae-Oh. He says that he didn’t betray her. She hugs him. But he pushes her away because his ribs hurt badly. She realizes that he was beaten by his father. She persuades him to get rid of his father. But he thinks he shouldn’t beat his father. But she reminds him that he just protects himself. She thinks he’s very useful. They don’t know Sung-Hee is watching them.
Ah-Jin and the girls go to the cafeteria to have lunch. Sung-Hee pours the drink on Ah-Jin’s food. The girls blame Sung-Hee. But Ah-Jin says that she’s fine. She leaves the cafeteria. She calls Jae-Oh. Sung-Hee carries Jae-Oh’s cell phone. She realizes that Ah-Jin is Jae-Oh’s boss. She mentions Ah-Jin bought the teacher the present with the dirty money. She laughs when she thinks she won’t come to the school.
Sung-Hee tries to tangle Ah-Jin. But Jun-Seo stops the girl. He asks for a talk. The two go to the rooftop. Jun-Seo apologizes to Sung-Hee for Ah-Jin about the letter. But she thinks Ah-Jin should apologize to her on her own. He holds her hand. He confesses his feelings to her. She’s very happy. Because she thinks they’re dating. He asks her not to bully his friend Ah-Jin since she’s his girlfriend now. She agrees. He offers to watch a movie together.
Jae-Oh contacts Ah-Jin after he bought a new cell phone. He tries to hang up. But she tells him that she needs him. He meets her in the park. He blames her after knowing she let Sung-Hee bully her. She reveals the girl knows she’s the ledger because the girl has his phone. He tries to go to take his phone back. But she stops him. Because she worries that people will badmouth her. He wonders what Jun-Seo is doing. But she wants him to do something for her.
SEE ALSO: Dear X Episode 2 Recap
The next day, Sung-Hee is wronged to steal class president’s money. Nobody believes her since then. Sung-Hee runs into Ah-Jin in the school. She knows Ah-Jin was the mastermind of the case. She wants to use father’s power to deal with Ah-Jin. But Ah-Jin leaks that Sung-Hee’s father slept with Teacher Kwak. She reminds the girl that her father will lose the reputation if people know what he did. Ah-Jin tells Sung-Hee that she had a mother before. The woman was her first X. She thanks Sung-Hee for being her X. She hugs her.