At the school festival, Jin Sung appears, causing chaos with his fans going crazy over his reasons for showing up. And his arrival gives Min Jin the perfect opportunity to press Ae Jin even further to give her Genie’s account in order for her not to expose Jin Sung’s video, which she has managed to retrieve.
Ae Jin then takes Jin Sung away from the crowd and confesses that she is not the one he thought she was and gives him back the neckless. But when they go back, Min Jin has put the whole Jin Sung-Genie conversation on the big screen and she is threatening to press play on the video.
That is when Ae Jin goes up on the stage and tries to explain that she is Genie, but she then realizes that no one is going to believe her and that she is not Genie in the end. So she just apologizes and tries to make things right, when Jin Sung presses play and the video is revealed to be him dancing. After that, he says that he was Genie’s fan just because a girl he knew kept looking at the account and that for him she was the most beautiful.
And then, he leaves, with his fans going crazy over his revelation. Meanwhile, Min Jin is confronted by her classmates, who have found out that she is not the real Genie, as a new post appears just when she is there trying to explain herself. That leads to Min Jin reaching her limits and yelling that Ae Jin is Genie, something that no one believes. Then Sae Hee throws hot water on Min Jin’s face, which results in Min Jin’s meltdown and defeat.
Afterward, Ae Jin meets Jin Sung and the latter confesses that he knew all about her Genie affair and that she is his first love. Then the two share their first kiss. At the same time, Ha Neul and Ho In meet at her place, with Ho In letting her see his scars and explaining his family situation and how he never knew sadness until she broke up with him. He thanks her for making him feel less of a monster and she tells him that she didn’t fall for his beauty after all.
Later, Ae Jin meets her stepfather at the hospital, where her mother is admitted. Her stepfather tells her that Ae Jin indeed had a sister, but her mother had blocked out her memory, especially after she had a miscarriage, and she couldn’t handle the loss of two children.
Then Ae Jin confronts her mother and they make up. The revelation is a trigger point for Ae Jin. She knew her sister was prettier than her and she felt like a burden to her. She also has used her editing skills to create an image of how her sister would have looked like at her age and used her as Genie.
And after Ha Neul and Ae Jin meet, they explain their situations to one another, Ha Neul saying that In Ho knew that Min Jin would approach her and they had planned everything from the beginning. They make up and, for the first time, they are actual friends.
Later on, Ae Jin changes her username on social media and reveals her real face. That results in her followers going down to nine and her only likes on her photo being from the people who are close to her, while everyone else is commenting hateful remarks. However, Ae Jin has grown out of it and she is now more confident and happy with who she is.
The ending of the drama Shadow Beauty is more about Ae Jin and her journey of loving herself and realizing that the standards of beauty she held weren’t realistic. It was also sweet that she and Jin Sung had revealed their true feelings for one another.
Overall, the drama kept things dark and intriguing throughout its length. The twists were well handled and kept things thrilling and suspenseful.
It was also a better take on trying to be someone else based on looks compared to other dramas like True Beauty. And they did a great job wrapping up everything, even the family drama.
However, the characters, other than Ae Jin, weren’t well presented and only had a few scenes to show who they were and their background.
K&J Reviews 