Dear X Episodes 1–4 recap: How Baek Ah-jin turns trauma into terrifying power

The most-awaited K-drama, Dear X, featuring some of the most loved stars, Kim Yoo-jung (My Demon), Kim Young-dae (from Extraordinary You), and others has finally arrived. And this isn't your typical rom-com or romantic show, but a melodramatic thriller that looks at the darker side of the entertainment industry.

It follows the story of the popular webtoon, Vanziun and explores how Baek Ah-jin went from experiencing an incredibly traumatic childhood to becoming one of Korea's most popular and attractive celebrities.

On the outside, Ah-jin looks kind and gentle. But little do people know that she had an abusive childhood and now she's a skilled manipulator. The only reason Ah-jin transforms into this kind of dark personality is survival.

However, once her hidden secrets start coming out, Ah-jin's seemingly perfect life starts to collapse. The K-drama also sheds light on her relationship with others, like her childhood friend, Yoon Joon-seo (played by Kim Young-dae).

Find out how the story unfolds in the first four episodes below.

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Dear X episode 1 to 4 recap: Baek Ah-jin's childhood scarred by violence and secrets explained

The Dear X episode 1 pulls viewers right into the painful past of Baek Ah-ji, and explains how her childhood experience has made her a complex woman in the present. Growing up in 2006, Ah-jin lived under constant fear.

Her alcoholic mother always forced her to steal and beat her when drunk, while her father, Baek Sun-gyu, silently watched until one terrifying night: It was raining and the atmosphere was dark, when Ah-jin's father unleashed a demon inside him.

He dragged Ah-jin's mother violently and pushed her down a staircase. He made the murder look like an accident, and Ah-jin was right beside her mother. And when she asked her to call the police, Ah-jin left silently.

The moment is chilling as it reveals that Ah-jin was so scared of her father that she had to leave her mother to die. Later, her father remarried Hwang Ji-sun, a woman with a suspicious past, as her husband also died under doubtful circumstances.

The woman had a son named Yoon Joon-seo, who became Ah-jin's stepbrother. When Ah-jin discovered that her new guardians planned to sell private videos of her and send her away to an orphanage, she used what she knew against them: she hinted that Joon-seo’s real father might be their chauffeur.

She used this to blackmail her father and stepmother, and was able to save herself from being sent away. However, Ji-sun's cruelty didn't stop there. As revealed in Dear X, she even tried to kill Ah-jin by drowning her in a bathtub. Thanks to Joon-seo who intervened and saved Ah-jin.

Also Read: Love K-dramas? These 5 Filipino shows will give you the same feels

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Ah-jin's high school journey revealed in Dear X episode 1 to 4: Explained

Another chilling detail in the premiere of Dear X K-drama is how Ah-jin learned to turn her pain into power. It was the time when a manipulator was born, who later gained success and fame in her life.

Dear X didn't just epxlain that Ah-jin is a manipulator. It shows how far she can go with a glimpse into the past when a teacher, Ms. Kwak, insulted her by calling her an orphan. Ah-jin wasted no time in getting back at her and leaked photos of Ms. Kwak’s affair online.

This way, she destroyed the teacher's reputation and even got her revenge on time. Ah-jin’s main rival, Sim Sung-hee, also constantly taunted her about her background and status. Ah-jin was even removed from the school's debate team, so she had to come up with another clever plan.

As seen in Dear X, Ah-jin forged messages, spread lies, and used Joon-seo and a classmate named Kim Jae-o to execute her plans. Together, they framed Sung-hee for theft by planting cash and a phone in her locker.

And if you think that Ah-jin's revenge was over, you're wrong! She also exposed a scandal involving Sung-hee’s father and a teacher’s fiancé, ensuring Sung-hee’s entire family's image goes down in public.

As a result, Sung-hee was expelled from the school and that's when Ah-jin felt satisfied with her plan. This way, the K-drama explains how Ah-jin is capable of using people's weaknesses and using them to take revenge.

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Ahi-jin becomes the fearless anti-heroine in Dear X episode 1 to 4: Explained

High school was just the beginning. As seen in the latest episode of Dear X, Ah-jin's world kept getting darker. When her closest ally, Jae-oh ended up killing his abusive father, Ah-jin helped him to fake heartbreak and remorse.

This helped Jae-oh get a lighter sentence than what could have been given to him if he hadn't faked the act. At the same time, Ah-jin's father kept torturing her and even used Ah-jin's tuition money that he had secured for college.

The betrayal was shocking for her, and Ah-jin promised herself to never let go of the power she holds over other people. When Ah-jin entered college, she met Choi Jeong-ho, a former baseball player who ran a café.

Though Ah-jin didn't like him, she had to use him for her goal. She took a job at the cafe and ensured that photos of her beauty spread online. It opened new doors for Ah-jin and sparked her most calculated plan yet.

As seen in Dear X, Ah-jin decided to frame her father as her stalker. She gifted him a hat identical to her real stalker’s and tricked Jeong-ho into believing that Sun-gyu had been attacking her. In a clash, Jeong-ho hit Ah-jin's father with a bat, leading to his death.

Ah-jin’s reaction was chillingly calm. She cleaned up the place, destroyed evidence, and let Jeong-ho take the blame. When Joon-seo tried to protect her by confessing, she accepted a deal from talent agent Seo Mi-ri: freedom and fame in exchange for cutting ties with him.

From there, Ah-jin’s rise was unstoppable. She gained attention and success rapidly and even crafted a plan to expose corrupt people, including a detective. Episode 4 of Dear X ends with flashbacks from the past when Joon-seo blamed Ah-jin for everything, saying that she had crossed a line.

He even claimed that Ah-jin will pay for this one day, but at the same time, he admits that he cannot see her getting punished. Because when Ah-jin suffers, Joon-seo suffers too. And because of this, he has never been able to reveal what really happened when Sun-gyu died.

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