A talented construction planner and art director’s life is tragically changed when his first love is killed in a car accident on the way to their wedding.  Three years later, he doesn’t believe that he will ever be able to forget her or love anyone else again.  But when he gets stranded on a mountain with a beautiful stranger, he feels his heart suddenly begin to thaw.  Little does he know that they share a connection from the past that could make them question any feelings they think they have for each other.  

Son Ye Jin as Shim Hye Won

Shim Hye Won grew up a sick child before she was able to get a heart transplant 3 years ago.  That surgery gave her a fresh healthy life.  One of her favorite hobbies these days is to go places and take pictures of wild flowers.  Which is exactly what she is doing before she gets lost and runs into Yoo Min Woo on the mountainside.  And she is surprised to find herself relaxing and enjoying his company.  But she can’t believe it when she finds out that he has been hired to work on the same resort project as her.  Especially since she kept their meeting a secret from her childhood friend and fiance, Jung Jae.  And she quickly realizes that she never felt her heart race for Jung Jae the way it does for this handsome stranger.  

Shim Hye Won is warm, cheerful, and optimistic.  But when she finds out that she has Eun Hye’s heart, she suddenly begins to believe that those traits, which Min Woo says he loves so much, are not actually her own.  Confused about whether Min Woo really loves her and not just the memory of Eun Hye, Hye Won breaks up with him, but she never stops loving or missing him.  Son Ye Jin has grown a lot as an actress since this role.  This character is rather simplistic and her overly emotional responses are often frustrating.  But I think that says more about the character than the actress herself.

Han Ji Hye as Park Jung Ah

Park Jung Ah is Jung Jae’s younger sister and Hye Won’s best friend.  She meets Min Woo while studying abroad and follows him home when he leaves suddenly without telling her.  She has a crush on Min Woo, but he has always told her he wasn’t over his first love.  When she finds out that Min Woo is falling for Hye Won, she tries every trick in the book to try to keep them apart.  

 ♥ Genetic Memory

While a story about a transplant recipient and the loved one of their donor is nothing new to kdrama, I still find the concept intersting and somehow beautiful.  This idea of genetic memory is fascinating.  And in some ways, I can appreciate why the writers chose to give Hye Won a new heart in the end, just to prove that the love they shared was not based on Eun Hye’s heart. But I still love the fact that through meeting Hye Won, Min Woo was able to find peace with his memories.  

 ♥ Romance

I have heard some people complain about the chemistry and lack of skinship in this drama.  And it is true that these older melodramas do have a tendency to keep those kinds of interactions to a minimum, partly because I think that it adds to the emotional angst and feelings of longings.  But I thought the scene of Min Woo and Hye Won dancing in the field was one of the most romantic scenes I have seen in a kdrama.  The intimacy of her standing on his feet and him finally getting to hold her close was poignant.  For me it was that breathtakingly subtle form of romance that is all together swoon-worthy.

Selfish Siblings

If I had to pick one, I definitely hated Jung Jae more than Jung Ah, but seriously these two were both horrible.  Jung Ah was just immature and manipulative, but she never really upped her game, and it got old by the end.  Jung Jae’s attitude that he could tell Hye Won what to do and think, including kidnapping her when she didn’t do what he said, was infuriating.  I don’t very often want to thrown my remote at the television, but this one had me coming close.   

Ending Questions

Even though I have already complained that I thought this drama was longer than it needed to be, I wish they had done one more time jump at the very end.  Here’s why.  First of all,  if the person I loved led me to believe that they were dead for 3 years, I might need a little time to come to terms with that and forgive them.  Also, even though Hye Won no longer has Eun Hye’s heart, she did at one time.  I feel like some people might still be hesitant about them being together.  I would have like to see them a bit more in the future after they had conquered those obstacles.  

“Summer Scent” gives us a fair hint at a happy ending, even if it has to occur in our imaginations.  Hye Won collapses before her wedding to Jung Jae.  Later at the hospital, we learn that she is in serious condition and needs at least one surgery and possibly another heart transplant.  But Hye Won refuses treatment because she doesn’t want to be tethered to a hospital bed again.  In the end, Min Woo convinces her to have the surgery, but only on the condition that he not stay around to see her at her worst.  So Min Woo leaves for Italy.  This section ends with an email from Jung Jae to Min Woo saying that she has passed away.  But 3 years later, we see a healthy Hye Won at Jung Ah’s wedding.  When Jung Jae pushes her about why she doesn’t just tell Min Woo the truth, she says she is scared that her heart will no longer flutter for Min Woo like it did when she had Eun Hye’s heart.  We see Min Woo come home.  Dae Poong picks him up from the airport and we hear that he and Jang Mi are still together.  After a couple close encounters with each other, the final scene shows Min Woo and Hye Won both walking on a crowded stairway where everyone is holding umbrellas.  As they brush past each other, they both feel their hearts begin to beat fast.  Stopping in their tracks, they look up to find themselves face to face.  And the rest is up to you!