‘It’s Okay to Not Be Okay’ Review: When Mental Health Became a Side Plot and Toxic Love Took Centre Stage

The drama actually opens like a fairytale — a story about a young girl who was followed by a dark shadow, so everyone called her a monster. She had no friends and lived in constant loneliness. One day, she saved a boy from drowning, and in return he started following her everywhere… until she destroyed some butterflies and he ran away.

We then jump into the real world with our male lead, Moon Kang Tae, who pulls his brother out of work after an incident with some machines. His brother, Sang Tae, is autistic and struggles in overwhelming situations. Meanwhile, our female lead, Ko Mun Yeong, is introduced as a famous children’s book author who manages to terrify a little girl just for asking for a picture. Enter Lee Sang In, her long-suffering publisher CEO, who drags her to a children’s psychiatric hospital for a reading. Coincidentally, Kang Tae also works there — though in the adult ward. A new patient arrives after a horrifying case: he tried to make his daughter overdose, then attempted to kill himself. His daughter is admitted to the children’s ward with PTSD.

During Mun Yeong’s reading, chaos strikes. The father barges in looking for his daughter, dragging her backstage. Mun Yeong follows, watches the mess unfold, and — in the most blunt way possible — tells him to kill himself but leave his daughter out of it. He snaps, grabs her by the throat, and we see a chilling flashback of Mun Yeong experiencing something similar as a child. Just when it looks bad, Kang Tae jumps in to save her, but Mun Yeong isn’t done. She pulls out a knife, ready to stab the man, and Kang Tae blocks her, slicing his own hand in the process. He ends up taking the fall and losing his job. Mun Yeong signs hospital papers to save her father, and the man who attacked her dies later in solitary confinement.

That night, both Kang Tae and Mun Yeong realize they’ve crossed paths before. Kang Tae finds himself rereading her book, while his brother wakes from a nightmare insisting “the butterflies will kill me.” Ju Ri — Kang Tae’s friend, coworker, and Mun Yeong’s old classmate — mentions there’s a job opening at her psychiatric hospital back in their hometown. We also see a flashback of Kang Tae’s mother being murdered when he was younger. Sang Tae had witnessed it but could only say, “the butterfly did it.”

The next day brings us to Mun Yeong’s book signing, which… let’s just say doesn’t go smoothly. While Kang Tae steps away to take a call, Sang Tae gets distracted by a child’s dinosaur costume (dinosaurs are his favourite). Unfortunately, the child’s father doesn’t take it well and grabs Sang Tae by the neck, causing him to panic. Kang Tae rushes back to calm his brother, but Mun Yeong jumps in like a force of nature, yanking the father’s hair until he apologises. What a book signing.

Not long after, Mun Yeong shoves a book critic down the stairs for threatening to write that she has an anti-social personality. Subtle, right? We then find out the fairytale characters from the beginning — the lonely girl and the boy she saved — were actually Mun Yeong and Kang Tae all along. Soon after, Kang Tae accepts the job offer and they move back to their hometown.

Meanwhile, Mun Yeong’s reputation takes a nosedive. Footage of her fight with the parents — plus clips of her being rude to kids — gets leaked, and people start boycotting her books. To make things worse, a civic group files for an injunction against her latest release, claiming it’s too disturbing. Mun Yeong, blissfully unaware, heads back to her hometown, where Kang Tae moved to. Her obsession with Kang Tae deepens, and she even agrees to teach a literacy class at the same psychiatric hospital where he works.

Eventually, the injunction gets approved, which leaves her publisher Sang In in full panic mode. Meanwhile, Mun Yeong and Sang Tae finally meet and immediately bond, which only makes Kang Tae lash out in frustration. He says some cruel things to Mun Yeong before dragging his brother away. Later, when Mun Yeong agrees to take her father on a walk, he suddenly snaps, tells her to die, and strangles her. In true Mun Yeong fashion, she laughs through the tears after it happens. Kang Tae eventually hears about the incident, rushes out, and finds her wandering alone — barefoot, drenched, and broken. He takes her home, and after some back and forth, she convinces him to let her stay.

Back at the hospital, Sang Tae agrees to paint a mural on the wall while Sang In begs Mun Yeong to publish again because, thanks to her antics, he’s flat broke. Mun Yeong, however, has other ideas. She offers Sang Tae a job — live with her and be her illustrator. Meanwhile, we get more backstory on Kang Tae through a flashback: as a kid, he ran home excited about earning his red belt, but instead of praise, his mom slapped him for leaving Sang Tae to walk alone. Hurt, Kang Tae stormed out, only for Sang Tae to follow him onto a frozen lake. The ice cracked, Sang Tae fell in, and at first Kang Tae ran away. But guilt pulled him back, and he tried to save his brother while nearly drowning himself. Sang Tae managed to escape, but it was Mun Yeong — watching from a distance — who helped pull Kang Tae out.

In the present, Mun Yeong is haunted by nightmares of her mother, and Kang Tae slowly begins to care for her more openly. A few days pass with Mun Yeong teaching her literacy class, and Kang Tae finally admits (at least to himself) that he’s falling for her. Things take a sharp turn when one of the patient’s toxic exes shows up, furious that she’s moved on. He chases her down until she runs straight into Mun Yeong. Ever the chaotic queen, Mun Yeong hurls her can at him — only to get hit in the face herself. Kang Tae, arriving right on time, punches the guy square in the jaw. His suspension that follows? Totally worth it.

Afterward, Kang Tae casually asks Mun Yeong to go on a trip with him, and for a moment, it feels like we’re heading into rom-com territory. But of course, it doesn’t last. Mid-drive, Mun Yeong gets annoyed, kicks him out of her car, and speeds off. Later that night though, she and Sang Tae are laughing together over a TV show when Kang Tae comes home. Instead of holding a grudge, the two of them make plans to take that trip the next day. But before any of that, the hospital director makes a chilling discovery: Mun Yeong’s mother might still be alive.

Kang Tae and Mun Yeong finally set out on their long-awaited trip, and they go up a mountain to a suspension bridge. They snap pictures, laugh a little, and actually enjoy themselves. Later, they stay overnight at a guest house (just to sleep, relax 🤨), and we finally get the backstory of Ju Ri’s long-time grudge against Mun Yeong. Turns out, back in school Ju Ri was bullied, and Mun Yeong swooped in as her only friend. Things were good until Ju Ri made more friends, which triggered Mun Yeong’s jealousy. To keep Ju Ri all to herself, Mun Yeong drove those other friends away — and once Ju Ri found out, the friendship fell apart.

Back home, Sang Tae starts worrying when his brother doesn’t answer his phone and hasn’t returned. When Kang Tae finally shows up with Mun Yeong, Sang Tae is still upset. Things boil over when he overhears talk about the two possibly getting married. He confronts Kang Tae and demands to know who he loves more: him or Mun Yeong. Kang Tae swears it’s Sang Tae, but he doesn’t believe him. In a gut-wrenching scene, Sang Tae dunks his brother in water, screaming that Kang Tae wants him dead. He accuses Kang Tae of pushing him into the icy lake years ago and running away. Kang Tae collapses, sobbing, insisting it isn’t true. Easily one of the most emotionally brutal moments of the drama.

Meanwhile, one of the patients, Ms. Park, starts asking odd questions about Kang Tae and his brother, setting off alarms for the hospital staff. Kang Tae decides to break things off with Mun Yeong to focus on Sang Tae, though he eventually patches things up with his brother. Ms. Park keeps raising eyebrows. A nurse mentions she’s unstable and loves provoking others. Later, Kang Tae hears her humming a song and follows her straight to Mun Yeong’s father. She needles him with the question, “Why? Are you going to kill me again?” which sends him into a rage. He chokes her, insisting if he doesn’t kill her, she’ll kill him. The staff restrains him, but now both Kang Tae and the director start to wonder: is Ms. Park connected to Mun Yeong’s mother… or is she actually her?

Mun Yeong, meanwhile, is determined to be besties with Sang Tae, but he’s still hurt about being left behind during the trip. The next day, Kang Tae pieces things together and realizes Ms. Park really might be Mun Yeong’s mother. He rushes to her house, where Ms. Park has already arrived, wishing Mun Yeong a creepy “happy birthday” and talking about her father. By the time Kang Tae arrives, Ms. Park is gone, and he’s left shaken but relieved. The tension melts a little as Kang Tae and Mun Yeong reconcile, and she cares for him while he’s sick.

While lying together, Kang Tae finally opens up: Sang Tae had witnessed their mother being murdered by a woman wearing a butterfly brooch. Ever since, each spring when butterflies return, the brothers pack up and flee. It’s the one trauma they’ve never been able to escape.

Back at the hospital, Sang Tae is close to finishing his mural when the director requests butterflies. Naturally, Sang Tae refuses. Tensions at home rise too — Kang Tae and Sang Tae get into a heated argument, ending with Kang Tae finally snapping and fighting back.

A few days pass, and Sang Tae finally decides to face his fear of butterflies by telling the truth about his mother’s death. One night, while chasing a cat on their way home, his mom walked into a tunnel. There, a strange woman with a golden butterfly brooch appeared and stabbed her in the neck. She then grabbed the back of Sang Tae’s hair and threatened him — which explains why he panics whenever someone touches it. As Sang Tae describes the brooch, Kang Tae remembers an old family photo of Mun Yeong’s mother wearing the exact same one. The realization hits hard: did Mun Yeong’s mom kill his?

Kang Tae is shaken but resolves to keep this from Mun Yeong. Not long after, her father’s cancer worsens. Kang Tae and the director encourage her to say her goodbyes, but Mun Yeong refuses. In her eyes, parents don’t get automatic forgiveness just because they’re parents — or because they’re dying. Her father eventually passes away, but not before confessing that he killed his wife and threw her body into a lake.

After his death, Mun Yeong starts considering selling her “castle” and moving forward. But things unravel again when Sang Tae’s nearly finished mural is defaced with a white butterfly. The sight destroys him — it’s the same butterfly he saw on the woman who murdered his mother. Mun Yeong connects the dots too, remembering her mother’s identical brooch. The truth is undeniable: her mother killed Kang Tae’s mom and traumatized Sang Tae. She’s left shattered.

While Mun Yeong retreats to process everything, Kang Tae comforts his brother and digs deeper with the director. They check the CCTV footage to catch whoever drew the butterfly, expecting Ms. Park. But in a shocking twist, it’s not her at all — it’s Nurse Haeng Ja. Sweet, dependable head nurse Haeng Ja is actually Mun Yeong’s mother.

Kang Tae immediately sends Sang Tae to be with Mun Yeong while the director scrambles to handle Haeng Ja. Mun Yeong, on the other hand, continues to spiral. Kang Tae eventually tells her the truth — Haeng Ja is her mother — and the weight of it crushes her. After a few more days of mourning and guilt, Mun Yeong puts together a plan to catch her. Unfortunately, Haeng Ja is already ahead of them and kidnaps Sang Tae first.

Kang Tae and Sang In scramble to distract Mun Yeong while Kang Tae goes to confront her mother himself. Mun Yeong immediately finds out, almost crashes Sang In’s car, and runs back to her “castle” house. At the “castle,” he finds Sang Tae drugged and unconscious. Haeng Ja unloads years of twisted blame, accusing Mun Yeong of everything. She recalls how she snapped when Kang Tae’s mother suggested putting Mun Yeong in a psychiatric hospital after she showed disturbing behaviour, like suggesting they kill an injured bird. Kang Tae’s fury boils over, and he nearly strangles Haeng Ja — but stops himself. That hesitation gives her the chance to stab him with a needle.

Mun Yeong arrives just in time and tries to stab her mother in return, but Kang Tae intervenes, desperate not to let her carry the burden. Haeng Ja seizes the moment and stabs Mun Yeong instead. Just as it looks like she’ll win, Sang Tae regains consciousness, grabs a massive book, and slams it against her head — knocking her out cold. Hero move.

The police arrest Haeng Ja while Kang Tae sleeps off the drugs. When he wakes up, Mun Yeong—convinced he’ll only suffer if he stays with her—tells him and Sang Tae to move out. The next day, Kang Tae quits his job and learns the director is also leaving. Mun Yeong tells Sang In she’s retiring and won’t be publishing the book she was working on with Sang Tae. But after a lot of back and forth (and a whole lot of stubbornness), she finally agrees to be with Kang Tae again.

Eventually, Mun Yeong decides to publish the book with Sang Tae after all, and Sang In couldn’t be happier. She later visits her mom in prison, vowing not just to forget her, but to use the butterfly as a symbol of healing instead of fear. Meanwhile, Sang Tae paints over the old butterfly and replaces it with a new, brighter one—showing his growth and his ability to finally move past his fear of butterflies.

The book is published under the title Finding The Real Face. Sang Tae is excited to see his name and illustrations in print, while Sang In quietly panics that it won’t sell since it’s nothing like Mun Yeong’s usual work. After a failed reading event, Director Oh gifts them a camper van, which instantly lifts everyone’s spirits. That night, Mun Yeong and Sang Tae pretend they’re not interested in taking a trip — just to surprise Kang Tae. The next morning, they all head out together.

One night on the trip, outside the camper, Mun Yeong finally apologises to Kang Tae for hurting him and confesses her love—for real this time. The next day, Sang Tae decides he wants to head back and work on a new project he’s been offered. He tells Kang Tae to stay with Mun Yeong, pushing Kang Tae to finally understand that he can live his own life while letting Sang Tae live his.

The story closes with the ending of Finding The Real Face, where the trio in the book finally discover who they are.

The End.