When we meet her, our lovely heroine is living her life for the 19th time with a vivid memory of all her past lives. It seems complicated, right? But what keeps her going is a cherished memory of the man she first met in her 18th life and hopes to see again in her 19th one.
Typically, people say that human beings can move on because of their ability to forget. Well, this isn’t the case for our heroine, Ban Ji-eum, who starts remembering everything about her past lives around the age of 8-12. Be it happy or sad memories. In her 19th life, Ji-eum is born into a lousy family where her father is an alcoholic, and her mother runs away, leaving Ji-eum behind.
With 18 prior lives up her sleeve, it is no wonder people call Ji-eum a prodigy kid. But alas, every penny she makes gets into the hand of her alcoholic father, who tries to make money off her every chance he gets. The only thing that makes Ji-eum endure that harsh life is a cherished memory of meeting our male lead, Moon Seo-ha, in her 18th life.
Back then, Ji-eum went by the name Yoon Joo-won. Her mother was friends with Seo-ha’s mother. And they first met around the time Joo-won was 12. Joo-won’s bubbliness felt like a ray of sunshine, brightening the life of an unhappy young Seo-ha. And soon, they started hanging out together and became friends. But that happiness was short-lived as Joo-won died in a mysterious accident at the hands of truck of doom while in the car with Seo-ha.
Joo-won protected Seo-ha till her last breath. And unlike her former wishes to not be born again or at least forget everything, Joo-won made a different wish that time. Now, Joo-won is reborn as Ji-eum. And as soon as she started remembering her past lives, she got desperate to know if Seo-ha survived the car accident. With no hope of finding Seo-ha if she stays with this terrible family, Ji-eum settles to visit the person who can help her.
Surprisingly, that person is a middle-aged woman, Kim Ae-kyung, who used to be Ji-eum’s niece in her 17th life. Wow! Not only does Ji-eum get reincarnated in different bodies. But she has once lived as a man, too. Obviously, it isn’t easy to convince Ae-kyung that the 8-year-old kid in front of her is her late uncle, Kim Joong-ho. Still, Ae-kyung listens to Ji-eum’s story and gives her money to find Seo-ha.
Arriving at the gate to Seo-ha’s house, memories of coming with her mother and hanging out with Seo-ha come flowing to Ji-eum’s mind. She sneaks in and finally gets a glance at Seo-ha, who is now a high schooler. Soon after, Ae-kyung takes Ji-eum in. Which gives her a chance to follow Seo-ha around until, one day, he goes to study abroad.
8 years later, there is still no news about Seo-ha’s return. Ji-eum earns an early admission at KAIST. Learning that Seo-ha is working at his father’s company’s branch in Germany, Ji-eum sets her eyes on joining said company, MI Mobility.
Three years pass after Ji-eum joins the company. She is now a senior researcher. Seo-ha is still in Germany, and Ji-eum is doing her best to get transferred there. It is easier said than done, though. Only executives can go there.
Luckily, Seo-ha arrives in South Korea for the first time in long. Which gets Ji-eum jumping for joy at this joyful news. She rushes over to MI hotel, where Seo-ha is currently staying. And though Seo-ha doesn’t recognize her as Joo-won, his childhood friend, Ji-eum is glad he is back. At least Ji-eum can meet him again, even as a stranger or better as a job applicant. You see, Seo-ha has no intention of joining the headquarters. He is only back to restore the hotel his mother was in charge of before her death from the grasp of his stepmother.
And the first item on his agenda, after looking around the hotel, is interviewing job applicants for the strategic planning team. Though Seo-ha initially finds Ji-eum weird after screening her CV, he agrees to give her a chance. Yet not in his wildest dreams did Seo-ho imagine that Ji-eum would ask him out at the interview. He first brushes it off as mishearing Ji-eum. But Ji-eum repeats her dating proposal, getting Seo-ha taken aback.
Well, that was a delightful watch. I am stunned by Ji-eum’s boldness, which is the opposite of Seo-ha’s introverted personality. Powerful heroines meeting softie and lost-puppy-like male leads and brightening their lives up is one of my favorite Kdrama plots. So here I am, tuning in and awaiting next episode with bated breath.
