The first phase of falling in love is denial. After it comes seeing that person everywhere, not being able to get them off your mind. But believe me, if you get into the stage where you jump into a fight to save them and hold onto them, asking them to stay, it means you are pretty infatuated like our male lead who, despite trying hard not to fall for our heroine, is already smitten with her. The question is who exactly he is in love with. Our heroine, or the resemblance she bears to his first love.
When memories of her previous lives flashed through her mind for the first time, the first thought that came across our heroine’s mind was to go find her mother. But it was too hard for her to convince said mother this boy was her dead daughter leading another life after getting reborn.
So, afraid of getting disappointed again, Ji-eum hid from her mother, or more precisely, Joo-won’s. Through flashbacks, we see how warm-hearted Joo-won’s mother was to her. And perhaps that is the reason that makes Ji-eum more hesitant. Getting disappointed with someone you love hits harder than when you approach someone with no expectations. Actually, that might be precisely why she keeps the truth from Seo-ha.
No wonder when she runs into Seo-ha in front of Cho-won’s parents’ house, she gets startled when he calls her Joo-won and quickly corrects him she is Ji-eum. Spotting fruits in his hand, Ji-eum figures he is there to apologize to Cho-won for reacting emotionally earlier. Seeing his reluctance, Ji-eum, instead of pushing Seo-ha further while he might not be ready, suggests they go have a second round. Unlike Seo-ha’s expectations, this means having noodles at a convenience store.
Being the bubbly person she is, Ji-eum goes on her favorite mission of teasing Seo-ha about how he now gets curious about her and smiles at her. He doesn’t need to get flustered or deny it, though, as she will gladly let him be her fan. Yet I believe Seo-ha is already past this stage. The poor guy keeps seeing Ji-eum wherever he directs his eyes, and nothing he does gets Ji-eum off his mind.
While it is still unclear if Seo-ha remembers meeting Do-yoon in the funeral house, he doesn’t seem to know it is Do-yoon’s parents’ death anniversary and only learns that after he heads to Do-yoon’s house for a sleepover after he leaves Ji-eum. Though he never lets his guard down, even if it is just the two of them, it is clear how much Do-yoon cares about Seo-ha and knows him better than anyone. Be it Seo-ha falling for Ji-eum or regretting how harshly he treated Cho-won earlier.
I think what keeps Do-yoon behaving that way is because of Seo-ha’s father. He keeps calling for Do-yoon to report to him and ordering him to keep Seo-ha in check. If uncomfortable with it, Do-yoon had better resign. Why is he inflexible like his late father? It seems we have a history to unpack here, and the coincidental childhood meeting might have more to it than meets the eye.
The next day, Seo-ha, accompanied by Do-yoon, heads to apologize to Cho-won under the pretext of checking her work. Ji-eum also happens to be there instead of another employee. Wow! A double date of sorts. While preparing tea, Cho-won expresses how she finds Ji-eum familiar, wondering if they have met before. Which gets Ji-eum’s hands trembling, causing her to drop the cups. Hearing the noise, the boys rush over to help.
Do-yoon stays behind to help Cho-won clean while Ji-eum and Seo-ha look around the garden. Ji-eum presents Seo-ha with “an irresistible” offer. She will ask him out only three more times. If Seo-ha’s answer is still no, Ji-eum will give up and leave him alone. But Ji-eum is confident she won’t get rejected three times. She will eventually win his heart.
Meanwhile, Do-yoon gets a similar offer from Cho-won, who suggests he go on a blind date with her. But what she gets is a flat no. I can’t help but wonder why Do-yoon turns her down but secretly keeps watching her from afar. Probably, the truth behind the tragic incident from childhood holds the answer to everything. I doubt Do-yoon’s father is the perpetrator, though.
I keep getting a strange feeling it is Ji-eum’s alcoholic father. As she mentioned earlier, the reason for her early reincarnation, just a few days after her death, means her life was cut short. In other words, she was murdered. And who knows? Perhaps it is Karma where she gets reborn as her killer’s daughter.
Though I hoped we bid them farewell for good after Ae-kyung took Ji-eum in, that messy family resurfaces again. It looks like the money Ji-eum gave them ran out. Her older brother, Ban Dong-woo, approaches Ji-eum for cash. And when she hangs up on him, he chases after her and beats her up on the street.
Luckily, Ji-eum can stand up for herself. But when she turns around to leave, Dong-woo grabs her hair. And it is Seo-ha who grabs Dong-woo’s wrist and stops him from harassing Ji-eum, though he gets punched in the process.
To help her feel better, Seo-ha offers to be her drinking buddy for the day, but Ji-eum would rather have him as her drinking lover. And make no mistake. That doesn’t count as her asking him out. Our lady doesn’t get into a battle she will lose.
We have gotten many snippets where Ji-eum keeps reminding Seo-ha of Joo-won. But how she spreads her jacket for him to sit on delivers the striking blow. He puts the jacket back on Ji-eum and leans against her. As a child, he got into a terrible accident. Back then, his first love died protecting him. It took a while to get him out of the car. Throughout this time, he felt that girl’s body getting colder. Since then, he has avoided physical contact with anyone.
Unbeknownst to Seo-ha, the girl is right by his side, listening to their story and comforting him. Though I doubt her words about shoulders existing to lean on mean that she is okay carrying a drunk Seo-ha home when Do-yoon doesn’t answer her phone calls while in a forced meeting with Seo-ha’s father.
Quick to think, Ji-eum gets “a brilliant” idea of putting Seo-ha on a cartwheel and pushing him. It isn’t her first rodeo, though it isn’t clear if she was driving a carriage in her past life or riding. Ji-eum is so excited that she doesn’t notice Seo-ha falling off the cart. And now she has to find another way to get him home. Luckily Cho-won right out answers her phone and helps get Seo-ha home in her car.
Lest Seo-ha wakes up midway, Ji-eum puts him in the front seat. And it is here that Cho-won first learns about Seo-ha’s trauma. Another thing she has no clue about is Seo-ha’s passcode, so they have to call Do-yoon to ask about it. It is a date they both can recognize, Joo-won’s death anniversary and also Seo-ha’s birthday.
Ji-eum asks Cho-won to bring a cup of water while she gets Seo-ha in bed. A still-not-completely conscious Seo-ha grabs Ji-eum’s hand, asking her not to leave him while calling her Joo-won. Throughout her multiple lives, Ji-eum bid people farewell many times. But the pain she feels whenever her beloved ones ask her to stay and not leave them doesn’t seem to get any less.
