Marry Him If You Dare Episode 2 Recap

Unf, when drama love arrives, it hurts so so good. Marry Him If You Dare started off solidly enough but episode 2 vaulted this one from like to love for me. All the leads are getting fleshed out as the narrative barrels full speed ahead, leaving me fairly scrambling to absorb too much information and trying to arrange it in a way that makes sense. I love that future Mi Rae is her own unique character, in temperament very different than her younger self, and in motivation saying one thing but I don’t believe what she says is really what she feels. There is a possibility she is doing this simply because she’s mad at her future husband Kim Shin, and there is likely way more than meets the eye with her assertion that Mi Rae’s life will be ruined if she marries him. It’s a mystery for us to patiently suss out, but episode 2 drops a ton of clues and lets future Mi Rae meet present Kim Shin and boy did the sparks fly. The sparks are actually leaping off the screen anytime anyone has a scene with Kim Shin, and I don’t know what acting practice Lee Dong Gun did in his five year break but he’s returned even better than before. Yoo Eun Hye is also in a perfect rhythm and together they have already created a very compelling time-crossed potential couple.

I find myself rooting for the OTP because the thought that his life is getting re-arranged without his choice aggravates me, and the fact that Shin and Mi Rae have so much chemistry together in both the attraction and motivation elements. They push each others buttons in all the right ways to shake up their world to benefit to their professional futures. This drama doesn’t feel as chock full of coincidences driving the story forward because I see future Mi Rae actively trying to make things happen. She sometimes succeeds, such as making it so Se Joo and Yoo Kyung miss their intended first meeting in Jeju, and sometimes fails, such as Mi Rae and Shin still having their car accident regardless of the first miss. That aspect of fate is very well done so far. All the supporting characters are interesting in their own regard and I’m hoping for Yoo Kyung to get integrated into the central story soon so that I can see how her story with Se Joo plays out in this alternative timeline. I find Se Joo a very easy to watch second male lead, less a romantic option and more of a character with his own plan and purposes that so happens to be falling for the leading lady. MHIYD is satisfying to watch on so many levels but as a romance drama it’s doing a bang up job of introducing all the romantic possibilities and making me eager to see how it all plays out.

Episode 2 recap:

Mi Rae and Kim Shin get into a fender bender near the YBS studio, avoiding their fated accident meeting on Sung San Bridge but meeting via a car accident nevertheless. Future Mi Rae tries to keep Mi Rae away from YBS and Kim Shin but fails, their fate is strong and scary indeed.

Mi Rae is facing an angry Kim Shin and she recalls a recent news expose that even minor car accidents are causing a lot of money to fix up. Mi Rae feigns a back injury from the accident to try and get out of the bind. Shin correctly points out that she looked fine a second ago. Mi Rae claims the accident exacerbated it and now she needs to go to the hospital.

Shin props her up and turns her around to face him, telling her that he just fixed her waist based on a news report he did. Plus someone who really injured the waist would never bend over forward. Mi Rae continues to claim that her waist is injured and she’ll have to live the rest of her life bent over backwards like a bow.

Shin sighs and starts to curse mightily that he’s been conned. Mi Rae looks up in shock that a news announcer has got such a foul mouth and grabs her cell phone to record him yelling at a citizen. Ha, these two are just meant to push each other’s buttons. Shin decides to just head to the police station and sort it out there.

Mi Rae claims that she’ll let Shin off the hook if he gives her $200 bucks to fix up her car. Shin refuses since justice demands that she be punished and even tossed in jail. He drags her back towards her car and shoves her inside so they can drive to the police station together. Mi Rae complains about his roughness as she slides into her car. Shin yells at her to get into the driver’s seat and grab the steering wheel.

Mi Rae complies and Shin demands that they switch their driver’s licenses so she won’t try to slip away. Shin tosses his driver’s license into her front seat and takes hers. He notices that she’s got books on how to be a screenwriter and he insults her by saying that if she worked for their network it would go bankrupt. Mi Rae notices something odd with Shin’s license.

Shin and Mi Rae enter the police station elevator and he realizes she’s a newbie driver from her license. Mi Rae smirks and says at least she has a valid license, whereas he’s an unlicensed driver since his license has been expired for the last year. Ha! I love it. Shin checks his license and indeed it expired in 2012. The elevator door opens and Mi Rae is ready to go to the police station now. But first she does some waist bends to make sure she’s all fine now. Shin grabs her and heads back outside to decide what to do.

Mi Rae watches Shin pace back and forth and asks if he’s a bear in a zoo cage, what with all the pacing for the last 10 minutes. She still wants only $200 bucks in car repair money from him to let it go. Shin remembers what the Chairman said to him – Shin doesn’t have an ability to read the situation. Mi Rae keeps lowering the repair fee, despite him also cursing at him and then using her waist injury as an excuse to grab her.

Shin looks up at the police station, remembering news articles about idol boys driving without a license and getting into a scandal because of a car accident. Shin tells Mi Rae that he’s going to turn himself in for driving without a license. Mi Rae stops him, asking if he’s crazy? Shin asks if she wants to learn to become a screenwriter? If so, she needs to learn from him. In a situation like this, there are two paths forward – to reveal the truth or conceal the truth. The decision must always be to reveal the truth.

Mi Rae applauds his ethics and wants to forget this ever happened then. Shin says no, she was also involved. Mi Rae says she’s fine but Shin says the accident happened so they can’t pretend it didn’t. He tries to forcibly drag her into the police station. Shin is willing to take the responsibility for driving without a valid license, but she needs to pay for his repair fees.

Mi Rae keeps struggling and dragging her feet. She stops Shin when she confesses to be his fan – when she watched him make his final speech on his last day at the 5 pm newscast, she was really touched by his vow to return. She really admires him and wants to see him return to news broadcasting soon. So she doesn’t want him driving without a license to stop this dream from coming true.

Shin says he can’t conceal the truth when he airms to be someone who exposes the truth. Mi Rae says he can wait a year, wait until he returns to the news to reveal this. The audience will forgive him then if he’s sincere. Shin agrees and they make a promise that one year later he’ll reveal this incident. He asks for her number so he can get the $4000 repair fee from her.

Mi Rae says she doesn’t know it and needs to go grab her phone so she can call Shin and leave her number with him that way. Mi Rae gets into the car and starts the engines, lying to Shin that it’s too dark and she can’t see. She then drives off and Shin tries to chase after her but his car won’t start. Mi Rae – you bad bad girl, but that was quite an impression you left on the poor guy.

Shin takes a cab home and can’t believe she took off. Mi Rae sends him a text apologizing for running away, but she really doesn’t have any money right now and one day she will pay him. Shin doesn’t believe her and warns that she better not let him find her.

Both Mi Raes meet up at home which is when their oppa comes home and asks who future Mi Rae is? Future Mi Rae’s eyes widen and she drops her purse to see her oppa. Okay, I’m fairly certain whatever happened in the future, poor oppa is involved as well. Mi Rae lies that it’s her friend’s mom but oppa pulls her aside to chew her out for bringing people to his house without his permission. Future Mi Rae stares at oppa and starts to tear up. She calls him “oppa” and Mi Rae explains that oppa looks like someone she knows. She drags oppa away to his room while future Mi Rae keeps calling out sadly “oppa, oppa….”

Mi Rae asks oppa if he can teach her how to write shows so that she can work in the same industry. Oppa derides her for not getting good grades and this isn’t something she can do well. He tells her to find a guy to be married. Oppa asks for his car keys back and Mi Rae asks him to please be patient and puts the car keys on his finger.

Mi Rae brings future Mi Rae bedding and asks if the person who is going to die Mi Rae’s oppa? Future Mi Rae glares at her so Mi Rae quickly says she was just kidding. Even though oppa is mean to her, he’s still her only family and can’t die. Mi Rae asks why future Mi Rae cried downstairs but future Mi Rae just waves her away. Mi Rae wants to open the window but future Mi Rae stops her.

Future Mi Rae asks Mi Rae to promise not to ever go to YBS otherwise she’ll go back to the future now. She makes Mi Rae promise to pick a future profession within three days because she doesn’t have time. She risked her own life to travel back, and each day that passes is like a month in her aging. Mi Rae doesn’t get it and claims she’s also aging fast too now that she’s past 30 years old. Huh, she’s so dense.

Mi Rae leaves and future Mi Rae opens the curtains to reveal that she’s created a chart on the window pane. It includes splitting up Mi Rae and Shin and avoiding their fate by preventing the Sung San Bridge accident. She’s also drawn arrows from Shin to Yoo Kyung, and from Se Joo to Mi Rae. Future Mi Rae makes an X over Se Joo’s picture and says it’s a missed opportunity. Looks like future Mi Rae does not know that Se Joo saw Mi Rae in Jeju.

Next to her oppa’s picture, Mi Rae wrote “oppa…..I’m sorry…..I love you.”

Shin goes to the police station to turn himself in and live like a principled man that he is. He tells himself not to be affected by what the strange woman said. He approaches a cop and is about to confess when he sees a newspaper article about an idol team leader’s scandal for driving without a license. He then gets a call from the police station telling him to confess.

Turns out that it’s his production manager who is calling from the police station as a joke because he’s there to conduct an interview with the cops for their segment on people driving without a license. But the cops won’t cooperate until they get autographs from Kim Shin for their wives who are fans. Turns out that this latest idol boy driving incident is now trending as the top news story so the Morning Show team is changing their program to cover it.

Shin heads back to the studio and finds the entire team working on the unlicensed driving story. PD Na asks Shin if he has his license because showing it on air helps his credibility with the audience. Shin says he left it at home. The show starts and the idol team leader gets out and apologizes in front of the police station. Shin says driving is important because it involves other people’s lives at stake. As a public figure and as a citizen, a car is a weapon of destruction and must be used with respect.

Shin sits in the stairwell and imagines his scandal if he confesses, but then in his fantasy his role is usurped by that hoobae. Shin wants to confess but then thinks this is an easy way for the network to replace him. He vows to find Na Mi Rae first.

Mi Rae walks into a screenwriting class and wants to audit. She asks to stay despite the other students all paying for the class. They allow her to stay and she diligently listens and takes notes.

Shin tries calling every Na Mi Rae in town to try and find her. His screenwriter is getting annoyed because she needs Shin to approve a line. Shin finally reaches Ni Rae while she is in class. He identifies himself as $4000 bucks and Mi Rae hangs up the phone. The line is about keeping one’s enemies close to keep an eye on them. Shin approves the line and decides what to do with Mi Rae.

He calls Mi Rae to YBS with a lure of a screenwriting trainee job. Mi Rae is waffling between going or not and even asks the bus driver. In the end she goes, walking into YBS studios and gaping at the billboard of Shin hanging in the lobby and all the stars walking through.

Shin meets with Mi Rae in the lobby and she hands him her check book and promises to pay him the rest back. Shin doesn’t want it, he wants her resume so that she can work here and earn it back. Mi Rae hears that Shin is the MC of the Morning Show and looks alarmed since her oppa works there and he warned her not to do this. But in the end she decides to do it.

Mi Rae hands Shin her resume and he asks her to give him a year to turn himself in. She realizes he’s asking her not to say anything before then, and she had no intention to do so since she’s not interested in other people’s business. Mi Rae promises to work hard on the screenwriting, whatever he needs she will do it and then some more. Shin stares at her.

Mi Rae sits with the Morning Show screenwriter who is laughing about how inexperienced and unsuitable she is. She’s pissed that Shin would send someone so useless and asks Mi Rae if she’s dating Kim Shin. Mi Rae says no way. The writer hands Mi Rae an USB with the current script and tells her to start working on it and her job to write out how the show will be filmed. The writer wants Mi Rae to head to the production floor but she hesitates because her oppa works there.

Future Mi Rae takes Mi Rae’s resume to a matchmaking company. The rep wants to start with the middle of the pile but future Mi Rae wants to start with group A, the most eligible rich bachelors. Future Mi Rae flips through the folder and identifies all those guys as losers, crooks, and cheaters (from what they do in the future).

Future Mi Rae wants group E then, those who are not very successful. She flips through it and all the guys inside turn out to become leaders and successful artists. Future Mi Rae wants a list of all those guys in group E, but asks the rep to eliminate anyone who works for a broadcasting network.

Mi Rae is in the studio working, but first she saves Kim Shin’s number in her cell phone. Shin heads to the hospital to visit Yoo Kyung with a bouquet of flowers. He sees his successor on the news reporting about Wall Street. He flashes back to the Chairman telling him that he’s got everything except he’s too old. Kim Shin says nothing about that kid is better than him. The Chairman agrees but says he has energy and even his mistakes are cute.

Shin says the news anchors are there to deliver the truth. The Chairman acknowledges anchors overseas can be older, but there are also ladies in bikinis delivering the news. She makes a deal with Shin – if he gets 15% ratings for his Morning Show, she’ll not only let him return to being a news anchor, she’ll give him the 9 pm prime time news slot. Shin walks up to visit Yoo Kyung who is out walking in the hallway. He smiles and shows her the flowers and she smiles back.

Mi Rae is working in the production room watching the footage and mapping it out. Suddenly Se Joo pops up on the screen to wipe the lens.

Mi Rae takes a break from working and heads out to wander the halls. She sees people working in various rooms and keeps wandering until she is spotted by her oppa. Mi Rae runs into Se Joo’s video room and hides under his desk.

PD Na runs in asking if Se Joo has seen a girl with super frizzy hair. Se Joo makes the connection with the girl swimming with the fishes in Jeju. Se Joo says if PD Na finds such a girl, to introduce to him. PD Na mutters that he’ll kick her out of the house if he finds her, and also remove her from the family registry.

After PD Na leaves, Se Joo asks if her name is Na Mi Rae. She recognizes him as the guy wiping the lens from the earlier recording. She’s amused that she could see someone in person after just seeing them onscreen. Se Joo is also amused, he never thought he would see her again, especially not like this. Mi Rae looks confused since she clearly doesn’t remember meeting him before.

Future Mi Rae heads home and puts up the other husband candidates pictures on the window. She looks at Yoo Kyung’s picture and wonders if she can stop as long as Yoo Kyung doesn’t show up. She starts to plan marrying her present self off to the other candidates, such as the guy who will one day be the UN Secretary General isn’t bad.

Oppa calls home and asks future Mi Rae if Mi Rae went to the network. He saw someone just like her today. Future Mi Rae says that Mi Rae is studying to be a 7th level civil servant. Oppa says with her level she can’t even be a 9th level. Future Mi Rae hangs up the phone and rushes out, muttering about wringing Mi Rae’s neck.

Mi Rae and Se Joo walk down to the YBS lobby and run into future Mi Rae there. She tries to smack Mi Rae and when asked who she is, she claims to be Mi Rae’s mom. She suddenly notices Se Joo and sees him in a shining halo of light. She claims to recognize him from living by his house when he was a kid.

Future Mi Rae asks if he has a girlfriend and Se Joo says no. She asks if Se Joo has someone that he fell in love with at first sight? Se Joo looks at Mi Rae and grins. Future Mi Rae asks if she is a reporter and Se Joo scoffs.

Future Mi Rae drags Mi Rae outside and demands to know when she met Se Joo! Future Mi Rae wonders why Se Joo doesn’t know Yoo Kyung? She wonders if he’s lying. But Se Joo is single and now works in the same production team at Mi Rae. Though the problem is “that guy” is there as well. Future Mi Rae tells Mi Rae that Park Se Joo is not just a VJ, he’s a rich and powerful chaebol who will change their society. Mi Rae asks if the other guy is the one who should have hit car on the bridge but didn’t? Future Mi Rae says chaebol Se Joo is good, that guy is bad and will ruin Mi Rae’s life. The problem is that “that guy” also works at Morning Show. Mi Rae asks who he is and future Mi Rae lies that she meant he was in a morning drama. Mi Rae doesn’t believe her and tries to figure out who he is.

Future Mi Rae tells Mi Rae to do everything in her power to seduce Park Se Joo. He’s a chaebol who was suppose to marry an ordinary reporter he fell in love with at first sight at Jeju. But now he’s still single, so that means their future is already being changed. This means Mi Rae has a chance now. Future Mi Rae says that Park Se Joo is the only person who can turn Mi Rae into a Cinderella. Future Mi Rae will go take care of “that guy” who ruins their lives while Mi Rae goes to seduce Se Joo. After Mi Rae leaves, future Mi Rae’s smile disappears. She looks at a picture of Shin and apologizes to her hubby. She doesn’t want to live like this anymore.

Mi Rae walks through the video repository and finds Se Joo sitting there. She goes over and Se Joo asks if her mom left? Mi Rae says that she wasn’t her mom, just a relative. Mi Rae worries that her oppa will come here but Se Joo assures her that the PD doesn’t come here. Se Joo read Mi Rae’s script and she explains that she didn’t quite know the right words so just wrote what she saw.

Se Joo asks what the highlighted sections are? Mi Rae says those sections are more important and should be more interesting. Se Joo says she did a good job, the most important thing is making it interesting. Mi Rae is so happy with his compliment. She asks what music he’s planning to use. He shows her the CD and they realized they want to use the same song from it. Se Joo shares his earphones with her and Mi Rae remembers what future Mi Rae said about Se Joo being a power chaebol. She thinks he’s not bad looking and seems like a nice guy.

Shin gets a call from the writer that Mi Rae seems to have disappeared. Shin asks why the line about keeping one’s enemy close has been cut and the writer says there are too many bad guys in the world these days so why mention it. Shin goes back to the network. Future Mi Rae calls Morning Team to leave a message for Na Mi Rae and Shin overhears that Mi Rae has solved her problems and there is a battle plan now. Shin grabs the phone and asks to meet future Mi Rae. Oooooof, I’m so nervous.

Shin heads down and meets future Mi Rae in the lobby. She’s stunned to see him, her own hubby in his younger incarnation. He sits down and she just stares at him. He explains that an incident happened between him and Mi Rae, and since she’s younger he’s taking care of her by introducing her to work at the network. But on her first day of work, she’s unreachable and that’s a problem.

Future Mi Rae spits out that HE is the problem! Even if he’s so confident right now, soon the truth will all come out. She yells at him for being someone who has no empathy, who only takes care of his own pride. All he cares about is doing well and becoming the anchor for the 9 pm news. He needs to stop kidding himself. Anchor? All that’s ahead of him is a steep road to climb.

Shin just stares as future Mi Rae chews him out, completely perplexed at where this is all coming from. You and me, guy. He then think she’s talking about the expired license incident and asks when she and her daughter plans to reveal it to the world. Future Mi Rae demands to know why he “killed” the person, and whether he’ll just say that he didn’t mean to. But that is not the truth, because he saw the message but he still “killed” the person. Shin asks if Mi Rae told her that she almost died in the car. Future Mi Rae starts to cry and says yes, he almost “killed” that person. It’s clear these two are not talking about the same thing at all, but it’s pretty intense the way future Mi Rae can’t control her emotions around Shin.

Mi Rae walks with Se Joo and asks if she has to go to the production meeting because she might see her brother. Mi Rae realizes she has tons of unanswered calls because there is no cell reception down in the video repository. She quickly runs off to return calls as Se Joo returns Writer Kim’s calls.

Shin calls for someone to quickly find Na Mi Rae. Future Mi Rae asks when Shin met Mi Rae and how did he entice her? Shin asks what enticing, wasn’t it all pre-planned, thinking that Mi Rae and her mom set him up with the accident. Wasn’t it all part of their plan? They knew he didn’t have a valid license so caused the accident and pretended to ask for repair money.

Future Mi Rae is shocked to hear that Shin and Mi Rae did have a car accident. He asks wasn’t this part of their plan? Future Mi Rae is so shocked that the accident happened anyways. Future Mi Rae tells Shin to sue her for blackmail but to not have any more interaction with Mi Rae. Shin says he’s going to go fire Mi Rae right now so she needn’t worry. Shin storms off and future Mi Rae sits there and stares at his departing back with worry.

Mi Rae and Se Joo run into her oppa in the elevator. She tries to apologize for the car and says this is just a part time job. Se Joo says her script is quite good but oppa drags her off to talk.

Na PD hears that Mi Rae was referred by Kim Shin and he hears they just met somehow. Oppa wants her to leave and also move out of the house. Writer Kim says her work is good and if he wants to get rid of her then bring another trainee writer in immediately. Oppa lets her to stay but tells her to move out of the house after she’s done.

Shin is with Se Joo and wonders why Mi Rae isn’t here yet. He calls her a fraud but Se Joo says she’s a member of the team now and meeting with Na PD. Shin wonders why Se Joo is starting out as a VJ at the ripe old age of 28 and talking about shows as a business. He asks if he’s Miranda’s relative or a spy? Se Joo apologizes for speaking out of hand despite knowing nothing. He runs out to get a latte for Shin and avoid his questions.

Writer Kim approves Mi Rae’s script despite not being happy that she’s starting off so late and is also the sister of the PD. They will use this script but she tells Mi Rae to end it right here since she’s not going to work out.

Mi Rae walks through the network and thinks about her oppa kicking her out and the writer telling her this is the end. She tells herself that she got some positive feedback and this is not the only network out there. She perks herself up to go find another job.

Mi Rae arrives in the recording booth and enters to get a glass of water splashed in her face. A very angry Shin asks if she’s awake now and ready to talk. How’s her battle plan going? Did she manage to convince the PD to let her stay? What does she want – money, to become a staff screenwriter? He plans to turn himself in and then also sue her for blackmail.

Mi Rae asks him if he got into a car accident a few days ago on Sung San Bridge lane number 3? Shin asks how she knows about that? Mi Rae says he’s the guy, he’s the one who will kill the person she loves. Is the person he killed her? Because the person she loves the most in this world is herself.

But she refuses now to pretend that everything is okay. She plans to overcome all obstacles to get everything she wants. If Shin will kill her, then she will live until the end and endure. All the people who have looked down on her from her oppa to her friends, she will prove that she can do it to everyone. Including to a toad like Shin!

Se Joo returns just in time to hear all of this. Mi Rae storms out and walks into the dressing room. Se Joo follows her and goes in to ask if she met MC Kim? Mi Rae wants to leave but Se Joo asks if she’s okay. Mi Rae says she’s okay instinctively but then stops and starts sobbing that she’s not okay.

Thoughts of Mine:

Most romance-themed dramas are all about the characters interaction and chemistry, the underlying story is less dispositive since the most tightly spun yarn can fail to deliver the catharsis if the romance is not believable. MHIYD has so far managed to make me care about the central romance and the underlying what-happened mystery behind the time-travel. Future Mi Rae is so well crafted as a character who serves a pivotal function but also engages the viewer to care about her. I’m less concerned about present Mi Rae fulfilling her dream as a screenwriter because I can see the drama actually fleshing that out (and using it to bring her closer to both Shin and Se Joo), and more worried about why future Mi Rae risked so much to make sure she doesn’t marry Shin. I can see now that she chose Se Joo not personally but that he was a viable alternative candidate because he was rich and a mover and shaker in the future. When future Mi Rae thought the Se Joo option was dead, she went to find other candidates for Mi Rae, so it goes to show that she wants Mi Rae not to marry Shin and to marry a future successful guy. Why? The whole killing the person she loves is such a loaded statement and I wouldn’t take it at face value. I think future Mi Rae is not telling the whole truth but she seems to be hurting so much I’ll give her time to reveal her true reason. It was also telling that she didn’t intend for Shin and Yoo Kyung to also become a couple, and that will also come as a surprise to her that Shin ended up hitting Yoo Kyung’s car that day.

I said before that I’m squarely on the side of present Mi Rae and Shin getting a chance to make their own choices irrespective of what future Mi Rae wants or how she’s meddling. I like that Mi Rae and Shin’s meeting in this timeline is so contentious, and immediately they have seen the worst sides of each other. This is not a car accident leading to romance blossoming, this was a car accident leading to a contentious work relationship forming. I’m inclined to believe that this time around, their romance will not be rainbows and unicorns and maybe that will cause their future marriage to also change its trajectory. I quite like everyone at the network, it’s populated by hard working people who are not one-dimensional plus everyone speaks their mind. It’s refreshing and will make watching the work place scenes interesting and meaningful. Se Joo is a satisfying character to watch because he tempers all the agitation around him. He’s calm and collected, calculating and decent. Even if future Mi Rae keeps pushing him because he’s a chaebol heir, I wish she would tell Mi Rae to pick him because he’s a nice guy. As sweet and friendly as he is, my heart is already firmly on the bickering OTP ship – the chemistry is incredible and the relationship is the kind where the leads have to work through a layer of obstacles to be together. I am a sucker for this particular brand of rocky romance.


Comments

Marry Him If You Dare Episode 2 Recap — 64 Comments

    • Second lead syndrome is such a hard place to be. BUt I get you, YongHwa’s character is just so winning, a chaebol who is not arrogant and overbearing and who seems to know to fight for love even with social clashes and all. It’s really winning.

      And I would have been with you also, just that it’s Lee Dong Gun back after 5 years. other stars like Jo In Sung, Gong Yoo, OS Jisub were away for 2-3 years due to military service but with Lee Dong Gun having gun 5 years this would be like he was gone for 2 military service terms. So I’m all for Kim Shin, arrogant bastard that he is just because its Lee Dong Gun.
      Koala has mentioned that he is intense and just leaping off the screen, that is true. Drama gods are amazing to give me back Lee Dong Gun hotter, more intense, smexier, and ohhhh so Good. He has not even bared any abs yet, which I can see with my Xray eyes underneath that hot suit he is wearing — Sexy chocolate abs.
      Lee dong Gun in all his abrasive, arrogant, doubtful, self preserved, principled, irritated and amazing self.
      HE IS BACK!!!

      • This is my text convo with lizzyD two weeks ago:

        Lizzy: Hey! I need warnings! (referring to the hot pic of LDG I posted here). Droooool.

        Me: Drool to infinity.

        Lizzy: I can’t stand it! He is so hot. Damn lazy hot man for making no dramas for 5 years..

        Me: Indeed. Or he waited so he could make out with YEH.

        LEE DONG GUN IS BACK~!

      • hahaha what a dilemma. I heard of LDG before but I never seen his dramas so it doesn’t have the same effect on me. but he is good looking, i give u that haha. maybe as the show progress, the writer can write his character in a way where i can jump aboard his character 😉

      • @koala, hahaha I know. HE IS BACK! kinda makes me giddy and gooey inside. and yes his droolable, drool worthy, just Drool… hahahahaha…

        @ya on, I guess he really has been gone long, 5 years is like 20 years to the entertainment industry. But let me just say that LEE DONG GUN started the second lead syndrome for me back with Lover in Paris.

        But I just want to celebrate, confetti and fireworks all around. He is BACK!!

  1. It’s probably just me, but the first 2 episodes is making me root for Mirae and Seju, more than Kim Shin and Mirae. Over-all, the drama is satisfying yet leaving you wanting for more. I’d say it’s a great first week for MHIYD!

    • You’re definitely not the only one. I think Shin’s character will become more fleshed out in future episodes so hopefully that will win more viewers to his side 🙂

    • You’re absolutely not the only one.
      As the end OTP, i will prefer kim shin and mirae, but atm, the writer is doing a darn job at having us root for second lead.
      Don’t know how this is at all possible, since i was ready to ignore/FF yonghwa scenes. I dont think his portrayal is as good as lee dong gun’s portrayal of his character, but quite simply, the character of se joo and his interactions with mi-rae are so sweet i cant help but ship them.

      • Waaah! I am loving Se Joo sooooo very much right now. He is what MiRae needs to heal, step up and grow. They are so sweet together.

        And when Kim Shin threw water on her face -uuurrrgh!! What kind of a man are you??? You would do that to a lady???

        Sorry, I have now boarded on the Se Joo train!!! Bye bye Kim Shin.

  2. Years of drama watching has taught me that being a Nice Guy (TM) gets you nowhere. I think Se Joo is cool but… c’mon, we know he’s not going to get the girl. I’m interested in seeing how he finds happiness with his original love Yoo Kyung in spite of future Na Mi Rae.

    • Yeah, sadly. Lol! But I’m really liking Jung Yong Hwa’s take on this dual-personality thing he has, chaebol/undecover VJ. I like the fact that both personalities are charming but in different, contrasting ways. This is really a pleasant surprise from him.

  3. What is this?

    They married, they were happy, however Kim Shin didn’t get his anchor spot like he wanted, and his jobs kept going down, leaving him to be depressed and an ass to MR, and maybe this made their marriage unhappy…and it lead to MR try to kill herself? Because Future MR did say ”why would you do it again” when she thought young MR went to kill herself in the sea. Makes me think she tried to kill herself in the future because she was too unhappy with her life and her unhappy marriage.

    I somehow think it is all due to misunderstading, and when she comes back she might find out he does cares and loves her but she didn’t know because they didn’t talk.

    It must be this, because who would KS kill, their daughter? What text Future MR is talking about? Did their daughter kill herself and sent a text before doing it but KS didn’t reply/didn’t pay attention?

    Or did future MR sent a text to him telling him she was going to kill herself and he didn’t come and she did attempt suicide but survived and decided to come back? Decided KS killed herself and she has to stop them from marrying…

    Does future Shin have alzheimer? Like they hinted on episode 1? Shin did say ”Unless I have alzheimer I’ll…” is it a hint from the writer?

    So many options.

    Does future MR died and had this chance to go back and fix things, only that she is doing it the wrong way?

    If she doesn’t want MR to be unhappy, why not tell what is their future problem and make them work their marriage on this time?

  4. The one who died because of Shin is their daugther and also future Mirae doesn’t like Yoo because she will have an affair with Shin. At least is what i think.

    • Future Mirae seems to have this huge dislike towards Yookyung, she keep calling her ‘ this bitch’. so perhaps shin might be involved with Yookyung at one point in the future
      and i think that’s how future mirae might knows about Seju. she see him as a nice good-natured successful chaebol

  5. Excited to read your recap and watch the show! Looks like the person that was “killed” is a she and that it could possibly be Mi Rae. I say “killed” because I don’t think Mi Rae physically died but rather died emotionally and mentally due to some actions of Shin. Maybe Mi Rae turned into a character who is very opposite to what she is like now? Maybe she almost lost her passion, ambition, guts and whatever because of Shin’s selfish ambition and determination? Whatever it is I am looking forward to seeing (and reading) what happened that made Future Mi Rae so determined to change the past.

  6. Shin is such a righteous ass, lol he has 0 social skills and always wants things to be his way
    but i can relate to him as there’s people like him in reality
    YEH actually has great chemistry with both guys, i’m happy with that
    i think Mirae’s oppa is the one who got killed by Shin ( figuratively or literally) and it seems that Mirae-Shin marriage is not all happy as ahjumma Mirae keep saying how selfish Shin can be
    i’m pleasantly surprised with Yonghwa as Seju. i like his character and his acting is not awkward at all. it’s a bonus when he’s such an eye candy

    • I also have a feeling, its his older brother that Shin “killed”. Noticed that future Mi Rae was so shaken the 1st time she saw her oppa and the words “I am sorry” in the window/chart.

  7. I cannot wait for the subs. Thank you for the recaps, especially their speed.

    I think Shin and Mi Rae had a daughter and through a lack of attention on Shin’s part, the daughter died. But I don’t know how the emotional reaction to Oppa fits in nor the relationship of the other couple…hm

  8. Okay, I’m also firmly on the Shin/Mirae ship. Se Joo is kind of typical rich nice guy, yeah her fate might be good if she marries him but it’s just kind of boring. He’s not particularly interesting in any way and Yonghwa has moments of really awkward acting that detract from the character. So I’m not in any way torn between the two. The more future Mirae tries to keep Mirae and Shin apart the more I want to see them together.

    Future Mirae is obviously not talking literally now. Shin did not literally kill someone she loves. I don’t think it’s her brother either, but she might feel regret because of him in some way. So whether it’s her or someone else, who knows. There is definitely something else going on and the whole truth isn’t out. I can’t wait to see what it is.

    I’m really leaning towards Shin not being as bad as Future Mirae believes and some giant misunderstanding and/or she’s blaming him when she’s not totally innocent either. She definitely still has love for him and feels regret for what she’s doing, so it’s not so black and white as he’s a giant asshole who ruined her life.

    • Typical rich nice guy is rare in K-dramas, actually. It’s almost always the case of rich-arrogant-full of himself chaebol falling for poor damsel in distress. Not to mention, that the rich nice guy is just one of the two characters Seju (JYH) has. This makes his character interesting, at least for me.

      • Well, obviously opinions differ but I’m not jumping ships anytime soon lol. Yes, he’s rare in that he’s NICE and rich, but he’s still mostly a typical nice guy. You know he’s going to be nice and do the right things and always be there for her, so it’s not all that exciting to watch. Though I am LDG biased I’ll admit. 😀

      • Nice and rich makes things worse. He’s the perfect catch with open arms for our poor, hardworking leading lady. Bleh. That’s makes for no story or character growth.

        Mirae is very forthright with Shin, which is exactly what he needs to be humbled. Shin has a lot of self-confidence; which is exactly what Mirae lacks, though she puts up the mask that she does have it.

        Marriage is a compliment of two people; partners have to balance each other out such that they’ll do well in the world. I’m not saying Shin should be a foul mouthed “jerk,” but is he bad for being foul mouthed? That’s just his personality. It’s like asking whether we should be annoyed with Mirae for all of this time traveling business and messing with other people’s lives instead of facing her problems. No–people are flawed. They’re going to do stupid things. Shin included.

        In the end, every man is to himself. Seju and Shin are both interesting and viable options for Mirae, even if I don’t find Seju interesting myself. I mean, the show *is* called Mirae’s Choice. She needs to have two viable opinions to make a choice.

    • I’m firmly on two ships: Shin/Mi Rae and Se Joo/Yoo Kyung. I honestly don’t know how anyone can ship Se Joo/Mi Rae, and it has nothing to do with Shin. I see Se Joo and Yoo Kyung as a happy couple that future Mi Rae broke up! How come no one is upset about that, because I really am pissed she did it to a pair that I have no reason to believe had an unhappy marriage or that future Mi Rae had any right to mess up. I am as invested in Se Joo/Yoo Kyung finding their fated love as I am about Mi Rae/Shin. It was love at first sight on Jeju, fersakes!

      • Well, with Seju-Mirae interactions so far it’s hard not to ship them regardless of how they weren’t supposed to be “fated” for each other.

      • I agree with lexi. The writer is writing Se Joo and Mi Rae interactions in such a wonderful way that it’s hard not to like them both together despite if u ship them together or not. Love is a battlefield, there are no rules. Even time traveling lol. Time traveling is a common device in chinese dramas, and don’t the female leads mess up so call “fated” love as well but we swallow it up like candy? haha

      • Agree with Ockoala, kinda pissed with her meddling ways. Its much like cheating the people to further her greed for something – better life or whatever.
        I would be all for her if she came back in time to make Mirae into someone confident and successful but her goal is not just that. She is also trying to get the chaebol guy just because he would be someone important to her husband. I am okay with her meddling with Shin and miare since technically speaking that is her life and future/present. but to mess with Sejoo and YooKyung is just bad mojo for me.

        She is no different from the rich bitchy moms who uses their money to break up a happy couple just because she does not approve of her son’s choice in love. and get their son’s hooked up with other chaebol heiresses. Or gold digger mom that wants daughter to land someone rich by hook or by crook.

        I’m all for Shin and Mirae, their interactions are amazing.
        and its Lee Dong Gun!!!

      • PS: her knowledge is equals to rick mom money. using her knowledge to break off people is just low…

      • Well, if fate is really in the works, just like how MR still got into an accident and met KS, then SJ and YK will too….

      • Well yeah, both 2nd leads will suffer heartbreak they would not have suffered otherwise. It is kind of a crappy thing for her to do. Is she going to be all right with her hubby marrying someone else, or does she just want someone new? Her motives are pretty selfish. Not that it’s not understandable. She does seem to be in a lot of pain.

        But they will obviously meet anyway.

        @ya
        I look at it as less fate and more this is who she loves and she can’t change that. Okay, maybe that’s fate, but she’s not going to fall in love with SeJoo or some other random rich guy no matter how much of a super nice guy he is. It’s kind of ruins the romance for me when future Mirae tells her to seduce him because he has money.

        I’d be all right with her overcoming her fate with Shin if she didn’t love him or if he was an awful person (which I don’t think he is) who was terrible for her, but I doubt her issue with him is that simple. What will probably happen is they’ll overcome their ill fated relationship and end up being happy. That is a more satisfying conclusion then going with the nice rich guy who will give her an easy way out. Just imo of course. 😀

      • I should feel upset about it too but I’m actually not. Why? I trust my gut feeling that those two ships will still end up with each other no matter how much/how far future Mirae meddles with them. Yes, they may like the other girl/boy at one point and get confused along the way but (the original) “fate” will come out stonger in the end. Again, it’s just my gut feeling.^^

      • Whoa, I also feel the same way. I only read your recap since this is a big turnoff for me. I wonder if her hatred for YK is because she married SJ or she had some kind of affair with S in the future. If it’s because the first reason, future MR is really messed up thinking she has right to play with other people’s fate.

        I’ll only read recap because I can’t stand that ahjumma, maybe after the future event is clearer, I can marathon this drama.

      • Yeah i dont like future Mirae breaking up that couple and taking away from Se Joo the women he fell in love with. She stole a future from a happy couple in Se Joo,Yoo Kyung. Just because Shin who she calls honey and says is sorry for doing she changed lifes of people she doesnt know. Then she goes after Se Joo because he is rich and not because he is better guy than Shin.

        Im rooting for the OTP both Mirae judge Shin for someone he might do in an alternative future timeline. The guy doesnt know anything, he thinks Mirae, her older aunt/mother is playing him.

      • I think there is some big mistake in pointing one big point here,

        She is meddling yes but she didnt meddle with how SJ falls in love with YK because she didnt know that YK was involve in the accident and can’t make it to the jeju island.

        Remember when she said that well YK will now finising secuding him already when trying to find him aound the jeju island.

  9. I love this show! I laughed a lot and it is so entertaining to see how the OTP are getting along. Though I would like to see how SJ and MR “fate” will unfold. Can’t wait for next week!

  10. Thanks a million Madam K for the recaps. This drama is going to be my favorite fall drama for this year. YEH as usual is awesome.

  11. thanks for the racap, i like Mirae and Seju pairing more than Kim Shin, but we will see in the upcoming episodes on what changed will happen to Kim Shin that will make me want their OTP more. hehe

  12. I’m seriously loving this drama! I have no idea what to expect or how the story will develope, I’m instantly hooked on it. And Ms. Koala I totally agree, I’m pissed off that Future MiRae messed up Sejoo’s relationship, he is going to end up broke hearted >.< Unless the drama pulls a very interting twist and she actually ends up with him o.O

  13. I guess I’m not loving Future Mirae for messing up with the past. I don’t believe in rewriting your future just because you find your future self in a moment of hurt and despair. I’d rather she rewrite her own future self by learning to overcome whatever obstacles have made her want to rewrite her past. She’s messing with people’s lives (not just hers, but a whole bunch of people), but what she doesn’t realize is that each time she changes something in the past, it will have a domino effect in everyone’s future. Plus there is always the inevitable. However much she wants to mess up with the past, destiny will simply just put everything in it’s proper place. The only one who needs to really change is her own future self and how she approaches and handles her own life. Death is a certainty for all of us. We just have to learn to accept and move on. That is living—making every single present moment count.

  14. I have no problem with idol who become an actor or actress. i have problem with their fan. Maybe it’s just me. But SOME of them focus more on the looks then what the drama really about. I am a person who enjoy watching a drama regardless of how the actor of actress look. but watching a drama with idol in it is really exhausting coz SOME of the fan didn’t really bother about whole story all about.Yonghwa is handsome gorgeous bla bla bla. i get it. but to say and scream about it in every episode that he is in, was that necessary?seriously? Please focus more in his acting. let’s review about what he did in this drama which is acting. He is improve from previous drama. and that’s something to be talked about.

    • I guess you are talking about the comments on viki. I always watch the dramas without the comments the fist time its easier to concentrate in the story. That Oppaaa comments are really annoying and I’m a huge yonghwa fan, but I guess I’m old for the all fangirl screams over a hansome face.

    • You seriously need to chill. The guy has really been swoon-worthy in the first 2 episodes and it really doesn’t hurt to have such eye candy in your TV or computer screen so it’s just natural to spazz about it. Heck, even non-fans are swooning over him in drama forums. Who says everyone’s just talking about his looks? There has been some pretty good discussion in this forum, as well as in other forums about his acting improvement in the drama so far. The same discussion goes in Korean portal sites and in the comment section of news articles about MHIYD. Please stop making hasty generalisations about fans of “idols”.

      • And to base your generalisations over comments in one site is just unfair. Leave that forum and go to forums where you’re more comfortable with the flow of discussion.

  15. I am glad that I am able to come back here to read your recap again. I have been missing you for quite a while. I hope that I am able to come here to read your recap on heirs also. Have you watched Secret? I am enjoying it after episode 6. Hope to come back here tomorrow 🙂

  16. I remembered Felicity Drama in Season 4 when Ben Cheated on Her , She decided to travel back and make her choice again to not to choose Ben and choose Noel But Her love for Ben doesn’t stop after choosing Noel she got jealous .
    I think OTP will go to each other at the end and The future Mary can’t stop the destiny to take place even the 2nd Guy was Gentleman with her , she still love him .

  17. I found this episode somewhat confusing in tone.Especially because on balance so far, Future Mi Rae is 80% selfish, manipulative, cold mercenary bitch, 20% wounded altruist. I find myself actively disliking her, which is jarring in what is being promoted as a romcom. In the same way that she can’t seem to decide whether she’s the Fairy Godmother or the Evil Stepmother, I felt that this episode couldn’t decide whether it was a romcom or a melodrama.Give me LOTS more of the cute, oh so cute, innocent bubbly YEH of episode one, please.

  18. I don’t think future mirae is messing directly with se ju and yookyun. She didn’t do anything to prevent them to meet. She didn’t know it was yk the one who had the car accident with shin and even thought they met in jeju and started to look for other candidates. The hate against the ajuma it’s unfounded.

  19. Thanks for your recap. I watched this three times at various level of subbed. This is NOT a show that you can figure out everything from context. The dialog has too many clues to just guess “She said some†hing abou† death.” LOL

    I also like how layered or complex all these characters are. Everyone seems to be developing in front of our eyes…Experiencing, figuring ou† their next steps, guessing what the consequences could be for their actiøns.

    Future Mirae is the one who has the most †o lose right now. The jump back in time was prolly an emotional last ditch effort type decision. We see the results of that impulsive behavior now — she’s swinging away at whatever comes at her and hitting other people. Hers is NOT a well though† out strategy. Whatever bad thing she is trying to avoid had to have wounded her so deeply, she wasn’t thinking straight then or now.

    I don’t †hink anyone kills Oppa; I am not sure he dies. I do think she made a regretful choice along the way that separated her from him. She doesn’t look at him tragically, but apologetically. “I’m sorry I love you.” It could be something tied to Shin since they are in the same business.

    My take on the level of MR’s attraction to SJ is that it is very low. First clue is 1. MR did not gasp in admiration when his very very very handsome face appeared on her screen. 2. When ordered by her fu†ure self to seduce him, did she rub her hands in glee a† †he thought? No, she approached i† very businesslike, almost neu†rally. 3. Si††ing closely next to him, listening to †he music with him, she didn’t gaze lovingly, but very companionably. They will be very good friends, with his one sided crush. As much as Future MR needs him, Now MR doesn’t want him.

    LDG and YEH are a match made in romcom heaven. MFEO. I can’t wait †o see how they manage to overcome their seemingly insurmountable distrust.

  20. this drama is really very good, I love the plot and the performances so far, the drama is so unpredictable and intigrante so far very pleasantly satisfied me, this drama has so much potential, long ago I entusiamaba both a drama, just I love it.

  21. I am all abord the OTP train too (which is rare since I normally have a huge second lead syndrome). Those two have so much chemistry and I love their individual characters and the way they push each others buttons in all the right ways. I find Young-hwa and his role bland as hell in comparison to the pulling me in with every action LG and Shin that for me there really is not contest.

    Future Mi-rae is so freaking alive, and fascinating, and her own character like you said. I love seeing her and seeing little by little what is driving her to make these drastic changes. I too don’t think that she literally means that Shin “kills her” but it seems like their love in the end brings some kind of pain or destruction of both that she wants to avoid.

    I really also enjoy the themes of free will and fate. The fact that our choices do determine our fates yet everything still happens for a reason and what is meant to happen/be will be. I like that. It makes future Mi-rae’s interferences all the more interesting because she along with us don’t know how that will alter her future.

  22. I agree with ‘clap’. The first two episodes isn’t doing anything for me. It is a bit boring and YEH”s acting is the same as her other roles.
    To each their own.

    However, I am still going to continue watching for LDG…kinda disappointed this is his first project back. Although, he’s awesome here as always.

  23. I am a little late in the game as I just watched ep 2 and read the various opinions here. Personal life got in the way and I am just gathering my thoughts. I have no idea what’s going to happen and be reveal but I am definitely interested in finding out. When watching time travel dramas, I always wonder if you go back in time, does it mean that you change the future. As in because MR meddles with her past, SJ may not end up being a successful chaebol. as in, one change sets off a chain reaction of changes as opposed to everything stays the same except she marries him instead of Shin. If that makes sense… I suppose it will and that’s why she back to change it.

    Next, I don’t dislike future MR for the SJ-YK change yet like so many other people do. I don’t know what her reasons are entirely for disliking YK yet. Because this is a rom com, I believe the second leads will get their happy ending.

    YH’s acting – I really was not fond of his acting in his previous two dramas. So far here, he has definitely had small moments when I think, oh – not bad, improvement. 🙂 but overall, I still find him just not quite hitting the right notes so to speak or just a little lost in what kind of expression would really work and is natural to use. So it is a little hard for me to fully be on his ship because I am not fully feeling his character yet. Despite that, this is still much more tolerable than before. But I am really rooting for him… I want him to make SJ a believable opponent to Shin. While I am also not feeling the second lead ship yet, he is easy on the eyes and swoon worthy for MR. I did like their first scene together at YBS – it was very cute. 🙂 one of my favorite scenes for the episode. 🙂

    The OTP – what can I say about them? There is definite chemistry. Their characters and their history together… I have no idea what I am hoping for here. I know a good marriage is not easy to come by and takes a lot of work. So I hope that the second time around, they will come to realize just how much they loved each other and how they can work together through their problems. This is certainly easier said then done. I think it’s unavoidable that she will be attracted to Shin. The heart wants what the heart wants – and it’s not that easy to change that.

  24. Wow. I’m suffering badly with 2nd lead syndrome already! Thanks for the recap, Koala! MHIYD is cracktastic-more so than Heirs and I LUFF LMH!

  25. Um, Dramabeans says that future Mi Rae always uses a gender-neutral pronoun when referring to the person Shin “kills”?

  26. Im so invested in this drama and i like future mirae character. Eventough some of what she did is based on emotional decisions but that what th drama is. Can you change the past or its all about good choices and fate?

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