This was a crazy week in dramalandia, with the influx of pre-premiere goodies for a bevy of May dramas dropping from the sky like a passing tropical storm. It made me put 49 Days by the wayside, but it was not out of sight, out of mind. While I don’t feel the compulsion to write reams about this drama, during the lull between weeks I do miss the characters and seeing how things continue to move forward plot-wise.

Episode 13 was an episode akin to a duck on a lake – not much movement above the surface, but lots of paddling of the feet underneath. More revelations are, well, revealed, but no great leaps forward (yet) for any of the major plot threads.

Episode 13 Recap:

Kang walks up to Ji Kyung, and pulls her in for a long-overdue hug between them. Ji Kyung is of course taken aback, but she closes her eyes and allows herself to feel this warmth from Kang for a moment. But she realizes who is hugging her and pushes him away. He jokes that he was sleepwalking and didn’t realize what he did. But he gets serious and tells her that he’s simply giving her a comfort hug, which is given quite freely in the US.

Kang saw Ji Kyung lonely and dispirited walking on the road, and he just wanted to cheer her up. Ji Kyung tells him that in Korea, a man who has a girlfriend cannot just hug another girl. Kang replies that he doesn’t have a girlfriend, just because he brought flowers to a girl he likes doesn’t mean she’s his girlfriend. Kang protests that he gave the girl flowers not to make her his girlfriend, but to cheer her up. Ji Kyung takes him to task for seemingly cheering up all the girls around him. Min Ho’s PI is tailing Ji Kyung and takes a picture of this hug.

Back at the restaurant, Kang orders tons of food, reminding the manager not to put a bay leaf in the pasta. When Ji Kyung brings him the food, he invites her to sit down and eat, using the excuse that the restaurant occasionally conducts food tastings. Kang tells her he wants her to help him finish the food he’s test tasting so it doesn’t go to waste.

Kang asks her why a person eats? He tells her that people eat to keep living, reminding her that dying mean she can no longer experience all the emotions of a human being anymore. Ji Kyung wonders if he knows her true identity, but Kang deftly reminds her that she claimed to be suffering from a terminal illness and has 48 days left to live. Min Ho is shown the picture of Kang hugging Ji Kyung.

Kang discusses the reason for the hidden seal with the manager. Kang realizes that he can’t tell Ji Hyun’s dad about their suspicions, since he trusts Min Ho and has even put him in his will. They decide the most important thing right now is to convince Ji Hyun’s dad to to have the surgery. The manager gives Kang a hug when his wife comes in to share her research on how a person can prove their real heart to another.

Ji Kyung goes to find Scheduler, who is listening to music loudly in the park. Ji Kyung asks Scheduler if he’s done some digging and confirmed whether Kang knows the truth about her identity. Scheduler tells her that as long as she wasn’t the one who allowed Kang to discern the truth, it doesn’t matter. Ji Kyung finds out that after the 49 days is over, she will have no memory of what happened during this time. Ji Kyung is worried that after she wakes up, she’ll continue to want to marry Min Ho.

In Jung is asking Seo Woo if she knows of a friend of Ji Hyun’s named Park Jung Eun? Ji Kyung is thinking back to Min Ho blowing her off the last time they met, worried that his lack of interest in her means she can’t easily investigate him further. Ji Kyung runs to see Kang, telling him that she needs to leave early. Kang hides his flow chart that details his findings about Ji Kyung’s quest.

Kang tells her to come inside, inviting her to have tea. Ji Kyung stares at the potted plant, and Kang can see her completely obvious perusal of the plant where she hid her seal. Kang asks if she likes flowers, and she asks if that plant needs to be repotted into a bigger pot. Kang says that its dangerous to move such a big plant (what if he injures himself), so that potted plant is staying put for the next 100 years. Oh Kang, you are too precious for words.

Kang tells her that he may be a man, but he’s not the big bad wolf. He drags her inside for a cup of tea. Ji Kyung asks what the music currently playing is, and Kang confesses that its music his mother loved. Ji Kyung sees Kang deep in thought, and the two of them make eye contact and then break apart in discomfort. Ji Kyung asks Kang what’s in the ceramic jar, and Kang quickly stands up and grabs her hand to prevent her from looking inside and seeing her seal and her bracelet.

Kang walks Ji Kyung out, and Min Ho is in his car thinking back to the picture he saw of Kang hugging Ji Kyung. He sees the two of them walk out, and Ji Kyung tries to leave but Kang pulls her back with an offer to walk her to the bus stop. He yanks a little too hard and she loses her footing and ends up wrapping her arms around his waist. Min Ho sees this little hug and looks stunned.

Ji Kyung pushes herself off, and Kang explains that he merely wanted to take a walk to the bus stop, not that he wanted to purposely walk her there. Min Ho gets out of the car forcefully and calls out to Ji Kyung. Kang asks what he wants, and Min Ho says that he needs to talk with Ji Kyung. She asks Kang to let her go, since she’s wants to talk to Min Ho.

Min Ho comments on how Ji Kyung appears to have changed her tactic, and Ji Kyung awesomely tells him that any woman with the ability to appreciate a good man would always choose Han Kang (oh hells yeah!) and not Kang Min Ho. Ji Kyung says that only she was stupid enough to be fooled by Min Ho. Min Ho rages at her, asking what her relationship is with Kang, why they were in Jin An together, did she call him from there?

Ji Kyung tells him that he should not be asking her these questions right now. If he asked her during the day, maybe she will answer him. Ji Kyung continues by confidently saying that she knew Min Ho would come back to find her. Since Ji Kyung knows so many secrets about Min Ho, clearly he can’t let her go like that. Min Ho drags her into his car, and Kang has been watching this from the restaurant steps and he clenches his hand in anger.

Kang stalks back to his room, and wonders to himself what the hell Min Ho is doing. Kang looks at the seal, saying that he needs to give it back to Ji Kyung somehow. At a bar, Min Ho asks what happened in Jin An when Ji Kyung fainted and then woke up to not recognize him? Ji Kyung’s explanation is that she has a sleep disorder that causes her to be confused. When Min Ho presses for why she didn’t tell him about her condition, Ji Kyung’s response is that he ditched her for In Jung anyways even when he saw that she was ill, so why tell him?

Min Ho wonders why Ji Kyung texted In Jung? Ji Kyung claims that she just wanted to make herself feel better. Min Ho confesses that he doesn’t know what’s happening with In Jung, and he’s just confused in general with his behavior recently. Ji Kyung brings up that homey restaurant Min Ho took her to that his mom loved – when he was poor he could only afford that kind of restaurant for his mom, so where does he take his mom now that he is rich?

Min Ho’s last meal out with his mom at that restaurant was before he left to study abroad in the US. Min Ho reveals that his mom has been in a hospital for the past few years, which leaves Ji Kyung with the realization that the mom trotted out at their engagement part was clearly a fake mom. Ji Kyung puts her hand over Min Ho’s, pretending to comfort him for his suffering.

Min Ho and Ji Kyung leave the bar, and she once again refuses to let him know where she lives. After she leaves, Min Ho’s PI tails her to the bus. On the bus, Scheduler comes to see her and informs her that she’s being followed. Ji Kyung looks out the back of the bus and sees her father’s car with her father’s driver following her. Ji Kyung realizes that her father’s driver was high school friend’s with Min Ho, and is likely in cahoots with him.

Ji Kyung and Scheduler get off the bus with a group of people and manage to shake her tail. They find themselves at a park, and Scheduler tells her not to thank him, he did this to protect Song Yi Kyung. He asks her why she is doing this, and Ji Kyung says she needs to unmask Min Ho and prevent his conspiracy. Scheduler wonders why she’s not working harder to get her three tears?

Ji Kyung says that whether it’s one tear or three, it’s all destined. Since she can’t tell people who she is and ask for their tears, it’s up to the people who knew Shin Ji Hyun to decide if they want to cry a pure tear for her. Ji Kyung asks Scheduler about which orphanage Yi Kyung grew up in? If he won’t help her find Yi Soo, then she’ll find him herself. Scheduler reminds her to stop with her extraneous activities. She needs to be careful not to be caught by Min Ho, and to get her three tears. Ji Kyung promises to be careful.

Min Ho goes back to his apartment to find In Jung sitting inside, in the dark. In Jung remarks that Min Ho clearly must be having a hard time forgetting Ji Kyung, if he’s getting drunk over her. Min Ho wants to know why she’s here. In Jung says that the day she couldn’t find the seal, and heard a friend named Park Jung Eun went to Ji Hyun’s house, that person has reappeared recently.

Min Ho tells In Jung to leave the country for some language studies abroad. She wonders if he’s using this excuse to dump her? Min Ho admits to liking Ji Kyung, but that’s not the problem. He asks her to think about the last two years. Since the day In Jung brought up the subject, which he remembers as the day of his birthday, every meeting between them has been discussing their plan.

In Jung drilled into Min Ho everything he knows about Ji Hyun and her family. For the past two years, Min Ho has been in a business discussion with In Jung, not in a romantic relationship. They have nothing between them for the past two years other than their mutual plan. Of course their love would wither away and die. Min Ho actually thinks In Jung must feel the same way. In Jung clearly doesn’t, as her eyes fill with tears and she looks dumbstruck.

Ji Hyun’s soul pops out of Yi Kyung’s body. At the coffee shop, Dr. Noh asks her if she’s feeling better, and reveals that she took a day of vacation and a man worked at the shop in her place. Yi Kyung realizes that what she thought was a dream actually happened. Yi Kyung undergoes hypnosis with Dr. Noh, which takes her back to a meeting with Yi Soo.

Yi Soo yells at Yi Kyung, telling her that people change. Yi Kyung cries listening to Yi Soo so frustrated and angry with her. Yi Kyung walks back to the hotel in tears. Suddenly Yi Kyung is seeing through Ji Hyun’s eyes, when Ji Kyung first saw Min Ho meeting with In Jung. Yi Kyung sees that the person is her, but it isn’t her at the same time. Yi Kyung has multiple flashbacks to scenes that occurred only to Ji Kyung. She even sees Ji Hyun talking with her.

Dr. Noh’s diagnosis is that Yi Kyung is getting back memories from a past life. Yi Kyung refutes that, she thinks whatever is happening is currently occurring. Yi Kyung cannot put into words what her thoughts are about what is happening. Yi Kyung comes home and Ji Hyun welcomes her. As Yi Kyung is putting her jacket up, her hand brushes against Ji Hyun, and both feel the touch. Ji Hyun quickly crouches down to avoid Yi Kyung.

Kang goes to meet with Min Ho, informing him that he wants to continue designing the Haemi Island project. Kang gives an excuse that he quit earlier because he didn’t want to keep working on the project after Ji Hyun’s accident, thinking it unlucky. Now that he knows about Min Ho and In Jung, he wants to do something for Ji Hyun. In Jung gets Park Jung Eun’s number, and realizes that it’s the same number as Ji Kyung’s phone.

In Jung convinces Ji Hyun’s mom to go eat pasta with her, saying that Ji Hyun loved it and wanted to eat it with her mom. Of course they go to Kang’s restaurant. Ji Kyung is calling around trying to find out where Song Yi Soo is right now. She gets a call from Kang, who needs to lure her back because he knows her mom is here and this is a chance to see her.

Both In Jung and Kang are anxiously awaiting Ji Kyung’s return, but for different reasons. In Jung gestures that she needs water, and Ji Kyung goes to pour her water. Ji Hyun’s mom recognizes her as Park Jung Eun, and In Jung confirms who she really is. Ji Kyung runs outside, and In Jung follows. Ji Kyung claims that Park Jung Eun is her username online.

Kang comes out and confirms that Ji Kyung is indeed Ji Hyun’s friend. In fact, Ji Hyun asked him to hire Ji Kyung. Damn it, Kang-ahhh, you continue to one-up your awesome Ji Kyung white knight tactics. Kang tells Ji Kyung to go talk with Ji Hyun’s mom, and he tells In Jung to lay off. He tells In Jung that he knows about her relationship with Min Ho. He calls her shameless, especially for using Ji Hyun’s mom to confirm Ji Kyung’s identity as Park Jung Eun.

Kang offers to drive Ji Hyun’s mom home after lunch. He asks Ji Kyung to bring coffee to his office, and when she does, he asks if she really is Ji Hyun’s friend? She says yes, and he asks her why she never told him before? She says that they were friends from an online magic club. She asks why Kang helped her back there, and Kang confesses that he didn’t like seeing In Jung pressuring her.

Kang says that he owes Ji Hyun some favors, and he’s just returning it now. Ji Hyun especially doesn’t like seeing people getting browbeaten, so Kang is just doing it for her sake. He confesses to not much liking In Jung either, because of her relationship with Min Ho. Ji Kyung is shocked to know that Kang also knows about the secret relationship.

Ji Kyung realizes that In Jung is going to promptly inform Min Ho about this discovery, so she jumps the gun and calls Min Ho to arrange to meet him because she has something to tell him. She tells him that she will meeting him outside his apartment after his meeting is done. Right after she hangs up, Min Ho gets a call from In Jung that he purposely doesn’t answer.

Kang drives Ji Hyun’s mom back to the hospital. Kang tells Ji Hyun’s dad that his mother died for over a year before he was told about her death. She did everything to keep him from finding out. Kang tells him that if something were to happen to him, if Ji Hyun wakes up she’ll be devastated. Ji Hyun’s dad gets mad and he starts having a seizure.

Ji Kyung is sitting outside Min Ho’s apartment building waiting for him, thinking about whether she can still see her dad after 19 more days. Min Ho arrives, and they go inside his apartment to talk. Ji Kyung stares at her framed engagement picture with Min Ho. She starts talking about a good friend she never met, but she was extremely close to. She reveals to Min Ho that she was friends with Ji Hyun, which is why when she first met Min Ho she was so nice to him, but turned to dislike when she found out about Min Ho’s relationship with In Jung.

Ji Kyung tells him that she’s also known as Park Jung Eun. In Jung arrives, and Ji Kyung leaves, telling In Jung that she’s done talking to Min Ho and revealing everything. Min Ho is tense and tells In Jung to leave so that he can think through everything. Ji Kyung is worried that Min Ho won’t believe her explanation, and that everything between them is over, and she can’t investigate him anymore.

Ji Kyung sees In Jung stagger out right behind her, and then Min Ho comes barreling past In Jung without even giving her a sideways glance. Ji Kyung heads home, and after some consideration, her spirit leaves Yi Kyung’s body. Yi Kyung sits up, and it appears that she continues to sense Ji Hyun’s presence. At the restaurant, the manager’s wife has spent a lot of time creating a flow chart of things which can symbolize a person’s true heart.

Kang comes back to document his investigation, which is when Min Ho arrives to talk with him. Kang covers his notes, and tells Min Ho that he knew Ji Kyung was Ji Hyun’s friend. Min Ho wants to know why Kang didn’t tell him, and Kang’s reasoning is that he trusted Min Ho genuinely loved Ji Hyun and would be true to her. Is there a reason Kang has to tell Min Ho? Kang tells Min Ho that he likes Ji Kyung, which is why he kept her around. Kang then thinks to himself – no, the one I like is Shin Ji Hyun.

Ji Hyun follows Yi Kyung, finding that she is truly alone, with no place to go and no person to see. Ji Hyun says that no one knows where Song Yi Soo is, or who Yi Kyung’s friends are. Ji Hyun leans down and looks at Yi Kyung directly spirit-to-human, telling her not to stay here too long. Ji Hyun reaches out to almost touch Yi Kyung’s face.

That night, Ji Hyun follows Min Ho home and enters his apartment when he opens the door. She waits impatiently for him to open the door to his bedroom. After Min Ho is asleep, she can’t do anything because he didn’t try to open the safe. Ji Hyun stays in Min Ho’s apartment for a few days, the entire time waiting for him to open the safe so that she can find out the combination.

There are only 16 days left. Finally Ji Hyun leaves and goes back to Yi Kyung’s apartment. She runs into Yi Kyung outside the apartment, and she happily calls out “unni”! Yi Kyung actually appears to hear a voice calling her, and she looks around in confusion. Yi Kyung heads back inside, and she starts to recall seeing Scheduler’s blurry face at the cherry blossom lane. She cries, asking Yi Soo to not do this to her. Why did he finally come back?

Ji Kyung decides to go through Yi Kyung’s college yearbook to look for friends of Yi Kyung’s that she can contact. She finds Yi Kyung’s picture, and inadvertently discovers Yi Soo’s picture. Lo and behold, she’s staring Scheduler right in the face. Ji Kyung calls Scheduler, telling him she needs to see him urgently. She goes to see him at his music studio, running inside to show him Song Yi Soo’s picture.

She opens the yearbook and points Scheduler to a picture of himself wearing a cap and gown. Scheduler asks “who is this? is this me?” Yi Kyung and Scheduler look at each other incredulously.

Thoughts of Mine:

After the jam-packed last few episodes, this one felt like taking a breather, letting everyone get their bearings again, likely in anticipation of the ramp-up to come as the drama begins the climb towards its final huge climax. Kang continues to be the frontrunner for the friend-potential boyfriend-human being-of-the-year award, doing his best to support and aid Ji Kyung (emotionally and practically) in the smartest way possible. Whatever he does or says to Ji Kyung, it’s always so intelligent. It’s been awhile since I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a character be this thoughtful.

I’m getting a bit tired with the revelation-an-episode structure of 49 days, where in every episode someone finds out something about someone else. I guess it has to be done, but I’m waiting for people to do stuff, and not just find out stuff. I’m totally not surprised to find out that the whole bankrupt the company scheme was concocted by In Jung. I wonder what her beef is with Ji Hyun? She clearly has issues, and probably saw swindling Ji Hyun’s family as killing two birds with one stone. Min Ho is no better for going along with it, but I do feel like it’s important to know whose idea it was.

I don’t hate any of the characters, because unlike other dramas where the antagonists get away with near bloody murder with a litany of bad acts before someone finally steps up and says enough is enough, here In Jung and Min Ho are being derided and scorned for their actions as soon as someone finds out about it, such as the dating behind Ji Hyun’s back. The only reason Kang hasn’t outed them to Ji Hyun’s parents is because he wisely knows that he needs proof before his word is believed over Min Ho.

Ji Hyun’s a truly lovely character, and I think it’s such a shame that the drama construct makes it so hard to ship Ji Hyun with Kang because all the interaction we see is between Ji Kyung and Kang, and the visual connection makes us see Lee Yo Won and Jo Hyun Jae as the end-game. Perhaps it’s a magic trick, the sleight of hand that we need to pierce through to see the truth behind the veil. I now believe that Kang loves Ji Hyun romantically, more now than ever because of his interactions with her for the past 33 days. I’m also beginning to see Ji Hyun’s heart seeing Kang in a potential romantic light.

But the drama throws one final wrench (which I was totally expecting) into the mix, which is that even if Ji Hyun gets her three tears and wakes up, she’ll not remember what happened during these 49 days. I’m cool with that, because this just means Kang gets to woo Ji Hyun the way he should have when they were in high school. Sure the guy will have to work at it all over again, but he of all people would relish an opportunity to rectify his youthful mistake and have another (3rd) chance with Ji Hyun.

As for poor Yi Kyung and Yi Soo – it doesn’t really matter how Yi Soo died, all that matters is Yi Kyung believes that she has lost everything in her entire life with his death. What that girl needs to learn that is living is a precious thing in and of itself, even if it feels purposeless or without the hope for happiness. Perhaps that is what Yi Kyung and Ji Hyun are there to teach each other – for Yi Kyung to realize her life is worth living, and for Ji Hyun to realize that dying is nothing to fear.