*Wild incoherent shrieks of joy* This episode was so good, I think I shed a tear or two like a proud mother watching her formerly tone deaf son sing a song in perfect pitch after watching him get progressively better and better each week. Wow, just wow. 49 Days has officially become the shiz-niz and I dunno what to do next Wednesday, with respect to which recap comes out first, this or Best Love. Decisions, decisions.

Today, luckily, was 49 Days all the way, and I loved every moment of episode 14, which was 60 minutes worth of dense plot development, character growth, confrontations and realizations, happiness and sadness, everything good in drama land, we got in one spanking awesome episode. I shall say no more, and let you be the judge.

Episode 14 Recap:

Ji Kyung shows Scheduler the yearbook picture of Song Yi Soo, who looks identical to our resident grumpy persnickety Scheduler that even he is stunned. Clearly having no memory of life before he commenced his 5 year term as Scheduler, he’s confused by the possibility that Song Yi Soo is himself. Ji Kyung shows him a birthday card from Yi Soo to Yi Kyung, complete with heart-shaped arrows, which leaves Scheduler shocked that he could have been in love with Song Yi Kyung.

Scheduler scoffs at the possibility that he would have taken on the Scheduler job for the last 5 years for a woman like Song Yi Kyung. Scheduler confirms again that his memory won’t come back until he’s done with his term. They consider the possibility that perhaps this current Scheduler look is borrowed. Scheduler reveals that if he appears before someone who knew him in his past life, his look will automatically change, so as to not confuse the living person.

Ji Kyung suggests that Scheduler appear before Yi Kyung, to see if his face changes into someone else, which will confirm whether he knew her in his past life. Scheduler gets agitated and tells her to leave. After Ji Kyung leaves, Scheduler flashes back to his few direct encounters with Yi Kyung, and he shakes his head in frustration at the possibility.

Scheduler calls his sunbae, asking if he can be told in advance what his wish was after he completes his term. He’s yelled at by his Scheduler sunbae for asking something not allowed. Ji Kyung is walking and thinks to herself that, having spent the past 3 days at Min Ho’s house, she wants to see Kang. What if he’s worried about her? But he hasn’t called in three days, which leads her to assume he must be mad at her.

The driver tells Min Ho that he traced Yi Kyung to her last known address, which revealed she moved 3 years ago. Apparently her boyfriend died, and she spent years not leaving her apartment, spending all the money in her account. The driver reveals that he was spotted a few days ago, and since then Ji Kyung hasn’t gone to work at the restaurant. Min Ho asks him to continue investigating her. Min Ho thinks about Yi Kyung having lost a lover and decided to give up on life, assuming that her pitiful situation is what made Ji Hyun and now even Kang so nice to her.

In Jung asks to meet with Min Ho, and she wants to know what Min Ho wants to do about Ji Kyung. Min Ho says that even though Ji Kyung knows about their plot, she won’t tell Ji Hyun’s parents. In Jung says that Ji Kyung doesn’t really like Min Ho, she’s lurking around for another purpose. In Jung is shocked that Min Ho believes Ji Kyung, stressing that Ji Kyung cannot truly have been Ji Hyun’s friend.

Min Ho says that he has made a decision, and he apologizes to In Jung, breaking up with her. In Jung cries that she has only Min Ho, and she’ll collapse if she loses him. She believes that if he tries, he can do anything. Min admits that he loved her before, but he can’t control himself now. He asks for time apart to let things figure itself out. In Jung refuses to go quietly – she threatens to tell Ji Hyun’s parents everything if Min Ho continues to meet with Ji Kyung.

Min Ho says that love cannot be forced and manipulated, but In Jung reminds him that she’s loved him for the past four and a half years, and he’s only known Ji Kyung for the last month and a half. In Jung leaves and Min Ho continues to feel all torn and shitty. In Jung goes to an online magic club, doing her own sleuthing. She finds Ji Hyun’s online handle, and reads a posting that Park Jung Eun died a year ago. In Jung wonders who Ji Kyung is, and perhaps Kang has also been lied to.

Kang continues his investigation into the Haemi Island project. He checks his phone to see a message from Ji Kyung saying she needs a few days off to take care of some matters. The manager comes by, and Kang reveals that he went to Yi Kyung’s apartment for the past three days, each time finding only Yi Kyung inside, with no sign of Ji Hyun. It’s clear the spirit of Ji Hyun must have gone somewhere for the past few days.

Kang says that his Haemi Island investigation reveals that the land might have been sold to a shell company, intending to do god knows what with it. Ji Kyung arrives at work to find out that Kang told everyone that she had gone away on vacation. That considerate Kang, always covering for Ji Kyung. Suddenly Ji Kyung gets a call from In Jung and she runs outside to answer, dropping a pink envelope on the floor which Kang picks up.

In Jung gets right to the point, telling Ji Kyung that if she really loves Min Ho, she’s happy to give him to her. But In Jung knows that Ji Kyung doesn’t really like Min Ho, so why is she hanging around him? In Jung further reveals that she knows Ji Kyung is not really friends with Ji Hyun, and demands to know why Ji Kyung contacted all of Ji Hyun’s friends but never called either Seo Woo or herself.

Ji Kyung tosses it right back, that she doesn’t consider In Jung as Ji Hyun’s (true) friend. In Jung says that Ji Hyun is an innocent and trusting friend, who tells In Jung everything. Ji Hyun couldn’t possibly have a friend like Ji Kyung, because if she did, she would have never fallen for In Jung’s lies. In Jung pokes more holes into Ji Kyung’s cover story – if she were really Ji Hyun’s friend, she would hate In Jung and reveal the truth, not keep the secret and then lurk around Min Ho and dislike In Jung.

Ji Kyung says that there are many things in the world that don’t make sense, such as why would In Jung treat Ji Hyun this way. Ji Kyung reveals that Ji Hyun, having no siblings, thanks the lord for giving her In Jung and Seo Woo, who Ji Hyun would give her life for. In Jung says her reasons are exactly that, she wants Ji Hyun to have nothing left to give away for her. Ji Kyung gets a call from Min Ho right at that moment, which In Jung can see. Ji Kyung leaves, but not before telling In Jung to spend more time on Min Ho rather than calling her out to meet.

Kang reads the dropped letter from Ji Kyung, which is written in Ji Hyun’s handwriting, of course. The letter confirms for Kang that Min Ho is in cahoots to swindle her parents out of the company and the Haemi Island property. She asks her father to please cancel the will, and to please have the surgery. She apologizes for not being by her dad’s side during this difficult time. Kang reads the letter and realizes that Ji Hyun knows everything, including her dad’s condition and the need for surgery.

Kang takes out the resignation letter that Ji Kyung gave him when she decided to reveal all to her dad and then go to Heaven, realizing that the letter was a will of sorts for Ji Hyun. Kang heads to his apartment upstairs, which is when In Jung comes to talk with him. She walks downstairs to his office, and sees Ji Kyung’s resignation letter on his desk. She reads it, and realizes that it is Ji Hyun’s handwriting, complete with a Ji Hyun trademark smiley face sign off. In Jung makes a copy of the letter.

Kang comes downstairs dressed in a suit and runs into In Jung. He tells her that he’s too busy to talk today. In Jung goes home and takes out cards from Ji Hyun and compares it with resignation letter. She shakes her head at the possibility. Kang talks with Ji Hyun’s dad, telling him that Ji Hyun is not dead, perhaps her spirit is just having problems coming back to her body. He tells her that if he were Ji Hyun, he would choose death if that was the only way to get her dad to have the surgery.

Ji Hyun’s dad asks Kang if he likes Ji Hyun, and Kang lies that Ji Hyun is not his type. He promises to tell Ji Hyun’s dad why he is so persistent after her dad gets the surgery. Min Ho goes to the hospice to visit his mother, watching her through a slot in her door. He walks away and hides when his mother comes running outside, calling his name. Min Ho cries from behind a wall, listening to his mom plaintively calling for her son.

Min Ho meets with Ji Kyung, revealing that he knows everything about Ji Kyung now. She confirms all the facts, but then asks if Min Ho believes everything she says? Min Ho smiles, realizing that he likes Ji Kyung because she can read him so easily, similar to himself. He asks her to quit working for Kang, but Ji Kyung refuses, she hasn’t thought that far ahead. Ji Kyung asks to discuss it over lunch, at that same restaurant he took her to.

Ji Kyung wants to discuss Min Ho’s mom, who she finds out is 60 years old. She asks more about his mom, such as her birthday, and he wants to know why she’s so curious. Ji Kyung says that she’s interested in the woman who made Min Ho. Ji Kyung reveals Song Yi Kyung’s birth date to Min Ho, and he likewise tells Ji Kyung his mother’s birthday (which she’s fishing for as the possible combination code). Ji Kyung catches a bus back home, and the driver continues to follower her.

Back at the apartment, Ji Kyung puts the yearbook away, but she realizes that the yearbook ripped a hole in Yi Kyung’s bag. After Ji Hyun leaves Yi Kyung’s body, she talks to Yi Kyung about how Yi Soo is dead, and that he’s become Scheduler. She promises to have Yi Soo come find Yi Kyung. She tells Yi Kyung that if she came back to life, she’ll come find Yi Kyung, so that Yi Kyung is not so lonely. Yi Kyung acts like she can hear Ji Hyun talking to her.

At the coffee shop, a strange man is lurking outside the shop staring at Yi Kyung, who notices him. When she looks at him, she sees a stranger, but we can see that it’s Scheduler. He comes inside to order coffee, and stares at Yi Kyung. He shakes his head at the possibility of liking someone like Yi Kyung, pointing to other hotties as more his type. Scheduler keeps looking back at her, and Yi Kyung keeps looking at him (but seeing the dumpy stranger). She hands him the coffee, and Scheduler takes it and walks out, realizing that Yi Kyung did not recognize him, ergo she knew him from before.

Ji Kyung sews up the rip in Yi Kyung’s bag, which is when she realizes that her letter is gone. She’s freaking out about where she lost the letter, and what if someone handed the letter to her dad. If that happened, then her secret is out and it’s all over. We see Ji Hyun’s parents reading the letter, and then Ji Kyung’s necklace glows red and shatters. Ji Hyun’s soul pops out of Yi Kyung, and Scheduler arrives to take her on an express elevator to Heaven. Of course, this is just her nightmare sequence.

Ji Hyun’s father considers what Kang told him, and re-reads the newspaper Ji Kyung brought with the story about a coma patient waking up after 20 years. In Jung goes to Ji Hyun’s house, trying to ask about Park Jung Eun, and finds out from the housekeeper that said friend even know Ji Hyun’s mom doesn’t drink bone marrow soup. In Jung starts to consider the possibility that Ji Kyung is Ji Hyun, since she keeps getting Ji Hyun vibes from her.

At the hospital, Ji Hyun’s mom is looking at pictures of her, and tells her husband that as long as Ji Hyun is breathing, she’s happy. Ji Hyun’s dad agrees to have the surgery. He tells her to keep her promise, that no matter how long Ji Hyun lies in a coma, she will stay by her side. Kang gets a call about the surgery from Ji Hyun’s mom. The manager is so happy, and tells him to call Ji Kyung.

Ji Kyung is at the hospital, asking Ji Hyun’s mom if she got a letter of sorts recently. She finds out her dad has agreed to get the surgery, and that Kang had come by multiple times to convince her dad to have surgery. Ji Hyun’s mom reveals that Kang comes by constantly with pink flowers for Ji Hyun’s hospital room. Okay, girlie, if you still can’t put 1 and 1 together and figure out that the girl Kang likes is you, then you are the dimmest bulb on the planet.

Ji Kyung walks out of the hospital room, thanking the lord and crying, so she doesn’t see In Jung arriving at the same time. Ji Kyung runs off to see Kang, and In Jung finds out from Ji Hyun’s mom that the surgery is on. In Jung looks at Ji Hyun’s comatose body, wondering how it’s possible that Ji Hyun is laying there, but In Jung feels like Ji Kyung is Ji Hyun.

Kang is waiting outside the restaurant as Ji Kyung comes running up the steps. He tells her to go change her clothes and then come back out. After she comes back out, Kang heads down to plant her letter back inside her bag, but Ji Kyung sees him touching her stuff since she went back down to grab her cell phone. After he leaves, she checks her bag and finds her letter inside. She realizes that Kang read her letter.

Ji Kyung goes running off to see Scheduler, asking him what to do since she’s been discovered. Kang read her letter, which she kept by her side for a final emergency. Scheduler tells her that since her necklace is fine, it means that Kang already figured out her identity due to no fault of her own. But she’s still not allowed to tell Kang regardless. Scheduler is in a bad mood, and tells Ji Kyung to stop bugging him with her problems.

Ji Kyung wonders why Scheduler is feeling human emotions, and he reveals that since his tenure is almost up, the human emotions are beginning to come back to him. Ji Kyung asks if Yi Kyung recognized him, and Scheduler yells at her that he doesn’t know, and then runs off. Ji Kyung thinks back to all of Kang’s recent behavior change, and finally realizes that Kang likes her. FINALLY. *pats on the head*

Ji Kyung comes back to see Kang waiting for her and grumbling about her running off. He tells her to always let him know before she leaves. Ji Kyung ask him what the emergency was that he called her back for. Kang tells her that his friend Ji Hyun’s dad is getting the surgery, and she says that she already knew since she was at the hospital earlier. Ji Kyung thanks Kang on behalf of Ji Hyun, and Kang says that he’s also Ji Hyun’s friend. Ji Kyung remarks that Ji Hyun is lucky to have a friend like Kang.

Min Ho finds out that someone (our Kang, but he doesn’t know who it is) is investigating the Haemi Island land deal. The driver comes by with Yi Kyung’s latest address, and he pays the driver with some cash as thanks. Min Ho gets a call from Kang, and the two bros (but not for long) meet. Kang tells Min Ho that he knows everything about what he is trying to do to Ji Hyun’s father’s company. Kang tells him to stop now, and to also decline his share in the will should Ji Hyun’s father die in the surgery.

Min Ho tells Kang to give up, because Kang cannot stop Min Ho. Kang reveals he knows that Min Ho is in cahoots with another company to take over. Kang wants to know why Min Ho is doing this? Min Ho says that it’s not for money, and it’s not because Ji Hyun’s family did anything to him. To Min Ho, he’s using his own strategy to change his circumstances in life. He considers Ji Hyun and her dad to simply have fallen into an unfortunate, just like Min Ho’s unfortunate birth. So Min Ho’s justification is bad luck? Dude, when you do something purposely to someone else, that ain’t no luck at work.

Kang argues to Min Ho that a person’s birth is pre-decided, and not something that can be bemoaned. Min Ho reveals the true horrow of his childhood – so hungry that at four years old he wanted to nurse from his mother to get some sustenance, a father who gambled and beat them, and how his father’s death when he was 13 was the happiest moment of his life. But afterwards he wondered when he would die from hunger or freeze to death. After that he grew up living in one bedroom with his mom, who did everything to raise him and survive.

To Min Ho, what he is doing now to Ji Hyun is just like the shit that was dumped on him when he was a kid, she should just chalk it up to bad luck. Ji Hyun has already enjoyed much, so now it’s his turn to change his own life. Min Ho tells Kang that he has no right to judge him. Kang vows to stop Min Ho, and Min Ho welcomes Kang’s challenge. Kang feels bad for Min Ho, but he’s not willing to allow Min Ho to continue.

In Jung hands Ji Kyung’s resignation letter to Seo Woo, who immediately recognizes it as Ji Hyun’s handwriting. In Jung wonders if there are such things as ghosts in the world, and spirits possessing a body? In Jung goes to meet Min Ho, and shows him the resignation letter and Ji Hyun’s old birthday cards. He asks if she’s gone insane? She admits that she thinks that she’s gone insane. In Jung tells Min Ho that she’s not acting out of jealousy right now, she really wants Min Ho to piece together Ji Kyung’s behavior and consider what if it was Ji Hyun. She asks Min Ho to please investigate.

Ji Kyung walks home, and runs into Dr. Noh outside her apartment. Ji Kyung hilariously acts all mellow like Yi Kyung. Dr. Noh asks why she’s not coming by for hypnosis recently, and Ji Kyung finds out about Yi Kyung undergoing hypnosis. The next morning, Ji Kyung goes to Min Ho’s apartment, only to be denied entrance after he’s changed his password. She then gets a call from Min Ho asking to have lunch with her.

Min Ho picks up Ji Kyung for lunch, and he notices her ballet flats which have beads on top. Min Ho takes her to buy new shoes, and makes her toss the old ones. He takes the shoes home, and he matches the beads on top to the one he found outside the hotel room when he met with In Jung. He realizes that Ji Kyung was the woman who was sitting outside the hotel room weeks ago.

Min Ho waits outside the apartment for Ji Kyung. He sees Yi Kyung walk out, and they make eye contact but Yi Kyung continues to walk away. Min Ho enters the coffee shop and approaches Yi Kyung. He addresses her as Song Yi Kyung. She stares at him and responds “what is it, Kang Min Ho-shhi?” Oh Boo Yah!

Thoughts of Mine:

Guh, this episode was SO GOOD. Now this is what imma talking about, drama! I knew you had it in you, once you stopped dithering around and actually put pedal to the metal and aim for your goal line. First off, Yi Kyung recognizing Min Ho – it’s either Scheduler pretending to be Yi Kyung (highly unlikely) or the most likely possibility, Yi Kyung has in fact been hearing Ji Hyun chattering to her for the past few days, and combined with her seeing Ji Hyun’s memories through the hypnotic treatment, she knows who Min Ho is, and she knows he’s a threat to Ji Hyun. I’m not terribly worried, I’m sure this big dun-dun moment will be dealt with appropriately.

The awesomest moment in this episode was a three-way tie between (1) the Kang and Min Ho bro-confrontation that was meaty with exposition and dense with importance, (2) dim-witted Ji Kyung FINALLY figuring out that Kang likes her, Shin Ji Hyun, as well finding out that Kang knows her true identity, and (3) Kang convincing Ji Hyun’s dad to have the surgery. Oh yeah, and In Jung is about 95% there in figuring out that Ji Kyung is Ji Hyun. Plus Scheduler pretty much confirmed for himself that he’s as likely to be Song Yi Soo as the earth is round. Yup, that was all in today’s episode.

I buy Min Ho’s completely non-emotional driven reasons for his plot to swindle Ji Hyun’s family. To him, it’s nothing personal. Just like stepping into a pile of dog crap, Ji Hyun’s family is just unlucky they became his target, the same way he was just unlucky to be born into a dirt poor family with an abusive father.

Min Ho is not a cackling evil mastermind, he’s just someone who rationalizes away his behavior vis-à-vis his own lot in life. Kang is right though, Min Ho’s logic is completely faulty, and also lacking in moral right and empathy, but hey, let the two men duke it out. I LOVE that it’s going to be a fight with both sides completely aware of each other’s intent. It’s like a duel with wits. Over Ji Hyun. Ooooooh, my spine is tingling in glee. Angry righteous Kang and determined bastard Min Ho are both so hot they give off steam.

I love In Jung piecing things together, especially after she got dumped by Min Ho, which really felt like an honest development in their relationship. My guess is that In Jung figures out Ji Kyung’s identity, but since she deduced it herself through no fault of Ji Kyung, once again Ji Kyung broke no rules. I think In Jung will pay her dues and find her peace after working through her issues after the discovery. I think part of her does love Ji Hyun, and she’ll be another tear for our girl.

I can’t believe 49 Days is getting this good right before the May dramas hit. Based on the early buzz for Best Love, which I think will debut in the low teens, I don’t think 49 Days will have a huge jump in ratings next week. I still think this drama took way too long to get rolling, perhaps losing the chance to pick up viewers in the beginning, and now 14 episodes in its hard for new viewers to join and catch up on all the mythology. 49 Days is definitely a unique drama, in subject matter, set-up, and execution. I appreciate how it’s getting continuously better episode by episode, rather than the more usual trend of dramas falling apart in the second half.