[KD] 49 Days: Episode 19

Ji-hyun gets her three tears, and the Scheduler marvels, “Wow, you
must’ve lived your life pretty usefully after all.” She’s in shock,
saying, “But there’s nobody who’d cry for me,” but the Scheduler reminds
her how changing their minds (and hearts) are what humans are all
about.

He teases, “Don’tcha wanna know whose tears they are?” But she tells
him not to tell her: “If I knew, I think I’d only love these three
people.” Or, put another way, she might harden against everyone who isn’t those three. The Scheduler approves her wise choice.
Just as she’s about say her goodbyes to Yi-soo, he starts to fade
from her sight, although it’s really Spirit Ji-hyun who disappears,
leaving the Scheduler behind.
And then…Ji-hyun wakes up!! Eeeeeee!
She opens her eyes to see her mother and Seo-woo sobbing over her,
and it’s Dad who enters and sees that Ji-hyun’s awake. Aw, their
happiness is so sweet.

At Heaven, Manager Oh comes upon Yi-kyung as she’s leaving, surprised
when she tells him that she has no reason to stay anymore. She moves
back to her place, which seems sadly empty without her ghost friend
anymore.
Manager Oh calls Kang, who’s just landed and driving back home, to
say worriedly that they must’ve calculated the days wrong. Worst. Phone
call. EVER!

Okay, here’s where I know I’ve got a sadistic streak because knowing
that Ji-hyun is safe and sound, I’m giggling like a little fool at how
Kang is gonna have to stew a little in his misery — that’s what you get
for jetting off in secret without so much as a goodbye! But Mom calls
Kang right away to let him know that Ji-hyun’s awake, and I’m actually a
little disappointed he didn’t have to suffer a little more.
Ji-hyun’s recovery defies medical explanation, and she undergoes
tests. Kang arrives as she’s in the exam room, and tells Dad the added
good news that his father agreed to invest in the company. Her parents
are stunned and grateful.

Tests complete, Kang comes by again, entering the room looking
thrilled to see her…until he registers that Ji-hyun isn’t thrilled back.
She says bluntly, “Han Kang, long time no see. But why are you here?”
She asks why In-jung and Min-ho aren’t here, and Mom trades
uncomfortable glances with Seo-woo.
Mom, Seo-woo, and Kang step outside to decide that they shouldn’t
upset Ji-hyun, and will keep the news of her father’s surgery and
business troubles a secret from her. Mom assures Kang that she’ll tell
her how much Kang did for them, but he says sadly that that’s not
important. Poor crushed Kang-ah. Buck up. Maybe there’s a cure for
otherworldly amnesia.
Min-ho continues with his plans o’ destruction, getting Haemido ready
for takeover and readying to resign tomorrow. (Dude, your cover’s been
blown, and bigtime — why the wait? Are you so OCD that you have to keep
to the original timetable, even when Dad already knows he’s harboring a
viper in his midst? “NO! The schedule says tomorrow!”) Plus, news of his
villainy has spread throughout the building, so that he attracts
scornful stares from other employees. Another businessman makes a
disdainful comment about how he doesn’t even know his fiancee has woken
up.

But instead of heading for the hospital, Min-ho goes to Yi-kyung’s
place, although he didn’t expect it to be occupied. Yi-kyung tells him
flatly that Ji-hyun is no longer connected to her and demands he go,
leaving his key behind.
Ji-hyun’s parents fill her in on what went on during her coma, each
joking that they spent more time glued to her bedside than the other.
Heh. It’s the kind of thing you can joke about when you’re so giddy with
relief that just about everything is funny and wonderful.
Ji-hyun still finds Kang’s presence odd, but her parents assure her
how devoted and helpful he was, and she concedes that he stuck by his
sense of friendly loyalty — something she’s surprised by, but also
dismisses as out of character. She tells him he can go now, treating him
like a distant acquaintance, and he excuses himself.

At Heaven, he admits to Manager Oh that although he should be happy,
he can’t help being saddened that Ji-hyun has no memory of their recent
time together. He mulls over their exchanges during the past 47 days and
their growing connection, and how he told Ji-hyun to tell him
everything she wanted to say after she woke up.
In her lonely apartment, Yi-kyung looks at her old calendar marking
Yi-soo’s passing and wonders sadly, “When are you coming? Come quickly.”
It’s sad how Yi-kyung is the only one for whom Ji-hyun’s recovery means
even more gloominess, because she’s now without companionship and
without hope. All she can do is sit and wait for Yi-soo to come get her,
which is pretty depressing. What she can’t see is that Yi-soo sits next
to her, unable to do a thing.

In the morning, Kang visits Yi-kyung to tell her the good news of
Ji-hyun’s recovery — and also the bad news that she probably won’t
remember Yi-kyung, which makes her alternately happy and disappointed.
He thanks her for all her help, and offers her a job in his
restaurant, since she’s now jobless. Ha, how great would that be? — it’s
a familiar scenario, but just off enough to be strangely
uncomfortable. Alas, she declines, answering that she’s waiting for
somebody. She retrieves the bracelet from her dresser, telling him that
Ji-hyun asked her to return it to Kang, as it’s his mother’s. He’d never
known it came from Mom, and as Yi-kyung doesn’t know the story, she
tells him to ask Ji-hyun about it.

She conveys the rest of Ji-hyun’s message: “She asked me to say that
she’s sorry that she just received from you [without giving back], and
that if not for you, she wouldn’t have been able to endure that time.”
Min-ho gets the bad news that Daddy Shin has come up with funds,
which completely takes him by surprise. His investing partner blames
this on Min-ho, saying that being named beneficiary in the will made him
deviate from The Plan out of greed. Not untrue, those words.

Min-ho calls his mole at Heaven, Ki-joon, asking how the funds came
in. Ki-joon tells him cheerily that Kang got an investor in the States,
and at Min-ho’s angry exclamation (“Why didn’t you report that?!”) he
says innocently, “Why should I?” Ki-joon explains that he isn’t that
greedy, and that he’s plenty capable of advancing in his career without
Min-ho’s support, thankyouverymuch! Hmph!
Min-ho then gets a call from the district prosecutor saying that
they’ve received a petition regarding Min-ho, requesting his presence
tomorrow morning.

In-jung sits waiting for Min-ho at that lunch spot, having asked him
to meet her, and when he doesn’t show, she sits there eating alone,
crying.
Meanwhile, Min-ho drinks with his driver friend Jin-young, bitter at
his impending demise. His friend tells him gently that he can’t stand to
see him falling apart, and he’ll be quitting too. Min-ho says he won’t
die like this.
In-jung comes to Min-ho’s apartment in the morning to say her goodbye
— she’s returning to Jinan. She tells him to call if he needs anything,
and apologizes. He says bleakly, “You’re making it impossible for me to
even say I’m sorry.” Which…is the stupidest logic ever (you can JUST
SAY YOU’RE SORRY), but whatever. Sociopathic villains do tend to have
their own rules of what is and isn’t appropriate behavior.

Kang drops by the hospital with more pink roses, ignoring Ji-hyun’s
perplexed look and saying, “I’m going to come by every day, so you’d
better get used to it.” Yay, adorably decisive Kang is back!
Mom tests the waters by asking if Ji-hyun remembers her friend
Jung-eun — er, Song Yi-kyung — and how she left her seal in her care.
Ji-hyun recognizes the name of her club friend, but has no recollection
about the seal, so Mom hurriedly lets the matter drop.
After a physical therapy session, Kang takes her through the garden.
She asks why he’s being so attentive, saying that it makes her feel
uncomfortable. He asks how she feels to be alive (“It’s wonderful”) and
says he feels the same, then asks how she spent her 47 days: “Did you
just sleep? Did you have dreams?”
She says, “Even if I did, why do I have to tell you?” He asks, “Did I
ever appear in them?” She retorts, “Why would you?” Hm, she’s being a
touch defensive at his line of questioning. I wonder…

Annnnd…. there’s Lurker Min-ho, lurking yet again. Any more of that
and he’ll have to get a license and pay taxes on it, for all the mileage
he’s getting out of his lurkitude.
Ji-hyun has been pressing to see In-jung, wondering why she hasn’t
been by. Mom makes up a few excuses, but finally she and Seo-woo find
In-jung and tell her that Ji-hyun is insistent to see her. They want her
to drop by briefly and act like all is normal between them, which is a
prospect In-jung can’t bear, unable to face her ex-friend.

In-jung begs to be excused, but Mom tells her she acted plenty well
for two years before the accident — surely she can extend the act for a
moment — and Seo-woo drags her with her.
Meanwhile, Ji-hyun asks if Kang is truly planning to skip out on work
every day to come to the hospital. Ah, but she forgets that Kang can
magically run businesses without actually, yunno, doing any work, and he
replies yes.

She tells him she wishes he’d work harder at his architecture,
because he has special talent that he’s just wasting. Her comment
actually lands with him, as though he hadn’t considered she’d feel that
way, and he replies, “I have nobody to show it to, or share it with. If I
worked diligently at designing, would you watch me?”
Alas, no time for a response, because Mom enters and announces
In-jung’s arrival. Ji-hyun asks for a moment alone, so Kang escorts Mom
out and leaves the ladies to talk.

In-jung enters with head bowed, afraid to confront Ji-hyun, who says:

Ji-hyun: “While I was sleeping, I had a
dream. On my engagement day, my shoe broke. I kept seeing you taking
your shoes off for me. You took off your shoes unconsciously and ran
barefoot. In that moment, you’d taken them off for me.”
In-jung: “What are you saying?”
Ji-hyun: “They say that shoes are a woman’s pride, but
in that moment you threw your pride aside for me. Forgetting the
engagement ceremony, you thought of me first. Because I was your
friend.”

Ji-hyun closes her eyes as they start tearing up, growing oddly
emotional for someone who doesn’t know anything of In-jung’s backstabby
ways. Or…does she?
She sends In-jung away to sob her misery alone.

Yi-soo watches over Yi-kyung impatiently, dying to meet her but
restricted by his one-week penalty. He curses his mean granny sunbae,
only to get a summons.
He whines and complains before she informs him that he’ll be allowed
to meet Yi-kyung tomorrow, since today is the end of his 5-year tenure.
He points out his one-week penalty, and she retorts that he’s required
to be a Scheduler for another week — but they never said he had to wait
to meet Yi-kyung.
As Yi-kyung looks over her old letters and cards from Yi-soo, a new
one floats down from above and lands in front of her: “An invitation
from Song Yi-soo-nim.” Realizing that the time has come, she gets ready
with anticipation in the morning, using the beauty products that Ji-hyun
left for her.

Yi-soo waits at the appointed meeting place, and they approach each
other slowly. With a smile, he tells her, “Song Yi-kyung, long time no
see. You haven’t changed at all.”
She lifts a hand to his face and confirms that he’s real, then throws
herself into his arms, sobbing, “Why did you come only now?” He
answers, “Because this was my time to come. I couldn’t come until now.”

He asks her to do as he wishes for the day, without complaint, and
takes her someplace. Which turns out to be, macabrely enough, the site
of his accident.
He explains that back then, he’d been full of excitement over this
new world, making music, and felt cramped by his old life. He’d thought
the issue wasn’t something they could talk out through conversation, so
he decided to show her how he felt — but while he had fun with his music
and hanging out with girls, “You were like my hometown.” And that’s why
he bought a proposal ring.
The rings are, miraculously enough, still buried in the dirt nearby,
and he retrieves them, putting them on their fingers, then takes her to
his next destination: an amusement park.

They’d never had the money to come here, but he reminds her that he’d
promised to bring her for her birthday. Since Yi-soo has no more human
money than he did back then, I’m going to assume he’s pulled some
celestial strings to get in. They spend the night doing the usual
amusement-park activities, and there’s something very sweet about them
on this very common date for the first time ever, and seeing how happy
they both are.
Next, he takes her back to her place and asks her to go shopping for
groceries, because he misses her cooking. She’s nervous to be separated,
but he assures her that he won’t leave this time without a goodbye

In her absence, he cleans and redoes her room for her — which is
either the fastest remodel job ever or the slowest grocery shopping trip
known to man. Dr. Noh drops by, alarmed at the signs of new tenancy,
though Yi-soo tells him Yi-kyung hasn’t moved. In his amusingly rude
punkass way (hee), Yi-soo advises the doctor to stay away for two days:
“If you leave right away, I’ll tell her you came by. If you dawdle, I
might not.” Dr. Noh has the vague feeling he’s seen him before, but
can’t quite place it, which isn’t surprising since he’s the dumbest
doctor ever.
When Yi-kyung comes back, she almost doesn’t even register the pretty
new room because she’s immediately afraid Yi-soo has gone. She’s
relieved when he comes out of the bathroom, but asks why he bothered
with the room when she’s going to leave with him. He doesn’t correct
her, and just says that he prefers to stay in clean quarters.

That night, Yi-soo looks over Yi-kyung as she sleeps, like he’s
memorizing her face. Oh, you’re already breaking my heart, and nothing’s
even happened yet. But it’s one of those disasters you can see from a
mile away and are helpless to avoid, and unable to look away from.
In the morning, as they go out for a walk, Yi-kyung keeps staring at
him, amazed that he’s still here. In contrast to her, Yi-soo’s in a
darker mood and reminds her, “Still, I’m a dead person.”
And then he gets to the point: “I waited five years to meet you. To
tell you that I loved you, that I never for one moment had feelings for
anyone else, to say ‘Let’s marry.’ But not now — the things I want to
tell you have changed.”

He untangles their intertwined fingers and says, “I loved you until
then. Starting from now, I won’t love you. Because I didn’t want to
leave you with only hurt, I waited for five years, wanting you to forget
me and be happy.”
Yi-kyung protests, trying to hold his hand again, saying, “Don’t say
that, Yi-soo. I’m going to go with you.” He tells her that they can’t go
together, and that even if she chose death in order to be with them,
they’d be apart: “That’s what death is.” Cruelly true.
She says she can’t endure living alone, but he asks her to do it
anyway, for him: “I have to let you go to be happy in the next life. If
you’re unhappy, my heart twists and I won’t rest easy. I’ll be born as a
bad-tempered guy who can’t receive love, who can’t love either, who
lives unhappily.”

He orders her to throw away the ring, which no longer has meaning,
which only existed to clear up their misunderstanding. He takes his ring
off, despite her pleas, and throws it into the water.

Yisoo: “You know now how precious you
were to me. You weren’t thrown away, you were the most important person
to me. An incredible person. And so, you’ll become someone else’s
incredibly precious person. Promise me that for my sake, you’ll be
happy. So that I can leave this world without regrets, so I can start
over in the next life. Yi-kyung, be happy for my sake.”

With that, he pulls the ring off her finger, and this time she doesn’t stop him when he throws it into the water.
He says, “I’m thankful for meeting you, and I was happy.” She cries,
“I’m sorry — I only ever received from you, and never paid you back for
anything.”

Yi-soo tells her, “Pay it back to the person who loves you. Instead of to me, give it to him.”
He kisses her, then turns and walks away, holding back his own tears.
Yi-kyung sobs as she watches him go, until he finally fades away into
the backdrop.
Oh, gah. What’s this blurring my vision? How can something so inevitable be so heartbreaking? OH SO SAD.

Min-ho visits his mother’s hospital, watching her through the window
and thinking, “Mother, I’d meant to come for you once I’d made a success
of myself. I’m sorry.” It’s here that he’s accosted by two police
officers with an arrest warrant.
He asks for a brief moment to see his mother first, and asks her
urgently whether she’s tucked away the documents his friend Jin-young
delivered. He tells her to not give them to anybody until he comes back
for them, but she looks at him blankly, not recognizing him.
Finally, it clicks for her and she greets him warmly, though she’s
still locked in the past. He can’t help shedding tears as she exclaims,
“I knew you’d become an important person!” It really lands when she
cries, “I knew you’d be different from your father.” At that, she
embraces him and he breaks down, like a lost little boy.

GUH, and here I thought I was all cried out. Who’d've thought I’d
have any tears left for the dastardly villain? It doesn’t make him any
more likable, but it’s strangely satisfying to see him emotionally
vulnerable (not just jealous) on the way down. Unrepentant villains can
be so one-dimensional.
After that, he’s led away by the police, and looks up at Mom through
the window. The way he covers his handcuffs from view has an oddly
heart-twisty effect. And then, when he’s interrogated by police, he
denies that the informant at the company was In-jung. Looks like he’s
taking the fall on his own. Well, it’s too late to earn him a
get-out-of-jail-free pass, but at least it’s better to grow a sense of
honor late than never.
Yi-kyung thinks over Yi-soo’s last request for her to live on
happily, sighing, “I want to, but…” as though it’s just beyond her. Then
she remembers Ji-hyun asking her to a similar thing — that, in moments
of difficulty, she should think of Ji-hyun and live on.
That recollection takes Yi-kyung to the hospital, but she belatedly
recalls Kang’s warning that Ji-hyun can’t remember her. She turns to
leave, but Ji-hyun steps out of her room and sees her there.

And says, “Unni.”
Yi-kyung is surprised as Ji-hyun continues, “Yi-kyung unni, did you
come to see me?” She steps forward and grabs Yi-kyung in a hug.
I KNEW IT! She remembers! Muahahaha, amnesia angst is for naught!

As they sit together, Yi-kyung asks, “You remember me, but not Han Kang?”
Yet Ji-hyun’s reaction says otherwise, and Yi-kyung notes it. She
wonders why Ji-hyun would pretend not to remember him — to which Ji-hyun
answers, “Because I’m going to die again soon.”
WHAT?