Tomorrow With You: Episode 15

by gummimochi

Brace yourselves, everyone, because this is one gripping hour that will pull you from one emotional extreme to another. Knowledge can be a cruel master—even though we know what’s coming, that doesn’t mean it’s any easier to see how those same moments in time came to be. If there’s any hope to be had, however, it’s the idea that heroism can be found in anyone, whether that person is a time traveler or not.

 
EPISODE 15 RECAP

So-joon calls to check that Ma-rin arrived home safely, but he stops short when he hears Director Kim’s voice on the other end. We see Ma-rin unconscious and bound in the backseat of Director Kim’s car, and the man warns So-joon not to call the police.

Doo-shik runs up to So-joon and tells him that he knows exactly where Director Kim is headed. So-joon doesn’t wish to endanger Ma-rin’s life further and instructs Doo-shik to rescue her without her kidnapper knowing.

But doing so would require So-joon to face Director Kim alone, an idea Doo-shik is staunchly against. So-joon declares that they first need to hand over the memory card to the police, and vows not to repeat his future self’s mistakes and will put Director Kim behind bars today.

Doo-shik pulls him back saying that will only put So-joon in danger, but So-joon counters that putting off today’s dangers still keep them in peril tomorrow, so they need to take advantage of this opportunity. He entrusts Doo-shik to save Ma-rin because “you’re her father.”

So-joon swings by the office to hand off the memory card to Ki-doong, who has trouble wrapping his head around the idea that this could incriminate Director Kim for Se-young’s father’s death. The plan is for So-joon to grab hold of Director Kim first, then for the police to arrest the man.

Director Kim drives into the woods to take another car, leaving Ma-rin alone in the backseat. While Ki-doong listens to the conversation in Director Kim’s car on the day of Se-young’s father’s death with the police, Director Kim calls So-joon, who has already anticipated his call and his plans to meet at Namyeong Station.

It’s at this moment Director Kim reveals that he planted a bug in So-joon’s house and knows that So-joon is a time traveler. He’s angered by the idea that So-joon became successful from knowing the future whereas other normal folk like himself had to work to the bone to get to where they are.

So-joon isn’t deterred, gravely telling Director Kim that he can shed light on exactly what will happen to him: Director Kim will get rid of him and succeed in running away… however, he won’t let that happen today.

Director Kim is encouraged by the tip-off and demands that So-joon bring him the memory card. He reminds him that Ma-rin’s life is on the line—even if he were to be captured by the police, he won’t confess, and Ma-rin will freeze to death.

Doo-shik arrives at the patch of woods just as Ma-rin comes to. He breaks a car window to unlock the back door and carries her on his back. She weakly asks who he is, and he cries, “It’s Dad.”

So-joon is told that she’s safe while he gets on the next train at Namyeong Station per Director Kim’s instructions. Ki-doong and the detectives also get on, hoping to grab Director Kim in that ninety-second window between the train’s departure and So-joon’s disappearance. Ki-doong confidently marches forward… only for the cops to tell him to stay behind. Hehe.

So-joon has to head in the other direction when Director Kim instructs him to meet him in the middle of the train. But then he remembers that his past selves traveled to this day, so he turns his head… and sees his past self gasp in shock. So-joon thinks to himself: No, you’ll only complicate things by being here.

He keeps running while his past self runs in the other direction, zooming past the pair of detectives. Seconds later, another one of So-joon’s time traveling selves runs past, and the detectives give chase. Oh no!

This means So-joon is all alone when he approaches Director Kim, whom he greets with a right hook. Director Kim charges at him, and the frightened passengers move out of the way. So-joon kicks the man down, hollering that Director Kim has already failed at life so he’ll never be able to beat him.

So-joon tells Director Kim to live with nothing, be it friends, family, money, or honor. He catches Director Kim’s oncoming attack and slams his face against the door and lands a punch before being pinned onto the floor.

He tries to grab Director Kim by the throat, but the latter has a stronger hold on him, suffocating him. So-joon hits Director Kim’s head with a nearby tablet and sends the man flying with another punch.

As soon as he has Director Kim pinned to the floor, the man retaliates by stabbing So-joon in the gut. So-joon clutches his bleeding stomach as the lights flicker off. He passes out and disappears.

Ki-doong and the detectives burst through the crowd moments later to find Director Kim still crying. He’s immediately apprehended. Looking at the bloodstained floor, Ki-doong crumbles because So-joon is gone.

At the hospital, Ma-rin comes to just as Doo-shik is about to leave. She weakly asks, “How did you know I was trapped there… Dad?” He suggests that they talk when she’s doing better, and shakes his head when she wonders if this is a dream, adding that she’s never seen his face so clearly in a dream. “It’s not a dream,” Doo-shik breathes, holding back tears. “I’m sorry.”

The younger detective from the train walks in hoping to speak with Ma-rin. He’s ushered outside by Doo-shik, who introduces himself as Ma-rin’s father and asks what happened to his son-in-law.

Much to his surprise, Doo-shik accurately guesses that So-joon disappeared on the train and asks the detective to come by tomorrow. Meanwhile, Ma-rin is unable to get a hold of So-joon and texts that Director Kim has been arrested and that she’s at the hospital with her father.

Doo-shik reenters the room awkwardly, and Ma-rin explains that she was texting her husband, whom she can’t get in touch with. He lies that So-joon is at the police station for questioning, and smiles to hear that she and So-joon had a happy marriage. She again asks how Doo-shik found her, but he says they can take their time to chat now that they’ve found one another.

Over at the precinct, Director Kim admits to murdering President Choi and Se-young’s father, but argues that the police have no proof that he injured or killed So-joon. Uh, you didn’t notice everyone recording everything on their phones? He’s cut off mid-sentence by Ki-doong, who kicks him down and has to be dragged away.

Doo-shik arrives at the hospital the next day to find Ma-rin’s bed empty. She leaves behind a note explaining that she went home and asks Doo-shik to call her so they can talk.

Ma-rin returns to an empty house and is confused when the police call to follow up on So-joon’s missing persons report. She can barely keep it together while she gets dressed, then calls Ki-doong and asks in a trembling voice if the police are wrong about So-joon’s disappearance.

She goes in for questioning, telling the older detective that her time traveler husband will reappear again. She doesn’t see this as any different than his previous trips, adding that So-joon even disappeared before her very eyes once, but he came back.

Ma-rin says her husband is currently at a different time, and is convinced that he’s receiving medical treatment in the future they can’t imagine at present. Her conviction leaves the detective dumbfounded, and he asks Ki-doong and Se-young if Ma-rin often spins strange tales about her supposed time traveling husband.

Se-young’s eyes widen at that, and even more baffled when Ki-doong reminds the detective that they saw two more So-joons on that train. Shown the remaining futuristic items left at Ki-doong’s place, she now understands what big secret So-joon and Ki-doong kept from her.

Ki-doong apologizes for keeping her in the dark for years, and she looks back at him, saying that she heard that he beat Director Kim within an inch of his life. Choking up, Ki-doong says he didn’t, but he definitely wanted to, even if doing so would’ve put him behind bars.

He apologizes again as she hugs him, but she says she never would’ve been able to deal with her father’s death if Ki-doong wasn’t there for her. She hopes So-joon is all right and Ma-rin isn’t too worried, and Ki-doong hopes Ma-rin isn’t running around looking for their missing friend.

But that’s exactly what Ma-rin is doing, walking up and down the train, looking for So-joon. She waits near the platform at Namyeong Station, tears threatening to overwhelm her.

Ki-doong later sits down with So-joon’s lawyer and learns that So-joon had made preparations in advance for the company. He tearfully realizes that his friend knew the dangers but got on that train anyway like a fool.

Remembering that So-joon once asked to meet him at his house tomorrow, December 3rd, he calls Ma-rin to let her know that she can meet So-joon from the past. He says they can let that So-joon know all about Director Kim and possibly change their present and future.

The doorbell rings seconds later—it’s Doo-shik, here to tell Ma-rin that So-joon won’t return. He explains that he’s known So-joon for years and he too was on the same subway train that crashed in 2009. Doo-shik: “It was there that I saw you.”

Back on March 25, 2009, Doo-shik was selling toothbrushes on the train. So-joon’s father was kind enough to buy some, and Doo-shik saw So-joon and Ma-rin bicker in the next car. He got off at Namyeong Station when they did, his voice caught in his throat as he uttered her name over and over. And then they all saw the subway explode together.

Ma-rin realizes that her father must be the other time traveler So-joon was speaking of and the man who brought them together. Doo-shik nods, and says while this may be hard to hear, So-joon won’t be able to return.

She asks why her father can’t travel to the future to find him and see if he’s all right. Tears imminent, Doo-shik says he already tried looking, but So-joon is gone. He tells her that she needs to move on, and tears spill from Ma-rin’s eyes.

She asks how her father expects to process all this information, especially when he showed up out of the blue for the first time in twenty years. He has no right to tell her what to do after claiming that he once saved her and brought down her entire world in minutes. “If you were able to see the coming days, you should’ve saved So-joon, not me,” Ma-rin cries. “If you knew everything, why did you leave So-joon be?!”

Gun-sook jolts awake in the middle of the night in So-ri’s apartment, still frightened by the idea that her husband is a murderer. She worries that her husband might come after her too, and asks So-ri to run away with her.

She’s startled at the sound of an incoming call, and So-ri encourages her to pick up. It’s Ma-rin, who instructs Gun-sook and So-ri to keep So-joon’s disappearance secret, even from her mother.

It’s a brutal night for Ma-rin, who goes back and forth from crying alone on the couch to sitting there blankly in silence. She heads to Ki-doong’s place the next day, and Ki-doong is already determined to tell So-joon everything in hopes that will change things for the better.

But Ma-rin is here to tell him that she won’t be here when Past So-joon arrives. She believes that letting So-joon know about Director Kim’s evildoings in advance will put further strain on that relationship and put So-joon in more danger.

She instructs Ki-doong to lie and tell Past So-joon that his marriage soured and he left the country, and that it’s best that they break up. She shares how So-joon once told her that they were never fated to meet, and his original future to live his life without her changed when he went out of his way to meet her.

Ki-doong tells her not to blame herself, saying they can use this opportunity to their advantage. But Ma-rin cries that So-joon knew of his own disappearance and still disappeared, and this is the only answer she can see: putting things back in their rightful place as soon as possible.

She asks Ki-doong to advise So-joon to end their marriage because she thinks this is how she can save him now. So when Past So-joon arrives at Ki-doong’s place that evening, Ki-doong does exactly as Ma-rin asks. Man, it sucks that you’re doing this.

Ma-rin walks home, unaware that Past So-joon sees her and follows behind her. She runs from the drunk man who recognizes her, and Past So-joon watches her go back inside. She lays on the couch, telling herself that she should’ve just seen Past So-joon today.

As Past So-joon waits outside, Ma-rin gets a text from Ki-doong, who writes that Past So-joon came and went. He’s also learned that So-joon must be alive because his time traveling self is only able to travel to a future time where he’s still alive. Clutching the phone to her chest, Ma-rin breathes a relieved sigh.

One month later. Mom makes herself pretty to meet up with Doo-shik again. She smiles expectantly when he pushes a bag of gifts toward her, only to harrumph when she sees that it’s full of Duck Ramyun. LOL.

Doo-shik approaches the next topic with caution, gently saying that it seems Mom has lied a great deal about him to their daughter… like how he was the one who chased after her when she was twenty years old. Pffft.

Mom says that was true, to which Doo-shik reminds her, “Noona, I was seventeen back then. I couldn’t even graduate high school because of you!” Omo. Then Mom says he was the one who lied about his age. Omg, this is so great.

She says it’s tiresome if Doo-shik plans on rekindling things between them by bugging Ma-rin, but he swears he’s here because he’s worried about their daughter. He gets upset when he hears that his wife hasn’t checked in on Ma-rin, who might be feeling lonely being apart from her husband.

Ma-rin looks back at her photos with So-joon wearing matching pajamas with fondness. She gets a call from her mother and lies that she’s too busy to meet up. She opens and closes the front gate to add some legitimacy, and promises to call back later.

She then checks the mailbox and sees a letter from So-joon addressed to her. It’s the same letter So-joon wrote back in October 2016, back when she didn’t know that he was a time traveler and they were happy.

She smiles as she continues to read the rest of the letter we never got to hear: “Even if I were to go back in time and had to choose again, I would… choose you. I hope you don’t forget the happy times we had. Your husband, So-joon.”

Ma-rin heads up to So-joon’s office, belatedly realizing that So-joon could one day read an email she has scheduled to send for the future. She writes her response to his letter written by the seashore. She wonders if he’ll see this email one or two years into the future or perhaps even much later.

As she thinks back to happier times with So-joon as they snap silly photos of themselves, she writes, “Even though I told your past self to break up with me, I’m waiting for you who has traveled to the future. Even if it takes one or two years, I’ll be waiting. I’ll wait, trusting in the time I love you, remembering our times together, dreaming that I’ll see you again, praying that wherever you are that you aren’t hurt. No matter if you’re ten, twenty, or thirty years into the future, I’ll be waiting here. I love you. Your wife in January 2017, Ma-rin.”

February 2019. Se-young and her coworker swing by the gallery to congratulate Ma-rin on her upcoming photo exhibition. Ma-rin leaves her to look around, and we hear her voice narrate another scheduled email, one where she wishes that So-joon was here to see her photo exhibition. “Where are you right now?” she wonders.

The answer: a woman takes out a load of laundry to the patio… that looks like Ma-rin and So-joon’s house. Inside is So-joon, lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines.

His finger twitches and he opens his eyes.

 
COMMENTS

So exactly when are we? And who is the woman we see? We know that So-joon is only able to travel to a time when he’s still alive, and I could’ve sworn I saw So-joon and Ma-rin’s wedding portrait still hanging in the living room, along with some toys outside. Does that mean Doo-shik’s story about Ma-rin and So-joon has a happily ever after and get to grow old together get to come true?

Once So-joon’s disappearance came to the forefront, I did wonder how the story planned on tying in that plotline to the ultimate event So-joon had been dreading: the traffic accident on March 25, 2019. Even if So-joon were to disappear in the present (which he did), I knew that he would have to return somehow. But what I don’t yet understand is that if So-joon does open his eyes to a happier future, that could change his whole attitude coming into the traffic accident in 2019. There were so many cars involved in that accident it’s hard for So-joon to be absolutely sure that he was to actually die that night, and we’re operating under the logic and possibility that his future changed completely when he met Ma-rin.

Thus if his original future meant dying on March 25, 2019 because he lived a life without Ma-rin and his alternate future by being married to Ma-rin means living past this date, we can actually say with some assurance that So-joon’s life has changed for the better, not just because he gets to live for longer, but because he has someone to spend those extra 20, 30, or even 50 years to live with. It’s possible that So-joon never tried to travel to a future date past March 2019 because he thought that that traffic accident would be the death of him. Even when he disappeared in 2019 and reappeared in 2016, he and Ma-rin weren’t yet together. So if actually staying with Ma-rin ensures a brighter future, he could at the moment of his disappearance, travel to a point in time beyond that date.

Even though I love the idea that Doo-shik played matchmaker between So-joon and Ma-rin, his interferences have seemed to hurt rather than help. For a man who had been holed up in his small apartment for years trying to trace So-joon’s movements and actions, his main motive over the years was to put Director Kim behind bars. It pained me to hear the man who once told So-joon about his possible happily ever after telling Ma-rin that So-joon wouldn’t be able to return… though now I realize that this frantic Doo-shik we’ve been interacting hasn’t been wearing glasses. It’s such a tiny detail, but could we be dealing with a different Doo-shik now than the calm and collected man we saw in the beginning of this series? Man, this show really is making me entertain some outlandish theories based on possibly groundless details.

Still, I did like how Doo-shik reached out to Ma-rin and her mother in the time So-joon is away. I cracked up a bit too much when he defensively called her a cradle robber, and I do wonder if he kept on trying to check in the future to see if So-joon is still there. Although would he even know when to travel to? I did like how some of the minute details were tied together this episode, from So-joon turning back to see his time-traveling self to Se-young finding out So-joon’s big secret and how So-joon’s disappearance was kept under wraps.

Even though we knew that it was Ma-rin’s idea to lie to So-joon from the past, it still killed me to hear her make the suggestion and hear Ki-doong say the words again. A part of me wishes that she scheduled that email to herself earlier to try and stop herself, but I can understand her deep sense of hopelessness that would drive her to think that was the only solution. My heart filled with joy once she read So-joon’s letter, however, and how that gave her a new determination to wait for the man who’s lost in time. Her response was simply beautiful, and I can’t wait for them to be reunited so they can make some beautiful babies together.

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