Reunited Worlds: Episodes 7-8

by LollyPip

Not even returning from the dead exempts Hae-sung from the social complications of suddenly being over a decade younger than the friends he left behind. The longer he’s back, the harder it gets to ignore the fact that his relationships have changed, which makes Jung-won’s growing attraction to Hae-sung that much more confusing for her. But luckily for Hae-sung, he finds an unexpected ally who may be able to help him figure out what’s happening to him.

 
EPISODE 7 RECAP

Hae-sung sees Jung-won crying on Min-joon’s shoulder outside the restaurant, and he quickly turns and leaves. Jung-won only lets Min-joon hug her for a few seconds before backing up and apologizing, looking uncomfortable.

She smiles when she sees that Hae-sung is home, and she finds him making ddukbokki for dinner. He watches her eat, and she tells him about her mother showing up at the restaurant today. Hae-sung asks if she’s seen her mother since the day they went to Seoul, and Jung-won says that today was the first time.

She says that she was angry, but she remembered Hae-sung telling her to get revenge by living a good life, so she claimed to own the restaurant and be engaged to Min-joon. She says that she was grateful Min-joon backed up her story, but also confused as to why he’d do that.

Hae-sung puts aside his jealousy and just says that was nice of Min-joon. He quickly changes the subject to Jung-won’s abysmal housekeeping, particularly the way she leaves her medicine in the sink. Worried, he asks why she takes so much medicine, and he tells her to take better care of herself and not to get sick.

That night, Hae-sung can’t sleep, thinking about how Hae-chul said that Young-joon wasn’t home the night he died, although Jung-won’s report claims that he was. Jung-won goes to the kitchen for a drink, so Hae-sung asks her if she was really at his house that night, and if all his siblings were there.

She tells him that everyone was there but Young-joon, frowning when Hae-sung asks why she told the police he was there. She says that she told the police Young-joon was out, and though Hae-sung thinks that’s strange, he says to Jung-won that he was just curious (like it’s no big deal).

Jung-won can’t sleep either, too busy thinking about Young-joon’s request that she not reveal that he has any siblings. Meanwhile, Hae-sung wonders if there’s any point to looking for Jung-chul’s real killer after all this time.

In the morning, Ho-bang calls Jung-won’s phone when Hae-sung’s still refuses to behave. Since Hae-sung can’t touch the phone, Jung-won obligingly holds it to his ear while he talks. The plan was for Hae-sung to stay with Ho-bang tonight, but Ho-bang says that his dad is visiting unexpectedly.

Hae-sung absently turns around, so Jung-won follows his ear with her hand, ending up with her arm around his neck and his nose inches from hers. Hae-sung stares at her as he tells Ho-bang that he doesn’t mind as long as Jung-won isn’t uncomfortable with him staying with her, acting like the close proximity isn’t affecting him one bit.

It’s Jung-won who’s flustered this time, and HAHA, she keeps looking at Hae-sung’s lips as she says that he can stay. When Hae-sung finishes the call, she runs off to the bathroom to catch her breath. Then she spots her morning hair in the mirror and wails at being so close to him while looking a fright.

As they wait for Jung-won’s bus, Hae-sung says that he’s going to Tae-hoon’s department store today. Jung-won steps away to check his bus schedule, and a trio of high school girls sidle up to Hae-sung to pester him for his phone number.

Jung-won comes back and bristles at the three girls, taking offense when they call her “ajumma.” She protests that she’s not old enough to be called ajumma, only for a little boy to do exactly that as he hands her back her dropped credit card. HA.

She’s saved by the bus, and Jung-won stands at her window to wave goodbye to her like usual. But the trio of young girls is right behind him, peppering him with questions about himself, and even though Hae-sung is clearly uncomfortable and only has eyes for Jung-won, she still hangs her head as her bus pulls away.

Hae-sung finds Tae-hoon at his store directing a couple of underlings, and he beams proudly to see that his friend is so successful. When Tae-hoon comes over, Hae-sung pounds his shoulder repeatedly, which makes Tae-hoon cringe.

While Tae-hoon knows Hae-sung is technically his contemporary, to others it looks like he’s being disrespected by a kid. Hae-sung notices Tae-hoon’s discomfort and understands, and he jokingly lightens the moment by deep-bowing.

Tae-hoon says he has a surprise: Hae-sung’s sister, Young-in (the older of the two girls), works in one of the stores here. He leads Hae-sung to her store, but instead of a happy reunion, they witness Young-in being yanked by the hair by a woman accusing her of seducing her husband.

Hae-sung remembers what a sensitive child Young-in was, and how once he even found her crying in sympathy over a character in a book. Seeing her being abused sparks his protective instincts, but Tae-hoon stops him from going to Young-in and making it worse.

Tae-hoon approaches the women instead, as Young-in protests that she didn’t know the man was married. She cries that she’s a victim too, because he lied that his parents were sick and borrowed money from her. Suddenly her eyes roll back and she passes out cold. Tae-hoon rushes to her, calling for an ambulance.

When Young-in opens her eyes later, she’s in the hospital with Hae-sung standing over her. She doesn’t seem surprised to see him, and she sits up and says that it’s been a while since he came to her in her dreams. Awww.

Young-in tells Hae-sung that she’s never blamed him for not being there to take her side, but today she feels like blaming him a little. She calls herself stupid for relying on anyone who’s nice to her, but adds that she felt it was unfair of that woman to attack her when she really didn’t know the man was married.

Then Young-in asks Hae-sung if he came to her dream because he feels bad that she’s living a horrible life. Hae-sung doesn’t correct her impression that this is a dream and instead just says that he came because he missed her. Young-in says that she missed him too, then lies back down to sleep.

Hae-sung looks up the scumbag who took advantage of Young-in and approaches him at his coffee shop. He orders Cheater to return Young-in’s money and apologize, but Cheater scoffs and says that Young-in was the one who pursued him, then snarls at Hae-sung to get out of his store or get a beating.

A group of students enters, and Hae-sung picks up a table one-handed, ready to hurl it — but a strong hand on his arm stops him. It’s the mystery man, who drags him outside and warns him again not to use his strength indiscriminately.

Hae-sung pleads with the man, saying that he must have a family, too. Something changes in Mr. Mystery’s eyes and he asks darkly, “Which family member?” Hae-sung says it’s his little sister, and a few minutes later, Mr. Mystery walks into the coffee shop and offers the students two free drinks each to leave. Oh, this is gonna be good.

Seeing his store empty, Cheater asks Mr. Mystery who he is. He says breezily that he’s Young-in’s father, then locks the door. With a look, all the lightbulbs in the place explode, then he picks up Cheater by the belt and tosses him to Hae-sung.

Hae-sung and Mr. Mystery play ping-ping with Cheater for a while, then Hae-sung begs Mr. Mystery dramatically not to throw Cheater to him again because he’ll drop him. Mr. Mystery is all, “No! You’ll kill him!” He winds up, counts to three… then drops the shrieking Cheater on his face. Awesome.

Hae-sung follows Mr. Mystery to a hospital, full of questions. He asks how Mr. Mystery knew where he was, and Mr. Mystery says that people like them can sense each other. When Hae-sung asks why Mr. Mystery is so much stronger, he says that Hae-sung will be stronger too, with time.

He says that their senses are keener than most people’s, which is why Hae-sung can sometimes hear extremely well. When He-sung asks how he knows all this, he says that he learned from others like them after he came back.

He shoos Hae-sung away, saying that he has to visit his son, who’s in the hospital. Hae-sung follows him to a room, where an elderly man lies hooked up to machines. The chart on his bed says he’s eighty years old.

Mr. Mystery tells Hae-sung that this is his son, who was Hae-sung’s age when Mr. Mystery died. He says sadly that when he came back last summer, he found his son like this — old, bedridden, and unconscious. He sighs that he wishes he could talk to his son just once, to learn what his life was like.

Jung-won is cleaning the restaurant during their off hours when Min-joon summons her to go to the market with him. While there, he lets Jung-won take the lead in choosing suppliers and purchasing vegetables. As they prepare to leave, she’s nearly run down by a forklift, and Min-joon swings her out of the way only to find themselves in the path of a stack of boxes on a dolly. Min-joon shoves Jung-won away, and the boxes crash into him.

As he falls, a pumpkin smacks him on the head, and he crashes to the floor, unconscious. He wakes after a few seconds and jumps to his feet, insisting that he’s fine. A phone rings, and Min-joon reaches into his pocket, pulling out… a sweet potato.

He holds it to his ear like a phone, but then he sees the owner of the actual ringing phone. Unaware of anything unusual, Min-joon tucks the sweet potato back into his pocket and walks off, HA. He only gets a few steps before he passes out again.

He’s taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a mild concussion, and the doctor says there’s nothing to worry about. Min-joon also hurt his wrist when he passed out, so he’s told to keep it bandaged for a few days. Heh, Jung-won is still holding Min-joon’s sweet potato “phone,” and he whispers that people will think she’s weird.

Jung-won takes Min-joon home and offers to get him some water. While she’s in the kitchen, he rushes to a picture with a small cartoon of a dog tucked into the frame, turning the frame face-down while Jung-won isn’t looking. Interestingly, the cartoon is signed with the initials “JJ.”

He overhears Jung-won muttering to herself, wondering why he has no family to come look after him. He tells her that his mother died and his father remarried, and that he’s only seen his half-brother once.

Jung-won gets a video call from Jin-ju, who’s at her place. Jung-won says that she’s at Min-joon’s home, but only because he hurt himself and can’t be left alone. She says that she may not be home tonight, and Hae-sung’s grumpy face suddenly pops onscreen. HAHA. Min-joon comes back into the room so Jung-won tries to hang up, but she accidentally flips the camera, showing Hae-sung that she’s with Min-joon.

 
EPISODE 8 RECAP

Hae-sung wastes no time rushing to Min-joon’s house, where he offers to stay overnight to look after him. Jung-won asks why, and Hae-sung takes a very oppa-like tone as he says she can’t stay all night with a guy who lives alone.

Min-joon looks at Jung-won questioningly, so she snaps at Hae-sung, playing the role of his noona. PFFT, his face. Hae-sung drags her to his side and says again that he’ll stay, which is just peachy with Min-joon. The guys send Jung-won home, and Hae-sung won’t even let Min-joon walk her out.

Ho-bang shows up at Jung-won’s place, only to find Jin-ju stepping out of the shower wearing only a towel. She screams and the towel falls, which makes Ho-bang scream, and they just stand there screaming for a comically long time.

They reconvene at a coffee shop once Jin-ju is decent again, and Ho-bang lies that he had his eyes closed the whole time. Jin-ju asks if he saw “it,” and he’s all, “The Brazilian thing?” PWAHAHA. I’m gonna assume he saw it.

Jin-ju threatens Ho-bang with death if he tells any of the guys, then suggests they not speak for a while. She gets up to go, and Ho-bang yells after her, “Is getting a Brazilian wax a crime?!” Jin-ju slaps him into next week.

Hae-sung slips right back into his caretaker tendencies as he helps Min-joon button up his pajamas, which is incredibly adorable. Min-joon asks what he should call Hae-sung, who says he doesn’t care, but it makes him grumpy when Min-joon chooses the form of address that an adult would use with a young boy.

Min-joon then suggests Hae-sung cut some apples. Hae-sung grumbles the entire time, and it’s not until he brings the plate to Min-joon that he realizes that he’s carved the slices into heart shapes. Min-joon gives him a weird look, and Hae-sung scrambles to explain that he did it out of habit because of his part-time kitchen job.

Hae-sung notices the face-down frame and hurries over to right it. He sees the cartoon and recognizes it as Jung-won’s, and he asks Min-joon where he got it. Min-joon tells Hae-sung that one night three years ago, Jung-won was drunk and mistook his car for a taxi, jumping into the passenger seat and directing him to her place.

He’d been instantly smitten and amused, so he’d driven her home. She’d paid him for the ride, and tucked in the stack of bills was the cartoon. The very next day, she’d shown up at his restaurant for an interview, though of course she hadn’t recognized him. Min-joon says she still doesn’t know, and asks Hae-sung to keep his secret.

On his way home the following morning, Hae-sung thinks about the first time he saw Jung-won in high school, after she’d moved away in grade school. He was cleaning the auditorium as punishment for being tardy, and he’d been mesmerized by the beautiful girl walking past the window.

Hae-sung hadn’t seen her in seven years, but he’d known her instantly. He’d tried to wave, but he’s tipped himself off the table he was standing on. Drawn by the noise, Jung-won had found him rubbing his sore butt, and she’d recognized him as well. Awww, their matching grins are gorgeous.

Hae-sung’s nose had begun bleeding, so Jung-won had grabbed a tissue to clean him up. Hae-sung had gone very still to see her so close, and the rest was history.

Back in the present, Jung-won paces her balcony nervously until Hae-sung steps off the bus. She calls out that Hae-chul was arrested, and they hurry to the police station.

Hae-chul is frantic, begging Ho-bang to let him go just for a while, because he has something he has to do. He’s practically on the verge of tears, swearing he’ll come right back, but Ho-bang says that he’s a police officer first, Hae-sung’s friend second.

When Hae-chul and Jung-won arrive, Ho-bang tells them to admit that Hae-chul is at fault so the victims will settle. The two men make a big deal over what looks like minor injuries, as Hae-chul insists that he didn’t touch them.

Jung-won introduces herself as Hae-chul’s noona, bowing so hard that she smacks both men in the face with her hair, hee. She asks them to settle and offers them an envelope of money, which they grudgingly accept.

Hae-chul insists that he’s being framed, begging Hae-sung to check the CCTV cameras. A cop says there are no cameras in that area, but Ho-bang thinks to check the car’s black box. He asks the victims about it, and they grow nervous.

Across the room, Hae-sung’s super hearing kicks in, and he listens as the car’s owner tells the other guy that he hid the black box’s memory chip under the seat. He tells Ho-bang what he heard, and Ho-bang finds the chip, which proves that the men are found to be running a scam. Jung-won marvels at how Ho-bang knew to look under the seat for the memory card, and Hae-sung just agrees that Ho-bang is cool.

Hae-chul is released and runs off without even saying thank you. Jung-won says she’s just glad he didn’t beat anyone up, then her stomach growls, so Hae-sung offers to take her for her favorite meal. She does an excited happy dance, making Hae-sung joke that she looks like a kid.

Jung-won plays the noona card again, but this time, Hae-sung grabs her by the hand and says that if she ever calls herself his noona again, he’ll really get angry. She backs down, flustered that they were practically holding hands, and he lets go.

On their way to eat, they run into a little girl who’s all alone, and Jung-won offers to help her cross the street. The girl says her name is Elsa, though the tag on her backpack says “Gong-ju.”

Not far away, Hae-chul looks panicked as a pair of teachers tell him that Gong-ju disappeared when he didn’t pick her up after school. Wait… is she his daughter? OMG. Hae-chul is a father.

Luckily, Gong-ju is still with Hae-sung and Jung-won, who take her to eat with them. Hae-sung flusters Jung-won again when he casually wipes sauce off of her lips, and Gong-ju asks if they’re friends. Hae-sung says they went to school together, and she asks why Jung-won looks so much older. Lol.

Hae-sung stage-whispers to the adorable girl that it upsets Jung-won to be told she looks old. So instead, Gong-ju says she must have been pretty when she was young, then asks if Jung-won cut her bangs herself. She’s pretty observant, and she notices that Hae-sung and Jung-won smell like they use the same shampoo, making them both squirm. I love this kid.

When they finish eating, Gong-ju frowns again when Jung-won asks if her daddy is meeting her. She says tearfully that she doesn’t think he’s coming, which is when Hae-chul comes running around the corner. Gong-ju calls out, “Daddy!” and he rushes over to hug her gratefully.

Hae-sung is shocked to see his little brother with a child. He remembers when Hae-chul answered that call from someone named Gong-ju, and he realizes now that it wasn’t a girlfriend — it was his daughter.

Gong-ju tells Hae-chul about the nice adults who bought her dumplings, and he finally notices Hae-sung and Jung-won. They all go to the park so the brothers can talk.

Hae-chul tells Hae-sung that Gong-ju’s mother ran off before their daughter was a year old, and that he’s doing his best to raise her alone, though she’s staying in a child care facility right now. He says he wants to take her out of there as soon as possible, but he can’t afford it.

Hae-sung threatens that if Hae-chul ever makes Gong-ju cry, he’ll never forgive him. Hae-chul thanks his brother for getting him out of jail and for taking care of Gong-ju, but Hae-sung just scoffs when Hae-chul says he owes him.

On the swings with Gong-ju, Jung-won asks the little girl why she doesn’t like her name. Gong-ju says it’s because it means “princess,” but she’s not a princess. She flatters Jung-won by saying that she’s pretty enough to be a princess.

Hae-chul says it’s time to take Gong-ju back to the facility, so Hae-sung holds out his arms to hug his niece for the first time. He tells Hae-chul that he knows how to contact Young-joon, Young-in, and their youngest sister Soo-ji, and suggests the siblings all get together.

As they leave, Gong-ju chirps to Hae-sung, “Goodbye, Uncle!” He looks like he just fell in love, and Jung-won and Hae-chul both snicker at his stunned expression. Jung-won teases Hae-sung as they walk home, calling him “uncle” and making him laugh.

Suddenly, Hae-sung gasps and clutches his chest as if he’s in excruciating pain. He drops to his knees then collapses to the ground, struggling desperately to breathe. Nearby, Min-joon stands talking to a strange man, unaware of Hae-sung’s distress.

 
COMMENTS

Why does every episode of this show leave me yelling, “Wait, what was that?!” at my computer screen?? They just throw several upsetting pieces of information at us in the space of five seconds, then expect us to wait a whole week to find out what’s going on? That’s just cruel. And now my head is swimming with more questions, such as who that man was that was with Min-joon, whether his presence has anything to do with Hae-sung’s sudden collapse, and how Min-joon is tied up in all this. Because after that last scene, I have no doubt that Min-joon is not simply Jung-won’s innocent admirer as we’ve been led to believe.

I’m not very surprised to learn that Min-joon has known of Jung-won for years. It would certainly explain why he ditched an opportunity to study in France because of Jung-won, which always seemed strange to me for a guy who only was just her boss. But if he’s been crushing on her for several years, then it makes a lot more sense why he would make such a decision. I just don’t know if I’m buying that story anymore… at the very least, he left a lot out when he told Hae-sung how he met Jung-won. He seems like such a simple, easygoing guy, but now I’m suspicious that his sweet innocent demeanor is hiding something. Not necessarily even something sinister, but considering his reluctance to discuss his past, I think there’s something going on with him.

I’m growing very concerned about the events surrounding Hae-sung’s death, and the death of the bully Jung-chul. There are so many inconsistencies, and none of it makes any sense. Where was Young-joon that night, and why would the police report say he was home when Jung-won told them he wasn’t? It’s also odd that the show made a point to tell us that Tae-hoon’s father’s car was the one that killed Hae-sung, but that someone else was driving. I’m beginning to suspect some serious foul play and evidence tampering surrounding the events of that night, but why? I just think that if Young-joon was involved in Jung-chul’s death, then there would be no reason for anyone to commit a crime just to pin the murder of a bully on another dead boy. So who really killed Jung-chul? Who would go to such great lengths to cover it up? And more importantly, why?

Aside from all that, for me, the heart of the show is Hae-sung’s discovery of how his life and death has affected those he loves. So far he’s found three of his four siblings, and learned how his death has changed them. Young-joon chose to reject his family and seek success on his own, while Hae-chul let the stigma of Hae-sung’s legacy as a murderer change him from a bright, smart, happy child into a pessimistic defeated adult. In a way, I’m glad that he has a daughter to keep him grounded, and stop him from completely sinking into despair. And Young-in has spent the years trying to recreate that relationship she had with Hae-sung, her search for a protector putting herself in the path of people who take advantage of her. At least Hae-sung has the chance to help them, unlike Mr. Mystery, who came back too late (sixty-two years after his death!) to even talk to his son.

Now that we’re a couple of weeks in and the show has found its momentum, I’m really getting emotionally invested in the characters. Hae-chul and his daughter was the big emotional highlight of this episode for me, because it explained so much about why he’s willing to be beaten and humiliated just to make money. The only quibble I have with the show is the fact that nobody — not his family, not his friends — is asking why Hae-sung came back from the dead, or how it works, or what it means. How can they not be wondering how and why this is happening?

Even Hae-sung hasn’t seemed too concerned about it, at least until he got the chance to corner Mr. Mystery to ask a few questions, and even then he didn’t ask the big one… how are people coming back from the dead with superpowers? I lost a friend at age sixteen, and I know that if he suddenly showed up decades later, alive and still a teenager, the first thing I would be asking is What in the world is going on?! But other than that, I think that Reunited Worlds is living up beautifully to its promise of being a mesmerizing, heartwarming show about the importance of love, family, and friendship.

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