For now, I’m going to ignore Kyung’s scenes in this episode because he gives me a headache. I can see his appeal; the actor is doing a tremendous job playing the anti-hero hero. And if the screenwriter wants him to be the endgame instead of Haru, I can tell  you that the groundwork has already been laid. The details are subtle, take for instance, the banner (Ch 15 at 29:03). She kept the banner that said, “Baek Kyung loves DanOh.”

But since I’m not going to be dragged into choosing Team Kyung, I’ll focus on the story development that I like best in this episode and that’s Haru’s return. I enjoyed this episode because I liked watching DanOh distance herself from Haru while Haru rekindle his memories of her. The more she pushes him away, the more he broods about her.

1. The drawings

After Kyung asked him whether he’d seen the book titled “Secret” in the previous episode, Haru discovers a secret of his own in the library. He finds a room with sketches on the wall. A flower drops to the floor and he picks it up. It’s the flower that symbolizes “waiting.”

Then, he studies the three sketches on the wall: flowers, library, and DanOh.  The drawings seem to tell him that the secret to his life is found in these three things.

He encounters DanOh in the dimly lit corridor. For a second, DanOh is startled and thinks he’s the old Haru. She calls him but realizes she’s made a mistake again when Haru doesn’t return her greeting. She continues walking and Haru calls her back.

Haru: Eun DanOh. Yah, Eun DanOh. (approaches her) Baek Kyung just left.
DO: Baek Kyung?

It isn’t necessary for Haru to inform him about Kyung’s whereabouts. She isn’t looking for Kyung anyway. But he feels compelled to strike up a conversation with her.

DO: (sighing) Do you only remember me as a Baek Kyung’s fiancée with a heart condition, Eun DanOh?
Haru: Should I know more than that?
DO: (exhales) No, you don’t have to anymore.

Then she walks away while Haru stares after her. He doesn’t understand what’s going on.

What she means is there’s no need for him to recall anything more because she doesn’t want him to become self-aware. She’s afraid that he’ll disappear again if he remembers. Beside, she’s already told the Squid guy that she’s just going to live her life as an ordinary extra in the manhwa.

2. Catching her staring at him

Haru and Kyung are at their lockers. She passes behind them, then stops to stare at Haru. Kyung notices where her eyes are focused on, and calls her attention. But she ignores him and walks out without greeting him.

Kyung looks at Haru with a frown. Haru is oblivious to the undercurrent of discontent in Kyung, and offers to re-grip his racquet. Kyung doesn’t like him doing any favors for him and grabs his racquet back from Haru.

Later, Haru walks into the classroom to overhear Saemi and Soochul teasing DanOh about her fiancé. Saemi had noticed that DanOh looked worried again and asked if she was worried about her friend whose heart would race whenever she saw a certain guy. DanOh answered that her friend’s heart would stop soon (she meant this literally and figuratively speaking, of course) and Saemi teased her that no way her heart would stop because she was lovestruck.

DanOh’s downcast eyes suddenly rivet on a person behind Saemi and Soochul. They tease her that there’s only one person on earth who can make her focus. In unison, they shout, “Baek Kyung” as they turn around to point at…Haru watching them silently.

Haru goes to his seat. He glances at DanOh and she looks back, without smiling.

These moments underscore what Kyung has been complaining about DanOh’s eyes always seeking out Haru’s. Even when Kyung is talking to her, she’s looking at another guy or thinking of another guy.

But the attraction is mutual since Haru is also looking for her.

3. At Chem lab

The girls are fawning over Haru during Chem lab. DanOh stares at him and Kyung glances at her then looks towards the direction she’s staring at, then frowns when he saw it was Haru.

I’m pleasantly surprised that Kyung didn’t berate her for looking at Haru again. Perhaps he’s giving her space to get over her attachment for Haru.

The guys are called to get their Chem lab equipment and Kyung stands up right away. Haru follows last and sees DanOh struggling to open a bottle.

Without saying a word, he  takes it from her to open it. He replaces it on the table as DanOh asserts, “I can do it myself,”  She gets another bottle but struggles to opent it, too. Haru takes it from her again, opens it and places it on the table. He then tells her she perturbs him.

Haru: You’re making me concerned.
DO: I know you don’t remember. But don’t do that.
Haru: What can’t I remember?
DO: Even for a second, don’t make think that you’re like the old Haru. Please. Please don’t do that to me. (almost begging him)

Note: this is the first time she tells him that he’s not Haru.

Kyung walks in and spots them talking. He slams the group equipment on the table.

Kyung: Are you in our group?
Haru: No.
Kyung: Then what are you doing here?
Haru: (looking at DanOh) Just because.
Kyung: Just because? Is that part of our set-up?
Haru: Set-up? Then you should look after her better.

He pats Kyung on the back as he leaves.

At the end of the lab class, the girls surround Haru again. DanOh hears from her bestie that he’s a such popular kid and may become invited as the next A3 replacement. DanOh is heartbroken that he’s moving on. Saemi teases her that she looks like she’s been dumped…which she was, metaphorically speaking.

But as she walks past him, he notices her. He moves as if to follow her but he’s stopped by the flock of adoring fans.

This scene signals Haru’s growing awareness of DanOh. Even when other girls surround him, he’s attuned to her. He doesn’t understand why he feels the need to help her.

4. Library encounter

Haru is hanging out with the three class nerds. One of them spots Kyung and DanOh on the skywalk and points out the campus couple.  Another nerd crows that their prestigious high school is not only academically successfuly, but it also has become a dating ground. The nerds walk on but Haru hangs back a little longer to watch the couple talking seriously.

Despite being shown that Kyung and  DanOh are famous dating couple in campus, he sits across from her in the library. This library table figured in one of the sketches by the Old Haru.

DO: Why are you sitting here out of all places?

True. There are plenty of empty spots so why there? There’s an unspoken etiquette about spacing in library seats, just as there’s one for bathroom stalls in a public restroom. For instance, if somebody’s using the first stall and all the other stalls are clean and unoccupied, using the farthermost stall is appropriate and using the second stall is totally weird. Just saying.

DO: (continuing) Forget it. I’ll go.
Haru: You stay. I’ll go.

He stands up and moves two seats down. He tries to read but ends up staring at her. He closes his book and lays his head on his arm to watch her. He makes no attempts to hide his steady gaze on her.

He’s aware that she’s on his mind.

He’s transported back in time when he sees DanOh through a curtain of silk. She’s on a step-stool looking through fabric when she loses her footing. He saves her with his back and they both fall bringing down the curtain with them.

He wakes up from his daydream and DanOh’s no longer at the table. He thinks he just imagined everything because he’s tired.

He goes to the shelves and DanOh appears. She climbs up the step-stool, too, and just like in his dream, she slips, falls on his back and is saved by him.

They’re both surprised for different reason. For him, he’s seen this moment in his dream, whereas for her, she’s seen this happened in the past. She scrambles out of there.

After school, he sees her walking past him. He stares after her remembering the whole moment again. He doesn’t understand what’s going on.

To me, the interesting point of these scenes is the change of perspective. If Kyung wasn’t such a jerk to DanOh, then the viewers’ sympathies would have easily favored him. He was the original boyfriend after all. Haru knew very well when he saw DanOh, that she was already “taken” by Kyung yet he chose to sit in front of her in the library. Then, fate played a hand when DanOh fell in his arms….

Do you see that?

Unfortunately (or fortunately for Haru), Kyung is a jerk to DanOh, on stage and offstage. So when Haru came, viewers promptly knew that he was a better man for DanOh.

5. Jealousy

The following morning, Haru sees the campus couple, Kyung and DanOh, walking to class together. Ha! This is like the reverse image of Haru and DanOh walking to class on that day Kyung appeared behind them to observe them.

At the entrance of the classroom, Kyung suddenly stops her by grabbing her wrist. He tells her that he’ll pick her up, too, tomorrow morning for school.

Hearing that, Haru shouts, “No!” and rushes to grab Kyung’s arm. This is his subconscious working. He’s stopped Kyung grabbing DanOh’s wrist so many times before, that when he sees it, his instincts probably just kick in.

Both DanOh and Kyung stare at Haru. He explains that Kyung has morning tennis practice with him. Kyung slaps his hand away and tells him to practice with someone else. Haru and DanOh exchange looks then walks in to take his normal seat at the window. To me, DanOh must be wondering whether he’s remembering now, and Haru must be wondering why he reacted that way.

This moment is interesting because it shows how his (unconscious) jealousy of DanOh was sublimated into a neutral tennis practice.

6. The Gauss math, lol.

This is funny, too.

Did you understand what the teacher said about the Gauss? She said,  “You can find the answer by using a method that Gauss discovered when he was in elementary school. He discovered that when you add all the number between 1 to 100, it’s always 101. Wasn’t Gauss such a genius?”

If you add the numbers 1 to 100, the easiest way to arrive at the sum/total is to split the numbers into two groups.

First group: 1 to 50, i.e., 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 … 47 + 48 + 49 + 50
Second group: 51 to 100, i.e., 100 + 99 + 98 + 97 … 54 + 53 + 52 + 51

Then you match the numbers in the two groups, beginning with the extreme ends, so you’ll always at a sum of 101.

1 + 100 = 101
2 + 99 = 101
3 + 98 = 101
4 + 97 = 101
and so on until
47 + 54 = 101
48 + 53 = 101
49 + 52 = 101
50 + 51 = 101

There’ll be 50 pairs of 101 so 50 x 101 = 5050.

If you want to look at this mathematical formula from a romantic side, just think of it as Gauss discovering that the number in a series will always have a matching number to make the sum constant.

Number 39 will have 62 to make 101.
Number 12 will have 89 to make 101.
Number 27 will have 74 to make 101.

Just like Gauss found an answer to the busy work that his math teacher gave the whole class, I expect that Haru will find one for the manhwa problem the writer has given them.

He’s staring at DanOh the whole time the teacher explains about Gauss.

7. The flower dream

Anyway, the math class must have lulled Haru to sleep because, in no time, he’s dreaming of DanOh again in the Joseon period. In his vision, DanOh excitedly looks at a pretty ornament. Later, he asks the merchant what the ornamentis, and the merchant replies that the flowers in the ornament are called a trumpet creeper. Although it’s expensive and shiny, women love it. The flower means, “even if the world falls and the earth splits, I will only wait for you.” And he buys it.

Haru then wakes up just before Kyung approaches him to go to their practice. He spots the keychain on Kyung’s backpack and it looks similar to the flower in his dream. He grabs it.

Haru: What’s this?
KY: Eun DanOh gave it to me.
Haru: Eun DanOh? What’s this flower called? (KY doesn’t reply) No, forget it. (gets up to go)
KY: (grabbing his wrist) Why are you curious about this flower? I’m asking why you’re curious about this?!
Haru: It looked like the one I saw in my dream.
KY: Dream?
Haru: It’s nothing. Let’s go. (patting his shoulder)

But Kyung remembers the sketches of Old Haru that he threw into the water. He begins to worry that the New Haru is gaining consciousness.

Later, Kyung is playing a video game and he loses. He throws the controller to the floor and DoHwa teases him, “Hey, why are you blaming the innocent game when you’re the one who sucks at it?”

lol. I thought that was spot on. Kyung throws things away, like Haru’s sketchbook and his fiancée, because he sucks at loving her.

This moment is important because it shows that the flower is critical in recovering his lost memories but also in finding his past life in the Joseon period.

8. Haru as shuttle

This is one of those moments when Kyung simply doesn’t know how to stop hurting the one person he should be protecting. His sadistic tendencies are on display.

In the shadows.

DanOh: Why did you call me?
KY: Take it.
DanOH: What’s this.
KY: Just…open it.

Sigh. If you listen to just his soothing voice, it’s easy to fall for this guy. Like he could tell you to jump off a tall building and make it sound like he’s whispering sweet things.

DanOh sees the silver shoes and pearl earrings.

KY: I thought you’ll like it. Also this.
DanOh: Oh? This! (candies)
KY: I thought about it since this morning. The candy I always gave you when you take your medicine.
DanOH: It’s really been awhile.
KY: I remembered that your mood lightened up whenever you ate that.
DanOh: That’s right. I remembered.
KY: Also, I have something else.

NOOOOOooo. Stop right there, Kyung. If you had stopped right there with that gift, her heart would have been moved already. But you don’t know when to stop, do you? So you push and push and push.

DanOH: Something else?
KY: He’s coming.

DanOh frowns as she sees Haru walking toward them. Haru hands out the flowers. Then he looks at DanOh. DanOh’s remains on him. Kyung grabs the bouquet but Haru doesn’t let go easily. Kyung tugs it from him.

Note the askew camera angle.

KY: (addressing Haru) You worked hard.
DanOH: Why is Haru??
KY: I ordered him to buy flowers. Since it seems like Haru and I are pretty close. (addressing Haru) Thanks. Do you have something to say?
Haru: Nothing.
KY: But why are you looking at me as if you have something to say?
DanOh: (suddenly standing up and talks to Haru) Go away.
KY: (talks to DanOh) What’s wrong with you when it’s obvious he won’t remember? Ahhh. it probably must have felt like this when you see Haru and me. When two of us are self-aware and we watch the one person who isn’t.

He’s referring to that time when DanOh and Haru were self-aware and he wasn’t. He must have looked like a pathetic outsider to them then. So now he wants to do the same thing to Haru since the tables have turned, and their situations have reversed.

DanOH: He isn’t Haru. (then walks away, leaving Kyung’s gifts)

Note to self: this is the second time she tells him that he isn’t Haru.

Haru makes an almost imperceptible movement to follow DanOh.

KY: (dumping the bouquet on the park bench) Fine. You’re not him anymore. Go.

To me, this moment is interesting because it shows Kyung’s self-destructive bent. Just like when he threw the game controller because he lost the video game, here is Kyung destroying whatever goodwill he could have earned from DanOh with his thoughtful gifts.

It’s all about Kyung getting his pound of flesh. He wanted his revenge that was owned him although his act would hurt DanOh. He could have just given her the candies and DanOh would have been moved to remember their sweet days together.

Instead, he cruelly teased her with the vision of Haru coming with flowers in hand. He wanted her to think that he had another “gift” for her, on top of the shoes, the earrings, and the candies, and it’s Haru. I’m sure for a fleeting moment, DanOh thought she was going to get her old Haru back.

Kyung wanted to hurt her as he was hurt when the two of them were conspiring to change DanOh’s character set-up.

When Haru’s presence successfully dashed DanOh’s hopes of the Old Haru returning, Kyung dismissed him.

10. Shopping trip to buy Kyung’s gift

On a stage with Haru, DanOh finds herself shopping for Kyung’s gift.

Just like at the school sportsfest when she carried the banner that said, “Kyung loves DanOh,” she thinks the writer is really cruel to her and Haru. They’re putting their heads together to buy a gift for her fake fiancé and his fake friend.

As she thanks Haru for coming along to pick out Kyung’s gift with her, their stage ends. She sighs and looks at the bulky shopping bag she’s carrying. Haru thinks she’s complaining so he instantly carries the package for her.

See I like that? Haru’s even nicer in the Shadow.

Haru: You must really like Baek Kyung a lot.
DO: Because I have to.
Haru: Why do you have to?
DO: It’s my set-up. It’s something that’s already been planned so I have to do it even if I don’t want to.
Haru: If you start disliking something you used to like, can’t you just continue disliking it?

This makes DanOh stop and stare at him.

Haru: If you don’t like what has been planned, you can just change it.

lol. Here we go again. This time it’s Haru suggesting that they change their fate.

DO: I won’t do that again anymore. I don’t want to lose him again.
Haru: What is it?
DO: (her mouth begins to tremble and she avoids his eyes) Haru.
Haru: Haru? Me?
DO: (agreeing) Mmm. You. However, it’s not you. Because you’re not Haru. (and she grabs the package from him again)
Haru: (detaining her) My name is indeed Haru.
DO: Since when? Since when was it? (he struggles to remember) See? (then she tugs her wrist)
Haru: Why do you keep telling me that I’m not Haru? Why do you keep telling me that I don’t remember?

This is the third time she tells him that he isn’t Haru. But why does he remember? He isn’t supposed to remember what she said at the chem lab and at the park bench because these happened in the Shadow.

That night, she remembers asking him during their beach trip if she could call him Haru. She said wistfully that she didn’t even know what was going to happen to him because she created a name for him.

11. Bullied

DanOh is staring at her couple picture with Kyung on her phone when the bullies grab her phone. Out of nowhere, Haru retrieves the phone and warns them to stop it. The guys ask if he’s a villain like his friend Baek Kyung.  He doesn’t bother to answer that. One by one, they leave the classroom.

He returns the phone to DanOh. But instead of thanking him, she gets mad at him.

DO: I told you to stop. If you’re not Haru, don’t try to act like him. (she stomps off)
Haru: Yah! Yah, Eun DanOh! (chasing her out the classroom). Yah, Eun DanOh!

Then, like Kyung, he grabs her wrist. They’re standing at the staircase where they first met.

Haru: My name is indeed Haru.
DO: (snapping her hand free off his hold) I know.
Haru: Then why do you keep telling me I’m not Haru? Why do you keep appearing in front of me and making me worry about you? (shouting at her like Kyung does, then grabbing her wrist again) Just what exactly are you?

DO: See? You’re not Haru.

Haru: What did you say?
DO: You remember everything. You remember that I said you’re not Haru and everything I said off stage. It’s because you’re getting awareness of yourself.
Haru: Awareness of myself?
DO: You remember everything except me. You asked what I am, right? I’m nothing. I’m just an extra whose days are numbered. I’m actually glad it turned out this way. Don’t remember me. Because I won’t take anything you give me anymore.

She walks away. She exhales. He remains angry and pounds the newel post top.

In my opinion, this scene is important because it shows that Haru can be shaken up, too. He can get angry and shout like Kyung. I like to think that DanOh was pointing out that he isn’t the Old Haru because the Old Haru wouldn’t have grabbed her wrist like that and yell at her. After she told him, “See? You’re not Haru,” he toned down.

Moreover, this confrontation prepares him for the idea of “self-awareness.” DanOh keeps on telling him that he’s Haru-but-not-Haru at the same time.

That night, Haru is at the lockers. He notices DanOh’s colorfully decorated name on her locker and compares it to his plain locker.

He probably notices that compared to Eun DanOh’s happily decorated locker, his locker is bare.

Then as he leaves the school, he passes by the arbor and stops to touch the flowers. He hears the flipping sounds of pages.

12. Finding her at the crossroads

She sees people crossing the road. If they’re all just moving according to the writer’s wishes, then where are they all going?

DanOh: If I had remained a mere extra who didn’t know anything.
Haru: I would have been just a nameless #13.

Yes. The importance of naming…

He joins her at the crossroads. She’s stunned.

Haru: This time, I’ll change your story.

He means that she changed his life once she called him Haru, so now, it’s his turn to change her fate.

He reaches out to hold her hand, and shows the still-bloody scar on his palm. She’s shocked.

Haru: Eun DanOh. I’m sorry for being late.

DanOh starts crying and looks down. So he tells her to look up.

Haru: Eun DanOh. Look at me. I’m right here.

I like this part. He tells her to look up and she does.  He wants her to see him clearly because he understands that his disappearance and memory loss frightened him. He’s assuring her that the Old Haru is back, and she has nothing to fear now. He hugs her.

Haru: I’m not going anywhere.

With one hand, he holds her hand. With the other arm, he holds her protectively.

I think the setting is symbolic. They’re at the crossroads because they’re about to make important decision as a couple.

Overall, I thought the journey of this couple from non-recognition to total recall was steady and well-paced. Considering that the screenwriter is trying to balance so many little details, there are no glaring plot-holes yet.

Onward with the next episodes. lol. Hopefully I can catch up before this week’s new episodes.