Extraordinary You: Episodes 27-28

by LollyPip

Our manhwa characters finally learn the truth about what happened in Flower and the full consequences of changing the story. The warnings have been right all along – changing the story only leads to even more tragedy. Our hero tries to hold off the inevitable, but he’s changed so much that he can only watch as the butterfly effect of his action threaten to take away the thing he loves most.

 
EPISODE 27

To help Haru change Dan-oh’s upcoming surgery, Do-hwa takes him to the hospital and distracts a doctor while Haru makes his way to Doctor Lee’s office. He searches for Dan-oh’s chart, but every time he finds it and tries to alter the notes about her needing surgery, he gets kicked out of the room by Stages happening elsewhere and has to go back in and start over.

Eventually Haru finds a second chart for a patient named Ok Kyung-soon. He switches the patient notes pages of the two charts, so that now Dan-oh’s chart says she doesn’t need the surgery.

Meanwhile, onStage, Dan-oh and her father meet with Doctor Oh to discuss her treatment. When they get to his office, Doctor Lee reads her chart and announces happily that her new medicine is working, and she no longer needs the surgery.

Kyung has been trying to find Dan-oh, and was also getting kicked all over the hospital by Stages. He finally catches up to Dan-oh when a Stage starts up, and he unexpectedly hugs her, sure that she must be upset. But she says she’s fine and doesn’t need surgery, though internally, she feels unsettled.

The Stage continues as Kyung walks Dan-oh home, and he tells her that from now on, she should do whatever she wants and he’ll keep taking care of her. She beams at him, but the Stage ends and her smile drops. Kyung says that she needs to get the surgery, and asks her not to trust Haru or change anything.

Dan-oh says that it’s her choice to like Haru, and to change the story. Anxiously gripping the pages from Flower, Kyung says that Haru will kill Dan-oh, and he gives her the charred pages to prove it. At home, she looks through the pages, recognizing all of the scenes that have been re-created in Secret, and she remembers Mi-chae’s warning that nothing in their world will change.

At school, Haru finally finds the copy of Secret and reads the scene where Dan-oh learns she doesn’t need surgery. At first he’s incredibly relieved, but he notices that there are a lot of blank pages left in the book and worry creeps back in again.

Mi-chae also sees the change that Haru made, and it reminds him of his attempt to change the story in Flower. OffStage, he had shown Soo-hyang the strange book he found, with writing that he couldn’t read but that clearly featured him as a character. They’d tried to change the story by running away, but an assassin had caught up to them in the woods and killed Soo-hyang.

Mi-chae had found himself back at the palace, and Soo-hyang was alive again, but with no memory of him or their love. Kyung had approached Mi-chae and sneered that even if he cherished palace ladies, he shouldn’t leave his throne… okay, so Kyung was definitely self-aware then, too.

Not long after, another assassin (Yang-il looks great in hanbok), had killed Soo-hyang onStage, on Kyung’s orders. This was what Mi-chae had been trying to prevent, and Kyung had warned that he would be next.

Haru found Mi-chae in the library, looking through Flower and crying. Mi-chae had warned Haru that misfortune was heading for him and Dan-oh next. He’d told Haru about the book that somehow predicts the future, and Haru had agreed that it felt like someone was watching them.

Mi-chae had told Haru something he didn’t know — that if someone dies outside of the scenes shown in the book, they return to life, but with no memories. He’d said that his story would end soon, but that he’d hoped Haru could change his story.

Kyung finds Haru in his secret library corner and tells him that the scar on his hand is a reminder from the Writer of the consequences of changing the Stage. He says that Haru killed Dan-oh, and he can tell from Haru’s expression that he didn’t know.

Haru argues that it was Kyung who tried to kill Dan-oh, but Kyung says that he must not have read the ending of Flower and seen how Dan-oh died. He tells Haru that the Writer has no real reason to kill Dan-oh in Secret, and that the surgery would have saved her if Haru hadn’t changed it.

Despite being told that she’s getting better, Dan-oh’s chest hurts on her way to school. She learns from Do-hwa that Haru changed the story and stopped her from needing surgery, and he notices that Secret has more blank pages at the end than it used to have. Strange…

She locates Haru and tells him that she doesn’t need the surgery, all because someone changed her fate. He doesn’t seem happy, and he worries that their story is going as the Writer intends, but Dan-oh says she’ll just keep changing it until they get their happy ending.

She gives Kyung back the pages from Flower, saying that if she ties herself to the previous story, the Writer wins. She asks him not to tell Haru that she knows anything about it, and Kyung asks why she wants to be with Haru when she has to keep so many secrets from him.

In the middle of their conversation, they’re transported to a new Stage. Haru and Kyung sit on a park bench waiting for Dan-oh, and when she arrives, Haru moves away to give them privacy. Kyung brings out his mother’s ring and proposes, and Dan-oh happily accepts, telling Kyung, “You’re my beginning.”

On the inside, all Dan-oh can think is how cruel the Writer is to make Haru watch this. She thinks that it’s cruel to Kyung, too, as he knows how she really feels and that she’s only acting as the Writer wants.

Later Dan-oh returns the ring to Kyung, knowing how much he treasures it. Kyung confesses that he wanted to hate Dan-oh because he was forced to be in a fake relationship with her, but she kept liking him no matter how mean he was, which eventually made him like her back.

“The only time I’m myself is during the Stage with you,” he tells Dan-oh. “In the previous story and in this world, during the scenes between you and me, drawn by the Writer, that’s the real me.” Dan-oh says that she’s sorry, but she won’t follow the storyboard, and she regrets that he’ll be hurt in the Shadow like she’s been hurt onStage.

In the classroom, Joo-da scoffs when Sae-mi loudly daydreams about Nam-ju proposing to her someday, and announces that she and Nam-ju are officially dating. Joo-da says she feels sorry for Sae-mi because all she can do is be a bully, but it doesn’t take away the hurt she’s caused her, and that she’s glad she’s the main character and Sae-mi is the villain.

A Stage begins so that Nam-ju can waltz into class and make one of his cheesy announcements, this time telling everyone that he and Joo-da are officially a couple. Sae-mi starts to go after Joo-da, but Joo-da skips over to Nam-ju and leads him out of the classroom by the hand.

That ends the Stage, and Joo-da angrily tosses away Nam-ju’s hand and complains that she gets bullied because he makes his feelings for her so obvious. He says that he won’t let them bully her anymore, because he likes her and will do anything for her, but Joo-da says she’s tired of his “help” and walks away.

She finds Do-hwa’s violin in the music room and tries to play it. Do-hwa comes in and offers to help, but Joo-da gives up after producing a horrible screeching noise. Joo-da asks him to play “Love’s Joy,” and he says that you have to have a certain feeling to play it, and confesses that he likes her. He plays the song, and as he’s playing, Joo-da asks sadly, “Do you think we can be together just until the end of the song? No, probably not.”

She ~BLIPs~ to another Stage, and this time Nam-ju gives her back the shoes he gave her during his birthday party. He mentions that she called them Cinderella’s shoes when she returned them to him, because Cinderella goes back to her life after midnight.

He says that she’s his Cinderella because she came back to him. Joo-da looks happy because she’s onStage, but then she gets a call from the hospital saying that her grandmother needs an operation. The Stage ends and Joo-da drops the shoes and tries to leave, but Nam-ju stops her.

He offers to pay for the surgery, but Joo-da scoffs that he thinks money solves all of life’s problems. He repeats that he likes her and will do anything for her, and Joo-da sighs, “You don’t even remember.”

While working on her bucket list, Dan-oh notices that Haru seems upset. She blames his worry that she’ll die on the Writer using the same characters over again. She yells up to the Writer, “Be honest, your readers all complain about you, right” LOL. She promises Haru that she won’t die that easily.

She shows Haru her bucket list, and he suggests they cut class to do some of the things on the list. At first she’s disappointed when he invites Sae-mi and Soo-cheol along (“Haru, you’re an idiot…” hee), but the four of them have a great time having a picnic and playing games all afternoon.

Later they go on a bike ride, and Haru is adorably bad at it, though he proves that he understands the spirit of it when he tells Dan-oh to wrap her arms around his waist. When they stop for a break, Dan-oh suffers another bout of chest pain, worrying Haru even further.

EPISODE 28

Nam-ju goes with Joo-da to the hospital for a Stage, but when it ends, he stays kneeling in front of her and promises to make sure her grandmother’s surgery goes well, because he likes her. Joo-da grumbles that he just repeats the same lines, but then he says something new: “Joo-da, you can cry when you’re with me. I like how bright you are and how you smile all the time. I like everything that you are.”

The Stage shifts to Do-hwa, who’s forced to run all over looking for Joo-da even though he already knows she’s at the hospital. His Stage ends when he sees Nam-ju and Joo-da together, but even though they’re in the Shadow, he notices that Joo-da is still letting Nam-ju comfort her. Oof.

Soo-hyang approaches Mi-chae and says that she wants to be friends with him because he seems oddly familiar, and she promises to visit him in the cafeteria soon. Kyung notices the way Mi-chae looks at Soo-hyang, making Mi-chae nervous again.

Do-hwa mentions to Haru that Joo-da’s grandmother had to have surgery, and that he wishes they’d done something about her storyline while they were at the hospital. Haru realizes that the chart he switched with Dan-oh’s must have been Joo-da’s grandmother’s chart, which means that Dan-oh now suffers from the illness that Joo-da’s grandmother had. Uh-oh.

Kyung corners Soo-hyang at her locker and asks if she and Mi-chae are close, but she just acts confused. Mi-chae runs over and stands protectively in front of Soo-hyang, then snaps at her to leave. He warns Kyung not to mess with her in this world, inadvertently giving Kyung a clue that something must have happened in Flower.

He says that Soo-hyang doesn’t seem self-aware, and Mi-chae sobs, “You killed her. She died twice because of you! It’s very convenient not to remember. You took away her self-awareness, and you killed her again when she returned.” Mi-chae tells Kyung that if a character dies onStage they disappear from the story, but if someone dies in the Shadow, they return without their self-awareness.

While with Haru, Dan-oh has another spell of chest pain, and she says it’s strange that onStage she’s fine, but offStage she keeps having these episodes. She suddenly wakes in the infirmary in a Stage, with Kyung sitting by her bed, and it’s over in seconds. Kyung tells her to rest while he gets her things from the classroom.

A frantic Haru finds Dan-oh in the infirmary, but she tells him that her collapse was onStage and she’s fine. But her heart seizes up again, so she asks Haru to get her medicine, but Kyung is already back with it.

At the lockers, Joon-hyun approaches Kyung, who asks if he really remembers everything about Flower. He tells Joon-hyun what he learned about dying onStage versus in the Shadow, but Joon-hyun already knows.

He says it would be sad to go back to being un-self-aware, but Kyung counters that if you aren’t self-aware, you won’t know to be sad. He doesn’t think it sounds too bad to only feel what the Writer wants you to feel, especially in a world like theirs.

On the way back to the infirmary, Kyung sees Haru leading Dan-oh out of the room. A Stage starts up and their roles flip, with Haru watching as Kyung leads Dan-oh away. The Stage continues while Kyung drives Dan-oh home, and she says she’s happy that her heart is getting better and Kyung is by her side.

In the morning, Haru waits for Dan-oh outside the school. As soon as he sees her, he remembers more from Flower — Haru warns Dan-oh that Kyung is trying to frame her father as a traitor, and promises to save her. In the next Stage, Dan-oh has brought some food for the king from her father, but she remembers Haru telling her that the king mustn’t eat anything she gives him.

When that Stage is finished, Dan-oh begs Mi-chae to spit out the food. But he says calmly that he can’t escape this death, and he tells Dan-oh that it’s not her fault. Later, Dan-oh and Haru try to escape in the Shadow, with Kyung following closely behind them.

Suddenly, Dan-oh is alone, and the guards capture her and bring her to the palace. Lord Baek demands her execution for conspiring against the king, but Haru shows up at the last second and fights off the guards.

Kyung steps outside and orders the guards to halt. He stalks towards Haru and knocks his sword away. He tells Haru, “Prove it. Prove you didn’t deceive me. Prove you didn’t covet my woman. Prove that you serve me.”

He puts his own sword in Haru’s hand and orders him to kill Dan-oh. Haru turns to her, then his sword plunges into her body. Haru kneels and grips the blade, and he uses all of his strength to defy the Stage and pull the sword free. He catches Dan-oh, and the Stage ends as she dies.

Horrified at the memory that he killed Dan-oh, Haru starts to distance himself from her for fear it could happen again. He walks away when she tries to speak to him, even ignoring her when her heart acts up.

Joo-da sits with Do-hwa in the school garden and tells him that she’s not caring for the flowers anymore, since the Writer controls whether they die. Do-hwa asks if Joo-da wants to change the story like Haru did for Dan-oh, but before she can answer, she’s whisked away for another Stage.

She’s back at the hospital with Nam-ju, who says he’ll take care of her grandmother from now on, on the honor of A3. He gives her a strawberry milk to cheer her up, but when the Stage ends, Joo-da tells him that she actually doesn’t like sweets.

Confused, Nam-ju asks what she does like, and she says honestly, “Money,” though she clarifies that he can’t buy her love. She admits that she just didn’t want to feel the same way as her character in the manhwa, but that in the Shadow, he’s not so bad.

In the school’s foyer, Dan-oh tries to run to Haru, only to drop to her knees when the pain grips her again. Haru starts to go to her but Kyung gets there first, and Haru stops in his tracks. Dan-oh calls Haru’s name pleadingly, but he turns his back and walks away.

Dan-oh follows him and asks why he’s avoiding her, and he says with tears in his eyes, “If the scenes we changed so far have been hurting you all along, what am I supposed to do?” Dan-oh is pulled away by another Stage, where Kyung waits for her at the hospital as she gets a check-up.

Dan-oh says that she’s so happy it almost scares her, but when the Stage ends she walks away, wanting to get back to Haru. Kyung argues that she doesn’t need Haru anymore now that she’s well, but Dan-oh tells him firmly, “Haru isn’t just someone who can change my fate — Haru is my fate.” She tries to leave but has another spell, and this time it knocks her unconscious.

Do-hwa hears about Dan-oh’s collapse from his brother and rushes to tell Haru. Haru’s been reading Secret, and Do-hwa sees that Dan-oh’s illness isn’t in the book, sending Haru into a panic that Dan-oh might die in the Shadow.

Kyung is with Dan-oh in the hospital, and he thinks about the fact that if she dies offStage, she’ll lose her self-awareness. He reaches out tentatively towards the mask that’s helping her breathe and begins to lift it… then he stops as a terrible memory comes to him.

In Flower, Kyung orders Haru to kill Dan-oh. When Haru turns to face Dan-oh, Kyung grabs the sword hilt behind Haru’s hand and stabs it into Dan-oh, letting Haru believe that he killed her.

Now Kyung recoils in horror, gasping, “I killed you.” He reaches out for her mask again, and a few minutes later he passes Haru in the hallway. Kyung says in an emotionless voice, “I wasn’t going to change the story. I just couldn’t change anything. Just like in the previous story, my character hasn’t changed.”

Haru runs to Dan-oh’s bedside, where he takes Dan-oh’s limp hand and tells her that in the manhwa, her heart is healthy now. But she’s still very sick in the Shadow, and Haru watches the monitor as her vital signs begin to fail. He starts begging for the Stage to start so that she doesn’t die in the Shadow, pleading to let Dan-oh live until the Stage begins, but she flatlines.

~BLIP~

Haru is at school, in the background as Nam-ju and Joo-da plan their first date. He’s freed when it’s over, and he’s thrilled to see Dan-oh walking down the hall towards him. He calls her name, but she looks through him and keeps walking.

Haru grabs Dan-oh’s hand, but she shakes it off, irritated, and runs to meet her friends. Haru is left facing his worst nightmare — Dan-oh is no longer self-aware.

 
COMMENTS

I should have seen that twist coming… of course it was Kyung who killed Dan-oh in Flower. She was going to die that night anyway for poisoning the king, but Kyung saw the opportunity to punish Haru for falling in love with her and trying to leave him by making him think that he did it. At first I was confused why Kyung would remove Dan-oh’s mask and let her die in the Shadow, but then it hit me… if she loses her self-awareness, she also loses her memories of Haru, and she would still be in love with Kyung. He was ready to let her become a pawn to the Writer again, just to gain her love, even knowing that it’s not real.

The true test of Kyung’s character now, and whether loving Dan-oh has changed him for the better, is what he does now that he’s gotten what he thought he wanted. Will he let Dan-oh mindlessly love him, or will he try to help her become self-aware again even if it means losing her? Will he tell Haru the truth about Dan-oh’s death in Flower and ask for his help to restore her memories, or will he keep it to himself and claim Dan-oh now that her memories of Haru are gone?

Who knows… this might be just the thing that Kyung needs to make him loosen his iron grip on Dan-oh. He’s going to get to experience All-Stage-All-The-Time Dan-oh, the Dan-oh who likes him and wants to be with him even in the Shadow. But I hope that his knowledge of his past deeds in Flower and his feelings for Dan-oh in Secret are enough to make him realize that having Dan-oh isn’t worth it when he knows that her feelings aren’t her own, and that if she had a choice, she would love someone else. I want Kyung to understand that having Dan-oh all to himself means nothing when he knows perfectly well that it’s not what she truly wants for herself, and that having her as a self-aware friend is better than empty love.

So much about Mi-chae and why he’s been so hostile about Haru changing the story makes sense now that we know the whole story of their past. In Flower, they had both tried to change the Stage and save the women they loved, only for Soo-hyang and Dan-oh to die anyway but under much more heartbreaking circumstances. I see now why Mi-chae keeps telling Haru to stop changing things… he’s out of his mind with fear that Haru will cause something even worse to happen this time around, as well. And now the worst has happened — his changing the story did get Dan-oh killed, and she’s back but without her self-awareness or memories of him. Let’s hope Haru can find a way to bring her back, like Dan-oh brought him back once before.

(Just a quick reminder: I know the finale has aired by the time that this recap is published, but please try to avoid any spoilers. I’ll have the rest of the recaps finished soon!)

RELATED POSTS

• Premiere Watch: Tale of Nokdu, Extraordinary You, My Country: The New Age
• Kim Hye-yoon rebels against her storyline in Extraordinary You
• Kim Hye-yoon pieces the truth together in new promo for Extraordinary You
• Character stills from A Day Found by Chance
• First stills for fantasy youth romance Day Found by Chance
• Fresh-faced cast assembles for youth drama A Day Found by Chance
• Lee Tae-ri, Kim Ji-in head to high school with Kim Hye-yoon for new MBC drama