Tomorrow With You: Episode 12

by gummimochi

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more heart-wrenching, this hour proves that we aren’t done being put through the wringer. All that double-speak about the future can only get So-joon so far when it comes to protecting his loved ones, and he’ll learn that keeping his darkest secrets close to the vest will only push his most important relationships to the brink.

 
EPISODE 12 RECAP

When So-joon says they should re-evaluate their relationship, Ma-rin is left dumbstruck. She asks him what he means by that, unable to accept his first few answers that he thinks they aren’t right for each other and things will get harder for her because of him.

He points out that she’s repeatedly mentioned how abnormal and different he is from other people. But that’s who he is, and now he’s less confident that he can give her the ordinary kind of happiness she wants.

Getting choked up, Ma-rin asks why he can’t say that they should try to meet halfway and work at their marriage. “Because I don’t think this is something achievable through effort,” So-joon replies.

“Not because you don’t feel like working at it?” Ma-rin counters. All she did today was worry about him because he disappeared before her eyes—what did she do so wrong? “Don’t worry and wait for me because I find it burdensome!” So-joon hollers in reply. Oof.

Next thing we know, Ma-rin has packed a suitcase and refuses to stay in this house for another minute. So-joon offers to stay with Ki-doong instead, but she reminds him that this is his house and turns away.

He tries to stop her from leaving, but Ma-rin tearfully repeats his words back at him: “You think you made a mistake in marrying me? I’m your mistake?” Grabbing her suitcase, she says she’ll give him plenty of time to think.

Alone with his memories of Future Ma-rin’s gloomy advice of breaking up, So-joon thinks aloud: “What am I supposed to do if you leave? What would you like me to do?”

Ma-rin heads to So-ri’s apartment where she glumly fills her friend in on her fight with So-joon. She bursts into tears, only to scream moments later when a man in his boxers emerges from the bathroom.

He collects his things and makes a quick exit while So-ri apologizes. She explains to Ma-rin that she stuffed the guy in the bathroom when the doorbell rang, thinking that it was her mother at the door. Ma-rin apologizes, and then the girls analyze the marital spat over soju.

Told that So-joon looked quite serious when he expressed having second thoughts about their marriage, So-ri guesses that he was speaking out in anger. While Ma-rin compares that look on his face to a dried fish and bites its head off, So-ri advises her friend to use this opportunity to set So-joon straight—she mustn’t cave.

Ma-rin drunkenly declares that she won’t do a thing unless So-joon comes to her begging on his knees for forgiveness.

She notices that So-joon still hasn’t called by the time she turns in, so she turns off her phone to make him worry. If that wasn’t bad enough, she finds sleeping in an unfamiliar bed uncomfortable, and her friend kicks her out of bed.

Gun-sook is having a rough night too, as she announces to her husband that she won’t move to Vietnam—if he insists on going, they can get a divorce and he can go alone. She doesn’t care about possibly reaping a fortune in a few years’ time, but Director Kim won’t stand to hear it and sends her back to bed.

Meanwhile, Doo-shik listens to his recorded conversations with Director Kim whilst glancing up at his calendar. The date November 30, 2016 is circled as “So-joon’s disappearance.”

As So-joon wakes alone in bed, Ma-rin looks exhausted as she says how So-joon didn’t call or text her. She heads into the Happiness office to do work there, and when she learns that So-joon still hasn’t made contact, she steels herself to see who will cave first.

She then turns to the mom forum for advice on her latest marital woes, but the responses are depressing: Some say that it sounds like her marriage is over, while another says she lost the fight the moment she left the house, and another invites her to get divorce counseling.

Just then, Se-young approaches her to talk about how Happiness for Humanity needs a new chairman. The board of directors needs So-joon’s vote to appoint a replacement for Se-young’s father, so Ma-rin promises to call him. She excitedly hurries to a stairwell and says So-joon should consider himself lucky that she’s calling him first.

But So-joon doesn’t pick up because he’s meeting with his lawyer at their home. He asks for half of his assets to be transferred under Ma-rin’s name before the end of the month.

So-joon arrives in the office in time to overhear Ki-doong contemplating a potential blind date. He accepts the offer on Ki-doong’s behalf, and Ki-doong protests that So-joon could’ve traveled to the future to check on his love life if he cared that much.

Ki-doong mutters that he is curious about one woman, which prompts So-joon to pose a hypothetical: If he were to find out that things didn’t look good for that woman’s future, would Ki-doong go out with her anyway? “If you were well aware that she would suffer because of you, would you still date her?”

Ki-doong asks if So-joon knows something about his love life, but So-joon’s point is that his buddy shouldn’t be the least curious about the future if he hasn’t given those questions some thought.

He gets a text from Ma-rin about appointing a new Happiness chairman, and Ma-rin jumps to check her phone when he replies, only to deflate when he writes that he’ll speak with Se-young.

Director Kim throws a tantrum upon learning that people have been talking about how he managed to finance the Jangho project. And meanwhile, Ma-rin wonders if things have cooled between her and So-joon. She holds herself partly responsible, asking So-ri what she thinks if Mary Jane Watson were to tell Spiderman to stop spinning webs.

So-ri says they’d break up right away because Spiderman is a superhero, and Ma-rin murmurs that she didn’t think of how he’d feel when she barred him from riding the subway. So-ri doesn’t understand the reference, but she’s had enough of Ma-rin’s whining—if she’s that upset, she can just go home.

So-ri goes as far to say that Ma-rin is a terrible cook, and Ma-rin cries that So-joon ate all of her cooking without complaint. Because he loves you, hon.

So-joon, meanwhile, feeds the robot vacuum pieces of paper. He takes off his wedding ring to look at it but it slips out of his fingers and drops to the floor, where the vacuum immediately eats it up. Pffft.

He scolds the vacuum for taking his ring and tries shaking it. But his attention is pulled away to take a call, unaware that Ma-rin has just arrived. He does, however, run into her on his way out, and she makes up an excuse that she’s here to pick up a package.

She’s surprised when he turns to leave so soon and notices that he isn’t wearing his wedding ring. He meets with Doo-shik outside, where he advises that So-joon throw Director Kim in prison.

Doo-shik plays the recorded conversation with Director Kim emphatically promoting the Jangho project, explaining that the director was able to finance the project behind So-joon’s back. But So-joon is more interested in how Doo-shik acquired this intel, and the next thing we know, he’s angrily walking away from him.

He screams that it was Doo-shik who lured Director Kim into a trap, believing that he should’ve at least been given a heads up. But Doo-shik retorts that Director Kim would’ve embezzled funds anyway, and he was trying to prevent something worse from happening.

His original plan was to remove Director Kim from MyReits and set him up with his own firm. But Director Kim stayed on his own path to demise by turning down the opportunities Doo-shik gave him. He couldn’t tell So-joon about any of Director Kim’s darker intentions earlier since it isn’t like So-joon could throw a man in prison before he committed any crimes.

So-joon argues that he could’ve kept a watchful eye on Director Kim, but Doo-shik argues that careful surveillance would’ve only made Director Kim more anxious and thus increase the likelihood of him doing something else. But So-joon is tired of hearing about predestined fates and won’t give Doo-shik a pat on the back for taking matters into his own hands.

What’s important is the reality they face now, the aftermath of Doo-shik’s meddling. “Are you trying to say that our present reality is entirely my fault?” Doo-shik counters. But So-joon’s point is that it was impossible to know for certain whether or not Director Kim would’ve done anything wrong if Doo-shik hadn’t gotten involved: “Is there a law saying people have to live out their predetermined fate?”

Frustrated, Doo-shik hands him his voice recorder, saying that So-joon can use this to look into any of Director Kim’s other illegal activities. He strongly believes that Director Kim needs to be put behind bars sooner than later, but So-joon vows to take care of things himself.

So-joon beelines for the office and calls Director Kim out to speak with him in private. He calls Ki-doong to order a search and seizure of Director Kim’s office due to a breach of trust.

When Director Kim plays dumb to the allegations, So-joon reminds him that he said the Jangho project would fail. He promises not to take legal action against Director Kim for pursuing the project behind his back, but he does fire the director on the spot and adds that the man will be held legally responsible for any additional embezzlement or other illegal activity.

Asked why So-joon would cover up the Jangho project, he answers, “I want to give you an opportunity. Don’t throw this opportunity away so easily, since it could be your last.”

While Ki-doong and Director Wang interrogate Secretary Hwang about what he knows on the Jangho project, Director Kim angrily mutters to himself over how he can’t kill So-joon off and decides that he’ll need to leave the country soon.

Ma-rin, meanwhile, waits alone at the house and jumps up excitedly when the doorbell rings. But it’s just a deliveryman with a package, and later, she exits the house just as So-joon arrives. She can hardly believe her ears when he tells her to stay while he stays with Ki-doong, since that means they’d still be apart.

She asks why he took off his wedding ring, and he says it’s not a big deal. Gah, you can’t just tell her that the vacuum ate it?! Ma-rin thinks it is significant, and asks how he didn’t bother to call her once—did he really think she swung by the house because of a package?

So-joon says she should’ve followed through with her emotions instead of waiting up for him and feeling angry and disappointed on her own: “How do you not give a person an inch to think?”

That compels her to ask what he’s thinking then, and So-joon notes that this is only their second day apart. “Two days felt like twenty years to me!” Ma-rin cries in frustration. She wonders how So-joon could remain so calm when she can’t.

“This is why I find you burdensome,” So-joon replies. “Do you live because of me? You should be cool, confident, and tough on your own… How did you survive before you married me?” Dude.

Ma-rin answers, pouting: “I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything about how I lived my life before I met you.” There’s so much she wants to say to him, but she can’t bring herself to look at his face, so she decides to leave the rest of this conversation for another day.

So-joon calls Doo-shik to tell him that he gave Director Kim one last chance to voluntarily change his own supposed fate because he’d like that same opportunity for himself. He points out that Doo-shik is partly responsible for this conclusion too, and he’s conflicted enough trying to think of what he needs to do about his marriage.

“She could be left all alone,” So-joon breathes, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He’s afraid of what might happen in the future, but he’ll work hard to try and live a long life. But he can’t risk the rest of Ma-rin’s life to try and achieve that.

He can’t help but wonder if she’ll be better off if he cuts ties with her now so that she can enjoy living the few years she might have left. “What’s the best thing I can do now?” he asks tearfully.

Later, So-joon opens the package that Ma-rin brought inside earlier that evening. Inside are matching pajamas.

Over at So-ri’s apartment, Ma-rin wakes up instantly at the sound of the doorbell and opens the door to find Gun-sook in her pajamas. Both women are surprised to see each other here, and Gun-sook instructs Ma-rin to pay for her taxi. Ma-rin: “I don’t have any money.”

Needless to say, So-ri is annoyed that her apartment has turned into a shelter for both of her married friends. Gun-sook nudges Ma-rin to explain why she’s here, finding instant camaraderie upon hearing that they both fought with their husbands and left their houses.

Gun-sook cries that she thinks she married the wrong man, explaining that she’d been trying to find why her husband was acting so odd lately. Earlier tonight, she rifled through his car and found a commemorative pen from Happiness.

But then her husband woke up and screamed at her for going through his things. He chased after her, and she escaped in a taxi. Gun-sook hands over the pen to Ma-rin, who notes that there aren’t many people who are in possession of this commemorative pen, which was specifically made for the recent move-in ceremony.

Gun-sook’s first thought is that her husband is having an affair with one of the Happiness employees, but that doesn’t explain the dark and eerie vibes she’s getting from him. Ma-rin asks her if Director Kim has any friends who work in research, or if he takes the subway, but Gun-sook has no idea what she’s talking about.

So-ri says it’s just a pen, but Gun-sook doesn’t understand what it was about her having this pen that triggered such an angry reaction out of her husband.

As the Happiness employees set up for the board of directors meeting, Ki-doong asks So-joon who tipped him off about Director Kim’s shady business dealings. So-joon puts that topic aside for now and gets teased by his friends for getting nervous about this meeting.

Upon seeing Ma-rin inside, he greets her awkwardly which makes Se-young wonder if they had a marital spat. So-joon and Ma-rin give different answers, and then Se-young’s coworker arrives to greet So-joon as Ma-rin’s adoring husband from the move-in ceremony.

Both Se-young and Ki-doong nudge him and confess that So-joon is the mysterious honorary board member and philanthropist he’s been looking forward to meeting, a fact that Se-young’s coworker awkwardly laughs off in disbelief. Ma-rin points So-joon to his seat before walking off.

During the meeting, the other board members are just as surprised to discover how young So-joon is. He explains that he remained hands-off since he trusted Se-young’s father to run Happiness for Humanity until his unfortunate death. Admitting that he knows little about this industry, he trusts that the other members will make a sound decision.

Ki-doong, meanwhile, finds Se-young crying at her desk. He knows how hard this day must be for her and how hard she’s tried to keep up a tough front. She says her father would’ve been so happy knowing that So-joon showed up today.

Ki-doong bends down to her eye level and says her father would’ve been prouder of her for coming back to work at Happiness. He stiffly pats her back when she cries into his shoulder and confesses in a muffled voice: “I miss him so much.”

She’s feeling much better after the meeting, and So-joon declines going out to eat as a group so he can find Ma-rin. Ki-doong chimes in to agree, saying that he and Se-young can go on a date instead. Smooooth.

So-joon tries calling, but doesn’t get through to Ma-rin, who is up on the roof thinking of how So-joon vanished on the subway. She tries opening the door to the stairs, but it’s locked. Uh oh.

So-joon is still waiting for Ma-rin when the Happiness employees leave for the day. He offers to check the office himself while Ma-rin keeps pounding on the door, hoping that someone can hear her.

He finds her phone and bag still on the desk and checks the rest of the empty office. Up on the roof, Ma-rin worries that she’ll freeze to death, so she uses a cardboard box to keep herself warm and alert.

But then she hears So-joon calling out for her. She breathes a sigh of relief, and when he scolds her for staying outside for so long, she barks back that she’s freezing.

He tells her to hold on, and as he reaches for his phone, she asks if he’s going to break down the door. So-joon: “How can I break a steel padlock?” Lol. He’s busy calling for a locksmith while Ma-rin keeps talking to him, which makes her nervous that he might’ve left, so she starts cursing at him. Annoyed, So-joon says he’s still here. Hahaha.

He gets worried when she says she’s freezing, so he suggests that she run in place or do jumping jacks to keep herself warm. She remains silent as he demonstrates the exercises on the other side of the door, then uses this opportunity to ask him a burning question on her mind: “What did you see in the future?”

Ma-rin explains that she was so preoccupied trying to figure out why he’s acting like this that she didn’t hear the door lock behind her. She can’t bring herself to believe that he would cut himself off from her without a reason, but all of her thoughts bring her to the same conclusion: “You rode the subway and saw something bad, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did,” So-joon finally admits. Ma-rin claims that she isn’t at all curious as to what that dark secret is and doesn’t want to hear him wallow in his worries. When she went to bed last night, she wished that tomorrow wouldn’t come if it meant things would keep being this hard between them.

She can’t afford to worry about tomorrow when she feels so choked up now, but he seems much more at ease while worrying about the future. So-joon repeats that things can get harder for her, but Ma-rin says she isn’t curious about that.

“I met your future self,” So-joon confesses. “Your future self asked me to break up with you when I returned to the present.” Ma-rin asks if that was why he was so cold to her lately.

When the locksmith unlocks the door, So-joon hurries to remove his coat to give to Ma-rin. But she refuses, saying that he’s two-timing with another woman. He’s confused by that, so Ma-rin brings his hand up to her cheek, saying, “This is me. I’m standing here before you, and you can reach out and touch me. I’m looking into your eyes.”

She claims that the future Ma-rin who’s feeding him senseless ideas isn’t her, and he asks if she isn’t afraid of how hard things will be for her in the future. Ma-rin fires back, “I bet I’m having a hard time there because you keep acting like this.”

She’s more afraid of him right now, where all she sees is a man who’s shaken up by what he’s seen in the future. She gets right to the point—will So-joon choose that woman in the future, or the woman standing before him right now?

She doesn’t give him room to protest, arguing that she doesn’t like the idea of him emotionally cheating on her with her future self. So-joon admits that he’s conflicted; he doesn’t know what’s more important—the present or the future.

Ma-rin can’t believe that this is a question that requires more thought and calls him a two-timing dummy before storming off.

She tearfully calls her mother to fill her in, and Mom immediately goes on a tirade, swearing that she’ll rip So-joon apart for upsetting her darling girl. Mom calls So-joon on the spot and calls him over to her place to give him a piece of her mind. Yaaaass.

When So-joon arrives, the first words that come out of Mom’s mouth are, “Did you have an affair?!” Ahahaha. He’s dumbfounded and tries to explain that there was some miscommunication, but Mom squats herself on the ground in protest.

She grabs him by the lapels, screaming that she wants to poke her own eyes out and hits him over and over. Omg, this is so great. So-joon says that he only has eyes for Ma-rin, and swears on this knees that he can’t live without her.

So-joon has a sudden breakthrough at that moment and asks where Ma-rin is. She’s at home, proud of her decision to unleash her mother’s wrath on So-joon. She maintains her composure when he comes marching home complaining about how much her mother scolded him.

She has, however, realized that there’s no place like home. She resolves to stay in this house and says So-joon can leave if he wants to. He asks if that means it’s okay for him to suffer outside, and she prompts him to choose again—is it the intangible future or the present? Is it her future self or her now?

“Of course, it’s you,” So-joon answers pouting. And then he swoops in to kiss her.

 
COMMENTS

FINALLY. It feels like we’ve been waiting for So-joon to have his aha moment for much of this series now, one where he would finally sit still for one second and realize what a precious and fragile relationship he has now instead of worrying himself to death (hur) about the future.

It’s another significant step in the right direction for him, since it’s in these moments of honesty that he breaks through the fear of what may come. Even if I don’t always agree with when or how he does come clean about the future, I am relieved when he actually does, because at the very least, he isn’t bearing this burden alone. No matter how messy his arguments with Ma-rin get, I love that she keeps pressing him to say what he means, even when whatever words come out of his mouth end up hurting her. It was hard to watch Ma-rin realize that his words of rethinking their entire relationship was his attempt to save her from any future pain, since those same words didn’t save either of them from the emotional turmoil they felt in the past few days.

So when Ma-rin confronted So-joon on that rooftop, I loved how blunt she was about why her future self may have appeared so miserable to him. Up to that point, So-joon hadn’t realized the possibility of the cumulative effect of every instance he has let Ma-rin down. This isn’t to say that all of the broken parts of their marriage are So-joon’s fault, of course—I could understand how conflicted he felt about whether the present or the future was more important. For a time traveler who keeps so much knowledge in his brain, it makes sense that it would be hard for him to keep anything straight… and yet, Ma-rin is there to show him how simple the most important questions in life really are.

And as much as I’m happy that he and Ma-rin are happy again, it’s unnerving to think that this joyful moment is fleeting. It’s been a long time since a series has left me feeling so nervous with each passing episode, but then again, we’re dealing with a time traveling hero who’s got a ticking clock on when he’s due to vanish without a trace.

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