Way Back Love: Episodes 3-4

by SailorJumun

Well, no one ever said that opening up old wounds would be pleasant. Our heroine works through her bucket list, overwhelmed with memories of happier times and with possibilities that were tragically cut short. Thanks to a certain cutie patootie reaper, though, she starts to ground herself in the present and see that she’s not as alone as she thought.

EPISODES 3-4

Back in their high school days, we see Hee-wan and Ram-woo grow closer — along with Hee-wan’s dad and Ram-woo’s mom, they naturally become their own little neighborhood family. Hee-wan latches onto Ram-woo’s mom, wanting to learn painting from her. She takes the training very seriously, thinking that art could be her way into college, and spends a lot of her time over at Ram-woo’s apartment.

One night, while Hee-wan and Ram-woo are out on the balcony, she freaks out over a shooting star and is disappointed when he misses it. They both voice that it’d be romantic to see a shooting star together, only to backtrack with excuses like With our friends, obvi. This exchange gives Hee-wan a burst of hope, and later, she writes out a confession letter. Ram-woo, however, feels the need to swallow his feelings when his buddy Hong-seok admits that he has a crush on Hee-wan.

In the present day, Ram-woo brings Hee-wan to her university, encouraging her to tie up any loose ends. She insists that there’s no one to say goodbye to, which is, of course, when she runs into a sunbae from art class. One thing leads to another, and before she knows it, she’s helping the art department set up for the school festival.

As Hee-wan loosens up with her fellow art students, we jump back to the high school timeline. Mom and Dad end up buying the kids the exact same jacket, and when they show up to school wearing them, their classmates give them a hard time about looking like a couple.

Ram-woo immediately shuts down the dating jokes, but seeing Hee-wan’s disappointment, he seems to regret it. Once school is over, he finds her abandoned jacket, and two girls come up to him, encouraging him to go after her and confess. (These girls are real ones.) He takes their advice, waiting for her at the bus stop — but she’s currently with Hong-seok.

Hong-seok and Hee-wan are hanging out by the school’s pool, where he’s helping her paint water. They chat, playfully splash each other, and joke about Hee-wan designing a seal tattoo for Hong-seok. As a former swimmer, Hong-seok is supposedly tight with the maintenance guy, but when said maintenance guy catches them, he orders Hong-seok and his “girlfriend” to leave. Hong-seok clarifies that he’s not dating Hee-wan but would like to, which surprises her.

Afterwards, Hee-wan arrives at the bus stop wearing Hong-seok’s jacket. This throws Ram-woo off, and he lets her go without confessing (arghhh). Fast forward to present day, when Hee-wan’s classmates ask if she has a boyfriend — perhaps the guy with the tattoo who’s been spotted on campus? Hee-wan denies this and tries to escape the conversation, but she freezes at the sight of an excited Ram-woo. He goes up to a seller giving out sparklers, all giddy until he remembers that the seller can’t see him. Drama, stopppp, I can’t take this.

Something snaps in Hee-wan and she runs out of the festival, over to a dark ledge. Ram-woo finds her and tries to get her to step back, but she tells him that she’s done. She doesn’t want to keep seeing him when it just tricks her mind into thinking that he’s alive. It’s hard enough constantly having him smile at her when she still can’t forgive herself for his death.

So, Hee-wan decides, she wants to end all of this now. She’d deduced from their earlier hospital visit that a reaper must say a person’s name three times before guiding them away. She knows that’s why Ram-woo has been calling her by his name this whole time, and she begs him to get it over with and use her real name.

The desperation in Hee-wan’s voice seems to break something in Ram-woo. He gently takes her hand, says her name once… and then stops. Rather than continue, he finally admits, after all this time, that he likes her. And he didn’t come here to punish her or torture her — he just missed her. As his words sink in, she breaks into sobs, grasping his hand harder. Then he’s crying, I’m crying. We’re all crying.

The following day, Ram-woo tries to lift Hee-wan’s spirits by taking her to their secret spot at the high school. It reminds Hee-wan of when she first introduced him to the place. In this flashback, the two confide in each other about their absent parents (her mom passed away, while his dad left and remarried).

Their tender moment is interrupted by Tae-kyung, who’s hurt to find Ram-woo in what’s supposed to be her and Hee-wan’s secret spot. She lashes out at Hee-wan for ditching her for a new best friend, as well as new college goals, and this results in a fight. The friend group is tense for a while, so Ram-woo and Hong-seok come up with a plan.

The boys take the girls out to a meteor shower festival for a getaway trip. There, the girls are able to have some fun, talk things out, and eventually reaffirm their love for each other. Even the boys get some bonding time, and Hong-seok tells Ram-woo to go for it with Hee-wan. He had a feeling that they like each other, and after Hee-wan essentially rejected him at the pool, he’s come to accept it.

Present day Ram-woo asks Hee-wan how their friends are doing, and she answers that she’s not as close with them. Pouting, Ram-woo adds “Meet with Hong-seok” to their bucket list, wanting to see him again. He drags her over to Hong-seok’s workplace as a swim coach, forcing her to smile and wave at him. And, oy… Hong-seok does not smile back.

Hong-seok tells Hee-wan point-blank that he’s uncomfortable around her, which is fine by her. She turns to leave, but an ambulance speeds by, the loud siren triggering memories of Ram-woo’s accident. She falls to the ground, hyperventilating, and Hong-seok rushes over to help her control her breathing.

Once the panic attack passes, they’re able to sit down and talk. He’s curious as to what happened between them, and she admits that she can’t pretend to be okay and move on like he did. But of course he hasn’t moved on — the pain clear on his face, he asks how she could think that she’s the only one suffering. After all, he was there that day too…

Flashback to the meteor shower festival. Hee-wan had entered and won a contest for a special viewing in the observatory. She gives the winning ticket (with her name) to Ram-woo, wanting to do something to make him happy. He suggests that they go together, but feeling shy, she shoves him her confession letter and sends him off alone.

Hee-wan rejoins her friends for the outdoor viewing, while Ram-woo enters the observatory. One second, Ram-woo is reading the letter with a smile on his face, and the next, a gas explosion has the whole building in flames. Sirens direct Hee-wan and her friends to the scene, where they’re screaming Ram-woo’s name.

As present day Hong-seok remembers these events, he admits that sirens trigger him too. But he’s studying to become a firefighter someday, that way he at least has a purpose for his alertness. Before they part ways, Hee-wan apologizes for being selfish and tells him to live a good life, even if he doesn’t hear from her.

Inside his office, Hong-seok finds an old board game set up on the table — the same game that he and Ram-woo would play. He also finds the note that Ram-woo meant to give him at the festival (“Your fly is down,” lol). God, the way Hong-seok laughs without question, like he just feels Ram-woo’s presence, it’s turning me into a blubbery mess.

Meanwhile, Hee-wan is wandering the streets, imagining every “what if” scenario. Like, what if she hadn’t applied to the contest? What if she and Ram-woo had never traded names? What if they had never become friends in the first place? She thinks of Ram-woo’s mom the night of the accident, breaking down in front of the surgery room. And she suddenly knows what the next item on her bucket list is — she needs to see his mom one last time.

Oh, man. How am I supposed to handle Mom’s arc when I could barely handle Hong-seok’s? He truly was the MVP this week, supporting his best bud and still carrying so much love for him. I’m glad that Hee-wan came to understand his grief and that she finally came around to exploring her own. I have no idea how the series will wrap up — if Hee-wan will really die, if she will find peace — but I’m already dreading having to say goodbye so soon.

 
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