Mi-rae’s Choice: Episode 13

by gummimochi

Who can worry about the future when the present comes with its own unexpected changes? Shin is faced with a decision that could shape or break his own future while our time-traveler realizes that there are consequences that come with meddling with other people’s lives, including her own. It’s no wonder then that love takes a backseat when every day is a battle in of itself.

SONG OF THE DAY

Hyorin – “사랑 하지 마 (Don’t Love Me)” [Download]

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EPISODE 13 RECAP

Se-joo is introduced as the new executive director of YBS and has no qualms about obtaining the position through an act of nepotism. With his ambitious plans to build the network into a media empire, he’s met with warm reception by the execs.

He thanks Shin for the introduction afterward, to which Shin dryly retorts that he’ll gladly provide his emceeing services in the future.

Mi-rae is still in shock from Shin’s cutthroat words in the bathroom when Writer Bae walks in to ask about her big date, only to frown to hear things didn’t go as planned.

News travels fast within the company, but it’s no surprise that Jokey PD hasn’t gotten the memo as he wakes up to a familiar face and orders him around in banmal as usual. His foot-in-mouth syndrome gets increasingly worse until Oppa clarifies the situation.

Once everyone (apart from Shin) is assembled, Se-joo formally introduces himself to his former team members, thanking them in turn for teaching him the importance of hard work, passion, and leadership in the workplace. Ha, I love that he just skips over Jokey PD.

He calls Mi-rae down to the media library they once worked in together, where he asks if she’s mad that he didn’t reveal himself earlier. She tells him that he should have, and asks if he’s doing okay.

His priority is to focus on work now that he’s been rejected, Se-joo teases. Recalling the fond memories they shared together here, he hopes that they can continue to have a comfortable, amicable relationship–not one based on job ranking, but as two people.

They exchange goodbyes in smiles, a sight Shin catches just as he rounds the corner. He passes by Mi-rae silently in the hallway, but then he momentarily looks back in her direction.

Se-joo wastes no time to implement changes in YBS through a company-wide email, which eliminating sole authority among the personnel and an overall program evaluation based on ability. Chairman Lee wonders how he’ll have the funds to execute all these changes, but Se-joo tells Grandma he has a plan.

Shin and Mi-rae remain professional yet distanced during their team meeting, and when Shin excuses himself to take a call, Jokey PD says he heard a woman’s voice, to Mi-rae’s dismay.

They barely acknowledge each other’s presence even when they run into each other outside. But as they walk back in step on opposite sides of the road, Shin glances at Mi-rae every few seconds.

Meanwhile, Se-joo decides to visit Yoo-kyung, who’s been absent from work and not receiving any calls. The address takes him to a humble dwelling on top of a hill (read: poor), where he’s met by her younger brother and disabled mother.

Needless to say, the sudden visit takes Yoo-kyung by surprise, but she remains cheerful as she recounts her discouraging meeting with the chairman. Se-joo says that his grandmother can be harsh at times, but Yoo-kyung says she was right, and then admits that she held onto the hope that marrying Se-joo would take her out of her current situation.

Then she quickly changes the subject, congratulating Se-joo on his successful transition. He encourages her to come back to work soon before leaving.

Writer Bae lets out a disappointed sigh once she’s filled in on the failed Christmas Eve date. She’s seen her fair share of failed workplace romances, and although Mi-rae and Shin may not have been technically dating, there’s always a party who suffers and leaves: the one who feels more uncomfortable.

The earlier call is from the same attractive broadcasting exec as last time, who shows some personal interest in Shin in their next meeting at a cafe. They both keep a professional tone in their conversation, however, and she wonders what’s tying Shin down to YBS.

Some neighboring onlookers recognize Shin and are quick to snap photos of them. The broadcasting exec seems to take note of this before excusing herself, which is when a man approaches the amateur paparazzi to suggest where they can send their photos to. Eek, not good.

Sure enough, the photos make headlines the next day, depicting him on a date with a chaebol heiress. Before Shin can process the situation, he’s called in to see Se-joo and is offered his dream job as the main anchorman of the nine o’clock nightly news (say that seven times fast).

Shin is understandably skeptical about the situation, asking if Se-joo is trying to capitalize on him like a product. Se-joo admits as much, calling Shin the best they have. And though the final decision is up to him, Se-joo trusts that Shin won’t let his personal feelings affect his career.

Shin says he’ll sleep on it, but before he leaves, Se-joo makes one more jab with the mention that he’s seen the photo and asks if Shin wasn’t already dating Mi-rae.

Speaking of whom, Mi-rae is distracted at work after she sees the headlines. She sits in a dressing room, trying to convince herself that it’s all over while holding back tears. A friendly voice calls out to her from the doorway just then–it’s Se-joo, who offers to buy her coffee to lift her downtrodden spirits.

But that’s when the tears finally fall, and grabbing onto his coat for support, Mi-rae asks why he’s so good to her. Se-joo places a comforting hand on her shoulder and gently tells her that it’s okay.

Back at the chairman’s estate, it’s Chairman Lee’s turn to call Ajumma Mi-rae out as a fraud again, and I have to admit I rather like how this power balance swings back and forth between them. She’s heard of the absurd claims that Ajumma is from the future from Yoo-kyung, and asks after her real motive.

Ajumma confirms those claims without so much as a flicker of an eye, and invites the chairman to ask all the questions she wants because there isn’t that much time left. She does grab the chairman’s attention with the future she does know: After Yoo-kyung marries Se-joo, she’ll eventually gain control of the entire conglomerate.

It spooks the chairman, who’s told that she’s free to believe it or not. But if she doesn’t want to see her assets handed over to Yoo-kyung after she dies, then she’s better of marrying her grandson off to Mi-rae.

Se-joo and Mi-rae take a walk outside, and she confesses that she purposely opened the windows in the carwash that time. In turn, Se-joo admits that when he said he would only give up on Mi-rae once she was happy was more for himself than for her.

He asks if she remembers his film school project. He explains that she was the first person who shared his interpretation and her words kept coming back to him as he sat alone in his lofty office. Taking her hand, he tells her, “Mi-rae, you’re someone I need.”

Yoo-kyung runs into Shin as he leaves work and notes that he sounds like someone who’s leaving soon. She brushes it under the rug for now and asks that Shin buy her a drink.

Over drinks, Yoo-kyung smiles that she feels oddly okay with being rejected by Se-joo now that she has nothing to hide from him. She’s quick to ask about the recent gossip, adding that she knows whom he met with because of her one of a kind luxury handbag.

Shin is impressed despite himself, but Yoo-kyung keeps pressing for more information. Are they dating or is he being headhunted by a rival network? Shin doesn’t answer, and she sighs deeply, saying that he’ll really end up ruined like Ajumma’s prediction if he takes the job.

Shin immediately replies that he won’t and things will be different: “Because Mi-rae isn’t by my side anymore.”

Mi-rae knocks on Oppa’s door to ask about his recommendation that she work for a different company. What concerns me is the medication he’s taking but dismisses as nothing, and Mi-rae promises not to cause her brother further grief.

Ajumma Mi-rae arrives at the YBS building to come face to face with angry Yoo-kyung. They relocate to a cafe to chat, and Yoo-kyung calls her out for messing with multiple lives to achieve her own happiness. Thank goodness someone finally said it, although it took us twelve and a half episodes to get here.

Ajumma insists that she’s looking out for everyone’s happiness including her own, but Yoo-kyung is a breath of fresh air, asking if anybody looks happy right now. “What about me? How do I feel about getting the man I love taken away from me?”

Then I love that Yoo-kyung says that she wouldn’t be able to selfishly jeopardize people’s futures if she were in Ajumma’s shoes. Points for you, Yoo-kyung.

Back at the office, Mi-rae takes the same elevator as Shin and tries to break the awkward tension despite his cold responses. He takes a breath after she leaves and puts in a call that he’ll make a decision by the end of the day.

Mi-rae also meets with another smaller production company who are interested in working with her after seeing her impressive features. Aw, it warms my heart that she’s getting some recognition in her field.

Meanwhile, Oppa gets some good news from the doctor: even though his disease has relapsed (eep, was it cancer before?) it’s easily treatable because they caught it in its early stages. Ajumma Mi-rae cries tears of relief.

Once they’re outside, Oppa says this discovery is all thanks to the stress Ajumma gave him, and he’s grateful that she came from the future. Ajumma’s eyes well up with tears at that statement, crying that he’s the first person to say that whereas everyone else hates her.

Like a good Oppa, he places a comforting hand on her shoulder. Oppa’s future now bright, she tells him that he should get married and have kids now. He rather likes that idea and muses that Ajumma might see her niece or nephew when she returns to the future.

But that last statement about returning to the future gives Ajumma pause.

Oppa returns to work in higher spirits, and the change makes his coworkers wonder if someone’s spiked his drink. But their happy mood quickly comes crashing down when Writer Bae has to leave due to a family emergency, leaving them without a main writer for their broadcast.

He racks his brain for a minute before assigning Mi-rae to the task. He asks if she can do it, and Mi-rae agrees. She rises to the occasion and carefully reviews everything, leaving her team impressed and Shin shocked.

Shin beelines for Se-joo’s office to ask whether he was offered the anchorman position as an effort to keep him away from Mi-rae. Se-joo replies that he’s too confident in himself to pull such a childish tactic like that.

Shin is glad to hear it, or else he would have punched Se-joo in the face. Slightly amused, Se-joo asks if Shin has made a decision on whether he’ll take the job or not, but we don’t hear the answer.

Mi-rae arrives home to hear voices in Oppa’s room, where Oppa assures Ajumma Mi-rae that she doesn’t have to worry because it looks like Shin and his sister are split up for good now. But Ajumma blurts out that she still feels guilty for telling Shin that he’ll eventually die because of her. What.

Mi-rae drops her bag in shock, and they open the door at the noise to find Mi-rae, shaking. Ajumma raises a hand as if to comfort her but stops herself.

Then Ajumma Mi-rae sits her younger self down to explain how she and Shin spent the next twenty years following his financial ruin living as strangers under one roof. Their frequent arguments usually ended with Shin retreating to the bedroom, and one time she was so fed up that she charged in there and told him “to go die then.”

It was his expression when he turned to face her that still haunts her, Ajumma confesses; she couldn’t tell if he was laughing or crying. But he went outside anyway, stood in the road, and was hit by a car.

“Ajumma… you’re really a scary person.” Mi-rae says shakily through tears. “No. I was the one who did it.” She asks if Shin already knows this, and then breaks down in sobs then and there to hear that he does, overwhelmed with guilt.

Ajumma lifts a hand to comfort Mi-rae, but Mi-rae shakes her hand away.

The attractive broadcasting network vice president is surprised to hear that Shin would like more time to consider the offer. He asks why she leaked the photo to the press when she easily could have prevented it.

She honestly replies that his name also boosts their network’s appeal as well. Her patience is wearing thin, she reminds him, and tells him to come to a decision soon.

Mi-rae is unable to sleep that night and plainly ignores Ajumma, who notices her ankle injury. But when Ajumma checks her own ankle, it’s clean. Then she immediately checks her diary to find the entries unchanged and comes to a startling realization: “Nothing’s changed.”

Ajumma heads out to the park to confront the Black Man, who timidly appears from behind a pillar. She then demands to know why nothing’s changed and if there’s something she doesn’t know.

The production team prepare for the live New Year’s special the next evening. Mi-rae makes last-minute preparations for her first broadcast as the main writer as Yoo-kyung is on standby at the lantern festival.

Shin looks at his hosting chair as if looking at it for the last time. He doesn’t look up at Mi-rae when she approaches him when she gives her well-wishes. Not too far off, Se-joo smiles with pride to see Mi-rae working hard.

Unfortunately, the team runs into an issue as soon as the broadcast begins when Yoo-kyung’s earpiece malfunctions. Unable to get a direct audio feed between her and the rest of the team, Shin takes it in stride to buy the team some time with their guests to fix the issue.

So Mi-rae thinks fast and decides to relay Yoo-kyung’s lines through a combination of illustrations and charades. She quickly gets everyone in order and Shin shoots a sign to confirm.

On her mark, they cut away to Yoo-kyung at the lantern festival and Shin reads Mi-rae’s gestures and props with impressive professional ease and without error. He keeps his eyes trained on Mi-rae, and the way he can interpret her motions is almost uncanny. And… is that a smile on your face?

The rest of the broadcast continues without a hitch and Mi-rae breathes a huge sigh of relief. Everyone is impressed with Mi-rae’s quick thinking, and Se-joo walks over to offer his congratulations.

Se-joo tells her that he has something to say and reaches into his pocket, but they’re interrupted by Shin, who has an announcement of his own: “This is my last broadcast. After today, I’ll be leaving [this show] and YBS.”

COMMENTS

What a relief that this episode picked up in the latter half because I still recall spending most of it frustrated with Shin, who remains infuriatingly mum in this hour. I did like how we were left guessing about whether he would stay at YBS or move to another broadcasting network since I’d assumed he would put more distance between himself and Mi-rae. His decision to leave, however, leaves me uneasy because it does mirror Yoo-kyung’s words that he would follow Ajumma’s prediction. Regardless of where Shin works, it’s his stubborn pride that gets in the way and causes rifts, so although he’s verbally admitted that things will be different because Mi-rae won’t be there, the core issue remains the same.

But then again, the man did hear he was going to kill himself in twenty years or so. It’s a harrowing truth to say the least, and I’m going to trust that the next episode will complement this information like last week’s episodes did. Given the way he still gives Mi-rae the occasional glance (of longing?) there’s some form of noble idiocy intention we’re not fully privy to yet that drives his current actions and behavior. It’s the hardest part of the angst mountain for me to get over, and I’m waiting for the explanation that may or may not come.

I loved that Yoo-kyung was the one who asked all the hard questions we’ve been dying to ask all series long to Ajumma Mi-rae today. Someone had to finally call her out on her selfish motivations to change her own future under the absurd guise of happiness when everything and everyone is unhappy. It’s a challenge that Ajumma seriously needed to hear for trying to puppeteer multiple lives, and now that she’s realized that the changes in the present aren’t changing her future, it’s a definite wake-up call that comes, I fear, far too late.

This is where I feel the show made a misstep in its time-travel rules by telling us that the consequences to seeing no consequences in the present or future means that nothing’s changed. It’s certainly an interesting question itself, but an explanation (that we’ll get hopefully tomorrow) that feels almost lazy when we’ve been twiddling our thumbs all series long waiting for the other shoe to drop when it won’t. The alternative reality theory is one possible explanation (which would make the other occurrences more difficult to swallow), but it would also tie into the question of whether Ajumma has a future to return to at all, which would be rather interesting to explore.

There is one highlight that definitely stands out in this hour in our final sequence when our team was in a rut and thus forced Shin and Mi-rae to communicate with each other for the first time in the hour. Not only was I impressed with Shin’s professional demeanor to remain calm in a panic situation, I also loved that Mi-rae rose to the occasion and took the initiative. Then watching the way that they communicated through signs, dolls, and gestures that somehow translated into words was just icing on the cake and a display of what these two can do when they’re on the same wavelength. Because who needs words when you’ve got telepathy.

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