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I gave this drama a watch a few weeks ago and enjoyed it so much, I knew I had to rewatch it again. And what better way to rewatch this drama than to rewatch it and recap it?

“Way Back Love” stars Kim Min-ha (Pachinko, Light Shop) and Gong Myung (Extreme Job). Kim Min-ha plays Jung Hee-wan who finds herself suddenly reunited with her high school friend and first love, Kim Ram-woo (played by Gong Myung). The catch? He died a few years ago. Ram-woo returns as the Grim Reaper and warns Hee-wan that she only has a week left to live. Together, the two embark on an adventure together to fulfill Hee-wan’s last dying wishes. In the process, the two are forced to confront their past, the present, and the possibility of a future.

Way Back Love: Episode 1 Recap

Hee-wan wakes up after hearing the doorbell to her apartment ring. When she opens the front door, she’s shocked to find her high school friend and first love, Ram-woo, standing outside. He greets her awkwardly and reintroduces himself. Hee-wan is so thrown aback by the sight of Ram-woo that she slams the door on him and accidentally jams his fingers. She’s in disbelief upon seeing him. How is it that she’s seeing him?

So we return to six years ago when Ram-woo and Hee-wan were in high school. It’s April’s Fool Day and their high school pulls a bunch of pranks. The most infamous one is switching names with another student for the day. So after participating in a fun game, Hee-wan and Ram-woo end up picking each other and they exchange their name tags. Hee-wan will be Ram-woo and Ram-woo will pretend to be Hee-wan. It’s all fun and harmless, right? Ram-woo isn’t so delighted at the thought of switching names. While playing a board game in the classroom with his best friend, Hong-seok (Jung Gun-joo), he describes what Hee-wan is like. She’s a healthy person: she’s a good runner, she’s a good eater, she knows how to have fun, and she’s shameless. She’s also fearless. While exiting a convenience store with her best friend, Tae-kyung, the two encounter a group of bullies targeting a student across the street. Hee-wan throws her small carton of milk and hits one of the bullies in the head. Tae-kyung and Hee-wan run off right afterwards and the Ram-woo name tag that Hee-wan was wearing falls to the ground. Uh-oh. No matter what it is or where they are, Hee-wan continues to stand out to Ram-woo. On one particular day in gym class, Hee-wan receives some special attention from a group of guys who shouts at how cute she is. Of course, Ram-woo can’t help but notice.

Ram-woo wants to chat about their name switching with Hee-wan. Do they really have to take it this far? It was only originally only supposed to be for the purpose of tricking their home teacher, but Hee-wan’s been claiming that she’s Ram-woo everywhere she goes. Just then, the two receive unexpected news from a classmate that they have some visitors (AKA the group of bullies who Hee-wan threw her milk carton at earlier in the episode). So Ram-woo, Hee-wan, and Tae-kyung all prepare to go out and confront the scary group of teenagers. But before they do that, Hee-wan has a plan in mind. She grabs some markers and asks Ram-woo what his favorite animal is, haha.

So the trio finally come face to face with the group of bullies. But they’re not scared because.. well.. the fake tattoos on their arms and neck make it seem as if they’re intimidating. Things take a turn for the better when the group leader asks Hee-wan if her mom knows that she has such tattoos on her body to which she claims that her mom doesn’t… because her mom isn’t alive. This causes the group of bullies to suddenly feel bad for her so Ram-woo also steps in and adds that he too doesn’t have a father. The bullies begin to pity our trio and they eventually run off after being confronted by a teacher not too far away. Tae-kyung, Hee-wan, and Ram-woo make it out alive and unharmed. Hee-wan’s idea of animal tattoos was genius. The only thing is… the markers they used to draw the tattoos are permanent. That night, Ram-woo struggles to erase his polar bear tattoo on his arm while taking a bath while Hee-wan adds a photo of her, Tae-kyung, and Ram-woo into her journal. It’s April 2nd so April’s Fool Day is finally over but Hee-wan continues the silly antics. Ram-woo is recommended a BL manhwa by two female classmates after seeing his name on the list of books that was pinned onto the school’s pin board. To Hee-wan, she felt as if she was finally adding some light and humor into Ram-woo’s life or at least that’s what she thought.

We return six years later to the present. Hee-wan is now in college and arrives for what she thought was class. But since it’s April Fool’s Day, class was cancelled. While walking back home, the sound of a siren triggers unfortunate memories from six years ago and she panics. When Hee-wan returns back to her place, she lays on the ground in a depressed and dejected state. She’s reminded of Ram-woo upon seeing one of the boxes sit nearby not too far away.

So Hee-wan returns to the night when she met up with Ram-woo in their neighborhood to exchange some items. Since they were using aliases on the app (Margot Robbie and Lee Hyori), Ram-woo and Hee-wan had no idea who the other person was, haha. It’s a pleasant surprise. Ram-woo explains that he’s stepping in for his mom since she’s currently asleep and he hands over a bag with the item that Hee-wan purchased. He encourages Hee-wan to check the item to make sure that there aren’t any damages or anything. So Hee-wan does as she is told and she pulls out a bra from the bag. Hahaha. Ram-woo is completely shocked at the sight of the bra and he defends himself (“I swear I’m not a pervert!”). He had no idea what item Hee-wan had purchased from his mom, he was just trying to help her out by running an errand. When Ram-woo returns home, he finds his mom asleep in the living room. A few minutes later, his mom receives a notification on her cellphone from Hee-wan who messaged her on the app to thank her for the transaction. Ram-woo grabs his mom’s cellphone and blocks Hee-wan on the app. Haha.

But Hee-wan won’t let it go and she brings the bag with the bra with her to school. While she and Tae-kyung tease each other over the bra, Ram-woo and Hong-seok watch the two female besties while sitting in their classroom. They assume it must be Tae-kyung’s birthday since there’s a cake sitting next to them so Hong-seok expresses his interest in getting close to her. Ram-woo assumes his friend is interested in Tae-kyung and warns him to be careful. The jokes about buying online products just won’t stop and even during class, Ram-woo and Hee-wan’s teacher warn the class to be careful when buying items from strangers.

Ram-woo pulls Hee-wan aside at school to chat privately. Did he do something wrong to her? Also, can she keep what happened the night before a secret? He hopes she won’t tell anyone about the item that she bought from his mom. Hee-wan agrees to the idea as long as Ram-woo does her a favor: Hee-wan wishes to exchange names again. She recounts all the fortune and luck she encountered on April Fool’s Day when she pretended to be Ram-woo. Things were in her favor and worked out quite good for her. But for Ram-woo? Things were the opposite on April Fool’s Day when he went around pretending to be Hee-wan. He wasn’t as lucky or fortunate. Haha. Regardless, the two return to exchanging names so Ram-woo is Hee-wan and Hee-wan goes around using Ram-woo’s name. It’s so prevalent that eventually everyone in the school catches on.

So a meeting is called by their teacher for Ram-woo and his mom and Hee-wan and her dad. The five of them sit in the consultation room and they assume there was trouble caused over the name switching. But that’s not the reason for the meeting. Their teacher goes on to explain that Ram-woo will be receiving a scholarship from rescuing an elderly lady not too long ago. Hee-wan herself will also receive a certificate since she too was involved. While walking home after the meeting, Ram-woo’s mom shares her reaction to the news upon learning about the meeting. She’s relieved that her son finally has a friend. Since they moved around a lot, it was difficult for Ram-woo to make any friends. And that friend of his is seen walking with her dad behind them. Since they live in the same apartment complex, they walk in the same direction and even eat at Dad’s restaurant.

While grabbing some water for him and his mom inside the restaurant, Ram-woo shyly and quickly thanks Hee-wan. She’s confused as to what he’s grateful for, but Ram-woo doesn’t elaborate much. Eventually, the mother and son pair munch on Dad’s delicious food and Hee-wan goes on to poke fun at Ram-woo once again by teasing him about being the Lee Hyori of their neighborhood, haha. It seems like the four of them get along well.

Hee-wan goes shopping with Tae-kyung and munches on the candy that girls have been leaving in Ram-woo’s locker. Tae-kyung assumes that Ram-woo must be pretty popular and that Hee-wan must be jealous just thinking about it. Though Hee-wan denies it, Tae-kyung teases her best friend. Before leaving the store, Hee-wan notices a pretty yellow dress on display on the wall and she admires it from afar.

During class the next day, Ram-woo is selected to read a poem by poet Hwang Ji-woo out loud in class. He recites,

“You brought news by pushing your bicycle. You’re wiping your forehead. What a shabby Hermes you are. I told you to describe the beauty of this island. But you said the name of the one you love. When I forgot about you after I left the island, you recorded the sound of stars using a mic. Did you want the stars to hear your beating heart?

Your list of beautiful things on this island. Your father’s ocean of sorrow is the last on the list. We see it with a wide shot and long take. Until the end credits finished rolling, I was sitting on the chair with my head down.

Certain remorse makes me wonder if I’m a perpetrator, too. After I left the cinema, I kept walking aimlessly. Whistling the loneliest tune in the world, the train that left Sinchon Station headed to Munsan. I wanted to stand on a beach for a long time, too.”

Hee-wan wanders outside late at night with the pretty yellow dress she bought from the store in hopes of seeing Ram-woo. But when he doesn’t come around and her dress gets dirty, she heads back home to clean her dress. Thankfully, the opportunity to meet Ram-woo shows up when her younger sister, Hee-joo, is interested in buying some snacks from someone in the neighborhood. Hee-wan rushes to get ready. She puts on some makeup and looks through her drawer to find her hair dryer. She’s in such a hurry that one of the drawers ends up falling down on one of her toes. Even though she’s in pain, Hee-wan is still determined to meet Ram-woo.

So eventually, the time arrives and Hee-wan meets with the seller of the snacks.. except it’s not Ram-woo. It’s a random guy. Just when Hee-wan loses hope, she hears a familiar voice call her name and sure enough, it’s actually Ram-woo this time! Hee-wan’s face lights up at the sight of Ram-woo but all Ram-woo can notice is Hee-wan’s bleeding toe. Yes, her toe is bleeding and it hurts but all she can focus on is Ram-woo. She’s happy and relieved to see him (this scene was soooo cute!).

Back in the present, Ram-woo enters Hee-wan’s dark and isolated apartment. He opens up the windows to let some fresh air and light in. It’s been four years since they last saw each other so there’s plenty to catch up on. Ram-woo pretends to play it off; he pretends to be happy and upbeat. But Hee-wan isn’t buying it. She’s not so sure what to say or how to react. Yes, they do have a lot to catch up on but that’s only because Ram-woo died four years ago. How is it that they’re interacting and talking to each other when he had died? What should she say to him?

My Thoughts:

I had briefly heard about this drama before it aired and I remembered seeing posts about the teasers and trailers. However, I never really planned on watching it. Then one day, I thought I would give it a try given that I like both Kim Min-ha and Gong Myung and needed something to watch. It didn’t take long for me to enjoy this first episode and by the time I finished watching it, I was so enamored and pleasantly surprised by how good it was. It was so much fun. The comedy and humor was great. The high school era was so funny. The relationship between Hee-wan and Ram-woo was heart-fluttering and adorable. There were many great things to enjoy about this episode. It was a nice introduction to our characters, their stories, and the setting in which the drama would take place. The switch between the present with grim reaper Ram-woo and then the flashbacks to the high school era was also interesting. Clearly, things were much happier and better back then. It’s clear that Ram-woo’s death hit Hee-wan hard. She got triggered when she heard the sound of sirens because it reminded her of his death. She was depressed and heartbroken. She hasn’t been able to move forward in her life and process his passing. His death impacted her severely so his sudden appearance in the present shook her whole world and surprised her. Why did he come back to see her? What was the reason for his visit?

I’ve seen Kim Min-ha in “Light Shop” but it was so nice to see her in this drama portray a character who was much funnier and sillier. She was soooo sooo good as high school Hee-wan (pretending to be Ram-woo) and she has great comedic timing. She was good at showcasing the dark and depressing Hee-wan but she was charming at portraying the silly and adventurous and goofy Hee-wan. I’m so glad she was able to show off her acting chops by balancing both sides to her character. The same thing could be said for Gong Myung who was so good at being the shy, awkward, and reserved Ram-woo. His sense of humor was so funny and he made me literally laugh out loud a couple of times in this episode. Whether it was when he was defending himself after seeing what item Hee-wan had purchased from his mom to him reflecting on how his life has changed since April Fool’s Day, Ram-woo was so funny unintentionally. That’s what made him great and likable and funny. He and Hee-wan were complete opposites but that’s also what made their dynamic fun. It made you look forward to their relationship. Even though it may not have seemed like much, even the little “thank you” that Ram-woo mentioned to Hee-wan at her dad’s restaurant was heart-fluttering and impactful. It was one of their more serious and genuine interactions and illustrated how they felt about each other. Ram-woo was sincerely thankful for Hee-wan and this was probably the moment when Hee-wan began to develop a crush on Ram-woo. It was a moment that neither of them expected to be in and yet because it was so unexpected it was also beautiful, warm, and heartfelt. I myself was shocked at how beautiful this brief moment between them was and was moved by it myself. A simple thank you can go such a long way.

There’s only six episodes to this drama and each episode is pretty short and sweet at 45 minutes so I may not have the longest commentary section (or there may be some recaps where I don’t post any comments at all). Regardless, I’m recapping this drama in the first place and rewatching it again because I enjoyed the entire show so much the first time around. I knew I needed to revisit it so that I could fully digest everything that the drama had to offer. It was a drama that I could empathize with and relate to as it dealt with grief and loss of a loved one; it was a drama that handled this sensitive topic carefully by showcasing Ram-woo and Hee-wan’s beautiful and delicate relationship. “Way Back Love” wasn’t perfect but it was so good and I’m glad I’m watching this drama again so soon. I usually am not the type to rewatch dramas and if I do, I wait a while until I come back around to it. But it’s only been a few weeks and I’m already back. There were details and messages that I wanted to come back to and there were things in “Way Back Love” that I may have missed the first time around. I’m so glad to be back and I look forward to revisiting the rest of this drama again.