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The day that Hee-wan had been dreading for arrives. Even though she only got to spend one week with Ram-woo, she learned so much in the process. She has so much to be thankful for, so many memories and experiences to process, and one person she will remember forever. Because she is Ram-woo and Ram-woo is her. They will always be in each other’s lives.

Note: I just want to thank everyone who joined me in my recaps for this drama! It was quite an interesting and unusual posting schedule since I took a bit of a longer break after recapping episode 1 (which I usually don’t do). Life and work ended up getting in the way for a bit so I didn’t have as much time to recap the drama right away but, alas, we are here! I appreciated and loved this drama for how it utilized and expanded on the switching names concept. It was done in a way that felt refreshing and bittersweet. Loss, death, grief, and mourning is never easy but “Way Back Love” conveyed these themes in a way that was sincere, emotional, and genuine. I hope you enjoyed this drama and my recaps and until next time, please stay safe!

Way Back Love: Episode 6 & Final Recap

Ram-woo and Hee-wan spend the entire night together, enjoying the beautiful stars while sitting on a bench outside. When the sunrise hits, Hee-wan points out how all the stars have disappeared but Ram-woo jokes around that there are still stars in the sky. She just can’t see them. So he covers her eyes with his hands and asks for her to imagine a sky full of stars. They then transition to talking about Hee-wan’s bucket list that she came up with the day before on the bus ride. With just one more day left, she wants to prepare herself and say her goodbyes. So she goes shopping with Ram-woo for a suit for her father. But when she arrives home, she finds both Dad and her younger sister there at home waiting for her with a gift they got her: a brand new laptop. Hee-wan’s thrown aback by the sudden gift and she also exchanges the brand new suit that she got for her dad. While sporting on the suit, Dad practices his saxophone skills in front of his two daughters in hopes that he’ll be able to play at their weddings one day.

After visiting her family, Hee-wan and Ram-woo go off on their own again. This time, they sit outside at a bus stop to discuss what to accomplish next on Hee-wan’s bucket list. Nearby, a stranger drops her passport on the ground so Hee-wan and Ram-woo follow after her to the airport in hopes of finding her. Thankfully, they manage to find the lady to hand her her passport. So unexpectedly, Hee-wan manages to check off one of the items on her bucket list: to do a good deed. Since Ram-woo and Hee-wan are already at the airport, they sit down to observe families and couples bidding farewell to one another. There’s a couple in front of Hee-wan and Ram-woo in particular that stand out. The two proceed to guess what the couple could be saying to each other during their farewell. After making up some fake dialogue, Hee-wan can’t help but wonder what things would have been like between her and Ram-woo if he hadn’t died. Would they be like the couple standing in front of them right now? Or would they have gotten sick of each other and broken up? Or would they have just been a fleeting encounter with each other?

So Hee-wan and Ram-woo agree to check off one more item on her bucket list: go on an ordinary and cliche date. They have some fun at the bookstore as well as outside at a pier. Their date is suddenly interrupted by Yeong-hyun who continues to call Hee-wan. Ever since she had her vision of Hee-wan standing on the edge of the rooftop building, she’s been worried about Hee-wan. Hee-wan reassures Yeong-hyun that she’s fine and they don’t talk on the phone for long. Speaking of Yeong-hyun, Ram-woo is reminded of the time when he had a private talk with her back when they all hung out at the school festival. It didn’t take long for him to figure out that Yeong-hyun could actually see him so they set time aside to chat privately with each other. Yeong-hyun feels bothered with Ram-woo’s presence since she knows he’s the Grim Reaper and Ram-woo hints that there’s a reason why he came to see Hee-wan (AKA he’s arrived to summon her). He then gets distracted by an event poster promoting the school festival and notes how it’d be nice to watch the fireworks at the festival. In the present, Yeong-hyun stops by to visit her friend to gain information on Hee-wan’s home address. But of course, since it’s private information, she’s unsuccessful in gathering any intel on Hee-wan’s whereabouts. She’s also unsuccessful in getting the fireworks to be canceled.

Hee-wan and Ram-woo head to the beach next for their date. While sitting down and admiring the view of the ocean waves, they chat about the night of the meteor shower festival. Although they didn’t get to see it together, Ram-woo was able to see some shooting stars that night at the observatory before he tragically passed away. While talking about that night, Hee-wan shares about the nightmare she gets very often where she sees Ram-woo and chases after him on the night of the meteor shower festival. But when she catches up to the person and turns him around, it’s actually not Ram-woo but a random stranger standing across from her. Since she’s been with Ram-woo for the entire week, Hee-wan hasn’t had the dream. She finds it fascinating. But before they can talk any further, Hee-wan’s bag gets stolen by a thief and the couple chase after him to get her stuff back. Eventually, they manage to retrieve Hee-wan’s belongings and the two laugh it off.

Hee-wan and Ram-woo proceed to spend the rest of the day at the beach. Hee-wan’s curious as to how exactly she died and when Ram-woo doesn’t answer her question, she quickly understands what the cause of her death was. Suicide. Hee-wan assumes Ram-woo must have visited her to stop her from committing suicide. Did he come to save her? If she happens to keep living, what will happen to him? Will they never get to see each other again? Ram-woo reluctantly answers Hee-wan’s question and admits that yes, they’ll indeed never get to see each other again if she was to live. Hee-wan breaks down at the thought of never seeing Ram-woo again. She’s not ready just yet. She still wants to talk to him. She still has so many things she wants to say to him, but Ram-woo reassures her that she’ll be fine. They spent a whole week together so Hee-wan feels like she’s been doing okay but she’s afraid all of that progress will be gone once Ram-woo disappears. Ram-woo reassures Hee-wan that she can do it. And just like that, Ram-woo disappears in front of Hee-wan. He’s gone.

Hee-wan heads back home alone and when she arrives at her place, she breaks down. The place is empty, the place is dark, and Ram-woo’s photo in her high school yearbook has been ripped out. Her nightmare of chasing after Ram-woo on the night of the meteor shower festival resurfaces in her mind and she wakes up from her sleep. She begins to throw away some of her letters and belongings. She pens a suicide note because she can’t imagine a life where she loses Ram-woo once more. Afterwards, Hee-wan walks up to the rooftop of the building and steps onto the edge. Yeong-hyun uses hints from the vision she had of Hee-wan the night before to find Hee-wan and she runs up to the rooftop after seeing her. It’s not until she brings up Ram-woo to Hee-wan that Hee-wan pauses. How exactly does Yeong-hyun know about Ram-woo? Yeong-hyun shares what Ram-woo told her the day they chatted with each other privately at the school festival: he wants to see the fireworks with Hee-wan. If she were to jump and disappear forever, she wouldn’t get to watch the fireworks with him. All of her memories with him, her family, her friends, and everything else would disappear. And just like that, Ram-woo appears once again in front of Hee-wan. He holds her hand as he steps next to her with the fireworks exploding in the background. Hee-wan then steps down to cherish this special moment with Ram-woo and they’re left alone on the rooftop once Yeong-hyun leaves.

Hee-wan lost Ram-woo two times and was not able to save him both times. But Ram-woo reassures her that she’ll never lose him. She won’t be able to see him but he’ll always be there with her. And plus, Hee-wan is Hee-wan but she is also Ram-woo. Saving herself means that she would also be saving him. So she must survive until the very end. Hee-wan and Ram-woo give each other one last embrace before bidding farewell.

Ram-woo proceeds to say his own name three times before disappearing without a trace. He’s gone just like that. When Hee-wan opens her eyes, she finds herself alone on the rooftop. She cries and whispers the words, bye.

Time passes by and Hee-wan continues on with her life. On one particular day, she spends some time hanging out with Yeong-hyun on campus where Yeong-hyun shares a story about what Ram-woo told her. He had asked her to take care of Hee-wan for him once he left. Yeong-hyun kept her promise and continued to look after Hee-wan. Since both of them lost someone who they loved, they can empathize with each other and understand how the other person feels. The hole and void from losing that person never disappears, but you learn to live with it and even embrace it. Yeong-hyun also hands over the polaroid photo that she took of Hee-wan the night of the school festival.

So Hee-wan dedicates a special message to Ram-woo to update him on her life. She shares,

“Kim Ram-woo, who’s called Jeong Hee-wan. Hi, it’s me. How are you doing? You’ve been appearing in my dreams a lot lately. Sometimes I wonder if your visit was all a dream. But every time I do, traces of your presence come to me like gifts. The sand in my shoes, pictures of us together, the scribbles you left in my yearbook. And there’s a gift that came after your visit. I finally got in touch with Tae-kyung. I also have a new habit. These days, I often ask people how they’re doing. Dad says he wants to make it to the top of the amateur saxophone competition. I’m going to learn freediving because Hee-joo insisted. Hong-seok seems to have passed the exam. He’s building his body for a calendar photoshoot as a muscular firefighter next month. And the most important thing is my graduation exhibition but I couldn’t think of what to do at all. And you know what I found? Your handwriting is fascinating no matter how many times I see it. For instance, your “ng” character looks like a flat peach. And I can’t tell if some of your vowels are consonants or not..”

Hee-wan is seen video calling Tae-kyung who now lives in Hawaii. She also spends time with her dad and sister. And lastly, she rushes to her graduation exhibition for her college department. Hee-wan’s dad and sister arrive at the exhibition to congratulate her and then Hee-wan studies her art pieces one more time. She commemorates Ram-woo by dedicating one of the pieces to him: it’s a poem written in his handwriting (she used his handwriting from the letter that he wrote for his mom back in high school). The poem reads,

“The flowers or green leaves won’t come back. There will be new flowers and green leaves. There will be new warm days. Nothing comes back and nothing gets repeated. Because everything is real.”

And just like Ram-woo did to Hee-wan on their last day together when they watched the sunrise, Hee-wan raises her hand to cover her eyes. She imagines that the room is dark for a second and when she opens her eyes again, one of her art pieces transforms into a drawing of her and Ram-woo, outlined by the connection of bright stars.

Hee-wan continues her message to Ram-woo saying,

“But I no longer want to change anything. Because everything really happened to you and me. That would always be true as long as I remember. I’ll remember you. I’ll continue living. Because to us, loving myself means loving you.”

Memories of Hee-wan and Ram-woo from their first interaction in the classroom to their interactions as neighbors to the night of the meteor shower festival flash through Hee-wan’s mind. Even though Ram-woo is no longer with her, she’ll never forget him. Because she will always be Ram-woo and he will always be Hee-wan. The two will forever be intertwined.

My Thoughts:

It was just as emotional re-watching this drama and I’m glad that I watched this drama again. There were quite a few details that I picked up along the way and there were some scenes that I perceived differently on the rewatch.

There was this one particular scene and line in this episode that hit me so hard that the drama didn’t emphasize as much which was the scene at the airport when Hee-wan and Ram-woo were people watching. They were watching the couple who were bidding farewell to one another and Hee-wan asked the question: what would have happened to them had Ram-woo never died? And this one line, this one question, this one statement broke me because of how nonchalant Hee-wan asked it. It was as if she had finally accepted the fact that Ram-woo was dead and she wouldn’t have much time left with him. Hee-wan and Ram-woo didn’t even have time to explore their relationship and pursue anything romantic because time had run out. They were certainly on that path; they were certainly on the way there. They were on the same page with each other about their romantic feelings and were going to become a couple. And maybe that was the hardest part of it all. They didn’t even get to move things to the next level because time had run out. They didn’t even get to see what a romantic relationship would have been like because Ram-woo tragically passed away too soon. It’s that uncertainty that was heartbreaking. It was the “almost there” but not fully confirmed just yet that was devastating. Hee-wan and Ram-woo would never truly know what would have happened to them after the night of the meteor shower festival. That one question was essentially the foundation to this entire drama: what would have happened to Ram-woo and Hee-wan if he had never died?

I enjoyed “Way Back Love” because of the refreshing and creative way that it used the concept of switching names/identities. And I loved the way that it brought things full circle and stayed consistent with this theme until the very end. What initially started off as two high school friends just doing what they thought would be a harmless and fun April’s Fool joke ended up turning into something much more. It was a decision that they wouldn’t regret; it was a decision that changed and impacted their lives forever. I liked that the theme of Hee-wan and Ram-woo switching names with each other extended beyond the walls and boundaries of the school. It continued on to college and even to the afterlife. It was something that had a profound effect on both characters and it was something that Ram-woo and Hee-wan would carry with them forever. It was why Ram-woo noting that Hee-wan saving herself meant that she would also save him was so impactful and well-done. It was why Hee-wan ultimately chose to keep living.  The drama used the concept to illustrate the importance and impact that they had in each other’s lives.

An aspect of Ram-woo’s death that broke my heart was how he died so young. He had a whole life ahead of him. He still had so much to do. He still had so much he wanted to accomplish and achieve in his life. He lost his life way too early. It was heartbreaking to not only explore the what-if’s and unknowns with Ram-woo and Hee-wan’s relationship but also with Ram-woo’s life. What if he hadn’t died? What if he went on to enjoy his life? What would he have done? What career would he have had? Hee-wan lost someone so precious and dear to her way too early. The scene of Ram-woo saying his own name three times to summon himself before disappearing was absolutely heartbreaking (I don’t think I’ll ever get over that scene). We saw him summon other people by saying their names three times only to watch him do it to himself at the end. That moment hurt so freaking bad.

I’m glad that Hee-wan was able to talk about Ram-woo’s death and process the complex emotions and thoughts about the incident with people who were close to Ram-woo. After he died, she had shut herself out from the world; she had shut herself down in her room and put up huge walls to prevent anyone else from coming in. She felt stuck in the past and as if everyone else had moved on too quickly. Even though she was initially reluctant to speak to Hong-seok about Ram-woo, she came out of their interaction with so much more relief and weight lifted off her shoulders. Once she was able to open that door and do what she thought was impossible and thought she could never do, she realized what she was capable of. She took the courage and resiliency from her conversation with Hong-seok and carried it with her on her visit to Ram-woo’s mom. Hee-wan realized that she couldn’t keep holding it all in; she realized that there were things she needed to say to the important people who were in Ram-woo’s life. It was heartwarming to see her finally open up to them and say what was on her mind and then also listen to what they had to say. Hee-wan’s journey with Ram-woo was about learning to forgive herself while letting go of the past which she was eventually able to do.

The other hardest part for Hee-wan was having to deal with survivor’s guilt. There were all the what-if’s and endless possibilities about both Ram-woo and their relationship. The guilt from sending Ram-woo to the observatory instead of herself. The guilt from surviving when she should have been the one who went to the observatory instead of Ram-woo. There was also the process of talking about his death and accepting that it happened. There was the process of not feeling okay and randomly breaking down into tears at every thought of him. It was the process of having the recurring nightmare and not being able to save him no matter how many times she desperately wanted to in her dreams. It was knowing that she lost him two times: once as a human being and again as a grim reaper.

But Hee-wan was able to overcome all of these struggles thanks to Ram-woo who came back to visit her. As much as their time together during that one week was for Hee-wan, Ram-woo also got just as much out of it. They were able to accomplish things on both of their bucket lists. Ram-woo got the opportunity to say his goodbyes. He came to reassure Hee-wan that he was okay, that he never regretted them switching names, and that everything would be fine. He was able to process his own death. He came to keep Hee-wan company, but he too received companionship and comfort from her. The one week wasn’t only for Hee-wan but also for Ram-woo. And even though Ram-woo is gone, Hee-wan would never be alone. She has her family and friends to check in on her and keep her going. Just like Ram-woo noted with the stars, Hee-wan won’t be able to see him but he’ll always be with her. They’ll always have each other.