As our girls reunite following the time skip, they are leading different lives. But their bond remains unchanged. And so does the love triangle entangling them with our male lead.
Will our girls retain their friendship despite the obstacles? Or will that prove too hard?
Bunny S. watches A Hundred Memories on Viki
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 & 04 | 05 & 06 | 07 & 08 |
A Hundred Memories Episodes 7 and 8 Highlights
“If you don’t bring a date, they say you have to pay a fine.”
As expected, the boyfriend thing was a red herring. Young-rye and Jae-pil are just close friends, though they give off couple vibes. Catching up on the changes after the time skip, Jae-pil graduated from medical school and is now an intern. Sadly, Jae-pil’s family went bankrupt, and his father collapsed and was admitted to the hospital since then. To provide for the family, Jae-pil’s stepmother is doing door-to-door sales. And they are barely getting by.
Young-rye’s family is doing much better than before, running a diner and living in a new house along with Young-rye. Young-sik graduated from law school and is training to become a judge. His feelings for Jong-hee are still the same, and he yearns to see her again. We already know that Young-rye works at a beauty salon. Yet she hasn’t given up on her dream of attending college and still studies to earn her GED.
Jong-hee is still gone, and there is no intel about her whereabouts. Young-rye thinks about her from time to time. Not that she forgot about her. And we can see Young-rye isn’t over Jae-pil despite firmly denying it whenever someone comments about them looking good together.
Things happen, and Jae-pil gets invited to the medical students’ night, where one has to bring a date or else pay a fine. He gets quite jealous when his colleague mentions going with Young-rye. And though he can pay the fine and get it over with, Jae-pil asks Young-rye to be his date that night.
Young-rye tries not to read much into it. But Jae-pil’s “I am only asking because it is you” makes her heart flutter. Dolled up, Young-rye gets Jae-pil fascinated with her beauty. But their night is cut short after Young-rye sprains her ankle while following someone who looks like Jong-hee but apparently isn’t.
Young-rye claims she is fine, but Jae-pil insists on taking her home and gives her a piggyback ride. Young-rye is about to seize the chance and confess to Jae-pil when they are greeted by Hyeon, who has just arrived in Korea after studying abroad. Needless to say, Hyeon is jealous to see Young-rye on Jae-pil’s back. The two men engage in a drinking battle and end up wasted.
“Most things in life happen for a reason. But sometimes, it is better not to know what it is.”
Meanwhile, a VVIP appointment has everyone at the beauty salon on their toes. Apparently, a chaebol chairwoman and her daughter are coming by. The catch: the chaebol daughter is none other than Jong-hee.
Thankfully, the drama doesn’t leave us hanging and rewinds to that fateful night from seven years ago. Back then, Jong-hee had nowhere to go. But luckily, she ran into Young-sik, who helped her get on a bus to Seoul. Bidding her goodbye, Young-sik gave Jong-hee his jacket and all the money he had. He didn’t pressure her or ask about anything, only wishing her well.
Working as a housekeeping staff member in a hotel, Jong-hee came across a depressed client who wanted to end her life after losing her only daughter. Luckily, Jong-hee persuaded the client not to jump off at the last moment. The client (who we now know as the chairwoman) grew fond of Jong-hee and suggested she become her adopted daughter. Living as a chaebol daughter sounds like a dream life. Yet Jong-hee is a replacement who must do as told, which includes not mentioning the old days and cutting off ties with the people from the past.
“I have got you now, and I am not letting go, okay?”
Back to the present, our girls are taken aback to run into each other like this. But Jong-hee acts lukewarm, so the chairwoman won’t catch on. Still, she chooses Young-rye over the head stylist to do her hair after an unintentional mistake from the latter triggers her PTSD. (Jong-hee is sensitive to pointy things. So, she got scared when a pair of scissors was dropped on her.)
Seizing the chance that the chairwoman is away for the night, Jong-hee has Young-rye come over. They catch up and fill each other in on what happened during their time apart and how everyone is doing now. Jong-hee attends college to earn a degree in equestrian arts, and she is surprised to hear that Jae-pil became a doctor.
Before Young-rye, Jong-hee can be her true self, the same bubbly and fierce spirit from the past. But Young-rye feels a bit tense around Jong-hee. Perhaps it is because they now live in different worlds. Or maybe she is worried she might lose her chance to get together with Jae-pil now that Jong-hee is back. Still, Young-rye suggests Jong-hee meet Jae-pil, but Jong-hee argues it won’t be a good idea since she dumped him in the past.
Parting ways, Jong-hee gives Young-rye the diary where she used to write whenever she missed Young-rye. Now that they have met again, Jong-hee no longer needs it. As Young-rye goes through the diary, tears well up in her eyes. In flashbacks, we see Young-rye digging into the bus company’s financial reports. Thus, realizing that the personnel manager had been embezzling money for a decade, and framing the poor bus conductors for it. Using it as leverage, Young-rye threatens him into silence. And that is how this matter was permanently closed.
“I always told myself that I had to see you again someday.”
The next day, Jong-hee sneaks out and drops by Young-rye’s mother’s diner. Everyone is excited to see her again, especially Young-sik, who rushes over after learning she is there.
Giving in to her feelings, Jong-hee goes to see Jae-pil. But she leaves after spotting him from afar, looking cozy together with Young-rye. They soon run into each other, though, when Jong-hee falls off the horse, and Jae-pil is her doctor. Regaining consciousness, she gets triggered by the injection needle and takes off abruptly. So, Jae-pil tries to stop her. Wrapping up this week, Young-rye arrives at the hospital too. And it is as chaotic as it gets.
A Hundred Memories Episodes 7 and 8 Musings
Now that Jae-pil is aware that Jong-hee is back, things are bound to get complicated. Anyone can tell Young-rye is more than a friend to him, and Jae-pil said as much. But with Jong-hee in the picture, he might waver. The girls’ reunion scene was a highlight with the hug and all. But now we are getting worried that their friendship might be ruined.
The look on Jong-hee’s face while watching Young-rye and Jae-pil screamed jealousy. And Young-rye kept it from Jae-pil that she met Jong-hee. Okay, she tried to tell him, but got interrupted. Yet she still hesitated. Can’t we put an end to this annoying love triangle no one asked for and focus on the heart of the drama, our girls’ friendship?
Photos and Videos: JTBC Drama
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