In another reunited-lovers story this year, we have a couple who dated and broke up twice in both their early and late twenties. And now they cross paths once again, a decade later.
The circumstances during their third meeting aren’t so favorable, though, with our heroine going through a messy divorce and our male lead being the one revealing her husband’s affair to the public.
Will the third time prove the charm? Or is it already too late to rekindle their romance?
Bunny S. watches Surely Tomorrow on Prime Video
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02| 03 & 04 | 05 & 06 |
Opening Week Ratings:
Surely Tomorrow Opening Week Story
“Why did she have to marry a jerk like him of all people?”
The drama opens in the present day as our male lead, Entertainment Journalist Lee Gyeong-do (Park Seo-jun), works all night on an article about an affair scandal between a top actress and a rich family’s son. Still, for some reason, he hesitates to click Submit and hovers the cursor over it.
In the morning, the article is published, and people rave about the scandal, especially since the actress is also suspected of doing drugs. Then, the wife’s identity goes public, none other than our heroine, Seo Ji-woo (Won Ji-an), a chaebol heiress and Gyeong-do’s twice-ex-girlfriend, which explains the hesitation.
In his defense, Gyeong-do felt bad and tried to pass the article to another department, but it had to be him. Claiming it is only humanism, he keeps worrying about Ji-woo all day, but Gyeong-do can’t muster up the courage to contact her first and turns off his phone after hearing she wants to talk to him.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
After ignoring her calls and texts all day, Gyeong-do gets off work to see Ji-woo waiting for him outside. He assumes she is there to fight, but Ji-woo is surprisingly calm and even thanks him for helping her escape that toxic man. She has been filing for divorce nonstop and finally got to end it all thanks to Gyeong-do.
It was an arranged marriage, and her husband and in-laws looked down on her for having mental conditions, claiming she should be grateful that they accepted her. Seriously! They blamed her for not getting pregnant and spread a rumor that she was sterile. Ji-woo wasn’t surprised to hear about the affair, but she felt humiliated that her husband didn’t even try to hide it. She sounds untroubled, or more precisely, pretends to be, but Gyeong-do feels awful that she had to go through all that and even swears at her husband.
Having thanked him, Ji-woo asks Gyeong-do for a favor: writing an article about her divorce that makes her look cool, emphasizing that she has been asking for a divorce for a long time. But Gyeong-do flat-out refuses, arguing they will next meet when one of them dies, and then he takes off, leaving her behind.
“Let’s face it. You look old.”
Going back in time to 2007, when our leads first met, Ji-woo was on campus to see a friend during a break from her studies abroad, and came across Gyeong-do, a freshman majoring in journalism and broadcasting. The moment they meet, she teases him about looking old for his age, but she also praises his looks. And then, they go drinking at her suggestion. Ji-woo is instantly attracted to Gyeong-do. And though he is a bit offended by how she calls him old, Gyeong-do’s interest is piqued.
The next day, Ji-woo drops by to see Gyeong-do. They agree to meet after he finishes class, or so she asserts. But a call from her suffocating mother has Ji-woo chicken out. Still, Gyeong-do approaches her first, and by the end of the night, they have exchanged numbers. It is mostly Ji-woo taking the lead in their relationship. And from the little we got on her, it seems Gyeong-do was the first thing Ji-woo chose by herself and wasn’t forced on her, unlike studying abroad.
“If I said I would wait for you, would you come?”
Our leads start dating happily, but soon after, Ji-woo’s mother pressures her again about taking a leave of absence shortly after enrolling in her school. Ji-woo argues she isn’t interested in Western arts history and wants to take the college entrance exam and attend school in Korea. But her words fall on deaf ears, and her mother even taunts her for having depression, even though that suffocating woman must be the root cause behind it.
Hearing that her parents are going on a 4-week trip abroad, Ji-woo jumps at the chance and joins Gyeong-do and his acting club friends as the club manager. She also stays at the other female member’s place, where the rest of the group usually crash. They practise “Waiting for Godot.” But sadly, Ji-woo isn’t there when they perform the play, probably because her mother sent her abroad. And Gyeong-do messes up his lines and sobs about missing Ji-woo, so they have to close the curtains and refund the tickets.
“How can Se-yeong bring a stranger to my house without notice?”
Back to the present, one month later, Ji-woo’s divorce was made public by another company, not Gyeong-do’s, and a picture of him meeting Ji-woo went viral. Originally, Ji-woo planned to go to England after the divorce. And now Gyeong-do is being sent to Chicago for training in the aftermath.
To sort out this mess, an old friend (the female club member) suggests posting a photo of their friends’ group and claiming it was a meeting between old friends. But Ji-woo retorts that Gyeong-do offended her during their last meeting. Enlisting the old friend’s help, Ji-woo shows up at Gyeong-do’s house unannounced. Thus, taking him aback.
After some arguing, reminiscing, and more arguing, our leads join hands to clean this mess. The acting club squad reunites, and the other two guys are happy to see Ji-woo again after all those years. After teasing Gyeong-do about ruining their performance, the five of them take a group photo and then part ways.
Seeing her off, Gyeong-do tells Ji-woo to take care of herself, and she expresses concern for dragging him into this mess. But he plays it cool, as if he were unaffected by her sudden departure or reappearance in his life. But if so, why sneak peeks at Ji-woo? Just admit to it already: you are still in love, Gyeong-do, especially since you still cherish the t-shirt Ji-woo got you in college, even if it is stretched out.
“If you don’t want to talk about old love, can you do it for your friendship?”
Shockingly, it was Ji-woo’s elder sister, Seo Ji-yeon (Lee EI), who leaked the photo of Ji-woo and Gyeong-do to the public. But she did it to tie Ji-woo down and stop her from leaving.
Having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Ji-yeon is worried about how her sister will fare since she is the only one Ji-woo has. If her illness worsens, Ji-yeon’s husband will try to sell the company and pocket the proceeds, leaving Ji-woo with nothing. So, Ji-yeon wants Ji-woo to take over the company while she is still healthy. And to do so, she needs Gyeong-do’s help.
After sleeping on it all night, Gyeong-do heads to the airport the next day and stops Ji-woo from checking in by snatching her luggage. But she calls the security team on him, and the premiere week concludes.
Surely Tomorrow Opening Week Musings
The premiere shows potential, but it hasn’t fully pulled us in just yet. We’re hoping that as we spend more time with our leads—and peel back the layers of their shared history—the story will naturally grow more compelling. After all, we still have their second dating phase and that breakup to uncover.
At 20, Ji-woo was vibrant and full of sunshine. Years of a toxic marriage, however, have drained the spark from her. Still, it’s refreshing to see her slowly relax around Gyeong-do when they unexpectedly cross paths; their playful bickering is an easy highlight. Meanwhile, college-era Gyeong-do was wide-eyed and idealistic, convinced the world belonged to him. But Ji-woo’s disappearance hit him hard. She would’ve stayed with him forever if she could—if not for that suffocating woman who continues to wreak havoc on her life to this day.
Overall, it’s a solid beginning. But the blurry, hazy editing in the 2007 scenes definitely pulled us out of the experience, and we’re hoping that gets cleaned up quickly. And honestly, instead of diving into a corporate showdown between Ji-woo and Ji-yeon’s husband, we’d much rather see the drama center on our main couple and their circle of friends. This is a romance series—so let’s keep the chaebol succession plots on the sidelines where they belong.
Photos and Videos: JTBC Drama