Who do we think saved Jin-joo at the end of episode 7? Was it Nam-gil aka ROTC? Was it Ban-do? Or was it someone else entirely? Perhaps we’ll be surprised…
Live recap starts at 23:00 Seoul time!
Countdown: Done.
LIVE RECAP
OPENING
2017
Bang-do is walking down the street and talking about their sunbae to someone. They think maybe he wants to sell some insurance policy. He said he is almost there and will talk to them later. His sunbae is there and is all depressed looking. BD says hi to him.
Flashback, Friend – if someone contacts you all of a sudden it means they want to sell you something, insurance policy or network marketing.
1999
The friends are all together and they are extra’s and staff members of a drama set.
VO – we didn’t have anything so we had nothing to lose. Our only weapon was our sparkling eyes and our will to work. But now…
YOUR ONLY WEAPON TO CONFRONT THE WORLD
1999
Everyone is talking about the doctor guy and what happened. Two guys basically said the doctor will get his revenge on that girl because that is the type of guy he is. ROTC heard it! He turned and now he is concerned.
We are back at the scary scene at the end of yesterdays episode. BD is calling JJ and JJ is calling BD and running from that guy. The scene is intense and now the bad guy runs at her and she turns and yells. BD gets a phone call, but she dropped her phone.
The doctor is saying that JJ destroyed his life and she tells him to go away. He tells her to scream. BD is running to catch up with her. Bad dude is still yelling and saying how hard it was to stick next to that ugly girl. He says he can hit women even if he goes to jail. He pulls his hand back and ROTC punches him HARD! He sent him rolling down the hill.
ROTC – Why will you go to jail, I will send you to Heaven.
BAN-DO ON THE STREET
Bando is looking at a girl on a bench. Ah, maybe the ballerina called him? She is sad and it looks like maybe she really did leave home. Did she run away?
BACK TO THE INTENSE SCENE
ROTC keeps telling the guy to keep charging if he wants to go to jail and he keeps punching him down. ROTC is so serious and manly in this scene. JJ said the bad doctor wastes his young life sticking next to this woman. She was trying to save him.
JJ – Don’t live your life like that, harassing weak women. I’m afraid my kid will become like that…
JJ walks away and ROTC stays staring at that guy. Then JJ turns and wants ROTC to walk with her. They walk away together.
WALKING
JJ tells ROTC that she was really scared and she was happy that he was there. They say they talk well and that she had to make sure so he wouldn’t come for JJ again. She wonders why he was walking around there and he just says just because. She asks if he really likes her and he says he told her that he likes her. She said he told her he doesn’t like her and he said that it was after that…slowly. JJ says that men in their 20s like older women. He is all confused and says he likes her (not someone older). She said that she looks pretty now but she is a mom in that body.
ROTC – Do you have some mom ghost in you?
JJ – No, just, not me, but you can make your dream like the star teacher of Korea
ROTC – how do you know my dream?
JJ – I can look at your face and tell, you have star teacher written on you. Bye!
ROTC – How do you know my dream?…How did she know
JJ’s appa is walking up and sees them.
BALLERINA AND BANDO
BD is basically telling her that she shouldn’t have run away. He told her that as a joke and he talks to himself that he can’t joke in front of kids. She gets a call and he tells her to answer it because her parents are worried, but she doesn’t want to. Then it looks like she wants to stay at a hotel.
Cut to him pulling her home. He tells her that she doesn’t know how scary the world is.She shouldn’t be doing these things. He tells her that her parents will worry about her. Someone yells her name and runs up to her. it is the ballerina’s father. He looks very concerned. BD walks up to him and wants to shake his hand but then he bows respectfully. The appa thinks she is going to live with BD. He wants to know if she ate and BD said he fed her. Appa wants the ballerina to come home, but she says that she wants to leave. She wants to be on stage but sometimes she doesn’t want to be on stage. Why doesn’t he care about her feelings? Appa said okay, let’s go home and talk about it. He takes her bag from Bando and looks at BD like he is a bad guy. Appa turns and his back is all sweaty like he has been running around looking for her all night.
She turns to BD but then she goes after her dad after all.
BD – Aigo, it is a problem to grow up that much. How old is he, he doesn’t look that much older than me.
BUFF FRIEND AND FEMINIST FRIEND AND HER BROTHERS
Comedic relief in the extreme! The brothers are basically intimidating the sh*t out of the buff friend. They are all eating ice cream on the container and tell him to just eat it. They interrogate the friend and the feminist tells them to stop scaring him and to just go home.
Cut to the two lovebirds walking alone. She gives her his cell phone and tells her to press zero. it is his phone number. She says the numbers start at zero, not one. She likes him so much that he is #0. He is super happy to be zero, lol. She said she likes easy people because it is easy to read their emotions and know what they mean. That is why she likes him because he is easy to read. She said she thinks more than 10 times before kissing him, it is hard for her to kiss him as well! He kisses her cheek.
They are basically giddy happy and there is a lot of kissing in this scene.
JIN JOO’S HOUSE
Mom, aren’t you going home? Jin Ju is pretty numb and just staring off somewhere. The cactus is on her desk. Mom leaves.
Mom tells sister and appa that JJ is strange and the sister says that she is always strange. Appa has something to say and he says that what does she think is JJ marries someone who is super rich and from a crazy rich family. He doesn’t want JJ to be…They keep talking about how life will be difficult in a rich family. Mom says that stingy people are more difficult
Cut to bando’s father who is super stingy and complaining to his wife about wasting water/money by washing the dishes. Her wife yells at him that he is a stingy guy! Stingy! BD tells her that appa works hard and omma shouldn’t tell him that he is stingy. Some people don’t want to make money at all. Then he tells appa something and appa hits him on the head hard. Now BD and appa are yelling at each other, lol. Appa tells BD to just go out and make little money.
JJ’S HOME
Mom says that JJ can’t trick her, who is Suljin-e. JJ is crying saying Sul-jin-e while she cries and repeats his name over and over again. Mom thought she was dumped by this guy she likes, so who is Suljin-e, how much does she love him? Tell me. Jj tells her that they should go to a public bath and JJ will clean her back.
NICE FRIEND WITH GLASSES
She is about to go into someone’s classroom or office. She is hesitant and then she goes in. It looks like she might be leaving school for a while.
BALLERINA AND BANDO AT SCHOOL
It looks like the ballerina’s family is going easier on her. They said she doesn’t have to work so hard and go to all the competitions. BD talks like an ajussi and waxes poetic about parents love on their children. She tells him that he is just like an ajushi.
Ballerina – I thought you liked me, but I felt something strange, like a father, then I talked to my father and I saw you in my father’s eye.
BD – What are you talking about
B – When you love, you have some love in your eyes, but your gaze is similar to my dads and you talk similar
BD – Because you make us worry
B – If you really like me then you are regretting that you sent me home
BD – Get real (laughing)
CLASSROOM
The sunbae from the opening scene is showing off to the kids in the classroom. But bando knows that this sunbae is not successful in the future. BD wants to know what is going on and his friends tell him that it is the construction department. Then they talk about their friend looking at the cell phone.
Teacher – Read it after 20 years (like what they want to be)
Sunbae – I want to be a super architect!
FUTURE 2017 – Sunbae – I am begging you to buy this, it is a good policy
1999 – The friend is so sparkly in the past, but he is very run down in the future. A survey is passed around the clasroom about what everyone wants to be in the future. Bando reads it and realizes that he didn’t achieve any of his dreams. Then he looks at his sunbae.
PUBLIC BATH
Umma tells JJ that she should dry her hair and starts to dry it. JJ is super happy that her mom is drying her hair. Someone tells them that they have a good relationship. They realize that their daughters both go to Hangook university. The stranger said her daughter studied hard and got a scholarship and they talk about those things. Ah, it looks like the stranger is the janitor. They leave happily.
JJ and Umma talk outside and Umma wonders why JJ wants to go to the public bath with her when she never wanted to and JJ says she just wanted to clean her back. A cute baby and mom walk up and they start to talk to the mom and all that cute stuff. The Mom loves talking to the baby and tells JJ that she was the cutest at that age with huge baby cheeks. JJ looks at her with starry eyes. JJ tells her that is she saw her son she would like it so much. The mom says she has to get married first and if the kid looks like her then he will be super cute. JJ starts to tear up again.
Flashforward to when JJ’s baby was born. Everyone is there and telling her that the baby boy looks like JJ and that Jj worked hard and that having a baby is very difficult; good job. They keep gushing about how cute the baby is and how it looks like BD. Ah, it looks like no one came from her family? JJ cries by herself as she looks t a photo of her mom and keeps saying Umma, umma, umma.
Back to 1999 and JJ is tearing and hugs her mom. She says her mom did a good job giving birth to her. Mom is like, what is going one And JJ tells her that she did a good job.
SCHOOL
The friend quit school. BD talks about how this happened now. The hair friend runs past and says that he has to make money because his father’s wallet is shredded.
Cut to drinks between the friends. They talk about how Sul-hee is gone and maybe she has her reasons. BD tells them that she is not coming back. The friend says maybe she will come back next semester and BD says she is not coming back very matter-of-factly. The friend gets up to hit BD and has to be held back. Jj says if they want to find out what happened then they need to find out now.
Cut to BD and JJ walking and talking about their friends. They talk about how the feminist friend just dumps BD’s friend all of a sudden and very coldly. They wonder why the reason was. They said it could be money or something. Then they talk about Sulhee, BD wants JJ to search for her. JJ says he didn’t want to search for her back then and BD says he wants her to search for her now. He says that JJ kept Sulhees letter for all those years and she should find her.
The conversation changes to what happened yesterday and if JJ got home safely. JJ is kind of mad at BD for not picking up the phone. SHe wants to tell him what happened but is thinking about not telling him. She tells him that he is never there when she needs him the most and then she turns to go home.
Flashforward to her crying and telling BD to come home…come home on the phone. Then at the hospital, she tells him that because of him she couldn’t see her mom when her mom died. Or that her mom couldn’t see her when she was about to die or something like that.
BD sees JJ’s mom and is staring at her. The mom says that BD is the student that helped her and BD says, that is right. Mom thinks to when JJ said if BD helps her again to kick him. Mom then asks BD if his name is Suljin-e? She says thank you for the help that time but I don’t like anyone who makes my daughter cry. She cries every night so I thought he was a super guy. He tells her that his name is Chae Ban-do. She says it isn’t Suljin? he says it isn’t.
HAIR FRIEND
He is sneaking in to wear his dad works or something and he is also avoiding his dad. Looks like he is trying to steal some money from the register in order to buy a new wallet. But of course, his Dad sees him and chases him around the restaurant with scissors. lol.
He locks himself in a closet and OMG Sulhee is there! She is making something in the closet and is on her knees. Oh, it looks like she is washing something. She says she will leave and he pulls her back. He tells her not to leave because if she opens the door then he will kill him! Suhee is shocked and the friend says that has a hostage and all sorts of ridiculousness. he is trying to barter with his dad, but it doesn’t work.
Sulhee tells the friend that she is stopping school. She doesn’t like her major and she just wants to make money. She wants to work now and make more money. The friend says that world isn’t that way, working earlier doesn’t mean you will make more money.
*chainsaw noise*
Wow, the dad is hardcore and pulls the friend out by the ear
VO says that Sulhee is having a hard financial trouble which is why she quit school.
AT SCHOOL OUTSIDE
The friends said that they never knew she would leave school. All the friends come together and the hair friend says he saw Sulhee in Busan, his home. JJ says that Sulhee’s mom called the police and filed a missing report.
All the friends go to Busan and confront Sulhee. They said she should have told them! Is she okay?
SH – Because of IMF bankruptcy my father is also bankrupt and I shouldn’t go to work because my family is living paycheck to paycheck. I thought that whenever I buy a textbook it is like my mother’s complete salary for one job. I never felt comfortable but how can I tell you? I didn’t want to make you unhappy and I was happy with you guys. Because my parents are working hard day and night, I couldn’ study like that.
JJ – that is life, parents should work hard and kids should study. Parents won’t be happy if you don’t study. Why does a little person like you become an adult so quickly?
SH – My mom cleans more than 20 homes. She can’t even sleep because of her ankle.
(Umma shows up)
SH Umma – I do it to make my kids study! If we don’t have money can I be a parent to my kids! We failed in the business, but we didn’t fail in our life! I and your dad can stand up again and again, you are a little kid so you just study!
SH says she is sorry and hugs her mom. The hair friend is crying in the background.
FRIENDS WALKING ALONE
JJ says she feels so much better. Her friend says that she knew calling the mom would be great? How did she know that? JJ says she just knew. Then JJ sees a woman who looks just like her from the first episode. The woman was happy walking with her baby in front of the college, but then gets self-conscious and hides her clothes. Jj watches her.
BANDO AND UMMA
Umma has a lot of peaches because JJ likes peaches a lot. But in 2017 BD never knew that JJ likes peaches because they buy pears only.
JJ OFF THE BUS
JJ gets off the bus and sees a poster of dinosaurs. It reminds her of her son and we flashforward to her playing with her son as they play with dinosaurs and watch Pinkfong on tv with dinosaurs. back in 1999 and JJ is crying as she looks at this poster of dinosaurs.
BD is running on the Han River somewhere and thinking about what Umma said to BD about JJ crying every night because of someone names Suljin. BD has a flashback of all their good times with Suljin-e. he runs all the way to her house and he sees JJ walking up. JJ is still crying and doesn’t see BD. He wants to go to her but he is frozen in place. he puts out his hand and then puts it down and looks down. His eyes are tearing up. The song says “I will be next to you and protect you all the time.” he drinks soju by himself.
MORNING 2017
BD wakes up and there is a lot of kid stuff in his room. JJ calls for him to come out. he comes out and looks at the kitchen and she is cooking and looking run down. He walks back to her and hugs her right away. She is a little shocked.
EPILOGUE
Sunbae – Thank you so much.
BD – It is okay, I wanted to get an insurance policy. I will enjoy the meal
Sunbae – DO you talk to school people
BD – You are the class chief, if you tell all the kids they will get one
Sunbae – I don’t contact the kids because I was showing off so much at school so I couldn’t just tell them
BD – Everyone has dreams in college
Sunbae – That is true, I have kids so I can do anything (smiles)
They show their kids pictures to each other.
VO – When we are older, we have a bigger weapon to stand against the world.
At the birth of their baby…
BD – I am Appa, Appa
JJ – Aigo, our beautiful kid, we did a good job, we should protect him forever
BD – Appa will protect you forever
They hug and the baby is a super cute baby and smiles.
Fade Out
*UPDATES*
PREVIEW
*Thank you @Oly40 on Soompi!*
BD: If you become this young again, what would you like to do the most?
Spontaneous trip?
ROTC Mom: If that family wants any of my son’s money, I will….
BD dad: Honey, my favorite ride Bong-Bong is gone!
BD: It is sea!
JJ: Oh, they are so young..
Cheer leader: Jinju, What are you doing? Jump in.
Cheer leader: Is that Nam-gil sunbae?
BD: What is that dud doing here? It is too much of a coincidence…
Screen Captures
Photos courtesy of Kasmic and supergal99 in the Soompi forums!
More screen captures
PREVIOUS RECAPS
Go Back Couple Live Recap Episode 7
Go Back Couple Live Recap Episode 6
Go Back Couple Live Recap Episode 5
Go Back Couple Live Recap Episode 4
Go Back Couple Live Recap Episode 3
Okay, ran through and did a quick edit! If anyone gets word of the preview then let me know and I’ll post it in the updates at the bottom of the post!
Nice cover photo. 🙂
Thank you :-). I wanted to give him a little more shine 😉
Thank you for the live recap, V!
You bet Madre!
Thanks so much for the live recaps of this gem! I love it more and more. Could not have asked for a better halfway point. The story could have seemed typical, but I love the way it’s being told, especially in recent eps. So many great lessons conveyed here.
This episode had me teary throughout! I have a feeling the ending is Ban-do’s dream? Because now he wants to not only go back to the future and to Seo-jin, he’s beginning to want to try again in their marriage. It seems too surreal to be real yet though. I think he still needs to guide the future back in that direction.
Yes! I completely agree with everything you said. It does look like the future flash is more of a dream of some sort? I do want him to guide the future back in that direction and to make amends with Jin Ju somehow. I think he really needs to be there for her when she really needs it. Maybe he will get his chance to do that!
oh this episode. so sad ???
Right! We really need those comic scenes with the friends to kind of lighten the mood or it will just be tears all around. I love how they figured out the friends disappearance quickly and that she wasn’t kidnapped or anything like that. I love how practical her disappearance was and how grounded everything is in this drama.