My Perfect Stranger, AKA Run Into You (Season 1), Episode 15 Recap & Ending, Explained: A lot of loose ends are tied up as the show is now one episode away from coming to an end. Hae Joon finds the culprit, and he will pay the price for his crimes. We see Yoon Young make up with Hee Seop. Hae Joon makes peace with his family. Mi Sook comes through and reveals to Yoon Young who the real culprit was.
This article contains spoilers.
My Perfect Stranger, AKA Run Into You (Season 1), Episode 15 Recap:
“The reason you can’t leave”
The episode begins with a flashback of Yeon Woo stalking Ju Young at the Bong Bong teahouse, killing Kyung Ae and beating Bum Ryung. Yeon Woo hits Hae Joon with his car, and we see a flashback of Hae Joon as a child interacting with his father. We also see the future where Yeon Woo asks his father to move away from Hae Joon’s death site as he will not return. In 1987, Yeon Woo beats Hae Joon and asks him why he had lied about seeing him at the murder scene.
Yoon Young comes home to find Hae Joon and the car missing. Mi Sook visits and tells her that she had dropped by that afternoon to find the culprit. She tells her that Yeon Woo is the culprit and that people tend to miss out on things right under their noses. Yoon Young finds Dong Sik, and they rush to the tunnel. Yeon Woo almost kills Hae Joon. As Hae Jook is lying down, he recalls the time he had seen himself murdered in the future. Dong Sik shoots his hand as Yeon Woo is about to hit Hae Joon in the head.
Dong Sik informs the principal of Yeon Woo’s crimes and he is shocked. He also tells him that Hae Joon is in the hospital, unconscious. The principal visits Hae Joon while Yoon Young and Dong Sik wait outside. Yoon Young expresses her concerns to Dong Sik. She tells him that he had thought that if the culprit was caught, everything would be over, but it seems to her that Hae Joon will have to live with this for the rest of his life. The principal asks how Yeon Woo could be the murderer as he had chauffeured him to and from the airport and had watched all the murder commotion together. Dong Sik tells him that the answer is in Yeon Woo’s passport.
Dong Sik asks Yeon Woo to confess his crimes, but Yeon Woo plays smart. He asks Dong Sik to provide evidence and smirks, saying Dong Sik has no evidence on him and hence he is innocent. He also tells Dong Sik that he knows he has already searched his house and room but has not found anything. Hae Joon wakes up but avoids making eye contact with Yoon Young. He enquires about Yeon Woo, and she updates him that Dong Sik is questioning him. Hae Joon apologizes to Yoon Young, as his father was the reason for the mishaps in her family. Yoon Young consoles him and tells him that it was not his fault as his father tried to hurt him, and no matter who his father is, she will not change how she perceives him.
Dong Sik visits Hae Joon and informs him that there are many suspicious things about Yeon Woo, but they do not have any solid evidence against him, and he knows that as he is extremely relaxed. Hae Joon asks to match his handwriting to the one in the Bong Bong teahouse notes. Dong Sik tells him that he has looked enough but cannot find anything. He enquires about Yeon Woo’s girlfriend, and Hae Joon tells him that she might have already left town.
Yeon Woo’s girlfriend visits the principal, shows him the letters Yeon Woo had written for her, and tells him that he used this handwriting only to communicate with her, but this handwriting matches the ones left by the murder victims. She also tells him that one day, detectives had come to her, showing the note left by the victims, and she recognized it immediately. She tells the principal that Hae Joon will not have proof except these letters as Yeon Woo is smart and would not have made mistakes.
Yoon Young tells Dong Sik that the owner of Bong Bong teahouse was Hae Joon’s mother. She offers to find more information on her from Soon Ae’s father. She asks Soon Ae’s father about Yeon Woo’s girlfriend; he tells her that he had seen her near the general store but cannot remember if she had got on a bus and where she had gone. He asks her to thank Hae Joon for catching the culprit.
Hae Joon remembers his past and recalls a letter he had received from his father when he was a child, and his grandfather reacted rudely. Hae Joon realizes that the principal knew his son was the culprit. Hae Joon visits the principal to find him burning the letters Yeon Woo’s girlfriend had given. He stops and asks him what he is doing, and the principal tells him that he is doing it for his future. Hae Joon tells him what his future will look like if he buries this matter. He takes the letters and walks away.
Yoon Young calls Dong Sik to inform him about what she has found out, but he tells her that Hae Joon has produced enough evidence to close the case. Yoon Young consoles Hae Joon by telling him that his mother was hesitant to leave the town, and she kept fidgeting with baby socks and, with many difficulties, got on a bus. She asks him if she should find out where she has gone. Hae Joon refuses and says he is okay.
The police announce that they have caught the culprit and have found evidence against him. Hae Joon informs Yoon Young that they should leave as the culprit has been caught. Yoon Young is sad, and he tells her that they could leave the next night as she would need time to say goodbye to her family.
Yeon Woo and Hae Joon meet at the station. Yoon Young sees Hee Seop looking at a guitar and offers to buy him one. The shopkeeper assumes they are dating, and they both lose their cool. They fight, and Yoon Young asks him to get the guitar and come out. Hee Seop asks her why she bought the guitar for him, and she tells him that it is a bribe for him to take care of Soon Ae until the end of time. He asks her if she is going somewhere, and she asks him never to break up with Soon Ae and only that way will they meet each other again. Hee Seop is lost.
Hae Joon talks to Yeon Woo and tells him that he always wanted to know why he wanted to kill him, but he cannot find the answer now. We see a flashback of Yeon Woo breaking into Hae Joon’s house and finding information on the murder case. As he rummages through things, he finds the car manual. Hae Joon asks him if he loves his girlfriend and, since he is so smart, how he left the letters out. He knew that his girlfriend could have destroyed him with it, and he had left no traces of evidence at the crime scene. Yeon Woo says he loved her.
Yeon Woo reveals his hurtful past. His mother always read and abandoned him. She had left one day, saying she did not want to be someone’s mother. Yeon Woo tells Hae Joon that he had promised himself that he would never do that to him if he ever had a son. Hae Joon tells him that he ruined his chance of a perfect life and says he is glad his mother left behind a jerk like him. Yeon Woo does not believe Hae Joon is his son, and Hae Joon asks him to spend his time in jail for him and leaves a picture of him as a child on the table before he leaves. Yeon Woo cannot wrap his head around it.
Soon Ae’s family finds Hae Joon and shows their disappointment in him as he had not told them about moving out. Soon Ae cries while saying goodbye, and Yoon Young promises that she will meet her in exactly 34 years. They hug and say goodbye. Hae Joon bids farewell to Soon Ae’s family.
On their way to the tunnel, Yoon Young asks Hae Joon if he is going to bid farewell to his mother and grandfather, and he says he has had enough time with them and is okay. They cross the tunnel but are unsure if they ar in 2021. They hear someone calling Hae Joon and realize that they are still in 1987.
My Perfect Stranger, AKA Run Into You (Season 1), Episode 15 Ending, Explained:
As the show is ending, many things are coming to a close. In the next episode, we should see the duo in 2021 and how their lives have changed.
. Hae Joon wholeheartedly makes peace with his mother’s actions. It is also revealed that the principal always knew his son was a murderer but did not act upon it. We see Dong Sik, Yoon Young and Hae Joon working together to find the culprit, but it is not as exciting. That part of the chemistry fell flat.
After spending quality screen time on Dong Sik and the principal, when they learned about time travel, the time spent on Yeon Woo in realizing the reality of things was not apt. It was too quick to even realize if the character understood what was going on and if he regretted his actions.
We have yet to see what Hae Kyung, Mi Sook, Min Soo, Hee Seop and Yu Seop’s future look like. Will Soon Ae be a writer in the future? What will Mi Sook be up to then? It will be a humble ending to the show with everyone’s future revealed, provided Hae Joon and Yoon Young can return to 2021.
If they are stuck in 1987, we will have to wait to see how things unfold.
