My Perfect Stranger AKA Run Into You (Season 1), Episode 2: The second episode starts with the main characters in 1987. Compared to the first episode, there is less confusion, and it is fast-paced. The story seems better put together in comparison to the first episode. This episode focuses mainly on 1987 and understanding the people in Hae Joon and Yoon Young’s lives. Yoon Young is already taking action in the year 1987 to change the destiny of many. The article contains spoilers.
My Perfect Stranger AKA Run Into You (Season 1), Episode 2 Recap:
The reason we can’t return
While on the steering wheel, Hae Joon watches himself be murdered on a frozen river. The news channels report this as a murder without a body, as they could not find anybody. The car completely breaks down, which is why he cannot return to 2021 because using that car and the tunnel are the only ways to travel in time. While conversing with Yoon Young in 1987, Hae Joon was unexpectedly pushed by her in her excitement to discover that her mother was alive at that time. As a result, Hae Joon collided with the wall and lost consciousness just as Yoon Young’s mother entered the “Moon Night” bar.
At the club, Yoon Young follows the younger version of her mother, Lee Soon Ae (Seo Ji Hye) and tells her how sorry she is for her behavior in 2021, making Soon Ae feel confused. Yoon Young cannot comprehend the situation entirely as she is expecting Soon Ae to recognize her. Soon Ae asks her if she is high on superglue and if she would hurt her. Soon Ae becomes frightened when Yoon Young approaches her closely, causing her to accidentally hit her head against Yoon Young’s and flee from the scene. A detective Dong Sik (Choi Young Woo), arrives at the club to find minors who have entered the club and finds Soon Ae feeling out of place.
Hae Joon was found lying on the ground by the villagers of Woojungi-Ri, who quickly intervened and expressed their concern for him. They regarded him as a precious asset to their town and urged him not to succumb to his injuries. The villagers then carried him to the hospital while Hae Joon overheard a conversation about Yoon Young among the Moon Night Club employees. Listening to this prompted him to rush inside the club, searching for her.
In a selfless act of heroism, Hae Joon saved Yoon Young from Dong Sik and rescued his students from harm’s way. Yoon Young was puzzled by the students addressing Hae Joon as their teacher and the villagers recognizing him, as he had not revealed his true identity to her.
When Dong Sik tries to stop him saying this is a police matter, Hae Joon tells him that many mishaps have taken place because of his lack of responsibility while doing his job. Dong Sik is confused by these words. Hae Joon knew Dong Sik would quit his job and disappear for 30 years.
Yoon Young becomes curious about Hae Joon’s true identity and the unusual circumstances they are experiencing. Hae Joon questions her decision to enter a nightclub, but she remains silent. He then takes her to his car and explains the situation. Initially angry, Hae Joon wonders why she got hurt when he had previously traveled countless times and realizes that the car becomes invisible and doesn’t collide with objects. They try to figure out why the rules have suddenly changed.
Hae Joon warns Yoon Young that they are both in a dangerous situation as they do not belong here. He takes her to his home and advises her to stay there while cautioning her about the consequences of altering fate. Soon Ae is subsequently thrown out of the house for visiting a nightclub. Hae Joon resolves to send Yoon Young back to 2021 before the first murder occurs.
Hae Joon is reluctantly taken to a family walkathon event in Woojung-ri, where he is dragged into participating. Meanwhile, Yoon Young steps out of the house and is overjoyed to see Soon Ae. As Soon Ae works, Yoon Young takes pictures of her from a distance. She reminisces about her mother’s (Lee Ji Hyun) desire to become a novelist.
Yoon Young eventually deciphers why she was transported to this specific date – the year her mother fell in love and married a year later. Later, Yoon Young returns to the general store and sees her father, Baek Hee Seop (Lee Won Jung), with Soon Ae. She drags him away to speak to him, warning him not to pursue Soon Ae romantically as she knows him well and he should stay away from her best friend.
As Yoon Young spends more time in the past, she recognizes more familiar faces. Hae Joon participates in a walkathon with Yoon Byeong Gu, who expresses love for his son in the US, but Hae Joon, knowing the future, doesn’t believe him. Yoon Young is not home, but Hae Joon finds a clue in a box from the Bong Bong Teahouse. Soon Ae is being bullied, while Yoon Young takes care of the general store and finds an ID named Kim Seung Jin.
Reading Soon Ae’s diary, Yoon Young discovers a clue and rescues Soon Ae from drowning in the river. Yoon Young confronts the bullies and realizes that the famous author Ko Mi Sook (Kim Hye Eun) of 2021 and the Mi Sook (Ji Hye Won) of 1987, who bullied Soon Ae are the same people. She also discovers that Mi Sook wrote her first novel based on Soon Ae’s diary and that her mother and Mi Sook were friends.
On their walk back, Soon Ae tells Yoon Young that people in school dislike her, so even if they bully her, she needs to continue being friends with them. She also tells her that she wants to die. Hae Joon fixed the car AKA, the time traveling machine. Yoon Young tells Hae Joon that she has a lot of things to take care of in 1987, and she is not ready to go back to 2021 yet.
My Perfect Stranger AKA Run Into You (Season 1), Episode 2 Ending, Explained:
So far, there have been many predictable moments in this episode. The expectation was that Yoon Young interfering in her mother’s love life in 1987. The mystery of the Bong Bong teahouse is yet to be solved, but with the clue Hae Joon finds, we can get an idea about who the killer targeted for his victims.
The note says, ‘Women who read are dangerous’; could this be the reason for Soon Ae’s death in 2021? Rules to time travel are slowly getting established. What are the actions Yoon Young can take from now? With this episode, it is clear that Mi Sook plays an important role in changing the fate of the future. Will Yoon Young stop Mi Sook from stealing and publishing her first novel? Will she be successful in stopping her parents from getting married? If Yoon Young is successful, what are the rules for time travel? Will she be erased from the face of the earth, or will she uncover more secrets from the time travel world? Hae Joon and Yoon Young’s fates are intertwined, and the Bong Bong Teahouse holds the clue for the same.
