Healing
Episode 15 of Hello Me begins with Scarlett shocked to learn her Father has passed away. Her heart sinks upon learning the truth, struggling to hold back tears. When she sees the date too, the truth is revealed over the past. Her Father died to save her life. With Scarlett distraught, Ok-Jung rings Ha-Ni and lets her know what’s happening. She immediately rushes away while the fate of Joa Confectionary hangs in the balance. The vote comes in and Yu-Hyeon feeds it back to the team – Chairman Han has retained his position. Only, Ha-Ni is obviously nowhere to be found. On the back of this, Do-Yun and Ji-Sook leave, with the latter promising this isn’t the end and that she’ll keep fighting. Only, police officers suddenly show up and arrest her. It turns out Do-Yun has betrayed her in order to save his Mother from the dark path she’s skipping down. Do-Yun heads back to see Ji-Eun and hugs her, asking if they can stay like that for a while. He apologizes for making her think she’s alone and promises that they’re okay now. Yu-Hyeon heads over that evening and speaks to Do-Yun about the situation at work. He thanks Yu-Hyeon though, as the pair patch up their differences. Ha-Ni meanwhile, heads off to visit Scarlett. She promises to go back and save their Father no matter what. Ok-Jung stops her though and tells Scarlett and Ha-Ni that Gi-Tae’s death is not their fault. Scarlett continues to grieve though, struggling to eat and sadly sitting on the end of her bed. The next day, Yu-Hyeon heads back to the kitchen to cook. The other chefs are shocked to see him, especially after the big reveal that he’s the Chairman’s son. He enthusiastically greets them though, agreeing to continue being their mascot. After, he runs into Ha-Ni and holds her hand, encouraging her to cheer up and lean on him for support. Meanwhile, Anthony drinks himself into a depressed stupor. He’s delaying speaking to the media and finding it difficult to concentrate. Eventually he decides to take Scarlett’s advice and face his troubles head on. This includes speaking to Ha-Ni at her apartment. Yu-Hyeon agrees to give them some privacy when they show up, as Anthony speaks to her about Scarlett’s words. As they talk, Ha-Ni listens patiently as Anthony starts to come around to the idea of making meaningful changes in his life. When he leaves, Yu-Hyeon hears the old phone ringing inside. Ha-Ni grabs it and answers the call. It’s her Father, Ban Gi-Tae! He apologizes to her and tells Ha-Ni that she needs to find the way back. This is, of course, referring to Scarlett. The message – D-7 – seems to be referring to the number of days they have left to bring Scarlett back home. In the morning, Ha-Ni and Scarlett find their grandmother, Hong-Nyeon, unconscious after she was praying the night before. Realizing that time is running out, the pair head out the following day and check the talisman. It’s turning black, meaning it doesn’t seem to be as effective now. While en-route to the Shaman, Ha-Ni tells Scarlett about their Father ringing, including his words about finding a way back. They hurry up to visit the Shaman who confirms the same thing we’ve all been suspecting; Death is spreading and the talisman is not going to stop time ticking away. He also confirms that Scarlett shouldn’t try and save their Father. If she does, that could jeopardize the entire future – including this timeline’s Ha-Ni. As Ha-Ni and Scarlett try to work out what to do, Ha-Ni speaks to her Mother and realizes that having Scarlett sent forwards through time has been a gift. It’s helped her learn and grow as a person; this Ha-Ni is a shadow of the woman we saw at the start of the season. Anthony holds a press conference in front of everyone and decides against reading from his script. Instead, he apologizes for everything he’s done in the past and especially to the victims of bullying that he’s wronged. He’s so repentant in fact, that he’s going to leave the entertainment industry completely. When he leaves the stage, he speaks to his manager and apologizes for not telling him in advance what he’s done. He thanks both Kyung-Sik and Jung-Man for sticking with him as the trio hug in a really touching moment. In the morning, Do-Yun arrives to visit Ji-Sook in prison. He promises not to let her slip into loneliness and reminds her that there are other people who care, regardless of what’s happened in the past. That evening Yu-Hyeon shows up at Ha-Ni’s house where she and Scarlett happen to be. He’s got a birthday cake inside… despite it not actually being any of their birthdays. He just wanted to make them smile. They sit and eat cake together, as Yu-Hyeon starts looking through Ha-Ni’s photos. There, he finds one of their Father and recognizes him from the past.
The Episode Review
Hello, Me! bows out its penultimate episode with an emotional slice of drama that starts to wrap up our main plot line and subplots we’ve followed across the season. With Anthony’s confession and repenting, his angle is essentially all wrapped up now, including that emotional three-way hug at the end. Contrasting that is Yu-Hyeon and the way he’s embraced being the chairman’s son while also not losing sight of his roots. Seeing him in the kitchen cooking with the ladies is a small scene but one that allows him to maintain a grounded outlook – something he’s struggled with since the opening episode. The situation with Ji-Sook has all but been resolved now, and Do-Yun revealing that there are still people who care for her is a really nice touch. However, all of this turns toward Ha-Ni and her plight as she and Scarlett are forced to try and find a way back home again. We’re all set for an emotional finale to come, in what’s otherwise been a really solid KBS drama. It’s not outstanding but it is a very enjoyable series and certainly one of the bright spots this year so far on the K-drama calendar.
