"My Perfect Stranger" drama: Episode two of sixteen recap

 

 Air Dates: May 1st until June 20, 2023 on KBS 2, Monday and Tuesdays nights at 9:45 pm

Director: Kang Soo-Yeon, episodes are 65 minutes in length and subs done by iTs

Rating for the first episode: 4.2%, not high ratings as KBS2 is a cable network which means the numbers are very respectable.

Main Cast: This drama was originally scheduled to air in the Autumn of 2022 but got pushed back twice. Have been looking forward to this series as it stars my second favorite Korean actress who is Jin Ki-Joo and hasn't seen her in any show for two years. Writing much of this up after viewing the first episode, there will be a lot of editing to the characters and more of them will be added in. This is a time travel drama, it began off in 2021 when the main male star Hae-Jun found a car that can travel in time either forwards or backwards! But think most of the drama will be set in 1987 and it could be nostalgic for any older K-drama fans who may visit here. 

**** When Yoon-Young was transported back to 1987 it was the evening of May 9th, dates will be important as a serial killer murders his first victim on May 14th.... or will he be stopped????

Kim Dong-Wook as Yoon Hae-Jun.... 34 year old KSBC anchor who one night happened to find this time travel car at the entrance to a tunnel! He believed in only facts but thought why not read the user manual to see if this car could travel in time... it could as Hae-Jun went to the year 3089! Shortly after returning to the year 2021 Hae-Jun took another trip and this time to 2037, what he found out is one of the main stories to this series. Hae-Jun discovered he was murdered in 2022 by a serial killer and went to visit this killer in prison upon returning to 2021. This man Go wasn't the true killer of many people way back in the year of 1987 but had been framed for the killings, Hae-Jun believed this man and to clear his name and also to save his own life Hae-Jun went back to the year 1987 to find out who the killer really was and to possibly stop the murders. The location will be the smallish country city of Woojung.

 Jin Ki-Joo as Baek Yoon-Young.... Editor in chief for a very popular woman author of murder novels though Yoon-Young seems to do most of the work. In the first episode she was fired by this author who was named Mi-Sook and it had to be a relief to be fired! Right around the time of Yoon-Young being fired her mother killed herself and she blames herself for the death, also her alcoholic father. A few days after her mother's death Yoon-Young was wandering near a tunnel when the time travel car driven by Hae-Jun came close to hitting her, at the time the machine was set to travel to 1987 which is where the pair ended up at. Of course Yoon-Young thought it was a dream but when she realized she had travelled back in time she was thrilled! The second main story will be of  Yoon-Young stopping her parents from meeting each other and getting married, if so what will happen to her???? Like Hae-Jun's story it will be set in the smallish city of Woojung.

**** The above two are from the year 2021 but most of the action will take place in 1987, here are the main characters from that year. The location is a smallish city named Woojung-ri.

Seo Ji-Hye as Lee Soon-Ae.... In 1987 she was 18 in age and the top girl in her senior high school class. However she had no true friends and spent her time writing stories as she was such a fan of novels. Soon-Ae is actually Yoon-Young's mother and now that she somehow ended up in the year 1987 she's trying to prevent Soon-Ae getting married to Baek. So you have to wonder if Yoon-Young is successful would that mean she never existed?

 Lee Won-Jung as Baek Hee-Sub.... Yoon-Young's father though he too was only eighteen in 1987. He was a bit of an innocent lad and actually was quite nice back in 1987, Hee-Sub loved music but never began a band. He eventually became such an alcoholic and that was one of the reasons for Soon-Ae committing suicide in 2021.

Park Soo-Hyung as Hyung-Man.... Soon-Ae's father who owns a combination tea shop, general store and bus stop for travelling to and from Seoul.

Kim Jun-Young as Ok-Ja.... Soon-Ae's mother and has two other children.

Kim Ye-Ji as Kim Hae-Kyung.... Friend of Soon-Ae's, like Hae-Kyung the other girls Soon-Ae hangs out with none of them are 'true friends' and all love to party which at times has gotten Soon-Ae into trouble. On the left below is Hae-Kyung, the other two are her cronies Eun-Ha in glasses and Yu-Ri, all bully Soon-Ae.

Ji Hye-Won as Ko Mi-Sook.... Another 'friend' of Soon-Ae's who we met near the end of the second episode. She's the same woman who became a popular writer many years later and of all things Yoon-Young was her editor in chief! Mi-Sook's first novel was a huge hit but she had actually stolen the story from Soon-Ae who never said a word. Mi-Sook was such a creep back in 1987 and was even worse in 2021!

Choi Young-Woo as Dong-Sik.... Hee-Seop's tough uncle who is a detective.

Kim Jong-Soo as Yoon Byung-Gu.... Principal of the Woojung high school.

**** The below group of characters we met in the first episode who are from the year 2021, unsure if we'll be seeing much more of them as most of the drama takes place in 1987.

Lee Ji-Hyun as Lee Soon-Ae.... Yoon-Young's mother and the pair didn't get along so well, it was a reason for Soon-Ae committing suicide in the first episode.

Lee Kyu-Hoe as Baek Hee-Sop.... Yoon-Young's father who is such a waste as all he does is drink, him and his wife lived off what their daughter sent them in cash and he's the other main reason Soon-Ae killed herself.

Kim Hye-Eun as Go Mi-Sook.... Popular writer of murder mysteries, Yoon-Young was her editor who seemed to do most of the work until she was fired in the first show. Mi-Sook also lived back in Woojung in 1987 and had known Yoon-Young's mother, actually she stole the story for her first novel from her!

Im Jong-Yun as Ko Min-Soo.... Man who was accused of killing many people in the small city of Woojung back in 1987. However Go was innocent and after 34 years is about to be released from prison. No one had listened to Ko's pleas for all those years until Jae-Hun visited him the day before his release and has vowed to discover who the real killer was. 

 Whew, big cast and sure more characters will be introduced so that section above will be increasing for the first few shows and of course will also be updated.

Short promo video for this episode.

 

 Did a lot more editing to the above cast list and also added in a new character, sure more will be added in the future. This is not going to be a drama that I can zip through quickly which is not a bad thing. This episode was 67 minutes in length and most are right around there, means these recaps take a bit longer to write up. Plus even after two episodes there's still so many things we don't know about many of the main characters from the year of 1987, I need patience as there's still fourteen shows to go! Don't think there will be too much action but as it goes on it will be turning into a mystery or thriller. This episode ended on a suspenseful note, actually the final ten minutes were and if you didn't read the above recap would recommend doing so as I won't refer back too often on what's taken place. The first screenshot below is a matchbox we also saw in the first show. It's from a teashop that existed in 1987 and is a major clue to finding the serial killer from that year but what that clue could be is unknown.

 The final few minutes of episode one were of Hae-Jun and Yoon-Young being transported from the year 2021 to 1987. Hae-Jun had found a red car that was actually a Time Machine and has been going back and forth between those years, also a few others in the future. So just before Hae-Jun went back to 1987 he almost ran over Yoon-Young who was standing at the exit of a tunnel, he grazed her and in the process she went back with Hae-Jun to 1987. But in the process the car was badly damaged, can Hae-Jun fix something like a Time Machine? That we'll find out and in the third screenshot is an article from 2022 as he had visited that year also. Hae-Jun had discovered he would be murdered by a serial killer who had slain many in the small city of Woojung way back in 1987, that's the reason he's gone there. Things have worked out well so far as Hae-Jun is a hero for saving the lives of two high school girls, he's now a teacher and has bought a nice house. It took a while for Yoon-Young to believe she actually went back in time but when the fact set in she truly was in the year 1987 she wasn't too down or depressed in the least, her dream came true!

 Because in 2021 Yoon-Young's mother Soon-Ae had just killed herself by jumping off a cliff in Woojung, at the time Yoon-Young had never heard of the place. Very quickly Yoon-Young discovered that her mother lived there and was an eighteen year old high school student, that's the young Soon-Ae in the middle screenshot above. Soon-Ae had been coerced into going to a night club with her friends who actually bully her, when she went to the ladies room Yoon-Young was right on her tail. You have to wonder what Yoon-Young was thinking as she kept calling the 18 year old Soon-Ae 'Mom' and apologized for things that happened in the future. Needless to say Soon-Ae was freaked out and is this older woman high on super glue?!!!!Soon-Ae eventually was able to slip away back into the club but what had been taking place was a police raid! This club was a popular hangout for high school students, you need to be twenty to enter a club which no students were. The detective leading the raid was Baek, his only scene but it appears he will be very important as he will be leading the case of the serial killer. All of the students, such as Soon-Ae and her fake friends, were about to be marched down to the station for being underage. But in the nick of time their new teacher Hae-Jun appeared, with the help of the school's principal Byung-Gu was able to get Beak to release them and the matter will be handled in school the next Monday, this took place on Saturday night May 9th.

 In that top screenshot is Soon-Ae's father Hyung-Man who also showed up at the club to help clear out the students. He seems to be a decent guy but not Soon-Ae's mother who wouldn't even let her into the house that night! Did mention that Hae-Jun's Time Machine car was damaged when it went back to 1987 and as you can see above he's clueless on how to fix it. But then again even if he gets the car running will the Time Machine itself still work? In that second screenshot above is something that was only mentioned once but its the main reason Hae-Jun is now living in the year 1987. It's to prevent a serial killer from striking back then and also to stop his own self from being killed in 2022 by the man. The date is now May 10th, four days from now is when the first murder will take place and will Hae-Jun be able to stop that from happening? You can see what he's telling Yoon-Young in the second to last screenshot, if you change something in 1987 that person's life and may others will be changed in the future which is fairly obvious but he hasn't told her yet of his mission.

 Then again Yoon-Young hasn't revealed to Hae-Jun why she's so glad to be stuck in the year 1987. She can't change what took place in 2021 with her mother killing herself but perhaps there is something she can do in the past. Which is to stop her parents from ever meeting and then eventually getting married, that way her mother would have led such a different life and perhaps a happy one. But as I've mused about that would also mean that Yoon-Young would have never existed, has she thought about that? With nowhere to go Yoon-Young needs to stay at Hae-Jun's new house and what a ritzy place it seemed to be, least to Yoon-Young. But also Hae-Jun wanted her there to keep an eye on Yoon-Young as she's the type of woman who could create a lot of havoc which he doesn't need. Yoon-Young moved in on Saturday May 10th, it's now Sunday morning the 11th which means three days before the serial killer first strikes. What Yoon-Young wants more than anything is to be left alone to search for her mother Soon-Ae, how can she do it with him in the house? A good break took place as Soon-Ae's father Hyung-Man showed up at the door and dragged away Hae-Jun, it's the yearly Woojung Walkathon and after being the hero saving two lives Hae-Jun has to make an appearance!

 As Yoon-Young says above the timing was excellent as it gives her a chance to roam the streets of Woojung looking for her mother Soon-Ae. Don't think a search could be any easier for guess who lived right across the street from Hae-Jun? You don't need more than one guess as the answer is Soon-Ae's family and you could also say Yoon-Young's grandparents. And just when Yoon-Young realized that's the house of her mother who should come out the front gate but Soon-Ae! She was startled to see this creepy older woman again and tried to flee. But to no avail as Yoon-Young was on her tail the whole way through Soon-Ae's journey, at first it was irritating for the young woman. However Soon-Ae doesn't have any real friends so in a way she didn't mind meeting someone new though why did it have to be such a creepy woman? Yoon-Young did learn her mistake from the previous night when she tried to call her Mom and never did tell Soon-Ae why she was so interested in this young woman. The journey finally ended at the Woojung General Store, it's also a teashop and bus stop for buses that go to and from Seoul. Soon-Ae's father owns the place which isn't too busy, it's a Sunday and with her parents being at the Walkathon Soon-Ae had to man the shops.

 Soon-Ae is a very smart student and is at the top of her class. She had no time to shoot the breeze with Yoon-Young as studying needs to be done so it was time for Yoon-Young to investigate the nearby area a bit. While she was gone a bus arrived at the store, about four passengers got off. Waiting for someone was the eighteen year old boy above who is none other than.... Baek Hee-Sub, Soon Ae's future husband! It seemed to be the first time Hee-Sub had ever seen Soon-Ae and makes you wonder why as they're the same age and attend the same high school. Hee-Sub loves music, especially punk rock, but can't find anyone else his age to form a band. That first look at Soon-Ae sent Hee-Sub to seventh heaven as he clutched his heart as if he was having an attack! In a way Hee-Sub was as it truly was a case of Love at first sight, though life 34 years later was so different you can see why Soon-Ae eventually fell for him. Arriving on the scene was Yoon-Young, when she realized who this teen boy was she whisked him away, there's no way she can allow her future parents to get any closer!!!! Hee-Sub did seem like a decent boy but Yoon-Young forbade him from having any more contact with Soon-Ae though she certainly couldn't explain the reasons. Soon arriving on that scene was Hee-Sub's older brother Yoo-Sub, he's attending college in Seoul and he's in the bottom screenshot above. Hee-Sub took his leave right after that and it was the final time seeing him in this show.

 Final segment and while Yoon-Young was away with Hee-Sub visiting Soon-Ae at the general store was her trio of 'friends'. If you remember at the beginning of the recap these four girls were caught being at a night club, their punishment would be meted out the following morning by the principal at high school. The ringleader of the trio Hae-Kyung has devised a pan to get back at those who want to punish them and said let's go the nearby stream bank to discuss it. Soon-Ae wanted no part of this plan which is that she would have to accuse a teacher, probably Hae-Jun, of stealing things from her locker. That infuriated Hae-Kyung who kept pushing Soon-Ae back and back until.... she soon fell into the large stream and didn't know how to swim! Soon arriving on the scene was Yoon-Young but first she had stopped back at the general store. With Soon-Ae gone she looked through her schoolwork and eventually found a diary her future mother kept. Bit it wasn't a true diary but one where Soon-Ae had written the drafts of stories and one caught Yoon-Young's eyes. The story was one that her future employer Mi-Sook had written for her first novel and she stole Soon-Ae's story word for word. Soon Yoon-Young went on the hunt for Soon-Ae and arrived in the nick of time as she witnessed Hae-Kyung pushing her into the stream and none of the trio of girls helped out the non-swimmer Soon-Ae.

 Of course Yoon-Young had to play the heroine and jumped in to save her future mother. She was so furious with the trio of bullies that watched Soon-Ae struggle so badly, not a huge stream but she could have drowned. Arriving on the scene after that was a girl who said she was Soon-Ae's friend, not a true one but another fake. She happened to be Mi-Sook and may have gotten a bit close to Soon-Ae to steal her stories, much more on that in future episodes. Yoon-Young brought Soon-Ae back home where she did confess to Yoon-Young that the girls bullied her endlessly and she had no true friends. The situation was so bad Soon-Ae has thought about killing herself as she says above and perhaps being so lonely is what made her start dating Hee-Sub though it hasn't happened yet. In the final two minutes in a very big surprise Hae-Jun was able to repair the Time Machine car, fixing the car wasn't the surprise but the fact the time machine appears to be working too. Hae-Jun told Yoon-Young the good news but it wasn't good news to her, she still has a lot of unfinished business in the year 1987 and wants to stay on until it's completed, the episode ended on that note. Thanks for reading both recaps if you did and should have the next pair sometime later this week. Through two episodes this has been a very interesting drama and it's a series which I think will get better as we go along. Few more screenshots below of the action and so much did take place.