* This review contains spoilers for Episode 1 of A Time Called You
The time travel romance series A Time Called You recently premiered on Netflix, and we’re looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds.
The opening scene
The story begins in 1998, and we see Min-Ju (Jeon Yeo-Been) working in a record store. Si-Heon (Ahn Hyo-Seop) and In-Gyu (Kang Hoon) watch her from outside, before Si-Heon encourages In-Gyu to go in and talk to her. It’s clear that In-Gyu has a crush on Min-Ju, but she appears to be more flustered by Si-Heon.
Si-Heon asks for an album by Seo Ji-Won, however they are all sold out. Min-Ju asks Si-Heon to leave his number so that she can call him when new stock arrives. Si-Heon attempts to get In-Gyu to write down his number, but In-Gyu notices Min-Ju’s discomfort, and tells Si-Heon to leave his own instead.
The two boys leave the store, with In-Gyu glancing back at Min-Ju, who smiles while looking at Si-Heon’s number.
A broken engagement
We then shift to present day, where Jun-Hee (also played by Jeon Yeo-Been) is working as a successful ad executive. It is her birthday, and a colleague makes a comment about her “celebrating it alone”. She claims that she has a “date with a handsome man”, but we later see her at a memorial service for her late boyfriend Yeon-Jun (Ahn Hyo-Seop).
Through a flashback, we learn that she spoke to him about moving away to New York for work. He was unhappy with her decision, but offered to join her in New York, saying he “needed to be with her”. The memory leaves her heartbroken and guilt-ridden.
She later has a conversation with Yeon-Jun’s relative, and we find out that Yeon-Jun was one of the passengers on airplane that crashed. A tearful Jun-Hee claims that Yeon-Jun “could have survived” the crash, but the relative urges her to accept that he is gone. She also reveals that Yeon-Jun had planned to propose to Jun-Hee before she left for New York.
Jun-Hee recalls receiving a jewelry box from Yeon-Jun as a gift on her last birthday. She pleaded with him not to follow her overseas, and to stay in Korea until she returned. This led to a painful argument where Yeon-Jun insisted that he didn’t want to be apart from her, causing a frustrated Jun-Hee to leave.
She returns home to look at the jewelry box, and examines it hoping to find the engagement ring. She discovers a hidden compartment which is empty, causing her to burst into tears.
Happy school days
We then return to 1998, where we see Min-Ju has missed her bus to school. Just then, Si-Heon and In-Gyu ride up beside her, and Si-Heon asks In-Gyu to take her on his bike.
The trio ride to school, as the theme song Beautiful Restriction performed by NEWJEANS plays in the background. It is a sweet, nostalgic scene, with the three teenagers sharing glances at each other.
However, the three of them end up arriving late anyway, and are punished by the school’s discipline teacher.
We cut back to the present day, where Jun-Hee has another flashback of a time when she and Yeon-Jun shared her apartment. We get a sense of her loneliness and sorrow without him. She later begins crying on her way to work when she sees a news broadcast about the one-year anniversary of the doomed flight carrying Yeon-Jun.
READ | A Time Called You cast share their thoughts about their characters
A mysterious man
The scene cuts to a man who is also watching the news broadcast on his laptop. He stands up and we see that he is using a cane. His face is mostly hidden under his long hair, but we can see a long scar is running down his cheek.
At work, Jun-Hee remembers another birthday when Yeon-Jun surprised her with flowers and a gift. It is clear that the two of them loved each other very much, and Yeon-Jun promised that he would always send her a gift on her birthday. Her flashback ends and we discover that someone has brought her some flowers.
A surprised Jun-Hee asks who they are from, and the receptionist tells her the man who delivered them just entered the elevator. She rushes to it, but only gets a brief glimpse of him before the doors shut. It turns out to be the mystery man. She then gets a call from Yeon-Jun’s relative telling her that their family had registered his death. The news stuns Jun-Hee, who still believes he may be alive.
Remembering Yeon-Jun
Jun-Hee later meets up with an artist friend of Yeon-Jun, and the two reminisce about him. He then hands her a box of Yeon-Jun’s belongings. She opens it to find a drawing of a schoolgirl running down a tree-lined path. She recalls seeing that drawing in the past and asking Yeon-Jun who the girl was. At the time, he said that the drawing was of “a friend”.
Jun-Hee later sits in a cafe and looks through her phone, smiling at their photos. She writes a text message to Yeon-Jun, telling him about her day and how much she misses him. Unexpectedly, she receives an Instagram photo from a user named “in.search.of.lost.time”. The photo shows In-Gyu, Min-Ju and Si-Heon in front of the music store. A confused Jun-Hee looks at the picture and is sure that one of the boys is Yeon-Jun, but is also sure that “the girl” isn’t her.
We are then shown a scene in the high school, where the three teens are in chemistry class. Si-Heon and In-Gyu approach Min-Ju, and they begin studying together.
Who are you?
Back in the present, Jun-Hee sends a message to the mysterious Instagram user, asking them why they sent her the picture. She requests for them to meet, and we find out that the photo was sent by the mystery man.
The next day, she shows the photo to her colleagues. They help her do a reverse image search, and discover it was originally posted on a School Days website in 2008. Jun-Hee wonders about the identity of the girl in the picture, and whether she was Yeon-Jun’s first love.
We then return to the opening scene of the episode, and discover that Si-Heon returned to the music store to ask Min-Ju what her name was. The two share a quiet moment together before the scene ends.
Our opinion
A Time Called You starts out strong in this first episode. We see the love story between Yeon-Jun and Jun-Hee, and the start of the friendship and the love triangle between the three teens. We are also extremely intrigued by this mystery man, and wonder what role he plays in all this.
Join us as we explore the next episode of A Time Called You!
READ | A Time Called You Episode 2 Recap
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