Studying Hard
Episode 2 of Again My Life begins with Hui-Wu forced to relive the most painful day of his life. His parents seem to be dead and he’s not able to change fate… or is he? It turns out Hui-Wu’s parents didn’t actually die after all and in this timeline, have survived the car crash! Hui-Wu is shocked and heads off to check on the driver. He’s dead, and reeks of alcohol. Tae-Seop’s right hand man is there, Jin-Ho, as it becomes clear that the driver is actually Jo Hyeon-Seok, Tae-Seop’s son. The accident records were fabricated and hidden on purpose to keep Tae-Seop’s record squeaky clean. Back at school, Hui-Wu’s hard work pays off ahe comes first in the mock exams. He even gets to move to the Korea University Class. He wants to be in the Department of Law in Hangkuk University, and in order to do that, he’s going to study even harder than before, However, at the same time as Hui-Wu’s ascension, Tae-Seop announces his candidacy for the upcoming elections. Time is flowing just as Hui-Wu predicted, and next up on the agenda is bringing Kim Gyu-Ri to the hospital. She’s passed out in the alleyway outside with a bottle of pills in her pocket. He manages to talk her around though, convincing her that she has more to live for. His aspiring words help to snap some sense into the girl. Hui-Wu knew where she was thanks to moments in the past, specifically overhearing a couple of students gossiping about how overworked she is, taking stimulants and not eating enough. This time Hui-Wu is determined to change fate and manages to help Gyu-Ri ahead of schedule. Hui-Wu also helps Han-Mi too, who’s drugged by her “friends”. Hui-Wu beats up the men, claiming self-defence after one of them throws a glass vial across the room and cuts his face in the process. The ringleader in all this is Jong-Il, and as they’re all called into the police station, Seok-Hoon shows up and smacks him square across the cheek. The Deputy Chief soon meets with Tae-Seop after that and the pair toast to their future. This seems to be the start of their crooked relationship, as we know Tae-Seop is going to make it into the big-time. The year is 2008 and the college entrance exam takes place. Interestingly, Gyu-Ri and Hui-Wu start to strike up a friendship and in doing so, opens a lot more possibilities for the latter. Specifically, Hui-Wu is able to do some document work at KMS Law Firm. The Head Attorney, Kang Min Seok, is notorious for winning a lot of his cases, with a very favourable win rate. Hui-Wu’s role is pretty simple, dealing with document recovery. However, he overhears Min-Seok working on a big case that takes 5 years to resolve. Naturally, Hui-Wu gives a helping hand and in doing so, is given a cash prize of 1 million won when they wrap up the case. Hui-Wu also passes his exams too, and is able to go to Law school. Again. All the students head into the Freshman party after Hui-Wu impresses with his detailed answer for the professor. Interestingly, Assemblyman Jin is there, prior to becoming Tae-Seop’s puppet, and is currently a prosecutor. Interestingly, we also catch a glimpse of a woman called Kim Hee-A. She does several different jobs, including working as a waitress. She meets Hui-Wu a few times through this episode, but eventually ends up drinking with him and fellow student Lee Min-Su. After drinking copious amounts of alcohol, Hui-Wu prepares to head home. Only, he’s followed by that same assassin from the rooftop. Uh oh.
The Episode Review
Again My Life slows down a little for this follow-up chapter, showing Hui-Wu back at school and high-flying his way to success. It’s a nice way of adding a bit more context to his past, while simultaneously showing Hui-Wu much more humbled this time around, determined to become the absolute best and take down Tae-Seop no matter what. The cutaway shots of characters in a “letterbox” format (squeezing the screen into a widescreen) to depict the other timeline is a really nice way of contextualizing who all these different characters are and it helps to establish a clear timeline of events too. Quite who Hee-A is and how she ties into the storyline is unclear but there’s a consistent feel of progression with this one that makes for a really solid watch. So far so good; Again My Life is shaping up to be a solid Friday/Saturday night drama.
