On the recent episode of Channel A's weekend drama Witch, Lee Dong-jin, portrayed by Park Jin-young, was met with surprise and nostalgia as he encountered his high school crush, Park Mi-jung, played by Noh Jung-ui, on the subway. The episode, aired on the 15th, revealed not only their unexpected reunion but also delved deepinto the heavy emotions and memories intertwined with their past.
Dong-jin found himself seated alone after canceling plans with his friend Kim Jung-hyuk, who was running late. While on the train, he overheard a drunken man trying to persuade Mi-jung to keep listening to him. The man’s voice broke the silence of the carriage, saying, “To refuse for legitimate reasons is not unjust, right, Park Mi-jung? Are you listening to me?” While initially unbothered, Mi-jung countered sharply, “If you want me to stop, how about you just do so?”
Upon recognizing Mi-jung, Dong-jin expressed his astonishment, realizing he was once familiar with the very woman he saw before him. “This is the Park Mi-jung I know,” he stated, overwhelmed by the flood of past emotions. Even as he tried to piece together their fragmented history, he couldn’t shake off his mother's words about fate: "If you are meant to meet someone, you will eventually find them.” Little did he expect the very moment standing before him.
The narrative then shifted to Lee’s memories of their high school days. He reminisced about how Mi-jung, with her neat bobbed hair, drew him closer, though she seemed shrouded by tragedy. “She was pretty without trying to be,” Dong-jin reflected. He recounted how odd incidents frequently surrounded her – one particularly unhappy event revolved around another student who died during a storm after lending her his umbrella, leading Dong-jin to observe her crying at the school memorial service.
“At the time, she was definitely crying, and I felt incredibly helpless,” he admitted, encapsulating the sorrowful weight of those days. It was clear: the social pulse of high school was unkind to Mi-jung, with students whispering about her, which led to her frequent isolation.
Yet, the core of this episode transcended mere memories. It depicted Lee’s internal struggle to connect the dots of his feelings toward Mi-jung, mixed with regret for never being able to verbalize them during their adolescent years. “I waited for recess, hoping to speak to her, but she always slipped away,” he lamented, emphasizing the eternal might-have-been of their past.
After missing the chance to speak with her on the subway, Dong-jin decided not to give up. He trailed her off the train, stealthily trying to gather his thoughts. Just when he thought to introduce himself, he noticed her interaction with cats, her gentle side surfacing as she fed them, exemplifying both compassion and loneliness. "Sometimes it feels tough. I wish I didn’t have to meet people," she exclaimed, showcasing her vulnerability.
Dong-jin’s heart sank at her words. “I hoped she was managing well, kept safe wherever she was,” he thought to himself, remembering how their paths had twisted over time. Their reunion was significant; it offered possibilities yet carried the weight of their complicated past experiences.
Mi-jung’s self-doubt lingered as she worried, “Maybe I hurt someone again today,” indicating her struggles with guilt and personal experiences. Lee quietly resolved to support her, saying to himself, "There must be reasons why we crossed paths again.”
He also had his own thoughts about the grim coincidences clinging to their lives. The episode hints at darker themes as Dong-jin muses about people haunted by misfortune. “What if there’s truly a law governing these occurrences?” he theorized with Jung-hyuk, raising questions both literal and metaphorical on fate and intertwined destinies.
This installment of Witch not only pulled viewers back through poignant moments shared by Lee and Mi-jung but also wove threads of belief, hope, and human connection. Their complex relationship serves as both anchor and guide toward grappling with past traumas and resurrecting fresh beginnings, leaving audiences guessing about the fate of their reunion and the narratives yet to unravel.