Bad-Memory Eraser – K-drama Episode 16 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Episode 16

Episode 16 of Bad-Memory Eraser begins with Gun wondering about his first love’s memory, Sae-yan being held hostage and Ju-yeon regretting her actions.

How does Ju-yeon’s disciplinary review go?

The next day, Ju-yeon’s disciplinary review begins. Gun arrives as the witness but his wrist starts paining on seeing her. She wistfully steps out while the ethics board question him. He reveals that while it felt like he had lived like another person once his bad memories were erased, he has finally realised that the new persona is still a part of him.

In a roundabout way, he also declares that the trial has helped him accept his bad memories and change for the better. On top of that, the Health Minister learns of the dead mouse subject of Tae-oh’s reset trial and demands action. Of course, the hospital director betrays Tae-oh and holds him responsible for being unethical. As for Ju-yeon, her bad-memory eraser trial is suspended for 3 months.

How is Shin able to save Sae-yan?

Sae-yan recalls all the times Ju-yeon has been kind to her and once again tries to break out. She finds a working card machine and realises that she has Ju-yeon’s credit card. She starts making purchases of 505 (SOS), 8282 (quickly) and 112 (emergency number). 

At that moment, Ju-yeon is clearing her office as she has decided to go through with her resignation. She spots the purchases being made and informs Shin who is also looking for Sae-yan. They note the garage’s address but before they can head there, Hyo-myeong texts Ju-yeon from Sae-yan’s phone and asks her to meet at the hospital.

She heads back while Shin goes to the garage as he still finds it odd. He almost leaves but he notices the basement and knocks on it. Sae-yan calls out to him and he breaks the lock and frees her.

Is Gun able to save Ju-yeon?

Following the disciplinary review, Gun goes to his office and is conflicted as he keeps seeing Ju-yeon’s positive notes everywhere. The customized charm bracelet that he had designed for their second date has also been delivered and he doesn’t know what to do with it. 

He is interrupted by the cops sending him the file on Shin’s stalker, Ahn Hyo-myeong. The brothers go through the file and while Shin doesn’t recognise the stalker, Gun quickly recalls seeing Sae-yan’s father’s photo and puts two and two together.

While Shin goes to meet Ju-yeon, Gun looks up Hyo-myeong. He is shocked to learn that Hyo-myeong is the one who killed Ju-yeon’s father and tries to call her. His wrist starts paining and he calls Shin who informs her of “Sae-yan” meeting her at the hospital. 

Ju-yeon, of course, is distracted as she finally notices the plushy that Hyo-myeong has sent her to her office. He shows up and berates her for toying with Sae-yan. She faints and he is about to kill her when Gun finally arrives. They fight and Gun is overpowered as Hyo-myeong breaks his paining wrist.

But before Hyo-myeong can kill them, the cops arrive and arrest him. He sees that Sae-yan reported him but he believes that Shin has brainwashed his daughter. She simply tells him that Ju-yeon and the Lees are her family and he needs to leave them alone.

What happens on the day of Dr. Kyung’s murder?

A flashback to 2007 shows Sae-yan and her mother moving to Ju-yeon’s neighbourhood. The girls become fast friends while Mrs. Jeon dotes on Mr and Mrs. Kyung. Hyo-myeong watches them from afar and is furious when he notices Mr. Kyung casually touching Mrs. Jeon. He follows the doctor to his clinic, pretends to be a patient and then kills him for touching his ex.

Meanwhile, the girls are playing near the bridge when Ju-yeon spots Gun drowning. She saves him and he cries for his medal. She goes in the water again but once she recovers the medal, she is unable to find Gun. Turns out some villagers spotted him and took him away. Ju-yeon remembers Sae-yan and goes looking for her.

She changes out of her wet clothes, leaves the medal and thinking that Sae-yan is waiting at her dad’s clinic, heads there. Ju-yeon finds Hyo-myeong over her dad and she faints. He wants to kill her too but simply leaves.

At the market, a vendor tells Mrs. Kyung and Mrs. Jeon that she has informed Hyo-myeong of their new address as he claimed to reconnect with his family. Mrs. Jeon rushes home and instantly leaves the country with Sae-yan. Meanwhile, Mrs. Kyung goes to inform her husband and is heartbroken on seeing her dead husband and unconscious daughter.

Does Ju-yeon regain her childhood memories?

At present, Ju-yeon is hospitalized but she wakes up and sees that Gun has given her the charm bracelet. Mrs. Jeon arrives and profusely apologises to her. Mrs. Kyung reveals that Ju-yeon had aphasia after her dad’s murder and she had a hard time but they have learned to move on. Sae-yan too visits and she is ashamed but Ju-yeon hugs her.

When Sae-yan is leaving, Ju-yeon reveals that she has finally regained all her childhood memories including her time with Sae-yan and when she saved Gun.

Who is Gun’s first love?

To set things straight, (before she learns that Ju-yeon is indeed the real first love) Sae-yan meets with Gun and explains that she not his first love. She just happened to find his medal when she returned to their village after 15 years. She also explains that it doesn’t matter who his first love and saviour is and if Ju-yeon lied.

He may have had a soft spot for her because she pretended to be his first love, but he came to love her after getting to know her. She tells him that Ju-yeon is leaving the country for her medical research and that he should at least meet her once.

Meanwhile, Ju-yeon tells Dr. Han who tells Gun the truth about his first love and how his memory of it is all real. Gun is shocked and wants to rush to Ju-yeon but on seeing his worn-out, miserable appearance, he stops.

Is Gun able to forgive Ju-yeon?

After Han reveals the truth, Gun realises that Ju-yeon technically never lied to him about being his first love. He also considers Sae-yan’s words of how he loves Ju-yeon due to their present memories together. But instead of going to her immediately, he decides to look after himself like she wants.

3 years later, we see that his agency is once again flourishing and he has gone back to his confident self. CEO Hong is still trying to poach his investor but to no avail. It is also shown that the investor, Chairman Won is none other than Ju-yeon’s patient who used to sneak up on everyone at the hospital and watch the drama unfold from the sidelines.

He tells Gun that he has also been investing in his company as his debt to Ju-yeon for healing him. He reveals that she is back in the country for an award and gives Gun an invite to the ceremony.

However, once Ju-yeon receives her award, she heads to the village bridge. At the end of Bad-Memory Eraser Episode 16, Gun arrives as well and jokes that she is lucky that she is his first and last love. They smile and hug.

How does it end for everyone?

As for the rest of the characters, Sae-yan has moved back to Italy, has a job and is constantly in touch with Seung-hyun and Mrs. Kyung. Nurse Song and Dr. Han are secretly dating but everyone knows they are dating.

Mr. and Mrs. Lee are trying to figure out a couple hobby and at the moment, they struggle over tango as Mr. Lee has two left feet. Shin has become a teacher, cribs that the students don’t like him and is doing his best to overcome his OCD. Shi-on is a successful athlete while Guk-bong is the official coach at Gun’s agency.

The Episode Review

And with Bad-Memory Eraser Episode 16, this weird K-drama has a weird conclusion. While it started out with a lot of potential, it seems like the writers have given up trying to write a convincing story by the end. And with this finale, it is as if they ran out of time and quickly glossed over one of the most complicated love stories for a lazy, ambiguous, timelapse trick which has Gun forgiving Ju-yeon over time and then getting back with her with his thought process being open to interpretation. 

We don’t even get to see Gun and Shin together truly or their sibling dynamic, let alone Shin and Sae-yan’s begrudging friendship. It does seem that this chapter tries its best with one last shot at redeeming Ju-yeon’s character for all her coldness but it goes in a completely different direction. In fact, her trauma does nothing to excuse her toxic behaviour towards Gun who she constantly kicked while he was down. 

There is also no explanation of how he instantly goes back to his old self in the previous episode and once again switches to his new self at the end. Because if it is indeed what he states that his new self is still a part of him, why did he act like it wasn’t in the previous episode? Guess, loopholes and plotholes and contrived endings are all we are getting with this K-drama.