The drama that I had been desperately looking forward to came to an end last night. Starring Hyun Bin and Park Shin Hye, Memorie is a suspense filled and action packed roller coaster of a ride based in the world of alternative reality. Without further ado, let us delve into the plot.
Jung Se Ju (played by Park Chan Yeol) is an underage video game developer who is trying to sell his game to two businessmen, who are at odds with one another. On the one side he is trying to strike a deal with Cha Hyung Suk (played by Park Hoon) who owns Neword. On the other, he also calls up Yoo Jin Woo (played by Hyun Bin) who owns J One Holdings. He asks Jin Woo to visit Granada and stay at Hostel Bonita where the two can discuss the possible deal they can strike. However, while Jin Woo reaches the Hostel, Se Ju is nowhere to be found. Since Se Ju has already sent him the programming file, Jin Woo ventures to begin playing the game, only to find Hyung Suk playing it too. In a duel between the two, Jin Woo manages to defeat Hyung Suk in the game only to later find out that he was not just defeated within the game but also got killed in real life. This raises the question of whether Jin Woo killed him or was it just how the game was played out. However, Hyung Suk continues to haunt Jin Woo by appearing to him as a non playable character, who needs to be killed every single time it appears. While in the real world, people think that he is simply hallucinating, Jin Woo ends up falling off the topmost floor of the Hostel. With his body in bad shape and the impression of having some kind of psychological trauma, he persists to play the game in order to find Se Ju while nobody believes his words in the real world.
Se Ju’s older sister, Jung Hee Ju (played by Park Shin Hye) is the owner of Hostel Bonita. Unaware of the video game that her brother is developing, she is used to seeing him as an aloof recluse who disappears for days and is least worried about his whereabouts. She is terribly confused to see Yoo Jin Woo come and stay at the Hostel because he looks rich from his clothes to his car. With Se Ju’s nowhere to be found, after waiting many days for him, Jin Woo figures that the game is registered under the Hostel’s name which is owned by Hee Ju. So he bypasses waiting for the creator to show up, and buys the Hostel and effectively all rights to the game. Now he can develop the game freely. However, Jin Woo and Hee Ju continue to meet up, and as with most Korean dramas, there is a romantic line between them.
Nevertheless, for the most part, the romance took a back seat in this drama. It is entirely focused on the hunt for Se Ju since Jin Woo is obsessed with levelling up. There are many who see Jin Woo’s illness as a surefire way to take over his company and so we see people participating in the power struggle. However, while many loose ties are resolved throughout the plot, it still leaves us wanting more from the end. It’s a cyclical ending, much like Goblin and one that does not please me in the slightest. However, for those who enjoy action based dramas, this is definitely a must watch.
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