The prologue of "Bad-Memory Eraser" Episode 1 kicks off with a poignant flashback, transporting us to the heyday of child prodigy, Lee Gun, as he competes in his final tennis match, a triumph that etched him as the inaugural South Korean to clinch an international medal. His younger sibling, Shin, gazes upon him with unwavering admiration. However, fate when the opponent's racket, in a moment of inadvertence, soars towards Shin. In a heroic act, Gun leaps forth, shielding his brother, only to have the projectile slam into his skull.
As Gun recuperates, a heart-wrenching revelation echoes through the corridors of his mind: his parents, having depleted their life savings on a renowned coach, now contemplate a drastic move—leaving him with his grandmother's care and forging Shin's path as the new hope. Gun, fueled by desperation, endeavors to chase after them, yet exhaustion soon claims him. His cherished medal, a symbol of glory, plummets into a river's embrace, and in a futile attempt to reclaim it, he too succumbs to the water's grasp. Miraculously, a mysterious young girl emerges, her angelic presence saving him from the depths before vanishing into thin air.
Years later, the narrative shifts to the present, where Gun now stands as the manager of Shin, a tennis sensation in his own right. The family embarks on a journey back to South Korea, with parents and star pupil, Shin, ensconced in their flight's comfort. Meanwhile, Gun finds solace in the lounge's solitude, a glass of liquor in hand, and by his side sits Kyung Ju-yeon, a psychiatrist delving into the depths of PTSD. She posits a profound theory: even a single, seemingly insignificant bad memory can etch itself onto one's psyche, shaping their identity and fostering a breeding ground for low self-worth. Her words resonate deeply with Gun, whose paranoia casts a shadow over his every move, making him feel like the world is his unforgiving judge.
Confiding in a sympathetic flight attendant, Gun whispers of an impending class reunion, a beacon of hope where he might finally reconnect with his first love—the enigmatic girl who saved him from the river's clutches. Yet, fear lurks at the fringes of his heart, the specter of disappointment haunting his every step towards this long-awaited reunion.
Ju-yeon's patience wears thin with Gun's incessant lamentations, which seem to intensify amidst the turbulence of the flight. In a misguided attempt to assist her in removing a smudge from her lips, he inadvertently chips her veneers, adding insult to injury. The turbulence escalates, leading to a chaotic fall where she instinctively saves her laptop over him, and he, resigned to his perceived worthlessness, accepts his fate.
Upon landing, Gun's charade as Shin commences, a desperate ploy to divert the avid tennis fans. Their paths cross again, and in a comical twist, they inadvertently swap bags, leaving Gun in charge of the family's luggage—a responsibility he neglects, only to find himself stranded. His family, unfazed, instructs him to charge a taxi to his brother's account, leaving him to brave the cold on a public bus, stubbornly making his way home.
His humble abode, a cramped storage room within the family house, reveals a life of neglect and ridicule. His parents' jibes about his attire cut deep, and self-pity becomes his constant companion. To compound his misery, his preference for fried chicken is ignored as the family indulges in boiled chicken—Shin's favorite—with even the dog receiving better portions than Gun. Adding insult to his wounds, a playful moment with the dog ends in a painful bite.
Later, Guk-bong, Gun's friend, calls with hopes of reconnecting at a reunion, seeking to reunite with his first love. But Gun, filled with trepidation, delegates the search to his friend. At work, the disparity between him and his brother is palpable as Shin's agent looks down upon Gun, mocking him for relying on his sibling's success. The truth emerges: Gun's position as manager is solely due to Shin's intervention, a fact that only serves to deepen the agent's contempt.
Gun, unwittingly, crosses paths with Shi-on, a budding tennis prodigy who harbors a quiet admiration for him. As Shi-on seeks his insights, Gun, innocently, touches upon her knee injury, unwittingly striking a nerve. The agent, enraged, retaliates with a flurry of papers, shattering Gun's already fragile ego. Heartbroken, Gun fears he's lost even his last vestige of fandom, convinced he's become a nonentity in their eyes. Amidst the chaos of retrieving the scattered papers, his wrist throbs with sudden agony.
Elsewhere, Ju-yeon prepares to present her groundbreaking research—a bad memory eraser designed to obliterate the traumatic recollections that haunt patients. However, her preparations are disrupted when she discovers a mix-up in her bags. Desperate for her documents, she finds Gun's number scribbled on one of the bags and dials, only to be met with an abrupt hang-up.
Her annoyance is fleeting as Gun unexpectedly stumbles into the emergency room, his wrist a throbbing mess. Medical examinations reveal no physical ailment, leaving Ju-yeon to speculate about PTSD and phantom pain. Gun, skeptical of such therapies' efficacy, dismisses her theories. Undaunted, she playfully pinches his other hand, drawing him out of his misery. To his surprise, the pain vanishes, prompting him to storm off in a huff.
Upon reviewing his medical file, Ju-yeon realizes he's the same Lee Gun from their tumultuous encounter on the flight and with the misplaced luggage. Overcome with empathy, she leaves him a voice message, offering to help him confront his demons. A fragile truce forms, with Gun promising to return her luggage the following day.
The next morning, as Gun drops off Shin at the hospital, the latter catches a glimpse of the reunion invitation, teasing Gun with a half-hearted joke. But Gun's agitation is palpable, his mind consumed by the past. Shin, in a moment of candor, wishes Gun could find peace and let go of his trauma's grip. Unbeknownst to Gun, Shin has been secretly seeking solace with Dr. Han, Ju-yeon's colleague, and stumbles upon the bad memory eraser trial, piquing his curiosity and igniting a spark of hope.
At that pivotal juncture, the physicians, their hands full with the triumphant test subject - a mouse - stumbled on their way to the boardroom, inadvertently freeing the little creature. As the session drew to a close, Shin dispatched a text to Gun, summoning him to the main entrance, only for fate to intervene: Gun's vehicle unwittingly crushed the liberated mouse beneath its wheels.
Ju-yeon, her heart heavy with grief, unleashed her fury upon Gun, convinced that the life of the mouse outweighed his own. She drove the point home, declaring that if she were his first love, she would never embrace him, for he remained shackled to the past, destined to do so until his dying breath.
Yet, amidst this setback, Ju-yeon stood firm before the board, her conviction unshaken. She proclaimed that the research, now bolstered by irrefutable evidence of success, warranted progression. Her next endeavor would transcend the bounds of rodents, embracing humanity itself. As the board delved into the moral quagmire of memory erasure, Ju-yeon illuminated the isolating nature of trauma, where patients are consumed by the belief that love is absent, and every gesture is misconstrued as malice.
The narrative shifted, painting a poignant scene of Shi-on, his gaze fixed adoringly on Gun, while his parents fussed over fried chicken. A flashback flickered, revealing a youthful Ju-yeon, her expression a mask of shock. Returning to the present, Ju-yeon vowed to extend the trial's compassionate embrace to those in desperate need, earning the board's approval.
However, Ju-yeon's harsh words about Gun's worthlessness echoed in his mind, driving him to plunge into the river's depths. Rescued by Shin and hospitalized, Gun found himself unwittingly chosen as the next subject for the doctors' experiments. Overcome with guilt, Ju-yeon remained by his side, unwavering.
But as Gun's traumatic memories were targeted for erasure, an unforeseen complication arose. Amidst the reliving of his first love's heroic rescue, his gaze locked onto Ju-yeon, and when consciousness returned, he embraced her, convinced she was the one who had saved him long ago. Thus, the first chapter of "Bad-Memory Eraser" drew to a poignant close, leaving viewers to ponder the intricate dance between memory, identity, and the power of love to transcend even the darkest of pasts.
