Hello, Me! episode 16 recap – the finale/ending explained

By Daniel Hart
Published: April 8, 2021
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K-Drama Netflix series Hello Me episode 16 - the ending/finale explained
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Summary

This has been a troubled series, but episode 16 signs off the story with a little class and strong messages — it’s such a stage it didn’t launch well because the theme of self-love and care really resonates.

This recap of the K-Drama Netflix series Hello, Me! episode 16 — the ending/finale explained — contains spoilers.

A series of two halves — the first half was not worth watching, but the second half strengthened the story — unfortunately, we do not believe fans will be screaming for a second helping.

The finale begins with Han Yu-hyeon seeing a photo of Ha-ni’s father and recognising him. A flashback shows a young Han Yu-hyeon upset and Ha-ni’s father Gi-tae asks him what’s wrong — Han Yu-hyeon’s mother has passed away. To cheer the boy up, Gi-tae gives him some snacks and a lily. In the present day, Han Yu-hyeon tells Ha-ni and her younger self of the good memory of their father. Suddenly, Han Yu-hyeon remembers what the shaman said — “that I can’t understand what I’m being told, and that I can’t remember what I saw”. He has no idea what it means, but he believes it is a hint to sending the younger Ha-ni back to her past. In reality, the shaman’s vagueness meant very little in the grand scheme of things — all the plot surrounding sending Ha-ni back didn’t really solidify that much — it was rather simple in the end.

The Dream

The younger Ha-ni experiences a dream with her father, and they are taking photos with each other, and she wonders why a flower has disappeared. She can hear a woman scream “Ha-ni” — it’s her grandma. She tells older Ha-ni about her dream, and she’s worried about her grandma.

Anthony explains his guilt

Anthony tells Ha-ni about a day 20 years ago where she left him in the restroom at school — he was so angry he told a teacher that Ha-ni skipped school. Because he grassed on her, her parents showed up at her audition, and she couldn’t complete it. It was on the same day she had a tantrum with her father, and he died afterwards in an accident. Anthony blames himself. Ha-ni tells Anthony that it was her responsibility for what happened, but she’s grateful for his honesty.

This felt like a rather rushed moment between both characters.

Visiting Ms Han

Ji-man visits Ms Han in prison and he tells her he wishes he gave her a more satisfactory life and wants her to forgive him as her brother. Ms Han admits that she finds it sad that the last he saw of her was the ugly side of her personality. She apologises to him and Han Yu-hyeon for acting so shamefully.

Visiting grandma

The younger Ha-ni visits her grandma and blames her self that she’s sick. The grandma offers her kind words and claims it’s not her fault. She gives her advice about how to become a little stronger. Later on, the younger Ha-ni looks at a photo album with her older self and her mother. She recognises one of the photos. The place she had dreamt about. The younger Ha-ni is noticing that the closer the days run down, the more incidents that keep happening. She’s nervous, but Han Yu-hyeon calms the older Ha-ni down. He tells her he will keep being there for her. Later on, Ha-ni prays and asks for help.

A way back?

At the midway point of the Hello, Me! episode 16, the story finally finds a way for the younger Ha-ni to return to the past, which spurs the ending.

The younger Ha-ni dreams about being in the same place again, and this time she sees a tunnel. Her father tells her it’s time for her to leave. She wakes up and believes that the tunnel is the way back. She looks at the older Ha-ni asleep before leaving the apartment on her own. The older Ha-ni wakes up and sees a letter — her younger self tells her that she’s found a way back and didn’t know how to say goodbye.

The tunnel

The older Ha-ni recruits Han Yu-hyeon to help find her younger self, but they keep hitting dead ends. She then remembers where she grabbed a lily in a valley and got lost in a tunnel — her father looked for her and eventually found her. He told her the meaning of the flower — “finding happiness again”.

The older Ha-ni finds the younger Ha-ni near the tunnel. She admits she couldn’t say goodbye and that she’s afraid of losing her father when she returns. The older Ha-ni says she can’t leave without saying goodbye. The cell phone goes off, and it says “1 Day”. Ha-ni thanks her younger self because she lost herself in the last 20 years, but she reminded her of who she is. The strong theme of self-love returns for the finale, and it’s a great message from the series.

Back to the past

Both the younger and older Ha-ni walk through the tunnel together. After an emotional goodbye, light fills the tunnel and the younger Ha-ni returns to her past on the same night her father got run over by a truck. Her father pushes her out of the way, and he is run over. She looks over at her father with despair. Gi-tae asks, “did you get back safely?”. The younger Ha-ni cries and apologises. They hold hands, and Gi-tae tells her that it’s okay — he thanks her for everything before dying. Her mother rushes over and helps comfort her daughter.

In the present day, Han Yu-hyeon checks up on Ha-ni, and she cries in his arms. She’s worried about her younger self.

The story has finally reached full circle.

Ha-ni tells her mother and sister that her younger self went back to the past. Her grandmother gets out of bed, and she recognises the older Ha-ni properly for the first time without blaming her for Gi-tae’s death. Her grandmother apologises for blaming her all these years.

The ending

The final minutes of Hello, Me! episode 16 sees the series explaining where the characters ended up.

Ha-ni returns to work, and Han Yu-hyeon is in her department. Do-yun is now the leader of Joa Confectionery. Meanwhile, Anthony, now known as Chun-sik again, does something he loves and opens up his own street kitchen — he’s also a guardian for bullied kids. As for Ha-ni and her family, she and her family are closer than ever. Ha-ni narrates how she and Han Yu-hyeon are slowly getting to know each other — the following scenes show Han Yu-hyeon giving her flowers next to the sea. Ha-ni lightly kisses him on the lips to seal a romance.

As the episode ends, Ha-ni remembers her times with her younger self. Since she met the younger Ha-ni, she gained the courage to start anew. She writes her younger self a letter and ends it with “goodbye, me” to sign off the series with class.

This has been a troubled series, but Hello, Me! episode 16 signs off the story with a little class and strong messages — it’s such a stage it didn’t launch well because the theme of self-love and care really resonates.

Netflix, Weekly TV
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