Episode 1 of Serendipity’s Embrace starts with a financial planner named Kang Hu-yeong returning from the USA to South Korea after 10 years. Despite being wealthy, he stays at his uncle’s ordinary home ignoring his advice to stay longer and visit his friends Instead of just staying for ten days as he intended but Hu Yeong replies that he doesn’t have friends but has plans for that day which leads his uncle Ceo Baek to think he’s meeting up with a woman.
Meanwhile, a young lady Lee Hong ju is on a call in the middle of the road unaware that she is blocking Hu Yeong who is driving to a restaurant. As he settles himself, he is shocked when Hong ju approaches him confusing Hu-yeong to be her blind date. He remembers when she had given him a love letter publicly in highschool but it seems Hong-ju does not recognise him when he asks if she’s really the one he knows. When Hu-yeong’s real date – Oh Mi-soo shows up, she leaves to look for the guy her friend set her up with and sits with him.
Mi-soo takes a seat across from Hu-yeong and starts talking but she quickly notices how he keeps staring at Hong-ju. She asks if Hu-yeong knows her and learns that the two went to high school together. Hong-ju and her date leave the restaurant to go elsewhere and Hu-yeong leaves Mi Soo behind and follows after them, wondering why Hong-ju was having such a hard time recognizing him.
Meanwhile, Hong-ju sees him from the car mirror as she’s driving off with her date. She recognises Hu-yeong but tries to avoid him. Turns out Hong ju’s date is quite rigid and doesnt bend when she suggests doing something out of his schedule.
Hu-yeong and Hong-ju end their respective dates that night and are on their way back to their respective homes. On the drive back to his house, Hu-yeong gets a call from Joseph, Mi-soo’s brother who is his client. Joseph wonders why Hu-yeong ended the date with his sister so abruptly. He then asks Hu-yeong to return to the States before the company party. Joseph also tells Hu-yeong to finish all his incomplete businesses in South Korea before returning. This reminds Hu-yeong of Hong-ju and he ends the call with Joseph.
While he is stuck in traffic, Hu-yeong suddenly spots Hong-ju sitting at the bus stop and is taken back to the time when they were both in high school.
A flashback shows a young Hong-ju giving a love letter to Hu-yeong in the presence of everyone and asking him to write back to her. Back to the present, Hu-yeong calls out to Hong-ju, hoping she will get in the car with him but is disappointed when he no longer sees her at the bus stop. Instead, he spots Hong-ju having a snack at the tteokbokki stall and follows after her.
Hu-yeong tries to make small talk with Hong-ju but she is irritated when he asks her for a napkin and fish broth. He then outrightly asks if she doesn’t recognize him. Hong ju admits she recognizes, but tells him she doesn’t have to acknowledge him. She asks if he returned to Korea and he tells he returned briefly for work making Hong ju scoff that he still had time to go on a blind date. Hu Yeong realises that Hong-ju recognized him from the restaurant. After a small banter, Hong ju then eventually asks Hu-yeong if he is in touch with any of their classmates but he isn’t. She then asks for Hu-yeong’s phone number and suggests he catch up with his old friends while he is in town.
Hong-ju states that Hu-yeong’s friends may have missed him while he was away. He asks if she missed him as well. Hong-ju is startled and spits up the fish broth she was drinking onto Hu-yeong’s coat. Hong-ju pays the stall owner for the snacks and asks Hu-yeong to use the remaining change to get his coat dry-cleaned as she rushes to take the bus back home.
The stall owner gives Hu-yeong the change which is an embarrassing amount of 500 won.
He returns home recalling how the stall owner tells Hu-yeong that his car is being towed because he wrongfully parked it across the bus stop. That night, Hong-ju is peeved that she hasn’t texted him and is taken back to his first interaction with her.
Back when the two were in high school, Hu-yeong met Hong-ju for the first time when she was sleeping on the bus on their way to school. The driver asks Hu-yeong to help wake Hong-ju up. Hu Yeong tells the driver he doesn’t know her but the man insists so he does so by grabbing the bag she was holding tightly while sleeping. She immediately wakes up.
On their way inside the school, Hong-ju notices their math teacher punishing late comers. Desperate, she tries to take advantage of Hu-yeong’s ankle injury by pretending to help him to school just so she can save herself from being punished for being late. She lies that she is his friend to the teacher and that she was helping him which was the reason she was late but Hu Yeong exposes her. He is allowed in due to his injured leg but he watches as the teacher empties Hu Yeong’s bags and her romance novels are poured on the ground. The teacher scolds Hong ju for bringing romance novels Instead of text books but she counters that she can learn what she wants from the novels. Hong-ju gets upset when she sees Hu-yeong smiling as she is punished for being late.
While in math class, Hu Yeong suddenly discovers Hong ju’s novel in his bag written by someone called Bang Joon ho. Seems she had secretly slipped it inside and his eyes fall on a page she highlighted about first love but he thinks it’s childish. He is suddenly called out by the teacher to solve a question. He does so effortlessly and the teacher praises him for being the smartest student in the class. While the teacher is talking, Hu Yeong notices Hyeji sitting in the garden before running somewhere. She suddenly sees him and waves at him with a smile on her face.
In the present, Hu Yeong fondles the five hundred won coin still sad that Hong di hasn’t contacted him.
Meanwhile, Hong-ju tells Hye-ji her friend about her conversation with Hu-yeong. Hye Ji is happy she ran into Hu Yeong because she was her first love and has been so curious about how his life turned out. She wants to know everything about him but Hong ju advices her to ask Hu Yeong herself but she’s shy to do that.
The two then recall back in highschool when they were both in the garden after Hong ju’s punishment. Hye Ji tells her that her father, the teacher who punished her is reconsidering teaching because of her. Hong ju confesses she too is reconsidering going to school. School isn’t fun and she sees no point in being a student. Hye-ji then tells Hong-ju that she can’t concentrate on school work. She has no appetite because she has a crush on Hu-yeong. Hong-ju doesn’t know him but when Hye Ji shows him walking across from them, she recognizes him immediately and objects, stating that she does not like Hu-yeong because he was mean to her that morning but she eventually decides to help her get his love.
She helps Hye ji write a love letter and just as she’s running to give it to her, she sees Hu Yeong from his class window and waves at him. She tells Hye Ji to also wave at him but she is shy.
When it’s time to give Hu Yeong the love letter, Hye Ji is unablebto do so feeling she isn’t pretty. She then asks Hong-ju to give the love letter to Hu-yeong on her behalf. Hong-ju complies only when Hye Ji promises to give her her crush Bang Jun ho’s military unit address. Bang Jun ho is her favorite author.
So she gives Hu-yeong the love letter but clarifies it’s from her friend who likes him. She then tells him to write back to her friend and asks if he’s keeping her novel safe. Just then, Hye ji’s father appears and she runs off telling Hu Yeong to take care of her book. Hu-yeong is startled by the incident and finds Hong-ju interesting.
Now, Hye-ji asks Hong-ju to play cupid and set her up with Hu-yeong. She then asks about her blind date but she reveals she wasn’t satisfied with him because he was like an immovable rock. Hye Ji advices her not to judge on a first impression and to give dating a chance but Hong ju is unwilling believing that dating is a concept being forced on modern human beings who has had a beauty. She thinks it’s a waste of time and energy but Hye ji points that she used to think differently before, saying that love is a way for humans to survive. She wonders why she changed. Hong ju simply sends Hye Ji Hy Yeong’s number, rooting for her future romance.
The next day, Hu-yeong is at a meeting in the finance company – Rock Asset but his silent foul mood puts everyone on edge. Just then, his uncle – CEO Baek Wook introduces him to the staff. CEO Baek makes an elaborate speech, revealing that Hu-yeong, a math genius will be helping their company out. But suddenly, Hu Yeong starts pointing out mathematical descripancies in the documents making the atmosphere tense. CEO Baek tries to lessen the tension but Hu Yeong demands for the company files to be sent directly to headquarters, getting to work immediately.
He then leaves to his uncle’s office and he gets scolded by him for sending the files to headquarters with out informing him. Then he realises it was Hu Yeong’s plan all along and that was the reason he came to Korea but Hu Yeong replies that he’s simply trying to help him out. Hu-yeong is still upset about Hong-ju leaving him high and dry after their conversation from the night before and CEO Baek wonders why Hu-yeong is in a pissy mood and acting like his mother. He sees him looking at his phone and asks him why. Just as Hu Yeong is about to tell him, he gets a call about a meeting. CEO Baek then asks Hu Yeong for his car keys but Hu Yeong tells him his car was tolled. Shocked, CEO Baek asks him what happened.
That’s when he reveals it was because he stopped by the street to meet his high school mate. His uncle quickly deduces she must have been his first love which leaves him excited. Just then, Hu-yeong gets a call from an unknown number and he answers it. To his disappointment, he talks to Hye-ji instead of Hong-ju. Hye-ji asks if Hu-yeong is willing to catch up over drinks.
Without hesitation, Hu-yeong agrees to meet Hye-ji, Hong-ju and his old friend – Sang-pil for drinks determined to speak to Hong ju as soon as they meet.
On the night of the reunion, his uncle keeps teasing him about his first love. Meanwhile Hye-ji shows up at Sang-pil’s restaurant all dolled up. However, she injures the back of her leg due to wearing tight heels. Sang-pil gives her tissues and she warns him to be careful of what he says as she plans on reconnecting with Hu Yeong but Sang-pil finds it odd for a high school English teacher like her to be dressed in pink and jokes about telling Hu-yeong how much plastic surgery she had done on her face.
As the two friends bicker, Hu-yeong shows up. Sang-pil hugs his old friend scolding him for not keeping in touch all these years. However, Hu Yeong doesn’t recognize Hye Ji and Sang pil reminds him. He almost exposes her surgery but she cuts him off and complements Hu Yeong. The trio starts drinking while Sang-pil also tends to the guests. Hu-yeong gets anxious as he waits for Hong-ju to show up.
Meanwhile, Hong-ju is walking across the street when she comes across a poster of Bang Jun ho but she seems angry while looking at it. Just then, her boss Producer Lee asks her to deliver a gift to one Director Kim who is at an after-party for one of his projects.
A few hours later, Hye-ji is drunk but still compliments Hu Yeong wondering how Hong du could recognise him when she can’t becaise he has changed so much. She wants to call Hong ju who is running late but passes out on the table and would have hit her head on a glass if Sang pil hadn’t removed it in time.
Meanwhile, Hong-ju goes to the party and gives the gift to Director Kim on her boss’ behalf. Director Kim forces Hong-ju to stay over for drinks and introduces her to Bang Joon-ho, her first love and the author of Hong-ju’s favorite novel from when she was a teenager.
She immediately freezes refusing to speak with him but has no choice when Bang Jun ho himself comes over to her and asks how she is doing.
While Hu-yeong waits for Hong-ju to show up, Sang-pil closes the restaurant for customers and has a drink with Hu-yeong.
A while after, Hong-ju shows up at the restaurant drunk. She immediately recognises Hu Yeong declaring how they are always running into each other. She and Hye ji affectionately hug each other in a drunken stupor murmuring incomprehensible things. Hong ju demands for more beer and is about to tell Sang-pil how she ran into her first love but gets distracted when Sang-pil feeds her some of the spicy chicken. Hong ju cries and Hu-yeong is amused by Hong-ju’s antics due to being drunk. Eventually, Sang-pil asks Hu-yeong to drop Hong-ju home as they live close to each other while he would take Hye Ji home. He serves him a drink and warns him not to leave again without saying goodbye like he did before.
Hu-yeong walks Hong-ju home after she buys things at a convenience store. He tells her he wants to settle some things with her but just then, the two pass by their high school and chat about their first meeting. He laughs at the inconsistency in her description and Hong-ju notices that Hu-yeong smiles a lot now as compared to when they were teenagers. She states that younger Hu-yeong used to be mechanical, emotionless and inhuman which makes Hu-yeong smile even more. Hong-ju is glad he is back and suggests that they should try to be friends now as adults.
Hu-yeong and Hong takes Hong-ju up on that offer and the two walk home. Hu-yeong and Hong-ju talk about the idea of first love and Hong-ju compares the feeling to frozen food. Hong-ju claims that frozen food is better left in the freezer because once it starts thawing, the food rots if not consumed completely.
Once the two arrive at Hong-ju’s house, she gives Hu-yeong her favourite ramen bowl and frozen food snack as a thank you for dropping her home. Hong-ju notices Hu-yeong following her to her door. Hu-yeong states that the frozen food packet she has given to him has already started thawing and the episode comes to an end.
The episode was downright interesting. Although, Hu Yeong’s character was annoying in the first arc but he kinda made up for it with his beautiful smile later on. I’m enjoying the main leads chemistry, showcasing their acting growth. The friendship between Hye Ji and Hong du was also cute especially their drunken display. However, I feel I might enjoy the second lead couple more. Sang pil and Hye ji. It’s obvious he likes her but is keeping it to himself. Little wonder why he and Hu Yeong are friends. Both must know how to keep things to themselves. I would like to know why Hu Yeong abruptly left and why Hong du is angry with her first love so much so she no longer believes in love. However, it seems Hu Yeong will go all out in declaring his intentions towards her. I’m eager to recap the next episode for you guys. Stay tuned.