Definitely Not Today Episode 1 Recap
> Definitely Not Today Recap
Mi Chong introduces himself as a man who has considered himself lucky since childhood. When he was still an embryo, his family eagerly awaited his arrival. His story began with his mother's resolute declaration that she must give birth to him. Upon Mi Chong's cries after birth, his family sighed in relief, but his paternal grandpa, overcome with joy, passed away.
At six years old, Mi Chong discovered his maternal grandma had become an expert at hide-and-seek, her disappearance sparking his curiosity about the outside world. His mother, who believed in leading by example, burned his maternal grandma's photo, explaining that the deceased should not be kept around as it is not good for future generations. What was once a happy and warm family of seven was reduced to just Mi Chong and his father.
His father, the strongest man in their family, spent 23 years proving himself to be the household's pillar, often drowning his sorrows in alcohol. During those years, Mi Chong's paternal grandma and maternal grandpa also died one after another. His father remained strong, but due to a drunk driving accident, he became a vegetative state. Last week, after 23 years in that state, Mi Chong's father woke up, only to pass away shortly after.
This made 23-year-old Mi Chong, whose name literally means "rice worm" (a slang term for a lazy person), truly an orphan. During these 23 years, Mi Chong gradually lost his social skills due to long-term home confinement, making him unable to integrate into his surroundings. He found young people's vigor boring, treating everything with indifference and lack of interest, living a slow and timid life like his father's ECG.
He believed his family's deaths conveyed that losing control is the essence of life, and the only way to regain order is to reset everything. Considering it a good day, Mi Chong chose June 13th, the same date Osamu Dazai committed suicide, as his own. He was content to share this date. He wrote a letter asking someone to care for his cat, despite believing its life, like his own, was meaningless.
He clarified that there is a vast difference between wanting to die and not wanting to live, identifying with the latter. With only five minutes left until his chosen time, Mi Chong, at a lake, tied a large stone to his waist, prepared to jump. However, just as he was about to, a woman suddenly jumped into the river. Mi Chong quickly dropped his stone and rescued her.
He later described this as an extremely painful beginning to a story, his first meeting with the woman, Zhi Liao. Thirteen hours earlier, Zhi Liao, whose name translates to "cicada" and implies a vibrant summer energy that symbolizes genetic evolution's allure to men, identifies herself as an expert in scamming, a skill taught by Qiang, who is like a father to her. She was at Qiang's bar.
Her partner, Jin Jie, helps clean up after she "hooks a fish," and they work seamlessly together. Most of their earnings go to Qiang, with the rest split evenly between them. That night, Zhi Liao, despite Qiang's warning that one must be "bad enough" to avoid encountering worse people, forgot his advice. She unknowingly drank a spiked drink from a client. She was carried out of the bar by two men, while Jin Jie followed behind them.
In the car, her phone rang, rousing her, but one of the men quickly hung it up. Unable to move, she heard a man remark on her being "pretty hot" and his inability to hold back. Determined to prevent sexual assault, Zhi Liao recalled hearing of girls defecating in their pants to deter attackers, but she couldn't do that. She decided to do something to make them lose their sexual desires.
She intentionally vomited in the car, leading the men to argue about her making a mess on one's clothes and scratching the car. Seizing the opportunity while they were distracted, Zhi Liao used all her strength to open the car door and jumped into the river, where she encountered Mi Chong. Zhi Liao later reflected on this as an "extremely horrible beginning" to her story with Mi Chong, though her remembered first meeting was different.
After waking, Zhi Liao demanded 3,000 yuan from Mi Chong, threatening to tell Qiang if he refused. Mi Chong, wondering if he hadn't saved her, found her self-righteous expression made him doubt his own memory. When the tenant auntie knocked to pay rent, Zhi Liao swiftly took off her pajama pants, pretending to be Mi Chong's intimate partner to ensure the rent money would be handed to her.
She then took the money, asserting that it was "fated" to be hers, and put on Mi Chong's clothes. She then tried to justify taking the money by accusing Mi Chong of either touching or looking at her when he changed her clothes, sarcastically suggesting he keep her "worn clothes" as keepsakes, implying he was someone who might buy such items online. She then left. As she departed, Zhi Liao's phone accidentally broke, making her unable to contact Jin Jie.
She thought he would be worried about her and considered him the person she trusted most in the city, though she admitted to calling him a "scoundrel" when he was unhappy. She noted his strength and musculature, acknowledging his lack of intelligence and scary temper, but found him a sufficient partner. Jin Jie, however, yearned for more than a partnership, having pursued her for many years without success, and had repeatedly proposed to her.
Zhi Liao had an instinctive fear of love, but her recent near-death experience made her realize she wanted to embrace him and accept his proposal. However, upon reaching his place and pressing the doorbell, she found Jin Jie talking with the two men who had drugged her. She realized Jin Jie was complicit in the incident. This betrayal felt like dropping an ice cream she deeply desired, knowing it had become too dirty to eat.
Mi Chong was irritated that Zhi Liao had made him miss the chance to share Osamu Dazai's death date, wondering if he would have to wait another year. Despite this, he proceeded with a meticulous plan for a "decent death." He had secretly practiced tying knots for hanging, discarding ones that were too loose or too small for his head, or too "effeminate." He ensured both himself and his house were clean.
He had also established a good relationship with his neighbor, the neighbor lady, to ensure she would visit regularly and discover his body promptly, hoping she wouldn't suffer a heart attack. He prepared a noose, which he considered his best work, and waited for the sunset's last rays to pass through his eyes. Just as he was moments away, Zhi Liao burst in.
She claimed she only wanted to hang her clothes and found his noose sturdy, a "crappy lie" Mi Chong knew only an "idiot would fall for." She then announced she would stay for a few days because she didn't want to be alone, asking about his schedule and meal preparations. She then threw the money she had taken, declaring it her rent payment. Mi Chong was speechless, thinking that the money and clothes were originally his.
He concluded that she was ruining his plans, and had she been just five minutes later, he would have been successful. He resolved that he must die tonight, regardless of her presence, and would let her fulfill the role his neighbor was supposed to. He reaffirmed his determination to succeed this time because he considered himself a lucky person.
