A struggling author meets a young man with mysterious superpowers and no memory of who he is.  He has the ability to sense other people’s pain and struggles simply by brushing past them.  But that isn’t the only usual thing about the young stranger.  It seems that he actually came from the past carrying a manuscript that tells the story of a 27 year old murder that has been covered up.  Now the writer and his newly found “brother” will work together to uncover the truth about the crime and their own connection to the events of the past.  

Bae Hyun Sung as Kang San

Kang San is hit by a car during a lightning storm and wakes up in the hospital with no memory of his past or the world around him.  While still in the hospital, he finds that he can see and feel other people’s pain if he makes any physical contact with them. With nowhere to go, he begins staying with Dong Joo, who is the one who hit him.  And they soon discover that Kang San actually time travelled from the past.  As the pieces of his memory slowly come back, he begins to look for his older brother who disappeared 27 years ago.  But his brother is not the only link he has between his past and this present life.  Soon he will find himself plunged into the middle of a dangerous murder case and some very powerful enemies. 

Kang San is sweet and naive.  Although he has travelled 27 years into the future, he is still just an innocent high school student who has lived a difficult life.  His sense of wonder at the changes in the world around him give his character a unique perspective.  Finding himself in this strange new place, he has no choice but to trust and depend on the few people he has been able to meet.  Bae Hyun Sung made a great Kang San.  His bright eyes and youthful enthusiasm fit the role well.  I especially liked his interactions with Jung Woo.  Their scenes felt natural and it was fun to watch them become more casual and relaxed with each other as the story progressed.

Oh Man Suk as Kai

Kai is San’s older brother.  After seeing what happened at the lake that night, Kai went into hiding to save his own life and hopefully San’s as well.  The manuscript that Dong Joo published was actually written by Kai after witnessing the whole thing.  After years of living in secret, Kai is determined to get revenge on the boys from the lake that really killed a man that night.  But those young boys avoided punishment then because of their family connections, and they have grown up into powerful and influential men who won’t go down without a fight. 

 ♥ Chae Woo Jeong

I really loved Chae Woo Jeong as San’s first love back in the past.  She is now an adult who owns her own book cafe.  The writers managed to create a beautifully bittersweet story between the two.  While neither one of them is the person the other remembers, they still share a sweet bond of affection that is full of love, without ever making the new age difference feel weird.  The fine line they managed to walk is so well done.  While their story was only a side plot, it was one of my favorites in this drama.

 ♥ Villain to the Villain

Lee Tae Man is the obvious villain in this drama.  As the heartless murderer who was still killing to keep his secret safe, he was entirely unlikable and diabolical.  But when all is said and done, Myung Seok just may be even more evil.  The way he used Dong Joo’s book as a weapon to destroy his own brother is pretty low.  And really no villain ever deserved it more than Tae Man, so it’s hard to really hate Myung Seok for it. This gave us double the satisfaction for Tae Man’s punishment, since Dong Joo and San were responsible for putting him in prison and Myung Seok was responsible for making sure he lost all his family fortune and connections.

Ineffective Detectives

I’m really not sure we needed the detectives and their useless investigations in this drama.  After all, Dong Joo and San pretty much end up solving the whole crime without their help anyway.  I didn’t find Park Hyeon Soo’s character that interesting to begin with.  The time wasted watching the police chase their own tails could have been better spent exploring other, more interesting characters or explaining some of the unanswered questions about the supernatural elements of the story.  For example, what was the whole disappearing hand thing supposed to mean and why did even Dong Joo have it happen at one point?  Or why did Dong Joo’s watch suddenly start again?  What is the meaning of Kang San getting his powers back?

Back to Past

I had kind of hoped that San would get a chance to go back to the past he belonged in.  With the knowledge he brought from the present, he could have changed everything for the better, allowing his brother and Dong Joo’s dad to stay by his side, and hopefully saving Woo Jeong from the accident that caused her dementia.  And if all that had happened, they could have all still been together in the present with the adult San.  Especially since they seemed to be hinting at the fact that San was becoming increasingly ill from having travelled through time. Did he just magically stop passing out once the murder was solved?  They neglected to give San’s superpower story any proper closure.

“Miraculous Brothers” ties things up pretty well for a happy ending.  After the police bring in both Tae Man and Sang Woo, they manage to turn them against each other and get the confession they need.  All of those still around from the original murder and cover up are rounded up and arrested.  San and Kai plan to take off together to go into hiding, until Kai decides he wants to face his crime and turn himself in. But first he calls Dong Joo to ask him to look after San until he is released.  Kai and Hye Kyeong also have a brief reunion where she promises to wait for him.  Two years later, Dong Joo has published his second novel, this one titled “Miracle Brother”.  San is going to college, and he and Dong Joo are living together at Kai’s house.  The final scene shows San getting his powers back and Dong Joo’s dad’s watch start ticking again, hinting at a possible sequel, just in case.  Then Dong Joo gives us an thought-provoking ending monolog about miracles happening every day.