* This review contains minor spoilers for episode 3 and 4 of Destined With You.
Last week, things got off to a great start for supernatural romance K-drama Destined With You. The first two episodes introduced us to the main characters, Jang Shin-Yu (Rowoon) and Lee Hong-Jo (Jo Bo-Ah). Their paths crossed one day at an abandoned shrine, and Shin-Yu later gives Hong-Jo a mysterious box containing a book of spells. Shin-Yu realizes that one of the spells in the book might be the cure for his hereditary illness (due to a family curse) and asks her to give it to him.
Hong-Jo decides to create a love potion to give to Kwon Jae-Kyung (Ha Jun), a City Hall official whom she has a crush on. However, as she is brewing the spell, Shin-Yu has a car accident, and passes out.
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Where the story picks up
We see that Shin-Yu was not seriously hurt in the accident, and that he goes to meet with his girlfriend Yoon Na-Yeon (Yura) at a bar. She later questions his commitment to their relationship, saying that he has become distant from her. Shin-Yu refuses to tell her about his illness, and instead asks her for some time apart.
Meanwhile, Hong-Jo finishes her spell, and decides to give the love potion to Jae-Kyung. She pours it into his drinking glass during the next boardroom meeting, but is called away before she sees him drink it. Later, Shin-Yu insists that both he and Hong-Jo take a day off so that he can claim the spell that he asked for.
A new spell is cast
The two drive to his family villa, where she casts the spell to cure diseases for Shin-Yu. He later has a dream of two children during the Joseon period. The next day, Hong-Jo gets a phone call from Jae-Kyung asking to meet with her, causing her to believe that her love spell has worked. She tells Shin-Yu that because the love spell was a success, the cure diseases spell should work as well.
However, Shin-Yu realizes that he has developed feelings for Hong-Jo, which confuses him. When Na-Yeon suddenly appears at his home, he suddenly feels overwhelmed and breaks up with her. A tearful Na-Yeon is heartbroken, but appears to accept it.
Shin-Yu then follows Hong-Jo to her meeting with Jae-Kyung, and watches on jealously. He seems unsure of the reason why, but then we see that it was actually Shin-Yu who drank the love potion, not Jae-Kyung. He later meets up with Hong-Jo and confesses his love for her.
Shin-Yu’s unwanted affections
Shin-Yu asks a horrified Hong-Jo to help him break the love spell, as he does not want to be in love with her. The next few days see Shin-Yu trying (unsuccessfully) to resist his growing feelings for Hong-Jo. He begins to want to be near her, and insists on helping her out with her work.
Meanwhile, Na-Yeon meets with Shin-Yu’s father. He tells her of his son’s illness, and asks her to not give up on Shin-Yu. However, as Na-Yeon is passing by City Hall, she catches sight of Hong-Jo and Shin-Yu together. Considering their past history, with her breaking their high school friendship after Hong-Jo ‘stole’ her boyfriend, this will surely become a problem in the future.
Things get interesting for Hong-Jo as well, after Jae-Kyung suddenly moves into the apartment below her. She is thrilled to have him as her downstairs neighbor, and hopes to be able to get closer to him. However, she first has to help Shin-Yu break the spell.
The shaman gives her judgement
Shin-Yu and Hong-Jo meet with the shaman who used to live in the abandoned shrine, and ask her guidance. She tells them there is no way to break the spell, but imparts one last bit of advice to Hong-Jo, which we are not told. We also find out through the shaman that Hong-Jo’s father died by drowning, after he saved two people. She tells Hong-Jo where she can find the resting place of her father’s spirit.
Shin-Yu later realizes that the shaman may have told Hong-Jo how to break the spell, and insists she tell him. Hong-Jo refuses, but gives him an ‘initial puzzle’ with the answer: YDCBSAI. Shin-Yu asks his parents and a friend to help solve it, but is unsuccessful.
The two later visit the seaside, where Hong-Jo pours some soju for her father’s spirit. As he looks at Hong-Jo, Shin-Yu finally realizes what the shaman told her. “Your destinies cannot be severed. Accept it.”
What we liked this week on Destined With You
These two episodes really took the story to a new level. Both Jo Bo-Ah and Rowoon showcased some excellent acting skills, depicting the complicated new twist to their characters’ relationship. Rowoon has some great comedic moments portraying Shin-Yu’s confused feelings for Hong-Jo, and the script gives him some of the most hilarious lines.
We also see the Destined With You supporting cast shine here. There is a subplot where Jae-Kyung discovers that it was Hong-Jo’s colleagues who recorded and shared the video that showed him ‘dumping’ her. We also finally meet Ms. Ma (Lee Bong-Ryun), the head of the department who was absent in the previous episodes. She immediately puts a stop to the bullying that Hong-Jo has been experiencing, and appears to be an ally for Hong-Jo at work.
What is most interesting is that we finally get hints of Shin-Yu’s real connection with Hong-Jo. He has several dreams of two children from the Joseon period, which look like him and Hong-Jo as children. He believes that this is all due to the love spell that he accidentally drank, but we’re sure that their connection actually runs deeper than that.
Next week’s episodes are sure to be interesting, with Shin-Yu falling deeper in love with Hong-Jo, while she attempts to form a relationship with Jae-Kyung. We also get hints that Shin-Yu might learn more about their past history together.
We certainly can’t wait to find out what happens when we review next week’s episodes of Destined With You!
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