* This review contains minor spoilers for episode 5 and 6 of Destined With You.
In last week’s episode, we watched as Lee Hong-Jo (Jo Bo-Ah) created a love potion that was accidentally drunk by Jang Shin-Yu (Rowoon). He immediately develops feelings for Hong-Jo, leading to complications in their daily lives.
Shin-Yu breaks up with his girlfriend Na-Yeon (Yura), partly due to his complicated feelings and also because he does not want to burden her with his hereditary illness. Meanwhile, Hong-Jo refuses to let the misdirected love spell stop her from building a relationship with Kwon Jae-Kyung (Ha Jun). The Jang family shaman also tells them that their destinies “cannot be severed”.
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Where the story picks up
After accompanying Hong-Jo to the beach to commemorate her late father, the two sit down for a meal. She is touched by his considerate nature as he joins her in a meal in her father’s memory. He also reveals that he never drinks, as he has no idea how he will behave when intoxicated.
The two of them later discuss the shaman’s statement about their situation, and decide to “fight against their destinies”. However, this proves difficult, as Shin-Yu is unable to stop himself from contacting Hong-Jo or meeting up with her. This leads to several hilarious scenes of Shin-Yu laying in some truly cheesy pick-up lines on an angry Hong-Jo.
Complicated romances
We also learn that Na-Yeon is trying to rekindle her relationship with Shin-Yu. She explains that she doesn’t care about his illness and still loves him, and he appears to agree to their engagement. The two of them visit a local historical landmark on a date, but Shin-Yu suddenly sees a woman in Joseon garb who looks like Hong-Jo. He chases after her but loses her in the crowd.
He believes it was a hallucination, and demands that Hong-Jo break the spell, revealing that he is now back with Na-Yeon. Hong-Jo later recalls a painful moment in high school when Na-Yeon bullied her. At the time, Na-Yeon accused Hong-Jo of ‘stealing’ her boyfriend, breaking off their friendship.
Hong-Jo also has her hands full trying to get close to Jae-Kyung, who is now her downstairs neighbor. The two of them have dinner together, and Jae-Kyung appears to warm up to Hong-Jo. Shin-Yu calls her, and is overwhelmed by jealousy when he discovers she is with another man. He later becomes despondent when Hong-Jo doesn’t answer his phone calls and text messages, and begins drinking.
A tangled love triangle
A drunk Shin-Yu confronts Hong-Jo at her home. Jae-Kyung comes across the scene and believes the two of them are in a relationship. This angers him, as he knows Shin-Yu is dating Na-Yeon. Shin-Yu declared that the situation is “Hong-Jo’s fault”, however, neither of them can bring themselves to mention the love spell.
Hong-Jo, feeling guilty, then agrees to take Shin-Yu home. The two stop in a park along the way, and discuss their increasingly complicated situation. Hong-Jo announces that she will cast a Disaster Nullification Spell on the next full moon, which they hope will cancel the love spell.
Shin-Yu surprises Hong-Jo by asking her if she had any feeling for him during their ordeal, and she is unable to give him a straight answer. He then leans over to kiss her.
Get a grip, Shin-Yu!
The next morning, Shin-Yu wakes up alone at home with no memory of the night before. He meets with Hong-Jo, but she refuses to tell him what he did or said while he was drunk.
At the same time, Na-Yeon reaches out to Hong-Jo to apologize for the way she behaved in school. She also mentions that she and Shin-Yu are engaged. Meanwhile, Jae-Kyung tries to find out the details of Hong-Jo’s relationship with Shin-Yu, but she only says it “will be over by the next full moon”.
Eventually we learn that while he was drunk, Shin-Yu told Hong-Jo that he didn’t want to go break the spell. He admitted that he enjoyed his feelings for Hong-Jo, and that he believed it was “real love”.
The new spell goes awry
Eventually, the night of the full moon arrives. The two of them cast the spell, after getting distracted by a search for a woman’s missing dog. Hong-Jo draws a character on a piece of paper, which Shin-Yu has to keep for 100 days. The two of them feel happy at first that the spell seems to be working.
Shin-Yu later realizes that Hong-Jo drew the wrong character, meaning the spell was never cast. She blurts out that she felt nervous around him, and Shin-Yu appears to be happy that she seems to be having feelings for him too.
Jae-Kyung (again) runs into them, and orders Shin-Yu to leave Hong-Jo alone. Shin-Yu then declares that he is in love with Hong-Jo, shocking her.
What we liked this week on Destined With You
Rowoon and Jo Bo-Ah continue to captivate us with their sizzling chemistry. Jo Bo-Ah in particular does an excellent job at portraying Hong-Jo’s complicated feelings, as she begins developing feelings for Shin-Yu as well as Jae-Kyung. Rowoon continues to amaze us with his comedic timing, as well as his earnest portrayal of Shin-Yu’s ongoing battle with his emotions.
We also enjoyed the sub-plots that these episodes presented. There is the interesting relationship between Hong-Jo’s bosses Mr. Gong and Ms. Ma. It appears that the two of them have a history together, and that their feelings are mutual. We also get an unexpected action scene involving Mr. Gong protecting Ms. Ma from a violent complainant.
We also learn about Shin-Yu’s parents’ complicated relationship. It appears that their clashing personalities are driving his mother over the edge, and she begins to initiate divorce proceedings, although we’re not sure if she will go through with it yet.
Hong-Jo also has a stalker in the form of the plant nursery manager she has been working with. Shin-Yu managed to fend him off this time, but he may add more conflict in the future.
We love how Na-Yeon and Jae-Kyung play a bigger role in the storyline this week. We can’t help but feel for Na-Yeon, who seems to want nothing more than to reconcile with Shin-Yu and take care of him. She is also sincere about being friends again with Hong-Jo, which might lead to heartbreak if she ever learns about Shin-Yu’s feelings for her.
While we’re not sure if Jae-Kyung actually reciprocates Hong-Jo’s feelings, or is just feeling protective as a friend, we’re interested in finding out what happens next week. The preview reveals that he now knows about the love spell and is encouraging Shin-Yu and Hong-Jo to end it.
Join us in finding out what happens next week on Destined With You!
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