* This review contains minor spoilers for episode 9 and 10 of Destined With You.
Last week, we received several shocks. Not only did we learn that Na-Yeon has been having an affair, but that Hong-Jo has a stalker who is threatening her and Shin-Yu. We then saw Hong-Jo being menaced by a mysterious figure.
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Where the story picks up
Jae-Kyung shows up to save Hong-Jo from danger, but is traumatized from the experience. Despite Jae-Kyung’s kindness towards her, she is paranoid, remembering Shin-Yu’s suspicions about him being her stalker. She returns home and has a nightmare of the straw figure hanging outside her window.
Meanwhile, an unconscious Shin-Yu has been hospitalized, and his family are worried about his health. After a few days, Shin-Yu finally wakes up. He checks his phone and sees a flood of messages from Hong-Jo, which causes him to smile.
The two of them later meet outside the hospital. She asks him what happened, and he says that he doesn’t remember. The two discuss the situation with the curse, and she says she will head to his apartment to retrieve the cursed spell book.
At the same time, a mysterious figure is watching them from afar, and snaps a photo of the two of them being affectionate. The photo is sent to Na-Yeon, who doesn’t appear to be surprised by it. She then tells the sender to not bother sending any more photos of Shin-Yu and Hong-Jo.
A new threat revealed
Na-Yeon then meets up with Shin-Yu and tells him that she and Hong-Jo have “cleared their misunderstandings”. This disturbs Shin-Yu, especially when Na-Yeon begins to try and rekindle their relationship.
Hong-Jo searches Shin-Yu’s apartment and finds the cursed spell book. She realizes that the straw doll is part of the “love destruction curse”. She consults with the shaman, and decides to cast the love spell once again to neutralize the curse.
We then discover that Na-Yeon is actually in cahoots with the plant nursery owner, Joong-Beom. The two of them meet up to discuss their arrangement, which involves breaking up Shin-Yu and Hong-Jo. Joong-Beom then tells Na-Yeon all this time, he has been following her instructions, but has decided to follow his own plan now. Na-Yeon doesn’t seem bothered by this, and instead agrees to help him.
Journey to the past
We finally arrive at the day of the Onju City fireworks festival. Hong-Jo watches on as members of the public enjoy the fireworks display at the city park. Suddenly, she spots Shin-Yu across the crowd, and the two of them meet up in the middle of the bridge, in what is probably the most romantic and beautifully-visualized moment of the episode.
Hong-Jo confesses that she cast the love spell again to see if it would work. Shin-Yu then embraces her and tells her: “It doesn’t matter whether spells work or not. I love you.”
We are then transported to the Joseon era, where we see their past selves. We learn that Shin-Yu was once a young noble boy who is devastated by the loss of his mother from an illness. While crying underneath a tree, he encounters a mysterious young girl, who tells him to check his schoolbook to find a hidden final message from his mother.
Grateful for the girl’s help, he seeks her out again, and the two of them become friends. They eventually grow up, and fall in love. The boy promises the girl that they will be together one day, despite their different social classes.
The road to love gets bumpy
Back in the present day, Hong-Jo is surprised by Shin-Yu’s confession, and reminds him about Na-Yeon. Shin-Yu then tells her to “wait for him”, promising to finally end things with Na-Yeon for good. We later discover that Shin-Yu has remembered everything about his past life, including the love he felt for Hong-Jo’s past self.
He consults the shaman, asking her if this is what she meant by their “irreversible destinies”. The shaman replies that “karma is strong as an iron chain”. She tells him to make use of the second chance he has been given. He tries to call Na-Yeon, but we see that she is having dinner with her secret lover Lee Hyeon-Seo (Kim Kwon). During the dinner, Hyeon-Seo asks her to leave Shin-Yu, but Na-Yeon refuses, saying that she still loves him.
The next day, Shin-Yu tells Na-Yeon that he wants to break up. She makes him promise to keep their break-up a secret at work, and Shin-Yu reluctantly agrees. It’s a painful, heartbreaking scene, and kudos to Yura for being able to tug at our heartstrings, despite us knowing about her character’s past actions.
Workplace drama continues
At work, with Na-Yeon continues to act like she and Shin-Yu are a couple. She invites Hong-Jo to a dinner where she lies to Hong-Jo, saying that she and Shin-Yu are moving in together. Na-Yeon ends up drunk and passes out, and Shin-Yu comes to pick her up, much to Hong-Jo’s frustration.
She walks home and accidentally pepper-sprays Jae-Kyung, thinking that he is an intruder. To make it up to him, she agrees to follow him to a couples’ gathering, which ends up as a date in the parking lot. Jae-Kyung confesses that he loves her, but Hong-Jo is still very much in love with Shin-Yu.
Later Na-Yeon visits Joong-Beom to hand him a pair of Hong-Jo’s gloves, which he uses as part of a spell. At work, she catches Shin-Yu and Hong-Jo together and accuses him of breaking their promise. She then asks her father, the mayor, to transfer Hong-Jo to another department.
Shin-Yu learns about this and ‘kidnaps’ Hong-Jo from work and drives her to the beach. He tells her about his promise to Na-Yeon, and says he only went along because he did not want people to accuse Hong-Jo of being a homewrecker. He asks her to tell him how she feels about him, and she admits that she feels as though she has loved him for a long time. They kiss, but the moment is interrupted when Shin-Yu suddenly feels the bloodied hand touch his face. He pushes Hong-Jo away, shocking her.
What we liked this week on Destined With You
We finally got to see the scenes set in Joseon, and the start of their love affair. While we are thrilled to see that the two of them finally confessed their mutual love for one another, it is clear that Hong-Jo and Shin-Yu face plenty of obstacles.
Besides the love triangles with Jae-Kyung and Na-Yeon, there is also the threat from Joong-Beom, who appears to be the person behind the curses. It’s clear that their romance will face opposition from a supernatural aspect, as well.
Join us in finding out what happens next week on Destined With You!
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