Destined With You Episode 13-14 Review: The end & the beginning

* This review contains minor spoilers for episode 13 and 14 of Destined With You.

Last week on Destined With You, plenty of secrets were revealed. Not only did we learn the dark history of the plant nursery owner Joong-Beom, but we watched as Na-Yeon’s infidelity was exposed. And just as it appeared that Shin-Yu and Hong-Jo were free to love each other, their own dark pasts were unveiled. Now that Hong-Jo and Shin-Yu know what happened to their past selves, how can they keep their love alive?

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Where the story picks up

Destined With You Episode 13-14 Review: The end & the beginning

We begin with more scenes of Aeng-Cho and Mu-Jin. She accuses Mu-Jin of tricking her in order to steal the spell book. Instead of answering, he stabs her. Back in the present day, Hong-Jo says that she was the one who cursed Shin-Yu. He tries to tell her it doesn’t matter, but she replies: “It matters to me.”

She recalls her meeting with the shaman, who told her that she and Shin-Yu were destined to meet, and there was no way to break the curse. Hong-Jo decides to separate from Shin-Yu for his safety. She breaks the news to him, and he is heartbroken. They reluctantly agree to stay apart to see if he recovers.

A painful parting

Amidst all this, Na-Yeon visits Shin-Yu to let him know she was the reason why the contract to develop Mount Onju was given to her lover’s construction company. She threatens Hong-Jo, and tells Shin-Yu that she is willing to take him back.

Ha Jun Destined With You Episode 13-14 Review: The end & the beginning

Meanwhile, Hong-Jo is pressured by her colleagues to host a housewarming party. They insist that Jae-Kyung also attend, and we get a hilarious, awkward scene of the two ladies trying to hit on him. It provides a welcome moment of levity after the earlier heartbreak.

Hong-Jo’s resolve is soon tested when a drunken Shin-Yu is dropped at her place. He challenges her, asking her if she “can live without seeing him”? She lies and tells him she can. She later confesses to Jae-Kyung that she really loved Shin-Yu, but they had to break up because she “was making him sick”. Jae-Kyung says that if he were Shin-Yu, he would still want her by his side.

Secrets of the flower pot

The next day, Shin-Yu tries to carry on with work, while his subordinate waters the new plant and notices the water turning red. They empty the pot to reveal Shin-Yu’s pajamas and Hong-Jo’s gloves, which were used by Joong-Beom in his curse from earlier.

Shin-Yu realizes there might be a supernatural reason for how things turned out. He accuses Na-Yeon of giving the items to the plant nursery owner. She denies this, and blames Joong-Beom, but Shin-Yu refuses to believe her story.

Meanwhile, Jae-Kyung is on business with the mayor. He checks the apartment’s CCTV and sees Joong-Beom standing outside the gate. He informs Shin-Yu, and they realize that Hong-Jo is at home alone. Shin-Yu heads over to her apartment.

Face-to-face with Joong-Beom

Destined With You Ahn Sang-woo as Na Joong-beom

Hong-Jo gets a call from Jae-Kyung warning her. As she goes to shut a window, Joong-Beom suddenly grabs her. He accuses her of ignoring him once Shin-Yu appeared, but before he can do anything else, the police arrive on the scene.

Shin-Yu finally reaches the apartment but Joong-Beom has disappeared, leaving a terrified Hong-Jo. He asks her to stay at his place, and she reluctantly agrees. At his apartment, the two have a tender conversation before he heads to the parking lot to check on something. He notices Joong-Beom’s car there.

Shin-Yu rushes back to his apartment to stop Joong-Beom, but ends up getting stabbed. Hong-Jo finds him and tearfully tries to stop the bleeding. Shin-Yu briefly wakes up and touches her face with his bloody hand, whispering: “I’m sorry Aeng-Cho.”

Rowoon as Jang Shin-Yu and Jo Bo-Ah as Lee Hong-Jo

The aftermath, and the beginning

Shin-Yu is taken to the hospital, and a devastated Hong-Jo watches while doctors try to save his life. Despite their best efforts, his heart stops.

We are then taken back to the past, where Mu-Jin’s father orders him to marry another nobleman’s daughter. Mu-Jin asks Aeng-Cho to run away with him, but she refuses, saying his destiny it to be great man, and that there is no place for her by his side. When Mu-Jin tells her that he doesn’t want that destiny, she lies, claiming that she does not love him.

Rowoon and Jo Bo-Ah Destined With You Episode 13-14 Review: The end & the beginning

Some years later, Mu-Jin has become a royal guardsman, while Aeng-Cho remains a shaman. She is brought to the palace, where a concubine orders Aeng-Cho to prepare a spell to conceive a son. Aeng-Cho runs into Mu-Jin, and the two rekindle their relationship. The concubine later forces Aeng-Cho to curse the crown prince so that her son can take his place.

Aeng-Cho is tortured, and tells the king that whoever kills her will be cursed for generations. She is locked away, but Mu-Jin helps her escape. The concubine and her advisor fear that Aeng-Cho will reveal their secret, and decide to steal her book of spells.

Mu-Jin leaves Aeng-Cho, taking her spell book, but is caught by the other royal guards. He learns that Aeng-Cho will be horribly dismembered. Elsewhere, Aeng-Cho is found by the palace guard captain and the advisor. Mu-Jin suddenly appears and says he will be the one to kill her. He stabs her and she reminds him of the curse, and he says he will gladly accept it to save her from a worse death. He tells her they will be happy in their next life.

Rowoon in Destined With You Episode 13-14 Review: The end & the beginning

Back to the future

The doctors revive Shin-Yu, and he is wheeled into the operating room. A guilt-ridden Hong-Jo tells Jae-Kyung that she was the reason Shin-Yu got stabbed. She decides to move away to keep Shin-Yu safe. Shin-Yu is discharged and leaves voice messages for her on her phone, telling her to return.

However, Hong-Jo also gets a message from Joong-Beom. He asks her to meet him one last time, or he will hurt Shin-Yu again. She heads to the location, and finds that Shin-Yu has tracked her down and was following her.

Shin-Yu embraces her, telling her that by ‘dying’ in the hospital, he ended the curse. He tells Hong-Jo that he “saw everything”, and brings her hand to his face to show that he no longer sees visions of the bloody hand. He tells her: “In this life, and our past life, I love you.”

Rowoon as Jang Shin-Yu and Jo Bo-Ah as Lee Hong-Jo

What we liked this week on Destined With You

This week was full of heartbreak as both Shin-Yu and Hong-Jo were forced apart by the curse, and by her stalker. We also loved the extended scenes set in the past with Mu-Jin and Aeng-Cho’s doomed love affair. Both Rowoon and Jo Bo-Ah showed the best of their acting talents this week, giving us a range of emotions.

We also enjoyed the reveal that Na-Yeon, Jae-Kyung and Joong-Beom were also tied to our couple’s past selves. Na-Yeon and Joong-Beom were the concubine and her advisor, while Jae-Kyung was the palace guard captain. This certainly added another layer to how we see their characters in the present day.

Now that the curse appears to have ended, we’re interested to find out how they deal with Joong-Beom. And whether the spell books will play a role in the final episodes.

Join us in finding out what happens next week on Destined With You!

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