Destined With You 2023 Episode 12

Episode 12 of Destined With You starts with Hong-jo being pushed into the pit by Joong-beom who starts trying to bury her alive. He states that he’s sad doing thus to Hong-jo because he loved her. Sin-yu is concerned about Hong-jo after finding the skeleton and calls the City Hall when Hong-jo doesn’t answer his call.

Sin-yu learns that Hong-jo had gone to examine a pit in the deep trenches of the forest. While he tries to cover Hong-jo in mud, Joon-beom gets a call from Sin-yu, who asks to meet the florist. Sin-yu mentions that there were skeletal remains found in a park that Joong-beom developed.

Joong-beom ends the call and flees the scene without burying Hong-jo. A flashback from the past shows Mu-jin with Aeng-cho, where the young boy gives Aeng-cho her name after a flower. In the present, Hong-jo wakes up in a deep pit later that night and tries to escape it but cannot make it out. She tries to find her phone when Sin-yu calls. Thankfully she answers and manages to tell him where she is.

Sin-yu struggles to find Hong-jo, but finally makes it to the pit, trying to pull her out. Just as Hong-jo tries to grab his arm, she recalls a memory from her past life when she was Aeng-cho and Sin-yu (as Mu-jin) grabbed her out of a pit. Hong-jo takes a shower and thinks about the vision she just had while she was in the pit. Sin-yu shows up at Hong-jo’s house to help her with the wounds on her hands. He tells her that he had put on CCTV outside her house to protect her.

Hong-jo asks Sin-yu about the dreams that he had of her dressed in traditional clothes. She wonders why she’s having similar dreams/visions of him. Sin-yu asks her to not make much of these and puts her to sleep before going back home. Jae-kyung finds Sin-yu’s car outside their house and gets upset. 

The next day, Seo-goo tells everyone at the office that they need to be careful as a murderer is on the loose. He tells them about the skeleton discovered and reveals that Sin-yu thinks Joong-beom is responsible. He tells the team that Hong-jo was saved because it is possible that Joong-beom is dangerous. 

Her colleagues tell Hong-jo that she must be happy because her scandal with Jae-kyung has been brushed under the rug. Hong-jo goes out to have lunch alone but is spotted by Jae-kyung who had lunch with her. He learns that Hong-jo prefers to eat alone because she was bullied in school. Jae-kyung asks about Hong-jo’s injury but she tells him she was okay.

That afternoon, Hong-jo visits a convenience store near the location of the pit. She asks to see the CCTV footage and learns that Joong-beom had pushed her into the pit that night. Hong-jo also learns that Sin-yu was at the convenience store that morning and had asked for the same footage. She visits Joong-beom’s flower shop alone and is startled when she sees Sin-yu there. 

Sin-yu scolds Hong-jo for showing up at Joong-beom’s shop alone despite knowing that he tried to bury her alive in a pit. Hong-jo is embarrassed. Sin-yi asks her to seek his help when she is in danger because he loves her and will go to any length to protect her.

Sin-yu asks Hong-jo to stick with her and Joong-beom, who’s watching the two together from the CCTV outside his office. Meanwhile, Wook helps schedule an audition for Yoon-jo who is trying to restart her career. Eun-young leaves to go back home when she has a chat with Seo-goo. She tells her that she is going to see her ex-husband that evening because he just broke up with his girlfriend.

Sin-yu calls Hong-jo and learns that she is working late that night. He offers to help her but experiences tactile hallucinations on the elevator ride to her office. Hong-jo waits for a bit but goes to check on Sin-yu, who is passed out in the elevator. She rushes him to the hospital where Sin-yu asks her to go back home. He tells Hong-jo that he does not want her to see him suffer and promises to meet her once he is discharged. 

Hong-jo goes back home but is worried sick. She decides to cast a new spell to help Sin-yu but starts seeing more visions of herself as Aeng-cho. Sin-yu’s doctor tells him that he needs psychiatric help because his symptoms are increasing. 

Before she can leave for work, Seo-goo shows up at Eun-young’s place where he shows her a revised proposal presentation. Eun-young tells him that she was initially considering getting back together with her ex-husband, but decided against it after. She asks Seo-goo to continue to pursue her before she leaves.

Sin-yu shows up to work and finds Hong-jo waiting for him in his cabin. She tells him that one way to rid him of the curse is by making out like they did in princess movies. The two are kissing in the office when Gi-dong shows up unannounced and Hong-jo scurries out. 

Gi-dong tells Sin-yu that he had seen the two together and informs him that the Mayor has asked to see him. Sin-yu visits the Mayor, who is seated with his father. The two older men try to convince Sin-yu to get back together with Na-yeon. The Mayor asks Sin-yu to “do away” with Hong-jo. 

Sin-yu tells them that he knows what he has to do next and leaves to meet Na-yeon for dinner. He calls Lee Hyun-seo there and singles Na-yeon out for cheating on him while she professed her love for him. Sin-yu tells Na-yeon that she was clearly cheating on him long before he started developing feelings for Hong-jo. He congratulates the two and wishes them well before leaving. 

That night, Hong-jo goes back home and finds Jae-kyung’s father waiting for him. She brings him inside, around Jae-kyung’s house, and has a drink with the man until Jae-kyung returns. After Hong-jo goes upstairs to her apartment, Jae-kyung yells at his father and asks him to leave him alone. His father asks for a compensation of 30 million won if he wants to be left alone.

Na-yeon is pissed by the accusation and goes to her father’s office and asks him to punish Sin-yu for how he had treated her. The Mayor calls Jae-kyung and asks him to partner with Lee Hyun-seo’s construction company – Haum for an upcoming project. He tells Jae-kyung that despite their lucrative offer, they had refused to work with Haum because of Sin-yu. The mayor promises to give Jae-kyung a huge bonus if he manages to confirm the agreement. 

At her office, Hong-jo tells her colleagues that she is dating Sin-yu. After having a few drinks at her team dinner that evening, Hong-jo comes clean to her colleagues and tells them she was not dating Jae-kyung but that he was her neighbour. Sin-yu grows concerned when Hong-jo does not answer his calls but is startled to see her show up at his house.

Sin-yu takes a drunk Hong-jo to the couch and the couple flirt and cuddle for a bit before Hong-jo passes out. Sin-yu takes Hong-jo to bed and the two go to sleep. Hong-jo wakes up in the middle of the night and gets a vision of the red hand from their past life. She grows concerned when she sees Sin-yu having a nightmare. 

The next morning, Sin-yu wakes up in bed all alone. He tries to look for Hong-jo when he gets a call from his mother. Yoon-jo states that Sin-yu’s father wants to meet Hong-jo on his birthday. Sin-yu agrees to meet his mother and goes looking for Hong-jo. She asks him to pick her up and reveals that she’s meeting Eun-wol. Hong-jo tells Sin-yu that she’s caught up in her chat with the shaman.

The two decide to go see the snow that day where Hong-jo tells Sin-yu that she will not be able to meet his father because she is breaking up with him. She’s remembered their past life and recalls cursing Sin-yu; a curse that his family carries to this day. 

The Episode Review

The show is failing its viewers so badly which is really disappointing. I really wish the makers would have put more focus on the lives of Mu-jin and Aeng-cho in the earlier episodes rather than keeping their stories for the very end. There is angst in this episode but the stupidity, all thanks to Hong-jo, overshadows it.

Everything Hong-jo does is mind-numbingly lame and it is concerning how this woman goes to various lengths to put herself in danger so a tall, dark and handsome saviour (read Sin-yu) rushes to save her. Who told her it was a good idea to inspect the pit alone when she was clearly being stalked?

Now that Hong-jo and Sin-yu are dating, we can assume that they have passed the baton to Seo-goo and Eun-young, who are the new “toxic” couple. The way Eun-young takes Seo-goo for granted is annoying.

With only 4 episodes left in the show, there is little to no hope left as Rowoon struggles to carry the weight of being the only tolerable character on this show.