Heartbeat (2023) K Drama Episode 12

Episode 12 of Heartbeat begins with Woo-hyeol waking up and seeing In-hae asleep on his bed. She wakes up as well and checks on him. She admits to being afraid he might leave her too. She’d be devastated if something happened to him and she confesses it’s because she has feelings for him.

He is moved by her confession and immediately pulls her into a kiss. He then affirms his feelings for her as well. Later, In-hae thinks about the kiss and wonders why her heart is beating so fast. Woo-hyeol also can’t seem to stop smiling.

Do-sik is in his office thinking about his conversation with Man-hwi. Man-hwi claims to know a half-vampire and wants money in return for the information. They shook hands on it.

In the morning, So-hi can tell something has happened between In-hae and Woo-hyeol from the way they behave. He arrives as So-hi leaves to go jogging. He and In-hae are a little awkward around each other but it’s cute. He then tells her what happened with Hae-won. Hae-won herself looks at the scroll of Hae-sun and tells herself that she is Hae-sun.

Woo-hyeol describes to In-hae that Hae-won is nothing like Hae-sun. When he left, he felt lost and confused but was better once In-hae found him. They’re about to kiss again when Dong-seop and Sang-hae burst in the door.

They’re full of concern for him. They then suggest they live and work at the guest house and after some persuasion, In-hae agrees. When the three of them are alone they ask about her blood and Woo-hyeol admits she might be in love. They shout out with joy but are shocked when Woo-hyeol reveals she’s in love with him.

Secretary Ko tells Do-sik that Man-hwi is the same man in the video of Woo-hyeol stopping the car. Do-sik decides to accept Man-hwi’s help and treat it as a business deal. Hae-won comes by and talks to him about Woo-hyeol. She straight up asks him what Woo-hyeol is and Do-sik tells her the truth. Sitting in her car, later on, Hae-won puts all the dots together.

Gwang-ok turns up at the guest house and tells In-hae he needs somebody to babysit his son, Min-jae. She tries to protest but he hands her some money and leaves. Meanwhile, Rose drives by the house where she had previously smelled blood. There, she spots Man-hwi getting into a car and leaving.

In-hae tries to entertain Min-jae but he wants to go to the amusement park instead. Dong-seop and Sang-hae tell her and Woo-hyeol to take him ahead while they manage the guest house.

The three of them head off to the amusement park where they go on rollercoasters and a haunted house, both of which thoroughly scare Woo-hyeol. When they’re alone, Min-jae asks him about love and describes it as the desire to do everything together with the one you love. He has a crush of his own as well. In-hae comes back with food for them and hands a flask filled with ox blood to Woo-hyeol.

Do-sik is informed about the vampires at the guest house by Secretary Ko and worries about In-hae. Man-hwi too arrives and tells Do-sik about Woo-hyeol wanting to be a human. Do-sik isn’t convinced and will only pay him if he proves Woo-hyeol has a scar.

While Min-jae rides a merry-go-round, Woo-hyeol is moved by all the people waving out to each other. Later, he carries a sleeping Min-jae on his back while walking back. He and In-hae agree that coming to the park was a good idea.

Ki-suk comes to the guest house to pick up Min-jae and gives them a package in return, as thanks. Before leaving, she recognises Sang-hae as the detective who approached her. Woo-hyeol pulls his friends aside and Sang-hae conveys his theory of In-hae’s father being kidnapped. Woo-hyeol tells them to keep it secret from In-hae for now.

He finds In-hae having dinner and begins to steal her food, as a treat for himself. Later, a tipsy Woo-hyeol and In-hae sit on a bench watching the moon. She surprises him by offering her now love-filled blood so he can become human. She suggests fixing a date for it, the 100th day since they met. She even suggests throwing a party. Woo-hyeol heartily agrees and doesn’t show any inhibitions about giving up his immortality.

As night falls, we see Man-hwi carrying an unconscious man from his car to the house Rose saw. Inside are jail cells, packed with men trapped inside. One of them is In-hae’s father.

In the morning, In-hae allots cleaning duties to Dong-seop and Sang-hae.  They’re even introduced to So-hi. When the latter goes inside her room, she gets a call from someone and gets angry. She yells at the person, telling them to stay away or she’ll call the cops.

In-hae and Woo-hyeol mess around with each other while washing the sheets. Hae-won comes by the house and sees them being cutesy. She approaches them and asks to speak with In-hae. When they’re alone, Hae-won reveals that she knows everything. She guilt trips In-hae for keeping Woo-hyeol away from his one true love. When In-hae refuses to back down, Hae-won tells her to wait and watch.

Hae-won storms over to Do-sik’s office and blames him for not taking any action. She vows to do everything she can to break them apart. Meanwhile, the vampire duo are packing up their house and Rose arrives to help transport it all. She tells them about Man-hwi which shocks them.

Ko Yang-nam meets Woo-hyeol and they talk about his revelation. Woo-hyeol forgives him for his previous missteps and then tells Yang-nam that he will be human soon. When Woo-hyeol asks if In-hae will be happy when he becomes human, Yang-nam is shocked. He reveals that Woo-hyeol needs to suck In-hae’s blood dry to turn human. In turn, since In-hae opened the coffin, she must kill Woo-hyeol if she wants to continue to live.

Man-hwi overhears this and rushes over to tell Do-sik everything. Do-sik drives over to the mansion and punches Woo-hyeol when he sees him. Meanwhile, someone knocks on So-hi’s door and it turns out to be the man stalking her. He begins to drag her out by the hand.

Do-sik reveals to Woo-hyeol that he knows everything. He asks if Woo-hyeol will kill In-hae and accuses Woo-hyeol of being a monster incapable of love.

Meanwhile, In-hae tries to stop the stalker from taking So-hi and ends up getting hurt. Woo-hyeol’s neck wound burns and he uses his super speed to run inside. He stops the stalker with his powers and the man runs out. Woo-hyeol bends over In-hae but she’s bleeding from her temple and passes out. Woo-hyeol’s eyes turn red and he leans towards her but Do-sik rushes in and pushes him off.

The Episode Review

Episode 12 had me hooked from start to finish. In-hae and Woo-hyeol’s awkward but budding relationship is adorable and the entire sequence at the amusement park is a delight to watch. Their dynamic is lovely and the two characters fit with each other like pieces of a puzzle.

Another interesting development is Man-hwi and his private prison. What I enjoy is how he’s playing things from the sidelines, riling up Do-sik and Hae-won to do the real dirty work. It makes him a clever villain. I’m also looking forward to Hae-won’s complete transformation into the antagonist. Yoon So-hee does a wonderful job as someone who is used to having things her way and finds herself betrayed.

Most exciting is, of course, Yang-nam’s revelation that only one person can live between In-hae and Woo-hyeol. Laughably, this is a pretty big detail he missed out on conveying earlier, making it almost unbelievable. But logic was never a point of strength in this K-drama, so we can forgive it and look forward to all the angst that is bound to come.