See You in My 19th Life (2023) K Drama Episode 9

See You in My 19th Life episode 9 starts with a flashback to Ji-geum’s sixth life. At the time, she was hurt and agonized over whether she will ever meet someone who remembers their past lives. She hoped that at least she could find someone who believed her reincarnation story.

We circle back to her current life where we left off in episode 8. Seo-ha is unable to believe that Ji-eum is Ju-won. Ji-eum assures him that she is telling the truth; it might be a miracle but Seo-ha asks her to leave. She brings up Ju-won’s old favourite book, The Moon and the West Witch’s Forest. Seo-ha remembers that book, and she tells him that Ju-won hid the key to the jewellery box she gave him on his birthday. 

She gives him a note and instructs to read it only after opening the box and going through what is inside. She then leaves, but she is hoping that Seo-ha will reach out soon. Ji-eum opts to visit Cho-won to cheer herself up. She confides in her little sister that she came clean to Seo-ha.

Ji-eum is prepared to lose him if he fails to believe her. After going through numerous losses in each life, Ji-eum has become numb to the pain of losing a loved one. 

In her past lives, she either lost people or they disappeared. No one believed her reincarnation story and she felt lonely. However, her 19th life is different; she has Cho-won and Ae-gyeong, who believe in her and stay by her side.

Cho-won is saddened to hear what Ji-eum has been through and can’t help but cry. Ji-eum comforts her and lovingly teases her for being a crybaby. As the night rolls on, they say their goodbyes and Ji-eum heads home.

As Ji-eum walks through the streets, we see the people she has been in her past lives walking behind her. I think this is meant to show her reincarnation journey and each life’s impact on her. They are all part of who she is now. 

Meanwhile, Seo-ha jumps into the swimming pool to perform his usual calming ritual. This is his way of calming his mind. He tries to remember Ju-won’s last words to him but fails. 

Elsewhere, Ms Jang meets with Mun Jeong-hun to share her concerns about Seo-ha’s investigation into the accident. She is worried that Sang-hyuk might get overwhelmed with guilt and confess the truth to Seo-ha. She argues that this would be bad for Jeong-hun and offers to step up and help him.

Given what a good lap dog she is, she can’t miss a chance to try and impress the chairman. Mun Jeong-hun is inclined to agree since, as she says they think alike when it comes to this matter. Unbeknownst to them, Seo-ha already knows about his uncle’s betrayal. 

On the other hand, Ji-eum gets home and finds that Min-ki left her the shaman bells in her room. She refuses to touch it and returns it. Min-ki is curious why she is avoiding the shaman bells, and she explains that she doesn’t care about her first life. To her, that is no longer important. She has made up her mind to focus on her current life and spend it with Seo-ha. This seems to strike a chord with Min-ki, and he has an angry expression. 

Later that night, Ji-eum has a dream about her first life and sees a man walking towards her. The man is Seo-ha, but Min-ki is also there and is watching them with a pained expression. Based on his attire, Min-ki must have been a powerful person. In the same dream, Ji-eum sees herself mourning over someone’s bloody dead body. As Ji-eum dreams of her first life, Seo-ha dreams of the accident and tries to remember her last words.

The next morning, Seo-ha makes his way to his childhood house and tries to find the book Ji-eum mentioned. He is lucky enough to find it, but unfortunately, Sang-hyuk shows up before Seo-ha can open the box. Seo-ha quickly hides it and tries to play it cool with Sang-hyuk.

Sang-hyuk starts to notice that Seo-ha is not his usual self and worries if his nephew is sick. They are joined by Mun Jeong-Hun, and Seo-ha asks if they have anything they need to tell him. Of course, the two men have nothing to say, and Mun Jeong-Hun asks Seo-ha to leave.

Sang-hyuk tries to de-escalate the father-son fight, but Seo-ha asks him to stay out of it. Once Seo-ha leaves, Sang-hyuk and Mun Jeong-Hun head into the office to talk. The interaction is overwhelming for Seo-ha and he leaves without the jewellery box. Later, Seo-ha fails to show up at work, and Ji-eum tries not to be disheartened. 

Soon, night rolls by and Do-yun picks his younger brother up from a bar. His little brother is quite drunk and demands some ice cream by force. Cho-won happens to see this as she walks by and thinks Do-yun is being pestered by a drunkard. She quickly rushes in to help him and hits Do-jin over and over.

She is later shocked to learn that Do-jin is Do-yun’s little brother. They get Do-jin ice cream and wait for him to sober up a bit. As they wait, the talk veers off to their feelings for each other. 

Once again, Do-yun draws a line and asks Cho-won to stop. He tells her the is unwilling to date her because he doesn’t want to be the subject of more gossip. He is adamant that he is not going to date her and apologizes for giving her false hope.

Cho-won tries to change his mind but he is set on creating a boundary between them. Cho-won is hurt after hearing his reasons and leaves crying. Do-jin overhears this conversation and he is also sad for his brother but says nothing. 

In the meantime,  Ji-eum waits for Seo-ha at an amusement park, but he fails to show up. She calls it a day and heads home. She is hoping that Seo-ha found the key and came to the amusement park they were heading to on the day of the accident. Sadly, Seo-ha never opened the jewellery box and is unaware that Ji-eum is waiting for him. He is currently obsessing with trying to remember what Ju-won sais in her last moments. 

The next day, he heads back to his childhood home and opens the jewellery box. Inside, he finds a book written by Ju-won about her first life. She details how meeting him helped her deal with all the pain from her past lives. Ju-won wanted to spend her life with him and hoped they will be happy together.  

Seo-ha opens the second letter as instructed by Ji-eum and sees that she wants him to meet her at the amusement park. He then remembers Ju-won’s last words to him. She wanted to see him in her next life and promised to come back to him. He quickly rushes over, but there is heavy traffic. He calls her but Ji-eum fails to pick up because she is hoping he will come in person. 

Finally, Seo-ha makes it to the amusement park and they see each other. For a brief moment, they stare at each other from a distance. Each one of them remembering what has transpired between them leading to this moment. Ji-eum is the first to speak and expresses that she is glad he made it. Seo-ha asks what would have happened if he hadn’t read the letter. Ji-eum replies that she would have still waited for him. 

He is still in disbelief and Ji-eum touches his face just like Ju-won used to. She assures him that she really wanted to see him and keep her promise. She tells him that when she died as Ju-won, she prayed not to forget him. Normally, she prayed to forget and be reborn with no memories from her past life. Seo-ha embraces her and cries but she tells him that she has been hoping that he would be happy. They hug again for a long time as Seo-ha comes to terms with the fact that she was Ju-wom in her past life. 

As this goes on in the amusement park, Min-ki meets with Han-na and strategizes what to do about the situation. They are worried that Seo-ha and Ji-eum getting close will lead to problems. Min-ki says that the only way for them to be safe is if they become normal. He and Han-na decide they need to move quickly before it is too late. 

Back to the amusement park, Seo-ha and Ji-eum walk hand in hand. They talk about how they should address each other and go on a little date. Ji-eum explains that she was worried about telling him the truth. Seo-ha also confides in her that he blames himself for what happened to Ju-won. Ji-eum assures him that it is okay and she will be with him even in the future. They talk more and Ji-eum tells him about seeing him in her past life. She tells him about the bridge and the fireworks in her dreams.

The following day, Do-yun prepares some hangover soup for his brother but he seems to be out of it. He is probably thinking about Cho-won and what happened the previous night. Meanwhile, Cho-won gets a call from Ji-Seok asking her to meet for a wedding event being held by a mutual friend.

Unlike Do-yun, Ji-eum is having a great morning and is excited when Ae-gyeong gives her a new jacket as a gift. The day gets better after receiving a call from Han-na recruiting her to torment Ms Jang. Han-na is the reincarnation of Seo-ha’s mom and wants to get a little revenge by scaring Ms Jang.  

As it turns out, Ms Jang not only slept with her husband but used Seo-ha to threaten her too. Han-na feels better after watching Ji-eum pretend to be possessed by Seo-ha’s mom’s spirit and pass a haunting message to Ms Jang. Later, Han-na thanks Ji-eum and tries to explain to her that she is ready to cross over. Ji-eum fails to understand what she means but Han-na tells her she will in due time. Han-na asks her to be ready to choose the right choice when that time comes.

Afterwards, Ji-eum gets a message from Seo-ha. He sent her a picture of a bridge with fireworks and wanted to know if it is the same place from her dreams. Ji-eum researches the pictures more and is surprised the bridge actually exists.

That morning, Seo-ha is late for work since he drops by his childhood home to see his dad. He, however, finds his uncle and they finally talk about the elephant in the room. 

Sang-hyuk confesses that he meant to kill Mun Jeong-Hun because he was frustrated with how he was treating his sister. At the time, Mun Jeong-Hun was having an affair with his wife’s best friend and neglecting his sick wife. According to Sang-hyuk, Seo-ha was not supposed to be in the car that fateful day.

Seo-ha asks him to turn himself in before he takes matters into his own hands and reports him. Sang-hyuk follows Seo-ha’s advice and does just that. The news hits the headlines and MI Group is projected to take a big hit by the case. 

After hearing the news, Ji-eun calls Seo-ha to thank him. She is worried that the betrayal from his uncle going public has him feeling down. Seo-ha assures her that he is fine but she still feels like something is off after hanging up the phone.

She mutters to herself about cheering him up. She is unaware that Seo-ha is right behind her and he asks her how she will cheer him up. She invites him on an overnight trip. Meanwhile, at the office, Do-yun sees the picture of the bridge on Ji-eum’s computer and is moved by it. 

Seo-ha and Ji-eum visit the bridge and she teases him about the man she saw on the bridge. Seo-ha can’t help but feel a little bit jealous, but this doesn’t dampen his spirits. He goes around taking photos.

On the other hand, we see Min-ki carrying the shaman bells while he is in Ji-eum’s room. Concurrently, Cho-won nearly gets hit by a hanging vase as it falls.

The episode ends with Ji-eum having a flashback from her first life. She sees herself stabbing Seo-ha and then getting hit by an arrow from behind. She falls forward in shock and Seo-ha worryingly catches her. While all this is happening, Min-ki is still in her room with the shaman bells.

The Episode Review

At this point, Do-yun and Cho-won feel like a lost cause. It is frustrating to watch Do-yun try so hard to create boundaries with her. We get where he is coming from, but it is still disappointing.

As for our main lead couple, I am glad that they are finally being honest with each other. Everything was going so well until the last moment. Why did Ji-eum stab Seo-ha in her first life, and more importantly, what was her relationship with Min-ki?

Speaking of Min-ki, one can’t help but wonder if he and his shaman bells are the reason the flashbacks keep coming to Ji-eum. What was he doing in her room? It won’t be surprising if he altered Ji-eum’s memory. He is giving suspicious vibes and all these mysteries are making all of us confused.