The Secret Romantic Guesthouse (2023) Episode 11-12

Now that we’ve identified our Watchman, we get a little more insight into how the Watchmen, as a faction, operate. They train from childhood at a mountain temple, and when two or more are permitted to go out in public together, one addresses the other as royalty — likely for practice, secrecy, or both. (Ah, so that explains why Shi-yeol’s teacher called him “Your Majesty” before!) Shi-yeol isn’t fond of being on the receiving end of this custom, and I’m not sure he approves of raising up new Watchmen generations in general, but he does what he can to encourage the young ones who are already training.

The other important thing to know about the Watchman is that, barring death (presumably), only his master becoming king can release him from his duty. In other words, if San fails or refuses to take the throne, Shi-yeol must continue to follow and protect him from the shadows for the rest of his life.

Though San makes a point of warning Shi-yeol not to let anyone know he’s the Watchman, he’s still the teeniest bit irked when Shi-yeol slips right back into the playful, teasing Shi-yeol everyone’s used to. Especially when Shi-yeol forgets (or pretends to forget) to reel the casual language back in once they’re alone. He’s also rather embarrassed to learn that Shi-yeol has overheard most of his exchanges with Dan-oh. But on the upside, there’s no fear of the Watchman killing Dan-oh as a liability, considering he’s one of their biggest shippers.

Mild annoyance aside, though, San cares deeply for his Watchman. Not only does he express remorse for not recognizing him sooner, but he also frets over Shi-yeol’s safety almost as much as Shi-yeol does his.

As San prepares to strike the king (alas, shooting an arrow through the king’s heart was only a fantasy), he shows Shi-yeol a safehouse he’s procured. If anything happens to him, Shi-yeol is to bring Dan-oh and the Ihwawon family here — and, if a choice must be made, Shi-yeol is to protect them and himself, not San. Shi-yeol doesn’t like this order, either.

San may need a lot of watching over, especially given how reckless he can be, but Shi-yeol still finds time to take Hong-joo on little outings. Since they’ve both led restricted lives, this is their chance to do all the things they never could. One day, when Shi-yeol catches her waiting impatiently for his visit, he tentatively leans in for a kiss, but she’s not quite ready yet.

Later, however, she asks him to accompany her to her late fiancé’s grave. Shi-yeol steps back to give her space while she says her goodbyes. All these years, her body has kept living while her heart felt dead, longing for her lost love. But now that Shi-yeol has helped her open the doors again, she’s ready to live on as her true self.

As for our other lovebirds, Dan-oh wrestles with conflicting desires. She wants San to leave for his own safety, but she also doesn’t want him to leave her side. It’s a problem, because there’s no denying the danger of their proximity. Though Dan-oh sticks to her claim that she hasn’t met Lee Seol since they were children, the king decides to test it. He has his guards follow her, trusting that Lee Seol will come to the rescue if she’s in danger.

Fortunately, San anticipated this. At his request, Shi-yeol shows up as Watchman and “threatens” Dan-oh, giving San an excuse to step in and run off with her while Shi-yeol throws the other guards off the scent. When they pause for breath, San confesses that the reason he wants to become king is to protect the people he loves. As they kiss amidst the falling snow, Dan-oh’s worries melt away.

Now they’re officially a couple and a team, so San asks Dan-oh for help: he needs her to lie to the king’s face that she’s being threatened into silence by Lee Seol and his bodyguard. Dan-oh plays her part well, and the bodyguard lets himself be seen and almost caught, seemingly confirming Dan-oh’s words without putting anyone in immediate danger.

For added peace of mind, San starts teaching Dan-oh archery. And since Dan-oh doesn’t want all of Ihwawon to see them canoodling, they agree on a secret signal (a literal meow!) for when San wants some alone time.

Meanwhile, Minister Shin, Hwa-ryung, and Yoo-ha rally their supporters, Minister Shin adding new prophecies to the book so as to further strengthen Yoo-ha’s position. And yes, Hwa-ryung is indeed Yoo-ha’s mother, though she has no intention of telling him.

As the revolutionaries lay their plans, they bring in two important people to increase their credibility. First is the queen dowager, who weeps for joy in Yoo-ha’s arms, smiting his conscience. Next is San’s bodyguard, who reports his observations to San… only for Yoo-ha to accidentally intercept the message. It’s hard to tell if Yoo-ha is more upset by the revelation that San is Lee Seol or by the fact that he’s practically the only one in their circle who still didn’t know, but he’s most upset that Dan-oh’s heart is with San and it’s putting her in danger.

At the next revolution meeting, members unmask themselves one by one as they sign their names in support of “Lee Seol.” San, who has followed Yoo-ha, watches in dismay. Afterwards, Yoo-ha asks Minister Shin what he plans to do if the real Lee Seol shows up. Unsurprisingly, Minister Shin’s answer is that there can only be one sun in the sky, but he doesn’t specify which “sun” he’d pick given the choice.

While Yoo-ha processes what this might mean, San leaps over the wall and unmasks him, holding him at sword point to ask if he really is his half-brother.

Is it too much to hope that Yoo-ha’s conscience will win out sooner rather than later, and that he and San can work as allies (secret, if need be) to take down the king and then sort out throne rights and such in a way that doesn’t get one of them killed?

Disappointed as I was when Yoo-ha said he only cared about Dan-oh’s safety and not Lee Seol (because what about his friends who have died for the cause?), I’m even more concerned by the fact that he appears to be setting himself up more as a scapegoat than a king. He’s hinted more than once that he’s prepared to be cast aside if it’s necessary to raise up a new king. But I’d love for him to be more than just a jealous second lead who eventually comes around and sacrifices himself so San can succeed and our lead couple can be together.

But I have to say, well played again, Guesthouse — because I didn’t worry much about who would end up on the throne in the end until you tied it to Shi-yeol’s freedom and ultimate happiness!