Aahana Swrup
‘Destined With You,’ the South Korean romance show infused with whimsical lovesick fantasy elements, follows lead protagonists Jang Shin-yu and Lee Hong-jo. After Shin-yu, a successful lawyer and heir to a lucrative family discovers that a deadly family curse plagues him, forcing him to face a bleak future. Therefore, when he learns that pesky civil servant, Hong-jo, who seems to hate his guts, may hold the key to cure his ailment, it sends him down a confusing and troublesome journey.
The show’s third episode focuses on the narrative’s more supernatural aspect and follows Shin-yu and Hong-jo as they wait to see if their respective spells come to fruition. If you’re curious to see how things work out for the duo and what obstructions they face in their paths, here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Destined With You’ episode 3. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Destined With You Episode 3 Recap
Following the last episodes’ events, Hong-jo, who has followed the ancient spellbook to cast a love spell, creates a potion to use on her superior at work, Kwon Jae-kyung. Simultaneously, Shin-yu’s condition worsens under his family curse’s influence, with a mysterious, bloodied red hand haunting him from beyond. Overwhelmed by his condition, Shin-yu asks his girlfriend, Na-yeon, to take a break from their relationship, a request the former is not pleased to hear. Meanwhile, Hong-jo sneakily exchanges Jae-kyung’s water with her potion before a team board meeting.
Nevertheless, Hong-jo doesn’t get to see her crush drink the potion after she’s called away from her spying by her boss, Gong, for an emergency assignment. Later in the day, Shin-yu asks Hong-jo to take a day off work to go on a trip since he will finally be cashing in on the spell he asked Hong-jo for previously. The duo drives out to the Jirisan mountains and arrives at Shin-yu’s remote villa. After locating a crucial ingredient for the Disease Curing Spell, Shin-yu and Hong-jo prepare for the magical ritual, which takes place under the full moon.
Once Hong-jo completes the spell, hopefully infusing life back into Shin-yu, the latter starts experiencing weird symptoms, like a racing heart and labored breaths. However, once Jae-kyung contacts Hong-jo, and Shin-yu notices Hong-jo’s glee at the prospect of her love spell working on Jae-kyung, he realizes the reason behind his symptoms may have nothing to do with the spell. Yet, since Hong-jo doesn’t know if the love potion really worked on Jae-kyung and Shin-yu can’t tell if his condition has dissolved yet, both parties remain in the dark.
Soon, Shin-yu and Hong-jo return to their professional lives. Jae-kyung wishes to meet with Hong-jo after work, but their plans keep getting postponed. Meanwhile, Shin-yu completely breaks up with Na-yeon and decides to crash Hong-jo’s dinner with Jae-kyung. Still, at the last moment, when he notices his right hand, previously affected by the curse, has stopped trembling, Shin-yu realizes Hong-jo’s spells work.
Did Hong-jo’s Love Potion Work on Jae-kyung?
Throughout the third episode, Hong-jo’s primary concern lies with her love potion’s legitimacy. Hong-jo seems giddy at the prospect of making the dreamy Jae-kyung fall in love with her through a potion and eagerly anticipates seeing the results. As such, it annoys her when she’s denied the sight of Jae-kyung actually sipping into the potion. Nonetheless, once the man reaches out to her outside work while she is with Shin-yu in the mountains, she takes it as a signal of his interest. Still, Hong-jo needs to be sure to avoid mistakes of the past.
Therefore, Hong-jo waits until her meet-up with Jae-kyung to confirm the love potion’s effect while acting entirely besotted by the latter. Shin-yu notices her infatuation with the other man and realizes he’s annoyed by the attention Hong-jo has for Jae-kyung. After a series of skipped heartbeats caused by his close proximity to Hong-jo and several bouts of jealousy, Shin-yu realizes he’s caught feelings for the woman.
However, once Shin-yu figures out that Hong-jo’s Desiese Cure Spell has worked, he rushes back to his office to look through CCTV footage of the past team meeting. In the security videos, Shin-yu watches Hong-jo sneak the potion into the glass near Jae-kyung’s seat. Yet, to Shin-yu’s surprise, he’s the one who drinks from the glass filled with the potion. In the end, Hong-jo’s love potion doesn’t work on Jae-kyung. Instead, Shin-yu, who accidentally drinks the potion, ends up desperately smitten by Hong-jo.
As a result, Shin-yu waits for Hong-jo to return from her meeting with Jae-kyung. Once she arrives at her house, Shin-yu admits his feelings for Hong-jo without revealing the truth behind the potion mix-up. He also seems confident in his claim that Jae-kyung has fallen for her as well, even though Shin-yu knows the spell never worked on the other man.
Furthermore, Shin-yu’s tumultuous relationship with Na-yeon and easy openness with Hong-jo prior to the spell also propose a confounding angle. The same, paired with the mysterious dreams Shin-yu has about two people in the past, oddly reminiscent of Hong-jo and himself, complicate the situation even more. The episode’s chaotic and unexpected ending promises an entertaining continuation for future episodes and leaves the viewers wondering about what the future holds for Hong-jo and Shin-yu.
Read More: Destined with You Episode 1 and 2 Recap and Ending, Explained
