Aahana Swrup
‘Destined With You‘ is a Netflix South Korean fantasy romance show about an unlikely duo prone to petty squabbles. Jang Shin-yu, a hotshot lawyer coming from a wealthy family, and Lee Hong-jo, a civil servant with a lonely life, cross paths after a twist of fate brings them together. Shortly afterward, Shin-yu uncovers a magical book of spells and realizes Hong-jo, with the ability to make those spells come to life, may just have the solution to his fatal generational curse. In episode 4, Shin-yu and Hong-jo deal with the aftermath of Shin-yu’s descent into desperate love for Hong-jo after he accidentally becomes affected by the latter’s love spell. The episode charts an entertaining journey for the pair and brings meaningful revelations. Here is everything you need to know about the same! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Destined With You Episode 4 Recap
Picking up right after the previous episode, Shin-yu confesses his attraction to Hong-jo and reveals his accidental consumption of Jae-kyung’s love potion-spiked-water resulted in the same. Yet, Hong-jo is unwilling to believe Shin-yu could like her, given their bickersome dynamic and the continuing mystery surrounding the spellbook. Furthermore, due to Hong-jo’s feelings for Jae-kyung, she continues to pine after the other man despite his gentle rejection.
In her previous dinner with Jae-kyung, Hong-jo had uncovered his slightly self-depreciating reasoning behind not reciprocating her feelings. Jae-kyung, who has a contentious relationship with his family, believes Hong-jo deserves someone better than himself and is confused by the fact that Hong-jo even likes him. Consequently, Hong-jo wonders if his potential feelings for her fueled the rejection.
In the following days, Shin-yu tries to win Hong-jo’s affection by constantly doing nice things for her and finding excuses to get closer to her. However, since he’s aware that his feelings are only a side-effect of a love spell gone wrong, Shin-yu keeps alternating between swooning over Hong-jo and asking her to undo the spell. The same results in a complicated but hilariously endearing dynamic for the pair as the hot-and-cold Shin-yu succumbs to his heart’s desires in spite of his annoyance at it.
At the same time, Shin-yu’s cryptic dreams of couples steeped in mystery from a time of the old become more frequent until he realizes that the girl from his dreams is Hong-jo from when she was younger. Eventually, Shin-yu’s flirtatious attention becomes too overwhelming for Hong-jo. As such, she decides to find a solution by visiting Eun-wol, the Shaman who bestowed the intriguing spellbook on the pair.
After holding separate fortune-telling sessions for the duo, Eun-wol reveals an answer to Hong-jo for her and Shin-yu’s plight. Nevertheless, Hong-jo remains reluctant to share the answer with Shin-yu. Meanwhile, Hong-jo learns that the allegedly handsome downstairs tenant that her landlady had alluded to a few days ago is actually Jae-kyung. Simultaneously, Shin-yu’s recent breakup with his long-term girlfriend, Na-yeon, paired with the possibility of really falling in love with Hong-jo, makes Shin-yu desperate for a cure to the love potion.
Destined With You Ending: How Can Shin-yu’s Spell Be Broken?
Shin-yu’s conflicting feelings toward Hong-jo, both bewitchment and annoyance, comprise most of the plot during this episode. Earlier, Shin-yu is only confounded by his sudden intense attraction toward Hong-jo. He repeatedly catches himself caring for Hong-jo, whom he unexpectedly finds endearing now. The same has a negative impact on his life, especially his existing relationship with Na-yeon. Even though additional reasons drive their ultimate break up, Shin-yu’s inability to be sad about the end of a two-year-long relationship grates at him.
Therefore, Shin-yu pesters Hong-jo about finding a cure for her love spell, regardless of his lovesick counterpart’s protests. Still, even when Eun-wol shares a secret insight with the woman about the spell’s reversal, Hong-jo stubbornly refuses to share it with Shin-yu. The same brings up different theories from Shin-yu, who assumes the spellbreaker must come from different acts of intimacy.
In the end, after enough badgering from Shin-yu’s end, Hong-jo shares a clue with him. Although the latter tries to decode it for a long time, it isn’t until he becomes an uninvited companion in Hong-jo’s trip to the beach that he deciphers it. At the beach, Hong-jo pays tribute to her father, who died at sea, by pouring out a drink to commemorate him. In doing so, Shin-yu witnesses a rare moment of vulnerability and realizes the answer to his new ailment.
As the pair gaze at each other from across the shoreline, they assert that “their destinies cannot be severed” and that they must accept it. The same suggests that the only way out for Shin-yu and Hong-jo now is through. Shin-yu must accept his current feelings for Hong-jo, and in turn, the latter must also give in to her growing attraction toward Shin-yu.
Considering Shin-yu’s consistent dreams about Hong-jo and a boy who is likely himself, accepting their destinies can have an ulterior meaning. Shin-yu confirms that his dreams were probably from the Joseon period, the same age that the spellbook’s original owner, Shaman Aeng-cho is from. The connection between Hong-jo being the rightful successor to Aeng-cho’s spells and Shin-yu’s recurring dreams cannot possibly be a coincidence.
Therefore, we can deduce that the love spell’s accidental effect on Shin-yu isn’t actually an accident to begin with. Perhaps it is a fateful happenstance bringing together past lovers from another time period. The momentous revelation drastically shifts the characters’ storylines, bringing more nuance to their tumultuous romance. Likewise, in Hong-jo’s personal research, she discovered that Aeng-cho has written that the caster can only break any spell at a monumental expense to themselves, inviting a disaster.
As we leave this episode, it promises more complications for Hong-jo’s personal life, torn between her feelings for co-worker-turned-neighbor Jae-kyung and a seemingly destined connection to Shin-yu. Similarly, by giving into his destiny with Hong-jo to break the spell, Shin-yu risks the very real possibility of actually falling for the woman, which would complicate his life even more.
Read More: Destined With You Episode 3 Recap and Ending, Explained
