The Lonely Shining Goblin: Episode 10

by gummimochi

Learning about the past makes way for how our characters approach the future, as more answers come tumbling out before the year’s end. There’s a whole lot to unearth today for both mortals and immortals alike that each minute feels packed with information. Everyone could use a fresh start in the new year, but with the past threatening to catch up to the present, who knows what the heavens have in store for them.

 
EPISODE 10 RECAP

When Sunny grabs Reaper’s hand, the touch triggers his ability to see the past, played in reverse: the young queen dying, her observing the king’s archery practice, a hand sliding the jade ring on her finger, the young king smiling at his future queen.

Noticing his eyes well up with tears, Sunny asks what’s wrong, worried that his face has turned even paler than usual.

Inside, Shin looks on until a slightly annoyed Eun-tak slams down her tray to get his attention. She sighs when he asks what sort of person Sunny is, believing that the next question will be the same as Reaper’s about how he can impress her. She pouts and points out that Sunny is very pretty, and Shin returns: “I’m… not looking for someone pretty.” She says she’s heard him say that before too.

We cut back to the conversation outside, where Sunny struggles to figure out what’s going on. She says it couldn’t have been the first time he’s held a girl’s hand, and then another conclusion dawns on her: He used a fake name, got a number out of seemingly nowhere, and froze when she grabbed his hand—could he be married?

“No,” Reaper readily answers. Pointing out his all-black attire and pale complexion, she asks if he’s an NIS agent, but Reaper denies that too. “Are you… a grim reaper then?” she guesses.

Reaper says nothing, and Sunny says it was only a joke and hurries back inside. Poor Reaper is left to wonder, “And who are you, Sunny-sshi?”

Sunny grabs a beer and calls Shin out for continuing to stare at her. He explains that she shares the same name with someone he once knew, and asks which hanja she uses for “Sun.” She replies that she writes her name, Sunny, in English, and confirms that they have met before—a few days ago back at her shop’s former location.

Shin asks why she keeps calling him “oraboni” (which is news to Reaper’s ears) and she simply answers that it’s better than “hey” or “you.” Shin then asks what kind of relationship she has with Reaper and if she even knows what he is. Cue simultaneous warning looks from Reaper and Eun-tak.

Sunny’s literal answer that they exchanged rings prompts Eun-tak to ask if that ring was an intention of marriage. Now that they’re on the subject, Reaper asks her to return it to him tomorrow afternoon at a cafe.

Later that night, Reaper tries to make sense of his recent revelations via formal proofs: Sunny’s past life and the woman in the scroll share the same face, and the woman in the scroll is Shin’s sister. Could Sunny be the reincarnation of Kim Sun?

But Reaper tells himself it’s too early to tell and starts over: He cried upon seeing the portrait of Kim Sun, and also cried the moment he met Sunny. Why did he cry? What could his overwhelming emotional response mean? He wonders aloud, “Could there be a correlation to their past and my erased memories?” He doesn’t have a definitive answer for that either.

In the kitchen, Eun-tak picks a bone with Shin, saying that despite Shin’s bravado about paying for everything, Reaper ajusshi ended up picking up the dinner tab. She says all men are the same, immortal and mortal alike, asking if it was Shin’s plan all along to have her work at Sunny’s chicken shop because he thought Sunny was pretty.

Shin clarifies that all he did was set some parameters for her job search and give her the confidence that she’d find a job, which led her to landing a job. He bristles when she calls bullshit on that argument and she says that he has two more wishes to take care of then: a part-time job and a boyfriend.

Irritated, he asks if he has to break some legs—maybe what’s his face, Tae-hee or something—to prove that he’s her boyfriend. He walks off, frustrated, and Eun-tak wonders why he’s getting upset, only to shrink when he doubles back in a huff. Heh.

Shin takes a deep breath, then pats her on the shoulder before stroking her hair, saying that he feels bad because he finally knows how hard she’s been working at her job. He takes her face in his hands and bids her goodnight, which makes her smile. Aw.

Shin looks at his sister’s portrait in his room, telling her that he prayed that she would be doing well. The portrait’s face fades into a shot of Sunny, who meets with Reaper at the cafe as promised.

Reaper explains that he wants to borrow the ring to do some investigating, but he’s also curious about why Sunny chose this particular ring. “Because it felt like mine,” she answers. His ears perk up when she affirms that she did feel something when she put it on—that she was meant to meet him.

She had no idea that this man who cried when they first met would try to take back the ring he gave her. She complies, though, placing the ring on the table when prompted. She warns that he’d better disclose his reasons for borrowing the ring when he returns it, then takes her leave to attend to her shop.

Reaper is completely out of it back at home, as Shin watches him absentmindedly shaking excessive amounts of pepper flakes on his salad. Shin inquires as to why Reaper took back the ring, asking if he saw something in Sunny’s past while holding her hand that suggested an acrimonious relationship.

Shin chuckles when he’s told that that’s confidential, questioning why a rule-adhering grim reaper would hide his true identity to date a human. Reaper points out that Shin’s in the same boat, to which Shin retorts that his love is destined.

He divulges that his sister’s name was also Kim Sun, but since he can only see a human’s future, he wouldn’t be able to identify her if she were reincarnated with a different face. So Reaper asks what Shin would do if he came face-to-face with his reincarnated sister, adding that she wouldn’t remember anything from her past life.

Like any devoted big brother, Shin somberly replies that he’d ask if she’s living peacefully, in good health, and being loved. “She was pretty, our ugly duckling,” he comments.

Neither of them notices Eun-tak entering the house, as Reaper asks Shin to tell him about the days back when he was human. Shin tells him that he was a general in Goryeo, but he didn’t die on the battlefield. “I died by the sword given to me by the sovereign I swore to protect.”

Shin doesn’t know where to begin his story since he’s never told it before, but he starts in the beginning: a child was born at a time when his father had already passed. His mother had gone mad and later died of illness, and so his elder brother rose to the throne. The child had only his instructor, eunuch PARK JOONG-HEON, who taught him and raised him.

But a string of peculiar deaths took place soon after the eunuch’s arrival, particularly anyone else in line for the throne as well as the child’s older brother, the king. Although the cause of death was initially believed to be illness, the boy would later find out that they were all poisoned.

We see that the ailing king had ordered Shin to protect the prince, WANG YEO, with this dying wish: that when Yeo takes the throne, he would later marry Shin’s sister Kim Sun. He’d asked Shin to make sure Yeo grew up to be a wise, upright man and guard him against death.

Reaper wonders why Eunuch Park would go to such lengths to kill multiple people to ensure the child became king. A flashback shows us that during Yeo’s coronation ceremony, the eunuch swore to himself that if he could not become king himself, he would use this child as a proxy to rule over the kingdom.

Thus when it came time for Wang Yeo to marry Shin’s sister ten years later, Eunuch Park disapproved of the union, though the minister (who’d been present for the late king’s final request) spoke highly of Shin and his family. In voiceover, Shin tells us that this dying wish threw a wrench in the eunuch’s plans.

So young Yeo had snuck out to see Sun, who was in the middle of practicing her posture. They exchanged smiles, but then Sun’s next step sent the bowls on her shoulders crashing to the ground. That’s… not foreboding or anything.

She felt sheepish about the mistake, but Yeo smiled and kept watching. Per his orders, Shin had been present to protect the young king.

And then as Sun went to the palace to be married on a snowy day, she extended a hand out of her palanquin to touch the snow and was surprised to see Shin walking right next to her as a member of her escort.

Pouting, she said she hadn’t seen him all morning and thought she’d be wed today without being able to see her oraboni. Shin joked that he didn’t know why he came to see her ugly face either. When she asked what the king looked like, Shin chided her for asking about the king’s appearance rather than his character, then told her not to worry because he was handsome.

She asked him how she looked today on her wedding day then, and Shin took a good look before answering, “You look ugly.” She pouted that the king wouldn’t find her pretty either and she’d just have to come home, but Shin told her that the king had already seen her.

Realizing that the young, bright-looking face she’d smiled at was the king in disguise, she asked excitedly if the king had said anything about her. She didn’t believe it when Shin told her that the king thought she was ugly, and added, “You must come see your ugly sister often.” But Shin said that as the sister of a warrior, Sun must consider no news as good news.

Smiling, she promised him that he’d have nothing to worry about because she’d live a happy married life. Shin didn’t look back at her, as tears pooled in his eyes.

Some time after being married, Sun ran through the palace upon hearing that Yeo asked to see her. She nearly ran right into him too, and as she backed away in nervousness, she slipped and Yeo caught her as cherry blossoms fell around them.

Sun stayed trapped in her reverie until Yeo broke it with a light-hearted “you’re heavy.” He asked why she was in such a hurry, and she explained she was running to see him. “I was going to see you,” he answered. Aw. Sun: “Would it not be better if we were both going to see one another?” Awww.

But the eunuch continued to feed Yeo poisonous information—this time about an official speaking ill of the king holding onto his queen, who hailed from a lowly family. Eunuch Park believed that this official should be made an example of by death—words that shook up the young king.

Following the official’s death, Sun spoke with Eunuch Park and warned him against covering the king’s eyes and ears from the truth. She believed it was wrong to kill the official, but the eunuch countered: Was it he who had covered His Majesty eyes, or did the king choose to overlook the matter himself?

Sun yelled at him, but the eunuch yelled back at her in disrespect. Dropping all formalities, Eunuch Park growled that he was the one who raised Yeo and ensured his seat on the throne.

She, however, was nothing more than the daughter of a warrior, and if she were to warn anyone, he says, it should’ve been her brother—Shin had been sent off to a war meant to be his grave, yet they only hear of his victories.

“They say there are two kings in one country,” Eunuch Park continued, his body shaking with rage. “They say there are two suns in one sky. If this is not treason, what is?”

We then cut to a familiar scene: Yeo bestowed a sword upon Shin and ordered him to leave and never return. Yeo dismissed Shin’s pleas to stay and protect his sister and the people—the king warned that the next time he would hear from Shin would be word of his death.

Later, Sun appealed to the king to call Shin back to stay by their side, and more importantly, dismiss Eunuch Park from the palace. But Yeo would hear none of it, asking if Shin had tasked his sister with trying to save their lowly family. “It is the king who protects the people. How could the people protect the king?” he’d barked. “Do you even know what you are asking of me?”

Shin is an acclaimed military general whom the people regard as a god, Yeo had continued. He disobeyed royal decree by returning alive, again and again. Yeo roared, “How am I to know if he will use that blade to protect me or kill me?!”

No one but the king could be regarded as a god to the people of Goryeo, Yeo had stressed, which is why he declared Shin a traitor. Sun was left shell-shocked, and that’s when Eunuch Park appealed to the king to punish Shin for his crimes by taking his life. When Sun looked to Yeo, his eyes shook and he avoided her gaze.

Which brings us back to the beginning of Episode 1, as Shin entered through the palace gates and marched up the steps toward the king, and an arrow pierced Sun’s body. Shin says in voiceover: “That… was the last time I saw my sister.”

“She was the sister of a warrior, and a dignified queen. The path to the king was too far, and I did not reach him in the end,” he finishes. In the present, Shin explains that he had no choice but to keep walking even though he knew that he’d never reach the king: “Because that place was my last battlefield, and I would have to die there.”

Shin says he defied royal decree by returning because he had to keep his promise to the late king to protect Yeo, and he had to save the innocent. He’d overlooked the jealousy and fear from the young king—a fool whom his sister protected at the cost of her life.

Shin notes that the food has gone cold while he told this long story, but Reaper has one more thing he’s curious about, and shows him the jade ring. And Shin breaks the bleakness of his tale by asking, “You didn’t steal that to give to me, did you? I don’t wish for us to have that kind of relationship.” Pffft.

Reaper tells him to focus, to which Shin asks if the Reaper thinks that he’s his reincarnated sister. Lol, what. “That’s why you asked about my past, right? Put it on, let’s see what happens.” He presses the joke by addressing the Reaper by his sister’s name, asking if she’s being loved. Ha.

Eun-tak emerges from behind the wall and apologizes for interrupting this bromantic moment. Shin leaves with her, and when Reaper sighs in relief that he’ll get some alone time, Shin adds, “Sun liked spending time alone too.” Reaper: “Get out.”

Once they’re outside, Eun-tak explains that her ghost friend Jung-hyun (her library friend who died in a car accident) asked her to come visit her with flowers. She then changes the subject to him, saying that flowers, any kind really, look good on him. “You’re totally my type,” she continues. “Anytime. You have a great personality. Most certainly.”

Shin is perplexed by the sudden shower of compliments and asks if he did something wrong. He didn’t and neither did she, and Eun-tak says these are words of consolation and encouragement. He asks how he’s her type specifically, and she replies, “You’re strange and beautiful.” He beams.

Eun-tak pays her respects to her ghost friend, but then something catches her eye: a photo of Jung-hyun and her mother in their school uniforms. She runs to Shin and has him open a portal to the library, where Jung-hyun is waiting.

She speaks with Jung-hyun in jondae, asking if she knows her mother. “Why else would I have been by your side?” Jung-hyun responds. She and her mother were close friends who promised each other in high school to buy gifts for each other’s future children.

Although Jung-hyun wasn’t able to keep her promise, she does have something for Eun-tak and tells her to open a locker.

Inside is a pile of bankbooks, the same ones Eun-tak’s aunt accused her of hiding away. Jung-hyun says the one on top is most recent, and Eun-tak should use that for her college tuition. “Is this why you couldn’t leave this world?” Eun-tak asks, her voice breaking. “Because of me?”

Jung-hyun admits that she enjoyed watching Eun-tak grow up, and now it’s time for her to rejoin Eun-tak’s mother and tell her all about how kind and smart her beautiful daughter is. Eun-tak ekes out a tearful word of thanks and hopes that Jung-hyun and her mother will be eternal friends. They say goodbye, and Jung-hyun fades away.

Shin and Eun-tak return to the seashore, where she tells her mother that Jung-hyun was a good friend to them both. She says she loved everything her mother gave her, from the red scarf to Jung-hyun, and when Shin pats her comfortingly on the shoulder, she smiles, “You too. Thank you for opening the door.”

She laughs when he calls himself a generous being, and remarks that it hasn’t rained lately. Shin says he’s keeping himself in check in case NASA takes him away, which makes her laugh again.

Shin sits with Grandpa’s secretary, who notes how Shin still speaks to him in banmal. Shin asks him to take care of getting Eun-tak’s aunt to forfeit her deceased sister’s insurance money, since Eun-tak’s twentieth birthday isn’t until September. He’s also thankful that Secretary Kim grew up to be a fine man, to which Secretary Kim says he’s grateful for everything.

Secretary Kim finds Aunt in prison, where she admits that she couldn’t get her hands on Eun-tak’s mother’s insurance payout because she’d paid off her personal debts—in order to become Eun-tak’s legal guardian—with a private loan.

So she created an account in Eun-tak’s name but those damned bankbooks kept disappearing. Secretary Kim yawns, then hits the “Save” button on his phone, where he’s just recorded Aunt’s incriminating confession. He explains that Aunt has two options: 1) Return everything to Eun-tak and be released from prison; or 2) File a custody suit that will only drag on.

Her threat of knowing some people in dark places doesn’t work with him, since the secretary knows the underground better, as a former loan shark.

Grandpa is pleased to hear that Secretary Kim has taken care of Shin’s request as well as getting Deok-hwa onboard to learn the company ropes from the bottom up.

We find Reaper at the dry cleaners to pick up his hat, telling the owner that it’s “made in heaven.” Ha, he actually gets it dry-cleaned? Reaper gets lost in his own thoughts thinking about Sun, turning the store and his phone ice-cold. He unfreezes it when Sunny calls, responding with a stilted “Hello.”

She learns that Reaper is still working on the ring and asks what he was doing. He honestly answers, “Wondering if I should hold your hand again or not.” Smiling, she suggests that they meet today.

Reaper changes his clothes at home, where Shin recognizes the attire from his premonition where Sunny told Reaper not to call her anymore. He asks “Is it today? Can you not wear that?” That only makes Reaper question his outfit, but Shin says he was wondering if his advice would change Reaper’s day a little, and suggests that he wear comfortable shoes for the long walk home. Shin calls out, “You do look weird.”

Sunny gets ready for her New Year’s Eve date, while Reaper hilariously walks down the street avoiding contact with passersby. He apologizes for running late and asks to hold her hand before they do anything, explaining that he’s too curious to wait.

She doesn’t give in that easily, though she admits that she’d like to hold his hand and hug him too. But she wants to know him first, and he has yet to explain who he is and how he knows her real name. She says she’ll let him off the hook for the remaining two hours of this year since he’s handsome.

She notices his darkened expression and suggests that they end things now. She says she liked his attempts at chivalry and being a math nerd, but she can’t do this anymore. She says that he dumped her, and she speaks the words from Shin’s premonition: “Don’t call me anymore,” as she walks off.

At 11:30 P.M. on New Year’s Eve, Shin waits impatiently in his coat and scarf in the living room, then heads upstairs and hovers outside Eun-tak’s door. He gives up, and just before midnight, Eun-tak rushes out of her room and knocks on his door, only to find him looking gloomy on his bed.

Eun-tak tells him to listen closely as the clocks chime midnight, and she cheers that the new year means she’s now an adult. Shin pouts when he hears that she’s heading out because she has plans, but she says they’re plans with him, and he immediately jumps out of bed. Ha. He’s willing to do whatever she’d like, and she excitedly requests, “Alcohol! Pojangmacha! Soju!”

So they head out to a pojangmacha, where Eun-tak downs her first soju shot in one gulp and remarks how bitter it is. Shin finds that adorable (and so do I) and he pours her another shot, which she also empties in one go.

Their drinks are interrupted by the cyclist with the broken hand who nearly caused the bus crash, who’s soon joined by his gang. But Shin isn’t fazed and asks the cyclist what he sees when he looks at him. Eun-tak shakes her head, but Shin insists that it’s for her entertainment, declares that they’ll take the fight outside… and disappears. Eun-tak assures the worried ajumma that her boyfriend will be just fine.

Shin faces the group outside with nothing but a mop. He warns them that he used to be a warrior, and he won’t be going easy on them today. When the group comes at him with pipes and sticks, Shin breaks off the head of the mop and takes a fighting stance.

He knocks away his attackers one by one, twirls away from one swing, and then spins the mop handle to strike down the others. A tipsy Eun-tak looks on, impressed, and downs another shot.

We rejoin the fight as Shin strikes one guy on his head, then levels another off of his feet. For his finishing move, he sticks the mop handle up the cyclist’s butt… and drops the handle in disgust. Adding insult to injury, the cyclist’s buddies accidentally ram his family jewels into a tree.

Shin heads back inside to join Eun-tak, and chuckles at her drunken ramblings about the romanticism of her first time drinking. She says there’s one thing left: “First kiss.”

She says their first kiss was no more than a peck, then tells him not to move. Horrified, Shin tries shuffling away and holds his breath as Eun-tak comes around with her lips puckered. Just then, time stands still, and Shin exhales.

He’s taken aback when he discovers that Eun-tak isn’t frozen in time, and she reminds him that his powers don’t work on her, the goblin’s bride. She says he won’t be able to avoid it, but Shin says he’s not going to, since avoiding it once was hard enough. And he swoops in to kiss her. She returns the favor with a soft kiss and confesses that that was perfect.

And back at home, poor Reaper sits in his room wondering if he did the dumping or if he was dumped.

Eun-tak wakes early the following morning to prepare traditional food for the New Year. She adds that she bought good beef using the money earned from the ski resort, and takes note of Reaper’s vegetarian preferences while sneaking glances at Shin.

She wonders at how much time has flown from when Reaper and Shin heroically came to save her from the loan sharks and looked super cool. She suddenly realizes that she’s missing leeks for the soup, so the ajusshis agree to go grocery shopping together.

Cut to: a glory shot of Reaper and Shin walking through a tunnel as they return with leeks… which is then interrupted by a motorcyclist yelling at them to get out of the way. LOL. Shin says the man must be wishing them new year blessings and Reaper agrees that yes, they won’t harm that man today.

Reaper: “Happy New Year.” Shin: “Because we’re cool!” Oh, you two.

At the table, Eun-tak wishes them a happy new year, which Shin returns in kind. But Reaper glumly says he and Sunny are no longer together. Once she’s filled in, Eun-tak decodes the meaning behind Sunny’s words, saying that Sunny wants Reaper to call her. Shin files that information away.

She admits that explaining his nature is a harder question to tackle, and suggests that Reaper tell Sunny that he’s an angel instead of a grim reaper. Shin tells him to keep his chin up and speaks as his sunbae in longevity, that “being 300” is a tough period.

Suddenly Reaper states that if he is to get answers, he must become closer to the person who has them. And then he grabs Shin’s hand, much to his alarm. As Shin freaks out, Reaper says dryly, “As expected, I see nothing from you. Just feels warm.”

Reaper takes his leave as Shin screams after him: “What are you going to do about my hand?! It’s disgusting. I have to cut it off.” But then Eun-tak takes Shin’s hand and blows on the back to “sanitize” it.

Later, Shin drags Reaper outside to not-so-casually get roasted sweet potatoes at the nearby stand where Eun-tak and Sunny just happen to be. Reaper sees right through the act, but he says nothing when he comes face-to-face with Sunny.

Sunny explains they agreed not to acknowledge one another, and at Eun-tak’s prompts, Shin remarks that Sunny’s yellow coat and Reaper’s white coat resembles a fried egg. Goblin, say what?

He amends his statement by saying that Sunny looks like the head of a bean sprout and Reaper its stalk, but that comment is even more terrible than the last one. Eun-tak apologizes for Shin’s lack of tact when they get home, and Reaper softly says he at least got to see Sunny. Aww.

Now that they’re alone, Eun-tak scolds Shin for not carrying any money because her boss had to pay for the snack, which she won’t let him have. Reaper emerges from his room dressed in his grim reaper clothes and looks back to explain his choice of white earlier: “My concept today… was an angel.”

Shin swipes the sweet potatoes to eat in his room, where he thinks back to when he saw a 29-year-old Eun-tak meeting a mysterious CEO. This time, though, he remembers that the necklace came from a vendor in Quebec back when Eun-tak traveled there with him the first time.

He figures that she must’ve gone back to buy a necklace there before she met with that CEO. And then he realizes, “I’m the one to buy it for her,” and immediately travels to Quebec.

Reaper gets reassuring advice about his breakup from a recently deceased psychiatrist, who is glad to give one last consultation before he forgets the memories from this life.

Shin returns home to find Grandpa hoping to play a round of baduk with him. As they play, Shin remarks on how he keeps losing these days when he was the one to teach the game to Grandpa as a boy. Grandpa chuckles, “Because I play with my life on the line.”

As Shin readies to put down his next piece, he suddenly feels a force, and the dropped piece works to Grandpa’s favor. The old man celebrates, but Shin already knows what’s coming, and sits in stunned silence.

Later, Grandpa is at the barbershop and the owner asks, “Are you going someplace nice?” Grandpa chuckles: “I believe so.” Oh no, is it Grandpa’s time to go?

Reaper joins Shin in some daytime drinking, and Shin says the reaper will soon receive Grandpa’s death card. Shin hasn’t told the old man, believing that nothing good comes from knowing one’s time, and Deok-hwa doesn’t know either.

He says Grandpa asked how “his friend” the reaper was doing, and Reaper says Grandpa probably knew everything. Shin ventures, “About you being dumped?”

Reaper admits he hasn’t called Sunny yet because he’ll have to come clean, to which Shin wonders if Sunny is a little thick-headed not to see that Reaper obviously looks like a grim reaper. Reaper asks if Shin didn’t sense anything else about her, and Shin says he did.

It bothered him that Sunny and his sister share the same name, so he’s glad things didn’t work out between Reaper and Sunny, because he didn’t like her. Reaper says Shin had better stop finding fault in Sunny; not necessarily because he’s taking her side, but because he hasn’t told Shin something about Sunny’s past life: “I think she’s the reincarnation of your sister.”

Shin asks if he’s sure it’s not him, and Reaper reveals that the face in Sunny’s past life matches the face of the woman in the scroll. Shin asks him to clarify what Reaper saw, and so Reaper tells him—of how he saw the woman standing in a palace, dressed in regal white robes, who was then pierced in the chest by an arrow and before she collapsed.

Shin says he told him that part of the story earlier, though he may not have mentioned her clothes or the arrow. He asks for more, so Reaper describes how he saw the woman smile at someone through her palanquin window, asking if she looked pretty today. He heard a man’s voice just once, responding, “You look…”

“…ugly.” Shin finishes. Reaper asks haltingly, “Is she really… your sister?” As the pieces fall into place, Shin answers, “Yes.”

But that’s not all: We see a glimpse of Goryeo, where an older Wang Yeo sits in his palace—and looks just like Reaper.

 
COMMENTS

Whoa, this is a lot of information to take in. Although much of these revelations regarding Reaper and Sunny confirm what we’ve already guessed, I hadn’t expected us to go so deep into the Goryeo story today. In truth, I’m rather grateful that we learned so much about Wang Yeo and Sun through Shin’s story before Shin was told that Sunny is the reincarnation of his sister. I’m always captivated whenever we dip into the Goryeo arc, and it was both fascinating and heartbreaking to learn of Wang Yeo’s upbringing by a power-hungry eunuch who later shaped his rule.

Even from the conversation from the palanquin alone, it’s evident that Shin and Sun shared a sweet sibling relationship. Seeing young love blossom between Yeo and Sun was endearing as well, and I loved how much of Sun we got to see. She spoke boldly and honestly, and her exchange with Eunuch Park gave me chills, because her presence and influence stood in his way of keeping his puppet king. Thanks to Shin’s story, we can better understand how Eunuch Park’s vile words about Shin and his family took root in Yeo’s mind and manifested in the young king’s jealousy and fear toward the revered general. We’ve yet to see how the jade ring comes into play here, which I hope means more flashbacks to Goryeo.

Seeing an older Yeo drills in the confirmation that Reaper was the Goryeo king in his past life, and while he can see into Sunny’s past, he has yet to recover his own memories. My heart ached watching Reaper suffer from a broken heart since he just looks like a lost puppy, but at least Eun-tak gave him an ego boost, which gave us an amusing glory shot of the two ajussshis bringing home groceries. I’ve really enjoyed watching Shin and Reaper become good friends over this series—though I’ll never tire of their childish bickering—and how they seek to work as a unit now to protect Eun-tak. I’m relieved her mortal peril storyline and the “will-she-or-won’t-she-pull-out-the-sword” took a backseat today, since that opens us up for other character moments. I liked how Eun-tak’s ghost friend Jung-hyun had an important role to play in her life, allowing Eun-tak to get some emotional closure on her mother’s death.

As for Shin and Eun-tak, things were generally happier between them with the celebration of the new year. Although Eun-tak coming of age does little to squash the huge 900-year age gap, this means we’re also getting closer to seeing the 29-year-old that Shin has seen. I don’t know if his realization about buying that necklace in Quebec gave him more insight into the lunch meeting that keeps bothering him, but right now, I’m honestly more curious about how Deok-hwa will grow following his grandfather’s impending death. I certainly missed him interacting with the rest of the gang today, since I’m sure he has a remedy or two to fix a broken heart. Don’t worry, Reaper—we’re all rooting for you in the new year.

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