My Demon: Episodes 15-16 (Remaining)
by alathe
Our hero is gone — and our heroine, decided to cowl up her heartbreak with a smile. He’s satisfied she ought to seek out happiness with out him. She’s insistent on burying her distress in work. Welcome to the Emotional Repression Olympics! However with so many issues between them left unsaid, it’s solely a matter of time earlier than they’re thrown again collectively once more…
EPISODES 15-16
After letting go of Do-hee’s hand, Gu-won merely vanishes from her life. At the least — that’s the plan. He’s decided that Do-hee get her joyful ending with out him. However he leaves an terrible absence in everybody’s lives. Ga-young and Bok-gyu are left lonely. Our newly-minted restauranteurs, the Scallions and Perilla Seeds, lengthy for his return, however their hopes are as empty as their tables. As for Do-hee? She’s bereft. A lot as she tells herself she’s accustomed to loneliness, every part in her life feels hole. And so, she copes the one means she is aware of how: empty hours within the workplace, the place she works till she drops.
Nonetheless, Gu-won couldn’t deliver himself to go away for actual. As a substitute, he hovers on the margins of Do-hee’s life. If one had been being uncharitable, one may technically name it stalking. Nobody ever accused our leads of getting good coping mechanisms. When she collapses asleep on the sofa, he sits shut by. When she stumbles dwelling drunk and scrapes her knee, he carries her to mattress, heals her, and holds her hand all through the night time. Within the morning, he disappears. Do-hee can really feel his presence, however can’t deliver herself to hope it’s him. As a substitute, she refers back to the “alter ego” who takes care of her.
Secretary Shin is aware of finest how Do-hee operates: repress like your life will depend on it. After watching her boss skip meals, scrutinize authorized paperwork, and power herself to smile all of the whereas, she has no selection however to talk up. After her divorce, she tells Do-hee, she did precisely the identical factor: took refuge in work. However time solely heals when you let your self grieve. Not solely is it pointless to be okay on a regular basis — it’s not possible. As for Secretary Shin herself? Nicely, she’s properly on her solution to repressing much less. Upon studying that Bok-gyu waited exterior for her, mid-December, she clasps his freezing chilly ears and virtually cracks a shadow of a smile. Fortunately, Bok-gyu is fluent in micro-expression, and is aware of this for what it’s: a confession of timeless love.
In the meantime, Do-hee makes her solution to Gu-won’s empty workplace. Thumbing by the pages of the demon guide, she lastly lets herself cry. When Bok-gyu is available in, she will be able to’t include herself any longer; all of it comes out in a torrent. I missed him a lot, she says. And now, I’ve nothing left: not a glimpse of him, not an opportunity to say thanks — or sorry. Bok-gyu realizes that it’s merciless to go away her like this. As a substitute, within the hopes that it’d set off reminiscences, he provides her the necklace Gu-won left with him — the one Yi-sun gave Wolsim, lifetimes in the past.
That night time, Do-hee wears it. And as she desires, she remembers. Unexpectedly, she is Wolsim once more, exiled from Hanyang, working at a village gisaeng home the place everybody despises her. She desires, greater than something, to die. However each time she resolves to kill herself, she is interrupted by the person who loves her towards all odds: Yi-sun. He saved her. And at the same time as she died, executed for no cause however spite, her final thought was of how a lot she longed to see his face. Do-hee wakes in tears. Alas, as she hurries to seek out Gu-won, she is ambushed within the automotive — and for a staggering third time in a number of months, a chloroform handkerchief is compelled over her mouth. By now, our poor lady should be affected by kidnap fatigue.
When Do-hee wakes, she finds herself tied to a chair within the damage of a constructing. Earlier than her stands a person final seen dangling by his tie over a clock tower. Experiences of Suk-min’s loss of life have been tremendously exaggerated. Seems, he fell into the one factor assured to show a deadly fall right into a feather-bed touchdown: a big physique of water. To not waste this stroke of fortune, he instantly caught his personal face into a hearth, burning it past recognizability. With this, he was in a position to evade Gu-won’s demonic GPS powers. Now, he intends to lure our demon out — by injuring Do-hee. With an unpleasant grin, he sinks a knife into her thigh. Then, he goals for the throat.
Inside seconds, he crumples underneath an invisible power. Gu-won emerges from the darkness, eyes gleaming vivid pink. He isn’t even barely right here to mess around. Suk-min is hurled throughout the room because the constructing cracks round him. Do-hee screams for Gu-won to cease — she’s horribly conscious that if he kills a human, his life is forfeit. However our hero is just too far gone. A bit of concrete breaks from the ceiling, slamming towards Suk-min’s chest. He spews blood. Utilizing the knife to chop herself free, Do-hee staggers ahead to throw her arms round Gu-won. That’s sufficient, she calls for. I’m okay now — so please, please cease.
The rubble lifts from Suk-min’s chest. Gu-won’s arms slowly transfer to carry Do-hee. However simply as she pulls him nearer, there comes the crack of a loaded rifle. As Suk-min fires at Gu-won, Do-hee spins them round, catching a number of bullets within the again. In a burst of devilish fireplace, the gun explodes in Suk-min’s face — and Gu-won finds himself cradling a dying Do-hee. Ultimately, the selection is a straightforward one. For the primary time in centuries, he whispers a prayer. Then, he breaks crucial rule within the guide: a demon might not deliver the lifeless again to life. Do-hee’s eyes flicker open, as Gu-won tells her that every part is okay now. Horrified, she sits up — did he save her? I saved myself, he replies. Weeping, she clutches at his face as he begins to burn.
Inside seconds, all that’s left of our demon is ashes. The clocks in his workplace snap to a halt. Bok-gyu and Ga-young sit within the workplace, crying collectively. Secretary Shin receives a tragic, quiet cellphone name. By the point Seok-hoon reaches Do-hee’s workplace, she is sitting alone, coat streaked with blood, clutching Gu-won’s wedding ceremony ring. Deserted afresh, our heroine shuts down completely. However as a lot as she despises a world with out Gu-won — as a lot as she is adamant that she was the one who killed him — she can’t hope to die. Not after every part he went by to make sure she’d dwell.
And so, as a substitute, with hole eyes in her empty flat, she places on the shirt she first wore when she met Gu-won, making her solution to the seashore. Merry Christmas, Gu-won, she says, glancing throughout the shore. It looks like whenever you died, part of me died with you. And so, I insist that you simply make a cope with me. Jung Gu-won — my want is to have you ever again. Because the phrases go away her lips, a wave crashes at her ft. Identical to on the very starting, Gu-won seems again at her throughout the spray. Merry Christmas, Do-hee, he says. After a second of utter astonishment, they fall into one another’s arms.
God remains to be standing on the clock tower when Gu-won comes barreling in, thanking her profusely. Wryly, she explains that Do-hee had wished a deal — and since Gu-won was nowhere to be discovered, she’d needed to step in. However, to not panic. The cost has already been made. Doesn’t Gu-won keep in mind that guess he made, not way back, when he’d hazarded that he and Do-hee would each dwell? Nicely, he and God are even now. I suppose I must be grateful, says Gu-won — for sheer pleasure of watching God’s face twist in indignation — that you simply’re horrible at playing. And hey, simply so she is aware of? She’ll by no means discover an worker as good-looking and hard-working as yours really. On that notice… any openings accessible? God laughs. Her face says all of it: “Pikachu, I select you!”
Within the dregs of December, far too late for Christmas, Do-hee and Gu-won can’t be deterred from adorning their tree. It’s right here, holding her newly-resurrected husband, that Do-hee gathers the resolve to ask about her father. What sort of deal did he make with Gu-won? Even when the reality is tough, she has to know. That day, explains Gu-won, there’d been a twelve-vehicle collision. Do-hee’s mom, closely pregnant, lay injured in an ambulance. However once they reached the hospital, there have been no beds. They had been advised to hunt remedy elsewhere. Staggering by the rain, Do-hee’s mom collapsed, bleeding. It was right here, as her father known as out in despair, that Gu-won had answered his plea.
With one want, not even ready to listen to the results, Do-hee’s father rescued each his spouse and daughter. I didn’t need to confuse you extra by telling you, admits Gu-won. Ultimately, all I did was make you depressing. However Do-hee refuses to assume that means. I spent ten fantastic years with my mother and father, she says. And also you saved me — each on this life, and my final. You saved me too, replies Gu-won, pulling her right into a kiss.
And the remaining, as they are saying, is heartwarming vignettes! Gu-won’s second cease as Demon 3.0 is to lastly cease neglecting his duties as mob boss. Or, I suppose, restaurant supervisor? Both means, each single ex-gangster sheds a tear or ten as he arrives at their (now thriving) noodle store. Elsewhere, Secretary Shin takes a deep breath, musters her braveness, and confesses her deeply-held secret: that she and Bok-gyu are — look ahead to it! — courting. This might be rather more momentous if everybody hadn’t been quietly pretending they didn’t already know. However hey, she’s made one unfortunately-named butler deeply joyful!
In the meantime, Ga-young, having spent the previous six episodes very conspicuously not leaving Korea, is coming to the conclusion that… she won’t be prepared to go away Korea. Nonetheless, she provides it her finest shot, visiting her previous home to place herself off for good. Right here, she occurs upon a barefoot lady with distressingly acquainted bruises. When the kid’s father requires her, her flinches. A long time of sword-wielding instincts kick into motion, as Ga-young holds the person at bay with an umbrella Gu-won gave her. Later, on the police station, the lady asks Ga-young if she’s an angel — immediately propelling Ga-young into the previous. Gu-won had, after all, stated he wasn’t one. Sure, she tells the lady, decisively. She writes down her cellphone quantity. It appears she nonetheless has unfinished enterprise in Korea.
As for our leads? 4 months on, and Do-hee is warming to the idea of work-life steadiness. You received’t discover her anyplace close to the chairperson’s seat. That one, she’ll go away to a person who has returned to his old flame, paperwork. Let’s hear it for everybody favourite second selection, Seok-hoon! Do-hee’s predominant cause for steering away from the highest job is that she refuses to depend on Madam Ju to succeed. Nonetheless, evidently Madam Ju can nonetheless shock her. There was a cause she insisted Do-hee marry so quickly: shortly earlier than her loss of life, she was identified with terminal most cancers. Do-hee makes one other bittersweet journey to Madam Ju’s grave, assuring her that she has somebody on her facet now — and at all times will.
Enter our demon! Gu-won is working his nine-to-five for God with newfound relish. He’s doing his finest to solely make offers with the individuals he reckons deserve it, so nobody wants fear about that anymore. (Uh… when you say so, present!) Our leads spend their days sweetly bickering over cake, immortality, and every part else in between. Truly, typically the bickering will get a bit of out of hand. However that’s solely the purpose, thinks Do-hee. Even once they hate one another, they love one another tremendously. Folks might destroy one another at instances, however they’re additionally one another’s salvation. And judging by the adoring look Gu-won provides his spouse, even mid-dispute, our demon wholeheartedly agrees.
An endearing finale! I’m delighted that our leads are joyful. However of us, I can’t deny it — this week, My Demon went out with a whimper slightly than a bang. I reckon one repair would have given Episode 15 a bit of further oomph. Do-hee spent your entire time lacking Gu-won, and completely none of it conflicted over the truth that he despatched her father to hell. If her emotions had been extra complicated, it might have made Gu-won’s sacrifice way more significant. The reconciliation would have felt earned. However these final two episodes appeared frightened to the touch the narrative issues that the remainder of the present established. Equally, they flirted with ethical battle over our hero’s day job, however by no means dedicated. The narrative arc the place he goes from demon to guardian of humanity was proper there, and foreshadowed closely — so, the truth that it was neglected feels bizarre.
Nonetheless, as a complete, this present has been utterly pleasant! The chemistry between our leads by no means wavered; for me, it’ll set the bar for all this yr’s rom-coms. My Demon had an exquisite behavior of placing a contemporary spin on much-loved tropes, culminating in a satisfyingly plausible love story. And far as I really feel this ending took the simple means out, it highlights simply how few shortcuts the writing took elsewhere. Very not often did it depend on normal narrative formulation — in reality, it took nice enjoyment of breaking them. I got here into this present anticipating two lovely individuals watching one another soulfully subsequent to numerous scenic backdrops, and was gifted with a lot extra. My Demon set an excellent excessive normal from the get-go with its zany model of humor and the layered characterization of its leads. Do-hee and Gu-won will dwell in my thoughts for a very long time — and every time I consider them, I’ll be incapable of doing something apart from smile.
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