Destined With You: The truth behind Shin-yu’s curse explained

Netflix‘s Destined With You has fans hooked as Shin-yu (Rowoon) and Hong-jo’s (Jo Bo-ah) love story has a fated past, but one of heartbreak where death led to Shin-yu’s family curse.

When first introduced to Shin-yu, he was hardened due to his longtime battle with a mysterious family curse. A curse that has been passed down for generations manifests in the form of a bloody red hand on Shin-yu’s cheek that causes extreme pain.

Details about the curse were never fully revealed. As Shin-yu and Hong-jo gave in to their feelings, they were soon struck with the truth. The bloody red hand was Hong-jo’s in her past life. Flashbacks revealed they were once in a forbidden love. The K-drama had audiences believing Shin-yu was the one who betrayed and killed her.

Destined With You Episode 14 finally revealed the heartbreaking truth behind their love story and why the past version of Shin-yu purposely took on the curse. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Hong-jo was a shaman in her past life in Destined With You

In their past lives, Hong-jo was a shaman who was in a frowned-upon relationship with Shin-yu that later led to trouble as Hong-jo’s life was in danger.

Fans get the full story in Episode 14 as they are transported to the past. In the past, Hong-jo grew up becoming a shaman and falling deeper in love with Shin-yu. But Shin-yu is of noble birth and is told by his father he’ll marry the Deputy Scholar’s daughter before he is sent away to the border after his exam. Only loving Hong-jo, he refuses. Seeing Hong-jo as nothing, his father threatens to cause her harm if Shin-yu doesn’t comply.

While planning to flee with Hong-jo, she tells him she can’t and lies that her love isn’t strong enough for him. In reality, his father was waiting in her home, having threatened her by beating her grandmother. Some time passes and Shin-yu is now a soldier at the palace.

One day, Hong-jo is told to see the King’s consort. She wants her to cast a spell so she can birth a son. While leaving, Shin-yu realizes it’s her. Facing each other, Hong-jo can’t continue her lie and reveals she’s always loved him. They rekindle their “forbidden” romance as the Queen consort gives birth to a son with the help of Hong-jo. Later on, she forces her to cast a spell to kill the Crown Prince so her son can take the throne.

Scenes show the young prince coughing up blood, and the King captures Hong-jo to kill her. But before doing so, she vows a deadly curse where whoever kills her will suffer and meet an early death when the crescent moon rises. Fearing it to be true, the King has her trapped in a well but is later rescued by Shin-yu. They flee to her shaman temple where Hong-jo tries to recover from having used dark magic and her wounds. She reveals to Shin-yu that she didn’t have the heart to kill the prince and never cast the spell.

Shin-yu reveals the Queen consort wants her last spell book and then they could leave for good. But Hong-jo refuses to let the book fall into the wrong hands.

Hong-jo and Shin-yu become fated by death in Destined With You

Trying to protect his true love from a horrid death, the past Shin-yu weepingly killed Hong-jo so she could die in his arms and willingly took on her curse that would stay with his family for generations in Destined With You.

The following morning, Hong-jo is led to believe that Shin-yu betrayed her by taking her spell book to the palace. Along the way, he is ambushed by the King’s men and wounded in the fight. Hong-jo senses he’s in danger and ventures to the snow-covered mountains. She too faces the King’s men but looks at them head-on, knowing they fear her curse.

While one soldier offers to kill her, Shin-yu appears to do it instead. Still wounded, he walks to Hong-jo who is angered that he took her spell book. In a gut-wrenching twist, he stabs her as he holds her close and sobs in agony. Asking why, Shin-yu knew he would be cursed and so would his future generations.

He reveals that she would have met a horrible death and been dismembered. If Shin-yu killed her, at least she would’ve been saved and died in the arms of someone she loved. He vows that if reincarnation exists, they get to live a happy life. Shin-yu also willingly took the curse if it meant they were fated together.

The bloody red hand is not one of anger but of loss and true love. The reason why Shin-yu had his future generations take care of the shaman temple was to ensure the spell book never got into the wrong hands.

You can read more K-drama news here, who was the killer in Behind Your Touch here, Moving K-drama finale explained here, and the killer reveal of My Lovely Liar here.