Recap: Queen In-Hyun’s Man Episode 13
The consequences of changing history….
Boong-Do is back in his house in Joseon time and Yoon-Wol wants to see him. He calls her in and asks if she went to the temple. He comments that she does not look well. Yoon-Wol is hesitant to speak but Boong-Do prods her. She asks, “Do you really plan to leave this place? Will you leave everything and everyone to go to that woman? A new world has finally opened here and you are the head of a great family. I didn’t give you the amulet wanting this kind of result. I gave you the amulet for your safety, not for you to give up everyone for a woman. Also the amulet will bring wrath/revenge/curse if you have other selfish desires. How could you make that kind of decision?”
Boong-Do comments, “This is the first time that I have seen you this angry. I wasn’t ready to hear this so now I am confused. Let’s discuss this one by one.” Boong-Do asks, “You said the amulet will become a curse. What do you mean?”
Hee-Jin is opening the packaging of a new cellphone. She immediately dials her number on the new phone. She saves Boong-Do’s number on her phone as “sun-soo” (player) and her number on his phone as “Most Beautiful Woman in the World.” She picks her phone, which is still ringing, and says, “Hello? Mr. Player?” She pretends to be Boong-Do and answers, “How have you been doing?” She laughs at her own antics.
Hee-Jin has bought a few things that Boong-Do will need for the modern world- clothes, a watch, and a wallet, which she packs with his thick load of bills.
Soo-Kyung has watched her do this from upstairs and starts to “tsk, tsk” and wag her finger. Hee-Jin explains to Soo-Kyung that she did not buy all this with her money. It was bought with all his money; Soo-Kyung saw, didn’t she, that Boong-Do has a lot of money? But all Soo-Kyung can do is keep shaking her head at Hee-Jin.
Hee-Jin is astounded. Soo-Kyung is portraying so much with just that simple sound and motion- annoyance, anger, and exasperation. She claps at Soo-Kyung’s amazing skill. Hee-Jin also wants to stop at the realtor on the way to film. Soo-Kyung is mad that Boong-Do is making Hee-Jin do all this. Hee-Jin explains that Boong-Do does not have a good sense for what is nice. Soo-Kyung wants to know why Hee-Jin is dating someone who can’t even select his own house. Hee-Jin plainly says, “He has a lot of money.” She holds up all the bills. “See? The type of man you like is a man with lots of money. What’s wrong with you? He might have more money than Dong-Min. Boong-Do doesn’t even know how much his inheritance is worth. You said that a real rich person doesn’t know exactly how much money they have.”
Hee-Jin takes out a single bill from the wallet. “Since I shopped for him, I should take this as a service fee. This would only be worth a packet of gum for him.” Hee-Jin waves the bill at Soo-Kyung. “Let’s eat something good.”
Soo-Kyung is thoroughly exasperated. She falls back onto the bed and yells from upstairs. “Are you happy? Dong-Min sprayed water on you. You lost all your commercial deals. You get yelled at all the time on set. You got labeled as a scandal maker. Are you still happy?”
Hee-Jin simply replies, “Yes, I’m happy. Wahhhhh!!!!” She does some rapid fist pumps. Soo-Kyung gives up. “Fine. At least you’re happy. At least one person should be happy. Good job, Hee-Jin. Love doesn’t feed you but money does. At least he has money.” Hee-Jin just continues to smile blissfully.
Boong-Do is at the palace trying to attend to his work but he is distracted by what Yoon-Wol told him. “When I received that amulet, the monk told me something.”
In a flashback, Yoon-Wol is bowing at the temple. An older monk asks monk Young-Myung monk, “Who is that child? She has come here every day.” Young-Myung tells him that she is a gisaeng. The older monk wants to know what kind desire Yoon-Wol has to be this devoted?
It is night and Yoon-Wol is still at the temple. The monk asks her, “What do you desire you so much?” He wants to help her out after seeing her devotion.
The monk reads Boong-Do’s name in Hanja and his birthday. “This person is too smart and has great ambitions. What are you praying for this person?” Yoon-Wol replies, “For his safety and happiness.” The monk sighs, “But alas. This person is destined to experience endless suffering (meaning that Boong-Do will continue to choose difficult paths that lead to suffering) and will find it hard to save his life during this time.”
Yoon-Wol asks in a panic, “Then what must we do?” The monk replies as he writes the amulet, “An amulet can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. It must be used carefully. What I mean is that just because I wrote it, or you asked for it, or because it is Boong-Do’s, does not mean it will do what we want it to do.” Yoon-Wol nods in understanding. The monk continues, “If there are other desires, the amulet can become a curse/wrath.”
Yoon-Wol relays this to Boong-Do. “The reason why the monk wrote the amulet and I gave it to you was to save your life. But now if you use the amulet to purposefully go to that place, isn’t that against the first reason for making the amulet? Isn’t that the “other desire” that the monk was talking about?” Yoon-Wol continues, “There was never a time I didn’t wish for your happiness. But I never thought that your happiness will be disappearing from us forever.”
Boong-Do receives a letter. It informs him that as directed by Boong-Do, there was a search for Ja-Soo but no one was able to find him. The letter asks for Boong-Do’s help. The letter also lets Boong-Do know that last night, there was some trouble. A few days ago, the queen visited her parents. Last night at their house…
We see the Queen’s parents’ house. A man dressed like Boong-Do leaps over the wall and a guard sees him. One of the ladies-in-waiting checks on the Queen, who is fixing her nightgown/undergarments.
The letter continues, “Thankfully nothing happened to the Queen…”
The King is angry that something like this could still happen. He is sure that this was ordered by the other side (Minister Min’s people). He wants to re-question them and find out who ordered this.
Boong-Do is walking to the palace with the officers. The officer tells him that the King wanted to see Boong-Do and talk to him about this since he is the only one who knows about Ja-Soo. Boong-Do doesn’t understand why those people would do such a foolish thing. The officer figures it is because they are desperate.
The officer shows him the portrait of Ja-Soo. Boong-Do notes that while the general idea is right, Ja-Soo looks different. The officer asks for more specific details. Boong-Do mutters to himself, “This would be easy if we just took a picture.” The officer hears this and is confused. Boong-Do asks, “Did the person who invaded the Queen’s parents’ house look like him?” The officer answers that the only the back of that person was seen. But it was reported that the man was tall and had on yangban’s clothing. Boong-Do is surprised to hear this. “Yangban’s clothing,” he repeats.
From a rooftop, masked men ready their bows and shoot at Boong-Do. Two arrows hit Boong-Do. One near the chest and one in his back.
(Commercial—- I run around screaming.)
Two arrows hit Boong-Do but before the final kill shot hits him, Boong-Do transports to modern time. He has landed smack in the middle of Seoul. Back in Joseon time, the officers try to capture the assassins and are surprised that Boong-Do has disappeared. One of them says, “Didn’t you see? He just disappeared.” Another onlooker adds, “I saw it too. Before the arrow hit him, he suddenly disappeared.” Another one confirms. (Oh s***). The head officer yells, “That doesn’t make sense. He must be somewhere. Look for him!”
Boong-Do is surrounded by people staring at him- a strange man dressed in Joseon clothing with two arrows in his body. You can hear them say, “Where’s the camera? He’s good-looking (Haha). When will it (referring to a drama/movie) come out? Wow, he’s really tall.”
Boong-Do starts to walk away, in pain. He hides behind a wall, crouching in pain and breaks off the arrows from his body. Thankfully Boong-Do sees some backbags nearby. (In the midst of all this, I still have to laugh at Boong-Do’s amazing luck in finding nice clothes that fit him.)
Boong-Do has now changed into modern clothes but the arrowhead is still in his body and blood is seeping into his clothing. Boong-Do reflects on what just happened. “In the middle of the street, in front of government officers, an assassination attempt. This is definitely a trap.”
We see images of Joseon time and the officers looking at the arrow stuck in the ground after Boong-Do disappeared. Boong-Do’s voice- “This is the work of someone who knows the power of the amulet. It must be Ja-Soo. And behind him there must be Minister Min.”
Boong-Do is standing at crosswalk next to a crowd of people. As his vision blurs, he sees someone playing on her cellphone. Boong-Do is bleeding heavily. “Minister’s Min’s plan.”
We see a repeat of the conversation between Ja-Soo and Minister Min about the amulet. Ja-Soo wants to steal the amulet and kill Boong-Do. Minister Min wants otherwise. The amulet will not only help Boong-Do. It will also bring him trouble.
Boong-Do remembers what the officer told him about the man who intruded into the Queen’s parents’ house- the tall height and the yangban’s clothes.
Minister Min is talking to Ja-Soo. “We know that the Queen is at her parents’ house. I am sure that on that day, Boong-Do visited the Queen before he came to my house but I had no way to prove it. Now that we know how, we will recreate that day.” Ja-Soo- “What do you mean by recreate?” Minister Min- “What do you think the prideful King won’t be able to stand? The thing that he won’t be able to stand to not kill Boong-Do for.”
Boong-Do realizes what Minister Min is planning. We hear Ja-Soo’s voice- “A scandalous rumor?” Minister Min reaffirms, “A scandalous rumor.” (A great peace of cinematography here as we go back and forth between Minister Min’s smiling face and Boong-Do standing in the middle of the street, realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. At the same time I am appreciating this, I scream, “GO TO THE HOSPITAL!)
Boong-Do makes his way to the park with the phone booth. He looks at the phone. (Okay, I know that there aren’t a lot of phone booths in Seoul anymore but really?) Boong-Do passes on and heads up the hill to where he hid his bag last time. He doesn’t see it, however, and panics. Thankfully he sees a plastic bag there and pulls it out. Inside is a note from Hee-Jin- “Will you be able to read this? Kim Boong-Do sshi. Don’t steal anymore and wear clothes properly. From the ‘World’s Most Beautiful Woman’.” Boong-Do sighs in relief. He pulls out the cellphone and wallet, and hides the clothes again.
He heads down to the street and stops a cab. Boong-Do gets in and asks to go the library. (IS THIS MAN OUT OF HIS MIND?!!!!!). The taxi driver wants to know which one and Boong-Do asks for the nearest one. They start to go but they get stuck in traffic. The taxi driver asks Boong-Do to just get out now since they are only 50 meters away and they are stuck. But Boong-Do has fainted in the back. The taxi driver finally turns around and sees the blood.
Hee-Jin is filming, delivering serious words to the King, when we see that the “King” is actually one of the staff members dressed up as the King just for the close-up shots of Hee-Jin. (I feel like a crazy woman- going back and forth laughing and dying.) Na-Jeong comes by and asks why the guy is there and one staff member explains that it is because Dong-Min didn’t want to film with Hee-Jin.
The director is unhappy and just calls for some time. Na-Jeong starts to tease Hee-Jin. “How could the queen cheat on the King? You are definitely above me. You’re great!” The rest of the staff looks uncomfortable. Hee-Jin sees Soo-Kyung and makes cute faces at her, sticking out her tongue, but Soo-Kyung just shows Hee-Jin that she wants to cut that tongue off.
Soo-Kyung and Hee-Jin are in the backroom and Soo-Kyung complains about Dong-Min. Hee-Jin asks if she should talk to him one more time but Soo-Kyung disagrees. “Getting sprayed with water and hit with a pillow is enough. What else can you do?” Hee-Jin replies, “I can beg on my knees if he wants.” Soo-Kyung is indignant. “Why beg? Did you guys get engaged or married? Didn’t he do the same thing before?” (That’s a good friend, Soo-Kyung.) “I was sorry at first too but now after all this, I’m not.”
Hee-Jin checks her phone and finds 23 missed calls. She sees they are all from “Player” and smiles. “When did he come? He must have found the phone.” Hee-Jin calls, all bouncy, and immediately asks, “Hello? When did you come?” But it is some stranger on the phone. “You’re the ‘beauty’? Are you the ‘world’s most beautiful woman’?” Hee-Jin sheepishly answers yes. “Who is this? Taxi?”
Hee-Jin gets up in surprise. “Where are you?”
Soo-Kyung and Hee-Jin rush to the emergency room. Hee-Jin asks for the man who just came in from a taxi. The nurse recognizes her and asks if she is the guardian. Soo-Kyung replys that she is guardian and Hee-Jin just followed. Hee-Jin searches around the room for Boong-Do. (Find him! Find him!). Hee-Jin- “Where is he?!” Soo-Kyung steps on her toes and asks more calmly, “Where is he?” The nurse explains that he is in surgery. The nurse pulls out a consent form. He went into surgery in a hurry and they couldn’t get consent before it. Soo-Kyung signs while Hee-Jin worries.
Everyone is in front of the emergency room and Soo-Kyung is talking to the taxi driver. The taxi driver explains that he thought Boong-Do was fine in the beginning but later saw him bleeding. He thought he was going to have a funeral in his taxi. The driver continues to explain that he opened the wallet and saw money but no ID. He opened the cellphone and only saw one person in it- “The world’s most beautiful woman.” The taxi drivers stops and looks at Soo-Kyung. “So you’re the ‘world’s most beautiful woman’?” Soo-Kyung explains that it is just a joke. Hee-Jin looks on in worry.
The jail officer is talking to Minister Min. The city is in chaos. Many people saw Boong-Do disappear. They still can’t find him. Minister Min pretends surprise. “How could that be? What a strange thing.” The officer continues, “I talked to the guy who saw. Boong-Do disappeared in the blink of an eye.” Minister Min asks, “Then this must have been reported to the King?” The officer replies, “Of course. He was with other government soldiers. If they were to hide this, who knows what could happen?” Minister Min agrees. “Of course you must report it.”
The King is talking with his head of the police. “He disappeared like smoke? What do you mean?” The other government official reminds the head that he must speak the truth. The head apologizes but there are many people who saw this happened with their own eyes.
The King asks where Kim Boong-Do is but he hears that they can’t find him yet. Since two arrows hit Boong-Do, there should be blood trails or footprints but they haven’t found any. The King is in disbelief. The other government official guesses that the assassins must have kidnapped him but the head officer reports that they captured those assassins and they don’t know where Boong-Do is either. They were just as surprised at his disappearance.
The King asks, “Then you mean to say that Kim Boong-Do is using some kind of black magic? Where did Boong-Do go?”
Flashback to Boong-Do being rolled into surgery. Boong-Do is now out of surgery and he opens his eyes to see Hee-Jin above him. Hee-Jin asks, “Do you see me? Do you hear me?” She calls the nurses. Boong-Do struggles to say, “I need to check…” Hee-Jin can’t hear him properly. “What do you need to check?” He breathes out, “The Annals.” Boong-Do falls unconscious again. The doctors finally come in.
Hee-Jin is waiting outside the hospital room and Soo-Kyung tells her to go back to the studio. She is worried that people will see Hee-Jin and start talking about how the man Hee-Jin cheated on Dong-Min with is in the hospital. Hee-Jin just sighs deeply. Soo-Kyung reassures Hee-Jin, “I’ll be here. They said he is not going to die.”
Hee-Jin gets up to go. Soo-Kyung tells Hee-Jin, “Just because I like money, doesn’t mean that money is everything. Why does a student go around getting shot by arrows?” She pulls out the arrowhead. Hee-Jin drops her purse. Soo-Kyung asks, “Is he really a student? Should I ask the school? And why are you the only one he knows? So he doesn’t have parents but no siblings or friends? What are we going to tell the police? Who is that man, really?” Hee-Jin wordlessly looks at the arrowhead.
Hee-Jin is back at the studio and a staff member brings her some corrections to the script. (Oh no.) Hee-Jin reads the new script. She is completely amazed. She curses Dong-Min.
Hee-Jin approaches Dong-Min. “Aren’t you being really cheap/petty? How could you change the script this much? If you want to be angry, be angry with me. Why do you want to ruin the drama?” (You’ve got the wrong man, Hee-Jin.) Dong-Min looks at Hee-Jin in confusion. Hee-Jin continues, “This isn’t fiction but based on real people. How can you change real people’s lives? Are you happy killing (her) off?”
Dong-Min doesn’t understand what Hee-Jin is saying. “What are you talking about? Are you talking about the death of Queen In-Hyun being pulled up a few episodes? I don’t know why the writer did that. Maybe she didn’t want to write it anymore.”
Hee-Jin screams, “It’s not that it was pulled up but the fact that she dies like that.” Dong-Min asks, “What do you mean it doesn’t make sense?” Hee-Jin continues, “You don’t understand? When did Queen In-Hyun die like that?” Dong-Min asks, “Then how do we kill her? By a simple illness? I don’t understand what you are saying? Did you drink?”
Realization hits Hee-Jin. She remembers Boong-Do asking to check the Annals. Hee-Jin wordlessly leaves Dong-Min. The manager walks in and yells at Dong-Min for fighting with Hee-Jin. Dong-Min complains, “This is so annoying.”
Hee-Jin checks the Annals. She is astounded by what she is reading.
Boong-Do wakes up in the hospital room. The nurse goes to get the doctor. He hears Hee-Jin outside. Hee-Jin bursts in and Boong-Do smiles bashfully. Hee-Jin is happy to see him and just stares. “I see that you’re smiling. You must be alive then.” She grabs the cellphone. “What if you didn’t have the cellphone? You wouldn’t have been able to have surgery because of your missing identity and just died with no one knowing. Don’t I have great instincts? I thought the cellphone should be there first.”
Boong-Do asks how much time has passed. Hee-Jin answers, “Ten days.” Hee-Jin asks if he wants water but Boong-Do wants a book first. Hee-Jin guesses that it is the Annals. He asks how she knows. Hee-Jin answers, “You don’t even remember. You told me. I checked the Annals to see if anything changed.”
Boong-Do: “Did anything change?”
Hee-Jin: “Nope. Nothing”
(Face-palm.)
Hee-Jin turns to get some water out of the refrigerator. “Only one thing changed. Scholar Kim Boong-Do was shot by arrows and disappeared. After that, M.I.A.” (I think Boong-Do might believe her until she adds…) “After that, he never appeared again. So I thought, ‘This is how he ends up living here’.” Boong-Do asks if there is anything else and Hee-Jin continues to lie. “Nope, everything else is the same. Did you think that you were that important of a person? That the world would change just because you disappeared? You know what we call that here? ‘Ja-bbuk.’ You think too highly of yourself. Memorize it. Ja-bbuk.”
The doctor comes in and checks on Boong-Do. Hee-Jin gets a call and leaves the room. Boong-Do watches her leave, avoiding his eyes.
It’s a call asking for Soo-Kyung. A nurse approaches Hee-Jin and tells her that Boong-Do needs more examinations and that they need to report him to the police. The nurse wants Hee-Jin to fill out some forms.
Boong-Do gets out of his bed and looks for his amulet in his clothes. He can’t find it. Boong-Do has changed into clothes that Hee-Jin had brought to the hospital for him and tries to leave the hospital, but he meets Soo-Kyung on the way out. Boong-Do continues to leave the hospital and notes the ambulance and emergency room sign.
Soo-Kyung is in Boong-Do’s room muttering, “What crazy person.” Hee-Jin comes in. Soo-Kyung asks, “What is that? Where is Boong-Do?” Hee-Jin guesses that he must have gone to get more examinations but Soo-Kyung clarifies that she saw Boong-Do run away with his wallet and cellphone. “Why did he run? It mustn’t be because of he doesn’t want to pay the hospital fee? He gets stranger every day.”
Boong-Do is at the library, checking the annals, and in pain. Boong-Do reads what happened while he was unconscious at the hospital. May 25- the head of the police reports that Kim Boong-Do was shot and disappeared. May 26- witnesses report that the person who intruded the Queen’s house looked like Kim Boong-Do. The King got angry and punished the witnesses. May 27- guards report that Kim Boong-Do often visited the Queen and on the night there was the assassination attempt on the Queen, Boong-Do visited the Queen. May 28- it is confirmed that Kim Boong-Do never went to his hometown the day he said he would. May 29- it is reported that Kim Boong-Do disappeared for four days during his exile in Jeju. June 1- the rumors that Kim Boong-Do used black magic to travel the country and visited the Queen cannot be contained among the citizens. Official letters asking for re-investigation keep pouring in and the King orders for Kim Boong-Do to be brought in for questioning. June 3- The King orders the Queen to tell him the truth but the Queen remained silent. June 20- The King: “The Queen’s secret actions have been revealed. She consorted with someone who uses black magic and used me to be reinstated. This is high treason. The Queen will be punished again. Last April’s incident will be re-investigated. Release Minister Min and the others.” July 2- The King: “It is right to punish Kim Boong-Do also but since we can’t find him, we will behead all those involved and punish Kim Boong-Do (as in punish him after death with the greatest punishment. Since in Joseon time, your prestige, name, and heritage means so much, you can still punish people after death). July 25- The person stripped of her status, Min-sshi, was beheaded.
(A few notes here. They didn’t have Gregorian names of the months in Korea so when I write April, May, June, or July, it is all written as fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh month in Korean. The Queen’s real name is Min so when she is stripped of her status to be beheaded, she is simply referred to as Min.)
Boong-Do lets this all sink in. His phone rings and it is Hee-Jin. He doesn’t pick up. Soo-Kyung reports to Hee-Jin that they can’t find Boong-Do in the hospital. Hee-Jin tells her that Boong-Do is probably in a library but she doesn’t know which one.
Boong-Do has his head in his hands as he remembers back to when Yoon-Wol said, “I’m worried that the amulet will make you far apart from this world. Since everything is solved now, I wish you wouldn’t look for the amulet again.”
Boong-Do remembers his promise to the Queen. “Don’t worry. We will protect you to the end.” Concurrently, we see the Queen being beheaded. He remembers Yoon-Wol saying, “The monk said that the amulet can become a curse/wrath. The reason why the monk wrote the amulet and I gave it to you was to save your life. But now you if you use the amulet to purposefully go to that place, isn’t that against the first reason for making the amulet? Isn’t that the “other desire” that the monk was talking about?” Boong-Do hangs his head while the phone continues to ring. Boong-Do does not pick up.
Some time later, Hee-Jin is in the hospital room and her phone rings. She picks and angrily asks, “Where are you?” Boong-Do answers, “Your house.” Hee-Jin asks, “Why there?” Boong-Do answers, “I came to look for the amulet. Where is it?” Hee-Jin pretends to not know what Boong-Do is talking about but Boong-Do asks her, “Don’t you have it?”
Hee-Jin says, “I don’t have the amulet. I burned it.” Boong-Do repeats in disbelief, “You burned it?” Hee-Jin confirms. “I burned it since I knew you would be like this when you woke up.” Boong-Do just says, “There is no time. Where is it?” as he continues to search the house. (I love how he doesn’t believe Hee-Jin would actually burn the amulet.)
Hee-Jin keeps confirming that she burned it. “You saw the Annals. You went M.I.A. It’s because I burned the amulet. The Queen was beheaded. What would happen to you if you went back? So I burned it. You know I’m simple and not that smart. I could only think of that solution. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you this before but even if you want to go back to Joseon, you can’t now.
Boong-Do replies, “You can’t even really con someone but you always try.”
Hee-Jin yells, “This isn’t a con.” Boong-Do says, “Don’t be angry at what I am saying right now. I don’t like people who are not smart. You keep calling yourself dumb but I just think that you lack knowledge. You’re not dumb.” (Exactly. I never thought you dumb, Hee-Jin.)
Hee-Jin wants to know what he means. Boong-Do explains. “When the amulet was split in half, I lost my memories and you had to live the same life twice. If that happened when the amulet was split, what do you think will happen if it was burned? Will nothing happen? Will we never be able to recognize each other? Will we just pass each other even if we meet? How do we know what will happen?” (I’m just swooning over this man’s intelligence. Romance embedded in intelligence? I’ve died and gone to heaven.)
Boong-Do continues to search for the amulet. “You know this too so how could you have burned the amulet? You must have just hidden it somewhere.”
Hee-Jin remembers the night she tried to burn the amulet. Hee-Jin holds a lighter to the amulet but she can’t do it.
Hee-Jin tells Boong-Do, “Thank you for thinking so highly of me but I am really not that smart. I’m really a stone. I was famous in school for being a “stone-head.” (Different meaning here than the phrase used in English. She wasn’t a druggie. In Korea, they refer to people who are dumb as stone-heads.) I placed last in school!”
Boong-Do has opened the fridge and announces, “I found it” as he takes out the amulet from under a mat in the fridge. Boong-Do says to Hee-Jin, “You are not dumb although it’s for certain that you didn’t try that hard in school.”
Hee-Jin bolts up. “Don’t go. Wait a minute.” She starts to cry. “Don’t go. If you really go, I won’t see you again. (From here on Hee-Jin starts to speak banmal, or informal Korean language→) Don’t go, you jerk. We saved you from dying. How could you do this? You said you would be responsible for me. You said you would. Why are you saying two different things, you b*stard (a little harsher version of ‘jerk’). Don’t go!”
Boong-Do asks softly, “Will you listen to my words for a moment?”
Boong-Do: “I promised that I would take responsibility but five years ago, I promised to the Queen that I would risk my life to protect her. But now, because of me, she was beheaded. I don’t think I can live here knowing that and I have learned my whole life that one shouldn’t live like that. So…I will take responsibility of everyone. I can do it.”
Boong-Do looks at Hee-Jin’s portrait hanging on the wall of her house. “I will take care of everything and return.” Hee-Jin just sniffles at the other end of the phone.
Later in the night, Hee-Jin returns to her house and see Boong-Do’s clothes, cellphone, and wallet on the table. The song “Same sky, Different Time” plays in the background. Hee-Jin sadly sighs.
The preview is the same one as the one uploaded on tvN’s YouTube channel. I have posted it up already.
Comment:
Another excellent episode despite the lack of OTP moments. Things continue to remain interesting and moving swiftly. I also love how each shot is framed, especially when Boong-Do is reading the Annals and we see how everything played out in the past. The drama is not only interesting plot-wise, but visually also.
I am thoroughly enjoying how the Queen arc is playing out. I was afraid it would be sidelined, or worse yet, take over the show, but it has done neither. The plot surrounding the Queen remains relevant to our main couple’s love story and continues to bring conflict and weight to what can otherwise veer off to sheer fluff.
But what else could have I expected from this drama? Every episode has been well written and carefully thought out so I guess I should have never had my doubts. But after so many traumas from other dramas, I just can never shake the fear of a writer losing her head and tearing a story apart. (I’m looking at you Boys Over Flowers. I will never get over that. Never.)
It is so refreshing to watch a main lead reason with someone and to have the receiver actually understand. The heart is great but sometimes the mind is a much better resource. This couple is such a functional couple. There are no doubts about each other. Boong-Do never feared for once that Hee-Jin would burn the amulet. He knows her too well.
When Boong-Do was explaining to Hee-Jin why he must return, I was just swooning all over the place. I will take words of reason over dramatic-in-your-face arm-grabbing anytime. Moar Boong-Do’s and Hee-Jin in dramaland, please!
One thing I want to note is that when Boong-Do was reading the Annals, everything in the past played out as if Boong-Do never returned. So there is that alternate universe. I wonder, though, what kind of universe that would be? Is it a universe in which Boong-Do made the decision to never return because I can’t see that happening. Or is it a universe in which he died and couldn’t return? Ah, time-travel. So much fun and confusion.
Scattered Joonni 
i intentionally woke up early for this…thanks ! *off to read*
OMG, I thought I was the only one doing this XD I just could’nt finidh it in the morning, that’s why I’m here again 😀
Oh my Gosh. Been waiting for this all day! Thank you!
Okay, this episode was awesome. I like smart villains as well. So, I really like how they set up a real fight for Boong-do, and one that makes sense in the context of the story besides them just not liking him. Too often we have antagonists being evil for the sake of being evil. And evil they are here, but it’s not without reason.
I fully trust Boong-do to solve this, but the how is beyond me. Which probably means he’s way smarter than I am. Not that I ever doubted that.
I do worry for their future. How will the drama end if the talisman is designed to be harmful if intentions are selfish?
I also thought Minister Min and Ja-Soo were very smart. It makes all the drama worth it when the villains actually can pull off an intelligent plan. Unlike Tae-Mu from Rooftop Prince. LOL.
RTP was a complete disaster. I kept trying to think what the writers were trying to get at. Poor planning for sure. *Cross fingers for QIHM* We’ve made it this far. It would be quite tragic if it fails on us now (see: 49 days). I’m optimistic for this though.
Thank you very much for the recap joonni! =)
thanks a lot for the fast recap, jooni. i keep refreshing your page since this morning. Cant wait for tonight episode. 2 episodes left, hope it will have good ending to all (especially for our couple).
thanks a lot for the fast recap, joonni. i keep refreshing your page since this morning. Cant wait for tonight episode. 2 episodes left, hope it will have good ending to all (especially for our couple).
I came to the office extra early today to catch this recap….
Was reading the recap for the 3rd time before i realised this…
Did he go back to Joseon naked? it’s not like he has a spare traditional clothing stashed in Hee Jin’s house.
i tink he went to collect his clothes aft his library trip before he went to HJ house since he oledi knw HJ will hide the amulet at home…dats the oni reasonable explanation since he’s pressing for time
Thank you Joonni for your amazing, well-written fast recap! You are wonderful.
OMG. (Just read the recap in full) So much happens in this episode. Wow.
I have to say, I LOVE that Boong Do can calmly see that Hee Jin isn’t dumb, that she just didn’t try at school because she lacked motivation (possibly because she’s always been content to coast as a pretty girl). Even some QIHM fans sometimes call Hee Jin ditzy or dumb, but I second you Joonni, that I never thought she lacked brains. She’s certainly insecure about her intelligence (calling herself dumb all the time), and of course, anyone would look dumb in comparison to Boong Do, but she’s not stupid. And he tells her so!
At first I was angry at Hee Jin for lying to him, when he is so desperate to know the truth, but then I thought about it. First, he can tell when she’s lying anyway, so he doesn’t lose much time. More importantly, he comes back to 2012 with two arrows in him when they have just begun to be a serious couple. Hee Jin responds by doing everything she can to prevent him not to go back, because he could easily die and she’d never see him again. So I understand. Plus, I love love LOVE that even though she wanted to, Hee Jin didn’t burn the amulet. She couldn’t do that to him (either because it’s what brought him to her, and who knows about the unknown side effects, or because, more importantly, that would be taking his agency/choice away). And, like you said, it kills me (in a good way) how Boong Do TRUSTS her, that he knows she wouldn’t have done it.
Aaggh, I love this couple SO much.
Thanks again Joonni. Looking forward to watching this episode!
Sorry, but I’m not sure if it’s as much a matter of trust as it is simply that time would have changed if the amulet had been burned/ destroyed, as he explains to her. Because he’s still around, and remembers her, clearly she didn’t do anything to the amulet. Doesn’t mean that he doesn’t trust her, just saying that trust is not the only possible reading 😎
Hmm.. my interpretation of trust is a mixed bag of instinct and reason. So I see Boong-Do trusting Hee-jin because he knows she is not the type to do so.
Hello, I am new here, but I have been reading your blog for a few weeks now and I really like it. I find your writing to be funny (especially the recaps where you included the lessons learned as you wrote) and witty. Please keep it up :-).
Thank you for the fast recap, I had been refreshing your page as well.
Wow, this is fast! Thank you, Joonni! We really appeciate your hard work!
May I ask a question – when HJ was going on about BD’s money to SK, that was because of SK, right? As in, SK’s practical, is concerned about money as a means to living, doesn’t want to see HJ cheated? It felt so out of character for HJ to be focused on the money.
(also, side note – I get prickles whenever pp give shoes to someone else. Don’t know what it’s like in Korea, but it’s certainly a Chinese superstition that one should never gift shoes; it signifies death)
Yes, I’m appreciating the plot developments and the way we’re heading towards a resolution. I love the return of thinking Boong-do, but am slightly distressed at how Hee-jin’s been reduced to a hysterical, dependent-on-her-man woman. I hope the writer pulls it all together.
Hee-Jin was joking about the money and Soo-Kyung knows that. Hee-Jin is just joking trying to appease Soo-Kyung but Soo-Kyung knows Hee-Jin too well. Hee-Jin would never just fall for money.
It’s a superstition too, in Korea, about the shoes. There is a saying that if you give someone shoes, they run away from you. So lovers should never gift shoes to each other.
How do you find Hee-Jin hysterical and dependent? Is it when she is pleading for Boong-Do to stay? When Hee-Jin is asking him to take responsibility for his words, she isn’t literally asking him to to take care of her. Nothing in her actions or words so far has indicated this to be an unequal relationship. Hee-Jin knows how to take care of herself. I think she is merely acting in a way any person in love would- happy because you love someone and they love you back, sad because that person might leave you. I don’t think it is right to just simply let someone go just because he wants to. She fears for his safety as well, not only about him leaving her. My two-cents here. Please let me know why you find Hee-Jin dependent. I’m curious.
Oh, oh! ‘dependent-on-her-man’ was my response to how the WRITER portrayed Hee-jin in this episode, because her actions (apart from hiding the talisman,which Boong-do found anyway) were all reactive. I’d love to see her able to do more.
I sometimes think people conflate “caring about another person or being really openly into them” as “being clingy or dependent.” I don’t think Hee Jin is dependent, just quick to love and to react. Hee Jin still has her career. She’s not the one who’s thinking of uprooting her entire life to be near her love; that would be Boong Do. Despite her pretty face, she doesn’t play around, doesn’t play hard to get. She wears her heart on her sleeve.
Hee Jin has never hidden her emotions, and while I believe Boong Do loves her, he has always been more calm and she has always been more demonstrative. It’s one of the things he loves about her. She’s not just afraid Boong Do will leave; she’s afraid he’ll die. She cared about him as a person even before they were an official couple, the first time she read that he died in the Annals.
@Joonni and JC,
Thank you both for your responses! They both help me to clarify what I wanted to express; I was rushing to post this morning before walking my daughter to school and didn’t think carefully enough.
‘hysterical’ wasn’t a response to Hee-jin in this episode, it was due to her sobbing in the preview for ep 14. I know there are reasons for her emotion, even if we won’t see them all until the actual episode, so that is probably not a justified description. Stems from, I think, my desire to see her do more than just sob, but then again, I can’t see what she could actually do to help Boong-do.
As for ‘dependent’ – especial thanks to JC here for bringing out the difference between being clingy and being deeply in love. I don’t think she’s being clingy; I do think she loves Boong-do and is well aware of the frailty (and thus preciousness) of their relationship (their being together depends on the workings of a piece of cloth!). She’s admitted that she’d almost rather he be a con artist than who he actually is; they would have a better chance of being together.
So 1) she knows she’s helpless – she can’t use the talisman, she can’t change history, she can’t help Boong-do in any practical way 2) she read the Annals; she knows the Queen will be beheaded and that Boong-do is under suspicion (if I’m understanding this correctly, they can’t find him, so they behead everyone else – Yoon-wol and Han-dong, his other servants? – and dishonour his family name). I can understand her doing all she can to make him stay. There is no ‘future’ for him in the past, whereas in the present they have each other.
The tipping point into ‘dependent’ for me is that she knows how much the reinstatement of the Queen means/ meant to him. He may not have shared just how much this was a driving force for him, but she knew its importance to him, and she’s read the previous versions of history and his involvement. Yet, knowing all this, she lies to him about what is in the Annals when he asks. I know it was done out of love and desperation, I know it must have been a dilemma, but, to deny him knowledge of what, essentially, makes him who he is and what he stands for, is not right. Could she expect him to stay happily with her with him knowing exactly what would happen to the Queen and everyone else? This may just be me, I’ve done plenty of things both noble (I think! I hope!) and foolish because I love someone, but I don’t know if I would knowingly deny that person what I know is of utmost significance to him, because I don’t want to lose him. It would be a hell of a decision, though.
Well, moot point, cos in the end he reads the Annals for himself, finds the talisman and goes anyway 😎
Thank you for bearing with me!
Forgive me for making this longer! I forgot to add, Hee-jin obviously feared for Boong-do’s safety, and even his life, so it wasn’t simply a question of wanting to keep him with her for her sake. That must have made the dilemma worse. Still, i’d rather her leave the decision with him.
Gah, I’m sorry, maybe the issue isn’t about ‘dependence’ at all, but about not letting love/ fear take away a person’s choice to take responsibility for what is significant to them. Can one deny one’s loved person that choice, even if it the outcome would be better for them? In the end, Boong-do promises to take responsibility for both Queens; clearly both are significant. I don’t know how he’ll manage it, and I am praying the writer manages it well!
Talked myself into a hole, methinks. Again, apologies, and thank you.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, shi! I can see your points. I too was offended when Hee Jin lied, but it was nice that Boong Do was not fooled at all and didn’t make a big deal of it, essentially forgiving her for lying to him/trying to con him on the spot. He didn’t seem angry, just pressed for time.
Her lie was a well-meant betrayal of him and his principles, but I sympathize with her. The lie deprives him of choice (and in fact I agree with you that it wasn’t right), but she is fighting for the relationship and also for his life.
She has less agency than he does, as she points out in an earlier episode. She has to wait around, not knowing if he’ll be able to keep his promises. (You know, more often the mobile time traveler is the man and the one who waits, the woman, but that’s a feminist rant for another time). Considering her stronger initiative in the romance and how she more than meets him halfway to make their love possible, I still think she is an exceptional heroine.
@JC and shl
Both are you are so eloquent and I see both your points.
I like to think that Hee-Jin would have eventually told him if Boong-Do never bothered to check. But she knew he would see the lie and look for his amulet. That is why she hid it.
I agree that she should have known how important the reinstatement of the Queen is to him, and to deny him the chance to make things right is not very noble of her. Thankfully she knows this deep inside and does not continue to plead after Boong-Do tells her directly how he feels about his duty to the Queen.
(this is in reply to this post and your subsequent posts below. can’t reply to them ahahha)
Yes, maybe ‘dependent’ isn’t really the correct word. I felt that when she lied to him, a part of her knows he knew, or that he would realize she was lying sooner or later. He knows her so well, afterall.
Which is why she hid the amulet; she knows he’s going to find out the truth for himself, and she knows he will try to return. She was just trying her feeble means to prolong his return to the past for as long as possible. Hee Jin’s not calm, cool and collected like Boong Do. Her default mode of doing things is “action & reaction”, and therefore after seeing the arrowheads and reading it in the books, she decides to lie. But again she knows him really well too. Hee Jin’s not dependent. Her last, desperate measure is to beg for him to stay. Which she knows isn’t going to work either.
What you are trying to say is that she’s selfish, no? You might think that a lot of us are giving Hee Jin a wide berth here. But I think it’s because if this had happened to us, we would have done the same. We are all selfish, especially when it comes to our love ones. It’s just how human beings are. You are thinking about this logically when you say it’s wrong for her to deny him knowledge. Of course in retrospect / as a third person it’s wrong. But rarely is one rational when it comes to love. (Boong Do is the exception. Which is why Hee Jin is such a fit to his extreme cool-headedness.)
i guess dats y she sigh when she returned home n saw his clothes there…she knw he’ll go bck no matter wat she say o do, she’s jus tryin to keep him safe.. especially aft seeing the bloody arrowheads
Heh heh, SS, you’ve caught me out! I confess the word ‘selfish’ did occur to me, but I decided not to use it because I fully recognise that we’re all selfish beings. I don’t know that I would have reacted in the way I suggest Hee-Jin should have, either 😎 either way, it would be an extremely painful decision.
The opposite reaction is to be ‘selfless’ which leads to the noble idiocy-type actions a lot of kdramas resort to, which thankfully hasn’t happened here. You know, Hee-Jin says she doesn’t love him, they won’t work out, in order to enable him to go freely into his time to right whatever wrongs there are. As if he’d be deceived!
Thank you so much for the recap! Been waiting like crazy since last week and you did it amazingly fast! I know the writer will keep Bong Do alive but I really hate seeing arrows rain on him. His only sin is falling in love. Gah.
thanks for the recap 😀
Thanks Joonni!
This episode tore me apart raw, and having a bit of understanding with the dialogues helps so much!
BD has so much on his plate, but if anyone can achieve the impossible, it’s him. Still doesn’t stop my heart from breaking for HJ. I can only imagine how it would feel to let the man you love do what he has to do so that he can live with himself, knowing that you may end up losing him in the process.
The thing is, though, I couldn’t have expected less of BD. He has integrity through and through. And had he taken the easy way out, he would not be the same man that HJ (and the rest of us) fell in love with.
Thinking about ep 11 and 12 …. feels like a dream now. I was a little uneasy with 12 I think because I had a feeling that something horrible was going to happen.
“I can only imagine how it would feel to let the man you love do what he has to do so that he can live with himself, knowing that you may end up losing him in the process.”
Well said!!
yes thank you so much! 😀
l woke up early too to read your recap since i dont understand korean. Thanks Jooni!!!
Thank you for the recap.
I was afraid to watch the episode but was glad I did. I know I shouldn’t be surprised anymore but this has continued to be a wonderful episode – the villains aren’t dumb (I’m looking at you rooftop) and the hero… the hero’s just everything you could ask for. How can he be so perfect? I usually hate perfect characters as they tend to be boring but this drama amazes me on how they made Boong-do exciting to every viewer. I was so sure that when Hee-Jin lied, that would’ve been the end for them (yay for not doing the expected drama!). Boong-do’s initial and subsequent reaction was so natural and typical of his character. I’m sorry for doubting you even for a moment, Boong-do. Even if you ruined me for other kdrama heroes, and even if you’re a self-proclaimed player, I have no regrets. 😉
He’s ruined us all.
Its been long since i found a drama that i always feel hungry for next episode. The last was City Hunter. Now that i found QIHM, i feel so desperate for next week, especially with all the trigger preview wandering us what is actually will be happening to BD. Just 2 episodes left, hopefully our couple will have happy ending, the queen has her status back, the villain get punish, that’s just satisfying.
Please and please dont be like City Hunter, satisfy its ending but should give focus on the couple. Please QIHM, dont be like other drama. You have been very very nice to audience, please keep me wanting to watch you again and again.
Wow, it’s already been a year since City Hunter. I excitedly waited for each episode, since it was such an adrenaline trip, while with this drama, I feel more at peace while waiting.
I wasn’t unhappy with the ending to City Hunter since the OTP story wasn’t as important in the latter half of the drama but with QIHM, I don’t think I will be able to handle a simple and short meeting and meaningful looks.
Nice one, Joonni! Love all your asides. “Go to the hospital!”
You wrote (Face palm) and I yelled “Liar!”
I fret. I fret. I fret. I guessed that BD’s actions in the past would decrease HJ’s role in the drama and that she would blame DM. I have to admit, though, I thought QIH would be banned not killed. But, at the same time, they have been tricking us the whole time. Isn’t the drama HJ’s starring in entitled “Lady Jang” not “Queen In-hyun’s Man,” so she could go from lead actress to cameo easily.
Mostly I fretted this whole episode. I cringed when he broke that arrow off. Ouch!
I don’t think we are going to get much happy next ep either. Hang in there, everyone! Together, we CAN get through this!!!
I hate that there are only three more eps. Makes me sad…
My heart is in pieces.
^ Mine too *sobs* How does it get better each week?
ok…i need a moment here…..cant seem to get any coherent thoughts lined up in my brain after watching HJ cry so heartbreakingly….will be back….after i finish sobbing in a corner. Just wanted to say thanks, Joonni for the quick recap!
P.S: i know this is shallow but i like the bloodless-vampish look of BD (you know…when he was wearing that blue-checkered shirt and stumbling through the streets of Seoul dripping blood). Reminds me of his rocker image in Mr. Idol. And YIN, she looks absolutely beautiful in white!
Ok…going back to my corner now.
Re: PS:
OMG seriously! Me too! I was thinking that this is probably the best/hottest he looked in the drama, and then stopped myself from thinking further because, yunno, guy is dripping BLOOD all over Seoul and PRIORITIES.
I don’t think it was the vampire look for me but I did notice that he looked extremely good in those clothes. I thought maybe it was the hair. It looked a little shorter, like Ji Hyun Woo got a little trim.
Finally we’ve found his flaw, he needs to sort of his priorities.
I was also screaming to the screen, “People, are you blind, look that hot guy next to you, help him!!”
OH YES. Yes yes. I took me awhile while watching to realise that he had a hair cut. Give the hairdresser a raise, please XD
Thank you, Joonni! (SO fast! :O)
My heart was thumping so loudly watching this episode, even though it was live and I could barely understand a word they were saying. You really clarified a lot of the plot for me and now I don’t think I can sleep tonight. I’m so worried, Joonni! Otoke! >______<
To say that I adore Writer Song for penning this script is a massive understatement. It's so rare to get such a seamless weave of romance and intrigue. I was particularly impressed with how the bad guys are well… so smart and effective in their plot (or maybe it's just so impressive compared to say… *cough cough* RTP?) The tables have turned so organically and dramatically since Episode 12. My heart is breaking for our beloved OTP … and yet I'm so happy (is that weird?)
QIHM is definitely a rare breed of drama where I don't hate ANY of the characters. Everyone is so realistically drawn and operate so logically according to their character. I'm never left yelling at the screen, "WTF? WHY did you have to go and do that?" For instance, YW could have easily been written flatly and at this point in the drama, used some less than noble mechanization to prevent Boong Do from going back to the future. But she didn't. Writer Song never stooped to that writing cliche. Instead, YW was utilized perfectly as the person to warn against the misuse of the talisman and a foreshadowing of what is to come. I thought it was a brilliant way to fold YW back into the central court intrigue AND serve to give BD pause in his plans.
I whole-heartedly agree with your point about Yoon-Wol.
I think it is the power of words in this drama. Yoon-Wol tries to reasonably talk Boong-Do out of going to Hee-Jin. Other dramas have people plotting, scheming, and lying to get what they want, but Yoon-Wol is not doing any of that.
I think episode 13 is my favorite episode so far. I had a lot of fun writing the recap, more so than, dare I say it, episode 12. It is such a joy recapping this wonderful drama. I’m so glad it’s my first project. But am I ruined for all others????
I fear the same thing Joonni! I think I may never be able to get over BD.
I am so glad that I stumbled onto your site! Thanks so much for the recap! I was on the edge of my seat. Having read the posts/comments/opinions on what makes Heejin ticks – she is certainly not dumb at all! She is street smart and very down to earth. She is desperately trying to save her man and protect him from further harm that’s why she hid the amulet. If she could do more for him she would have done it already. Like she said in an earlier episode she could not travel back to Josean time to do something. At this point knowing that BD has made up his mind to go back (hoping to right the situation how I don’t know) she feels so helpless – unable to do anything but to accept that he has made his choice and she is left again to await his return. Desperately, I’m sure, keeping her fingers crossed that he would return to her safe and alive!
A fantastic episode – every episode just gets better! How can it be possible? Miracle or miracles it is better than the last. I am keeping my fingers doubly crossed form our awesome couple.
I understand HJ, and don’t feel that she is wrong in trying to keep him away from harm. Just think about the roles being reversed. If ones girlfriend were to go into certain doom in an uncertain past, what would a guy not do to protect her? I think lie is the first thing that would be attempted, followed by Thou-shalt-not-go commands, emotional blackmails, any or all of the above. It is great that BD understands where she is coming from without getting all offended-male-pride on her.
Yes, madsu! I love that Boong Do doesn’t get all “How could you” at Hee Jin for her lie, which was an attempt to save his life and their new relationship, despite her high-handedness (and you’re right…if the genders were reversed, it’ll be so much more typical…”I can’t let the woman I love go into danger” blah blah blah).
It’s because Hee Jin can’t do anything for him in Joseon that she wants to keep him in 2012, where she can make sure with her own eyes that he’s safe and sound. Sure, he’s an adult (and she realizes that, as much as she’d rather not), but who hasn’t felt that kind of protective love, even if we know we shouldn’t any adult we love of their right to make their own decisions?
joonni I just discovered your blog and have enjoyed your recaps of this drama. I’ve only read 12 &13 but intend to read them all, I like your style.
The question of what would happen if the amulet was destroyed is interesting, because when it was cut BD and HJ had different reactions, I wondered if there locations and something to do with it. Would BD still lose his memory of her if he had been in the present?
I have to say, HAD BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!!! >,,<
Thank you so much! i wonder why the rest of my message didn’t show up….
Another great episode. Thank you Joonni for giving us not only detailed recap but also taking the time to explain things, that means so much. So he warped to the past determined to protect the Queen who is already gone by the time he landed himself in Joseon. What he’s going to do now? Maybe he will go straight to the temple, asking more questions about the amulet, and meet the head monk this time. But can the amulet help him? When it only purposes is to save Boong-do’s life. Writer Song you’re killing us here.
The beheading hasn’t happened yet. It is still May/June. He was reading the future of the past. That’s why I call it an alternate universe in my comment.
Ohh thank you, didn’t catch that. Now I can relax a bit. 🙂
Thank you so much Joonni for your awesome recaps! In this episode I was seriously distraught thinking that they actually had beheaded the Queen and was confused with the timeline. Now I get it! 🙂
ahhhhh!!! u r totally wrong Yoon Wol!!!! if only u didnt say such things and just let him disappear, probably he wont be suffering this much! that amulet is to save him and that is why the amulet sending him to the the future in order to save him from dead!!!
… i dont want to think anymore about what will happen next : ( ……. but please let this be a happy ending – physically together and not that one-in-spirit-thingy or else i will punch someone
: (
Reblogged this on Supernova and commented:
Thanks Joonnii.
Thank you! As always, your recaps are sharp and thorough! my heart is hurting and I’m deathly afraid for what tomorrow’s episode will bring…=(
Could somebody please explain to me why BoongDo is very persistent in saving The Queen?
Thank You;D
I’ll give it a shot.
It isn’t just BD who is loyal to her, it is his whole political party. They were the Norons.
When QIH came into power, the Norons also benefited. They mutually supported each other.
Then, the bad Sorons came along with Lady Jang, kicked out QIH, the King KILLED a bunch of the Norons.
This included BD’s mom and pop and wife with child. We don’t see all the other deaths, but there were more.
The King spared BD, mostly to make him suffer, and the Sorons dismissed him as innocuous, and someone to ignore.
BUT BD never forgot the pain caused to his family. On their souls, he swore to protect QIH and to get her back to her rightful place.
With the amulet, he manipulated the timing of the events of QIH’s life, but didn’t really change the outcome. She would have been back in power soon anyway. He did manage, however, to survive a certain death. BD didn’t count on his interference being the cause of QIH’s death.
We saw in this ep that QIH had her head chopped off (in the future of the past) because of him. He has to go back to make sure it doesn’t happen.
That is why he has to go back. K?
Wow, good job, Jomo! Excellent, clear explanation.