Tensions soared in episodes 9 and 10 of tvN’s fantasy romance Head Over Heels, as secrets unravel and emotional stakes reach new heights.
In episode 9, Park Seong Ah (Cho Yi Hyun) and Bae Gyeon Woo (Choo Young Woo) each face personal reckonings. During an intense archery tournament, Gyeon Woo is confronted by a former classmate: “Does Hee Na know you’re competing again? Think she’ll ever forgive you?”
Earlier, Gyeon Woo had told Hee Na he was entering the Hanra Tournament to stop running from his past. But her bitter response, “I still wish you were dead,” made it clear she hadn’t moved on.
Still, Gyeon Woo is no longer the broken man he once was, largely thanks to Seong Ah. When accused of ruining Hee Na’s life, he admits, “I thought it was my fault too. That’s why I disappeared from her world. But even then, she wasn’t happy.” Gyeon Woo goes on to win the competition and takes his gold medal to visit his grandmother (Gil Hae Yeon), finding a small moment of peace.
But the emotional weight deepens as more of Seong Ah’s cursed fate comes to light. Her adoptive mother (Kim Mi Kyung) furiously confronts Yeom Hwa (Choo Ja Hyun) after learning Seong Ah was struck by a forbidden Harmony Curse. Yeom Hwa responds coldly, “Oh, now you’re angry someone hurt your spirit daughter? She’s not even your real child.”
The adoptive mother pleads, “If you must hate someone, hate me.” But Yeom Hwa, consumed with bitterness, replies, “When I hate someone, I want to throw away everything connected to them, their ring, their home, their neighbors. I hate it all.”
Yeom Hwa turns her anger toward Seong Ah, saying, “You don’t find me unfamiliar, do you? That’s because I am you. Alone. Unhappy. Cursed. You chased me out, and replaced me with yourself.”
Trying to protect her daughter, the adoptive mother steps in: “I raised you differently. And I’ll do it again. I won’t let you go.”
Haunted by visions of Yeom Hwa carrying a wooden box, Seong Ah grows increasingly unstable. When Gyeon Woo attempts to look at her 37-day curse tracker, she snaps. Though she quickly apologizes, her words sting: “I didn’t want you to know. People should live among people. I wish you had nothing to do with us.”
Gyeon Woo is shaken, but silently vows to keep his newfound ability to see spirits a secret.
In episode 10, emotions boil over when Yeom Hwa realizes Seong Ah’s earlier mention of a box referred to a coffin, her own child’s. Enraged, she grabs her former mother-in-law by the collar: “Why didn’t you tell me my baby, trapped in a coffin, never even made it onto my back?”
The older woman coldly replies, “Heaven is punishing your child in your place. May their pain match your sins.” Yeom Hwa breaks down, vowing through tears, “I’ll curse you, even in death.”
As Seong Ah’s punishment officially begins, Gyeon Woo steps in to help, despite being warned not to interact with ghosts or see blood. He ends up doing both, putting his own life at risk.
After regaining consciousness, Seong Ah suggests they go practice archery. But as they hold hands, she suddenly pauses. “When were you going to tell me the truth… Bong Su?”
Realizing she’s not with Gyeon Woo at all, she panics. “Where is Gyeon Woo?”
With a chilling grin, Bong Su replies: “I devoured him.”
