Head Over Heels- Episodes 9-10
Curses, Ghost Senses, and a Chilling Confession
Episode 9 kicks off with Gyeon-woo stepping into a whole new world... literally. His spiritual sight has fully awakened, and he can now see ghosts. As he meets Seong-ah before his long-awaited archery competition, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Yeom-hwa, ever the chaos agent, is still trying to force her unification spell on Gyeon-woo. But Seong-ah, ever the protector, steps in. She’s become his spiritual shield for the day, absorbing the blow meant for him. While Gyeon-woo hits a bullseye and wins the match, Seong-ah is hit with a powerful curse, her aura darkening with every passing moment.
After the win, Gyeon-woo notices the change in her, he sees the curse starting to take hold. Desperate to help, he visits Seong-ah’s spirit aunt (General Dongcheon’s older spirit sister). She takes Seong-ah’s human amulet from him and begins a ritual, pleading with her patron deities to protect them both.
But there’s a warning: Gyeon-woo must steer clear of evil spirits. If he sees blood or bleeds in their presence, he may never return from the spirit world. His spiritual senses are still open, and until the deities close that door, he’s on thin ice.
Meanwhile, Seong-ah returns home, clearly cursed and everyone around her senses it. That’s when things take a turn. She spots Yeom-hwa carrying an invisible coffin-like box. When she mentions it, Yeom-hwa snaps. The box, it turns out, holds the ghost of her dead child, the one she tried to raise from the dead as a deity. The child has been spiritually trapped ever since.
Her spirit mother finally confesses: this was divine punishment for Yeom-hwa’s forbidden ritual. Furious and broken, Yeom-hwa swears vengeance and promises to curse her former spirit mother.
Back at Seong-ah’s place, Gyeon-woo returns but hides the fact that he’s now seeing ghosts. The two fall asleep next to each other, only to be caught red-handed by Seong-ah’s spirit mother, who immediately starts yelling as they rush off to school.
At school, we get a glimpse of what both Gyeon-woo and Seong-ah long for. She dreams of finishing high school and getting into college. Bong-su, now more vocal than ever, writes that he wants to become an adult, something simple, but haunting in context.
Then things get heavy. Seong-ah starts burning up with a fever and sees a suicide ghost hovering near Beom-su, a quiet classmate being bullied by students from his former school. As Seong-ah approaches to help, Gyeon-woo tries to keep his distance, afraid of the ghost and the danger it brings. But when Beom-su pulls a knife, Gyeon-woo rushes in.
Bong-su, in an unsettling twist, encourages the moment. Gyeon-woo ends up cutting his hand, blood hitting the floor, just as warned. He collapses, triggering the next phase of his spiritual awakening: his sense of smell and taste are now ghost-attuned.
He wakes up in the infirmary and learns Seong-ah is sick. Without hesitation, he brings her home and cares for her, holding her hand for three days straight while she recovers. Soft, sweet, and very much the calm before the storm.
When Seong-ah is finally better, she insists on walking Gyeon-woo to archery practice. But something feels… off. He didn’t do his usual palm exercise. It clicks.
This isn’t Gyeon-woo.
It’s Bong-su.
And with zero hesitation, he admits it: “I devoured him.”
End scene.
Ghost Takeover, Broken Hearts, and a Soul-Shattering Farewell
Episode 10 of Head Over Heels wastes no time throwing us straight into heartbreak territory. Seong-ah realizes it’s not Gyeon-woo she’s talking to, it’s Bong-su, still in control of his body. And he’s not hiding it anymore.
Bong-su casually admits to General Dongcheon (Seong-ah’s spirit mother) that Yeom-hwa helped him take over and that he manipulated Gyeon-woo during the suicide ghost case. Seong-ah is crushed, but her spirit mother surprises her with advice: show him compassion. Bong-su isn’t just a ghost, he’s a lonely spirit who desperately wants to be loved.
While they process all this, Yeom-hwa vanishes. And everyone knows that’s bad news.
Deciding to follow her mother’s advice, Seong-ah is kind to Bong-su. And he takes full advantage. At school, Bong-su-as-Gyeon-woo becomes the star of the show; friendly, popular, surrounded by students. He’s thriving. But watching him live Gyeon-woo’s life only deepens Seong-ah’s sorrow. She misses him.
That night, it hits her, she forgot about the “Hour of the Ox,” the sacred ghost hour. If Gyeon-woo is trapped in ghost form now, she might be able to reach him. She wakes him, and for a short time, he returns. He tells her about a dream where he saw two teenage soldiers. Seong-ah urges him to reach out to them, those spirits might be the key to understanding Bong-su’s past and how to help him move on.
Gyeon-woo tries to approach them. They respond by opening fire.
Back in the real world, Bong-su is still living his best (borrowed) life; crushing archery practice, soaking up attention, pretending none of it is borrowed time. Word gets to Yeom-hwa, who’s busy preparing a new ritual at the haunted house. She meets with Bong-su and sows doubt, suggesting Seong-ah just wants Gyeon-woo back. To test it, she gives him a stolen amulet to block Gyeon-woo from returning during the ghost hour.
That night, Seong-ah tries to wake Gyeon-woo, only to be met by Bong-su again. He hears her confess she wants to help him move on, but only to get Gyeon-woo back. Hurt and angry, he drops the act and confronts her.
The next day, still emotionally raw, Bong-su brings Seong-ah and Ji-ho to the location of a long-lost memorial stone. He tells them about his dying friend, who asked him to return a ring to his mother. Bong-su died before he could. That unfinished promise kept him tethered as a ghost. He finally buries the ring and walks away.
But that moment of peace doesn’t last.
He shuts down. Stops cooperating. Seong-ah can’t reach him anymore.
Desperate, Ji-ho turns to the last person who might help: Yeom-hwa. He begs her to bring Gyeon-woo back. She agrees, but only if he gets her Bong-su’s ring. Ji-ho delivers it... and realizes too late that she had no intention of helping.
Yeom-hwa had already attempted to summon the Grim Reaper before and lost her shamanic powers for it. But with the ring in hand, she tries again, this time to drag Bong-su and Gyeon-woo to the underworld.
Seong-ah and her spirit family launch an emergency plan. They trap Bong-su in her room and set up a fake ritual at the burial site to confuse the Reaper. It’s a race against time.
But Bong-su, now furious and alone, flips the script. Using Seong-ah’s old spellbook, he casts a counter-curse on Yeom-hwa. She’s suddenly overwhelmed by pain and senses the Reaper coming for her. Except... nothing happens.
She pulls out the handkerchief General Dongcheon had sent her earlier and realizes it’s a human amulet. One that was meant for her.
In her final act, General Dongcheon offered her soul in Yeom-hwa’s place.
The episode ends with the Grim Reaper taking Seong-ah’s spirit mother’s soul. She dies peacefully, surrounded by everyone, including Yeom-hwa, who now weeps not just for her sacrifice, but for everything she bore in silence.
DramaZen's Opinion
Episodes 9 and 10 were an emotional rollercoaster, and I loved every second of it. Gyeon-woo finally seeing ghosts? Incredible. Bong-su taking over his life and becoming the most popular guy at school? Hilarious and painful at the same time. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry watching Seong-ah pretend everything was fine when all she wanted was Gyeon-woo back.
And then episode 10 absolutely wrecked me. The twist with Bong-su’s unresolved past, the reveal about the ring, and that ending? I still haven’t recovered. General Dongcheon sacrificing herself to save everyone, including Yeom-hwa, was one of the most powerful moments of the whole series. These episodes balanced heart, humor, and high-stakes spirit drama perfectly.
Head Over Heels just keeps getting better and a whole lot more tear-inducing.
