Hyun woo is rushed to the hospital. When his parents arrive to see him, he had suddenly disappeared. Hyun woo went to see Detective Conan who was with Yang ki. They are surprised to see him roaming when he was still unwell. He tells them about Hae in’s kidnaping.
Meanwhile Hae in tries escaping from her kidnappers but is surprised to run into Eun Sung. He asks her why she went to see Hyun woo and she lies that she wanted to check if what she had written in the diary was true. Eun Sung asks her if she believed it but she pretends not to. Satisfied, Eun Sung tells her they would be getting married the next day and would leave in a helicopter.
Seul hee decides to take out all the money from the safe but when she discovers that Eun Sung has transfered everything, she drives to his hiding place at the hunting grounds with her escorts unaware that Yang ki and Hyun woo were following her. However, Yang ki is afraid for Hyun woo because he keeps slipping in and out of consciousness and thanking him as if he were going to die.
Seul hee meets with Eun Sung and demands that he give her back the money. Not only that, the footage of her poisoning Chairman Man Dae but Eun Sung refuses saying he can keep a secret, there by reminding her of when she hired someone to mess with the boat, causing Hae In’s older brother to die. He had kept quiet about it because he taught that with all of them dead, the two of them would be together but she had still ended up abandoning him. Seul hee acts like she doesn’t care and tells him to still give her the USB saying that since Hae in didn’t die, he disrupted her plan.
He tells her the file is in his drawer and that the passcode is her birthday. She hardly cares about that, and asks about the money. But Eun Sung yells at her for decieving him. They are both unaware that Hae in is overhearing them. Seul hee notices Hae In’s shadow and starts walking towards her direction when the lights suddenly go out. Hae in runs away and sensing she had heard them, Eun Sung starts looking for her but Hyun woo finds her first and escapes with her. However, Eun Sung sees them. Fuelling with anger, he grabs his shotgun and starts chasing them. Hae in and Hyun woo stumble through the snow. She sees he isn’t alright and forces him to lean on her, telling him she knows the truth and would apologise later but for now, they are in the same boat.
Unfortunately, Eun Sung finds them. He shouts at Hae in for leaving him and begs her to come to him but she refuses telling him that even when she hadn’t regained her memory, she didn’t understand why she felt uncomfortable with him. She says that leaving with him would be over her dead body. Hearing this, Eun Sung decides to kill her abc then kill himself. (Obsessive!!!)
By then, the police arrive and threaten to shoot Eun Sung but he’s too crazed to even notice their presence. He shoots at Hae in but Hyun woo takes the bullet for her at his back. Attempting to shoot again, the police shoots him and he dies on the spot. Meanwhile, Hyun woo collapses and when he slightly opens his eyes, he sees Hae in crying as she and Yang ki follow him into the ambulance.
He is taken to surgery and Hae promises that she’ll be there when he wakes up. He’s wheeled away and Hae breaks down when she remembers this was the exact thing that happened when she was to go for her surgery. But she ended up doing the exact same thing she feared, forgetting him and mistreating him. Hae in cries.
Meanwhile, Seul hee has found the hidden money. Just as she’s leaving, the police arrive to tell her that Eun Sung is dead. Seul hee is suddenly hit with a little regret as she remembers abandoning him when he was just a boy. She can’t help but burst into tears. But age cleans her tears right away, determined to see her evil plans of taking over the company through.
Seon Hwa is going through her family photos. Although Beom jun tries to stop her from seeing pictures of her first son, she prevents him from doing so, seemingly over her pain now. Just then, she suddenly notices the childrens marine pictures and recalls that it resembles the picture Bong Ae had shown her. Just then, Beom ja appears to tell them about Hyun woo’s accident. They rush to the hospital and meet Bong ae and Mr Baek with Hae in who is apologising for what happened after Hyun woo took a bullet for her.
Seon Hwa later talks to Bong ae privately. She talks about how she treated Hae in terribly thinking she was responsible for her older son’s death. Then she tells her Hyun woo was the one who rescued Hae in from drowning. She feels bad that the person who saved her daughter was always with them but they never knew. instead, she had treated him horribly and she felt bad for that. Bong ae tells her they should put the past behind them and only pray that Hyun woo pulls through.
Thankfully the surgery is a success except that Hyun woo is unconscious so everyone waits until he wakes. Hae stays with Hyun woo trying everything she can to wake him up. He finally regains consciousness and Hae in is overjoyed. She uses the opportunity to apologize for not recognizing him. Hyun woo apologizes as well for forgetting how much he loved her and putting her through pain. He tells her he loves her and just then, Bong ae and his sister enter, excited to see he’s awake. Both Hae in and his family gather in his room, congratulating him for pulling through.
The next day, Yang ki meets Hae in at the hospital and she recognizes him from her diary as his friend. Yang ki tells her how much Hyun woo loves her. He tells her that Hyun woo told him that the reason he came for her was because he couldn’t stand to see her in danger and so, risked his life. This makes Hae in smile. She and Hyun woo enjoy each other’s company, bickering from time to time as Hyun woo flirts with her. Hyun woo’s family notices and decides to leave them alone.
Mi Seon’s friends gush over Hae in and Hyun woo’s romance. However, Mi Seon is upset since her own marriage is failing. Her husband is abroad working while her son is studying there so she rarely sees them, plus she thinks her husband may be cheating on her.
Beom ja, Beom jun and their second brother reunite to pay homage to their father’s grave. Their second brother hopes Chairman Man dae has finally forgiven him. Beom ja promises her father that they would get back what belongs to them and take their revenge for what happened to him.
Seul hee has inherited Eun Sung’s shares after his death, leaving her as the highest shareholder. She’s planning to sell the company to Pione investment and leave. Hyun woo and the family plot to file a nullity case against her since the money used to acquire the shares were all illegal. Da hye secretly speaks with Grace to convince her to turn themselves in so that the family could regain their wealth. Grace refuses claiming she had already done enough for the family. She was actually the one who left Hae In’s mp3 in Hyun woo’s room. She was also the one who made sure Hae In’s diary was delivered to her when the maids were going to give it to Eun Sung per his orders. Da hye’s words get to her when she says she doesn’t want to end up like Eun Sung who pursued love all his life but ended up dying a miserable lonely death. Soo Cheol overhears them unhappy with Da hye’s suggestion.
She takes him to the orphanage where they had first met. Although Soo Cheol hardly remembers. She tells him she used to love taking his things and that whenever he came around with his grandfather, she would enjoy the short cake they shared but when he stopped coming, the shortcake no longer felt delicious to her (in other words he was her first love. She just didn’t know it until later). She waited so long for him and she tells him it’s his turn to wait now. Soo Cheol refuses to let her turn herself in but she insists and he embraces her with tears in her eyes.
The court case against Seul hee takes place and she almost gets away with her crimes since there’s no substantial evidence against her. She sheds crocodile tears in court claiming she’s still mourning her son and the Hongs are trying to destroy her. However, the table turns when Hae in takes the stand and divulges everything she heard from Eun Sung and Seul hee’s conversation, about her killing her older brother and her grandfather. The court falls into disarray as Hyun woo presents evidence to back up her claim. It’s surveillance footage of Seul hee poisoning the chairman. Seul hee can’t believe her eyes, thinking that she had gotten rid of the footage by throwing Eun Sung’s computer in the ocean.
But she didn’t know the one she had thrown away was fake. Grace had bribed a servant to switch it with another one. Seul hee is arrested and taken away even as she continues to shout she’s innocent. Da hye, Grace and everyone involved in the crime are arrested. Seul hee ends up suffering in jail as she constantly gets beaten by her jail mates.
The Hongs are reinstated as heads of the Queen empire and a warm welcome is given to them. A family portrait of the two families is set up on their wall while Eun Sung’s painting is discarded.
We now see Seon Hwa and Beom jun eating together as they discuss everyone’s lives. Soo Cheol is taking care of Geonu while waiting patiently for Da hye. Beom ja and Yeong Seong have started dating despite their differences. Mi Seon tells her parents she intends to divorce her husband. But her parents scold her, telling her the woman she thinks he’s cheating with is actually his professor called Jenny and she was sixty years old. Her husband was worried she had stopped picking his call and her parents tells her to call him and express her love for him. They give her tickets to see him and her son. Mi Seon is extremely grateful to them.
Hae in has gone back to her life, working at the mall. She and Hyun woo have a good working relationship, although she tries hard not to show she has fallen in love with him again. When Secretary Na asks her if Hyun woo has proposed, she tries hiding her agitation but gets excited when Secretary Na tells her Hyun Woo made a reservation for them at a restaurant popular for proposals. However, when she arrives there, Hyun woo isn’t there but having dinner with his colleagues. She gets upset and leaves for home. Somehow, she ends up in Hyun woo’s room but sees a little star on the ceiling. A painful memory hits and she remembers the argument she had with Hyun woo thinking he blamed her for miscarrying their child. This argument resulted in their marriage breaking down.
The next day, while strolling with Hyun woo, she tells him she’s upset he didn’t come for their date because she had planned to reject his proposal but now, she’s slowly regaining her memories but ended up remembering a painful memory which made her understand why they fell apart. Hyun woo tells her that he cannot assure everything would be perfect between them but he would always remain by her side. He proposes to her for the third time and she happily accepts.
Meanwhile Beom ja and Yeong Seong are still navigating their relationship. He’s still so shy to kiss her but Beom ja eventually understands she cannot push him too much. Da hye gets released from prison and reunites with Soo Cheol and her son. Grace also gets released and to her surprise, Soo Cheol tells her to come with them. His mother had asked him to pick her up too so they could all eat together. Grace is so touched and excited as she starts doting on Geonu.
Hyun woo’s brother is having a hard time with his tenacious parents who always makes sure he pays his rent on time. Beom jun has given up chairmanship of the company to his brother as he and his wife Seon Hwa relocates to the country side where they spend time with Mr Baek and Bong ae. Meanwhile, Hyun woo and Hae in enjoy every time they can with each other. They end up having a daughter which they take to their favorite place in Germany.
In the next scene, we see an old Hyun woo in Hyun woo. reminiscing at all the places he went to with Hae in. He stops by her graveside and drops flowers there while clearing out the dust that had accumulated with his handkerchief.
Turns out Hae in had lived till she was eighty three years old. Then we see Hyun woo and Hae in reuniting again in a field of flowers and just as she had promised, she came for him so they could go together to the afterlife. The end.
This drama was epic and I’ve heard it has surpassed one of the greatest drama series of all time Crash landing on you in ratings. Despite everything, there’s no denying that this drama is unforgettable and every actor brought justice to their characters. The chemistry between Hyun woo and Hae in also pushed the drama forward. Although, I’m sad it’s ending but I’m glad that I was able to watch it. No doubt a rare 10/10 for me. Thanks to everyone who followed the recap of this epic series, it was an honor