In her past life, Lee Hong-jo was a powerful shaman named Aeng-cho. Jo Bo-ah plays Aeng-cho and Hong-jo in Destined with You.
When Aeng-cho was a young girl, a few men left her on a shaman’s doorstep, as she had received a spirit in her body. The shaman saves her life and advises her to accept the spirit.
If she does not accept the spirit, she will die due to the sickness caused by the spirit. Aeng-cho does not want to be a shaman, but she hardly has a choice. The young girl becomes a powerful shaman who can see the past and the future and cast spells.
Falling in love
The young shaman is taught to save the lives of the people who are dying and those who wish to die, so when she sees a boy weeping for his dead mother, she helps him. She tells him about the letter that his mother left him, which helps the boy heal.
She later finds out that the boy is named Mu-jin and that he is the governor’s son. The boy befriends her. When she tells him that she does not have a name, he names her Aeng-cho, and the name sticks.
The two children continue meeting. Mu-jin tells her about his hopes and dreams. He knows about Aeng-cho’s powers and asks her to see his future and help him choose a career. Aeng-cho sees the Red Hand in Mu-jin’s future, but she does not tell him about it.
Mu-jin then leaves to become a warrior. He goes on to pass the military service exam and serve the king. Years later, they meet again and realize that they are still in love with each other.
A tragic ending
As Aeng-cho is a lowborn shaman, Mu-jin’s father refuses to let him marry her. Mu-jin is ready to sacrifice everything to be with her, but his father forces Aeng-cho to reject him by threatening to kill the shaman who raised her.
The rejection hurts Mu-jin, and he stops meeting Aeng-cho. During that time, the king’s concubine hears about Aeng-cho’s powers and asks her to cast a spell that will give her a son. Aeng-cho is made to live in the palace until the son is born.
Aeng-cho and Mu-jin meet again, and when Aeng-cho tells him why she rejected him, they reconcile. They get to be happy for a while until the king’s concubine demands that Aeng-cho use black magic to kill the crown prince.
The person who uses black magic has to pay in blood, but Aeng-cho cannot refuse the concubine, as she threatens to harm Mu-jin. Aeng-cho tries to cast the spell, but she fails. She still pays the price for using black magic and ends up with diseased hands.
When she tells Mu-jin about the concubine’s demand, he asks her to run away. Aeng-cho refuses to do that, as she will not be able to protect him if she leaves. Soon, the crown prince is killed anyway, and Aeng-cho is blamed for the murder.
The king’s soldiers burn her spell books and torture her. However, they cannot kill her because Aeng-cho curses the person who would end her life. The curse scares them, so they seal her in a well.
Mu-jin saves Aeng-cho and asks her to give her last spell book to the king’s concubine, who has promised to let Aeng-cho leave with Sin-yu if she hands over the spell book. Aeng-cho does not trust her, but she trusts Mu-jin, so she gives him the book.
Mu-jin gets attacked and fails to take the spell book to the concubine. At the same time, the king’s soldiers find Aeng-cho. As they are scared of the curse, they plan to let animals dismember her.
Mu-jin, who is injured and cannot protect her, refuses to let her die a painful death, so he decides to kill her himself, even though he knows that he will get cursed. Mu-jin cries as he watches Aeng-cho die, but he also hopes that they will get to be together in the next life.
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