A sweet Korean rom-com wearing a horror costume — all 12 episodes, explained. Full spoilers.
⚠️ Full spoilers for the entire series.
The Woman Whose Touch Passes On Ghosts
Cheon Yeo ri, CEO of Reina Hotel, has been able to see ghosts since an accident years ago. The catch: anyone whose bare hand touches hers starts seeing them too, for about a month. When her fiancé, lawyer Cha Gi u, found that out the hard way and called off the engagement, Yeo ri decided she would never hold anyone’s hand again.
Hotel CEO by day, unofficial errand-runner for restless spirits by night. It’s on one of those errands — reporting a body in the hills — that she runs into prosecutor Ma Gang uk. They start out suspecting each other of murder.
Cases That Keep Bringing Them Together
The two keep colliding at crime scenes. A taxi driver’s body in the trunk of a hit-and-run vehicle. Jang Eun ju, hidden in a hotel rooftop water tank. A missing designer found underwater.
The biggest of these is Park Seung jae, a pro golfer and the son of a powerful politician. Acquitted for lack of evidence, he’s pursued again by Gang uk, and Yeo ri’s tip leads them to the body in the water tank. His arrest is where the feud with the Park family begins.
Then, drunk one night, Yeo ri pulls off her gloves and takes Gang uk’s bare hand. Now he sees ghosts too.
The Yacht Accident — Where Everything Started
Yeo ri grew up alongside Kang Min hwan and Kang Ji hwan, the two sons of CL Group. Min hwan was the elder and the designated heir; Ji hwan was the one Yeo ri was close to. Min hwan resented that, all the more because he was adopted and never stopped feeling it.
Twelve years ago, Ji hwan put the pendant his grandmother gave him around Yeo ri’s neck. Moments later the yacht lurched and he went into the water. Ji hwan died. Yeo ri lived. From that day on, she started seeing ghosts.
Two other people were on that yacht: Min hwan, and Park Seung jae. And when Ji hwan went overboard, Min hwan was standing right beside him.
A 300-Year-Old Cold Case
The strangest case the two of them solve together is three centuries old.
The love letter unveiled by the Yeeon Foundation was believed to have been written by Hwa gyeong dang, a gisaeng, to the royal Prince Gangpyeong — a love that transcended class, passed down for three hundred years.
The truth was the opposite. Prince Gangpyeong held the painter Do won’s life as collateral to force Hwa gyeong dang into becoming his concubine, and when she tried to escape, he killed her in front of Do won. Then he sent an empty palanquin to Mount Geumgang and let people believe she’d vanished.
Yeo ri and Gang uk find the letter’s missing half. The recipient was never the prince. It was Do won. When Hwa gyeong dang’s coffin surfaces beneath the camellia tree outside the Yeeon Museum of Art, a three-hundred-year injustice is finally settled.
A Succession Fight and a Contract Engagement
Meanwhile, Yeo ri is cornered on the question of who inherits the hotel. Her grandmother demands she marry within two months, while her cousin Cheon Ha ri and director Ok Gye hui weaponize the rumor that Yeo ri sees ghosts to make a run at control.
Backed into it, Yeo ri announces an engagement to Gang uk. It starts as a contract to survive the moment. It doesn’t stay one.
At the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, the motion to remove her fails by 0.5%, thanks to exposed art-collateral fraud and Han Se in’s backing.
Min hwan Comes Apart
Min hwan, who has loved Yeo ri since childhood, sets out to stop the marriage. He pushes the chief prosecutor to issue Gang uk an overseas posting. He partners with Ok Gye hui to move on a Reina merger. He works to tie Yeo ri to the Yeeon lobbying case.
To protect Gang uk, Yeo ri calls off the engagement.
What Really Happened on the Yacht
Park Seung jae, who was on that yacht twelve years ago, finds camcorder footage of the accident. He uses it to blackmail Min hwan.
On screen, Ji hwan is in the water, begging his brother not to let go. Min hwan lets go — moments after realizing his younger brother knew how he felt about Yeo ri.
Min hwan kills Park Seung jae, lures Yeo ri to the scene to frame her for it, then sends a dump truck at Gang uk as he closes in on the case. Yeo ri shoves Gang uk clear and takes the impact herself.
Turned Back at the Threshold
Comatose, Yeo ri’s spirit finds itself at the river to the other side. There, every soul she ever helped comes forward and takes her hand.
As the ferryman reaches for her, Ji hwan’s spirit steps in. The warmth she gave away, he says, is what’s still holding her here.
Then he says he’ll return to where he belongs, and boards the boat alone. He was the anchor keeping her ability alive, and with him gone, it disappears too.
The Truth Plays at the Memorial
Hiding the fact that she’s conscious, Yeo ri finds the SD card Park Seung jae hid at his house.
At Ji hwan’s twelfth memorial — the event where Min hwan’s succession as CL Group chairman is to be announced — Yeo ri walks in and plays the footage.
Min hwan is arrested on the spot. At the same moment, Ok Gye hui’s office is raided.
One Year Later
Ok Gye hui and Min hwan are both in prison. Cheon Ha ri is learning the hotel business from the ground up as a regular employee. Gang uk is promoted and returns to Seoul, and Yeo ri settles the control dispute and takes over as chairwoman.
In the final scene, the two of them walk in front of Siena Hall, hands together. What’s ordinary for everyone else was a miracle for them, and now that miracle is just their life.
Does Yeo ri Survive the Truck Accident?
She survives.
Major surgery leaves her comatose for over a week, but Ji hwan’s spirit blocks her passage to the other side and she comes back. The souls she spent years helping are the ones who stand with her in that moment.
Does Yeo ri Keep Seeing Ghosts?
No. The ability disappears after the accident.
Ji hwan’s spirit had lingered in this world for twelve years, and when he finally crosses over, the ability tied to him goes with him. Yeo ri can now touch anyone with no consequences at all.
Whose Heart Does Gang uk Have?
Kang Ji hwan’s.
The heart of the boy who died in that yacht accident twelve years ago was transplanted into Gang uk. It’s also the real reason his grandmother fought so hard against the black monkey: the donor was born in the year of the black monkey.
What Happens to Min hwan?
He’s arrested and imprisoned.
Both killings come out — Ji hwan’s and Park Seung jae’s. A year later he’s still behind bars. He finally accepts the visit from his mother he’d been refusing, and breaks down when she tells him she’ll take him back when he returns to the world.
Why Does Gang uk’s Grandmother Finally Approve the Marriage?
Because Yeo ri took the dump truck for him.
When Gang uk was about to be run down, Yeo ri shoved him clear and was badly injured in his place. His grandmother apologizes to her afterward and admits what she’d refused to see: superstition can’t outweigh what’s in a person’s heart. She gives the marriage her blessing.
Do Yeo ri and Gang uk End Up Together?
They do.
With the curse lifted, the two become an ordinary couple. The series closes on the two of them walking hand in hand.
It Started as Occult and Ended as Pure Sweetness
Calling this an occult drama was always a stretch. The original film never managed to be frightening either, and expecting that from a show built on rom-com foundations was probably never realistic.
The ghosts, in particular, were not scary. Every one of them was kind, incapable of doing harm. Which leaves the actual plot resting on a corporate succession fight and the truth about a friend who died twelve years ago. Korea makes excellent occult films. I miss the people who make those.
Does It Work as a Crime Drama?
It doesn’t. No real foreshadowing, no puzzle to work through, no suspense. Nobody should come to this expecting that.
Is It Still Worth Watching?
If you want Park Eun bin in a rom-com, yes.
The warmth, with none of the coldness, worked especially well, and her proven acting covers for the cringe the genre carries. Her chemistry with Yang Se jong was good throughout.
The sweet parts are hard to convey in a recap. Watch it and enjoy the corners of your mouth going up on their own.
Basic Info
- English Title: Spooky in Love
- Korean Title: 오싹한 연애
- Based on: the 2011 film Spellbound, directed by Hwang In-ho
- Aired: July 18 – August 23, 2026
- Network: tvN (Saturdays & Sundays, 21:10 KST)
- Streaming: Netflix
- Episodes: 12
- Director: Lee Min-soo
- Writer: Choi Jung-mi
- Cast: Park Eun bin (Cheon Yeo ri), Yang Se jong (Ma Gang uk), Ong Seong wu (Kang Min hwan), Jo Hye joo (Cheon Ha ri), Kim Min chul (Kang Ji hwan), Kim Do wan (Park Seung jae)
Want the full episode-by-episode breakdown?
Spooky in Love Episodes 1-2: A Fated Meeting at Every Crime Scene
Spooky in Love Episodes 3-4: Gang uk Sees the Ghosts, and Finally Understands Yeo ri
Spooky in Love Episodes 5-6: A 300-Year-Old Cold Case, and an Engagement Nobody Saw Coming
Spooky in Love Episodes 7-8: A 300-Year-Old Truth, and a Real Proposal
Spooky in Love Episodes 9-10: A 0.5% Victory, and a Broken Engagement
Spooky in Love Episodes 11-12: The Curse Ends, and Holding Hands Becomes a Miracle
New to the series? Start here:
Spooky in Love Review: A Rom-Com Horror Hybrid Made for Summer
In the mood for more Korean romance?
Can This Love Be Translated? — Netflix’s Most Charming Romance of 2026
Want more Korean dramas to watch next?
Should You Watch The East Palace? A Korean Viewer’s Take
A Shop for Killers Season 1: What You Need to Know Before Season 2
Agent Kim Reactivated: What You Need to Know Before You Watch
Did the ending land for you, or did you want the occult side to go further? Let me know in the comments.
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