Shin (played by Gong Yoo) says his final goodbyes in Eun Tak’s (played by Kim Go Eun) arms, and the fire from his heart spreads until he’s nothing but fire and ash. He scatters into the wind before her eyes, and she collapses to the ground in tears. A strange sensation passes through Deok Hwa (played by Yook Sung Jae) in that moment, and Sunny (played by Yoo In Na) and Secretary Kim too. We also see Eun Tak’s friend the class president, and the ajusshi who was Shin’s second-in-command in Goryeo.
The writing in Shin’s diary starts to disappear, and even the scribble he added in Eun Tak’s book of poems—”It was first love”—starts to burn off the page. Eun Tak seems to sense that Shin is fading from every memory they shared, literally disappearing from the scene as she remembers it, so she scrambles to her bag to grab pen and paper. She frantically starts writing to herself:
“You have to remember. His name is Kim Shin. He’s tall and when he smiles he’s sad. He’ll come as the rain. He’ll come as the first snow. He’ll keep his promise. Remember. You have to remember. You are his bride.”Tears fall as she writes the last words, and she clutches the notebook close, sobbing and trying desperately to remember. Fade to black.
A butterfly lands in a vast snowy tundra, and a lone figure stands in the distance—it’s Shin, back to his original form as the Goryeo warrior. Butterfly-god says that Shin has been erased from the minds of everyone who knew him, and that this is a consideration from god. Samshin Granny narrates over the scene that his punishment was over now, and that he should close his eyes and rest at peace. “But there were tears in the goblin’s eyes,” she says.
Shin cries as he remembers Eun Tak and the moment he realized he’d make this choice. He says to the gods, “I will stay in this place. I will remain here and go as the rain. I will go as the wind. I will go as the first snow. For that one thing, I ask heaven’s permission.” Samshin Granny narrates that it was a childish choice. Butterfly-god answers him: “I was always with you in your life, but in this place, I am not here.” And butterfly-god leaves him too.
Back on Earth, Samshin Granny is back to her grandmother form as she tells this story, saying that the goblin was all alone, stuck between this life and the afterlife, between light and dark, his soul trapped forever in a place without god.
The person listening to the story is Shin’s second-in-command, who asks curiously what happened to the goblin. Granny supposes, “Memories will fade, and all that will be left is shining futility. He’ll walk in that futility and walk some more. And then what will happen? Where will he reach?” Just as she described, we see Shin trudging through the snow wearily, walking and walking with no end in sight.
Nine years later. Eun Tak is a radio PD, and her writer flips out when it suddenly starts to rain and she has to change the DJ’s opening monologue to suit the weather. Eun Tak takes it in stride, though she seems to be in a subdued mood. She ignores a text from her nasty cousin Kyung Mi asking to borrow some money. As she leaves work, Eun Tak stands outside without an umbrella and watches the rain come down, looking pained. And then a tear trickles down her face. Reaper (played by Lee Dong Wook) comes up right behind her in line at the coffee shop, but they don’t seem to recognize each other.
At home, Eun Tak remembers seeing Reaper at the age of 9, and wonders if the man in the coffee shop could be the same grim reaper. But she thinks she must be mistaken. She wonders about the destiny necklace she’s wearing, where it came from, and why she can’t remember.
Shin continues to walk in the snow, and he narrates, “In that desert / He was so lonely / He walked backwards at times / Just to see a set of footprints ahead of him.” The scene fades into that very poem in Eun Tak’s book, as she copies it down. She flips back to the page with the first love poem, and wonders how it only burned in that one spot.
She heads to the chicken shop and tells Sunny that she’s as pretty as ever. When Eun Tak asks for soju, Sunny wonders why she’s down when today’s radio show was great, but Eun Tak sighs that they have no advertisements, so she’ll probably be fired soon anyway. Sunny makes Eun Tak get her own drinks, and then her high school friend arrives. Eun Tak still just calls her “class president,” while Sunny greets her familiarly as Lawyer Kim.
Class Prez asks if Eun Tak doesn’t want to go on a blind date with a cute chef who looks like a puppy when he smiles. Eun Tak says that’s not her type, but Class Prez says the chef is a fan of Eun Tak’s radio show. Sunny joins them and advises Eun Tak to grab the opportunity while she can, sighing at how she used to be the first love to so many men. Class Prez agrees that Eun Tak should date before she ends up like Sunny, and Sunny wonders if Eun Tak doesn’t have any other friends.
Eun Tak sighs as she notes that it’s raining outside and she’s got two friends to worry about her. She pours herself another drink and says in Shin’s manner of speech, “It’s a nice day.”
As Eun Tak stumbles home that night, two ghosts watch her pass—one of them is the girl who always used to follow her around. They wonder why she can’t see them when she’s the goblin’s bride, but they figure that since the goblin has never shown up, she’s more like a widow.
At home, Eun Tak’s depression worsens and she writhes in pain and chokes down sobs, wondering what she’s so sad about and why she’s always like this.
The image of her sobbing fades into Shin walking in the snow, stumbling but forcing himself back up. And then we see that he’s clutching something in his hand: His contract with Eun Tak. At one point he just collapses in exhaustion, and the contract blows out of his hand. It starts to fly away, and he scrambles to his feet, falling over himself in desperation to retrieve it.
And down on Earth, it begins to snow. Eun Tak looks up at the sky sadly, and it’s almost as if she’s looking up at Shin, who’s now face-down in the snow, unable to walk another step. A tear falls as he shuts his eyes.
Eun Tak sits alone with a birthday cake, wondering to herself, “What have I forgotten? Whom have I forgotten?” She lights a candle, and in that moment, the sun shines on the contract and Shin opens his eyes…
Eun Tak: “What face and what promise have I forgotten that all that’s left is such deep sadness? Somebody, anybody… please, save me.” As she says the words, Shin snaps to attention, like he can hear her voice. He can hear her!
She blows out the candle, and a familiar smoke rises out of Shin’s fingertips. The contract begins to smoke and turn to ash, and then just like that, Shin appears at Eun Tak’s side. They reunite just the way they met ten years ago to the day, when Eun Tak blew out her birthday candles at 19.
His eyes full of emotion, Shin marches over to her and grabs her in a hug. Ohthankgod it’s still you and one of you remembers! Eun Tak bursts into tears in his arms.
They both cry for a long moment as he holds her, and then Eun Tak suddenly pulls away, apologizing for crying because she can’t control her mood swings. Then she realizes that this random guy hugged her out of nowhere and asks what he’s doing and if he knows her. She takes another look at him and assumes he’s an actor.
He sees that she became a radio PD from her station badge, and remarks proudly that she realized her dreams. She bristles at his use of banmal, and Shin takes it in stride, remembering butterfly-god’s words that he’d be erased from everyone who knew him. He says it’s okay if she was at peace. Not understanding a word, she just directs him to the drama department.
Eun Tak begins to walk away, but she turns back and asks how he got in here. Shin replies, “Someone called me."
