'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On December 15, 2023, the first four episodes of the fantasy and reincarnation drama, Death's Game, were released, leaving K-drama fans saddened as the protagonist died once again, albeit this time, with his significant other.
The second part of Death's Game is slated to be released next year on January 5, 2024, with four more episodes. The series is available to stream on platforms including TVING and Amazon Prime.
The official synopsis for the Death's Game is provided by IMDb and is based on the popular webcomic of the same name by Lee Won-sik and Ggulchan.
"Facing hardships and contemplating suicide after a series of setbacks, a man is confronted by Death and tasked with experiencing death over and over again through 13 other lives to earn the chance to live in Death's Game," reads the synopsis of the show.
In Death's Game, Park So-dam played the role of Death, while Seo In-guk chronicled the role of Choi Yee-jae, Lee Do-hyun played the role of Gun-u, and Gu Yoon-jung played the role of Lee Ji-su.
Disclaimer: Major spoilers ahead.
Choi Yee-jae died with his girlfriend Ji-su in Death's Game part 1
The fourth episode of Death's Game begins with Choi Yee-jae being reincarnated as a baby who is being abused by his parents. The baby eventually meets demise after his mother chokes him to death.
After waking up in the afterlife, Yee-jae asks Death to shoot him so that he can retrieve his money. He wakes up in the body of a model named Jang Gun-u and retrieves his money from a subway locker in Death's Game.
He finds that Gun-u is already wealthy due to his visuals. He also attends a VIP party and enjoys a lot and soon gets drunk, and his friend tells him he may have a chance to model for the Taekang conglomerate. He also meets CEO Park Tae-u, whom he notices he has seen somewhere in Death's Game.
The scene then changes to Gun-u suddenly seeing his ex-lover, Lee Ji-Su from his old life (Choi Yee-jae) while he works at his brother's coffee shop. All the flashbacks from his college days move him to tears. He remembers how he fell for her at first sight. He also remembers how he left her.
He learns that she stays at the coffee shop until it closes and currently works as a writer. Gun-u looks up information about her on the internet and finds that she is an established novelist. He discovers how she did not tell her boyfriend about winning a contest, as her boyfriend was struggling in Death's Game.
He goes to the bookstore and purchases her book, To You In the Future. The scene then transitions to Ji-su and Yee-jae's college life, which is when she was writing her book. Gun-u discovers that she incorporated some of the moments they shared in her book and is moved to tears. He remembers a moment when he promised her that he would never give up on the woman he loved instead, he would give up on his life. This was mentioned in her novel.
He also remembered how he purchased for Ji-su her desired fountain pen in Death's Game.
As she keeps visiting the coffee shop, he expresses how he liked her novel and states that he has an idea for a novel. He tells her about a man experiencing death and reincarnating again, to which Ji-su states that the manner in which he elaborates the plot of the novel feels realistic and conveys the message that he has felt the same emotions himself. He also asks for her autograph. She then signs the novel and he finds out that she was using the red fountain pen that he planned to gift her.
The scene then changes to after Yee-jae's death, when his mother gives Ji-su the fountain pen that he planned to gift her in the future when she became a writer. The duo continued to have conversations more often at the coffee shop after that in Death's Game.
One day, as Ji-su leaves after working at the coffee shop, it starts raining and Gun-u brings an umbrella with him so that she does not get drenched and heads back to the shop. Suddenly, when he hears people talking about how a lady passed away who used to come to the coffee shop often, Gun-u thinks it might be Ji-su and runs toward the place desperately.
Upon reaching the accident scene, he notices that Ji-su is safe and standing among the crowd. The scene then changes to the two having a heartfelt talk. Ji-su reveals how she felt miserable after she got the news of how Yee-jae passed away in the past.
The Death's Game scene changes, showcasing Ji-su sadly crying at hospital and how much pain she felt after hearing about the demise of her boyfriend.
She visits Yee-jae's funeral and confesses while sobbing that she misses him. She wonders if she would have stopped him that night, could she have prevented his death, and Gun-u looks at her, realizing how much pain he caused her when he died by suicide.
Gun-u subsequently meets his mother who cries endlessly at the funeral place and realizes that his suicide brought extreme pain to his family and girlfriend. The scene transitions to him delivering a letter and money to his mother, pretending to be an acquaintance of Yee-jae in Death's Game.
The scene then changes to how Ji-su and Yee-jae (Gun-U) walk together, making Gun-u realize how he is finally afraid of death. Ji-su asks him whether Gun-u's story has a happy ending or not. When he asks the reason for the same, she explains the protagonist had a difficult life and had no one to rely on.
Gun-u finally confesses that he regrets dying by suicide and asks for forgiveness from Ji-su. He tells her that she uplifted him when he was ashamed of himself and never left him alone in Death's Game.
The Death's Game scene also showcases how Ji-su proudly introduced him to others as her boyfriend's colleague while she was having dinner with them. He also goes on describing how kind and considerate she was with him.
He further reveals that the story he was telling all along was the story of Choi Yee-jae and how he has been experiencing life and death continuously. Ji-su was shocked and in tears as Gun-u told his story.
At the same time in Death's Game, a red car hit both of them, and Ji-su apparently died on the spot, while Gun-u noticed that it was Park Tae-U who hit them with his car.
Flashbacks appeared, showing how he also killed him in his previous life as Tae-sang and made it look like an accident. As Tae-U noticed that Ji-su's neck was completely twisted after death, he mocked her and killed Gun-u by choking him.
Subsequently, Choi Yee-jae woke up in hell and cried incessantly. He soon jumped onto the table pointing a gun at Death's head, as he realized that his lover Ji-su died.
As Death's Game ended on a sad note, fans are eagerly waiting for part two to find out what will be the fate of Choi Yee-jae.
The K-drama community is still hoping that the couple will have a happy ending in part two of Death's Game.
