The Netflix drama At the Moment, a ten-part anthology series, brings to the table ten romantic and thought-provoking stories that depict human relationships and internal conflicts. In episode 9, we are introduced to one such romantic tale of relationship and friendship that can melt your heart. Episode 9, titled The Ghost of My Heart, follows news correspondent Hsin-Ian’s journey of self-acceptance. This beautiful story of Hsin-Ian’s life focuses on the sweet and serene friendship she once had with her classmate, which eventually turned into a romantic relationship. However, in her childhood, Hsin-Ian believed it to be taboo and tried to avoid it, but fate brought them together once again.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happened Between Hsin-Ian And Chih-Chieh?
Hsin-Ian worked as a news correspondent and was a well-known face in the media. One day, while she was reading the news, she learned that her old friend and former boyfriend Jih-chien had been admitted to the hospital. She immediately hurried toward the hospital, but before she could say her last goodbye to her friend, she got to know that Jih-chien had lost his life. Her two other friends, Wei-hsi and Wan-yu, who were also featured in the previous episodes, had come to meet Hsin-Ian and to console her. They reminisced about those days of their school lives and shed tears. The next day, at Jih-chien’s funeral, while Hsin-Ian was crying in front of Jih-chien’s picture, an old friend of hers, Chih-chieh, came to meet her.
Hsin-Ian and Chih-chieh were more than close friends in school. Young Hsin-Ian and young Chih-chieh used to have a close bond, which eventually turned into a romantic relationship between them. Bit Hsin-Ian couldn’t initially accept the fact that she was attracted to women. She used to keep things private and didn’t want to go out with Chih-chieh or touch her in public. Chih-chieh used to come over to Hsin-Ian’s place, where it was only in the bedroom that they could get closer to each other. But one rainy day, after getting drenched in rainwater, when the two of them became intimate, Hsin-Ian’s mother walked into her room and found them in a compromising situation. Hsin-Ian’s mother began to suspect her daughter, who then decided not to allow Chih-chieh into her house anymore. She began to avoid Chih-chieh and tried to get along with the boys. She became Jih-chien’s girlfriend after that, and Chih-chieh kept on wandering around her like a ghost. She tried hard to be seen by Hsin-Ian, but Hsin-Ian continued ignoring her. After high school graduation, Hsin-Ian and Chih-chieh drifted apart for a long time until Jih-chien, who knew about their secret relationship, fell ill and asked Chih-chieh to come to meet Hsin-Ian. Hsin-Ian was married, but she lost her husband 12 years ago. After that, Jih-chien and Hsin-Ian probably caught up again, but the episode never clarified what exactly their relationship was at the time of his death.
Jih-chien was always aware of Chih-chieh having romantic feelings for Hsin-Ian. One day, when Chih-chieh secretly posted a note under Hsin-Ian’s table, Jih-chien saw her. He kept the note to himself and didn’t show it to Hsin-Ian. However, after Jih-chien fell ill, he called Chih-chieh to come back to Taiwan and meet with Hsin-Ian. Initially hesitant, Chih-chieh had to come back after she learned Jih-chien was terminally ill.
How Did Chih-Chieh And Hsin-Ian Reconcile?
After Jih-chien’s funeral was over, Wei-hsi and Wan-yu decided to visit Hsin-Ian, taking Chih-chieh along with them. They wanted to lighten up their mood, so they had dinner together and chit-chatted for a while at Hsin-Ian’s place. However, Hsin-Ian was avoiding Chih-chieh, which is evident from her behavior. Chih-Chieh asked her if she was okay, and they had a little conversation. Chih-chieh didn’t want to bother Hsin-Ian anymore, seeing that she wasn’t interested in her. So she took off with Wei-hsi and Wan-yu. But as she took a cab, on the way, she thought of coming back to Hsin-Ian’s place. She returned and freaked out, seeing that Hsin-Ian’s apartment door was open and she was not inside. However, after a while, Hsin-Ian came back and asked Chih-chieh why she broke into her apartment. Chih-chieh explained to her that she tried to forget everything but couldn’t do it. As Jih-chien had asked her to come back, she’d returned with the hope that maybe she would get a chance to reconcile with Hsin-Ian. She was fine with it if Hsin-Ian didn’t want to get back to her even as a friend, but before walking out of her life, she wanted to give Hsin-Ian that note she once posted under her table. Hsin-Ian accepted the note and read it at night. The way Chih-chieh expressed her love for Hsin-Ian made her reflect, prompting her to give their friendship a second chance.
The next day, we saw Hsin-Ian resign from the news channel she used to work for. She wanted to explore life and didn’t want to take on the work pressure at such a vulnerable moment in her life. As she resigned from her workplace, we saw her meeting with Chih-chieh outside. The two of them got along once again, forgetting those bad days and forgiving each other. Together, they went shopping and even visited their high school, where they played badminton like they used to play at school. After that, they went to a donut store, which had been their favorite place to hang out and has donuts together. This was the place where they were allowed to hug each other on the pretext of giving “donut hugs.” As they reconciled, they gave each other that old “donut hug.”
The Ghost of My Heart concluded without specifying if Hsin-Ian and Chih-chieh pursued a romantic relationship or just remained close friends, but it concluded with a beautiful commentary on love and friendship. Falling in love means being comfortable around that person. As Hsin-Ian never felt comfortable due to having certain prejudices in her mind, she never felt comfortable showing her love for Chih-chieh. But now, as Hsin-Ian had learned that she had truly fallen in love with Chih-chieh, regardless of her gender, she accepted herself and Chih-chieh as her friends and lovers. They both welcomed each other into their lives and looked forward to being by each other’s sides.
