You can put your fears to rest because Twinkling Watermelon has concluded perfectly. As K-drama viewers, we’re always afraid that our favorite shows (when ongoing) is going to end terribly (and a lot of them do). But Twinkling Watermelon has fortunately not followed the pattern and managed to be a fantastic slice-of-life drama, even with all its emotional parts. Episode 15 ended with Yi-Chan saving Eun-Gyeol from being hit by a car. Fortunately, the show doesn’t push the idea that Yi-Chan would only end up happy if the accident didn’t happen.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In The Finale?
It is Chung-Ah’s stepbrother, Joo-Yeob, who tries to hit Eun-Gyeol with his car on purpose because his mother torments him for never being accepted by the Chairman. She reminds him that even a lowlife, abandoned orphan (as she knows him), Eun-Gyeol, was able to make his way into the Chairman’s heart, but Joo-Yeob could never. He intends to kill Eun-Gyeol with no fear of the consequences, but Yi-Chan comes in the way and changes things drastically. It’s a classic hit-and-run, but Eun-Yoo manages to remember the number on the license plate and lets the police know the details. She’s almost as shaken by the events as Eun-Gyeol is. Mr. Choi spots her and the abandoned cassette lying on the floor. Eun-Yoo, who is Se-Kyung to Mr. Choi, tells him to burn the cassette because she believes that’s the only way this vicious cycle can end. She makes sure to tell Mr. Choi to tell her (i.e., Se-Kyung) whenever she’s in front of him that he didn’t abandon her and that he loves her dearly.
As Yi-Chan is getting operated on in the hospital, we get an imaginary scenario of how his life would’ve turned out had the accident not taken place. This is when Master calls both Eun-Gyeol and Eun-Yoo, informing them that the double moon day is the next day, meaning they must prepare to get back. Of course, Eun-Gyeol doesn’t care about what Master is saying because he’s now guilty of putting Yi-Chan in harm’s way. Eun-Gyeol talks to a sleeping Yi-Chan, apologizing for what he said to him in the future (painful). The next day, Yi-Chan’s grandmother shows up and apologizes profusely for not looking after him properly. It’s a showdown of apologies, and all Eun-Gyeol can do is watch and cry with them. It suddenly hits him that he needs to get revenge on the guy who made Yi-Chan the way he is. Eun-Yoo stops him before he can run out of the hospital with no plan in hand. She tells him who the culprit is and that he’s been caught. Eun-Gyeol threatens Joo-Yeob in the police station, letting him know that he will die by his hand.
In the meantime, the Chairman asks Chung-Ah to go on an international vacation with him to see all the art museums. He’s really making an effort to make her happy, and it’s working really well (TT). Eun-Gyeol tells Eun-Yoo that he should’ve never tried to change things, and that he’s the reason for all this misfortune. Eun-Yoo reminds him that he’s actually changed Chung-Ah’s life and stopped Eun-Yoo herself from dying. She also tells him that Eun-Ho had told her back in the hospital that Eun-Gyeol was always burdened by the weight of his family, so he would tell him his father’s story when he stopped feeling that burden. Chung-Ah writes a heartwarming fax to Yi-Chan that may have never reached him. She mentions that he is the reason she gained courage and became a stronger person. She promises to be by his side always, just as he is by hers (our hearts are going to explode).
Shockingly, Eun-Yoo meets her mother, who is practically her twin. Se-Kyung is shocked to see her doppelganger and believes it’s a dream, but Eun-Yoo tells her that she’s her daughter from the future and that Se-Kyung should go talk to her adoptive parents and meet her biological father again to ask him why he abandoned her. On the other hand, Eun-Gyeol finally meets Mr. Choi, calling him Grandpa endearingly. Eun-Gyeol tells him a little bit about himself and how he’s a CODA. Mr. Choi gives Eun-Gyeol the cassette because Se-Kyung had told him to burn it, but it’s too beautiful to destroy. Eun-Gyeol says his final goodbye to the man who saved him when he was a child and asks him to look after himself and work it out with his daughter. When he listens to the tape, there’s a message from Yi-Chan. Yi-Chan thanks Eun-Gyeol for showing him what it’s like to have a father and promises to be reborn as Eun-Gyeol’s father in the future.
Eun-Gyeol meets his father one last time before returning to the future. Yi-Chan can see the guilt on his face, and he asks Eun-Gyeol what his future will be like. Eun-Gyeol tells him he will have a wonderful wife and children who respect him, but Yi-Chan obviously can’t hear him. Finally, Yi-Chan gets Eun-Gyeol to sit close to him, telling him that the accident isn’t his fault and he should leave and go wherever he’s meant to. Yi-Chan tells Eun-Gyeol to find him again when he has dealt with his guilt.
Eun-Gyeol finds Master, but Eun-Yoo is stuck with a broken scooter in the middle of nowhere, asking for help. Master gives Eun-Gyeol some lavender tea and some metaphorical advice that goes over his head (he’s not alone there). He gives him back his guitar, though, and just as Eun-Gyeol makes his way out of the shop with the motto “Viva La Vida,” Master turns into old Mr. Choi. Eun-Gyeol wakes up in 2023, and he’s in the Jinsung Group mansion. It’s a lavish home, and he finds a large photograph of his family with the Chairman right in the middle. Eun-Gyeol tries to find his brother and then Eun-Yoo, but her house is entirely missing. Before he can do anything else, he’s bombarded by fans who want him to pull out strands of his hair for them (true idol status).
SPINE9 is a successful group, and they pick up a desperate Eun-Gyeol running from high school girls for his dear life. The group reminds him that he was meant to ask his family for permission to go on a world tour. They’re under MJ Entertainment (yes, the same one) and are a popular group. It’s the day of the launch of a new product from Jinsung Group, and SPINE9 is meant to be performing for it.
Does Eun-Gyeol Meet Eun-Yoo Again?
Eun-Gyeol finds out that his mother studied abroad, started her own art school, and is now world-famous. The little that he did back in 1995 made a huge difference to her life as well as made an impact on people with hearing disabilities in Korea (if only it were that easy). When Chung-Ah arrives in her fancy car with reporters all around, Eun-Gyeol is more than proud. He gives her a tight hug, telling her she’s done well. Unlike earlier, Yi-Chan’s friends are still in touch with him, and all the band members have come to see the new product launch. The product is a new set of guitars that Yi-Chan has created himself. On the large stage, he comes on and speaks in sign language, telling his story. Of course, it was hard for him at first when his hearing stopped, but he grew to understand and accept it. His dreams were shattered, but he still managed to make his grandmother proud and bag the most beautiful girl. He plays a little bit of “Smoke on the Water” just like he did when he first tried to form a band, showing everybody the fantastic sound he’s created.
Eun-Gyeol finally comes face-to-face with his father. He is reminded of young Yi-Chan’s request to see him only when he’s not guilty anymore. Eun-Gyeol gives him a tight hug, thanking him for keeping his promise of living life to the fullest. When he walks off, he drops the cassette from his bag, and Yi-Chan finds it with the words he had written back in the day. SPINE9 has a fantastic performance, and the “Watermelon Sugar” band members find Eun-Gyeol oddly familiar. Yi-Chan gives a knowing smile at his son’s performance, making it seem like he has it all figured out (maybe he finally believes it was all true).
During Twinkling Watermelon‘s ending, Eun-Gyeol spots Eun-Yoo in the audience and runs off behind her while the crowd screams for an encore performance. When they’re alone, she says it’s good to see him after 28 years, and she lured him out because she wanted them to be alone. They kiss, and it’s the happy ending we all wished for. In the epilogue, we see that an old man helped Eun-Yoo reach the shop right on time in order to get her cello back. She gives Master a tight hug, calling him “grandpa,” meaning she knows he’s her actual grandfather, thanking him for everything and promising to get along with her mother.
Twinkling Watermelon is a show that teaches us to be hopeful no matter what kind of curve ball life throws at us. Through its characters, it’s easy to realize that there is much more to life than we see. It may not be watermelon season, but at least we can hope to shine bright like “Watermelon Sugar.”
