‘Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938’: What Happened to Ji-ah and Lee Yeon’s Romance Ahead of the New Season?

With the rising popularity of K-dramas, fan favorites are getting their shot at a continuing storyline with a second season. Tale of the Nine-Tailed is a 2020 fantasy K-drama starring Lee Dong-wook as Lee Yeon and Jo Bo-ah as Ji-ah in a whimsical story of star-crossed love and the fate of humanity. With a Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 confirmed, the cast and its main storyline, where did Ji-ah and Lee Yeon’s story end?

[WARNING: This article contains mild spoilers for Tale of the Nine-Tailed.]

‘Tale of the Nine-Tailed’ has a male gumiho come face-to-face with his past

A thousand-year-old gumiho named Lee Yeon was once a mountain god who now dwells among the humans working for the Afterlife Immigration Office. He helps eradicate the supernatural who pose a threat to humanity. But on the other side of his story is reporter Ji-ah who specializes in supernatural phenomena. While working on a case, Lee Yeon is discovered by Ji-ah.

Wanting to prove her assumptions true, Ji-ah follows him and proves he is a supernatural being. But Ji-ah has her own story to tell. As a child, she was in a car accident and is the only one who remembers her parents not being who they are. In reality, they were foxes posing as her parents, and Lee Yeon saved her.

But Tale of the Nine-Tailed involves a star-crossed love story when it is revealed that Ji-ah is Lee Yeon’s first human love, a reincarnation of Ah-eum. In his past, she died at the hands of Lee Yeon while stopping Imoogi, an evil earth dragon. Hoping to find a way to save her, he gave Ah-eum his fox bead to be reincarnated. As the K-drama progresses, and Lee Yeon cannot stop his affection for Ji-ah, an old enemy returns.

In the K-drama’s finale episode, Imoogi is human and disguises himself as someone named Terry. But he also has control over Ji-ah. Realizing he will ultimately hurt Ji-ah if he hurts Terry, Lee Yeon agrees to become Imoogi’s vessel. While Lee Yeon swallows the scale, Terry realizes he is also dying due to Lee Yeon having digested a poison. To end it all, Lee Yeon has his brother plunge a knife into both of them and drift into the Samdo River.

Ji-ah and Lee Yeon find each other again in the K-drama finale

In the aftermath of the K-drama, the leading characters refuse to accept the death of Lee Yeon. Lee Rang (Kim Bum) wallows in sadness over losing his brother after finally being able to reconcile. Meanwhile, Ji-ah is also unable to accept the loss of her true love. Life goes on, but it is bleak without Lee Yeon.

When the fortune teller returns, he reveals he is the judge of the Underworld in charge of reincarnations. Ji-ah and Rang plead for a deal to save Lee Yeon. A life for a life. While Ji-ah is willing to give up hers, Rang knows his brother can not return to a world without his true love. Having redeemed himself and found a family, Rang’s life is deemed worthy and taken away.

But does Rang’s sacrifice bring back Lee Yeon and Ji-ah’s romance? On a rainy day, Lee Yeon appears under an umbrella and as a human. The two love birds reunite and have one of K-drama’s most memorable weddings. They also adapt to human life, but the K-drama teases more. When Ji-ah mentions seeing a possible spirit, Lee Yeon escapes into the night with his umbrella and his fox eyes shining bright.

Will ‘Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938’ bring back Ji-ah and Lee Yeon’s romance?

Sadly, fans are unsure whether Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 will include snippets of Ji-ah and Lee Yeon’s current couple life. The K-drama ended with the star-crossed lovers finding each other again thanks to Rang’s sacrifice. But according to Soompi, the new season explains Lee Yeon travels back in time and desperately looks for a way to return to the people he cares about. Fans can speculate this includes Ji-ah.

But the official cast list does not confirm the return of Jo in her original role as Ji-ah. Instead, Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 will occur during the Japanese colonial occupation and star Kim So-yeon as the new female lead. The second season will also bring back Rang but during his rebellious stage. Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 will join a list of K-dramas receiving second seasons.