My Demon tells the story of a human and a demon, Do Do-hee and Jeong Gu-won, who are compelled to stay together after Gu-won loses his powers. All episodes are now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Jeong Gu-won is a demon who looks like and lives among humans. He seeks out the most desperate humans and strikes deals with them.
Gu-won fulfills their deepest desires, and in return, he sends their souls to Hell once the contract expires.
Gu-won owns the Sunwol Foundation and lives a carefree life until he meets Do Do-hee, the CEO of Mirae F&B.
Do-hee was adopted by the chairwoman of the Mirae Group, Madam Ju, after she lost both her parents in a car accident 20 years ago.
Madam Ju was Do-hee’s father’s business partner. After his death, she raised Do-hee like her own child. She has two children and a big family, but she loves Do-hee the most.
Do-hee and Gu-won go on an accidental date when Do-hee mistakes him for her blind date. From their very first meeting, Do-hee is drawn to Gu-won.
That night, she is attacked by a man, and Gu-won approaches her with the intention of making a deal.
Surprisingly, Gu-won’s powers do not work when he tries to rescue Do-hee from her attacker. Do-hee and Gu-won then fall into the river.
By the time they reach safety, Gu-won’s tattoo, the source of his powers, is transferred to Do-hee’s wrist, forcing Gu-won to reveal his true identity to her.
Now, Gu-won can only use his powers by holding Do-hee’s hand. Since someone is trying to kill her, Do-hee suggests that Gu-won become her bodyguard to keep the tattoo safe.
After Gu-won agrees to become Do-hee’s bodyguard, Madam Ju passes away. Do-hee suspects foul play in Madam Ju’s death.
Instead of naming her own children, Madam Ju names Do-hee as her successor in the will, but she can only assume the role of chairwoman if she gets married within a year.
Do-hee believes that she can uncover the identity of Madam Ju’s killer only after gaining the power that comes with being the Mirae Group’s chairperson.
Someone from Madam Ju’s family is trying to kill Do-hee. They killed Madam Ju and had Do-hee attacked on multiple occasions.
Gu-won saves Do-hee whenever she is in danger. Since Do-hee and Gu-won need each other, Do-hee proposes that they get married.
While working together, Gu-won and Do-hee develop feelings for each other and eventually enter into a contract marriage.
Even after their marriage, Do-hee does not assume the chairperson role, as Madam Ju’s son, Noh Suk-min, does everything in his power to secure the position for himself.
With time, Gu-won and Do-hee’s feelings deepen. Gu-won uses his powers to assist Do-hee in investigating Madam Ju’s death, but he begins to lose his powers soon after.
The killer realizes that while Gu-won is not human, he is vulnerable without his powers, and they send Do-hee’s attacker after him.
Gu-won is stabbed and nearly killed. Do-hee arrives in the nick of time to save his life, but the incident deeply impacts her.
To protect Gu-won, Do-hee gives up her position as chairperson, allowing Suk-min to become the new Mirae Group chairperson.
Do-hee and Gu-won confess their feelings and start anew. Over time, Gu-won loses his powers, which puts his life in danger.
Gu-won can only regain his powers if Do-hee dies. However, when Do-hee is attacked by Suk-min’s son, Do-gyeong, Gu-won risks his life to save her.
As a result, he regains his powers without losing Do-hee. Suk-min, the mastermind behind Madam Ju’s murder and the attacks on Do-hee, now fears exposure of his crimes since Gu-won has his powers back.
Suk-min is an abusive father and husband. He is able to force his son to take the blame for his crimes, leading to Do-gyeong taking his own life.
Just when Do-hee and Gu-won believe that things can be normal, Gu-won starts remembering his life as a human.
200 years ago, before he turned into a demon, Gu-won met Do-hee for the first time. Gu-won was a nobleman named Seo Yi-sun, and Do-hee was a courtesan named Wolsim.
They fell in love but could not be together due to social class differences. Gu-won introduced Do-hee to Catholicism, hoping to bridge the divide.
Do-hee’s conversion led to her death, leaving Gu-won furious and heartbroken. He took several lives before ending his own, wishing not to go to Heaven.
After Gu-won remembers his past, a homeless woman, who turns out to be God, tells him that his and Do-hee’s fate is bound to repeat itself, and that is why his tattoo got transferred to Do-hee.
Additionally, Do-hee comes to know that Suk-min plans to change the way the Mirae Group works, as he wishes to destroy everything that Madam Ju built.
When Do-hee confronts him about it, she figures out that he killed Madam Ju. Suk-min then tries to kill Do-hee, but Gu-won comes to her rescue.
Suk-min jumps from a building, choosing to take his own life rather than face death at Gu-won’s hands, but not before revealing to Do-hee that Madam Ju killed her parents.
While trying to find out the truth about her parents’ death, Do-hee comes to know that her father had made a deal with Gu-won.
Madam Ju did not kill him, but she witnessed his death. He died when his contract with Gu-won expired.
The fact that Gu-won makes deals with several people like her father and sends their souls to Hell pains Do-hee. The realization makes it hard for her to accept Gu-won.
Gu-won does not want to make Do-hee miserable in this life as well. To prevent history from repeating itself, Gu-won breaks up with her, and she finds herself alone once again.
Ending explained:
Suk-min’s return
Gu-won leaves Do-hee and goes to the village where he lived as a human. He plans to stay away until Do-hee learns to be happy without him.
Every night, when Do-hee falls asleep, Gu-won visits her and takes care of her. Eventually, she regrets letting Gu-won go and misses him.
She has no way of asking him to come back to her, as she does not know where he is. One day, she decides to visit the Sunwol Foundation.
There, Gu-won’s right-hand man, Mr. Park, gives her Gu-won’s necklace. It is the same necklace that Gu-won gifted Do-hee in her past life.
Do-hee wears that necklace to sleep and remembers her past life. It occurs to her that Gu-won might have gone to the village where they met in her previous life.
However, before Do-hee can reach Gu-won, she is kidnapped. It is then revealed that Suk-min is still alive; he disfigured his face to avoid being found by Gu-won.
Having lost everything, Suk-min blames Do-hee and Gu-won. He kidnaps Do-hee with the intention of seeking revenge by killing them both.
Gu-won’s sacrifice
When Suk-min hurts Do-hee, Gu-won arrives there to save her. As demons are forbidden from killing humans or bringing them back to life, Do-hee stops Gu-won from killing Suk-min.
Do-hee and Gu-won are happy to reunite, but their happiness is short-lived. Suk-min shoots at them, and Do-hee gets hit while trying to protect Gu-won.
Gu-won manages to subdue Suk-min, but Do-hee dies in his arms. In a desperate act, Gu-won breaks the forbidden rules and brings Do-hee back to life, causing him to burn away.
Second chances
Losing Gu-won leaves Do-hee grief-stricken. She believes that he died because of her and withdraws into herself.
Gu-won had promised to celebrate Christmas with her, but the day passes without him. Do-hee then visits the place where she had received Gu-won’s tattoo.
Do-hee wishes to make a deal with Gu-won; she wants to have him back. God, moved by Do-hee’s pain, recalls Gu-won’s past bet that he had won.
Gu-won had asked her to grant one of his wishes. In his place, God decides to grant Do-hee’s wish, and Gu-won comes back to life.
With Suk-min in prison for life, Do-hee and Gu-won can finally be together without fearing for their safety.
Gu-won tells Do-hee that her father struck a deal with him on the day she was born; he did it to save Do-hee and her mother.
Do-hee no longer holds her father’s death against Gu-won, as it is because of Gu-won that she was born and could have ten years with her parents.
Gu-won is still a demon, which means he has to make deals with humans. However, he resolves that moving forward, he will only make deals with evil people who are truly deserving of going to Hell.
Meanwhile, the Mirae Group’s board selects Do-hee as the next chairperson, but she declines the position. She only wanted the position to bring Madam Ju’s murderer to justice.
Madam Ju’s nephew, Ju Seok-hoo, who has always stood by Do-hee’s side, becomes the chairperson, and he is good at managing the Mirae Group.
Suk-min’s wife, Kim Se-ra, resigns from the board and starts a center for child victims of domestic violence, as she regrets turning a blind eye to Do-gyeong’s abuse at Suk-min’s hands.
Gu-won’s human companion, Ga-young, also saves a young girl from her abusive father and decides to stay in Korea to take care of the child.
In the end, Do-hee discovers that Madam Ju insisted on her getting married because she had cancer and did not want to leave Do-hee alone in this world.
As Madam Ju had wished, Do-hee has found someone who loves her. Do-hee and Gu-won are going to cherish every moment spent together.
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