Park Jin shows Yul the blue mark on Naksu's body
At Songrim, the leader teaches Yul how a soul leaving its body leaves a blue bruise, and they find a bird whistle on the dead assassin.
Seo Yul
Every Alchemy of Souls moment featuring Seo Yul, in story order. Played by Minhyun.
134 moments · 5h 00m
Dang-gu bursts in with tavern gossip
Dang-gu rushes to his uncle with rumors about Naksu, gets scolded for hanging around bars, and reveals Uk has been sent to train with a monk.
The Four Seasons of Daeho arrive
Mu-deok learns of the four famed young heirs of the Jin, Park, Seo and Jang families, and quietly swears they will all die.
Intruders raid Songrim to steal back Naksu's body
Masked intruders break into Songrim, the Training Center burns, Jeongjingak is emptied, and Mu-deok realizes her old master sent them.
Yul finds Uk and his 'maid' hiding in Jeongjingak
Yul's blade finds the pair; Uk passes Mu-deok off as his maid, she grips the blade to protect him, and Uk scolds her glare.
Uk asks whether Naksu had a round face like Mu-deok
Naksu's body is gone and a spy is suspected; Uk teases Mu-deok while the others discuss how soul shifters pick similar bodies.
Why Uk's punishment could kill him
His friends explain to Mu-deok that Uk's gate of energy is opened just enough to keep him alive, and no one in Daeho may open it.
Six hours to live, and Mu-deok won't talk
Uk collapses; the only cure is to open his gate of energy. Mu-deok is tortured but keeps silent until Master Heo opens it.
Uk won't let Yul carry his maid
Too weak to carry Mu-deok himself, Uk refuses to let Yul do it, hands her to Maidservant Kim and leans on Yul instead.
Dang-gu drinks his uncle's wine and gets caught
Over stolen wine, Dang-gu and Yul find Mu-deok suspicious for faking blindness, then Yul abandons Dang-gu as his uncle arrives.
Mu-deok stalks Yul around Jeongjingak
Taking Dang-gu's dating tips, Mu-deok shadows Yul, nimbly catching books and claiming she learned to move at the brothel.
The bathhouse confession
Mu-deok follows Yul into the men's bathhouse to count his breaths, gets caught, blurts a love confession, and Yul sees right through it.
Mu-deok trades Yul's keepsake for his breathing
Mu-deok holds an old item of Yul's that belonged to a friend who is gone, and offers it back for his breathing technique.
A petrified victim and the lore of Hwansu
A plea to let Uk return is shut down; over a soul shifter's petrified victim, the Songrim leader explains the alchemy of souls needs Hwansu mastery.
Three friends each have an excuse to visit Uk
On the way to see Uk, the friends tease each other over their reasons for coming, from fishing plans to medicine to nitpicking.
Uk's sword arm runs wild against the Crown Prince
Uk unsheathes his father's sword but cannot control his arm; a binding bracelet stops him, and the Prince dares the four heirs to fight him together.
Everyone fights to drink the chamber pot water
Mu-deok offers to drink chamber-pot water as an apology, Uk insists he should, and the friends join in until the Crown Prince gives up.
Mu-deok refuses to dirty the man she loves
Mu-deok explains why she splashed the Prince and turns down a handkerchief from the man she claims to love.
Jin Mu demands Uk's arm and baits a royal duel
Master Heo's plea backfires: Jin Mu wants Uk's sword arm cut off, then proposes an official duel with the Crown Prince.
Uk flees before Cheonbugwan can take him
Royal guards come for Uk after the duel challenge; warned he could lose his arm or life, he slips away to Sari Village with Mu-deok.
Ju-wol guesses Danhyanggok
Dang-gu teases Yul that Mu-deok loves him; the innkeeper guesses Uk fled to Danhyanggok, stirring Yul's memory of a pet bird there.
Chasing the corpse wagon out of Cheonbugwan
A body is smuggled out through a tunnel; the wagon is stopped, a fight breaks out, and Songrim's Spirit Plaque turns up inside.
Yul and Dang-gu find drunk Mu-deok
Drunk Mu-deok drifts into a memory of an injured child and a bird call, then Yul and Dang-gu track her and Uk down in Danhyanggok.
Yul's bird memories and a round of chaste tea
Yul admits he snuck into Danhyanggok for the birds he loved, then the friends happily drink Master Lee's chaste tea.
The girl who told young Yul never to return
A girl warns the boy from the Seo family she will kill him if they meet again; Yul recalls the secret he buried ever since.
Yul burns the rice
After a tense dawn exchange with Mu-deok, Yul insists on cooking breakfast himself and ruins the rice despite her simple instructions.
Mu-deok's cooking class for genius Yul
Uk and Dang-gu watch Mu-deok scold Yul over green onions and soup; he takes it like a diligent pupil and the meal turns out tasty.
The special tree and 'just anyone'
Yul finds the tall tree from his past; offered a climb with Dang-gu, Mu-deok refuses to share such a special tree with just anyone.
Yul asks how Danhyanggok fares in winter
Yul quietly asks Mu-deok whether it was cold here in winter; her answer comforts him while Uk and Dang-gu argue over whom she likes.
Uk's friends tell him to stay hidden
Dang-gu and Yul report the assembly's talk of cutting Uk's energy and urge him to lie low; Uk says he will do the opposite.
Yul reveals he met Naksu as a child
Yul tells the Songrim leader of a girl hiding in Danhyanggok whose father wrote down the stars, and learns of a recorder killed by the four families.
Yul confronts Mu-deok over the Spirit Plaque
Ju-wol admits Mu-deok tried to sell Uk's Spirit Plaque; Mu-deok tells Yul she wanted money and fun, and the plaque is then tied to Naksu.
Prince and Yul both arrive at Jinyowon hunting for Mu-deok
The Crown Prince is told the maid broke the yin-and-yang jade meant for the wedding rings and fled, then Yul turns up looking for her too.
Mu-deok's illusion calls out Yul's secret longing
An apparition of Mu-deok tells Yul he kept the whistle and never stopped longing for the girl from Danhyanggok, then dares him to banish her.
Uk, Yul and the Crown Prince volunteer to enter Jinyowon
Warned the vault's relics can trap anyone forever, Yul and the Crown Prince insist on going in with Uk, and are given one hour.
Bickering in the relic vault, and Yul gets lost when spooked
The Crown Prince teases Uk about inheriting Jinyowon's treasures, a noise startles them, and calm Yul marches off the wrong way.
The sachet Mu-deok hung by the outhouse
Comparing notes on the illusion, the Crown Prince learns the sachet he gave Mu-deok has been put to use keeping flies off the outhouse.
Jang Uk tells the mirror he misses Mu-deok
As the door is about to be sealed, Yul is sent to drag Uk out while Uk tells the mirror his plan to keep her by his side, and that he misses her.
Blinded Mu-deok is swarmed by worried suitors
Uk ties a cloth over Mu-deok's dazzled eyes, then Dang-gu, Yul and the Crown Prince each arrive offering to take her for treatment.
Yul realizes Mu-deok is Naksu
Piecing together the illusion's words and memories of Danhyanggok, Yul concludes the shifted soul in Mu-deok is Naksu and that she is alive.
Songrim mages find Uk's bracelet at the temple
Following Gwigu to the site of the soul shift, the mages find traces of the Soul Ejector and Uk's binding bracelet, and fear the worst.
Yul returns Mu-deok, and she scolds Uk for running away
Yul hands back the bracelet and reveals he wounded then saved Mu-deok; she invents a story that Uk abandoned her, and he plays along.
Yul warns Mu-deok he might let her die next time
After telling Uk to lie low until the duel, Yul coldly notes she was at Uk's side again, and Mu-deok bites back.
Yul keeps Mu-deok's secret from Songrim
Asked whether the maid saw the spell, Yul says she is an ordinary maid who would not understand it, and hides a hand hurt by the Soul Ejector.
The Crown Prince finds his silk dress sold, and blue cloth is the trend
The Crown Prince learns Mu-deok sold his gift, claims sole rights to her nickname, and sees the capital wearing Naksu's blue cloth.
Tipsy Yul holds Mu-deok's hand and asks if it was all a lie
Lost and a little drunk, Yul confesses he has gone astray, lets Mu-deok lead him, then asks about the illusion that said she loved him.
Uk defends sorcery and Master Heo explodes
Master Heo signs Uk up as a marriage candidate, then learns he wanted Naksu as a master and would use sorcery to save a life; he demands his energy back.
Mu-deok is barred from following Uk into Songrim
As drunk Uk is carried in, the gate guard rules a maid cannot enter and a trainee cannot leave; Mu-deok begs to be taken along.
Mu-deok waits outside the wall, and Yul sends her home
Uk drunkenly calls for her inside; outside, Mu-deok swears she will kill him if he abandons her, and Yul carries her vow to get into Songrim.
Maid Kim visits trainee Uk and tells him to leave Mu-deok be
Uk starts basic training under the regulations; Maid Kim beams with pride, then lists everything Mu-deok did for him and says she is better off without him.
The blank pages of Words of the Heart
Uk finds the new book empty; the others explain it only reveals itself to focused energy and mock him until Yul cuts them off.
Seo Yul makes Mu-deok buy him a new umbrella
Yul visits Mu-deok to reclaim his lost umbrella, talks about his old leg wound and a friend from Danhyanggok, then makes her pay up.
The Crown Prince and Yul cheat on the servant exam
Go Won and Yul get the test papers and solve them, working out a tricky seating puzzle and how to wash ink from clothes.
Yul finds his old whistle in Mu-deok's bag
Dang-gu finds the whistle Yul left at Danhyanggok in Mu-deok's bag; Yul lets her keep it and dares her to make him believe her love.
Yul's whistle and the friend he never told
Yul says real love is hard to say even once, and reveals the whistle belonged to a friend he failed to confess to.
Yul forces Master Kang's body to run wild
At the cremation Park Jin has Yul pour energy into the body; it turns out to be a soul shifter, and Songrim claims the case.
Songrim battles the rogue soul shifter
Park Jin confronts Jin Mu over the cover-up, then the rampaging soul shifter fights until Cheonbugwan strikes it down.
Yul and Uk on monsters and following your heart
Yul tells Uk he slashed a soul shifter and that mages must protect the world from monsters; Uk offers a gentler view.
Songrim's laborers stall at Cheonbugwan to watch Jin Mu
Songrim's crew keeps redoing the basin repairs to stay inside, and Jin Mu probes Seo Yul about mastering Chisu.
So-i sets her sights on Seo Yul
Told Seo Yul is out of her league, the vagabond So-i muses that as Jin Bu-yeon she might have a chance with him.
Seo Yul plans to take someone with him to Seoho Fortress
Yul tells Uk he will soon go home now that he has mastered Chisu, and that there is someone he wants to bring along.
Mu-deok is the prize, and Seo Yul is Uk's last opponent
The tenth duel's prize is Mu-deok herself as a maid, and the challenger who steps forward to face Uk is Seo Yul.
The Crown Prince recruits his cousin Seo Yul to beat Uk
Unconvinced by Cha Beom, the Crown Prince asks Seo Yul to fight Uk; Yul promises to win and to take Mu-deok as his maid.
Jang Uk vs Seo Yul: the tenth duel
Uk fights Yul using spells copied from his earlier duels, loses, and still stuns everyone by using Tansu, proof that he has reached Chisu.
Seo Yul asks Mu-deok to help him bring someone home
As her new 'owner' in name only, Yul asks Mu-deok to promise to help him take someone to Seoho Fortress, and she agrees.
Seo Yul shows Uk his homing bird and its whistle
Uk complains he cannot visit Mu-deok; Yul has him call the homing bird with a whistle and asks what the bet with the Crown Prince was.
Master Lee leaves having seen enough, and Uk nurses a cut
Master Lee says the soul shifters showed themselves through fear; Uk, hurt in the fight, fusses over the dog while Yul wonders what Lee knows.
Tea with the Crown Prince turns into a debate on Naksu in Blue
Over tea, a rumor about Naksu's new body leads to an argument over whether ordinary people are foolish or simply frightened.
Uk is locked up, and Seo Yul inspects the bodies
Uk is taken to Songrim and confined; Dang-gu insists Mu-deok could not kill, while Yul examines the bodies and weighs what he knows.
Uk, Yul and Dang-gu remember the buried inkstone
Drinking together, the three friends retell how they hid a broken inkstone as boys, and discover Dang-gu romanticised how they got caught.
Yul's sleepless nights and a secret he keeps
The friends notice Yul is not sleeping; memories of Gwigu's body suggest he is quietly carrying something he will not say.
Yul's umbrella exposes the fake Bu-yeon
The friends realise the returned daughter carries the umbrella Yul gave So-i; Mu-deok grills Yul like a jealous wife before Uk takes over.
The friends hold back their proof about the fake daughter
Dang-gu wants to tell his uncle, but the others fear a feud with Jinyowon and suspect Jin Mu has leverage over Lady Jin.
So-i returns Yul's umbrella and begs his silence
So-i sweetly asks Yul to keep their past secret; Yul sees she is a pawn to be discarded and quietly pities her.
Mu-deok and Yul share memories of Danhyanggok
Mu-deok scolds Yul for nearly setting the books ablaze, and their talk of pine pollen tea snacks and Danhyanggok leaves her knowing he will die.
Master Kang ambushes Yul inside the barrier
Yul walks into the trap meant for Mu-deok; he is found hurt, and the friends learn Master Kang is feeding on mages and can still cast spells.
Uk lures the soul shifter to the secret room alone
Uk takes Master Kang on himself to save the others; Mu-deok decides to rescue them one last time and runs for the secret room past Yul.
Mu-deok gives the dying Yul the Jin family blood worm
With no way to transfuse blood, Mu-deok uses the worm carrying Jin family blood on the badly wounded Yul and begs him to live.
Mu-deok sees through Yul and returns his Danhyanggok keepsake
Mu-deok tells Yul he is a terrible liar, thanks him for quietly protecting her, and gives back the token from Danhyanggok.
Yul and Mu-deok say goodbye in three breaths
Yul checks her pulse as an excuse to share three breaths, and the two quietly part, remembering their time at Danhyanggok.
Heo Yun-ok realizes Yul's heart was never hers
Heo Yun-ok admits she nearly confessed to Yul in the barrier, then tends him and wonders if she ever had a chance.
Yul's wound hides a blood parasite
Yul still hurts after healing; Mu-deok learns So-i gave him her blood and that a parasite is in his body, and plans medicine.
Dang-gu's last night as a bachelor
Dang-gu announces his wedding, the friends tease him about Cho-yeon, and Yul admits he was recently rejected.
Yul is confined for knowing the truth
Yul admits he also knew Mu-deok was Naksu and asks to find her, but is forbidden to leave the premises.
Bu-yeon waits at the dock and spots the last bachelor on her list
Bu-yeon accosts strangers hoping for her groom from the Seo family, misses Seo Yul's arrival, and fixes her eyes on Jang Uk instead.
Seo Yul admits he fled, and that he met Naksu first
Back in Daeho, Seo Yul apologizes for leaving his friends when they struggled most and admits he knew who Naksu was.
Park Jin's welcome-home feast for Seo Yul
Park Jin cooks for Seo Yul's return; the friends gang up on the next 'victim' and Yul politely gives up on the charbroiled deodeok.
Seo Yul tells a weeping Dang-gu the bride is not Cho-yeon
Suspected of stealing the bride, a tearful Dang-gu learns from Seo Yul that the secret wedding was for Jin Bu-yeon, not Cho-yeon.
Lady Jin storms Songrim hunting the stolen bride
Jin Ho-gyeong accuses Park Dang-gu of kidnapping the bride, and Cho-yeon is forced to admit her sister Bu-yeon is alive.
Seo Yul urges Dang-gu not to live with regret
Dang-gu says a leader must hold back; his friend admits he should have held on when he had the chance, and begs Dang-gu not to repeat it.
Bu-yeon finally meets Seo Yul and turns him down
Bu-yeon tells Seo Yul he is handsome but her heart went elsewhere last night, learns he was never her groom, and he asks if they have met.
Bu-yeon dodges So-i's soporific trap in the canal
Bu-yeon catches her tail by sensing energy, holds her breath underwater against the drug, and is helped out by an old friend of Uk's.
Two foolish friends lost in Gaema Village
Uk's childhood friend gets them lost and insists he is smart; Bu-yeon prefers a handsome fool, then asks about a blue-eyed soul shifter.
Uk and Yul reunite at Jeongjingak
Yul worries over Uk's cold, ice-stone-haunted life; Uk teases him with a hug until Dang-gu barges in with a breakfast summons.
Leave-it-to-luck rice cakes
Dang-gu's uncle serves a honey-or-fish-sauce rice cake game with a lesson on destiny, before news breaks of Naksu's rumored return.
Yul shames the men mocking Bu-yeon
When his uncle's party plans to gawk at his former bride, Yul turns the joke back on them with a pointed apology.
Two foolish friends and a hidden illness
Walking her home, Yul gets lost again; Bu-yeon senses something strange in his body and he asks her to let it slide as a friend.
Master Lee returns with a secret about Bu-yeon
A patient demands to know what is inside his body; then Master Lee reappears after three years, saying he treated Jin Bu-yeon.
Seo Yul learns a blood parasite is eating his energy
Seo Yul demands to know what is inside his body; the woman who gave him her blood admits it was a parasite, and he lets her go believing she meant to save him.
A returned gift reveals a kept lovers' charm
Expecting rejection after three years, she trembles, until he shows he kept the lovers' charm all along and she puts on the diamonds for him.
Uk and Yul finally talk about Naksu
Yul admits Naksu haunts his dreams out of guilt; Uk takes the responsibility on himself, then they bicker over who must eat Park Jin's dumplings.
Bu-yeon delivers her speech to the wrong door
Bu-yeon rehearses a proud plea through a closed door and counts to three, only to learn she was talking to the wrong man.
A servant brings So-i's last message
So-i's servant begs for help and passes on her secret: Lady Jin's real daughter was the blind girl from Sari Village.
Uk and Yul cross paths as So-i lies to Lady Jin
Bu-yeon senses Yul's energy at Jinyowon; meanwhile a captive So-i names one suspect after another rather than give up her secret.
Uk distracts Lady Jin while Yul frees So-i
Uk asks Lady Jin to let him into Jinyowon as Yul and Bu-yeon find the wounded So-i, who tells Bu-yeon she only thinks she is Jin Bu-yeon.
So-i tells Yul that Naksu lives in Jin Bu-yeon
So-i reveals Lady Jin's real daughter was Mu-deok from Sari Village, saved from the lake with Naksu's soul still inside, now wearing Naksu's face.
Yul realizes she is alive
Yul understands Bu-yeon was Naksu all along; overwhelmed, he asks her to let him stay a moment and begs her not to tell Uk.
Yul admits he knew Mu-deok was Naksu
Yul swears So-i to secrecy, even from Uk, and confesses he knew the truth about Mu-deok long ago.
So-i sees through Yul's nightmares
After another nightmare, So-i notices the keepsake Yul still holds and warns him not to kill Naksu, because he likes her.
Yul refuses help through a locked door
In pain from the parasite, Yul tells So-i that suffering is lighter than his regrets and that she has done enough for him.
Bu-yeon plans a trip to Danhyanggok with Yul
Bu-yeon wants to see whether the giant tree she remembers is real, and Yul offers to take her to Danhyanggok.
Yul's confession at Danhyanggok
At the place where they first met, Yul recalls how much he liked her as a child and his regret at doing nothing.
Yul's quiet farewell to Master Heo
Master Heo asks why Yul has been avoiding him and offers to examine him; Yul promises to return and wishes him good health.
So-i is captured as Yul's picnic is cut short
Cheonbugwan mages beat So-i over the missing parasite while her servant finds Yul on his trip with Bu-yeon and tells him she was taken.
Yul fights to protect So-i
Yul blocks the mages from taking So-i to Jin Mu; when the parasite is exposed, the dying So-i thanks him for making the world bright.
Jang Uk finds Yul and turns on Cheonbugwan
The mages refuse to spare Yul; after the fight, Uk reaches his fallen friend, Yul apologizes, and Uk vows no one will leave alive.
Jang Uk finds Yul collapsed and vows no one leaves alive
Uk reaches the gambling den to find Yul down and apologising; his grief turns into a promise of total vengeance.
At Yul's bedside Bu-yeon glimpses a Danhyanggok memory
Bu-yeon apologises to the unconscious Yul, sees a strange memory of Danhyanggok, and clashes with Young Lady Heo over a sealed letter.
Yul's life sealed in Bu-yeon's mouth
Heo Yeom draws Yul's last energy into the wick and places it in Bu-yeon's mouth; she must not open it before time runs out.
Fire bird ritual drives the parasite out and saves Yul
Uk and Go Won use the gold's energy at the fire bird's barrier to pull the parasite from Bu-yeon, then race back to revive Yul.
Seo Yul wakes after three days
Yul learns So-i died and the parasite is gone, and apologises to Bu-yeon about Danhyanggok as Master Lee arrives.
Master Lee: Naksu's soul will soon disappear
Yul asks if Master Lee knew who she was; Lee says two souls share the body and Jin Bu-yeon's will awaken and erase Naksu's.
Honey biscuits and 'I recognized you first'
Bu-yeon fusses over Uk before leaving and says she knew he was her husband at first sight, echoing an old memory, while someone watches.
Seo Yul warns Bu-yeon: you will hurt each other
Yul tells of a dream of losing someone he cherished, says she will learn who she really is, and asks her to turn a blind eye.
Seo Yul honours So-i before her funeral
Yul sees So-i's body and the item she cherished, hears she thought he made the world bright, and asks for a warm, sunny grave.
Seo Yul's threat and plea to Lady Jin
Yul tells Lady Jin not to lock Naksu up, reveals her daughter's soul may return, and asks her to let Naksu stay for a while.
Heo Yun-ok exposes the blue mark at the graveyard
At Uk's graveyard Yun-ok splashes a scar-revealing medicine on Bu-yeon; Yul stops her, and Bu-yeon sees the blue marks and asks if she is her.
Why Jang Uk must never know about Naksu
Two allies agree Uk is better off not knowing: with Hwansu he could keep Naksu's soul, but only through forbidden sorcery.
Seo Yul faces the Queen over eternal power
Pressed about the soul potion, the Queen defends taking young bodies; Yul answers that rain and sun must both end and no one should rule forever.
Yul tells her the Songrim tragedy was Jin Mu's doing
Seo Yul reveals Jin Mu controlled soul shifters, so the massacre was not her will; she refuses to accept it as an excuse.
Yul tells Uk that Naksu will disappear
Yul delivers the news Uk would rather not hear; Uk explains he turned away knowing he would have to slay her if he acknowledged her.
Uk accepts her reason and walks out of the Assembly
Told Bu-yeon exposed the soul shifter he spared, Uk vows to stop feigning ignorance, turns her accusation into his excuse and leaves to find her.
Seven stars send the fire bird to Uk at the lake
Bu-yeon wakes the fire bird atop the constellation basin and the seventh star guides it to Uk at Lake Gyeongcheondaeho, where it vanishes.
Seo Yul's open-door recruitment at Jeongjingak
Seo Yul now leads Jeongjingak and recruits on passion alone, picking two unlikely pupils on Bu-yeon's word to outshine Uk.