'Love Untangled' Movie Ending Explained & Summary: Did Se-Ri And Yun-Seok Get Back Together?

Set in 1998, Netflix’s Korean romantic drama Love Untangled revolves around Park Se-ri, a schoolgirl who was obsessed with ‘fixing’ her curly hair. For the longest time, women with straight hair were considered more attractive, and the various treatments that are now available to permanently straighten one’s hair suggest that the obsession hasn’t yet faded. Se-ri wanted to fit in, and she believed as long as she didn’t have silky straight hair, boys in her school would not find her attractive. She thought her sister, Hye-ri’s, life was way easier than hers because of her straight hair. Se-ri watched boys swoon over Hye-ri, whereas her love stories mostly remained incomplete. But then she came across Kim Hyun, the handsome athlete from her school, and she immediately knew that she had a crush on him. Did Se-ri decide to risk another rejection by professing her feelings to Kim Hyun? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

Did Se-ri propose to Kim Hyun?

Se-ri figured she had a special connection with Kim Hyun when she ran into him at a beach. Her friends teased her whenever he was around, and she tried her best to get noticed by the most popular boy in her class. But as expected, most of the girls at school had a crush on him, and they went above and beyond to make him feel special. In the meantime, a new boy enrolled in the Garam High School. He’d transferred from Seoul and was a year older than his classmates. Se-ri recognized him the minute he walked into her classroom. She’d rescued him from drowning the other day at the beach. Yun-seok ended up with a broken foot, and he preferred to keep his interactions to a minimum. But Se-ri and her friends offered to help him out, and he eventually became a part of their group.

Unlike the rest of her friends, Yun-seok was brutally honest with Se-ri. He didn’t hesitate to state that Hyun probably hadn’t intentionally thrown a ball at Se-ri just to strike up a conversation with her. Se-ri didn’t appreciate Yun-seok’s honesty, but when she discovered that his mother owned a salon that offered permanent hair straightening treatment, she decided to look past it and become his best friend. Se-ri even met Yun-seok’s mother at the salon and described how she’d saved her son’s life at the beach and also promised to help him out with school. Seeing her enthusiasm and knowing how desperately Se-ri wanted to get her hair straightened, Yun-seok’s mother offered the treatment to her for free at her parlor if Se-ri lived up to her promise and helped her son until his cast came off. Se-ri and Yun-seok started to spend most of their time together. She even showed him her father’s secret cabin that had a huge collection of comic books. And it soon became their safe space to hang out.

Yun-seok started to realize that he adored Se-ri. She was this bundle of joy in his life, and he genuinely enjoyed her company. She loved her curls and her quirks. And even though he didn’t like the fact that Se-ri was so smitten by Hyun, he helped her prepare for her grand proposal simply because he knew it would make Se-ri happy. To help Se-ri propose to Hyun at the study hall, Yun-seok made sure that he got a spot there, but unfortunately, because of his dedication, Hyun ended up losing his spot. But nonetheless, the gesture impressed Se-ri. She ultimately decided to propose to Hyun on their school trip, and before that, she got the hair straightening treatment done.

Since Jang-mi was busy with another client, she asked her son to shampoo Se-ri’s hair. But instead of shampooing her hair, Yun-seok washed it with a conditioner. His mother was surprised because he had never made such a rookie mistake before. It was impossible to straighten conditioned hair, so she had to shampoo again. Yun-seok did so intentionally because he didn’t want Se-ri to change her hair. He loved her for who she was, and he didn’t understand why she even had to get her hair straightened. Everyone at school couldn’t stop complimenting Se-ri’s smooth, straight hair, and she finally felt she was ready to confess her feelings to Kim Hyun.

While her friends watched the romantic moment from a distance, Yun-seok decided to walk away because it was all too painful for him. When the moment came, Se-ri realized that she wasn’t in love with Hyun. She told him that she used to like him, but she had come to realize that she must be with someone she never had to pretend with. She always thought she was not worthy of love, but this person had helped her see how beautiful she was. To everyone’s surprise, Se-ri ended up not proposing to Hyun; instead, she confided in him her feelings for Yun-seok. 

Did Se-ri and Yun-seok confess their feelings for each other?

Yun-seok didn’t have the courage to find out if Se-ri and Hyun were already a couple. He didn’t see eye-to-eye with Se-ri, and it was only after he showed up at her dad’s cabin one day that they finally had a conversation about it. Se-ri told him that she didn’t propose to Hyun because she was ‘busy.’ Yun-seok knew that was not the actual reason, but he was pleasantly surprised by her revelation. When Se-ri saw Yun-seok speaking to Flintstone, a classmate of hers, she immediately felt envious. She later asked Yun-seok the nature of his friendship with Flintstone, and he sensed the jealousy in her voice. On the day of the CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test), Yun-seok, dressed in a teddy bear costume, handed Se-ri a gift bag with a snow globe and sweet treats. Se-ri was completely taken by surprise; she didn’t expect such a grand gesture, and she felt overjoyed. After returning home, Se-ri started to spend most of her time staring at the snow globe; she couldn’t believe that Yun-seok had been paying attention to everything she said and admired. She knew she was in love.

Yun-seok and Se-ri finally decided to spend time alone. They returned home from school together, and they eventually decided to go on a long walk because they couldn’t get enough of each other. They went to the beach together, the spot where they met the first time. It was in that moment that Yun-seok finally confessed how Se-ri came into his life like a breath of fresh air. He had lost his will to live and hoped that the ocean would consume him before he noticed Se-ri swimming. She was so full of life that he almost felt inspired. Se-ri had heard about Yun-seok’s abusive father, who was envious of his wife and critical of his son. The mother and son somehow managed to escape from Seoul and settled in Busan, in the hopes of starting over again. Even though Yun-seok was academically brilliant, his father had bullied him to such an extent that he’d decided not to take the CSAT. But after moving to Busan and falling in love with Se-ri, he felt more confident and hopeful, and he’d told his mother that he would take the CSAT in the coming year. Se-ri didn’t expect Yun-seok to have her missing name tag. He’d kept it with him because he didn’t wish to forget the name of the person who’d saved him that day at the beach. She blushed when he held her hand and confessed how deeply he admired her. They walked back to Se-ri’s home holding hands, and before Yun-seok left, he gently kissed her on her lips. Se-ri couldn’t stop blushing; she’d finally found love in the most unexpected way. 

Why did Se-ri break up with Yun-seok?

After their first date, when Yun-seok returned home, his mother announced she would be heading to Seoul for a couple of days because she needed to buy some equipment for the salon. Yun-seok thought it was all too sudden, but he assumed it was a work emergency. On the day Se-ri planned a grand gesture at the beach for Yun-seok, he received an unexpected call from a hospital. His mother was admitted, and he had to travel to Seoul. The day didn’t go as Se-ri had planned, but she was more concerned about Yun-seok’s wellbeing. She sensed something was wrong, and she tried to stay in touch with him.

When Yun-seok reached the hospital, he realized that his mother had returned to Seoul to talk to his father, and once again he’d left her bruised. She perhaps was afraid that he would try to destroy the life they’d built in Busan, so she decided to have a word with him. But clearly, he was a monster who took pleasure in hurting his family. The minute he saw Yun-seok, he started to insult him. He didn’t think his son was respectful enough and accused Jang-mi of being a useless mother. He was a doctor, and to get away with the assault, he lied about his wife getting injured after falling down the stairs. He made it very clear that he expected Jang-mi and Yun-seok to move back to Seoul and live with him again. Yun-seok spoke to his aunt, who lived in the United States, and she asked them to move there since that was the only way they could get away from the monster. Yun-seok didn’t wish to leave Busan; he’d fallen in love with the life he’d built there. The choice wasn’t an easy one. Se-ri had traveled to Seoul and found her way to the hospital when she overheard Yun-seok’s conversation with his mother. She realized that she was primarily the reason why Yun-seok was hesitant about moving to the United States. So, at the end of “Love Tangled,” Se-ri decided to sacrifice her love for the greater good. She initially recorded a voicemail confessing how badly she missed Yun-seok, but she realized that he wouldn’t be able to leave if he heard her whimper on the phone. So, in the next voicemail, she sternly told Yun-seok that since he’d been gone, she had been thinking about their relationship, and she’d come to realize that she wanted to be just friends with him, and she stated that she wanted to end their relationship. Yun-seok had teary eyes when he heard the voicemail, and after that they never contacted each other. 

Did Se-ri and Yun-seok get back together?

Yun-seok didn’t return to Busan even for the graduation ceremony, and life wasn’t quite the same for Se-ri. She knew Yun-seok wouldn’t return, yet she always secretly hoped he would some day. When she went back to her father’s cabin, she found the comic book she’d lent to Yun-seok on the table and also the notebook she’d gifted him stashed in the bookshelf. She pulled out the notebook and turned the pages only to discover that Yun-seok had left her a message. He’d journaled their friendship through photographs and notes. He wanted the love that they shared to forever exist in the journal. He thanked her for saving him, and he admitted that he’d madly fallen in love with her.

During Love Untangled’s ending, we discover that Se-ri had considered Yun-seok’s advice of taking swimming, the one thing that she loved and was good at, seriously. She had enrolled in college in the Marine Sports Department, and she’d also learned to love her natural curls. Her friends had arranged a date for her, but she wasn’t quite enthusiastic about it. She went to the spot where she’d agreed to meet her blind date, but she ultimately decided against it. She was still in love with Yun-seok and wasn’t ready to meet someone else. She messaged the stranger that she wasn’t feeling well, but to her surprise he responded that she looked perfectly well to him. Se-ri assumed the man was a stalker, and she looked around to find him.

In Love Untangled’s ending, when the voice from the other side said her name, Se-ri immediately recognized it. She turned around and saw the love of her life standing just a few steps away from her. Se-ri immediately had tears in her eyes; she hugged Yun-seok and admitted that whatever she had told him back then over the phone was all a lie. Yun-seok stated that he already knew it because she forgot to delete the previous emotional message that she’d recorded. He always knew that he would come back to her when his situation would be a little better. Yun-seok handed her a large jar full of folded paper pyramids that denote all the time that he’d thought about her. When Yun-seok proposed that they get back together, Se-ri emotionally nodded her head. Love Untangled ends on a happy note with the lovers, Se-ri and Yun-seok, finally back together! Presumably, Yun-seok’s mother had safely moved to the United States with her sister. Maybe after ensuring the well-being of his mother, Yun-seok finally decided to return to Busan and restart his life with Se-ri. Perhaps Jang-mi had finally legally separated from her husband as well. Se-ri ultimately found the love that she deserved—someone who adored her for who she was and was ready to go above and beyond to ensure that she felt appreciated. 

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