The drama’s premiere opens with a brief history of the dol hareubang — the ubiquitous “stone grandfather” statues unique to Jeju Island. Originally known as Tamra Island, the land was one where all inhabitants coexisted in harmony. But chaos and conflict soon took hold, and the blood of the 46 children of God was sealed away in the dol hareubang, in order to block Hell’s Gate and prevent monsters from crawling out.

To conceal and protect the real 46, many more dol hareubang were created. However, we soon realize that the more pressing problem isn’t the counterfeit dol hareubang, but the ones imbued with evil by a mysterious man. As a newlywed couple approaches a pair of dol hareubang, a black fog overtakes them, turning both into demons and leaving blood-filled leeches behind.

Now a grotesque monster, the groom tears into the terrified wedding photographer, until a dagger flies through the air and pierces the demon in the skull. It’s our immortal protagonist BAN (Kim Nam-gil!) to the rescue, whose entrance is accompanied by a grandiose soundtrack and hero backlighting.

That pretty much sets the tone for the drama — part cool, part campy, and all around fun. Our second protagonist, chaebol heiress WON MI-HO (Lee Da-hee), is elegant and eloquent, outwitting both her spiteful aunt and an obtrusive reporter with ease. However, when Mi-ho gets into a scandal of her aunt’s making, she’s left with no choice but to board a plane to Jeju Island for some PR-friendly volunteering and reflection time.

Mi-ho has barely touched down for five minutes, though, when she feels a strange throbbing in her chest. Then she encounters the demon bride, who’s in the middle of gorging on a human. Mi-ho is no match for a superpowered demon, and she eventually gets cornered in a delivery van which the demon tears into with its bare claws. It’s inches away from reaching her, and that’s when a familiar majestic soundtrack plays. It’s Ban, here to save the day!At first, it seems like just another regular day’s work of decimating demons, but when Ban locks eyes with Mi-ho, there’s stunned recognition in his gaze. Before he can gather his wits to react, though, Mi-ho’s heart throbs again. She loses consciousness, waking up back in her bed with her worried right-hand men fussing over her.

Mi-ho’s trials and tribulations don’t end there, though. She’s asked BUTLER JANG (Oh Gwang-rok) to investigate the incident her aunt orchestrated, and he’s dug up some photo evidence — which clearly captured SECRETARY KANG (Lee Soon-won) in cahoots with both the thugs and auntie dearest.

Having trusted her closest aides more than her power-hungry relatives, Mi-ho is utterly devastated, but she refuses to let her emotions get the better of her. This is a betrayal she can’t forgive, and she confronts Secretary Kang, declaring that they’ll go their separate ways from now on. She means that quite literally, too — she walks off, leaving the car to Secretary Kang.

Of course, that means Mi-ho is walking straight into danger’s grasp yet again. Secretary Kang gets turned into a demon, and once he catches up to his former charge, Mi-ho winds up in a chokehold.

Never fear, Ban is here! In the blink of an eye, he’s sliced right through Secretary Kang’s arm (which Mi-ho flings aside after belatedly realizing she’s holding onto a severed limb, LOL). Ban has an arsenal of slick moves up his sleeve, and after an impressive display of swordsmanship that slashes the demon to pieces, Secretary Kang is no more. Ohmygod, I’m torn between cringing over the campiness and squeeing over how awesome Kim Nam-gil is.

Ban disappears before Butler Jang arrives, which means that to everyone else except herself, Mi-ho sounds like a spoiled rich brat who’s been hallucinating, ha. Thoroughly spooked by the encounter and frustrated that no one believes her, Mi-ho books it straight to the airport. Unfortunately, danger is still hot at her heels, and a security officer-turned-demon sparks yet another breathless pursuit (and a nerve-wracking car chase).Once again, Mi-ho is saved by Ban, who’s looking very unimpressed. The demon plunges its claws right into Ban’s abdomen, and how does Ban react? By leveling the monster with the most deadpan stare, as if the monster has just dealt him the world’s greatest inconvenience by ruining his fine suit. HAHAHA. All the while, Mi-ho’s peeking out from behind a wall like an awestruck chipmunk watching a real-life action movie, and honestly? Same.

After all the dust has settled, Ban explains to Mi-ho that these creatures are lust demons — embodiments of evil that usurp human forms to leech off the land. They’ll follow her to the ends of the earth, because it’s written into her destiny.Understandably, Mi-ho is equal parts bewildered and terrified. So when Ban swoops into her room that night, having just eliminated a demon on her rooftop, Mi-ho immediately latches on to the opportunity. She’s at her wits’ end — her mother is dead, her father wants her to live quietly like she’s dead, her aunt wishes she were dead. And now she’s in actual mortal peril? Mi-ho’s had enough. And so, she presents Ban with an offer — work for her. It takes Ban a second to register the words. Blink, blink. What?

HAHAHA, Mi-ho writes up an employment contract for Ban, promising a handsome salary without knowing he has no need for worldly currency. Needless to say, Ban doesn’t have a family name, ID card, or phone number. LOL. Ban’s just about done humoring Mi-ho, but then he notices the bottle of sleeping pills on her bedside table.

Mi-ho’s plaintive plea for him to stay just for the night tugs at his heartstrings, and he can’t turn a blind eye to her fear and exhaustion. Thoroughly drained from the day’s events, Mi-ho nods off, and when she awakens the next morning, the contract is signed.

There’s another reason for Ban’s empathy towards Mi-ho, though. Back when he was a child, he’d been taken into a monastery as the only survivor of a lust demon attack. The head monk, in a bid to create immortal demon slayers to defeat the lust demons, commits a monstrous deed himself. He gathers the children he’s taken in, slices their backs open, and pours demon blood into them.

Only two boys survive that horrific ordeal, and they’re named Ban and GOONG-TAN. A kind young maiden named WON-JUNG frees the pair from their underground cell, but Ban’s demon side overwhelms him for a brief moment, and he bites her arm before coming back to his senses. The trio flee, but Won-jung’s worsening wound compels Ban to return with her so she can receive medical attention. Goong-tan is caught, and both boys are forced back into captivity, but Won-jung promises to return and save them one day.

The next time we see this trio, they’re all grown up. It’s a joyful reunion for Won-jung, but Ban’s demon blood seizes control yet again. His sclera turns pitch black as his irises glow red, and he plunges his dagger right into Won-jung’s chest — giving her the scar that Mi-ho now sports just below her collarbone.

The context of that scene isn’t revealed just yet, but the present-day lust demons’ bloodthirsty homing instinct towards Mi-ho suggests that she’s a threat to them. This is corroborated by the archdiocese, who proclaim that Mi-ho is the one and only savior who can prevent the world’s destruction.

That ties in to our third protagonist, priest YO-HAN (Cha Eun Woo). His priestly talents far surpass his age, and his greatest weapon in an exorcism is… the hip hop music playing through his headphones. LOL, how amusingly modern.

Yo-han is brought into the Jeju estate by Butler Jang, and it’s revealed that the latter is also a priest. In fact, that’s been Butler Jang’s sole mission all these decades — to protect the savior, come what may. Whoa, I suspected there was more to Butler Jang than meets the eye, but I didn’t see this coming. How much does Butler Jang know, and what ulterior motives did he have in suggesting this Jeju trip? Next episode coming very soon so stay tuned.

Ban begins his career as Mi-ho’s bodyguard, and as expected, it’s hilariously awkward. Not only does he completely disregard the social etiquette befitting a chaebol employee, but he also lacks the modern skills that most regular people would have. Cue: a miffed Mi-ho driving her own car, while Ban — sans driving license — relaxes in the backseat. HAHAHA.

Mi-ho’s used to bossing people around, while Ban certainly isn’t used to being bossed around, resulting in a very entertaining dynamic in which it’s questionable who’s the actual employer here. Still, Mi-ho doesn’t have much time to waste bickering with Ban. It’s her first day at work, and she already has her hands full trying to get her unruly students to settle down.

This is where our drama suddenly takes a dark turn, blindsiding us with an abrupt tonal shift that veers us into serious territory. (I know, the drama is literally about demons, but so far it’s always had a tongue-in-cheek absurdity to it!)

One of Mi-ho’s students, LEE SOO-RYUN (Jung Soo-bin), hasn’t been showing up to class. Her best friend, BU YEOM-JI (Heo Jung-hee), is concerned enough that she walks straight out of class (in front of an affronted Mi-ho) in order to pay Soo-ryun a visit.

Soo-ryun is curled up in bed, frightened and shaking and sporting a whole array of bruises. Her despicable garbage can of a boyfriend, MOON KYUNG-JOON (Yoo Yi-joon), is a violent abuser. Not only does he brutalize her with a karaoke mic, but he also blackmails her with explicit photos.Going to the police isn’t an option, and the media scrutiny on Mi-ho means she has to be on her best behavior and stay out of trouble. With no one on their side, Yeom-ji does the only thing she can think of to comfort Soo-ryun — she relays the myth of Benjulle, a divine spirit that resides on the mountain and exacts revenge at a price.

At her wits’ end, Soo-ryun grasps desperately onto this last ray of hope. She makes her way up the mountain, praying desperately on Benjulle’s altar. But the next thing we see is a huge, gaping hole, with countless lust demon leeches crawling out of it. That’s certainly an ominous sign…

Meanwhile, back at the estate, Butler Jang introduces his “nephew” Yo-han. Initially bewildered, Mi-ho quickly warms up to Yo-han’s amusingly impertinent attitude, and before long they’re drunk and giggling like a pair of troublemakers. Butler Jang is certainly going to have his hands full reining both of them in, HAHA.

Now that they’re acquainted, Mi-ho and Yo-han end up working together when Yeom-ji approaches them for help. For all that Mi-ho may be a rich, spoiled brat, she’s also deeply empathetic. Resonating with Yeom-ji’s desperation for someone to believe her, Mi-ho decides to check on Soo-ryun just in case, and she enlists Yo-han’s assistance.

Except the two have no idea what they’re walking into. What starts out as an exorcism quickly escalates when the walls of Soo-ryun’s room begin morphing into a forest, as a possessed Yeom-ji cackles that Mi-ho has fallen into the trap. They’re in Benjulle’s realm now.

Thankfully, Ban has also been following danger’s trail. He makes it to Benjulle’s forest, where a vengeance-driven Soo-ryun sits atop the colossal tree being Benjulle. Backed by his epic soundtrack once again, Ban saves Mi-ho from being pierced by one of Benjulle’s branches.

Still, Benjulle is much too strong. Before long, all three of our heroes are incapacitated, and for a moment it seems like there’s no way out — until Ban slips into demon mode and decimates his bonds. With the aid of his demon capabilities, Ban single-handedly defeats Benjulle, saving them all.

In the aftermath, Ban explains that Benjulle was contaminated by lust devils. It was all done to target Mi-ho, which naturally adds to Mi-ho’s feelings of guilt. (She points out that this is where Ban ought to reassure her that it’s not her fault, but Ban remains silent as usual, LOL.)Now that Yo-han’s fighting prowess has been exposed, the cat’s out of the bag. Yo-han admits to Mi-ho that he’s here to investigate the strange occurrences around her, and to her credit, she barely bats an eye. At least there’s one more person on her side now, right?

Having witnessed Ban’s momentary demon transformation during the fight, Yo-han decides a test is imperative. Engaging Ban in a sword fight and cornering him with pre-laid traps, he commands Ban to reveal his demon name. Yo-han’s exorcism method triggers Ban’s demon side to take over, but it’s more than either of them can handle.

His eyes glowing red, Ban breaks free of his bonds and grabs Yo-han’s sword with his bare hand, strangling Yo-han with the other. That’s the exact scene that Mi-ho chances upon, on her way to offer Ban some snacks. Pure instinct taking over, Ban dashes towards Mi-ho, dagger raised — and then he stabs her the exact same way he once stabbed Won-jung.

Oh nooooo. I was bracing myself for it to happen, given the prophecy and all, but it still felt like a punch to the gut. Ban’s regret has been weighing on him all these years, and I dread the damage it’ll do to his psyche once he finds out he’s hurt Won-jung yet again.

This development also ties into Butler Jang’s backstory, which explains why he knows so much about Won-jung/Mi-ho and Ban. Back when Butler Jang was a young priest, he witnessed Ban killing a lust demon right before his very eyes. As such, he’s wary of Ban’s non-human nature.

However, wise neighborhood granny GEUM BAEK-JOO (Go Du-shim) advises Butler Jang to trust Ban’s guilt — in other words, Ban’s desire to atone for hurting Won-jung means that he’ll protect her rather than hurt her again. Of course, as we’ve just seen, human emotions don’t seem to hold much weight when one’s demon nature has usurped control.Interestingly, Ban remembers Butler Jang too, making our central relationships even more richly complex. Despite Ban’s reminder that he warned him to run away, Butler Jang insists that he has something he must protect. Oh dear, I hope that’s not a death flag. Next episode coming very soon so stay tuned.

We resume where we left off last week — demon-eyed Ban sprints towards Mi-ho, and when his dagger finds its mark, blood splatters onto Mi-ho’s face. Except she’s unharmed. As her shock subsides and Ban’s eyes return to normal, they realize that Ban stabbed his own arm in a last-ditch (and perhaps instinctive?) attempt to avoid hurting Mi-ho.

Despite the danger that Ban’s other side poses, it’s clear to Mi-ho that he isn’t the least bit malicious. Worried about his injury, Mi-ho climbs all the way up to Ban’s stone memorial site with a first-aid kit, since he’s been intentionally staying away. Mi-ho reminds him that he’s protected her multiple times, but Ban still rebuffs her. He’s afraid he might lose control and hurt her again.

Since Ban has decided to remove himself from Mi-ho’s immediate vicinity, Yo-han takes it upon himself to become her new bodyguard (or trailing puppy, really). He follows her to school, where they run into Soo-ryun. Though she’s understandably still traumatized by the incident, she seems to be doing better, to Mi-ho’s relief.

Meanwhile, Goong-tan is up to no good (as usual). This time, he’s chosen to take a more proactive approach, directly inciting a lust demon to go on a rampage. The demon wears a fur-lined parka that obscures his face, but we see him yanking out people’s livers left and right, only to murmur mournfully that the livers aren’t his.

It’s time for the spotlight to shine on the third leg of our main trio, which means we find out about Yo-han’s past. A sudden phone call has Yo-han abruptly leaving the dinner table, uncharacteristically discomposed. As Butler Jang explains to the curious Mi-ho, Yo-han grew up in an orphanage with his older brother KANG CHAN-HEE (cameo by Choi Tae-joon).Both kids were adopted by a foreign couple, but the blissful times didn’t last long. Their adoptive parents didn’t view them as sons, but as convenient organ donors for their ailing biological child. Forcefully separated from his bedridden brother, Yo-han was drugged and dumped on the side of the road, where he was found by the priest who took him in. Ever since then, Yo-han has been searching for his estranged brother, but to no avail.

Now that she knows about Yo-han’s tragic backstory, Mi-ho can’t simply sit idly by. Leveraging on her extensive connections, she manages to narrow down Chan-hee’s current location — he’s working as a deckhand in Jeju. It’s a tearful reunion for the two brothers, and doubly so when Yo-han discovers Chan-hee’s surgery scar.

Finally realizing why Chan-hee had been in so much pain back then, Yo-han vows to never part from his hyung ever again. Since Chan-hee has nowhere else to go, Yo-han decides to take him back to Mi-ho’s villa — but oh no, the fur-lined parka that Chan-hee’s wearing looks awfully familiar.Meanwhile, Mi-ho’s in high spirits. She’s just helped two long-lost brothers reunite, and her best friend Soo-jin is about to get married — her day couldn’t possibly get any better, could it? Well, the answer is that it definitely gets a lot worse. Soo-jin’s husband is on his way to deliver a cake and a wedding corsage to Mi-ho, which naturally means that the death flags are at full mast. Goong-tan ambushes him on the road, then holds his dead body out on the villa’s rooftop like a trophy for Mi-ho to witness.Ban arrives too, having recognized the postmortem injuries of the fox demon’s victim as Goong-tan’s signature twelve-stab killing method. His dagger led him right to Goong-tan, who drops the corpse and walks off, as if inviting Ban to follow.

That leads him to a deserted clearing, where the two half-demons come face-to-face for the first time in years. Goong-tan seems like he’s spoiling for a fight, but contrary to expectations, he tucks his dagger away. As Ban’s dagger halts a hair’s breadth away from his eye, Goong-tan reminds him that Won-jung deceived them both, using and then discarding them.

Back at the villa, a grieving Mi-ho puts on a brave front, playing the part of a good host to Chan-hee. Except it’s not reciprocated — Chan-hee is indeed the liver-hunting lust demon, and Goong-tan has already sunk his manipulative claws into him. Thankfully, his sneak attack is thwarted by Ban’s force field.

Ban chases after Chan-hee as he escapes, only to be taken out by a fireball — hold up, Goong-tan can wield fire?! He easily overpowers Ban, claiming that Ban’s humanity makes him weak. Goong-tan leaves Ban with an ultimatum — will he join hands with him, or will he die at his hands?

Devastated by the loss of someone so close to her, and tormented over witnessing her best friend’s grief, Mi-ho seeks out Ban at his stone memorials. There, she finds an exhausted Ban, who’s barely recuperating from the previous night’s injuries.Ban finally explains it all to Mi-ho — she’s the reincarnation of Won-jung, who had the power to repair the broken barrier between the mortal realm and the demon one. As such, the lust demons are trying to kill Mi-ho before she can awaken her power.

Resolving to take charge of her own fate, Mi-ho reassures Ban that she trusts him, sincerely asking him to stay by her side. But that’s exactly when Ban coughs up blood. Swiftly putting distance between himself and Mi-ho, Ban insists that this is a burden he has to carry alone.

Since Ban is bent on solitude, Mi-ho seeks out Granny Geum, hoping to glean whatever information she can about Won-jung. Luckily, Granny Geum is a lot more forthcoming with her knowledge. According to her, a light will emanate from Mi-ho’s awakened body, enveloping the island and mending the land — just like how she managed to heal Benjulle.

Unwilling to lose his one and only brother again, Yo-han attempts an exorcism on Chan-hee, but the lust demon is too strong. When Chan-hee regains a brief moment of clarity, it’s all he can do to beg his little brother to kill him and end his suffering — but Yo-han can’t bear the thought of killing his brother with his own hands.

Yo-han pleads with Mi-ho to save Chan-hee, just like how she managed to rescue Soo-ryun from Benjulle. Motivated by her sympathy for Yo-han, and her desire to awaken her powers, Mi-ho courageously (or is that recklessly?) decides to give it a try.Mi-ho takes Chan-hee’s hand, channeling healing intent towards him… and then he transforms into a lust demon and breaks free of his bonds. Yo-han shields Mi-ho, but even as Chan-hee’s claws plunge into his brother, it no longer registers in his demon-controlled mind.

Yet again, Ban arrives to save the day. But he’s clearly less powerful than before, and Chan-hee even manages to get several hits in, eventually tossing him aside. Chan-hee advances upon a terrified Mi-ho, mere seconds away from ripping her liver out — and then a blade stabs him clean through from behind. It’s Yo-han’s sword.

The demon subsides, and Chan-hee plaintively explains that he just wanted the pain to go away. Goong-tan had promised it would, if he took Mi-ho’s liver for himself. Heartbroken, Yo-han bids his brother an anguished farewell, chanting a prayer as Ban destroys the demon with his dagger.Elsewhere, Goong-tan enters his evil lair, where a horde of followers await his return. And amongst them… is Yeom-ji?! Who calls him Uncle?! Ohmygod. Ohmygod. I suspected that she’d have a bigger role to play, given her close ties to Granny Geum, but I didn’t expect her to have nefarious intentions. This definitely casts her introduction of Benjulle to Soo-ryun in a whole different light. Next episode coming very soon so stay tuned.