'Mystic Pop-up Bar' Episode 8 suggests either Gwi or Kang-bae is the reincarnation of the prince Weol-ju loved
'Mystic Pop-up Bar' Episode 8 starts with Kang-bae sporting a goofy smile all through working at the bar. Mr. Death, Gwi and Weol-ju find it strange that his reaction in the present is similar to when he had dreamt of having kissed Yeo-rin. The three of them continue to tease Kang-bae until he confesses that Yeo-rin did kiss him. However, his happiness doesn't last too long, because Yeo-rin ends up telling him that she isn't interested in him romantically.
She comes to the conclusion that she doesn't like Kang-bae because Kang-bae doesn't flee like the other guys who did so in the past. So she and her flatmate/best friend come to the conclusion that she probably didn't like Kang-bae and that is why he did not react similarly to the men in the past. So after Yeo-rin tells him that she isn't interested in him, Kang-bae is heartbroken. His self-esteem goes for a toss because he believes that she dumped him because he was a part-time employee with a dull future ahead. Yeo-rin also convinces herself that what happened with Kang-bae was a result of all her pent up lustful feelings and nothing else.
Meanwhile, Weol-ju and Gwi get addicted to a web novel that plays a dark twist on Romeo and Juliet. Just when they reach the last chapter of the story, they see an announcement that the author had passed away, which results in the novel coming to an end abruptly. Coincidentally, the author ends up attaching herself to the apartment that she lived in when she was alive, the same apartment that Kang-bae visits to check if he can rent it. As the side effects of traversing in an out of spirit world and the world of the living increase, Kang-bae is now able to hear and see spirits himself.
That is how the author becomes Weol-ju's next customer who gets a chance at settling her grudge. Her story is a heartbreaking love story that is rooted in misunderstanding which was never cleared when she was alive. In the process of clearing the air, Weol-ju relives moments from her past which reminds her that love is painful and the one thing that can alleviate this pain is understanding and trust from your companion. She remembers how she had fallen in love with the Crown Prince, how he had proposed his love to her and the tragedy that fell upon the both of them.
We also watch the guard who the Crown Prince believed was his best friend tell Weol-ju that the prince was going to marry a woman that his mother had chosen over her, which is probably what pushed Weol-ju further into the abyss resulting in her committing suicide after her mother gets killed by assassins. This same guard is the one following Weol-ju, Kang-bae and Gwi around as a ghost in the present and shockingly, episode 8 also revealed the fact that Mr. Death happens to be none other than this guard's father.
However, from the scene that we saw of the prince kneeling in front of the tree with bloodied hands holding a sword, promising Weol-ju that she will be taken care of in her next life by him unlike the present one, it looks like this guard is the one who betrayed both the prince and Weol-ju.
The episode also portrays interesting similarities between the prince, Gwi and Kang-bae. Considering that the guard is also following them because one of them happens to be the reincarnation of the prince, makes us wonder what would happen to Weol-ju at the end of her punishment. Will she learn that Kang-bae is the prince and be gifted with a chance at another life or will she learn that Gwi was the prince leading the two to leave the world of living peacefully?
'Mystic Pop-up Bar' originally airs in South Korea on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9.30 pm KST on JTBC and can be streamed on Netflix in the US.