One my great (or dumb, depending on how this ends) theories is that the ghost stories are created as a plot device. They’re intended to explain an aspect of Manwol’s life or to give an insight into her “twisted” mindset.

Here are the key points.

The Mayor from Episode 1
“How can living things not knowing their own sins?”
“I was also crazy like him and I carried a sword around.”

The tiger from Episode 2
“He came here without a pack, without a mate, living alone to the end.”
“He is dead. They made him look alive like this”
“You don’t need to put anything meaningful here. Because everything he cherished is somewhere he cannot return to.”

The warrior ghost from Episode 2
“If you get attacked by those who hold deep grudges, you can get killed. Try to differentiate them.”

The student from Episode 3
“It’s the law that you have to pay for everything you have done.”
“She has become a real parasite…The student will have a hard time looking at her body every day. It’s sad.”

The old man and the dog from Episode 4
“Bark. You have to bark so you can live. If you stay here like that, you’ll die.”
The Viki subs got the pronouns wrong. The old man wanted the dog to leave him to die, and to save itself but the dog chose to die with its master.
“In these cases, it’s alright to open the door slightly.”
Let’s go together.”

My take-away: this can be a foreshadowing of the future of Manwol and Chansung. Ma Go had given them an opportunity to alter Manwol’s destiny.

The blind woman from Episode 4
“If she holds his hand, she can feel who it is.”
“If the ghost wanders around a long time, it’ll forget important things. Sometimes they only remember what they want to remember.”
“Important memories are mostly similar for all ghosts. The memories of when they die.”

My take-away: that she can sense by touch that Chansung isn’t the reincarnated Captain.

The wannabe-bride from Episode 5
“Letting go is more difficult than holding on.”

My two take-aways here are a) some relationships had to be let go, no matter how difficult it was, and b) Manwol had been a bride who wielded a sword, instead of a pair of scissor, to cut down somebody.

And now we have the King Ghost in Episode 6

The key here is the inspired performance/possessed performance wordplay.

We were given a preview of it in the Bellhop taking over the hands of the Student Yuna and playing the piano for her. She wasn’t a skilled player but the mean girls bullied her to play for them. The Bellhop then possessed her body —

and she gave an inspired performance. “Inspired” in the sense that it MOVED the students to leave her alone (lol) and “inspired” in the sense that it MOVED the Bellhop to remember a happy time with his little sister.

Now, the King Ghost’s story was more developed.

There was a minor older actor who was given his first main lead role to play the King. He died before he was able to perform in his drama so his spirit remained dressed in clothes of the king. We shall call him King Ghost.

There was also a popular young actor whose “acting was so terrible he’s been receiving tons of criticism.” I’ll call Wolverine, okay?

Because of this. lol.

Chansung came up with the idea of switching them. He thought that if the King Ghost had gone on the show, he would have given a truly inspired performance. Why not then possess or take over Wolverine’s body without Wolverine knowing it?

It was killing two birds with one stone. NO…actually killing FOUR birds.

a. The Ghost King would have resolved his grudge regarding missing out on the King’s role.
b. Hotel del Luna would have treated a guest like a king and send him off as a king.
c. Wolverine would be able to give an “inspired” performance as the king and salvage his reputation, albeit without his awareness.

and, thanks to Manwol’s negotiation of the actor’s fee (also called, “appearance fee”)

d. Hotel del Luna would remain solvent.

A note on the “appearance fee” wordplay. I thought it was brilliant, too.

Wolverine was paid the “appearance fee” but he turned it over to Manwol to thank and pay her for her “acting coach” services.

Initially, he wanted out of the drama because a) it was stressing for him because the director constantly found fault with him, and b) it was tanking his reputation. But when Manwol stepped in with the “possessed performance,” he became a changed man. As he said, “I suddenly acted like I was possessed. You know there’s something there right? It felt like I was possessed by someone else when I acted.”

lol. He didn’t know that he was speaking the literal truth.

Now, King Ghost should have been paid the “appearance fee” because he was the one doing all the work. But his face didn’t APPEAR onscreen so the term “appearance fee” was a misnomer. The King Ghost handed his “appearance fees” over to Manwol.

Now, Manwol had been plotting how to get money when she overheard Wolverine talk about his appearance fees. That time, she said, “Even if his face isn’t seen onscreen, he can get his acting fees.”

That statement had two meanings:  One, the actor Wolverine was paid even when he was dropped from the show. And two, Manwol could make Wolverine pay for the services of the invisible King Ghost.

Despite this whole business deal appearing shady, Chansung okay’ed of it. He told the Bellhop that although the King Ghost’s face wouldn’t show up, Manwol would gain something out of his acting.

In the end, the “appearance fee” was Manwol’s to take.

Okay, now I’ve given the background/context of the “inspired performance/possessed performance.”  What’s the connection to Manwol?

I think it goes like this:

Increasingly, the ghosts of Manwol’s past will appear to possess her present world. Once she sees, Chansung’s Ex, she’ll recognize the strong overlap between her old memories of the Captain and Princess, and her situation with Chansung and his Ex.

As it is, she’s already echoing the Captain’s words at the lakeshore when she told Chansung, at the beach, “I’m a little sad because the ocean looks more beautiful now than it did earlier.”  There’s a foreboding sense of déjà vu, as if the present feels familiar because she’s once experienced it.

Moreover, similar to the the King Ghost, the Captain’s face doesn’t have to appear on TV or Hotel del Luna or anywhere else, for Manwol to feel his presence. She can sense him by touch alone, remember? The Princess reappeared looking like Chansung’s Ex, but the Captain can already be living among their midst in somebody else’s body.

I think his scar should be recognizable.