Episode 5 of "Heavenly Ever After" kicks off with an intriguing scenario on Earth, where a notorious mobster cleverly exploits legal loopholes to escape justice despite his guilty verdict for murder. The narrative swiftly transitions to Nak-jun, who finds himself on Earth and encounters an undercover agent from hell, diligently compiling incriminating evidence against a sinful individual.
Later, Nak-jun visits the funeral parlor of a deceased heaven-dweller, an individual whose altar bears no photograph, owing to his reclusive lifestyle and aversion to being captured on film. With the invaluable assistance of the president in heaven, Nak-jun secures a snapshot and places it on the altar—revealing that this man was, in fact, the mobster's unfortunate victim.
While at the funeral home, Nak-jun witnesses the hell agent stealthily extracting the souls of young parents and their toddler daughter. On a bustling subway, the parents are abruptly swallowed into the depths of hell, yet their daughter inexplicably remains behind. Swiftly, she earns a direct pass to heaven, her pure soul earning her expedited entry into the celestial realm.
Elsewhere, Hae-suk finds herself in a church, where the pastor implores her to return by noon the following day. After indulging in idle gossip about him, Hae-suk acquires another grape berry as a result. It transpires that the pastor's earnest request stems from a poignant desire: to relive the taste of sujebi (hand-pulled noodles), a dish he yearned for but never experienced beyond the age of five when he passed away.
Hae-suk painstakingly prepares noodles for him, and through this endeavor, we are privy to the pastor's profound resentment harbored against his parents for abandoning him in his tender youth. Subsequently, Hae-suk attempts to procure a bottle of water for Som-I using her well-earned karma points, but the vending machine responds coldly with "insufficient balance." Frustrated and distressed, she resorts to a fit of pique, contemplating vandalism against the unyielding machine.
Just at that fateful moment, another grape berry plummets from the heavens, the sky transforms into a kaleidoscope of hues, and a ominous tram from the depths of hell arrives, engulfing Hae-suk in its sinister embrace. Nak-jun, who arrives on the scene just in the nick of time to witness this harrowing spectacle, hastily rushes to the president, imploring him for assistance. However, the president delivers a grim pronouncement, informing him that intervention is beyond his reach, as Hae-suk has placed herself in a perilous limbo between heaven and hell, thereby forfeiting the valuable opportunity bestowed upon her.
Jjajang, who overhears this exchange, resolves to descend into the depths of hell. Alongside his loyal friends, they employ their charms to persuade the pastor to embark on this perilous journey with them. The pastor, now acutely aware of Hae-suk's plight and consumed by regret for his cold demeanor towards her when she sought to alleviate his burden of resentment, ultimately relents and agrees to their proposition.
In the depths of hell, Hae-suk unexpectedly encounters the genuine Young-ae amidst the fiery landscape and comes face to face with the King of Hell, a grim counterpart to the benevolent President of Heaven. The King solemnly informs the tormented souls of their imminent and relentless punishment for their sins.
We are then swept through a mesmerizing array of hellish realms: the Boiling Cauldron Hell, once reserved for thieves but now turned into a molten metal prison for murderers, where souls writhe in agony. There lies the Tongue-Pulling Hell, a realm where the tongues of liars and deceivers are extracted, stretching further with each grave lie told in life. The freezing, icy expanse of the Hell of Blisters awaits killers, robbers, and rapists, its chill matching the coldness of their hearts. The Crushing Hell, a place where adulterers are squeezed between towering mountains, symbolizing the weight of their betrayal. The Screaming Hell, a blazing inferno where those who inflicted physical pain through alcohol and violence must traverse burning paths, their screams echoing eternally. Lastly, the Scorching Hell, a fiery pit reserved for deceivers such as corrupt politicians and religious manipulators, whose deceitful actions now scorch their flesh.
After witnessing these brutal and relentless punishments, Hae-suk is branded as "unclassified" and ushered into a secluded chamber alongside Young-ae. Meanwhile, Nak-jun is haunted by the fate of Hae-suk, his mind tormented by the harrowing visions. Hae-suk and Young-ae are informed that being "unclassified" suggests they may not be fully deceased, have experienced a brush with death, or are somehow ineligible for the definitive confines of hell. Their ultimate fate hinges on a comprehensive tour of hell's horrors and a meticulous weighing of their sins.
As the unclassified souls embark on their guided tour, agents of Hell orchestrate a dramatic intervention, blowing up the mobster's vehicle at the very moment he was poised to perpetrate further murders. His life extinguished, he is summarily condemned to the harshest punishment in Hell. Concurrently, Nak-jun, accompanied by Jjajang, disembarks at an eerie subway station labeled 'Hell,' with Jjajang eagerly trailing behind. A sinister Hell agent, after securing Nak-jun's reluctant consent and warning him of the perilous nature of the tour, grants him permission to explore the infernal realms. Nak-jun vows steadfastly that he will not depart until he has located his beloved wife.
Throughout the tour, Hae-suk and Young-ae bear witness to the multifarious circles of Hell, where they uncover a harrowing tale: the parents of a young toddler, having forced her to perish alongside them against her will, now endure their eternal damnation. Jjajang encounters his former, abusive master enduring his just deserts in Hell, a poignant reminder of past horrors. Furthermore, a chilling 'new hell' is unveiled, specifically designed for cyberbullies and digital abusers, highlighting the modern-day sinister facets of humanity's darkness.
Ultimately, the unclassified souls are led to a colossal weighing scale, the arbitrator of their eternal fate. Should their sins tip the scales below 50, they may ascend to the heavens; otherwise, they are condemned to eternal damnation in Hell. Hae-suk nervously steps onto the scale, but the verdict remains shrouded in mystery.
In a climactic confrontation, Nak-jun confronts the King of Hell and strikes a fateful bargain: if Nak-jun dares to traverse every corner of Hell, the king will restore his wife to him. The episode concludes with Nak-jun boldly plunging into the blazing abyss of Hell, setting the stage for a heart-wrenching and narratively charged journey in the episodes to come.
