There’s something so universal about the story that Celine Song managed to weave together as Past Lives has clearly won over the hearts and minds of people from all over the world. The film, starring Greta Lee and Teo Yoo, revolves around two deeply connected childhood friends that have to reconcile with the state of their lives and everything that could have been has been widely praised. Indeed, the emotionally intricate story that Song has managed to put together has some calling the film a modern Casablanca, and anyone who has seen the film would have a hard time disagreeing.

But what exactly went down in Past Lives? If you’ve seen the film and still have some questions, then we’ve got just the thing for you. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of the ending of Past Lives.

What Is In-Yun?
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To expand your understanding of what’s going on in the film and the ending, it’s important to know what in-yun is. Nora talks about the Korean belief of in-yun early in the film. The belief is based on Buddhism and rebirth. The idea of in-yun revolves around relationships between people. In-yun entails that everyone that is presently in a person’s life or anyone a person interacts with is there because of previous interactions in their past life.

Now, in-yun doesn’t necessarily have to be romantic. However, Nora does explain in the film that it’s believed that marriage is a result of multiple layers of in-yun — that the two people have interacted over a near-infinite number of lifetimes to the point that being together has become an inevitability. By keeping this belief in mind, you’ll be able to have a more complete understanding of what the film is trying to convey.

How Did Nora and Hae Sung Lose Touch with Each Other?
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Nora, then going by her Korean name Na Young, and Hae Sung grew up together in the city of Seoul. Na Young and Hae Sung seem as if they’ve always been close as the two used to do everything together. However, this all changes when Na Young’s mother informs everyone that they’ll be leaving South Korea and will be immigrating to Canada.

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This comes as a shock, but her parents opt to do so to ensure a better life for their children. While she’s sad that she has to move away, Na Young is childishly determined to win the Nobel Prize, and moving to Canada should help with that. Na Young grew up in Toronto, but she eventually moved to the United States to pursue higher education. Before immigrating once again, she opts to change her name to Nora.

How Do the Two Get Back in Touch?
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12 years have passed and Nora is on the phone with her mom randomly looking up people she used to know. When she looks up Hae Sung, she’s shocked to find out that he’s been looking for her online. It’s likely that he couldn’t find her considering that she changed her name when she started studying in the United States. Nora doesn’t hesitate to reach out to him on Facebook and sends him a message. The two reconnect and make up for lost time. So much so that they even started having regular video call sessions on Skype.

However, their closeness starts to become an issue for Nora as she begins to think about what they’re actually doing here. While the two of them may get along really well, it’s neither realistic nor practical for anything to happen. What follows is one of the most emotional scenes in the film, wherein Nora tells Hae Sung that it would be best if they stopped talking and gave each other some time. At the end of the day, Nora knows that she can’t upend her life and go to Korea, and Hae Sung can’t drop everything and visit her in New York.

How Does Nora End Up with Arthur?
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Neither Nora nor Hae Sung end up reaching out and the two drift apart once again. Nora eventually finds herself at a writer’s retreat in New York. While there, she meets the person who will eventually become the love of her life: Arthur Zaturansky. The two hit it off and ended up getting to know each other better. Eventually, they even get married and end up living together in their apartment in New York.

How Does Hae Sung’s Visit to New York Affect Nora?
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Hae Sung suddenly emails Nora informing her that he’ll just so happen to be in New York soon and that the two should meet up. It soon becomes clear to Nora that Hae Sung planned this entire trip just so he could see her. Despite this, Nora’s husband doesn’t get in the way and tells her that this is something she needs to do. He also adds that this will be a good thing for him too as it will help him confront his own self-doubts about their relationship.

Why Does Nora End Up Crying in the End?
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The final scene follows Nora, Arthur, and Hae Sung after their night out. Arthur ends up entering their apartment, leaving Nora and Hae Sung alone as they wait for the Uber to arrive. While it’s clear to the audience that there is something between them, something that might even be considered love, the two know that it simply can’t happen. Instead of acknowledging their feelings, the two stand there in silence as they wait for the car to arrive.

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As Hae Sung is about to leave, he tells Nora that maybe this lifetime is part of in-yun. What he’s essentially saying here is that while they may not be able to be together in this lifetime, hopefully, it’s what’ll lead to them being together in the next. Nora gets back home and proceeds to sob into Arthur’s arms. While it’s clear that Nora is happy where she is, coming face to face with what could have been is still a pretty harrowing emotional experience.

In a way, these two relationships represent Nora’s identity. Throughout the movie, she is both Na Young and Nora. Because she had to uproot her life and become a new person, she never really had time to process or grieve the death of her old life.