First, I’m going to treat this kdrama as a coming-of-age story rather than a typical romcom.

Since my focus is on how the heroine Na Heedo navigates her passage into adulthood, I won’t be dragged into speculating about the father of her daughter. I’ll allow the writer and director to keep the identity a secret while dropping the occasional Easter egg, like this signboard that I told you.

That said, I hope they’re aware that this baby’s daddy/husband mystery game is a stale plot device. The Reply series popularized this storyline ten years ago (i.e., “Reply 1997” was televised in 2012) and veteran kdrama viewers like me have become jaded.

I do find it jarring however that the three women in Na Heedo’s family don’t share a last name. Her mother is named Shin JaeKyung, and her daughter is Kim MinChae. It’s unfortunate that they don’t have the same surname to spotlight their close biological relationship and the mothers’ role as head of the household.

Second, in kdramas, we designate the secondary male/female characters as the opponent of the hero or heroine primarily because they’re competing for the affections of the same person. However, in this romcom, I think the definition of “opponent” is a little bit more nuanced.

For instance, the young Na Heedo wrote in her diary that she looked forward to Saturdays because that’s when she went to see “that kid.” That kid turned out to be her rival in fencing, and not her ex-boyfriend, as her daughter predicted.

I go every Saturday to see that kid. That’s why I wake up early on Saturdays, and I become impatient. Saturday. The only day of the week when I can see that kid. The thing I look forward to after Saturdays is Full House. The world is a mess right now because of stupid IMF. People must be losing something. But it has nothing to do with me. It’s adult stuff. I’m just 18. Too young to lose anything. The stuff I have can’t be lost. For example, my dream and admiration. And her, my dream and admiration. She is gifted. She’s incredible and my dream is to become her rival.

Heedo’s goal was to be Go Yurim’s rival.

In this sense, her definition of a rival wasn’t at all antagonistic or adversarial. On the contrary, a rival in Heedo’s vocabulary was someone she worshiped and admired. She wanted to emulate Yurim because she was inspired by her success. That’s what rival means to Heedo.

To me, this hints at a possibility that Yurim will turn out to be a “fake” opponent. For now, she and Heedo may seem to be at war with each other as they compete for Baek YiRin’s affections, and the gold medal in fencing. But in the long run, they can become close allies.

I prefer this novel approach in romcoms. Too often, writers pit one woman against another or portray the “other woman” in a love triangle as a necessary evil. But the time has come to rethink the secondary female lead as an instrument for good.

Through her encounters with Yurim, Heedo can learn humility and empathy. As she is now in these Episodes 1 & 2, I don’t see her as a paragon of virtue. She’s a little self-absorbed, a little reckless, a little cocky, and a little shallow. As Yurim exposes her faults, Heedo will be forced to deal with them and grow up. We’re so accustomed to seeing the hero as an agent of change for the heroine, so why not her “opponent”?

Already we saw Heedo’s character development in Episode 2 after her successful fencing match against Yurim.

Coach: Heedo, how does it feel to defeat Yurim?
HD: It was just a practice match. A single win doesn’t mean I am better than her.
Coach: Just a practice match? Stop being modest. Come on. Be honest.
HD: I’m happy I won. But do you have to ask in front of everyone?

Heedo made a good point. She didn’t want Yurim to feel even worse than she already did for losing to an upstart like her. She showed empathy because Yurim was her idol, not her enemy.

Personally, I thought this team session was unnecessary. For one, the coach clearly wanted to make this to become a “teachable moment” for all when somebody — that is, Yurim — was in distress. The coach could have done this sort of team meeting with older athletes, but not with teenagers whose egos are fragile, and who are vulnerable to public dressing-down or shaming.

For another, I don’t subscribe to this zero-sum mindset where one person’s win is the other person’s loss especially in an afterschool club that’s supposed to foster team spirit.

lol. Do you see me questioning the writer/director’s message? It’s good to be critical of the mindset we watch in kdramas.

Coach: Yes. This is what makes sports exciting. The winner and loser are in the same room. You should enjoy this moment fully, and feel the full despair of it too. (looking at YR) That way you can move on too. Heedo, did you study YuRim’s skills?
HD: I didn’t study for the match. I was familiar because I’m a fan.

After that, Heedo spoke to Yurim one-on-one in the locker room. I thought Heedo showed more tact than their coach.

Heedo: I know you don’t like me talking to you, but let me say how I feel. It was my first match against a gold medalist. It was an honor.
Yurim: Why do you like me?
Heedo: Your footwork is quick, and you use delicate tactics. You skillfully control the distance and can read spaces. Your fencing is rhythmic and graceful as if you’re dancing. And you always win. Does this answer things?

Heedo made a good point here. Her answers showed that she wasn’t “fangirling” Yurim for silly things (e.g., her pretty face, her skinny body, her clothes) but for her mastery of the technical aspects of the sports.

Yurim: No, you’re wrong. Do you know why you like me? You’ll have to accept you’re not that good if you want to hate me. I guess it’s easier to like me than to face reality.

This remark is mean-spirited. In her opinion, Heedo’s hero-worship is just a coping mechanism, that is, Heedo pretends to idolize Yurim because it isn’t social acceptable to admit that she envies Yurim. Actually, Yurim’s comment reveals more about her than Heedo. She thinks it’s impossible for rivals to admire each other.

Heedo corrected her.

Heedo: Hey, don’t be ridiculous. What do you know about my feelings for you? Stop the nonsense and take care of your ankle. I know you were playing safe because of that.

Despite Yurim’s attack on her, Heedo remained magnanimous. When the Coach later talked with her, she again took the high road.

Coach: You defeated Yurim so here are your belongings.
HD: Thanks.
Coach: Great job, Heedo.
HD: As you said, I won because I know her skills. It happened once by chance.
Coach: By chance? Hey. Stop looking down on Yurim. No one has ever won against Yurim by chance. Not even internationally. Who do you think you are to say you’ve won by chance?

Seriously, I’d hate to have this coach for my kids. She spouts contradictory life lessons when kids most need consistency, and then she expects the kids to unravel her paradoxical aphorisms. Didn’t she play the coin game with Heedo to send a message that winning depends on luck because athletes’ skill levels are mostly on par with each other at the competition level?

See the mixed messages? She shouldn’t be surprised that Heedo downplayed her win as accidental.

HD: What I mean is—
Coach: Don’t belittle your achievement. Or I’ll kick you out. I can’t stand that kind of attitude.
HD: Yes, Coach Yang.
Coach: You’ve defeated a perfect player. That means you were more perfect in at least one way. What do you think that was?
HD: I’m not sure.
Coach: You’re strength. (giving her a thumbs up) Continue to eat well, okay?

Huh? What balderdash is “more perfect”? Ugh! 🤦‍♀️ I’m keeping my eye on this coach because I question her wisdom. Just like there’s an “unreliable narrator” in fiction, she’s an unreliable coach.

Third, Injeolmi.

This chatroom friendship between Heedo’s Ryder37 and the anonymous “Injeolmi” reminds me of Nam Joo Hyuk’s 2020 drama “Start-Up.”

In “Start-Up,” a young girl named Dalmi exchanged letters with a boy named Dosan. She didn’t know that Dosan was a pseudonym randomly chosen by a teenager who was coerced by her grandma to write to her. She never met Dosan until she grew up and met the real-life Dosan. Her fantasies about Dosan then crumbled and she had to start all over again with the real Dosan.

The reason Heedo’s online friendship with “Injeolmi” reminds me of “Start-Up” is because both writer and director are TRYING TOO HARD to make me believe that Injeomi is Baek YiJin.

In the same way that Dalmi was deceived by people around her, I feel like I’m being deceived that Injeomi = YiJin.

I’ll give three examples of this hoax.

a. After Heedo learned that her fencing club was shut down due to lack of funding, she wrote to Injeolmi.

Heedo/Ryder37: The times. Was it the times that crushed my dreams?
Injeolmi: What will you do now? Will you give up?
Heedo/Ryder37: No. I will never give up. But I don’t know what to do.
Injeolmi: If your world is gone, go to her world.

As Heedo read the words, Baek YiJin was filmed on his bike, entering a tunnel. This imagery suggested a wish-fulfillment. Injeolmi was heeding his own advice and crossing over to Heedo’s world as YiJin.

There! He literally entered her world.

Do you see what I mean? The director blatantly connected InJeolmi’s words with YiJin’s actions with the seamless transition, and I find his method rather dubious.

b. On the night YiJin rescued her from the nightclub, she wrote to Injeolmi about her problem with her mother. This gave the impression that she continued her dialogue with YiJin when she got home and chatted with Injeolmi online.

She had wailed about her fencing club woes to YiJin outside the nightclub. She confessed her hare-brained scheme to transfer out of her school by getting caught in delinquency acts. She was expecting sympathy but all she got was a stern lecture from him.

Heedo: What’s so great about the times that it can crush my dream?
YiJin: The time can easily take away your dream. Not just your dream. It can take away your money and even your family. Sometimes, it takes all three at once. I didn’t ruin your plan today. It failed because it was a bad plan. Come up with a new plan.

He walked away.

Heedo: (muttering) Annoying prick.
YiJin: (turning around) I owe you something, right?

To be honest, I didn’t get his sudden change of heart here. One moment, he was stalking off in frustration with her. Then in the next, he was doing an about-face and appeasing her. I thought the director could have done better by showing us YiJin’s facial expression as he walked away.

But I like that he didn’t leave her behind to fend for herself. To console her, he brought her to the comics rental shop, and gave her the new issue of Full House. When he brought up the topic of fencing again, both of them had calmed down.

YiJin: Protecting your dream…through your plan was wrong…you had the right idea. I always think only about what I’ve lost. But you think about what you can gain. I want to try that too.
Heedo: Did your family really go bankrupt?
YiJin: Yes. Completely bankrupt.
Heedo: It’s okay to go bankrupt when you’re young. It’s better than going bankrupt when you’re almost 60. (laughing)
YiJin: That’s my dad.
Heedo: (awkwardly) What I mean is—

Her thought process is rather slow. Did she really think that YiJin became bankrupt all on his own? Of course, his father, the breadwinner of the family, was the one who became bankrupt. This scene is a good indicator of Heedo’s living in a bubble. She’s wholly absorbed in her own world that she doesn’t see others.

YiJin: That’s why I can’t ask my parents for help. But I’m sure you have people who can help you. That’s a special right you only have at your age, so enjoy it. It’d be a waste to blow it.

Heedo: You’re right.
YiJin: Who’s your favorite character in Full House?
Heedo: Ryder. The male lead.

Oh I see now. Her screenname, Ryder97, was derived from a popular comic book character.

YiJin: People always like rich people.
Heedo: I like him because he’s cute. I’m going to go home and enjoy his good looks. Bye.
YiJin: Wait. What’s your name? I need to log it
Heedo: Heedo. Na Heedo. What about you then? I’m just asking since it’s etiquette to ask back.
YiJin: Baek YiJin.
Heedo: I’ll cancel my request for no newspapers.

That night, she chatted online with Injeolmi about one particular person who could definitely help her: her mom.

Heedo: I had the guts to get into trouble, but not the guts to talk to my mom. My mom may be the biggest obstacle for me.
Injeolmi: What town do you live in? Never mind. We agreed not to ask things like that.
Heedo: I really want to know about you at times too. Where you live, what you look like, and what you dream of.
Injeolmi: If we learn about each other, we won’t be this open and honest.
Heedo: That’s true.

This is what I mean about the director creating a false impression. I’m sure Heedo regularly chats online with Injeolmi but the sequence of events encouraged the viewers to think that this mysterious Injeolmi was YiJin. That’s because director implied a causal link between the two.

First in one scene, YiJin advised Heedo to seek help as her “special right” as a minor. Then in the next scene, Heedo confided in Injeolmi that her speaking to her mom terrified her.

To me, the director was reinforcing the idea that YiJin was Injeolmi.

c. Last, the director used an editing technique called a “match cut” to link Injeolmi to YiJin. In a match cut, the director focuses the camera on one object (e.g., an apple) in the first scene, then he MATCHES it to a similar object (e.g., a sliced apple) found in the second scene. With this visual focus on similar objects, the viewers mentally connect the two scenes together.

Let’s view that scene when Heedo complained to Injeolmi that Yurim was giving her the cold shoulder at school.

Heedo: I realize I would only be able to look her in the face during bouts. I think I was closer to her when I watched her from afar. I felt a little sorry for myself for admiring her so much.
Injeolmi: Do you want to meet up? I know we promised to keep our personal info a secret, but I want to be there for you in person.
Heedo: Do you think our relationship will change if we meet in person.
Injeolmi: I think so. We’ll like each other even more than now.

Here’s the match cut.

Heedo’s computer.

YiJin’s computer.

Not only that.

The camera also matches his and her smiles as they look at the computer.

The camera first spotlights Heedo sitting in front of the computer with a big smile on her face.

Then it switches to a a close-up of finger turning off the computer. It’s YiJin’s finger.

Then the camera shows us Yijin with a smile on his face too as he turns his computer off.

Then he stands up excitedly to pick out a suit from his wardrobe. He tries it on.

The following day, he meets Heedo at her math academy.

Do you see the two match cuts?

With this kind of film editing, the director was intentionally pushing the viewers to visually connect Injeomi and YiJin. It was Injeolmi who suggested meeting up with Heedo, but it was YiJin who encountered Heedo at the math academy.

To me, these three scenes:

a. “enter his/her world” scene – which shows a smooth transition

b. “special privilege of teenagers” scene – which shows a causal link

c. “let’s meet up” scene – which shows a visual matching

were all set up by the director to connect Injeolmi and YiJin in the audience’s mind. We’re supposed to assume that the two are the same person.

But I sense a “feint” here. In fencing, a “feint” is a “fake attack” intended to misinform the opponent. A feint forces the opponent to defend herself one way, when the attack is really coming from someplace else.

That’s how I view these Injeolmi scenes. I sense a deception from this director. And for that reason, I can’t accept anything I see at face value.

Personally, I don’t think Injeolmi is YiJin. For one, I doubt Heedo has time to spend online with all his parttime jobs, much less arrange to meet an online acquaintance for real. For another, he has strict rules about dating.

“High schoolers should date other high schoolers. Grown-ups should date other grown-ups.” If he was in fact Injeolmi, he should be able to tell based on the problems that Heedo is sharing online (e.g., school problems, parental problems, and unrequited love) that she’s a confused adolescent who needs a lot of growing up to do.

Fourth, fencing.

Watching kdramas about sports (e.g., badminton in “Racket Boys” and baduk in “Reply 1988”), I learned to view sports, not only as a setting for the story, but also as a) an allegory of life and b) a metaphor of the characters themselves.

For instance, in these first two episodes, we get a lot of quotes on life from the viewpoint of sports. I’ll list a few more that I haven’t mentioned in the dialogues above.

From Episode 1:

Adult Heedo: Just show them how much you love ballet. Don’t think about doing well.
Daughter Minchae: How can I not think about that? I’m here to win.
Adult Heedo: Winning doesn’t matter.
Daughter Minchae: That’s unconvincing coming from you.

Adult Heedo: Did you just give up? How could you give up without even trying?
Daughter Minchae: I’ve already lost. You saw Choi Yunseo. I can’t win anyway.
Adult Heedo: So what if you don’t win? What happens if you don’t? Is it meaningless if you don’t win?

Heedo: Why should I quit fencing? I’ve fenced all my life? This is my everything! How could you tell me to stop?
Mom: Why do you fence? To prove you’re not talented? Don’t cling onto something you’re not good at and study again.
Heedo: I’m talented in fencing. That was why I started this. I’m in a slump now, but I can get past it. And I don’t need anything else. I just like fencing.
Mom: How can you like something you don’t do well in?

I like that Heedo’s primary motivation to fence is her love for the sports. I also like that she didn’t hate on herself or feel depressed when she wasn’t winning her matches. She just kept at it because she believed in herself when not even her mother did.

From Episode 2:

Coach: Do you know who fencers find to be the trickiest opponent? High school athletes like yourselves. Since there’s no information, they have zero clue who they will go up against. That is one of the reasons you won the gold medal in the last games. And because of the same reason, Heedo won today. Heedo knows everything about you, but you know nothing about her. This is why I forced you to a bout with a newcomer. Listen, Go Yurim, your matches will only get more difficult from now on. Why? Because everyone knows your moves. And athletes like Heedo who you know nothing will line up. So work hard.

There were other non-sports related quotes too, like:

“Live as an anchor who leads by example for society. You don’t do that for your family anyway.”
“It’s an unstated rule that you leave a paper, even if people say not to.”
“Is it okay for the peeing boy to be unable to pee if it’s a fake? Everyone has the right to pee!”
“I didn’t crush your dreams. The times did.”
“I should have run if I wanted to get caught.”
“Because when people do something bad, the imagination of adults and the imagination of minors are worlds apart.”
“Good water pressure leads to happiness.”
“The times took everything from you. You can’t give up on happiness.”

As for fencing being a metaphor of the characters, I get why Heedo fits the sabre better than the other fencing weapons, namely, the foil and epee. You see, compared to the other two, the sabre requires aggressive and quick action/reaction. With the sabre, the mindset is “to attack first, and ask questions later.”

And that’s how I perceive Heedo’s style of solving her problems. She attacks first, and asks questions later. On her own, she decided to transfer school by compulsory transfer.

First, she decided to assault a classmate. But her victim was more concerned about injuring her athlete’s body than starting a fight with her. So she went for Plan B: gang assault.

When her Plan B ended up as a demonstration of her fencing skills to a group of amazed students, she escalated to Plan C: underage clubbing. She wanted to be arrested as a minor drinking in a club. It was a good thing that YiJin was there to get her out of there.

Only after all her three attempts to transfer schools failed did she ask the question: what should she do to continue fencing?

To me, this whole exercise in transferring schools displayed Heedo’s instinct to “attack first, ask questions later.” Her personality fits her sports because in sabre, the person who attacks first is important.

Why?

Because the first person to attack gets priority or “right-of-way.”

There are a few rules in fencing about scoring. For instance, with foil and epee, the fencer can only score by hitting the opponent with the tip of the sword. These two weapons are for thrusting, with the epee being the heavier and stiffer sword of the two.

In comparison, in sabre, the fencer can use his sword to thrust AND cut. Heedo can score a point with either just the tip (just like in foil and epee) or the whole blade. Her target is anywhere above the waist of the opponent, including the head.

Moreover, in sabre and the foil, there’s the “right-of-way” rule. That rule says that when both opponents hit (or touch) each other, the fencer who gets the point is the one who’s attacking. The attacking fencer gets the priority over the defending fencer; she has the “right-of-way.”

Hence, quick action/reaction and timing are very important in sabre. It’s inculcated in Heedo to take immediate, almost instinctive, action. If she stops too long to reflect on her next move, she’ll miss the opponent charging at her.

To explain this concept of “right of way” in context of our drama, let’s take a look at the Full House comic books.

In Episode 1, Heedo dropped by the rental store on Saturday to reserve her copy of Full House #11 to be released that Wednesday. This move established her priority as a valued customer.

By the way, don’t you think it’s interesting that she didn’t notice YiJin? Her world was confined to fencing and Full House. Good-looking guys were invisible to her.

But then she found out on Wednesday that the books were all out. She was upset because she called first dibs on the book. She had “right-of-way,” but YiJin didn’t honor it.

Heedo: You didn’t save one for me? Didn’t your boss tell you? I’m a VIP. I’ve spent so much money here. I don’t have to wait my turn.

See that? She insisted that she had priority.

Another example of this “right-of-way” was in Episode 2 when Heedo saw YiJin with Yurim after school. She walked away because Yurim had priority.

He spotted her first, and he knew that she would get the wrong idea.

He knew he had to go to her but couldn’t leave YuRim’s side right away.

Do you see how the saber’s principle of “right-of-way” is applied in our drama? Initially, Yurim had “right-of-way” because she was with YiJin first, and Heedo respected that by walking away.

But after Yurim’s moment with Yijin, he went looking for Heedo.

I like the composition of this shot.

He found her at the bus stop and sat down beside her. She slid away from him.

Look: when she put that distance between them, she was letting him about HER feelings. She was expecting him to focus on HER feelings. But he didn’t bite. Instead, he turned the tables on her and forced her to consider HIS feelings. I thought this was a good move.

YiJin: This is the second time you’re avoiding me. That hurts.
Heedo: (ignoring him)
YiJin: Did you hear what I just said? I’m hurt.
Heedo: I didn’t know you knew Yurim. You suddenly feel so distant.
YiJin: So is this your way of expressing the distance you feel?

Then by cajoling her, he managed to get her in a good mood without explaining about his relationship with Yurim.

On the bus ride, she started again about Yurim. She was curious about their relationship. This is her way of confirming that Yurim didn’t have “priority” over YiJin.

Her questions were on point.

Heedo: How do you know Yurim? Are you two dating?
YiJin: High schoolers should date other high schoolers. Grown-ups should date other grown-ups.
Heedo: Then why was she in tears? I thought you made her cry.
YiJin: Well, I did.
Heedo: I’ve never seen her cry before. She didn’t cry even when she won the gold medal.
YiJin: She often gets teary-eyed. She has a lot to cry about. But she couldn’t cry because she had no shoulder to cry on.
Heedo: What? Are you saying she cries only in front of you?
YiJin: That’s right. Unlike someone I know. You cry even in the middle of a street.

Normally, I would say that this was bad form of him to bring up an embarrassing moment for her. He should’ve pretended that it didn’t happen.

But I think he just wanted to get this off his chest. At first, he was upset with her because she left him hanging. He didn’t know why she was in tears and he felt helpless. But later that night, he realized that she was in hysterics over something so trivial.

With Yurim, he was able to avoid her.

Yurim said that she’d told him everything, “I whined about how hard it was to become a national athlete. I told you how lonely I felt at Taereung NTC, and how much pressure I was under when preparing for the games. I also told you how upset I was because of my ankle.”

He ghosted her because he was having problems of his own. “I’m sorry. It was difficult for me. I was also scared and afraid. I still am.”

As for Heedo, her crying made such a big impression on him that he had to bring it up again. Her problems were so ridiculous compared to Yurim’s that he couldn’t help poking fun at her.

I was laughing, too. This moment was well-acted.

Heedo: Darn in. That was so humiliating.
YiJin: That’s what I like about you. You don’t hide your tears.

In other words, YiJin was telling her that Yurim had no priority over her. Heedo has the “right-of-way”

So yes, I see fencing as a both an allegory and a metaphor in this romcom. I’m sure in the next episodes, there’ll be more parallels between fencing and the relationship of Heedo and YiJin. I’ll be looking for them.

Fifth, YiJin.

Do I really need to preach to the choir?

By now, we all know the kind of hero that Nam Joo Hyuk likes to portray in his kdramas. He plays that solid, staid, reliable character, full of honesty and integrity. It worked for him in “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo,” “Bride of Habaek,” “The School Nurse Files,” and “Start-Up.” I hope he doesn’t disappoint me and turn into a jerk in this drama. lol.

Let me look for gifs from tumblr.

From raincyle’s tumblr:

Hahaha. More flexing!! 🙂

From orangesyellow’s tumblr

Of course, this tunnel scene have several interpretations.

For me, it means that they finally met in “their” world. It’s a wish-fulfillment.

The view of the tunnel is appropriate because a tunnel is an underground passage; it can allude to a hidden world for refuge. And that’s what Heedo created for the two of them: a secret world to pass their time when they’re in need of a bit of happiness.

Gifs from jooohyuk’s tumblr

Also, this last scene of Episode 2 comes full circle to the opening scene of YiJin in Episode 1.

I’m relieved that this whole scene of him emerging from the tunnel isn’t just a glamor shot or gratuitous eye candy. lol.

These two tunnel scenes form a matching set.

When viewed together, these tunnel scenes tell me that, while he’ll help guide Heedo through her turbulent years with his wisdom and maturity, Heedo too will help him survive his own turbulent years with her joie de vivre. Although the title of the drama underscores their four-year age difference, I think the central message of the story is how to live in the present moment: wisely like YiJin, but boldly and passionately like Heedo.

That’s it. Let me watch Episodes 3 and 4 this weekend. 🙂