The thread is now open for spoilers, rants and raves.
Gifs from ahsung’s tumblr
Just think about this: the drama showed us this kind of couple-y scenes yet the couple isn’t ending up together?? Wow! The troll level of the show is —
Let’s enjoy the show!
Hello I seldom to join here 😊😊
Seeing the preview for tonight’s episode many youngsters viewers will swooning for sure where NaHeeDo honestly express how she feel before BY. And of course everyone will have same reaction as Yijin does🤣🤣
Thanks @pkml3… I’m in it for the sweet feels but show has not become annoying in over-hiding the plain ‘truth’ ie, we were allowed to play along with clues. We know that Min Chae does not recognise Yi Jin so he’s not in their lives in the last 5-6 years at least (since MC was 6 or 7 years old?).
And we know from the song ‘Twenty-five, Twenty-one’ that the couple did not end up continuing for long together from that age, although they had a connection. It didn’t deceive us. We know from the synopsis, that the OTP fell in love (or probably confirmed it) at that age, but that does not mean that the couple who does, will still be together decades later. For that we might look hopefully at Yoo Rim and Jin Woong.
What show has set us up for, however, is the possibility that if HD was free and available and if YJ was similarly unattached and not restricted by his job or other considerations, that they might have a sweet reunion in their latter years, and might decide to stick together then (with Min Chae’s and Grandma Shin’s blessings?).
The romance may take a long hiatus, but does not necessarily end at 25 or 21. 😉
First, however, we need to know the status of Hee Do’s marriage. If she’s still married to another man, then no matter how romantic a reunion with YJ may be, they’ll only be jingus.
Episode 9 – A lovely odd numbered episode. These odd numbered ones will have the sweet stuff, the even numbered ones end with bigger cliff hangers. Still, ep 9’s ending is a ‘wowsie’.
I really enjoyed this episode. More truth is outed and the wrongs of the last episodes were righted in more than one relationship.
It becomes clear that YJ should not stay on in the sports department, but I’m glad he was there to protect the girls.
YJ still tends to treat the girls as kids. Maybe that’s just about to change, since they are already 19, after all.
Looks like we’re up for the fun group trip episode tomorrow. The one we were waiting for! 🙂
Hello @Goofysean nice to see you here in this thread!
@GB,
I also have the same feeling with you. The next key is Heedo’s marriage status. I haven’t analyzed the song of 2521 yet, but since the beginning I convinced myself to not set up any expectation regarding their relationship. Yes their reunion is one that I expect in the final episodes, as long as They’re both single and available. Haha..
I am seeing this drama as the youth genre.. I just think about this recently, that youth life was really complex. We experienced many things as a transition from children age into adult age. There are a little bit of romance, a little bit of rivalry, a little bit of dreams, a little bit of confusing mind, a little bit of anxiety, a little bit of friendship, etc.. all of them are mixed into the stories of “the journey to grow up”.
Anyway, I kinda miss Minchae appearance.. haha I wanna know whether she will continue ballet after what Mommy Heedo said to her..
To add the lovely rainbow scene.. that made me smile from ear to ear.. I also cried during this 9th episode. When Yurim mom hugged Heedo. When Injeolmi finally said who she was to heedo. Aahhh it makes me miss my bestfriends seeing them today. Since Covid19 I haven’t met them for that long. We used to hang out for long hours at a cafe or visiting each other house. Spend time talking eating and having fun.. 🥺🥺🥺
And lovely beach scene.. Here we come!!!
Anneyong!
I just finished watching Episode 9.
It was a nice episode for reconcilation. It was fun watching Hee Do trying to understand how she feels about Back Yi Jin.
But I was more happy with Yi Jin’s answer. I am really glad that Back Yi Jin knew from the beginning, what he feels about Hee Do. I am glad that he told her in that bridge. Under that rainbow. (it gave me Start Up vibes btw).
Hopefully, we are going to find out why they didn’t end up together.
I read somewhere that someone’s theory is that: Yi Jin died and Hee Do’s mother meant that she “saw” him in the cemetary. I don’t know if that information is valid, but it can be possible scenario. If that is the case. Could Min Chae be his child?
@GB Unnie, I think that if you have such a connection with someone, you can still find him / her in the future, if that is the case. Not all relationships are ending in bad terms. Sometimes circumstances makes you fall apart, but you keep the love and memories inside you intact.
The thing is that adult Hee Do talked to her mom with sweetness about Yi Jin when she saw that old photo. That means YiJin still has a special place in her heart. It doesn’t matter if they are not living together or they are not talking due to other issues.
We are not in a point to know what really happened in the past and we just speculating, that’s why we are frustrated.
Ep9 – I was ROFL so much on the first 5 mins with 2nd hand embarrassment for Heedo! “I have to have you”, I heard is a manhwa-speak. Even YJ can’t help but laugh. Good move on his part to tell HD that he is not Injeolmi . I happy that HD and YR are finally friends. Love the hug of YR’s mom to HD which serves as closure for the bad stuff associated with that Asian Games and gold medal. YR has the best parents despite their financial situation.
Theme that resonated with me for this episode is taking responsibility. YJ mentioned this several times during the documentary especially during the fencing mishap and argument with his senior. YR took responsibility for telling HD the truth and apologizing. Even Mom Shin also got positive points here when she gave HD’s medal to her albeit talking through the wall.
HD also honestly admitted her confused feeling to YJ.
And the end of the episode, YJ took responsibility of his feeling too. Since HD was honest to him, he reciprocates the same openness. At first I thought, no, not yet! You are not 25/21 yet. But I agree with @Cleo. He is older, he knows what he should be feeling and I’m glad it will not just hit him in the head when he turns 25. But I doubt he will act on it given HD’s age and confused state. I trust YJ that he will do the right thing.
Tomorrow, beach we come!!! Happy weekend everyone!
Hi All! Hope you enjoyed the episode as much as I did. Love ep9 and how the story is unfolding. Excited for the beach ep tomorrow. Makes me want to go to the beach as well (it’s summer season here in the Philippines). Hope they close the weekend on a positive note.
I find the new bffs a little awkward and cringey (YJ — “is this a blind date?” LOL!). Or maybe I need to get used to seeing HD and YR not fighting anymore.
@Cleo: Agree about everything you said esp the Startup vibes — sportscar to the rainbow.
@Diane @Cleo – yes to Start Up vibes!! Seems like the writer is paying homage to NJH’s previous role. But I’m liking YJ more than our Dosan – he did not get caught in a web of lies.
@Janey, I like what you wrote about responsibility and how we are made to reflect upon it. I really disliked the producer, but it’s the sort of thing that would have been popular. Again, where were the coaches or someone responsible from the school or parents, and why weren’t they involved in the scripts? There could have been all sorts of issues to do with safety.
I also flinched when YJ told HR his term for the relationship: Love. Perhaps he will explain himself. Remember, he used the term with others as well – we know that from the cassette tape with Da-Eun. Also, there are many kinds of love.
@Diane says that the new bffs are awkward. I think it’s just because the situation is so fresh for both of them. I’m looking forward to the beach scene.
I’m so relieved that the mother didn’t completely flip out and kick YJ out of the house. She must like him more than she lets on or she would have told him to get lost. YJ yelling at HR to respect her mother was both surprising (loud voice!) and funny because he had to stage whisper to her why he did it, which completely ruined the effect.
I think that the mother is right now about keeping it quiet at work, that HR is her daughter. This protects both her and Ha-ri. I wonder how a news team can’t figure it out somehow; isn’t an athlete’s background be available to the media if asked? As well, her mother showed up at school and was recognised as a TV personality. I think the mother-daughter link would have spread through the school.
Hi @Goofysean, welcome to this thread.
@Fern Thanks for bringing up the thoughts that flickered as I did a quick watch.
‘Reality holes‘
Yes, why is it that once again, the kids are suddenly surrounded by cameras and the UBS crew without any warning? Surely they should have been briefed and their consent gotten (forms signed, terms agreed upon) before starting even the trial shoot. It seems that it was only after that that YJ got permissions from the school … so strange.
And why was there no Coach at all? These are national athletes, still representing the Federation. Even if Coach Yang was not available, there should have been the self-aggrandising male Coach present to witness and protect the athletes… who are actually still minors since they are still in school!!!
In these areas, the Writer has been remiss. To get the story going in the direction that Writer-nim wants, a lot of big ‘reality holes‘ (reverse of plot holes) are gaping.
@moonstar @Cleo @Fern *Hugs over our separation from friends* I did manage to see a friend here and there, but it’s not the same since we keep groups small and even some meetings, short.
Love?
We need to hear what YJ says about his ‘love’ for HD. I can’t say he’s wrong. I agree that there’s many types of love. (Yes I love the trope that a confession gets given amidst stars or rainbows or falling petals or fireworks LOL)
When they had concern for each other, they definitely had some form of love. It was a sunbae-hoobae kind of care when YJ saved HD from the night club, a comradeship kind of regard when they had their fountain happy time, a friendship kind of love that became sorta romantic when YJ learnt fencing from HD, a mutual support attachment and concern kind of love when they were apart but leaving a message for each other.
While I liked that this episode concentrated on the 1999 events, I wondered what happened with Min Chae as well. Perhaps there will be more photos of the gang in tonight’s episode for Min Chae to look at.
Secret Relationship
Yes, we know why HD and mother both keep their relationship under wraps. It affects both of them when people know. It’s true that it is also beyond belief that no one in the news station or UBS has found out by now that HD is Shin’s daughter. Another ‘reality hole’.
Now YJ needs to keep the secret too. And in the same way, he needs to keep secret his relationship with Yoo Rim. The rules should be the same. His suspected prejudices in favour of either athelete will destroy the value of his reporting. Anchor Shin says YJ should stop covering sports. I tend to agree. In the same way, Coach Yang’s advice to HD to keep a distance from YJ is good advice. Their relationship once known by the public, will do no one any favours.
@Janey @Diane
Yes, it’s such a relief that YR has finally chosen to be her better self, and to acknowledge that she was nasty as YR when she had promised to be a good friend as Injeolmi. I didn’t think her apologies went far enough, but I love that HD was such a big hearted person that she didn’t demand her pound of flesh. She even took YR’s side when accusing poor YJ of lying to her. His main lie was that he was bringing a yellow rose to an interview LOL.
I like what you say about the episode being about taking responsibility. That included acknowledging the reality of the other (I too loved YR’s mother’s healing hug), owning up to faults, and revealing much needed-to-be-heard truths (Mum Shin didn’t have the guts to face HD, but at least she told her that she believed in HD’s win). That was a great ‘lesson’ this episode… that offering the right emotions can repay a debt.
The mutual affection between the girls cancelled out the debts they owed each other. Now we want to see what YJ’s love offering covers.
It was a lovely, healing episode, and much needed after the angst of last week!
I am beginning to get anxious about the ending. It looks like YJ and HD are not together in 2022. What happened to cause this? I can only think of two possibilities: either a huge betrayal or YJ is dead. I sincerely hope that is not the case, but I feel the need to prepare psychologically…
Thanks for the analyses and thoughts, it’s really great to read your comments! The confession with a rainbow background scene surprised me, too. I thought it was too early for YJ to declare his feelings to HD but he’s always been an open book to HD. He does not like lying to her. I agree though that even though he let HD know of his feelings, I think he will not act on it and they will not date (yet). But it’s enough that HD knows, that it’s clear for HD. So HD can stop worrying and being confused.
Even though the confession with a background backdrop was a trope, it was a truly memorable scene for me. Hee Do describes their relationship as a rainbow.
HD: Wait. For you, you said it wasn’t a rainbow. You still haven’t said what it was if not a rainbow.
YJ: (Pauses and gives a little sigh) It’s love. I love you, Hee Do. I don’t need a rainbow.
YJ only sees HD. The rainbow backdrop may have made the confession scene pretty but YJ would have declared his love for HD when HD asked him at her house.
And as packmule3 said, with these couple scenes, how could they not end up together? I’m hopeful they will though. YJ could actually be his husband and father of Min Chae. But then, I might be getting trolled!
Looking forward to the group’s beach trip on episode 10!
^I meant YJ could actually be HD’s (not his) husband and father of Min Chae. LOL
@LaurazZZz,
😂 If YJ turns out to be a MinChae’s dad then:
a. the conversation in Ep 4 between Minchae and Grandma is one big ginormous plot hole.
C’mon now. Think for a second here. 🙂 If Baek YiJin was Minchae’s father, why did she ask Granny who YiJin was. She didn’t know her dad???!!!!
Is that possible in real life?
Also, Grandma pointed out the faces, and she said, “This is Baek YiJin.”
She didn’t say, “Why? Honey child, don’t you recognize your dad?!”
b. the conversation with Heedo and mom is a plot hole, too. Why would her mom bring up that she “met” YiJin recently? Heedo’s non-reaction was in itself a reaction.
If they were married, she should have said something like “Where?” or “I know! He told me that you met each other at the…blah blah blah.”
If they were divorced or separated however, then her reaction was appropriate. She didn’t want to talk about it.
It would make sense that her mom switched topics and began talking about Yurim. The mom sensed that Heedo was touchy about her saying that she met YiJin recently.
Didn’t you read what I wrote on Ep 4? I already wrote about this. 🙂
Let’s not get carried away now with our wishful thinking. We can interpret the events anyway we wish as long as we stick within the parameters set by the story. 🙂
It’s annoying enough that I’m getting silly theories from lurkers trying to join the blog.
@Snow Flower,
I checked Ep 4.
Heedo’s mom said, “I met Jin-i last month.”
She used the word “mannasseo” from the verb “mannada” meaning to see, to meet, to encounter.
I doubt she used the word as a euphemism for “I visited him at the graveyard last month.” 🙂 It’s out of character of her, given that she was a reporter and ingrained journalistic standards would have required her to use the right word. Visiting YiJin at his gravesite is vastly different from meeting him at some place.
YiJin is alive.
Not sure about a betrayal, though. That’s makjang territory but it’s known to happen in kdramas.
Maybe they just fell out of love. That’s known to happen, too.
But even if they’re not together in 2022, they can be together sometime in the future. Like in 2032. 2042. 2052.
Coincidentally, there’s this real-life drama happening to some Taiwanese actress named Barbie Hsu. She divorced her Chinese husband of 10 years (she has two kids with him) three months ago. And she’s getting married to some Korean DJ who was her ex-boyfriend before she married this Chinese bloke. 😂😂
The DJ contacted her after hearing of her divorce and they decided renewed their romance via zoom or something. They haven’t met nor talked to each in years.
Just google the bizarre romance.
@pkml3, do you have time to scan all your emails of people trying to join BOD? That’s a lot of work. Would the emails number in the 10s or in the 100s?
@packmule3 I actually missed that post on episode 4. I read that post and went back to watch that scene with Min Chae and the grandma in the episode and reality kicks in. I really should pay more attention to the other scenes, not just HD and YJ’s. Thank you @packmule3!
The beginning of episode 9 was both so awkward and funny. Poor YJ, trying to make the most of the situation. He came up with a solution: The rose is to bring to an interview, to not arrive empty-handed. Hee-do believes him that it’s a coincidence, although the usually truthful YJ’s eyes are sliding around desperately and he coughs a bit as though the lie stuck in his throat. Then the icy water of reality hits HD and she asks, “Then what did I say just now?”
The literal YJ answers: “Just now? You said you had to have me and I wondered how?”
HD screams “Be quiet!” and also shoves her rose at him before running off.
Literal YJ says, “I was speaking quietly, though. Darn.” He is left holding both roses, one from each girl. He saved one girl’s pride but couldn’t save the other’s. Possible foreshadowing?
There was no music until HD’s reality hit. Then there was a light theme and a little ‘ding’ like a triangle or bell when she realised. I’m not a musician, so can’t describe what makes the music signal funny, but it helped. The whole scene was well timed and scored.
Some Episode 9 nice to remember conversations broken up in parts
Coach Yang decides to go to YR’s snack shop with the whole fencing team to give them business.
Coach Yang : “The tougher things are, the busier you need to be. You need to laugh in order to forget more quickly. And you need to forget in order to survive.”
These words sound like the same stuff HD had said to YJ before. It’s the writer’s voice once again. Are we to infer that when HD said about the same thing to YJ, that she was repeating Coach Yang’s words?
Healing Touch and Words
Coach Yang and team enter YR’s mum’s store. HD is hesitant and not very willing to enter, since she ‘stole’ the gold from YR and she didn’t know how YR’s parents felt about her.
I like that when YR’s mum saw HD, she acknowledged who she was at once, took off her apron (so that she could approach her as YR’s mum and not as the restaurant owner, and also because she didn’t want to mess up HD’s clothes by hugging her with her apron on.)
YR’s Mum : “So you’re the one who beat my daughter and took the gold medal.”
(She gives HD a long look and takes her into a warm embrace, patting her back.)
“You must have been through a lot, Hee Do-yah. They said such terrible things. Those nasty jerks.”
She stands back and strokes HD’s hair : “It must have been hard for you.”
Then she takes HD’s hand and pats it comfortingly : “You were scared, weren’t you? Is it a little better now?”
HD : “Yes.”
YR’s Mum : “Oh my. You’re much prettier in person than on TV. … I’ll give you a big serving since you won a gold medal. Congratulations on the gold medal.” She strokes HD’s head again as YR looks on surprised, but not displeased.
Ryder 37 : “It’s so awkward chatting with you now that I know who you are.”
Injeolmi : “I know, but let’s be completely open and honest with each other as we have been. At least here.”
Ryder 37 : “Well, then I have something to tell you.”
Injeolmi : “What is it?”
Ryder 37 : “I wasn’t disappointed that you were Injeolmi.”
Injeolmi : “I also have something to tell you.”
Ryder 37 : “What is it?”
Injeolmi : “I’m really sorry about the Asian Games. I never imagined that would happen.”
Ryder 37 : “It’s okay. I understand. Yes it hurt a lot, but it healed a few days ago. when your mum hugged me, all of the hurt and sadness melted away. You mum comforted me. Something even my mum didn’t do. I’m really grateful.”
Cheesiness Again
We see that while HD managed to be ranked 320, YR is ranked 321 and Moon Ji Woong is last at 322.
Ji Woong in the height of cheesiness notes to YR that their names are the only ones on the big sheet of paper … isn’t it romantic LOL.
The Responsibility Theme and Was YJ Worried?
YJ has been unsuccessful in getting HD to stop avoiding him. He decides to take on the Asian Games Special which includes a documentary of YR and HD.
HD questions YJ about why he’s doing it : “For whose benefit? So that people can hate me again?” (YR looks thoughtful at this.)
YJ : “Don’t you have any faith in me? Why do you keep disappointing me?” (I thought this was a strange question from him. He is not her father or someone she should feel she needs to please and not disappoint. It could be tied to his thinking that she should take responsibility in some way.)
HD : “What?”
YJ : “What am I to you?” (Could it be this reaction is because she’d been avoiding him? He was the one to bring up their relationship first.)
YJ : “Have some faith. I know both of you more than most people. Once the documentary is completed, I’ll show it to you first. if you don’t like it, we won’t air it. I promise.”
YJ is looking mainly at HD all through this.
Later, HD and YJ are alone in the gym.
YJ : “Too bad you can’t avoid me now.”
HD sighs : “That’s not true.”
YJ : “Then why are you avoiding me?”
HD : “I don’t want to talk about it.”
YJ : “Tell me. I need to hear it. You’re avoiding me and ignoring all my calls and messages. Am I suppose to just take it without knowing why? Have you thought about how I’d feel?”
HD : “I was humiliated, that was why.”
YJ : “About what? What you said that day/you confession? You only said that because you mistook me for Injeolmi, who I am not. So what’s the problem? It wasn’t about me anyway.”
HD : “Yes, it was. It was half about you. If Injeolmi had been someone else, I wouldn’t have said something that idiotic. It was because it was you that I said that. That’s why it was half about you.”
YJ : “So? What was your plan? Were you planning to avoid me forever? Hoping we’d drift apart like this? What do you think of our relationship?” (This is the second time he’s asking a similar question. Before this he asked her what he was to her. It is obviously something that matters to him. It was also a point of concern with him that they’d drift apart.)
HD : “What do you think it is? Because of you, I’m so confused. I’m jealous of you. No. I like you. But I have an inferiority complex toward you. What does that sound like to you? You don’t know, do you? I don’t either. But I ended up saying I had to have you. I must have lost my freaking mind. I want to crawl into a hole and die. My mind’s completely blank! I like being sure about things, but everything is unclear when I think about you. That’s why right now, I really hate you.”
She turns to the wall and rests her forehead on it in embarrassment.
YJ, while feeling discomfited : “Seriously. You’re so honest. What the heck?” He mirrors her in resting his forehead on the door, but he laughs. (He’s perhaps relieved that she said she liked him in that whole spate of words.)
HD : “You’re laughing? Why are you laughing when my head’s about to explode from worrying?
YJ turns to look at her, still with head against the door : “Fine. You go on worrying.” He reaches over and palms her head with one hand, like it’s a ball he’s squeezing.
YJ : “I’m done worrying about it. Not like I ever started, but still. Gosh.”
(He had been much bothered by her avoidance, he’d messaged her and called her, he had wanted to know what she thought of their relationship, so in actual fact, I’m guessing he had worried.)
Rainbow Relationship Responsibility
HD offers YJ the use of her house phone. At the end of the call, she stands awkwardly looking at him.
YJ : “Do you hate me again? Are you jealous? What is it?”
HD : “Damn it.”
YJ smiles and gets up off the floor.
YJ : “Did you worry about it some more? About our relationship, I mean.
HD : “There’s no word that summarises it. A word that describes our relationship doesn’t exist yet. Acquaintance. Friends, Lovers. None of the words that people have invented apply. But I thought about it, and only you and I know what our relationship is. So we can figure it out. Although there’s no word to describe it, we can just make one up ourselves.”
YJ : “Make up a word?”
HD : “Yes. For example our relationship is a phone. It’s a cup. It’s a scissors. Or it’s a cloud, a rainbow …we can just make it up.”
YJ looks earnestly at her : “I like rainbow.”
HD : “Darn it. I like scissors.”
YJ : “Don’t avoid me like that again. I won’t forgive you.”
HD : “I guess you hated it.”
YJ : “The word ‘hate’ doesn’t begin to describe it. You helped me get back on my feet numerous times. You should take responsibility.” (So once again, the responsibility theme pops up with YJ. Is he saying that she’s come to mean so much to him, so it will be irresponsible of her to avoid or ghost him?)
They stand just looking at each other silently.
YJ moves to leave but HD hangs on to his arm.
HD : “What about you? You said you didn’t worry about what our relationship was. What’s your answer?”
YJ after a long silence : “It’s not a rainbow.”
He removes her hand from gripping his arm but holds on to her wrist.
YJ with a long look : “Hee Do, …” And before he can say any more, Mum Shin comes in.
Funny
Mum Shin hears that YJ and HD got to know each other when YJ broke their statue. HD assured her that he’d compensated with Full House LOL. He offers to pay back properly but Mum Shin is more concerned if YJ is dating HD.
HD : “Mum!”
YJ : “No, I’m not.”
Mum Shin : “Then what is it?”
HD : “A rainbow, okay?” LOLOL
Mum Shin : “What?”
HD : “It’s not what you think Mum.”
Mum Shin : “What do I think?”
HD : “Your thoughts are always in the gutter.”
(Heheheheh! But the rainbow is in the sky and not gutter-like at all.)
YJ has a whole series of expressions flitting over his face and while he shouts at HD : “Hey! How dare you talk to her that way?”
HD : “What. Did you just yell at …Are you taking my mother’s side?”
YJ continues with the pained and funny expressions.
He shakes his head and says softly to HD : “My professional life and my private life are in conflict right now. Please understand.” LOLOL.
Another day, YJ watches the girls at practice and is stunned to see them overly concerned about each other and super pal-ly. When YR falls backwards HD rushes over to ask if she’s ok, if she can stand up and how’s her butt LOL. It’s YJ who loses his balance while listening to them and lands on his butt, but the girls don’t notice.
Romantic Reverse Trope with a Twist
YJ and HD are in the car.
YJ : “I’m sorry. I should have been with you.”
HD : “You’re with me now. You always were and are now. In the end, you’re always with me.”
They stop over a bridge to look at a big rainbow. She gets him to look at the rainbow and gazes at him : “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
(This is a reverse trope with a twist, because although it’s the girl who says it to the guy [instead of the other way around] she really is saying the rainbow is pretty and not him.)
YJ : “You have a knack of leading me to a good place.”
HD : “What do you mean?”
YJ : “I ran over because it was you.”
HD : “Today? ”
YJ : “No. During the Asian Games. I ran to the airport to interview the referee. I thought about it, and I wouldn’t have gone if it wasn’t for you. But I should have gone for anyone. Because I’m a reporter. You made me do what was right for a reporter to do. You always lead me to do what’s right and to a good place.” (He’s admitting that what he’d said before was false. He wouldn’t have done what he did for HD for anyone else. She was special to him.)
HD : “That’s my definition of our relationship. Also known as rainbow.” (Show makes sure the rainbow is huge on the screen!)…
HD : “Wait. You said it wasn’t a rainbow. You still haven’t said what it was if not a rainbow.”
He looks over the water, nods his head and replies : “Love.”
HD is surprised.
YJ : “It’s love.”
He turns to look at her : “I love you, Na Hee Do. I don’t need a rainbow.”
He looks at her with a smile.
While we are gathering tropes and meta for Business Proposal it occurred to me that something that HD says in Episode 9 is meta.
HD is concerned about what is going to be filmed for the documentary.
YJ : “We’re filming a three-part documentary series on athletes who made an impression at the Asian Games. The two of you were selected for the first part.”
HD : “Why us?”
YJ : “There was drama surrounding your match.”
HD : “So what do you want to film in the documentary? The fact that we’re not close? Us ignoring each other? The way we treat each other like we don’t exist? ‘They’re like that even outside of competitions.’ You won’t ask us to pretend to be close, will you? We’re athletes, not actresses.” (LOL they are actresses acting like athletes)
@Growing Beautifully, the meta extends to that point where YJ asks the two now bffs why there are acting when they said they wouldn’t.
I think HD’s questions about the documentary show YJ that she doesn’t trust that he can take care of them. But he indicates that he will take responsibility to make sure they don’t come to harm. So I think it’s a trust issue as well as responsibility. I think that trust, or perceived betrayal of trust, and responsibility are repeated themes.
I’m so glad that Mum Shin spoke to HD, even through the shutters. I’m also glad that YJ didn’t perpetuate the misunderstanding about Injeolmi (I should have trusted his character) and that the YR and HD have broken through to the barrier to friendship.
I worry about YJ’s literal take on responses and transparency will be his undoing in some professional situations. We’ve already seen him at logger-heads with the producer of the segment, who is looking for a sensation-filled documentary. The ability to dissemble and to keep quiet about things can help create trust and a sense of reliability between co-workers although skilled diplomacy is better.
@packmule3, I didn’t catch that Mum Shin in the current time called him Jin-i, rather than Baek Yi Jin. Does that mean she had become familiar with him enough to habitually refer to him by his first name in a fond way?
@Fern That’s true. I didn’t think to include YR and HD ‘acting’ sweet towards each other.
I was just rewatching and noticed the trust thing too. I know YJ asked HD to trust him at least 2 times.
As for the betrayal of trust, HD blamed YJ for lying to her over bringing the yellow rose to an interview.
YJ does tend to be rather rigid and literal in his interpretation and responses. I guess it’s still a matter of having his rough edges smoothened over time before he learns how to be diplomatic.
I think he has an engineer/scientist type of mind. He might believe in universal truths and preferring things in black and white. That’s the way I mean that he is literal; he might respond to the words but not to the sense. At least not until he has had time to think it over. He seems very wise when it comes to moral issues.
I liked episode 9. It was funny and did not frustrate me. I especially loved the mom and gold medal moment and I think the actress did a good job conveying the awkwardness she felt trying to fill the role HD father usually had. It didn’t even bother me when her only motherly advice to HD was ‘get along’ and she didn’t go all dramatic threatening to keep them apart. The love confession…eh whatever. It didn’t bother me.
Episode 10- I’m bored. That could’ve been cut down by 30 min. Seungwon is and has been my favorite character. I giggled when he handed off the ginseng wine. Why do I feel like she will be coupled with Bhj? YR and JW bore me. Next episode looks like more of the same.
Wtf adult HD forgetting the beach trip. Not because I think it was so special but it was literally her only trip in high school, it just doesn’t make sense. Unless she got whacked on the head with the saber.
Also, I mentioned it on watch March page but want to say it here, I’m 12 episodes into Legally romance and it is a delight, esp once it gets to episode 2
Episode 10 – Our Seung Wan is not just smart but wily.
It was lovely seeing the kids have such a good time at the beach.
We get to see something of the dads, and find out a little bit about the family lives of the kids.
We also get an intriguing Min Chae with Mum Hee Do scene at the end. We end off with an indeterminate confusion of emotion and puzzlement.
I am only halfway through the comments but before I forget and before I watch episode 10, I wonder if we will see the peak of their r/s next week instead. Ep 11 & 12 would be more of the peak of their r/s before something bad happens in the last 4 episodes.
I have to say my favourite of this episode 9 was YuRim’s mother hugging HeeDo. It was the comfort HD really needed.
Now I’m saying it she was also comforted by the old seniors at the restaurant, her mum & the friendship with YR later on. I think the most powerful comfort was YR’s mum. She wasn’t biased towards her daughter and she could empathise with what HeeDo is going through. She is an awesome mum to have.
On the rainbow…
Do you remember the secret room with the rainbow too. I think rainbows mean hope and with this show I hope there is hope even till the end. When HD said YJ is a rainbow to her, it is like he brings hope to her.
I just finished watching Episode 10.
Although the episode was great the ending was weird. I agree with you @GB Unnie.
Also, I was thinking. In six episodes what are we going to see?
We do know that Back Yi Jin loves Na Hee Do. He loves her in a platonic way so far, since she is a minor. Hee Do tries to understand what she feels about him. She is not that sure. Although, she thought that he would kiss her in that scene.
The ending in the car though, gave us other vibes. She has forgotten some integral parts that made her happy in the past for some reason.
It is true that we don’t remember everything when we are getting older. We might have forgotten some details, but not remembering at all something that makes us happy, means that she voluntarily erased that memory, because it could pained her.
From what we got so far, I am not optimistic about their relationship and why they are not together now.
This tone we’ve got in the last minutes shows that she is…okay (?) with not being with Yi Jin.
Now, I will ask again: Is Back Yi Jin really alive? We get back to this after that cryptic sentence.
Nothing lasts forever adult Hee Do said. Yes we know that.
“Sometimes forever is just one second”, the White Rabbit answered to Alice.
What happened to their forever then?
I concur with the feeling of confusion from ep10’s epilogue. The beach trip is forgotten by HD. And another foreshadowing when she says to Minchae that forgetting/letting go of memories is not a bad thing.
I really hope we are not being trolled by the writer! Either YJ is dead or something really catastrophic happened between YJ and HD to separate that she consciously erased the significance of that summer. I hope it’s not some noble idiocy thing – I don’t think YJ’s character will do this, he will always want to talk it out and both are honest people. Or she had amnesia (yikes! Pls no!).
We get a group song by the cast called “With” and it played during the pink sunset at the beach. Those beach scenes are lovely. Can’t wait to go to one this April.
I agree @Byrdie the episode was lots of filler (although the beach scene was lovely) and the ending ambiguous. The theory I am nursing at the moment is that they end up being separated because of his job and his loyalty to his family. The issue of a reporter keeping their distance from the subject has been brought up repeatedly including by HD’s mom – why waste time saying so repeatedly if it is not significant later? Also, the struggles of his family is also a major theme that needs to be resolved at some point. I didn’t anticipate that more than half of this show would have the characters still in high school. Especially when the tile is 25/21. In HD’s old room at her mother’s house there were lots and lots of medals. At this point in the story I think she only has one or two – so there is a lot more fencing in her future. I also wonder if we will see her compete in the Olympics at some point.
Yeah I agree about the probability of MC being someone else’s daughter is higher given the dialogue and her responses to reading the diary. Even if YJ changed his surname later to Kim, the most natural response when you read an old diary of your mom’s when the name “Baek YiJin” pops up would be, “Huh? Why does this guy have the same given name as dad?”
As for what could’ve caused a rift so deep between YJ and HD? Initially I thought it was because he decided to pretend to be InJeolMi but that theory was blown out of the water. So potentially another possibility is something like what happened between lady Coach and HD’ mom. YJ did his “job” which resulted in some “scandal” which forced HD to leave fencing altogether? 🤔
I am okay about YJ and HD not ending up together. It’s reality yeah? But I would like to see reconciliation on the friendship front. That they sort out whatever drove them apart and acknowledge the importance they had in each other’s lives in the past. No to them reconciling as lovers if HD is still married to MC’s dad.
I like episode 10.. smiling from ear to ear for the beach scene. Finally yijin’s brother met his idol : DJ Seungwan. Just only recently I discussed with someone that Seungwan relatively had a limited screen time. But I’m glad that this episode revealed much about her. From her point of view of School = Prison, how that they also learn violence at School too. Not to mention the funny part when she prepared foods for Yijin 3days in a row to get him agree bringing them to the beach trip. Ahh also when Yijin asked her, why did she not join the heart to heart convo with the others. She said that she think her life is boring. It makes me a little worried here because she thinks deep about everything. People who thinks too deep sometimes feeling helpless because of the system that she wished to change (but she can’t). I just hope that she will be alright and she is growing up to be a great person.
We all think that the conversation between Mommy Heedo and Minchae in the car at the ending scene was kinda worrying. I might be the only one thinking about this but, for me our youth era stays forever. This is what I was thinking when attending my mom’s reunion with her friends at the college / high school. They could be aging enough to be someone who wise and mature but when they are regrouping with their highschool friends : they back being the kids again. They laugh they remembering their times. Even if 20-30s yrs has passed, they keep their happiest moment in their heart. So yes, it is intriguing why Heedo forget about that moment. As if she erased it completely. If it was to be her only trip during her highschool, she should have been keeping that memory dearly.
Also when she said that nothing lasts forever. Yes of course we know that nothing lasts forever. But since she named her workshop as twenty five twenty one, isn’t it one of the many ways of her efforts to eternelize that “special numbers”. And plus she said it with smile in the end. It is okay to be together forever.
I think that what she meant by okay is : It is okay that she wouldn’t end up together forever… since they have been happy together, they have experienced their irreplaceable feelings, they had their moment. So in the end, it is okay for her move on and not holding it forever. Maybe she feels that it was enough for her…
There was significant bullying and intimidation by superiors in episode 10. It was horrific that the teacher could beat a student instead of praising him for catching thieves. YJ was intimidated, shamed and goaded by the producer after YJ apologised for losing his temper. Ji-woong could talk to Seung-wan about it, but YJ couldn’t speak to anyone. Even his mentor couldn’t help him – he had suggested the apology. It felt that YJ was carrying the weight of not only his family but of other future workers on his shoulders. It’s too much. He spoke a bit to his father, but not in detail.
@birdie0007, I have thought as well that Seung-wan and YJ might be a good match. She has a very mature mind and an interesting perspective. She is concerned with injustice. She even has her own online radio programme that supports young students. I think he will end up greatly admiring her for more than her grades and her ability to bribe him.
I also hope that YJ deletes the scenes at the beach where he is in the camera shots and the recording of his conversation with HD as well. He had been warned not to get too close to those he interviews and I don’t trust the producer who might be looking for trouble.
The scenes set in the present tend to douse cold water to the warm and emotional scenes set in the past. The present HD acts and thinks so differently from the past HD that they are like different people.
What does the epilogue want to convey? Nothing lasts forever. Not even the memorable moments from your past that you thought would last forever will. So the show wants us to think that the love or affection HD and YJ had for each other might have been true and heartfelt when they were young but even those feelings fade? I guess many stories happen like this in real life. But the scenes are so conflicting I’m confused as to what message the show wants to communicate to the viewers.
@Laura zZZz yes, you’ve hit the nail on the head. It’s so strange that show wants to give us warm fuzzies of the past and then undo all that in the present time. I’m almost certain all of us will be happy to just remain in the past with the kids at age 25 and 21, if show does not change its trend.
But what bothers me most is the fact that HD’s workshop/shop has the sign 25-21 on it? If she was so adamant that the things of the past should be forgotten, why would she keep that sign as a trigger for those memories? Wouldn’t she rather just have nothing around her that would even give her a moment to remember those times? And why would her mother preserve her room like a time capsule? Unless HD decided that when she moved out, she literally didn’t want any of those mementos from her past, not her trophies, her diary, or photos. She literally just walked out of that life that she had and began a new one. And her mom just left her room untouched since.
Thanks @GB… I tend to not take seriously or skip through the scenes of the present (especially the ones with HeeDo) that I missed the telltale signs that YJ could not be MinChae’s dad or HeeDo’s husband. If @packmule3 did not call my attention to these, I would probably still be watching the next episodes with hope. I get that young love does not always work out and I’m fine with that. But the way the scenes of the present somewhat invalidate what HD and YJ once felt for each other confuses and frustrates me. 🙂
@nrllee @Laura zZZz
Yes, precisely. There are mixed messages and as @pkml3 says, one message may even contradict another. Why spend such a great amount of time on the past and build up our expectations, only to cancel it out with the present in a few, short minutes? Does HD want to remember or forget? Is the past precious or forgettable?
“Invalidate” is the right word. All that was sweet and hopeful, the good messages and feels…. will they be invalidated, is the question.
If the aim of the show is to confuse and frustrate its audience, it’s doing a good job. A new definition of ‘entertainment’???
@GB, @Laura zZZz, @nrllee,
I agree with you all. We have the past that is upbeat and optimistic and we get an adult Hee Do that doesn’t have any resemblance to her past self.
I get it up to a point. We are not the same people who we were younger. But I don’t see even a slight piece of her enthusiastic younger persona that made her overcome everything in the adult Hee Do.
It feels like she has surrendered to whatever her adulthood brought her in front of her and cannot do anything to get out!
If we got this right and they are not trolling us, that’s for me is a life where the adult HeeDo has lost her way.
What are they going to do? Bring adult Yi Jin to make her find her way back to Hope, Happiness, etc? *face palm*
@Cleo, what an idea!! You may actually have hit on the denouement. But yes, even I cringe at that thought. What happened to the positive girl who never let failure diminish her, who was able to offer great emotional support and comradeship to YR and YJ.
This is a new way for a show to make its viewers continue watching. It’s not offering us pure, happy entertainment, but disconcerting perplexity that bugs us into wanting to see the end. LOL.
@GB,
If that is the case then we are talking about Deus Ex Machina, but in the worst scenario ever!
I get that something bad happened. Where is her fighting spirit? I cannot feel it!
Bingo, @Laura zZZz!
Do you get now why I included the gifs of the Heedo and YiJin in their phone booths listening repeatedly to their messages and the trolls? 🙂
I wanted us to face the facts here. The writer was clear in those back-to-back episodes:
Ep 3: Injeolmi was Yurim
Ep 4: Minchae’s dad isn’t YiJin
Unless YiJin left her with a baby, and she married someone else to give the baby a name… Which somehow still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. It’s makjang.
So when I watch these lovey-dovey scenes, I’m not swept away by the romance but by horror: where did all those heartfelt feelings go? 🤪 So much “sturm und drang” and it was just brief fling?
And I told you all that there was something fishy by the way this director and writer toyed around with our feelings for Injeolmi. I explained how they deliberately connected the scenes so we would think that Injeolmi was YiJin.
And I didn’t like that “gotcha” move at all. It made them unreliable storytellers.
@packmule3, yes indeed. Now I’m wary of feeling all fluttery on HD and YJ’s scenes in future episodes. If the present HeeDo thinks these memories are forgettable, why would I as a viewer think otherwise?
It seems the show is trying to prolong the mystery of MinChae’s father that some parts of the story become inconsistent and all over the place. And yes some parts even tend to mislead viewers to think of a conclusion that’s contrary to the truth.
But as with @GB, I’d like to watch the series until the end if only for HD and YJ in their twenties (I think Kim Tae Ri and Nam Joo Hyuk are so good in their roles). And to see what could have happened or what could YJ have done to make the present HeeDo like that?
The way HD is in the present reminds me of someone I knew who had a stroke at a young age. According to some who knew, that person’s personality changed completely. When I met them, the person was not only mellow, but sort of exaggeratedly happy about almost everything. Please understand, I don’t think this happened to HD. Probably not even slight brain damage – but that is how I feel about HD as mother. She is too smilingly serene in the present time. I agree with @Cleopatra – where is her fighting spirit? I need to know what happened to her fire? It’s as though she is on particularly effective anti-depressants, or has had hypnosis therapy to deal with some traumatic past event.
The writer and director must have had a reason to hire the actress and give her this very modulated personality in the current time compared to in her youth. I hope we will get a good explanation.
I was wishing that we had a scene of current HD looking through her diaries and photo albums to refresh her memory. @nrllee mentioned the bedroom. Was this the reason her mother kept all of her things just as they were when HD left home? We’ve seen this in some K-dramas when a person has died, but HD is alive. Even if HD didn’t want any of her things, after a while the most personal things might be boxed up, stored and the room used as a guest room or office.
I can accept it if the supposedly OTP did not end up together and still have a show that makes sense. One of my favorite movies is LALA Land. For those who watched it, the ending for me was not super sad but just poignant. Teh there’s the montage of what-if some decisions and choices were different and what could have been the results in future/present. That ending stayed with me for days after watching the movie.
I just hope that after all the build up, this will not deflate and fizzle out to nothingness, not even a memory (ha! Ala Heedo!). Seems out of character for YJ and HD though. I get it that some first loves do not become happy endings and close people drift away. The times and some choices will throw curveballs in life like this. But I hope it’s cohesive and makes sense to us rather than a deliberate ploy to give twists. I will have to trust KTR and NJH’s choice for doing this drama and will keep watching on how everything will stack up in the end.
@GB blocking/erasing memories as a means to “invalidate” them (to bury them so as not to bring up past hurts) is a surefire way to the necessity for therapy in future. Our past (good or bad) is what’s forged us into who we are today. To deny that is to deny who we are. It often results in an identity crisis. That’s why therapists get us to dig into our past and rehash all those old hurts that we buried away which we decided NOT to deal with. You can deal with them ala Marie Kondo, but it’s not something that you can lock away in a cupboard and just pretend it doesn’t exist.
I am hoping that this is what the writer is trying to bring across. The fact that the past may hurt, but burying it away means you’ve thrown away the good with the bad? There are so many good things that happened in HD’s past. Friendships may have soured in the end but they were still great when things went well in the past? Cherishing the good but letting go of the bad (KonMari style 😂, Christians call it forgiveness) is the healthy way to approach it. I am hoping that HD realizes this. That’s the only reason why I want reconciliation for HD and YJ. Not so they can continue with some romance but so they can acknowledge that they were there for each other during that critical time. And it was a precious thing. Something to be thankful for. And then wish each other well for the rest of life’s journey.
@nrllee, great comments. I hope we’ll get an reason for the loss of HD’s memory of the trip and that there will be a good resolution. Sometimes, in a relationship, the bad bits outweigh the good and the relationship ends, but it doesn’t mean the good bits should be forgotten.
If Minchae wants answers, she should ask Grandma, not Mom. Or she should do her own research. I am curious about the other friends. The show does not tell us what their lives are like now.
So true @nrllee and @Fern.
I would like the Show does give us a message of hope by the end.
Hi All..
After reading all your comments, I’m starting to speculate the other possibility of why the adult heedo suddenly lost her precious memory about her friends.
If I’m not mistaken, I think I read in another thread that @Janey was concerned about why Minchae didn’t show a recognition about the other friends of her Mom. That was also concerning me!!
I have watched another show where a group of friends disband their gang and just like trying yo forget their friendship was because someone in that group has passed away. It was so hard for them to be together so they decided to just walk on their different paths afterwards. I know that there are many theories about Yijin’s death and since the very early episodes I already afraid of this, but I doubt that Yijin is dead since episode where Heedo’s mother said she met him last month. But what if it is not Yijin, but the other member of this squad. I really hope that the writer won’t use this scenario tho..
I also agree with @nrllee, I have the same reason regarding why I think there should be a story about Yijin and Heedo reconciliation in the present time. Because they have been there for each other. They have helped each other to go through their hardships. Now I don’t even wish that Yijin should end up with Heedo at all. I just want them to acknowledge that they hold a special place in their heart, in any way.
Not just forgetting about everything like what adult Heedo said in the car to minchae.
Yes, it was a bit frustrating.
Hey @moonstar512,
I was thinking the same. That someone else died and not Yi Jin. If that is the case, was it Ji Seung-Wan or Moon Ji-Woong? So far Mama Shin mentioned Yi Jin and Yu Rim. We haven’t heard anything about those two.
If that’s the case, it is also weird that the remaining squad lost in touch with the others. In these cases you stay close with the people who are left behind and not falling apart.
So, this approach by the Writernim is a weird take for me. If that is, indeed, the case.
I agree with @Fern above who said that adult HeeDo’s reactions show a person who takes anti-depressants. I cannot see her Fire at all.
I am frustrated by this turn. It has an ominous vibe when it shouldn’t…
“ I am frustrated by this turn. It has an ominous vibe when it shouldn’t”
@Cleo I know. It puts a huge damper on the happy scenes we’re seeing now because we’re holding out for that disappointment or tragedy to strike? So the audience can’t completely immerse themselves in the present moment because they are anticipating sadness round the corner? I am not keen on this approach to writing. At least with 39 you KNOW what to expect. That one of the leads dies. So you’re prepared. This approach to writing leaves the audience with a constant state of foreboding. And its not just for part of the drama, it started from Ep1. 🙄
Hey @nrllee!
Good to see you! I agree with you. We get an idolized optimistic youth period vs a ominous pessimistic adulthood. Yes, in some case that is the case, but you don’t want a drama to “hit you that hard” with it.
On the contrary with #39, I really like although it is sad.
It has an uplifting message. The plot is a reminder for the viewers that it is in our hands to change our lives and it doesn’t matter the age or decade we are.
Even when death approach you or someone who is dear for you:
You can quit a job you don’t like. You can find love when you least expect it and yes, even losing a dear someone from your life that you spent decades being with them. Loving them and being silly with them, believe you will grow old with each other in your lives.
That’s their HUGE difference, as you said.
In 39, I am prepared as a viewer and I can cry whenever I want to because it is too sad for me and I can laugh at the same time with the silly things I watch.
In 25-21, I am happy for the gang in the past, when in the present I don’t know what I should be feeling, because I don’t know what to expect.
@nrllee, @Cleo and other frustrated BODers,
Yes, the approach of interspersing the scenes of present HD with the nostalgic and emotional scenes of the past clearly does not work. It does make you hold out and not appreciate the scenes fully. I wish the writer and director had just put all those 2021 scenes in one episode (preferably the last). If that episode turns out to be a bummer, I could just imagine the drama ended on episode 15. LOL.
Hey Chingues! I finally started watching the show. I first want to say that Packmule’s comments on Yijin not being Minchae’s dad are spot on. He clearly isn’t a part of the family’s life. This is heartbreaking to me. I have never seen any of the other shows the writer has worked on, so I cannot judge how he/she usually works. I can say that I think, ultimately, Heedo and Yijin will reconnect somehow. I feel like what is the point of putting all of this energy and attention into a couple that won’t end up together? I also think the producers know that the fans will be very disappointed. Personally, I don’t mind them not being together. I have grown weary of the first-love trope in kdramas (e.g. The King’s Affection). I want the friends to reconnect more than anything. Also, what do the rest of you think of the side couples? Do you think there is potential between Seungwan and Jiwoong? As much as I love Yurim, I think Suengwan and Jiwoong would make a solid couple.
@whykay91, Seung-wan and Ji-woong getting together as a couple would be another bff becomes lover trope. I’m not against it, but I think that actually Seung-wan matches Yi-jin for intellect, interests and sense of morality. Not that I *want* that either.
What my puny romantic mind would like would be for HD and YJ to forgive each other for whatever happened and possibly get together – or not depending on the current circumstances and relationships. I would like to see HD’s passion for life reignited. She just seems to be smiling her way through, as though she had the Serenity Prayer engraved on the wall rather than 2521.
LOL @Fern! I guffawed on your serenity prayer comment. Thanks for the laugh.
I’m doing “Que sera sera” on this show for my peace of mind. I’ll take the pieces that I like and will junk whatever don’t make sense. I have the same wish, bring adult Heedo back to life! LOL!
@Janey, Me too. I’ll keep what I like and ignore the rest if that doesn’t spark any joy LOL. At least the 22, 18 and the 23, 19 gave us good times to ‘remember’.
I believe that YJ is being two-faced when he’s angry at HD for not responding to his phone calls, messages, or texts. He seems to forget, or have no empathy, for the shock and pain he caused HD when he suddenly disappeared from Seoul and went into electronic silence (throwing away his mobile phone) as he ran away from his father’s vengeful creditors. HeeDo was not part of the problem, but she paid a steep emotional price because of Yi Jin’s choices and actions. Yes, HeeDo has imposed an electronic blackout on Yi Jin because she’s embarrassed, but at least he can see she’s alive and well. He could have been more patient with her, giving her time and space to work through her discomfort rather than confronting her with his hurt feelings. He’s focusing more on himself than on her.
Writernim has had several characters spout lines about change and forgetting, revealing her worldview. Like @Packmule3, I take these lines as foreshadowing of HD and YJ’s relationship ending up in the dust heap of their youthful history. Yi Jin says in answer to a job interview question, “The only thing I believe that will be constant in this world is gravity. I don’t believe that anything stays the same forever. Because believing in something like that sets expectations for how things should turn out” (Episode 4). Coach Yang says, “You need to laugh in order to forget more quickly. And you need to forget in order to survive” (Ep. 9). Adult Hee Do says, “Nothing lasts forever. Everything is momentary [said with a sigh]. They all flow away. [Pause] And that’s not always a bad thing.” [She smiles after saying this, but her eyes look sad.] Okay, Writernim, you’ve warned us, but we can disagree with your taking the story line in the direction of sweet oblivion. Yes, in real life loving couples drift apart, but in this story you’re weaving you need to show us when, why, how, etc. or you’ve abdicated your role as storyteller.
YJ confesses to HD, calling his feelings for HeeDo love, although we’ve heard him be quick to use that word to describe his feelings for a high school flame. What does HeeDo call her feelings for Yi Jin? She previously said to him, “I’m so confused. I’m jealous of you. No. I like you. But I have an inferiority complex toward you…I like being sure about things but everything is unclear when I think about you. That why right now, I really hate you.” Later, through a lot of wordplay that I don’t think accurately reflects the mind of a confused teen (rather, is the romanticism of Writernim), HeeDo decides that the best word to describe her relationship with Yi Jin is rainbow. When describing their relationship to her mother, she uses this word. She uses the word again when talking to Yi Jin on the bridge. It could be she likes this word to describe their relationship because rainbows symbolize hope, promise, good luck, peace, new beginnings, a portal to another place. Yi Jin rejects this word, insisting his feeling for Hee Do is love.
What does Yi Jin mean when he uses the word love? The love modeled for him by his mother is infantile and obsessive for his father, and neglectful toward her sons. His father seems to care for his mother, but from a distance, having transferred responsibility for her onto her brother and cutting direct communication. I don’t think Yi Jin has a mature concept of healthy love between a man and woman, based on what he saw in his family. I also question YJ’s version of love since he laughs at, judges, and is dismissive of Hee Do when she’s emotionally transparent with him. For him to be able to do that consistently, he has to maintain a measure of emotional distance from Hee Do.
As for tropes, the ending of Episode 10 has our intrepid group sitting on the beach enjoying the sunset. We remember what sunset at the beach means in Kdramaland, don’t we? For couples, it means something bad is about to happen to split them apart. We have more than a couple in this sunset beach scene, but when you pair this with the earlier scene in present day when Halmeoni identifies the people in the photographs to Min Chae, to whom they appear strangers, it is clear something happened to make Hee Do break from all the friends she made when age 18-19. Seung Wan, Ji Woong, Yu Rim, and Yi Jin are not part of adult Hee Do’s life, nor has Hee Do talked about them to her daughter, Min Chae. I find this odd, since Kdramas generally place emphasis on relationships that develop during school years, friendships and first romances. I find it odd from personal experience, having heard my parents talk about key people and events of their early years. I find it odd, because while raising my children, I’ve introduced them to people from my youth. There isn’t a sharp division between my past and my present. That said, my parents didn’t maintain a museum of my past in their home, nor do I keep untouched the rooms of my grown girls in their childhood home (in which I still live). Writernim’s worldbuilding feels disjointed.
On another note: The producer of the documentary who wants to snag higher ratings by pitting HD and YR against each other, as soon as I saw him, his face bothered me. Instinct told me he was up to no good. I’ve now figured out why I had such a gut reaction to him: the actor who plays him also played one of the two thugs who kidnapped Ji Eun Tak in Goblin.