Two things:
1. I get it that there are many theories circulating about Heedo’s and YiJin’s future, and I thank the lurkers for suggesting them. However, these theories are immediately disqualified if the following dialogues aren’t taken into consideration when forming these theories.
From Episode 4
a. Grandma and Minchae looking through the album
Grandma: Look at how young Back YiJin is.
Minchae: Grandma. Tell me who is Yijin?
Grandma: (naming the faces) Yurim-i. Jiwoong-i. Songwan-i. Your mom. And he’s YiJin-i.
Minchae: Ah. So that’s Baek YiJin.
Grandma: That’s right. Do you know him?
Minchae: Me? No. I don’t know him.
It’s simply NOT possible that Minchae is YiJin’s daughter. You’d think a daughter would recognize the face of her father as a teenager. Plus, Grandma didn’t expect Minchae to know of him.
b. Heedo and her Mom looking at the picture
Heedo: When was this? We all look so young.
Mom: At that time, I thought YiJin looked pretty mature. But now that I look at this, he was just a kid.
Heedo: (smiling) He was only 22 back then.
Mom: I met him last month.
Heedo: (looks at her)
Mom: (sighing) I can’t believe how much time has passed. (then switching topic) I see you’re here eating with Yurim. Were you two close back then?
Heedo: (smiling) No. This was when I absolutely hated her.
YiJin is alive. Heedo’s mom just met him last month.
From Episode 7
c. Minchae’s gift from her dad
Heedo: It’s from Dad. Open it.
Minchae: (seeing ballet dress) Didn’t you tell him that I quit ballet?
Heedo: You tell him.
Minchae: When is he coming back?
Heedo: He’ll have to quarantine for two weeks and again when he goes back. He can’t come. He’ll lose a month.
Minchae: Pffft. He doesn’t know what I’m into now. How disappointing.
Heedo: Why are you disappointed? I didn’t even have a dad at your age.
This tells us that a) Minchae’s dad is still alive but he isn’t YiJin, and b) Heedo isn’t married to YiJin. If Heedo’s mom met him a month ago, then he wasn’t in quarantine a month ago.
I won’t entertain the adoption theory so please don’t write to me anymore about it.
What’s this adoption theory? I’ve been told of two possibilities.
First option: YiJin was adopted. He changed his last name to his mother’s maiden name (Kim) hence Minchae is named Kim, instead of Baek.
According to this theory, this explained why YiJin’s father had put a company in his younger brother’s name instead of him (Ep 5 at 36:43) and why his father said that he was his greatest consolation ten years ago, (Ep 10 at 15:23).
This theory doesn’t hold water due to Minchae’s inability to recognize her YiJin in the line-up…errr… photograph. Minchae has the last name Kim for the simple reason that her father is Mr. Kim.
Second option: Minchae was adopted. Her father’s a Kim, but Heedo and YiJin adopted her as a baby.
No, I’m sorry. That still doesn’t explain why Minchae didn’t recognize YiJin in the picture.
To be honest, I disagree with the use of the “adoption” trope to explain away the relationship. I believe the writer employed it in her previous drama, and to exploit it again in this drama indicates lazy writing.
2. A plot twist is inevitable.
In 1998, Heedo met YiJin. That YiJin fell in love with her is not in dispute. We saw him confess to her. But did Heedo fall in love with him? Or was she just carried with “the times”? So far, I haven’t seen visible proof that Heedo had fallen for him.
If we follow the normal trajectory of these kdramas, then Heedo and YiJin should have ended happily together. The fact that they didn’t, indicates that they had a falling-out. Their love (or YiJin’s love) wasn’t timeless after all.
Their falling-out is the plot twist.
To me, the adult Heedo isn’t comfortable talking about their YiJin. Notice her reaction when her mom told her that she met YiJin recently. Her mom was giving her an opening to talk about YiJin, but she didn’t take it. She just pointedly looked at her.
Then, the adult Heedo did not treasure the memory of the beach trip like she had hoped to.
Back in 1998/1999, she told Yijin, “Why do I feel like this moment will last forever?” Yijin replied, “Maybe it will be fine.” She replied, “Let’s hope so.”
But decades later, she denied going on a trip.
Lol. Was there a cock crowing? Heedo reminded me of Simon Peter.
credit: Robert Leinweber, Peter’s Denial
Minchae: Mom, can’t we also go on a trip? My break will end soon.
Heedo: In a situation like this? Didn’t you see there are more than 2,000 confirmed cases? Just hang in there.
Minchae: When I was in grade six, I couldn’t go on the school trip for a dance contest. And it was canceled due to COVID this year. I’ve never been on a school trip in my life.
Heedo: Do you think I have? I’ve also never been on one because I had to train.
Minchae: You’ve been to the beach with friends when you were in high school. I saw the photos in your album.
Heedo: I went to the beach when I was in high school?
Minchae: Don’t tell me you don’t remember. You went with the people who always show up in your album.
Heedo: When did I go to the beach with them? I don’t remember.
Look, perhaps Heedo had a momentary memory lapse. This isn’t unusual because she could have fixated on missing school trips. But once Minchae insisted that she did go on a trip, her memory should have been jogged.
Minchae: Gosh. I think it’s you who should see a doctor, not me.
Heedo: (to herself) Did we go to the beach? Did we?
Minchae: You had all these pictures taken as if that moment would last forever.
Heedo: (smiling) Nothing last forever. Everything is momentary. They all flow away. And that’s not always a bad thing. (smiling)
It’s easy to hate on the actress for her delivery of the lines. Her smiling face made the adult Heedo appear smug and dismissive of her past just when the viewers were relishing the beach scenes. lol. But as I pointed out during the Injeolmi scenes, we have to be wary because this writer and director both manipulate our perception of truth with the visuals.
As I said, Episode 4 signaled “the end” for me. I only want to see how this writer will execute the plot twist and undo all the lovey-dovey moments. I’m not impressed with either her work or her life outlook to do the obligatory mental gymnastics.
You know what’s sad, Minchae not knowing the high school squad. She did not say aunties but instead “the people who always show up in your album” even after grandma already pointed who they are in the pic. It seems like HD did not just lose touch with YJ but also with YR, SW and JW.
In one of their interviews, KTR describes HD as not having any friends. NJH said she did have friends. They debated a bit on that. Hmm, HD had been a loner after her dad died and only focused on fencing. Maybe that’s what happened again when she’s back in competition and maybe training for Olympics. I expected though that she stayed close with Yurim.
Same here, I don’t get how the teenager Heedo became the adult Heedo.
I understand that she must have continued winning more tournaments.
She had those medals.
The usher at the arena (where Minchae had her ballet recital) recognized her.
The moms of Minchae’s classmates were her fans.
The adult Heedo chided her mom for still not appreciating all she accomplished in fencing.
All these indicate that she followed her dreams.
But surely her climb to fame and glory didn’t mean she lost her friends along the way. I’d be disappointed if she did.
I think Yurim will drop out of fencing if Heedo continues to play. I don’t think Yurim has that in “fire in her belly.” Once she befriends Heedo, she’ll lose that competitive spirit and cede her first place spot to Heedo.
And there’s something wrong with this writer, too. I don’t think she understands how a teenager thinks.
For instance, Minchae didn’t sound like a normal teenager at all when she looked at YiJin’s pictures in her mom’s album or read about YiJin’s stories in her mom’s diaries. I’m telling you that ain’t normal.
Really.
Would you like to read about your mom’s love story with another man OTHER THAN YOUR DAD? Minchae should’ve felt disloyalty or jealousy for her father’s sake… in the same way, she was appalled (didn’t she grumble?) when her mom (the young Heedo) told Yijin about her boyfriend. She thought her mom was tactless.
That time, Minchae was demonstrating a displaced sense of jealousy. It was understandable bec she empathized with Yijin after readings pages and pages about him.
I expected her to feel the same indignation for her father. Like, “How could Mommy be this close with another man?” Or “How will daddy feel if knew about Mom’s first love?” Or “Is this why mom named her shop ‘2521’? Yuck!” 😂
@packmule3 yes that didn’t compute for me. If HD wanted to completely erase YJ (and her friends) from her life she wouldn’t have named the shop 25-21 (because according to the synopsis that was when she fell in love?). And yes to all the points about MC’s responses debunking all those theories as to why MC was a Kim. The easiest explanation is that HD is married to Mr Kim who is away right now. And their relationship is probably sound? The fact that there is still communication and he sent MC a ballet dress?
I have also read theories of how YJ HAD to be dead (died in 9/11 😳) because nothing BUT death would be the reason for them NOT ending up together. Imma like what? Why is it so hard to accept the obvious? That something happened between them and it didn’t work out.
But I do find this adult HD actress hard to read. Her acting is not as nuanced as KTR so I have to rely on the dialogue more to make sense of events.
Yeah. A lurker gave me the 9/11 theory, too, but I was annoyed with that as I am with the adoption trope, so ignored that.
Come on, people! Don’t use 9/11 as a trope! 😡
Ahhhh. So the synopsis said she fell in love when she was 21. Does that mean then that that these past 4 episodes (ever since their nighttime fencing) have been a one-sided love affair? That it’s only YiJin’s falling in love all this time, and not Heedo? 😂
But we’re already on Episode 10. If it took this writer 10 episodes to build up this narrative, how long will it take her to show us what really happened when they were 21/25 and why their relationships didn’t work.
I just want to get this over and done with.
I know, right? All these weird theories don’t account for Minchae not knowing YiJin.
@nrllee,
there’s another theory that YiJin is the dad because the handwriting on the sabre (when YJ left her the blue sabre) is the same as the handwriting on the ballet shoes that MC dumped in the garbage can in Ep 1.
Like no, honey. 🙃
Oh my, so many theories out there.
I just hope that whatever it will, it’s something that will make sense.
Maybe that’s why they casted different actress for the adult version – because they are totally different people! Literally!!! Then we can continue loving KTR’s Heedo. LOL!
@packmule3 yeah that totally made no sense. I was going to buy the whole name change theory because of the IMF crisis but MC’s responses made zero sense to me if that was the case? She wouldn’t have zero inkling that YJ was the dad. If he had a name (surname) change, then her normal response would be, “huh? Why does this dude have the same given name as dad?” And she would’ve recognized him in the photo. Unless of course YJ/HD’s story is like Pachinko. Where HD was with child by YJ and married someone else when he left. And MC only knew the current man as her dad. But this would be so overly dramatic. 😂. Btw since I found out that Pahchinko isn’t going to be the short sweet 12eps but an elaborate 2-3 season affair, I am not entirely sure I will sign on to watch. 😂
I can’t get Korean ages straight. But didn’t we work out by the timeline that Min-chae was too young to be conceived when HD was 21? Unless she is older than we thought.
I give up on speculating about this. Que sera sera.
As to YJ having a one-sided love, I agree that it makes no sense. But HD is not his first love – he has had at least 2 girlfriends. He seems to fall in ‘love’ fairly easily. Although he and HD have a unique emotional attachment and he calls that love, I don’t think it’s the sort of ‘must be with you forever’ type of love. HD, on the other hand, is definitely getting a crush on him – seems to be having a physical reaction to his touch and I haven’t seen any indication that he feels that way yet towards her.
Well, @Fern, if you think YJ falls in love too easily and HD only has a crush at this point, then maybe it’s THE viewers’ fault for reading too much into this whole puppy love thing, and in particular, this beach trip. 😂😂 They’re really NOT in love, even by kdrama standards. 🤣
Yes, the first love trope in kdramas is over-kill anyway. Remember Hospital Playlist? We all thought it was ludicrous how Songhwa, a forty-something woman, would have hang-ups over a rejection she had when she was in med school. 🤦♀️ Like, what is she? One of Taylor Swift country songs? 🤡
At least, the adult Heedo is more realistically drawn. People fall in love, fall out of love, and move on.
I’ll just think of 23-19 as a puppy love and call it a day.
Geepers, why are you awake?
The ‘love’ between them is just my interpretation based on what I’ve seen from the actors and the script. It’s not utterly impossible, but we’re all imagining that it will end in a figurative car crash, so it’s hard not to be skeptical. (sceptical? What country am I in?)
If HD was impregnated by YJ, and he went away without “taking responsibility” for his child, then he’s a jerk.
And a deadbeat dad. Where’s his child support? 🤪
That’s a worse scenario, @nrllee.
Huh? “Pachinko” is multi-seasonal? Ugh! Thanks for the warning. Let me rethink about this. I’m not that of a fan of ze greattttt LMH.
Although… I wonder who are these people who have been re-reading my post on LMH speaking English in kdrama? 😂😂 It’s a 4 year old post mind you.
I would only believe that YJ is the father if HD hid the pregnancy from him for some reason. I can’t believe that he would not take responsibility given what we’ve seen of his character (‘I’ll never be happy’, ‘I’ll reunite my family’ etc.) I could only speculate on reasons: Death, misplaced anger on HD’s part, noble idiocy. It would be very melo, but it’s happened in kdramas before this. At least if this is the case, we know HD didn’t relinquish Min-chae for adoption.
😂 Fern,
I forgot to turn off my phone and I was getting alerts from work. Hubby woke me up to tell me to turn it off so now I’m wide-awake. 👀
In all honesty, I became skeptical (yes that “k” is rather sketchy-looking, right?) of YiJin after he supposedly bolted for the seashore village to escape the creditors.
All that talk about how he wanted Heedo’s mental fortitude, but he ran away.
That got me thinking that 🤔 hmmm maybe Heedo’s mom was right. YiJin only *looked* mature. He tried to act mature, but he was really just a kid like the others. He had an arrested development because of the IMF crash and the sudden change in his family situation.
I wrote about it in my Review of Ep 5 but I was so behind you all, I decided to just drop it.
I wouldn’t say it’s a “car crash” — just a plot twist. Car crash implies trauma or some damage from the accident. But the Adult Heedo seems to be fine that she’s moved on and dropped her friends. She even named her workshop 25-21. 🙂
If that’s the case, and this drama is HER coming-of-age story anyway, then I’m not going to be bitter in her place.
@packmule3 I agree about that being the worst case scenario. And yes to Pachinko being 3(?) seasons 🙄. I read about it somewhere and someone mentioned it here as well. I am not enthused about seasons. I like my dramas to finish in 1 sitting and for the message to be sharp and succinct. Not too much waffling. Like Navillera. Or The Light In Your Eyes. Good story telling doesn’t need fillers or drawn out explanations.
@Fern yes I forgot about the age calculations some of you did here. And going by that it’s impossible that MC is YJ’s daughter. She’s way too young now.
Agree.
The daughter is in middle school. I’ll just assume the age of a MS in the US. She’s around 13, 14 years old.
Adult Heedo is 43.
2022 – 1998 = 24
24 + 19 = 43
She had Minchae when she was 30 years old.
43 – 13 = 30
If she was 30 then YiJin was 34.
A 30- and 34-year old couple should be old enough to make a decision together about having children. There’s nothing accidental at that point (unless it’s accidental condom break 🤦♀️).
Anyway, my point is that theory of Heedo getting impregnated by YiJin and marrying somebody else when he left is just as preposterous as the adoption theory.
It’s not in character.
This writer has little options, really. Or rather THE viewers have little options. The writer has made it clear that YiJin is neither the father nor the husband. I don’t know what mental gymnastics the viewers will contrive just to get the outcome they want.
Yes, thinking back to YJ panic-fleeing with his brother. I know it was to protect his brother – in his mind at least – but as you say, YJ was young and the best thing he could think of was to bring himself and his brother back into the family. The brother resented him for that, despite saying that he missed his parents? I felt that YJ was damned if he stayed and damned if he left in that instance. It didn’t occur to him to try to ask his brother and/or to ride it out in Seoul. He felt he had to act as pater familias and make a unilateral decision.
Yes, YJ was young at 22. He only acted mature but yes, he was overwhelmed at that time. Poor kid!
I disliked his mother too for acting like a child. What a difference between her and Heedo’s mom!
The mother acts too silly, imo. They are playing her conjugal love for laughs. It would have been a completely disastrous move if it weren’t for the boy’s uncle, who was a stabilizing personality compared to his sister. I suppose that the family wanted the younger boy to continue uninterrupted at his school, so that’s why he stayed in Seoul.
The mom’s infantilized.
When I saw her wailing about her hubby, I could understand why YJ wanted Heedo’s mental fortitude. It must have been exasperating for him to hear his mother go on and on about her husband, while ignoring her two sons who needed her to be mentally strong.
Urgh don’t get me started about YJ’s mom. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. I wanted to shake her out of her selfish “woe is me” attitude. Her sons needed her to stand up and be strong, instead she became the child and had to be babied by her son 🙄.
What’s the commotion? 😆 I’m just about to watch the 2 episodes.
I had to watch ABP first. ☺️
Did you notice that she sat there while her brother, the boys’ uncle, prepared the meal for her sons?
And that she didn’t even allow YiJin to take a bite before she started asking about her husband?
What a silly silly woman.
Yes @packmule3 🙄. Totally self absorbed. Oblivious to the people hurting around her.
There’s no commotion. 😂
We’re just talking about the theories that were sent my way. I didn’t think any of them looked plausible. The adoption, the name change, the dead YJ, the MC-is-not-really-Heedo’s-child.
🙂
I’m having a waffle 🧇 for breakfast. With strawberries and whipped cream.
Yum! 😋 Waffles, whipped cream and strawberries. Sounds heavenly!
It made me think of my breakfast for tomorrow. What should I have? 🤔
Ah the big question of who is your father Minchae? 😁
I’ve started watching episode 9 and I really thought that at some point of their online chats, both YR and HD would mention fencing. But obviously not. 😂
If anything it reminded me that I did chatting as well back in the days. 🤦🏻♀️
It tells me that the mother went from being a small-town girl to being served her food as the wife of a man who became rich. And that she can’t or won’t change her mindset. If I were her brother, I would have asked her to at least share the task. Harrumph.
Oh, can’t wait for that plot twist. It might be fun to think about what the plot twist might be if there was consistency in the characters or a discernable pattern in the story. But as it is and the way the show tries to misdirect the viewers, might as well just wait for the other shoe to drop. What a waste of Ye Jin and Hee Do’s heart-fluttering scenes though!
I wonder if YJ changed when he grew older and that disappointed HD. People change, circumstances change and the choices they made will change the course of their life.
Episode 9 reminded me of what HD said about being jealous of YJ, because to her, he look successful and was rising in his career. As if a kid looking up at an adult she admires.
If HD has gone on to acquire all those medals, her trajectory has not changed. She was also loved by the public. So in her career, there didn’t seem to have a bad spot.
Also, I think the tension between the news reporting and the sportsperson will be the highlight of this drama. That could be the breaking point between our two potential lovebirds. There was HD’s mum and Coach Yang’s fallout. There has been a warning by HD’s mum to YJ about not being in the sports department if they knew each other. Especially the part when YJ whispers to HD that his professional and private life is in conflict.
I feel the anxiety when YJ is producing the documentary, because many times while he tells himself he would do it even if he didn’t knew HD, I think he was giving a reason to justify what he did. Honestly we all knew he chased the referee for the interview, he went back to the train station to rush HD to the match, he rushed HD to the hospital when she injured her ankle ….it was all because of HD. His private life has crossed over his professional life.
Am I theorising here? 😛 But looking at what they have been building up whatever big that may happen isn’t going to be something they have not mentioned or warned. The clues are there somehow…just looking forward to the weekend!
Did not place a lot of expectations for the show when the writer is the one that wrote Search WWW. (I fast-forward most of the show to finish it >_<)
Also find the inconsistencies in the characters and plotline annoying. Writer should not play with our emotions like that. I’m continuing 2521 for Kim Tae-Ri. Didn’t know her before this. What an outstanding actress. She lights up the screen.
As mentioned by @packmule3, the original song 2521 didn’t seem to suggest a happy ending for the drama. And the latest OST – With also seems to suggest that. Oh well… 6 more episodes. Meanwhile, good thing we have A Business Proposal 😀
True, @grace. 🙂
There could be tension between YJ’s job as news reporter and HD’s rise to fame right now.
However, I don’t see YJ as a sportscaster for life. I see it as his stepping stone to — perhaps the more glamorized or the upper tier in tv journalism, like the foreign correspondent, political correspondent, and anchorman.
To me, a sportscaster is like a weather reporter.
But we’ll see. It’s possible that they’ll outgrow each other soon enough. They’re only 21 and 19 at the moment. They still have a long way to go.
I promised to let this show rest during the week, but I’m still theorizing a few days later. haha
I have a bit of Occam’s razor approach here. I think they did split up, and she married someone else (Minchae’s dad), but I kinda think they’re divorced. (The ballet dress scene where she mentions that dad didn’t know and didn’t HeeDo tell him, to which she snaps, “tell him yourself.”) I suspect there might be a wistful, bittersweet meetup between our leads accidentally. Like everyone else, I’m stumped on the store name, but that’s where I’m assuming HeeDo’s divorced, because I don’t know any man who would tolerate his wife naming a store after an old romance?
I think out in social media and based on kdrama watching in general, there’s a tendency to polish up our male lead, to romanticize him, and I have to wonder if there are some signs that he’s not all that. Many are commenting on his confession appropriateness, given his age. While there’s much to argue about that, I have to wonder if that’s not going to come back and bite him, and perhaps what will add fuel to the fire for the breakup. I also have to agree that right now HeeDo doesn’t seem to have the same sort of feelings for him as he does for her.
@Skayt I am not keen on the divorced theory either. I did entertain it in the beginning but with that conversation about the ballet dress gift, I discounted it. I know some have said HD saying to MC to “tell him yourself” (about her quitting ballet) seems to imply that there’s a rift between HD and MC’s dad. But if you look at the context as a parent, HD was all about MC owning that decision (to quit ballet) in her prior conversations with her whilst painting the fence. HD wanted her to come to that decision AND own the responsibility of that choice. It was her (MC) story to tell. To palm off the responsibility of that decision to HD and blame her (HD) for NOT telling dad is just classic teenage behaviour. They want the right to make those decisions (whether to quit ballet or not) but they don’t want the responsibilities (having to tell everyone why they did it because it’s hard). You can’t have it both ways. Either you lose the right to make those choices and have someone take the responsibility for you (like a child does with a parent), OR you exert those rights and with it take the responsibilities for your choices (like an adult does).
@nrllee, I had the exact same thoughts as you, but switched it to give some sort of reasoning to that store name. Seriously, what’s up with that name?
It’s funny how we switched up our choices! haha
@Skayt yeah that store name has me stumped too. I hope writer hasn’t written herself into a hole just to keep up with the intrigue. 🙄.
@nrllee – The store name stumped me too. It could
1) as all of us are thinking it could be the peak of her love? (with YJ)
2) it could be a betrayal from YJ. Since we know he had other GF before NHD, may be he meets someone else. But why keep that in memory when according to NHD, she had even forgotten the beach trip where she depicted as being extremely happy about it.
3). Could it be that she meets Mr. Kim after the betrayal and realized what true love could be and who later had a child (KMC) with him?
I kind of started late than when you all started, but I was looking at a teaser where I saw that NHD saw YJ and ran away from him. I thought that might have been the break up scene. But it was not. IT was the scene where NHD is meeting YR and YJ is there holding the yellow rose. I tried to look for that teaser to be sure, but was not able to locate it.
I felt the current scene with mother and daughter in 2022 vs. the writings in her dairy 1998 /99 felt disjointed. It felt I was watching 2 different dramas with the same characters and there was no continuation of character, vitality, or strength between the two.
Enjoyed the beach scene – Beaches always bring a smile on my face – love anything with water. The beautiful sunset was also endearing.
@angelwingssf I know what you mean about watching 2 different dramas. I can’t work out if it’s the actress playing Mom HD that’s to blame or if it’s just the writing. I cannot reconcile the 2 HDs. And that’s a problem because we need to be convinced that the HD of the past somehow “grew up” and became the HD now. So far there has been no link. Even if there was some devastating betrayal, I feel like the writer hasn’t built up enough angst there to make it believable? There’s been a lot of good times. Even the whole hate between YR and HD was just dealt with so quickly. Everything feels very buoyant and upbeat. So for the writer to suddenly send us crashing down with the “they didn’t end up together” right at the end? It won’t be enough prep time for the audience to buy it. The narrative that she’s set out so far does not fit an ending where the OTP end up together.
@nrllee – I read somewhere that the actress acting as the adult HD is a relatively new actress – may be her second drama or something on those lines.
HD energy and attitude is not something one would lose as an adult. Even in the worst of times, these things don’t die down. It looks as if she was putting on an act in her younger days just for YJ if we consider that Adult HD is the real deal. I just like the younger one. I haven’t been able to relate to the adult HD.
On a relatable note, YJ mom behaved so infantile as an adult and a mother of 2 older children. I was nauseating when YJ was typing the stuff that she was telling her husband. Looks like she did not grow up at all. Did HD grow up too much to become pessimistic as an adult?🤷🏻♀️
I truly don’t care whether YJ and HD get together as adults. I just want the story to flow well and be enjoyable to watch. Adult HD makes me become pessimistic both with her voice and her acting. The less she shows up, and acts, the better the episode is (for me! sorry).IMO – there is no way that they can get back together in 6 more episodes.
All the things that need to be covered :
1. They are still 19 and 23 – so, we need to cover 2 more years of their interaction.
2. Need to cover what happened in 21 and what caused them to drift apart.
3. Need to cover all the medals that she won and the various avenues that she had to go to – especially if she went to the olympics.
4. The inhostile environment that is brewing in UBS.
5. The consequences of any problems / fights / that might happen to YJ.
6. All these high schoolers graduating from school.
7. What happens to YR, and JM and SW.
8. When did HD open her shop. Where did she learn the trade?
9. When did HD meet MJ ‘s father. If there was a love life with him and / or a one night stand.
10. IF she is still married to him, and where is he and his growth trajectory and life with his daughter (assuming HD is a single mother).
There might be more that I am missing, but at least they need to address all the issues before the end of the drama.
@angelwingssf That’s the other thing that is bothering me about adult HD. Why did she move away from fencing as a career option? It looked like a woodworking shop she had? Most people I know, especially those who’ve had successes in their field of sport (like Lady Coach), stay in the field after they retire from the sport. Whether it’s to coach or as a commentator. It’s the most likely (and natural) career course for any elite athlete because they wouldn’t have studied much. And they are already well known in that field so they have clout and credibility? Adult HD was recognized by the security lady at the ballet competition? It would be easy for her to get a job as a coach? Yet here she is, in a woodworking shop. Something she would’ve had to pick up and learn and then build a name for herself to even make a living. Even lady coach after she was involved in the bribery scandal stayed in the sport. She never left it. Fencing was HD’s passion and life in her youth. Why would she turn her back on it like that? Was it something traumatic? Did she accidentally kill an opponent? It has happened before. 😬
@nrllee, you are giving me the chills. But thinking about it, she wouldn’t be greeted so warmly by present day people if she had killed an opponent, I don’t think. It could be some other perceived betrayal, however. Or it could be that she stopped enjoying it – the reason her father said was acceptable for quitting. Why that might happen is another question to add to the ‘to see’ list.
@angelwingssf
Oh I just saw you wrote about things that were irritating me too.
And someone else said that it’s like watching two different dramas – how can someone’s persona change so much!! Like a “plastic surgery” if personality !! Gimme a break!
And I am not even looking for a “happy ending” the way rom-coms are set up for – I am looking for a logical ending and continuity of character .. that ain’t happening .. these taped over bits (of current day) are so damaging the organic feel of the rest of the show that I am wondering is some bipolarity wasn’t involved during the writing stages 🙁
SPOILER AHEAD for a show called V.I.P. –
I watched many shows where the ‘conventional happy end didn’t occur” the most effective one being “V.I.P.” What a satisfying end to a wonderful organic show with beautiful unfolding of characters and events.
Welcome to the blog, @Bo Suj.
@nrllee it’s interesting to think about why the writer chose woodworking (of cutting boards) for HeeDo’s career path.
I see it to symbolize the end of life on the theme of trees. The drama chose settings with vibrant summer trees in the past. The time they were apart was in the winter when the trees are bare.
Then tragically, some trees are prematurely cut down to be made into cutting boards and furniture. The choice of cutting boards is interesting because it is in contact with knives (swords).
Does the patterning on the cutting board symbolize something too… it’s intricate 2 stain grid work. (Death of YiJin at 25 and a friend at 21?). I’ve done woodworking in my early 20s and I can understand how it could be a way to escape reality (it’s similar to when JiWoong just stares at the fire pit). Over time you’ll get better and better which is where adult HeeDo is now.
So I’m bracing myself for what YiJin said in ep 4 “every tragedy in life is a comedy if you see it from afar.” And hope the writer delivers on that theme.
The singer/songwriter of 25 21 (Kim Yoon Ah of Jaurim) who experienced her own tragic young love, seems healthier and stronger now. She met someone who is a great fit for her quirky personality. Life goes on.
@Spatially interesting take on the cutting boards. And thanks for the reminder about that quote about tragedy and comedy. It would fit well with the theme. The IMF brought HD and YJ together. They stood together as they weathered that storm. I always wonder about relationships forged under dire circumstances eg war, life crises. It’s well and good when you battle the circumstances together (camaraderie and solidarity on that front). And a lot of the times your differences actually work better under trials because it offers the other a different perspective. But what happens when the circumstances change for the better? I am discounting YJ dead at 25 because HD’s mom said she saw him “last month”. I know some have surmised that she visited his grave (or the Columbarium) and “saw him”. But did she have that sort of a relationship with YJ that she would visit his grave? All of the sweetness aside, they are actually very different individuals? She’s loud, rather volatile and crass. He’s deliberate and measured. She’s not destitute but she’s certainly not Chaebol (like YJ). He would slot right back in to high society if he ever got back up there. She would stick out like a sore thumb. The differences that once bonded them together under their trying circumstances will more likely than not be the very thing that drives them apart in the good times. When HD told YJ she had her 2 week boyfriend because she wanted to experience heartbreak? I thought it was rather ominous when YJ replied that she didn’t really experience real heartbreak because she hadn’t fallen in love yet. Then we got a flashback as HD remembered how YJ left Seoul when she found her sword returned to her at the gate of her house. I don’t think she was “in love” with YJ at that point yet? She was heartbroken to have lost him as a friend (her only friend if you discount her online friend InJeolMi). That may well have been a foreshadowing of the heartbreak to come.
I too am content without a happy ending. I just want it to “make it make sense,” as they say. As @angelwingssf listed out, there are a lot of moving parts still moving, and only 6 more episodes in which to get them settled into place. This is about the time where I give up my desire for character happiness and settle for my own! haha In that I just want it to end well, writing wise. That’s where I’ll be truly happy!
LOL it looks like Kim Tae Ri and Nam Joo Hyuk themselves had to do mental gymnastics to remember that they had worked before in not 1 but 2 commercials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4eY4KkiDS0
At least I’m not the only one who embarrassingly gets greeted by people I cannot remember meeting before!!!
Hi @pkml3, a gentle reminder to open a thread for Episodes 11 and 12. We are past the half-way mark and nearing the end of this Show that we don’t know how to feel about! It’s a strange situation to be in in drama watching.
Thanks for the reminder, @GB.
The open thread is in the queue. It’s scheduled to release after midnight. In less than 3 hours. 🙂
Thank you @pkml3. At this time, it’ll be up in half an hour, if I’m not mistaken.
@GB, thanks for the link! If it was me, I would have done research on who will be my cast mates, maybe even part of the decision factor for agreeing to do a show. So I am not sure if they are joking about not knowing each other when they met again. They work well together though.
Anyhow, in both CFs, NJH played an older person than KTR. She even calls him oppa in CF2. And again in 25/21. People says he does not call her noona.
Based on the stills from upcoming episode, they are still in HS. They’re lingering so much in this timeline. Hmm, I wonder when we will see the separation and time jump to 25/21. Only 3 weekends left…
Hi @Janey, isn’t it cute that he’s 4 years younger in RL but she has to call him oppa in commercials? At least in this show she calls him by his name.
Yes… times are flowing past fast, and we’re still stuck in High School LOL. I guess as long as the HS scenes are really warm, I can ignore the strange, cold present times. That’s what I’ll do if the ending is a troll.
These came up in my phone feed. I actually have not read them yet. Didn’t realise that the age difference caused a fuss.
https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/03/twenty-five-twenty-one-continues-to-receive-love-from-viewers-and-ranks-1st-place-on-the-content-impact-assessment-index-cpi
https://www.koreaboo.com/news/k-drama-fans-fiercely-divided-romance-minor-in-latest-episodes-twenty-five-twenty-one/
https://kbizoom.com/past-photos-of-the-two-hottest-kbiz-stars-today-ahn-hyo-seop-is-handsome-since-his-childhood-nam-joo-hyuk-aced-at-puberty-challenge/
@Growing Beautifully, thank you for those links. I wondered if there would be a RL concern about the age difference when HD is still 19. To me it depends on how the ‘love’ is manifest, which we don’t yet know.
As to the trip to the beach, he had clearance from his company, the coach (who didn’t want to attend!) and the parents. The other two invited themselves, but seemed to have permission from parents as well. Safety in numbers, my mother used to say. Also, they stayed at his relative’s house rather than at a hotel – with both male and female adults around to supervise. It’s still a long way from how ‘school trips’ are managed now. (at least in the UK, with long permission letters, medical information, diet, etc. and all sorts of legal conditions)
I wrote before that the beach trip may end up being troublesome if he doesn’t edit out the parts that could be mis-interpreted however. I guess we’ll see in the next episode. It all seems too rosy as it was left, doesn’t it?
Hi there @Fern,
Your post reminded me that I’ve not had time to even read the articles whose links I posted LOL.
What you say is of real concern. He had better edit the parts with him out before his colleagues see them.
I’m impatient to know what’s going to happen next.😄
@GB, it was almost too joyful. The calm before the storm, I’ll bet.
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