Twenty-Five Twenty-One 스물다섯 스물하나 [2022]

[JenL]

On 3/28/2022 at 9:44 PM, gilaswan said:

And then I read the transcript for aep 15 and think, “Is there any point in telling audience now that they continue to love each other despite being busy?? Why tell us that now when you’ve thrown Heedo’s sabre right into our hearts?!? 

 

Haha I think I'll accept the story whether they go for a sad ending or happy ending. I do love that deep love between Yi Jin and Hee do and want them to end up together of course. But I also see the value or bittersweetness in nostlagia stories - nothing does stay the same in life and sometimes we do loose people and it's painful. It's kind of interesting when dramas go down that route too even though it'll be very unpopular with the audience 

 

On 3/29/2022 at 12:01 AM, Mizv said:

OOommmmmoooo.  Look!  Am exciting now.  Good eye catch!  There is hope!!!  

 

Actually I started to notice that too when I was listening to the Appa sound! 

Aside from it meaning something...I just thought NJH looked hot 

 

22 hours ago, gilaswan said:

What’s the title of the song that plays when he kisses her end of ep 13?

 

The song they kiss to in ep 13 is Bibi - Very slowly

 

 

Thanks for sharing the making and theories @movingwheel - I've had a lot of fun reading them all! 

[Mizv]

 

[gilaswan]

Good morning, chingu-deul! Annyeong!

 

Things are opening up where I am and last night for the first time in 2 years, we took our dad who turned 80 yesterday to a dinner outside! Ended my evening catching up on these other theories posted here and have to say - am enjoying it all! @movingwheel @MizvI was wondering - how old is Minchae supposed to be? 15? If 15, she must’ve been born in 2007, so this would be before the supposed wedding that BYJ congratulates NHD for, oui? So like the theory about the registration of the marriage, it would have come after their secret wedding… But then, how much of a secret can they truly keep it? Oh well, some realities must be suspended in dramaland.

I continue to hope cos the writers cannot possibly be insisting on the end when there are 2 episodes to go!

 

My take on why they have said this show is healing yet sad, is that it does address the idealism of youth and sets it in the realities that indeed, not everything lasts forever. Their friendship which they forged in their youth which they thought would never end, did come to a halt in one way or another when KYR decided to give up her Korean citizenship, ironically for the sake of how Korean families interact with each other in guilt-debt cultural structures. And again, in how Yijin had to struggle between career and friendship loyalties, though KYR very willingly gave her story to him. The backlash from it was greater than he could bear though (she was a lot more resilient in this aspect). Adulthood is tough, and when Ji-woong said, “I’ve only been 20 for a short while. How is it that I have become so used to drinking already?”, it just points to how soon the challenges of adulthood become daily realities the moment the shelter teen life affords you comes to an end. Reminds me of how my former students realised this when they would lament to us that the moment they graduated from high school, they had to pay adult fares on public transport! 

[movingwheel]

@gilaswan The thing is When you are in debt , Nobody cares. They will not come to you to help you out but when you take a decision by selling your skills to another country , especially with a country with which you have had bad relation, people will be quicker to judge you....media outlets work as a accelerator in such scenario. The issue with media outlets are they are opinionated. They don't report news as it is but they try to create a narrative in the mind of people. 

 

Baek Yi Jin understood this and he was upset. since he never wanted to be a part of a narrative creation , it is affecting him. The Show does address the idealism of youth and sets it in the realities that indeed, not everything lasts forever. The only thing I dont want is NHD & BYJ relationship to be the latest to be hanged... they can show the reality through other relationships but this one should be epic. Its true ...nothing lasts forever. The only difference is in Real Life , we don't hang in there. We move forward.

 

@JenL oh wow , I am envious of your profession. Lol. what kind of job are you into if you don't mind me asking...!

[gilaswan]

Listening to BIBI's Very, Slowly and the lyrics exactly describe the relationship Yijin has with Heedo. Very nice. Very sweet. 

And that kiss... I think all the conversations regarding last weekend's episodes go back to that kiss. For me at least. hahaha... I wonder how many takes they had to make that action of his taking off her cap "perfect". It just added to the entire mood of that scene I think. How was that so sweet and so hot and so loving all at the same time? And NJH's portrayal of that was just right. Just right. That struggle... And Heedo... begging him to just not step away from her, and how she would pursue just the type of love he wanted her to just so he would not step away. Had she also been waiting to turn 20 in order to pursue "this type" of love with him? Aigoo... I've not been this invested in a drama for a loooooong time...

[movingwheel]

@gilaswan the moment baek Yi Jin said that let's persue this kind of love...my mind went to gutter ..lol...

 

By the way, i have never found Nam Joo hyuk being this playful in any other interview he has done. One he did with Jung yu mi for school nurse files , he was playful there too....here he is constantly teasing tae ri and i have never once heard him calling her noona.

 

 

 

[movingwheel]

Oh My God , See this. Isn't it a bit too obvious for a Production House to give away the ending?? as if they are desperately trying to create a narrative of sad ending...!!! @gilaswan @JenL @Mizv

 

Exact Words - "We wanted to reflect on the meaning of first love that remains in the faint memories of Na Heedo and Back Yijin from the moment they met and then parted."

 

 

[gilaswan]

@movingwheelWait, whutt?? It’s going to be another Start Up where all the “evidences” point to a real hope only to keep it on the trajectory towards an actual crash!! I don’t get the photos… the crying shots are of his despair with reporting Yu Rim’s story, right? But the first two photos don’t necessarily point to a break up ya? They haven’t reached 25 & 21 yet! Don’t they have to fall in love in the end? 
 

Anyways, Heedo looked more sad than Yijin in the interview… cos she misses him while she’s away at the games and her daughter is with him? Pfft. Aww… come on!! Quit trolling us TvN!!

[movingwheel]

@gilaswan sick sick sickly worried....when will the saturday come?

[gilaswan]

@movingwheelId rather spend my time from now till then trying to identify when they started developing romantic feelings for each other, the progression from friendship to lovers… hahaha… I just find it so difficult to think that a relationship that took so long to nurture, that went through so much to persist through difficult times, ends up being ditched for… career?? 

[movingwheel]

@gilaswan i know..: that will be too lame i guess…a relationship like that breezes the storm easily…

[Mizv]

14 hours ago, gilaswan said:

I was wondering - how old is Minchae supposed to be? 15? If 15, she must’ve been born in 2007, so this would be before the supposed wedding that BYJ congratulates NHD for, oui?

Stopped banging my head regarding age.  With the Korean age cycle it’s hard to pinpoint. I was getting so dizzy… when they reveal the end.  Will definitely take note for future dramas needed figure out the age. 

[gilaswan]

@movingwheelHahaha... gutter thoughts? I keep revisiting that kiss scene too. It's everything in one, all the emotions poured into that one moment. NJH delivered it very well. The removing of her cap, the gentleness in cupping her face, the softness of the kiss mixed with an appropriate level of urgency indicating all that pent up longing... and how he waited with his lips still so close to hers as he caught his breath... And her tears! How she was still crying in between it all! That relief in her, yet some little sense of fear because she could feel his own concerns in letting go and giving in to all his wavering... That scene was very well shot and edited. I have to say this production team is quite something. 

 

I've been watching all the Swoon clips, and you know, when they were apart from each other for, what was it? 6-7 months? It was that one voice message between the 2 of them, one for each, that held them through the months. Was it love already by then? I think she only realised he meant more than a regular friend to her when she broke up with Cutie Pie (or was it Sweetie Pie? Hahaha) only a few days after Yijin reappeared and told Cutie Pie she thought more about someone else than him. At that time, I think he too was a little confused - there was a little disappointment to know she had a boyfriend, but he very quickly brushed it off. Afterall, he had said to her before that adults date adults, highschoolers date highschoolers. But I digress.

 

The point I wanted to make was that the beautiful parallel scene when they were clearly missing each other and thinking about each other was when it was snowing. And then their first kiss was in the snow, also at a point when their hearts missed each other the most because of the distance Yijin felt he had to put between them.

This editing team is quite something. Everything is just so beautifully shot. 

@Mizv

@JenL

[JenL]

Why do I feel like Nam Joo Hyuk was talking to me? 

 

Me: "I don't mind if Yi Jin does die"

 

 

 

[JenL]

So after reviewing all the theories in my theory videos, I am leaning heavily towards this theory

 

Hee Do married Min Chae's dad but they got divorced & Hee Do is going to be reunited with Yi Jin in the present day through Min Chae & her mum

 

@mademoiselle @movingwheel @gilaswan @Mizv @Unnie0110

 

If my theory proves correct will you watch @Tofu? 

 

This explains the following:

- Why the husband is not around

- Why the husband's not eager to come back to Korea or the place they live at least

- Why Hee Do doesn't seem to want to talk to the husband (tells her daughter to talk to him)

- Why there's not a sense of love when Hee Do mentions her husband (though that happens when married too long anyway LOL)

- Why Hee Do doesn't wear a wedding ring (though she could also be practical non-jewellery weaing person)

- Why Min Chae does not like the present from her dad or why he doesn't know her tastes well

- Why Min Chae does not recognise Yi Jin or know him at all

- Why Min Chae is interested in how her mum met her ex boyfriend

- Why Hee do's expression looks the way she does when her mum mentions Yi Jin. It's like a look of sadness, thinking that her time is over with him and not knowing if he's married.

- Also there's both the sad/bittersweet ending in the past and the happy/open ending of a possible new begining in the present time which feels like a win-win for the writers and their characters.

Edited April 1, 2022 by JenL

[Tofu]

1 hour ago, JenL said:

If my theory proves correct will you watch @Tofu? 

Haha, yes! I'll wait for you to tag me when episode 15/16 airs this weekend. 

 

[gilaswan]

@Tofurefusing to watch if it’s sad?

 

@JenL@movingwheel@Mizv It’s what the production house has said about the show intending to look at the faded memories of first loves that’s very disturbing lah… :(  But it’s not Yijin’s first love, aye? How many other girls has he declared his love to? 
 

I’m rewatching scenes I like from old episodes and wondering when it was he started seeing her differently. This love story is so precious. I really hope they don’t kill it for some noble reason like… career. 

[movingwheel]

@gilaswan my brain refuses to think… one more day in between…. I am trying to forget nam joo hyuk now and focus on yang yang 😂😂

 

my heart can only take this much… anyway he will probably enlist in military this year so I have to forget him 😂😂

[Mizv]

@JenL  I hope your theory is the opposite way. Maybe KMC has a different dad and reconnects BYJ/NHD after reading the diary.

 I can image everyone boycotting anything else the writer produce in future. This was an emotional investment on our part. 

 

Reminds me of Nicholas Sparks books.

After I cried so hard at the ending of the Notebook, I refused to read or watch anything by Sparks.  My heart don’t like sad endings…. 

[Tofu]

45 minutes ago, gilaswan said:

refusing to watch if it’s sad?

Hahaha, yes! I love the way they grew to rely and love each other. I feel like I would go through their heartbreak with them if they do not end up together.

[Mizv]

This a comforting theory.

 

am trying to stop reading into these theories so close to the end.  My goal is to binge watch the last two episodes… less heartbreaking and straight to the point.  Definitely will need to try not peek at clues.

 

[JenL]

7 hours ago, Mizv said:

@JenL  I hope your theory is the opposite way. Maybe KMC has a different dad and reconnects BYJ/NHD after reading the diary.

 

Hahah, I'm confused - you just repeated my theory? That is exactly what I said above  I do believe that KMC has a different dad. I believe that Hee Do married some guy and had Min Chae with him but their marriage didn't work out and they divorced because she probably still loved Yi Jin. But years later because she's divorced Min Chae wants her mother to be happy so she reunites adult Hee Do with adult Yi Jin eith the help of her grandma. 

 

I'm leaning towards a happy, open ending - Adult Hee do meets adult Yi Jin and they begin again. 

 

I think you might have accidentally misread my theory before - the list just explains all the clues that would make sense with it 

Edited March 31, 2022 by JenL

[Mizv]

@JenL  I really need to stop reading these theories!  I am confusing myself 

[gilaswan]

@JenL I think the divorced-cos-still-in-love-with-Yijin theory might seem the most plausible one, but there was a scene when dad sent Minchae new ballet stuff and she did ask when dad was coming back. Mum Heedo told her that dad needed to quarantine for 2 weeks first on returning before she could see him again. So it doesn’t sound like they’re not in contact with dad, or that dad is out of their lives.

 

I suppose the puzzle piece to solve is why the production house says that the show is a depiction of youthful first loves and the faded memories of them. It sounds bleak and sad, as if youthful first loves that don’t last are the only ones that become faded memories. I mean, I don’t have the same youthful feelings of love for my husband after 2 decades, but I am with him and we still love each other with a more mature love. Do I remember how it was 20 years ago? Not entirely. It certainly is a faded memory. Do I long for those feelings? No, not really. I like how our love has matured to the present. Is it fun to remember those times when songs of the time are heard and trigger those memories? Sometimes. Most times they’re just cringey and I’d like to laugh them away. Better yet, ignore them like present day Heedo did when Minchae asked her about them. Hahaha… And about Heedo not wearing a wedding ring - her job prolly doesn’t allow it. Not safe to wear a ring. I don’t! 

I just agree more with comments that if I were Heedo’s husband watching the interview and seeing how she was looking at Yijin… I’d prolly flip! Her eyes are that of love! His too! He definitely regards her with fondness. Maybe she’s just sad that she cannot be with him. Who knows, maybe the toddler that says “Appa” is actually with Heedo and sees daddy on the TV screen and so goes, “Appa!” I find that more plausible leh…

It’s Friday… the next 36 hours is gonna be torture… Hahaha…

@movingwheel @Mizv

 

 

Y’know what the moral of this story is? Don’t write diaries of your love life so your future offspring don’t find and read them.

[JenL]

LOL damn the copyrighting. I had to undo my video since it was blocked and redo it by cutting out my sub theories. I've put my theory evidence in this video here. Let me know if it gets taken down again 

 

 

1 minute ago, gilaswan said:

@JenL I think the divorced-cos-still-in-love-with-Yijin theory might seem the most plausible one, but there was a scene when dad sent Minchae new ballet stuff and she did ask when dad was coming back. Mum Heedo told her that dad needed to quarantine for 2 weeks first on returning before she could see him again. So it doesn’t sound like they’re not in contact with dad, or that dad is out of their lives.

 

Hahaha I rewatched that scene recently when I first came around to this idea coz I thought he was coming back or planning to as well. But the thing is it's quite ambiguous. Hee Do's words are that Min Chae's father is not coming back. If he did, he would have to quarantine. But it doesn't mean he would be coming to live with them. I don't think divorce means that they'll not be in contact or out of their lives...from all the people I've seen with divorced households the parents are both very much in contact - he could still come and visit her and have some custody. But he doesn't know his daughter as well as he should. As for Hee Do and him, they would still have to talk sometimes to raise their daughter, assuming they ended things in an ok way.