[Drama 2022] Twenty-Five Twenty-One ​⌛ 스물다섯 스물하나

[rocat]

Tsk. 
What an ending.

I thought they had a glimmer of hope when they met at the bus stop, clearly not ready to let go. dang to that.
 

The break was needed because both had goals they wanted to pursue that would require the intense investment of time and energy, making regular dating quite impossible. There was mention about her support not reaching him during his NYC stint, I sensed that it was frustration/despair/fear doing the talking. He was so despondent it was hard to reach him through distance and time but she was too - so they drifted apart. It is true that they did not have much time together in the 2521 year so with everything culminating to a point, they caved in.

 

Couldnt they remain in contact though? I get that they wanted to let go and allow space to heal, freedom to grow. Keeping in contact would make it hard for the longing to end, for memories to fade. But the heart space has been permanently taken and memories etched in like a good tattoo. Forcibly removing them has just left holes and wounds that would not close. You could get by but regrets were stacked mountain high. I mean, they were quite spectacular soulmates.

 

YJ seemed to have led a monk’s life after HD while it was joie de vivre for her though she didn’t seem too happy with her life. 
 

 HD’s retirement and YJ becoming anchor looked like a place they could use as a turning point. But HD had to go get married. Sigh. Whatever. 
 

You know, I don’t see Mr Kim around much. I think YJ gets as much mention as he does. Wrong move, HD. So wrong. 
 

I thought I was watching a romcom but nah, it wasn’t quite. I rather enjoyed the first bit and the discussion forum so it’s all good. 

[aria26]

25 minutes ago, alivingparadox24 said:

2521 would have been at par with Reply 1988 if all red herrings were answered in the end. 

 

they are either manipulative baiters or the most careless production design team

 

on another note:

writer was playing with subversions. the jiwoong-yurim puppy love persevered while baekdo faltered. ji woong, a meandering academic loser, was shown to be able to play up his strength but seung wan still seemed lost and unable to live up to her potential.

[rocher22]

I didnt want to post anything yesterday, but now I have to  

Dont bash me, chingus     

 

 

[aria26]

haha. is that junho?

[aisling]

I don’t know how to feel about the fact Heedo let her 15yo daughter read about how she made out with her ex boyfriend.  

Minchae didn’t seem upset reading about her mom’s exlover, she was even impatient to know more about their story. I wonder what kind of father/husband Mr Kim is when his own daughter seems to root for his wife’s exlover.

[piluche]

1 hour ago, alivingparadox24 said:

 

 

I’m starting to move on but I’m still disappointed with the ending. Some  people were defending that the ending was realistic for Heedo and Yijin but the side character’s development arc was too unrealistic for me. Idk what was the writer trying to convey?
 

Even Taeri wanted BaekDo endgame. :/

 

 

The writer wanted a story about young first love except there were wasn’t a good connection  to make it flow in a way where in the end the viewers can understand why they broke up.

 

Everyone wanted Baekdo endgame except the writer. 

[minglanfan2]

1 hour ago, alivingparadox24 said:

2521 would have been at par with Reply 1988 if all red herrings were answered in the end. 

 

 

 

 

Totally agree.I felt the same too.I have watched Reply 1988 3 times.Even though the OTP didn't end up together but found their own happiness.

[hookedtokdramas]

Warning, this will be a long post.

It’s been a day since they aired the final episode. I decided to watch it again to see if my initial reaction to the finale is still the same. True enough it’s still painful to watch but surprisingly I became more accepting  of how it ended in terms of BaekDo’s relationship. A lot were saying BaekDo’s love story did not have a closure but the truth is they gave us not just 1 but 4 closures. It was subtle in the beginning but eventually it knocked us out and we simply could not just sit back and accept that it was over.  

• YiJin calls HeeDo to let her know he got accepted as a correspondent in NY, he apologized for not keeping his promise. She congratulated him and said goodbye. YiJin knew it was over for them. It was a subtle and an indirect way to breakup. 
• Once in Korea, YiJin had to deal with the luggage mix-up. True to his character he hesitated in the beginning but eventually ends up taking the luggage and leaving it in front of HeeDo’s house. He rings the bell and leaves right away because he wasn’t ready to face the reality that it was indeed over for them. True to her character too, HeeDo chases him and confronts him and officially ends their relationship this time not over the phone but face to face. It was a dramatic breakup/closure.
• The Phone Couple Plan scene that lead to the confrontation in the tunnel was the closure that knocked us out. It wasn’t subtle, it wasn’t indirect, it wasn’t dramatic, it was an  “in your face” kind of breakup. There was anger and there was hate. It was a closure that say’s there’s no way we are getting back together, breaking up was not a mistake.
• The most painful of course was the scene at the bus stop. When both started running to look for each other while saying “that can’t be how we end our relationship” and “I can’t let you go...”. Our hopes went up, we thought this is it, they are getting back together. But sadly that did not happen.

 After watching the episode twice. I finally understand and appreciated their final goodbye scene. It was painful to watch not because they were saying goodbye to an ex-boyfriend and an ex-girlfriend but instead they were saying goodbye to a dear friend. A friend who rooted for each other when no one else believed in them, a friend who always had the words of comfort when life gets tough, a friend who would make your High school dream come true, a friend who will do silly and crazy things to you and with you and a friend who always wishes for your safety in spite of a failed romantic relationship. I never thought that seeing someone tying a person’s shoe lace would make me cry so much, but it did. LOL. 

 

Towards the end of the episode I came to understand that Heedo’s regret wasn’t because she broke up with him, It was because she never got the chance to say sorry and apologize for the harsh words she said to YiJin at the tunnel. During their last meeting at the bus stop, their  conversation though sad, it was also friendly but no sorry was ever said and it’s a burden that she carried with  her for a long time, until she found out the YiJin had actually read her diary.

 

Let’s admit it, it was our fault to believe that there was a plot twist to the story even when from the start it was already clear and obvious that YiJin is not Minchae’s father. We held on to different possible theories because We are all suckers for a happy ever after love story. I still consider this as a beautiful story about family, friendship, passion and love. It may not be perfect  since there are so many confusions and an unanswered questions that only the writer can answer but I guess that how it is in real life, some questions will never be answered, some relationship through no ones fault, drifts and falls apart, some will remember the memories from the past and some will chose to forget. Until our next Kdrama, everyone.:)

[carolinedl]

@hookedtokdramas Thank you for your post and I totally agree with you. It was clear that it was going to be sad (I mean the title and Jaurim's song) and even the actors knew when they signed for it. But it is hard to accept in the process as we get really attached to the characters. And man, what characters! NHD and BYJ were amazing... But I still find their ending beautiful and also the fact that some years later, they manage to congratulate each other (on national TV too!) and to, once again, root for each other, though differently. It is a beautiful sad story. Yet not uncommon...

 

And that is why we don't know much about MinChae's father/HD's husband as it is not about him or their couple. It is about a past love and of course, it has no space here.

[aisling]

Someone on Reddit just mentioned this Yijin’s quote and it makes me dehydrated again.

 

'I feel bad for Yijin, really, no matter how much he loved Heedo, he had to choose. Not between his career and Heedo. But Heedo's happiness and his. And he chose hers (x)

 

"I feel her time is more precious than mine. So I don't want her to waste a single moment on no good experiences. She deserves to have only the greatest experiences." - baek yijin

 

He let her go because he didn’t want to waste her time. He didn’t want her to wait for him endlessly. Because her time is more precious than his….. I think I just experienced a heartbreak all over again. Heedo got married and had a kid but why does it feel Yijin never married and just led his workaholic life to support his family? 
 

If they showed us they were both happy in their current lives it’d be less painful… But those vague lingering scenes just made it look like they never truly got over each other and there was still a lot of longing.

 

[nrllee]

HD was consistent in her decision making process.  She made hard choices and lived with the consequences.  She owned her decisions.  She broke up with YJ for better or worse (and she never entertained the idea of going back).  Their relationship was bedrocked on their ability to “support each other”.  When that became an impossibility because of circumstances (or snap choices made) or burdensome, it no longer was a sustainable option.  And that’s life isn’t it?  You break up.  Thing is though, HD married the mysterious Mr Kim and she stuck by him.  For better or worse.  And true to character, she never looked back (despite MC’s discovery of her diaries and digging up the past).  And that’s the adult way.  There are too many people who try to relive their past by rekindling old flames hoping that they can “carry on where they left off”.  Some of these whilst already married to someone.  HD closed that chapter of her life and moved on.  She lives with the consequences of all her past decisions.  Because there are decisions to be made now in life.  Life to be lived now.  Dwelling in the past wishing you made different choices doesn’t help you with the decisions you have to make now.  I bumped into my first love a while back and all those nice memories came flooding back.  But that was where it ended.  We exchanged niceties and then went back to our respective lives.  It would be weird to “keep in contact” regularly because chances are when things are rough in your own lives/marriages, you may be tempted to rekindle that old flame again?  Better to let sleeping dogs lie.  That would be escapism.  That’s how affairs start.  Walk away.  
 

As for why MC decided NOT to read the last diary, it was her growing up.  Moving on.  She didn’t NEED to know any more.  About why YJ and HD ended it.  She just accepted that they did.  Because she knew mom married Mr Kim (her dad).  She didn’t want to be living someone else’s story (her mom’s).  She was living the life (her own life, not some imagined life in another timeline) NOW.  She knew enough and therefore wanted to write her own story, instead of living someone else’s.  There’s a lesson in that.  I think the writer used MC to represent us as the audience.  We were all dying to read that last entry.  To find out why.  When really, it didn’t make any difference or change the fact that HD had moved on and married someone else.  That was her reality now. And that’s why writer nim never showed us the mysterious Mr Kim.  It was never about whether Mr Kim was a better match for HD or YJ was.  It was about her choices and how she stuck to them and lived with the consequences - for better or worse.  And that’s courageous.   I think that was the writer’s whole point.  I just wish she didn’t drag out the whole love story in the past for 15eps.  The backlash is warranted for her choosing to do that.  

 

I am satisfied with how it all wrapped up.  There was closure.  HD was fearless with her choices and she owned them all.  Heartache included.  That last scene at the tunnel where they said what they had always wanted to say but just didn’t beforehand was a nice bookend. That was enough.  They said their goodbyes.  They parted on good terms.  Thankful for the parts they played in each other’s lives.  Wishing each other well for the future.  So it was a happy ending.  Because everyone accepted good times they had in the past, acknowledged the love and support they had for each other and moved on with their lives.  Life is too short to live with regrets.  As for why adult HD seemed “regretful”.  I don’t think she regretted breaking up.  What she regretted was HOW they broke up.  That’s why she wrote in her diary what she wished she had said.  Instead of parting with anger and frustration.  
 

I do wish they had cast someone else or just aged KTR instead of using a different actress for adult HD.  I find it hard to read her (the older actress) emotions and in part I blame her acting for the ambiguity about how HD was living her adult life.  
 

As for NJH receiving calls about whether YJ died or not, if you watch the video, his response was incredulity.  He was aghast that people would think that nothing but his death could’ve caused HD to NOT end up with YJ.  The truth was a lot less dramatic.  She just decided to end it.  For both their sakes.  

[bee_wannabe]

This is why i love coming to threads and twitter with 2521 hashtag because there may be new insight and perspective. 

 

Come to think of it, career and love is no longer options for Yi Jin after he kissed her. He believed he could work both out especially when he and Hee Do survived more than 600 days dating amid their busy schedules without any significant hurdles. Hee Do had been so understanding and supporting of his work, not being overly demanding. Work is his calling and responsibility while Hee Do is his happiness. Little did he know that Hee Do struggled in her effort to be the understanding girlfriend. 

 

It's heartbreaking to know that he'd been having hard time being a breadwinner and backbone of his family since 22 yet the little luxury called love he got to experience was short lived. Let's just assume he lives happily now wherever he is. The drama doesn't imply that he's single and miserable in present timeline. It's just us overthinking again. All of us have part of our past that we regret no matter how small. That part will stay there until we find closure. Does that mean we don't live well and are stuck in the past? I don't think so. 

[chickfactor]

24 hours have passed, and this is still me...

 

 

Usually, I'm the one who is telling everyone to calm down and get over it when my fellow soompi posters are burned by a drama storyline. But this time, I am the one who's been burned.

 

So now I have felt that sharp pain of k-drama-betrayal. And it burns like too-hot ddeokboki sticking to my tender tongue.

 

I'm okay with it. The amount of hurt and sadness I feel is a testament to how much I loved this show. And just like with Baekdo, my love mattered too. (To me, that is.)

 

(It would have been funny if Heedo went on to marry "Dalkong.")

[minglanfan2]

3 hours ago, bee_wannabe said:

This is why i love coming to threads and twitter with 2521 hashtag because there may be new insight and perspective. 

 

Come to think of it, career and love is no longer options for Yi Jin after he kissed her. He believed he could work both out especially when he and Hee Do survived more than 600 days dating amid their busy schedules without any significant hurdles. Hee Do had been so understanding and supporting of his work, not being overly demanding. Work is his calling and responsibility while Hee Do is his happiness. Little did he know that Hee Do struggled in her effort to be the understanding girlfriend. 

 

It's heartbreaking to know that he'd been having hard time being a breadwinner and backbone of his family since 22 yet the little luxury called love he got to experience was short lived. Let's just assume he lives happily now wherever he is. The drama doesn't imply that he's single and miserable in present timeline. It's just us overthinking again. All of us have part of our past that we regret no matter how small. That part will stay there until we find closure. Does that mean we don't live well and are stuck in the past? I don't think so. 

YiJin is the tragic lover poster boy of '22 for me.He moved his relationship from platonic to the hearts and kisses one on request of the girl.He steps aside from the role for her.Diligently avoiding her group. On the odd occasion when he meets one of them stops short of asking about her.Heedo was worried about the awkwardness of their situation as they moved in the same universe so he took care of that too..One hoped he had moved on after hurting from the break up.He didn't till 2009.Yes he was well the reply came on her query.The pause as the memories of her flashed by fresh and bright as if they happened yesterday was only for him.He had left behind the pencil box not her photograph as he moved to NYC.

15 years later as he changed the password, I as a viewer wished to see his eyes smile at the memory not be moist at the remembrance of something precious being lost.

The unreal dream guy did deserve to show us a sliver of happiness riding into the sunset.

We mortals get a shot at it living in the real world even after our passionate relationship/s whither and shrivel away with no signs of a bloom.

[Maetawinz]

Say Goodbye to our beloved characters.

 

[Triple7]

It's been ages since I commented anything on Soompi forum but BYJ made me to write again just to share my thinking of whether he lived with a miserable heart after breaking up with NHD.

 

For a certain period of time, yes. But he gradually got over it. That was explained in the epilogue when he forgot the password to log into his Barro account and had to answer a password recovery question. What is the name of your first love? The way he giggled when tying in NHD name shows that he was completely fine looking back the memories about her, about his youth.

[Skysky]

@Maetawinz Lmao the BTS video don't have baekdo scene from eps 16 and their separation scene, the scene are all from eps 15.. They knew all the complaints and but still want us to watch BTS video so they cut baekdo separation scene? Lol. I actually want to see their last filming at the tunnel tbh 

[krismat]

The finale of 2125 is a bit rushed, no! it is done with rush and full of disappointment.  I don't know what is wrong with the writer or in a whole the production of the drama.  Now, we all left hanging thinking about who is the father to minchae?, who is Hee Do husband?  and when did she start a new romance.  Hee Do at leastgot back her diary but we still did not get the whole drama.  Will there be part 2 of this 2125?  The ending, the finale is just an ANTICLIMAX!! 

[bee_wannabe]

Rough translation of Hee Do's diary. Some diligent knetz rewrite it for people to see. Hee Do tried. She did try.

 

Baekdo shipper and Kwon Do Eun writer

 

[aisling]

Day 2 after the traumatic ending. I’m still not okay.