multifandom blog and proud of it. I read a lot, watch a lot, and fangirl a lot, so expect posts from all the fandoms, haha. check the tags for a more comprehensive list!
2521: a curious update on the relationship summary
in may of 2021, soompi released their first article revealing the cast considering to star in “twenty five, twenty one”. translating from two korean articles, here is how the news source presented the relationship summary between hee do and yi jin:
In 1998, in a world that seems on the brink of disaster, two people aged 22 and 18 meet for the first time, but end up hurting each other at age 23 and 19. At 24 and 20, they learn to trust each other, and at age 25 and 21, they start to fall in love.
what i find fascinating here is the potential outdatedness of this description. in the same article, yi jin was described as someone who “works as a makeup salesman and a bodyguard in order to stake out a story”, something that sounds suspiciously like a narrative that was scrapped in favour of something better, as we haven’t seen anything of the sort happen in the series so far. furthermore, the entire drama description in this article sounds like a draft: yi jin is still a UBS sports reporter and hee do is still a gold medalist in the making, but they’re presented as meeting at the asian games (episode 7, like in yi jin’s fantasy!), and there is neither a mention of the financial crisis ruining their lives, nor of the fencing rivalry which is so central to the story.
while the omission of these details can be interpreted as the showmakers disclosing less information to the media, the change of significant aspects like yi jin’s disguises makes me think that these descriptions were based on a script draft. as the drama didn’t start filming until september of 2021, and scripts are frequently revised and improved before and during shooting, i think it’s safe to conclude that the above description of the romantic relationship is as outdated as the plot presented there.
and here comes the most interesting discovery i want to present: there is a newer description of the relationship. it’s on tvn’s website along with the series description, and this is what google translates it to (paraphrased by me in a coherent text):
1998: it’s as if the whole world shakes in a year of anxiety. Two people aged 22 and 18 met, and called each other by name for the first time. At the ages of 23 and 19, the two depended on each other. At 24 and 20, both of them were wounded. When they were 25 and 21, the two fell in love.
at first glance, the description doesn’t appear much different, but the change to the narrative sequence is key: there is a difference in the age where the rift happens.
in the soompi summary, the “hurt” happens at 23 and 19, around the asian games plotline. but in the more recent tvn summary, 23 and 19 is the age when the characters “depend on each other”. the hurt comes later, and this time around there is no agent: they are “wounded”, but it’s unclear if they were the ones doing the wounding.
the change in event sequence is vital: in the first instance, there is a rift at a younger, more fragile place in their relationship, followed by reconcilation. in the new version, they develop a deeper bond before a falling out that might hit much harder because of the longer build up before it – or this very build up might be what saves a relationship that’s been growing and transforming for so long.
whatever this rift turns out to be, it’s good to keep in mind that our expectations of a mutually caused hurt might be based on an obsolete source. and one thing remains the same: whatever happens won’t be so bad that they don’t fall in love a year later.
do you know what else is so crazy and beautiful about this very scene and the camera directing here? it is the fact that yijin knew he could cross the line because he now realized how much heedo really meant to him, that, even by just her existence, it already gives him every comfort he’s pursuing in life. that, she is his safe place.
and also the fact that yijin now realized he’s brave enough to get up once again to face the reality and strive for what he always been wanting. so he decided to take her hand, be by her side, while running towards their dream together. all for his sake, and for heedo’s.
when yijin’s having a hard time, he would go to the nearest payphone for only one purpose; to listen to heedo’s voice.
on payphones, number 3 is an option to check whether there is an incoming voicemail. so, to listen to heedo’s voice, he would press the number 3; to gain his strength.
ep 6;
and when they meet again, when the use of cellphones become popular and he already got heedo’s phone number, yijin chose number 3 as the shortcut number for him to call heedo. that is because he knows, when he dials for number 3, he will hear heedo’s voice.
If you’re an adult, do the stuff you couldn’t as a kid.
Like, me and my sister went to a museum, and they had an extra exhibit of butterflies. But it cost £3. So we sighed, walked past, then stopped. We each had £3. We could see the butterflies. And we did it was great. We followed it up with an ice-cream as well because Mum and Dad weren’t there to say no.
I was driving back from a work trip with 2 other people in their early 20s, and we drove past a MacDonalds. One of the others went “Aww man, I’d love a McFlurry.” And the guy driving pulled in to the drive through. It was wild. But it was great.
I went to a park over the weekend and I was thinking “Man, I’d love to hire one of those bikes and cycle round the park.” It took me a few minutes to go “Wait, I can hire one of those bikes!”
I guess what I’m saying is, those impulsive things you wanted to do as a kid - see the dinosaur exhibit, play in the fountains with the other kids, lie in the shade for 2 hours - you can do when you’re an adult. You have to deal with a whole lot of other bull, but at least you can indulge your inner 8 year-old.
