I'm in love with the show, and if A and B or C and D or even E and F end together or not, is not the point. I'm loving the ride, and I've lived enough to know not only first loves are wonderful, all of them are. And besides, the real love story here is the one between YooRim and HeeDo.

Anyway, I have a question, as someone who works in insurances in her corner of the world. Aren't car insurances compulsory in South Korea? In EU you can't drive without an insurance that has unlimited third part liability, so if you cause an accident (even if you are drunk) the third part will get the money, and all the hospital fees covered. It just amazes me how many times I've seen this in dramas: people ruined by compensations. But after all, it is the point of the episode, I guess.

I have to say that episode 14 was by far my favourite so far. I loved seeing YooRim so happy during the dinner with her friends, and then I just cried and cried and cried for the rest of the episode. So unfair to her, and she was so, so brave. Rooting for you, babe.

I love every part of this drama that isn't Yi-Jin.

To me, one of the core parts of his personality is his selfishness. Which seems weird right, because some key elements of the story have been him doing things "for other people". But even when he does things "for other people" it's on his terms and because it makes him feel good.

He pulls his brother out of his school "saving" him from being embarrassed or harassed for their father's misdeeds. But as we see, it's not actually what his brother wants, he is never asked if he wants to leave his friends and his life, he's instead "saved" and told he should be grateful to his brother for messing up his already messed up life more.

The whole course of Yi-Jin's interactions with Hee-do are selfish, now, sometimes that ends with him doing something good for her, like being there when he Mom isn't, but it also leads to him repeatedly ignoring her feelings and demanding that everything be on his terms, that he be allowed to act in an obviously romantic way without labeling it. When with the kiss she tries to set terms he rejects her, but then also is jealous and possessive of any interaction with other men.
Then we get to Yu-Rim... he tells himself he's being "impartial", but that's really nonsense, because he only knows about it because he's dating her friend, and acting as her friend. He doesn't know about this as a reporter, instead he's leveraging his personal relationships selfishly to enhance his career at the expense of Hee-do and Yu-Rim, because at his core, all relationships and interactions he has are for his own gain.

I think the show maybe wants us to see this as a parallel for Yu-Rim who makes sacrifices for her family, but it doesn't really track, because Yi-Jin doesn't really seem to make sacrifices, instead he sacrifices others. I guess he has to put off University, but that's so minor, at every step his first thought is himself.

That last scene broke my heart to pieces but guess an ending like La la land is more realistic than not. How many people really end up with their first loves in real life? Guess not that many. I enjoyed the ride though, it was beautiful in many ways but still think the Reply series did a better job in a different way.

It was 2 very good episodes.

I liked to see Yi-Jin struggling with his feelings for Hee-Do and his job. I was happy to see that Yoo-Rim wasn't naive and understood the situation.

It's sad that Yoo-Rim had to make this choice. Changing nationality it's a huge decision in the identity of a person. Her online discussions with Hee-Do became real life moments and it was beautiful to see sharing those moments together, their bond.

I'm not so curious about the future. I'm focused on the present time (their present, not ours), seeing them growing together.

They gave us laughs in Episode 13 so they could break our hearts in Episode 14.

This drama consistently surprises me but when I go back and think about it, the writer has foreshadowed most of the events. Kudos for that.

I remember people talking about Yoo-rim’s dad’s truck of doom a few weeks ago, and it finally struck. Yoo-rim making the difficult decision to change nationalities and dealing with the fallout was heart wrenching. It hit even harder because it was Russia, of all places. Thinking of her alone in Russia, away from her family, not speaking the language, is sad.

I knew Yi-jin would face a similar situation to Hee-do’s mom and the Coach as a reporter, I just assumed it would involve Hee-do instead of Yoo-rim. It looks like he’s an anchor in 2009. I can’t help but wish he could have found a different career path. I just don’t see him ever being truly happy as a reporter.

The framing in Episode 14 with the gang happily and drunkenly running through the tunnel at the beginning and Yi-jin sobbing in it at the end got to me.

I loved all of Hee-do and Yoo-rim's scenes. I'm so glad the drama gave equal weight to their arc and relationship.

“Congratulations on your wedding, Hee-do.” I was on Twitter right after the episode aired and the amount of shocked viewers shocked me lol. The writer pretty much told us from the very first episode that Yi-jin and Hee-do don't last. The theories have been fun and funny to read though.

After Episode 14 the show’s decision not to age Kim Tae-ri for the present day scenes seems even more silly. We saw Hee-do in 2009. You don’t change that drastically in 12-13 years lol.

Yoo-rim and Ji-woong’s relationship isn’t very deep, but why do I think they might somehow make it.

I have calmed down from my initial reaction to the endings of both episodes -- which was basically a lot of keyboard smash xD

I'm one of the people who disliked how Yoo-rim treated Heedo in the first part despite knowing that she will have her arc in future eps. But it was lovely to see how far their friendship have come. How Yoorim calmly and logically fought for herself in that jjajangmyeon place *clap clap clap* how Hee-do was her go-to person. I mean, I honestly would go to Heedo as well, SHE'S THE BEST!

As for our OTP, wherever you take me Show, let's go there! *pretends to run towards the sunset*

I loved the Yu Rim and Hee Do time together. It was so beautiful. I cried a lot. I hope they are still friends in the future. As for Yi Jin, he didn't have to report on the story, he could have given it to someone else. There is bias in every story and this show has shown that brilliantly, even if it is subtle, it is still bias folks.

Wow, this show isn't going to let up until the very end and I love it for that. I liked watching the struggle to just go for the romantic relationship and the honest realization that after the midnight kiss, it couldn't go back anyway. It was either all or nothing from that point forward.
Hmmm... episode 14 really took me by surprise. It was by far my least favorite episode so far. While I did appreciate the beautiful friendship scenes with Hee-do and Yu-rim, it was too much to completely stop the story of Hee-do an Yi-jin in mid step. It didn't fit the feel of the rest of the show or seem true to our main characters. When Yi-jin was in a different city they were still each other's touch stones and even in ep. 13 they couldn't quite escape the gravitational pull of each other. I don't believe that the whole episode when by without more interaction between the two. From the previews, it seems like we're going to make up for that in ep. 15, but I feel like we've lost momentum. I'm just not sure about the decision to step away from that storyline for an entire episode. I could have easily skipped the "make a dummy to fool the press" scene for a heartfelt interaction between our hurting OTP to face a bit of the betrayal and conflicted loyalties they are going to have to face eventually... We'll see next weekend if I can pick up where we left off or if it feels stilted.
I do like that being on the international competition circuit assures that Hee-do and Yu-rim will continue to be in contact. They can legitimately continue their friendship through these contests and go back to being internet pen pals. :)

At this point in time I am more invested in YooRim and HaeDo’s relationship than HaeDo and YeJin. I want them to make it in the end and be a part of each other’s lives somehow.

"Exploiting other's misfortunes" perfectly describes why I left journalism and have never regretted it. Maybe if I had weathered through it, I could see the bright side of the field too, the one that brings justice and gives voice to many. But at that time and how the news has generally been, I thought whenever I worked on a serious topic it would somehow end up being just that. There's always a bias and propaganda in news (both Coach Yang and Yoo Rim's situation) and thanks to citizen journalism and social media we do have an outlet for people to convey both sides of the story. So ep 14 really hit on a personal note and show did it well. It seems like the beginning of the end for Hee Do and BYJ but I really want the friendships to stay. At this point, even that seems difficult. Ugh this show hurts so good! But I'll also have to praise it for perfectly adding the comic bits that balance tone. Still laughing over YJ stuffing his face when HD came closer and angrily telling HD to stay away from oppas.

Episode 14 had plenty of tears, but I'm so glad we didn't need to spend it wallowing in male lead angst caused by not communicating. Instead we got treated to heartfelt and fun (the return of Hee-do's drawing skills lol) friendship moments.

By the end of the episode I wasn't really angry at Yi-jin anymore, but with Hee-do's mom her commitment to her career was very understandable. Maybe because there's not as much attention on his family as in the earlier episodes, the desperation to keep the reporter career while hurting himself and his closest friends isn't really sticking the landing

But that's a small fuss compared to how enjoyable everything else is

Why we will get our happy ending:

Popular theory is that it will be a sad ending to teach us that all moments are precious and fleeting, nothing lasts forever. And in conjunction would be the advice to treasure what we have in the present. It could also include the thing that ko-yurim said, that even tho nothing lasts it's still better to have had it in your lifetime than not at all.

While poetic and true, I don't see the series really being about teaching us those lessons as the purpose of the show. It's just depressing and we have had that message hammered into us again and again the whole series. And then they're going to end it with yet another cycle of the same lesson? I don't buy it.

It's honestly so boring and not creative enough for this writer who has proven to be unpredictable and creative to the point where we haven't been able to properly predict new episodes.

We need something deeper and more inspiring. There is always a twist at the end in kdramas.. And things ending the way it seems to be (that they broke up and HD marries another man) isn't a twist nor is it inspiring.

The better storyline is exactly what Yijin said to Heedo early on about her fencing, that all her failures have been stacking and have now made a stairway for her, and it's the tallest so she can reach out and grab ALL that she wants when she is ready.

Our couple has also been through years of a cycle of struggle and wins and failures. Those have stacked up and they now have a stairwell before them that will allow them to also grab ALL that they want, not just a part, but ALL.

"...the result was brilliant and the ending beautiful." That is the kind of ending we will get.

Although I've thoroughly enjoyed the show, I have to admit I had a throw-the-phone-through-the-tv moment at the end of ep 14. And it's not like it's because the showrunners pulled a 180 on us all of a sudden...they've been up front and hinting (okay, probably more than hinting) the whole time that our lead couple will not be together. After all, it's reasonable to believe that first love is usually not our last love. That people change, evolve and grow apart. That paths that we once walked together often diverge. I get it.

Here's my big "BUT"....But, I am hoping in my heart that this will not be the case for Heedo and YiJin. Because how often in one's life do you meet someone that accepts and loves you unconditionally for who you are and brings out the best in you. Regardless if that happens at 18 or 81, it would seem as if you would want to hold on to that person, because that kind of relationship/meeting of the souls, regardless of whether it's platonic or romantic, comes so infrequently in a lifetime. The most upsetting part of ep 14 was not that Heedo and Yijin were not together, but in the interview, it seemed as if they were not in each other's lives anymore. I think the writers did too good of a job crafting and building up this pairing over the last 17 hours or so, only to show them drift apart and out of each other's lives in 60 minutes or less. Personally, I think that HD/YJ's story deserves a better send off than that and am hopeful that we'll see a satisfying ending to this next week.

Ok, here’s the thorn that’s sticking for me: that Yi Jin didn’t find a way to move departments by making his boss understand that he had indeed already stepped too far over the line in his relationship(s) with the people he was reporting on. Maybe I’m supposed to see that that would just get him fired and it’s reflecting the decision Hee Do’s Mom made about her husband’s funeral.

i am still on the OTP ship even if it seems to be sinking
here are some reasons why i'm not jumping off:
- the confession of support they gave each other in 2009 would be disrespectful to her husband if he existed.
- despite minchae's last name being kim we know BYJ was adopted. so maybe he changes to his original name and uses that to register his marriage to NHD. her mom was able to hide that she was NHD's mom after all
- during the interview in the beginning of ep 14 there is a little girl that says "dad" quietly in the background. (around 2:55 or shortly after)
- the photo album at the house contains the photo only BYJ got a copy of
- NHD's atelier wood working shop is named 2521 and has rainbow colors in it
- the writer is known for last minute unexpected twists
anyone else still on this ship with me?!?

yijin chose to broke the story, bc anyone else would have completely twisted the narrative and very likely dragged in yurim's father's accident and exposed her entire family to widespread public scrutiny and criticism. think about the reporter who tried to prey on seungwan to frame students as the bad guys in the conversation about corporal punishment. if someone like him had broken the story, yurim and her family would have been purposely set up as lambs for public slaughter. yijin's report was neutral and only stated the most pertinent facts. yurim still caught a lot of flack, but it was only her. her family was protected.

this is probably what yijin and yurim discussed the night he visited her. i hope we to get see the second half of their conversation as a flashback in the next episode. having yijin break the story for his own career advancement would contradict everything we know about him, so i'm surprised some people have been quick to think that.

I guess the diaries no longer exist, because she threw away all of the dating content once they broke up.

I don’t understand why I have to feel satisfied with just the preservation of the friendship between Hee-do and Yoo-rim. While I do hope they remain friends, I also want a happy ending for Hee-do and Yi-Jin. I gotta be honest, I will feel cheated if they don’t get it. I don’t feel like this was a lovely story about love found and lost, and oh well, that’s just life. The title of the show, the way it was billed was that Yi-Jin and Hee-do fall in love at Twenty Five and Twenty One. That’s what I was expecting. While I respect every writer’s choice to craft their story as they see fit, drama endings often leave me feeling disappointed. Like I’ve been duped. It’s not like the movie, Love Story, where you know the ending is tragic. Still hoping against hope for a happy ending. 🤞🏼

So many emotions while watching the last 2 episodes.

Penned down ep 13 Back Yi Jin feelings.

A new year
Began with a kiss from her
Shocked I started to ignore
Her every step toward me, I subtly steer
As much I tried to move farther
She came more and more nearer

To know that I cannot waver
Believe me, I want us forever
Time again has shown its power
To choose between us now or never
With a heavy heart I did not spare
A glance to the one I love so dear

Trying to avoid her in fear
But fate tried to bring us closer
Whenever I see her
Makes my heart flutter
She has waged a war
Inside my heart I cannot bear

Begging to me in tears
She said she doesn’t care
If my love for her isn’t that clear
All she asked was in a whisper
Crying to me don’t disappear

Conflicted as my emotions were
Finally, I got my answer
Bridging the gap between me and her
I ran back to the one I missed so dear
Taking the chance so mere
Telling I am never letting go of her ever

Her tears are my fear
Her smile is my treasure
She is an answered prayer
For she is my hope and my desire
Borrowing the hope and love from her
Promising to create beautiful memories together
Nothing in the world could measure
The immense love i have for her

Nam Joo Hyuk is an actor who is just growing into himself and he find it with this role! He's the anti alpha male lead, someone who is rather shy, awkward, and 'soft.' Its something I notice he tends to carry in his roles. The show does a good job with making our characters actions/thoughts feel realistic, that "Yeah this could happen in rl/I too would feel the same way." Not easy to do, but I think that this show is deeper than I thought it would be at first glance. The more the show goes on, the more I found myself admitting how well made this is.

All of the characters are so rich, and given space to be given great scenes that showcase them. I'll miss this bunch when this show ends :( Bo-na was a bit cold at first in the role, I think once she started to open up she warmed me over with her character/storyline. As for Kim Tae Ri, what more can I say? She's one of the best actresses of her generation. She nailed it with Hee-do, and a well written female character. She isn't a plot device to be set up for the ML/couple, but I can truly feel her emotions!

For me, what I got was that memories we've in that moment are beautiful/timeless, but ultimately those memories slowly disappear b/c thats life! However, those memories we had in our youth live on. I also think the show does a good job of showing us how futile one moment can be, how sad or happy life can turn out and oftentimes we can't predict that.

The ep 13-14 focused on the conflicting emotions and inner turmoil faced by the characters.
Yi Jin had a hard time in both episodes and it really broke my heart. He has been given so many hints and advices from his seniors regarding the distance he has to keep between a reporter and a subject. He tries so hard to balance his work and keep his loved ones protected, but his difficult life throws a curveball and he has to choose either one of them. From him avoiding Hee Do after the new year kiss trying not to waver until he gave into his true feelings to him reporting on Yoo Rim's breaking news and he becoming a traitor in Hee Do's eyes ,Yi Jin has never had a peaceful moment. Almost everyday is battle for him .
Nam Joo Hyuk is equally exceptional as Kim Tae Ri in this drama. His eyes speak so much. The subtle change in his emotions fitting each scene perfectly. He has come a long way. He deserves to win an award for this role.

I never found Yoo Rim likeable in earlier episodes, but ep 14 she truly shone. Loved her to bits. It was a very difficult decision she made on her part to change her nationality. but her due to financial situation and to save her family nothing else mattered to her. The courage to do something like this is commendable. I loved the friendship between the girls. That is some friendship goals they have. Good and bad times they were together and i hope to see the same friendship vibes when they apart too.

My most favorite moment from the 2 episodes is the end of ep 13 where Yi Jin kissed HeeDo. That was an intense moment.

The most heartbreaking moment from the 2 episodes the Tunnel Scene at ep 14. The tunnel which brought so much happiness to Yi Jin , yet due to his actions he could not avoid, him breaking down completely there, really made me cry.

Also, with the interview scene at the end between Yi Jin and Hee Do , there seems to be no chance of them being together at the end. I wish i could say otherwise, but my heart is saying they are the end game.

This is why I've always thought Yi-jin feeling conflicted over Hee-do made no sense when a whole Ko Yu-rim exists. He's known Yu-rim since she was in middle school. He's close to her parents. She calls him "oppa." His family sponsored her fencing. How is that not conflict of interest?

Yu-rim has been dealt such a shitty hand in life. I know why Yi-jin couldn't report the truth or else the public would find out about her dad's accident, but I wish he did a story on her response to the restaurant owner about having to earn money for her family and not selling out their country. I was proud of Yu-rim for standing up for herself and more when she said she learned it from Hee-do. I teared up when she read the Russian phrases by the friends, and her admitting to Hee-do that she didn't want to go broke my heart. Did she even graduate before leaving? Hee-do getting mad at Yi-jin was immature. She doesn't know how the world works. This is his job. At least Yu-rim understood.

I don't understand the internet's meltdown from "Congratulations on your wedding." Since the first episode, we were told Min-chae's last name is Kim, and she's been reading Hee-do's diary and wouldn't not recognize her father's name or photo. I'm just glad Yi-jin isn't dead, but that was the most awkward interview ever. Honestly, I hate adult Hee-do and Min-chae so much that I've chosen to ignore everything that happens in the present, so I can easily ignore 2009 too.

These episodes brought joy, laughter but so many tears. Ugh

Ji-woong is such a comic relief, I just love him. It was so beautiful to see the Hee-Do/Yu-rim friendship fully in episode 14. Yu-rim and Yi-jin broke my heart 😭.

I was sad that Na Hee-Do was not more understanding of Yi-jin's conflict/situation when he broke the news. She knows him best.
We saw him struggling so much with the decision and I think it's only fair to give him the benefit of doubt since we didn't see how his conversion with Yu-rim went.

Ultimately, Yi-jin should have listened to Hee-Do's mom when she told him to change departments but alas it is what it is

After the last scene on episode 14, i wouldn’t have wonder if TVN building is set on fire 🤣

After this episode, I can’t get behind Yi-jin. I don’t understand his motivation to break the news about Yoo-rim.
Is this ‘scoop’ really going to push his career forward? Can’t he wait for the next one?
We haven’t heard anything about his family in a while, so it doesn’t feel motivated by money or need of a promotion.
He has never expressed any real love for journalism; it’s just the job he could get. So when he asks, ‘should I have been second?’ (to break the news), I felt like, yeah, you have way more to lose from this decision than you have to gain.
At the very least, couldn’t he warn her beforehand?

One thing about the drama, is that it has resolutely avoided a lot of the tropes in drama in favor of a more realistic and nuanced world view.

Hee-do's mother isn't a coldhearted villain, she's a hurt woman struggling with a difficult life, supporting he daughter in a society that puts up hurdles in front of professional women, and making all the tough choices and sacrifices it entails, and never having the time to process her own grief.

The coach is neither the wonderful, but wronged by society victim, nor the cold-hearted and corrupt taskmaster, she's something in-between.

Seung-wan and her mother don't get to change the school, there is no great outpouring of support for preventing corporal punishment... they simply take themselves away from it, proud, but generally ineffective.

Each of the characters (except maybe Hee-do) is flawed, none of them is perfect, and all of their sufferings don't come because of some villain or plot that can be overcome, they come because that's how life is, and the obstacles in their way are often systematic. There is no one person to blame for Yu-Rim's family's issues, it's just how life is when you're poor and society is set up for the rich.

I think that's been brilliant writing throughout, and it's one reason I hope they continue through the end with the idea. Like Yu-Rim is going to spend a big part of her life in Russia, some people will hate her for it, she and Hee-do will never be teammates again. Hee-do and Yi-Jin are on different paths, he's going to have to make a choice likely at some point, as will she, what is it I want/need from my life? And like ly for Yi-Jin the answer will be his career, and for Hee-do? Probably much the same.

My hope is that the writer plans to continue as she has, and this is a story about this brief period where Hee-do (and her friends) finds herself, and how she and they move into finding their paths through the obstacles of adult life.

This drama tells a story very beautifully, that's for sure. However, I really do not understand what the point of the current (their future) timeline is. I think I would have enjoyed the story even more if it had been told in a linear fashion. Now that I know that Hee Do is (seemingly) a boring adult who lost her spark and doesn't even remember half of the good times she had with her high school friends, I am less invested in the story of her growing up. If the point is "good things are temporary", I would have still gotten it if we saw them become adults and slowly lose touch. That would have been bittersweet but realistic, and at least we could have made up stories in our minds that the whole gang might reunite later in their lives.

As for the romance it's the same thing. That 2009 interview crushed me, because Hee Do and Yijin were definitely talking like old lovers who haven't seen or talked to each other in years. In that case, I'm kind of wondering what is the point of their budding romance in the past timeline? Best comparison I can think of is this: if you were a guest at a wedding where the groom and bride look wonderfully in love, but then a time traveler sat next to you and said "guess what, they'll divorce in five years", then you couldn't really enjoy the wedding anymore right? Even if the bride and groom look totally in love in that moment. That's how I feel about this romance now.

Love how beautiful this show is. I think the show is trying to bring home the point that it's the journey that matters, not so much the destination. Look at how much the audience is (still) drawn to the show even though we kinda knew from the outset that they probably wouldn't end up together. And yet we still keep watching it, and still love the journey.

Although of course it would be lovely if the couples end up together, but what is most meaningful is that they have impacted one another in such significant ways and we can indeed see so much growth in all the five characters over the last few episodes.

Fingers crossed though, that the writers will give us an unexpected gift. But regardless, I'm ready for whatever the ending may be.

Comments have become amazingly philosophical regarding the resolution to this drama. Sometimes people grow apart - even those who were once deeply in love. The lyrics of Tony Arata's "The Dance" came to mind:
And now, I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end, the way it would all go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance.

I cried over the river at ep 14, really heart breaking for me. Friendship between HD and YR just worderfull. I just can't imagine how YR can make a big deal decision at such a young age like that. It's really painfull for me.

I'd love to make a guess about the resolution of the show.

I think it's quite clear that the show has been hinting that these two lovely human beings might not end up together. So my guess is that, they wouldn't. As the show has been from the perspective of looking back to the past, I think it's very likely that the story taking place in the past was a bittersweet memory of the protagonist, of which she wanted to forget. As Hee-do said to her daughter that sometimes, it is better to forget, I believe the reason why she intentionally tried to forget it was because that happiness no longer exists in the present timeline. I guess that because of that reporting incident that YJ did on YR, the group grew apart, especially the budding romantic relationship between YJ and HD. If I remember correctly, the voiceover narrating a story in the episode when HD and JW was going to take the CSAT and the rest of the group was their cheering on them said that because they didn't know how to bend and chose to break, the crack began to show. I believe HD and YJ grew apart from that incident of him reporting the exclusive on YR.

What I think would happen during the time they were apart is that both of them began living their life, their new life (HD in a university, and YJ as a news anchor) in their respective path. In the end, HD got married to a person compatible with her and with her career, and YJ remained single or got married to another woman who was compatible with him and his career. They might not contact a lot, but each of them still cheers one another on in secret. The reason why HD's mom mentioned she met YJ a few weeks or a month ago showed that he is still working as a news anchor, and HD' mom met him as she used to work in the same industry and hence is always his senior.

This way, the show will end as a classic tale of the great First Love and Great Love of HD's life which never worked out. I remember there is this saying in Kdramas that first love rarely works out, and if this show ends the same way as I have predicted, it can become a classic tale. I'm not against both of them ending up together though, but I think the chance is low as that would contradict every little hint we got in the previous episodes.

When YURIM recorded her dad’s singing, I thought something bad will happen to the dad. =(

MY GUESS (AND HOPE): YIJIN greeted HEEDO on her wedding but the actual deal is: the two of them got married, only they are keeping it secret to avoid work conflict. Just my wishful thinking.