Qualifying as part of the National Team, Hee-do faces new struggles in Twenty Five Twenty One.
For Hee-do who has done her best in the competition, she becomes part of the national team and begins training with them.
As his father causes trouble for his younger brother, Yi-jin disappears from Hee-do to stay with his mom and uncle. Although they are apart, the two think of each other, leaving recorded encouraging messages for one another.
Marcie Line watches Twenty Five Twenty One on Netflix
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Finale + Review |
Twenty Five Twenty One Episode 5 Key Moments
“I’ll give it my all for myself. Because only I know how hard I’ve tried.”
Walking Hee-do home, Yi-jin tells Hee-do to remember the words of encouragement he has said. Grateful for Yi-jin, Hee-do gifts a fencing sword to Yi-jin, and they separate ways with smiles on their faces.
Entering her house, Hee-do is greeted by her mother, telling her off for meeting a guy after allowing her to transfer schools and continue fencing.
With her mother’s remarks, Hee-do pledges that she will do her best for herself as she is the only one who knows how much effort she has put into fencing.
Back to the present, Hee-do’s daughter realizes how much effort her mom has put in fencing, and is more amazed by that fact than her love story.
“I’m not someone who congratulates you. I’m here to make people congratulate you.”
Hee-do beats her opponents in fencing, and as she meets her last opponent, she first analyzes her opponent’s attacks. Although she gives up the first five points to her opponent, Hee-do successfully gains points continuously with her skills and analysis.
Nearing to reach the score for a win, Hee-do’s opponent delays their bout, but Hee-do takes in what her coach has said, and wins the match. As she becomes part of the national team, Hee-do is congratulated by her school and is featured in the media, which her mother also hears about.
Excited to deliver the good news, Hee-do realizes Yi-jin is nowhere to be found. With that, Hee-do asks Yu-rim about his number so that she may contact him. At their house’s front gate, Hee-do sees the sword she gifted to Yi-jin.
Garnering attention from the media, Hee-do’s mom brings Hee-do to take a decent photo of herself. She is amazed as to how she has won, and yet her mom still has a flaw of hers that she can point out.
“Sometimes, saying that we can do something can be more discouraging.”
Yi-jin hears about his brother being plagued by men looking for their father and rushes to his school. In the precinct, they are informed that their father has set up a company under Yi-hyun’s name with no profit. Because of that, their father is considered a financial criminal.
Witnessing all those, Yi-jin throws their beepers, and travels to the place their mother is staying at. Everyone becomes surprised by Yi-jin’s disappearance, and Hee-do along with the others search for him.
Transferring suddenly to a new place and working at the fish market, Yi-hyun becomes ashamed of Yi-jin, and hides the fact that they are brothers to his new friends. Coming back at home, Yi-jin calls out his brother for being ashamed of poverty, and they get into an argument about their sudden move away from Seoul.
In a drink with his uncle, Yi-jin admits how Yi-hyun might be right that he is only using his younger brother as an excuse to run away from his failed interviews.
“But I still hope that even if we fail, we’ll be strong enough to get back up again.”
Entering the national training center, Hee-do asks Seung-wan the recordings of Yi-jin from his past broadcasts. She takes the tapes with her to the training grounds of the national team. Unable to sleep with Yu-rim as her roommate, Hee-do listens to one of the tapes of Yi-jin’s broadcasts.
Yu-rim comes to school and is ignored by Ji-woong. As he explains his actions, they reveal to each other facts about themselves that they were hesitant about.
Training hard in the national team, Hee-do gets sick, and their coach appears to mainly worry for Yu-rim. Although they have been apart for months, Hee-do and Yi-jin still think of each other.
They replay each other’s recorded messages on the payphone, and relive the simple joy of flipping the faucet to make it look like a fountain. In his message for Hee-do, Yi-jin promises to reappear again before the release of Full House volume 15.
Twenty Five Twenty One Episode 5 Musings
If one of your friends suddenly disappears with no word, you’ll really worry about them so much especially when you know what they’ve been to. Hee-do is an understanding friend, and it’s great to see how instead of getting upset, she roots for Yi-jin even though she has no clue where he is.
Things have been going well for Hee-do continuously as she enters the national team. Although she celebrates her wins, she also has new challenges in the national team with the coach prioritizing Yu-rim more often. Adding to that, Hee-do’s mother appears to wish her best but does not know how to express it well in front of her daughter.
In his new struggle in life, Yi-jin is crushed by his younger brother’s remarks. His brother is undergoing puberty, which is understandable as to how he wishes to relate with his peers even at the expense of lying. However, it is still hurtful to act that way to your older brother who has given up a lot of things.
Although it may have hurt, those words have also shaken Yi-jin from the reality that he is running away from. With his pledge to Hee-do, we can be assured that he will be having the courage to begin again.
Yi-jin’s character is close to human reality as sometimes running away from your problems is the rash decision you make especially when you take a heavy role in your twenties where everything is confusing.
It’s so sweet to see how Hee-do and Yi-jin replay each other’s recorded messages, rooting for each other. Keeping up with the challenges of the times, a friend rooting for you no matter what makes the heart warm and keeps you going on.
Watch the latest episodes of Twenty Five Twenty One every Saturday and Sunday on Netflix.
Photos: tvN
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