Rivals

In the present, Min-Chae speaks to her grandma about the garden and how different things are now. She tells her about how the garden used to be a place where she and her friends could play and explore, but now it’s just a place where she can sit and watch the flowers grow.

The article discusses Hee-Do’s decision to keep her gold rings despite the IMF incident, and how it reflects her character. ..

Shin Jae-Kyung greets Hee-Do and her mother and introduces them to the other students. Hee-Do quickly becomes friends with some of the girls, but she’s still nervous about starting school. She’s not used to being around people of different sexes and doesn’t know how to interact.

Yu-Rim is the only person Ji-Woong wants to talk to about Hee-Do. Hee-Do is fascinated by how perfect she is and how he can’t help but agree. She also meets Seung-Wan, the class president, who happens to be the one who recommended Hee-Do for the gym. Hee-Do shows her where all the major places are but for Yu-Rim, she’s overjoyed to get started in the gym and begin fencing.

Hee-Do is one of the new recruits at the dojo. She’s excited to be there and meets her training partners, Ye-Ji, Han-Sol Da-Seul, Ji-Soo, and Yu-Rin. Yu-Rin is late but Hee-Do is still excited to fence with her. She has three days to train and try to beat Yu-Rim. If she can do that, Coach Yang promises to give her back her shoes. ..

After a long day of training, Hee-Do is woken up by a call from her coach. Yu-Rim confronts her about the harsh reality of fencing. Coach Yang doesn’t believe that Yu-Rim has what it takes to make it through a long training period, and Hee-Do doesn’t believe that she has what it takes either. ..

Yi-Jin continues to juggle his family responsibilities with his career. After sending some money across to his Aunt, he heads to Yang High School to meet Yu-Rim, apologizing to her for what’s happened between them in the past.

Yi-Jin appears to have abandoned her when she needed him most, although after hitting him several times she warms up a bit. So what’s their connection? Well, that’s something Hee-Do wants to know too when she shows up, eventually ending up getting the bus home with Yi-Jin. After Yi-Jin hits Hee-Do several times, he eventually warms up to her and they end up getting on the bus together. What is their connection? That’s something Hee-Do wants to know. ..

Yi-Jin is on her way back to her place when she gets a call from Hee-Do. Hee-Do tells Yi-Jin that his water pressure is interfering with her morning routine, so she should shower later.

Yu-Rin seems to be avoiding Hee-Do, and it’s clear that her earlier words were a warning. But why does she have such disdain for Hee-Do? Well, flashbacks reveal that Yu-Rin had a difficult relationship with her mother. ..

It turns out that Hee-Do actually beat Yu-Rim during a tournament, and despite offering a hand to help her up, Yu-Rim shrugged it off. Hee-Do won that tournament, and it’s something that plays on Yu-Rim’s mind as she heads in for the big fencing match against her rival. And Hee-Do wins…again.

Yu-Rim and Hee-Do shook hands on an awkward note after their heated competition. Yu-Rim says this was all just a test to help her prepare for tougher opponents in the future. ..

In the locker room, there was a moment of mutual respect between the two girls. The former pointed out how graceful and adept she was, while the latter encouraged her not to go easy next time knowing that she had injured her ankle originally. ..

Hee-Do is conflicted about whether or not meeting up with her online friend will make her closer to Yi-jin. However, the scene immediately cuts to Yi-jin after this, seemingly hinting that he’s the one she’s been communicating with.

After a long day of job hunting, Yi-Jin arrives at his apartment complex only to find out he was rejected for the cleaning position. Feeling discouraged, he goes home and spends the evening scrolling through his social media feeds. ..

Now, we soon learn that Yi-Jin used to be the host on the school radio, playing songs and with numerous tapes recording his exploits. Yi-Jin’s lavish life back then, including his expensive car and belongings, are caught up in the midst of this messy IMF situation, which reared its ugly head back in 1994 when Yi-Jin was at high school. Yi-jin was once a popular high school radio host who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. His extravagant spending during the early 1990s is now coming back to haunt him as he faces an international financial crisis. ..

Yi-Jin was sent to military school to prepare him for a career in the military. But when his father found out, he organized a “sham divorce” so that Yi-Jin’s mother wouldn’t get involved and be dragged into the fallout.

Yi-Jin’s father’s company declares bankruptcy, which leads to Yi-Jin’s fall from grace. Yi-Jin tries to do right by those hurt by his father going out of business. ..

Yi-Jin’s father, who had worked hard to provide for his family, is now out of work and struggling to make ends meet. Despite his promises, Yi-Jin can’t seem to get a job and is constantly being harassed by the workers. Despite this, he remains determined to right the wrongs and make things right for his father and himself.

Yi-Jin goes on to promise not to be happy and to do whatever he can to help them. When they leave, Hee-Do tentatively shows and admits she has 3000 won for the trashed comic book. For Yi-Jin though, he’s had enough of money for one day.

Yi-Jin and Hee-Do go out to the fountains together and Yi-Jin tries to encourage Hee-Do to actually have some fun and open up.

This is an episode of “Yi-Jin and Hee-Do” in which Yi-Jin and Hee-Do are trying to figure out how to be happy together. Yi-Jin is still wracked with guilt over his past, but Hee-Do is against him promise never to be happy again. However, when they hang together, Yi-Jin will open up and be happy even if it’s in secret. As he smiles thinly at her, the episode comes to a close.

The Episode Review

In the second episode of Twenty Five, Twenty One, Yi-Jin and Hee-Do start to deepen their ties as well as explain what Yi-Jin’s issues are in the past. It also shows why he works so hard and how he’s been doing his best to pay back all the debts he perceives he owes.

The IMF situation had occurred, but given his father’s role in one of the companies that went bankrupt, he feels a moral obligation to pay back those debts.

Meanwhile, Hee-Do’s past ties with Yu-Rim make more sense now and there’s a nice rivalry/friendship brewing between the two, which I’m sure will be fleshed out more over the weeks.

The series adds a lot of intriguing elements to this story, especially the visuals which are beautifully done. The colour fading to black and white, jumping back in time in the process, is very slick and it certainly helps this one stand out visually. ..

The supporting characters in this story haven’t had a lot of time in the limelight just yet, but I’m sure that will change going forward. Not only that, the mystery surrounding who Hee-Do is communicating with online is likely to keep things very intriguing over the weeks. Who do you think it is? My money’s on Yi-Jin!