Hee-Do and Yi-Jin's Relationship Timeline Will Make You Root For Them Even Harder

Hee-Do’s diary picks up in the summer of 1998. After the IMF crisis causes Hee-Do’s fencing club to shut down due to underfunding, she asks her mother, Shin Jae-Kyung, if she can transfer to Tae Yang High School, where her fencing idol Ko Yu-Rim is also a student. Jae-Kyung tells Hee-Do to give up fencing, which leads to an argument between them.

As Hee-Do storms out of her house, she meets the new paperboy in her neighbourhood named Yi-Jin (a former chaebol who is forced to pick up part-time jobs after his family went bankrupt due to the IMF crisis). Hee-Do yells at Yi-Jin for throwing the paper directly at her peeing boy statue, which causes it to break. The two fight, but before they part ways, Hee-Do admits she yelled because she was angry at her mother. Talk about a memorable first meeting, right?

Yi-Jin also gets a part-time job at a DVD/comic book store. Hee-Do turns out to be a regular customer there, so the two meet once again. They have another run-in shortly afterward when Hee-Do goes to a club as a minor in hopes she gets arrested and be forced to transfer to Tae Yang High School. Unfortunately for Hee-Do, she enters a private room where Yi-Jin is hanging out with his friends. Sensing Hee-Do (and his friends) are up to no good, he makes Hee-Do leave the club with him. He scolds her for putting herself in a potentially dangerous situation, and that’s when she confesses her plan to get transferred. Later that night, Yi-Jin also opens up to Hee-Do about his family going bankrupt, and their encounter ends with the two formally introducing themselves.

Hee-Do eventually makes it onto the national fencing team. She wants to tell Yi-Jin the good news, but discovers he quit both of his part-time jobs and moved away to get away from the pressure of his dad’s business failures in Seoul. When she returns home, Hee-Do sees Yi-Jin returned her sword and had written a message on it that reads, “National Team Member Na Hee-Do,” which confirms he heard about her joining the team. Although Hee-Do is upset Yi-Jin left without saying goodbye, she trusts he made the right decision.

After Yi-Jin’s departure, he and Hee-Do continue on with their lives. Despite them being apart, the pair’s bond grows stronger even in absence as Hee-Do uses old recordings of Yi-Jin to inspire her during tough times. Similarly, Yi-Jin repeats a voicemail from Hee-Do whenever he needs some words of encouragement. Hee-Do goes on to win another fencing competition, while Yi-Jin decides to stop running away and moves back to Seoul to become a journalist.

When Hee-Do and her online friend (who is Yu-Rim, unbeknownst to her) agree to meet in person for the first time, they agree to meet at the park with a yellow rose in hand. Worried that whoever Yu-Rim is about to meet is a predator, Yi-Jin accompanies her to go meet Hee-Do. But when Yu-Rim realises her online friend is Hee-Do, afraid to reveal her identity, she panics and gives the yellow rose to Yi-Jin.

When Hee-Do sees Yi-Jin with the rose, Hee-Do tells him, “I have to have you.” Yi-Jin says he’s not the person Hee-Do was looking for, which causes her to become flustered and run away embarrassed. Hee-Do ignores Yi-Jin for the next few days and eventually confesses she doesn’t know exactly how to feel about him. Later, she compares her relationship with Yi-Jin to a rainbow.

So, the big question is, do Yi-Jin and Hee-Do last as a couple? At the end of episode fourteen, Hee-Do’s daughter in the present day, Min-Chae, watches an interview between the pair on YouTube, and Yi-Jin and Hee-Do appear to talk as if they haven’t seen each other in years. During their chat, Yi-Jin also congratulates Hee-Do on her recent wedding. Does this mean they break up because their jobs pushed them apart? Not necessarily. Some fans are convinced the two get married and hide their relationship from the public.

To see how Yi-Jin and Hee-Do’s love story ends, make sure to watch the last two episodes of “Twenty-Five Twenty-One” on Saturday, April 2, and Sunday, April 3.