Twenty-Five Twenty-One (스물다섯 스물하나) is a Korean drama TV series directed by Jung Ji-hyun and starring Kim Tae-ri, Nam Joo-hyuk, Bona and Lee Joo-myung, alongside other cast members. The series has 16 episodes. Twenty Five Twenty One episode 5 has a runtime of 76 minutes.
Netflix describes the series as:
In a time when dreams seem out of reach, a teen fencer pursues big ambitions and meets a hardworking young man who seeks to rebuild his life.
– Twenty Five Twenty One Episode 5 recap contains major spoilers –
After that intense conversation at the gym, a shy Yi-jin asks Hee-do to do well the next day since she’s going off to compete for the fencing national team. Hee-do promises to remember whatever he told him and gives him a sabre to protect himself. However, once she’s inside the house, her mother berates her for hanging out with a boy. Hee-do complains that her mother never has any faith in her and the next day she’s going to fight for herself, not for anyone else.
Min-chae, having read her mother’s diaries, finds a newfound appreciation for her mother.
Back in the past, Hee-do is confident that she’s going to find a place in the national team and starts her fight confidently. It goes fantastically well; her attacks flow and she seems to be dancing around rather than fighting. As Jae-kyung feels pride in her daughter entering the finals, thanks to talks in her office, Hee-do faces off against her final foe, you wait with bated breath to know the outcome. Meanwhile, Yi-jin’s brother is bullied by adults and manhandled outside his school.
After a phenomenal bout, Hee-do rushes to call Yi-jin but realizes that she doesn’t know his pager number. Unfortunately, her bad blood with Yu-rim still continues, although the latter congratulates her first. She brushes it off and tells her that she should be ready for when the day comes to rival her. More, unfortunately, though, the next day, Hee-do is unable to find Yi-jin – he totally vanished without giving her an explanation leaving Hee-do heartbroken.
It’s a pain that both Yu-rim and Hee-do share and after not being able to find any trace of his whereabouts, Hee-do asks for Yi-jin’s pager number from Yu-rim and the latter asks her to let her know if she hears anything. At her gate, Hee-do finds her sabre, the insides painted blue, just like he had told Yi-jin at the gym. Yi-jin, meanwhile, feels to Pohang with his brother looking morose and decides to settle with his mother and uncle.
The next day, in Twenty Five Twenty One episode 5, Hee-do seems to be hopeful for Yi-jin, believing him to be doing the best for himself, given the situation. An iffy photoshoot and her mother’s scolding later, Hee-do gets into the national team’s training and is roomed with Yu-rim, obviously. That night, as Yu-rim’s snores keep her up, Hee-do decides to listen to Yi-jin’s broadcasting tapes to keep her company and help her sleep.
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We jump to three years later, and Hee-do seems to be in a somewhat bind. She’s not doing well and seems to have a cold. But more than that, she almost looks disheartened and devoid of the spark that differentiated her from the rest. Meanwhile, Yi-jin works in a fish market and his brother ignores him when he goes there to eat with his friends. He’s a total brat and apparently feels insulted for his friends to see his brother’s hard work. After an equally sad spat with him that night, Yi-jin discusses his problems with his uncle but it’s Hee-do’s encouraging voicemail that brings a smile to his face.
He leaves a touching voicemail for her as well, which makes her cry.
Final thoughts: Twenty Five Twenty One Episode 5
Ah, I finally got to see some real good sports action and an equal amount of heavy emotions. The series starts off hopeful and with a lot of things to look forward to, but as Hee-do’s heart breaks, so does ours. You feel for the protagonists as they become a little more lost as the days turn into years. You want them to meet and share that bond once more, but that feels like something that will take some time. But then again, remember that time when Jae-kyung mentioned Yi-jin and Hee-do kind of acted funny? Is there more to this story? I must know!
Twenty Five Twenty One is streaming on Netflix.
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