I hope I got your attention with my title. Contrary to many people who had breakdowns after watching the climax, I felt relieved. I felt the ending was not only realistic but also very beautiful. I have watched this series over the span of two months, so there is a possibility of me missing details with respect to the story and stuff, but I am going to write this review with all the emotions the series has put me through. This review might get long and will have spoilers.

As the plot summary says, it is a story of 2 friends, Na Hee-Do and Baek Yi-Jin with an age gap of 4 years growing closer and closer and finally starting a relationship when they turn ~21 and 25. Hee-Do is a fencer and Yi-Jin is a news reporter.

More than saying they were in a relationship at their 21 and 25, we can say, they faced very big twists, learned lessons, and matured emotionally during their 21 and 25. So yes, unlike many people saying they got together at their 21 and 25, I'd say they experienced love as well as heartbreaks at 21 and 25, and this my friend brings even more beauty to the title of the series.

This series is more than just 'romance'. This series speaks about rivalry, admiration towards colleagues, friendship, sportsmanship, unsaid apologies, AND LOVE. The series starts off from Min-chae's (Hee-do's daughter) POV and pretty much continues the same till the end. She is a ballet dancer who wants to give it up as she is in a slump/ lost interest. And in a break she took off from the ballet, she visits her grandmother and ends up finding and reading her mother's diaries. The story is in those dairies;

1. The story of how 'Na Hee-Do, a very outgoing high schooler and a fencer in a slump, does everything to practice fencing in the same school as her fencing idol Ko Yu-Rim and ends up becoming her RIVAL and thereby a very dear FRIEND'. ---> This talks admiration to rivalry to friendship.

2. The story of how 'Ko Yu-Rim, a very kind-hearted, family-oriented, gold medalist fencer, who was finding ways to project all her insecurities and hate towards her co-fencer Na Hee-Do but ends up finding solace in that same person'. ---> Sportsmanship and empathy.

3. The story of how 'Moon Ji-Woong, a guy interested in anything but education finds his passion, love and does everything to make a life out of those and to keep them sustained'. ---> Passion.

4. The story of how 'Ji Seung-Wan, a topper and a private talk show host, despite having everything still feels how empty and boring her life is and how she holds on to all the principles she believes in.' ---> Determination.

5. The story of how 'Baek Yi-Jin, the first son of a bankrupted once-rich family, struggles hard to make ends meet and bring his dispersed family together by starting off with small jobs and rising till a news anchor position'. ---> IDK man, he is everything. He is a RAINBOW!

All the other characters, Hee-Do's mother, Yu-Rim's parents, Seung-Wan's mother, and Yi-Jin's brother, all of them added to the story very much and brought so much life.

Story: I will give it a 10/10. The writers did a terrific job. If this sort of story isn't real I don't know what is? It is time we accept not every love story ends in marriage even in the K-Drama world. This story covers so many emotions that many of us experience on a very regular basis.

Screenplay and Direction: I will give this a 10/10 too. Not a single unnecessary filler scene, no unnecessary character, everything is in the right amount.

Action: 10/10. Am I giving too many 10s? Nam Joo-Hyuk did a wonderful job. His tears feel very personal. He is the right choice for the character Yi-Jin. Another actor might have done a nice job too, but now I can't imagine someone else doing this role. Kim Tae-Ri, Bona, Choi Hyun-Wook, Lee Ju-Myung all have shined very well in their high school roles and uniforms as well. Totally loved everyone's acting, especially the main 5 actors'.

OST: This series despite having many BOMB OSTs, I personally loved 'Your existence' by Wonstein. And towards the end, in ep 16 we hear 'Your world' by Seol Hoseung. This song hits rightly. I might have misheard, but this song has got some mix of 'Coldplay - Fix you' in its instrumentals. And if that's the case I would be even happier cause then the song adds more depth to the scene.

Ending: This is where many people called out the writers for their 'poor writing'. But if you ask me, the series stands out because of its ending. Hee-Do and Yi-Jin broke up cause they can no longer make it work. It was in 2002 that they broke up. There was no video calling, no WhatsApp or Instagram to stay in touch 24*7. In a timeline as such, when each other's love is not providing the same support anymore, the breakup is the right decision. It is better to cut on it rather than endure it till they both break. Some say that Yi-Jin had a chance to make it 'right(?)' when he read Hee-Do's dairy. Yes, he did, but after reading how the words went from 'we bought couple of suitcases' to 'goodbye' he chose not to chase her anymore BUT accepted that their relationship fell apart. None of them are to be held responsible for the breakup. In the 20s even we lose our friends and many relations and they are portrayed the same in the series. I personally think not making them get back together is a nice and mature move. One more thing many people were upset about was not showing Hee-Do's husband. Does she have one or not? But hey! isn't the series about the 5 friends? They have shown how those 5 have grown up and that is enough. Hee-Do's husband is never important in this story, TBH Min-Chae too. But she is the reason this whole story started (via diaries) so it is OK to have scenes around her. But it is fair to never show Hee-Do's husband if she has one.

The story is of 5 friends, their ups, downs, love, laughter, and lives. We got it all in the right amount. I have no complaints about this story. I would definitely re-watch and re-watch it. I suggest you watch it at least once. I enjoyed watching Twenty five - Twenty one and I enjoyed writing this review too. I hope you do too, watching and reading my review.