Reasons To Anticipate Still Shining

by Cryssy Anne, March 1, 2026 · Updated April 2, 2026

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Reasons To Anticipate Still Shining

Yeon Tae-Seo (Jin Young) is a subway train driver. He is an independent person, who lives faithfully in the present rather than to strive for something in the future. His motto is to get by safely for today. He has succeeded in becoming self-reliant and he is settling into his life. One day, he reunites with his first love Mo Eun-A (Kim Min-Ju). He knew her when he was 19 years old.

Mo Eun-A is a former hotelier and now works as a manager of a traditional Korean guesthouse. She is passionate about everything and has a thoughtful and lovely personality. While she lives her life by setting small goals, she has experienced small joys and also big failures. She happens to meet her first love Yeon Tae-Seo.

This story is brought to the viewers from the director Kim Yoon Jin, who was behind "Our Beloved Summer".

Park Jinyoung plays Yeon Tae Seo, a subway train driver and a realist who focuses on living each day rather than chasing vague dreams. Tae Seo follows a strict daily routine, including going to work at the same time every day. He is a character who prioritizes responsibility and stability over emotion. However, he cannot forget Mo Eun Ah (Kim Min Ju), his first love from the age of 19. The actual contrast between 19-year-old and 30-year-old Tae Seo. One image captures 19-year-old Tae Seo riding a bicycle, his face full of excitement. Another image shows the 30-year-old subway train driver, Yeon Tae Seo, standing at the train station in uniform. In contrast to the first image, the second depicts him with a mature aura.

“Yeon Tae Seo is a character who appears calm on the outside but harbors long-held emotions within,” adding, “Park Jinyoung will naturally portray the character’s transformation with his signature expressiveness.”

Kim Min Ju plays Mo Eun Ah, a passionate and warm-hearted character who approaches everything with sincerity. Her bright personality, which naturally uplifts any environment, and her thoughtful nature—always putting others’ feelings first—seamlessly carry over into her work. After starting out as a hotelier, she becomes the manager of a traditional guesthouse stay in Seoul, creating a welcoming atmosphere that makes people want to return wherever she is. A major influence on Mo Eun Ah’s ability to calmly prepare for her future is her first love, Yeon Tae Seo (Park Jinyoung).

During the summer vacation when she was 19, Yeon Tae Seo appeared before Mo Eun Ah as she focused alone on self-study, bringing a quiet yet meaningful change to her life at a time when she struggled to find direction. After meeting him, Mo Eun Ah began to clearly envision her future—where she would be, what she would do, and who she would be with. To her, Yeon Tae Seo was like a guiding light that showed her the path forward. Because Yeon Tae Seo held such special meaning to Mo Eun Ah, anticipation is building over how she will react when she reunites with him in her 30s. At 19, even a brief moment spent looking at her phone is filled with fluttering excitement, while her present-day self reflects a calm composure, as if her emotions are carefully restrained. The contrasting moods in the two images naturally evoke the passage of time Mo Eun Ah has experienced.

The deep bond between Yeon Tae Seo (Park Jinyoung) and Mo Eun Ah (Kim Min Ju), beginning when they were 19, catches the eye. Yeon Tae Seo lives each day earnestly while caring for his sick younger sibling, and Mo Eun Ah—honest with her emotions and wearing a bright smile—looks on. The affectionate gaze the two share as they look at each other is enough to make viewers’ hearts flutter.

But as time passes, the two—no longer “together”—are left swallowing their memories alone, their eyes now tinged with loneliness. In their unexpected reunion, Mo Eun Ah holds onto Yeon Tae Seo, while Tae Seo, overwhelmed by emotion, sheds tears—stoking curiosity about what happened between them.

The sight of them clasping hands and standing face to face again raises anticipation for a romance that may begin anew. As Tae Seo says, “If I wasn’t this sure, I wouldn’t have even started,” attention turns to whether Yeon Tae Seo and Mo Eun Ah can once again draw a future together despite countless missed connections.

The initial poster captures the dazzling moment between Yeon Tae Seo (Park Jinyoung) and Mo Eun Ah (Kim Min Ju). In the middle of a city filled with countless people crossing the street, Yeon Tae Seo and Mo Eun Ah meet at a crosswalk, hugging each other with joyful expressions. They radiate a fresh energy as lush as the tree-lined streets around them, while the warm sunlight highlights their tender, glowing first love at age 20.

Unlike the people rushing past them, the two seem as if time has stopped, giving a glimpse into a world that exists only between them. The phrase, “At 20, anything seemed possible because we were together,” hints at the tender bond between Yeon Tae Seo and Mo Eun Ah, whose very presence was a light in each other’s lives.

Yeon Tae Seo (Park Jnyoung) first meets Mo Eun Ah (Kim Min Ju) during the summer vacation of his senior year of high school, when he suddenly transfers to another school. The two hardworking teenagers, each struggling with their own problems and stories, wind up rooting for one another and becoming each other’s first loves. Despite being extremely realistic, Yeon Tae Seo is entirely idealistic when it comes to his love for Mo Eun Ah—who, in turn, dreams of her future with greater clarity because of Yeon Tae Seo.

These two teenagers study side by side in the school library during their high school days. However, the bliss of their first love is short-lived, and the next stills capture the uncomfortable tension of an impending breakup. Yeon Tae Seo attempts to remain composed while staring at something on his phone, and Mo Eun Ah, who is always cheerful and smiling, is seen shedding tears.

The trailer begins with Yeon Tae Seo, who has transferred to a rural school, meeting Mo Eun Ah for the first time. It shows them sharing youthful moments, sitting side by side in class while studying, and riding bicycles home together. The scenes of Yeon Tae Seo and Mo Eun Ah, full of innocent energy, match the narration, “The time when all I could give was my heart,” and bring back memories of first love.

At their radiant 19, both carried their own worries, but they slowly became indispensable to each other. Every shared moment brought laughter, and they became people who filled each other’s days with light. Their dazzling youth lingers as the promise, “We should be together forever,” resonates.

However, their happy days gradually lose their light, leaving a bittersweet feeling. Yeon Tae Seo admits, “Breakups are kind of awful for me,” while Mo Eun Ah says, “Let’s not force your time to match mine.” Her calm words, different from before, show their misaligned hearts.

Later, the two go their separate ways, meeting again only after 10 years. Despite the long separation, Yeon Tae Seo and Mo Eun Ah clearly still hold deep meaning for each other. When Yeon Tae Seo confesses, “She was the person I liked 10 years ago, and I still feel the same way now,” it signals that their paused relationship is starting to move again.

The main poster shows a tender moment between Yeon Tae Seo (Park Jinyoung) and Mo Eun Ah (Kim Min Ju), sitting side by side on the subway. Bathed in the bright sunlight streaming through the window, they exchange warm looks, creating a feeling that is stronger and deeper than in the past. The affection between them, unchanged after more than a decade, brings a new kind of excitement, different from before.

The main quote is revealed saying this, “There are things that apply only to you and me. It’s possible because it’s you and me,” suggests that the world the two created together while sharing memories of their first love in childhood still holds true, even after all these years.

On the other side the character posters, Yeon Tae Seo and Mo Eun Ah show a mix of loneliness and wistfulness. Yeon Tae Seo rides the subway, staring out the window, while Mo Eun Ah stands on the platform outside. In the brief moment their eyes meet, their faces show a complex mix of emotions.

The emotional quote said with a melancolic tone, “I met you again, the one I could never forget,” shows Yeon Tae Seo’s longing and unwavering feelings for Mo Eun Ah, while the phrase, “Can we be together?” reveals Mo Eun Ah’s subtle emotions as she imagines a different ending from their breakup 10 years ago.