Love is in the air for the stars of the badminton-centric Korean drama, Going to You at a Speed of 493KM that’s now streaming on Disney+. With countless heart-fluttering moments, Park Taejun (Chae Jong Hyeop) and Park Taeyang (Park Ju Hyun) don’t just have us cheering them on as athletes, but also rooting for their true love story!
Let’s dive into the 6 moments where the two Parks made us believe in love all again!
1. “I’ve rooted for you since I was 12”
Imagine meeting someone for the first time at 12, then meeting again at 25… only to find out that this person has been rooting for you all this time. Talk about a love that’s meant to be! The two Parks first met in an odd encounter when Taejun caught Taeyang trying to steal his bicycle and proceeded to challenge her to a badminton duel. Spoiler alert: she lost. Fast forward 13 years later, Taejun confidently gave his racket to Taeyang when he wanted to retire from the sport because he knew it would be in good hands — he’d always believed in her all along!
2.“I’ll be there for as long as you want me“
In what seems like a typical romance drama plot device, Taeyang asks Taejun to be her doubles partner, as everyone else on the team seems to be avoiding her. At first, he says no, saying that it’s extra work that he doesn’t want to do, but after Taeyang continues to bug him endlessly… he still says no.
Taejun only changes his mind when he sees how the rest of the team mistreats her, his soft heart melting just like ours when he tells her he’ll be there for her as long as she wants him. Oh Taejun, you should have just said yes from the get-go!
3. “My sweet Taeyang came because I called“
It’s a nice night out and Taejun is out with his friends when they find out that he may be interested in a girl: Taeyang. His friends end up teasing him, playfully asking Taeyang to come and pick up poor, drunk Taejun. While Taejun tells his friends that Taeyang won’t be coming — his phone ends up unusable after being in a glass of beer due to the teasing– there’s no doubt that he’s holding on to hope, because he stays even after they leave.
But of course, she arrives, and Taejun’s face lights up! And that little smile on Taeyang’s face when he calls her “my sweet Taeyang” may or may not have lit up our faces too.
4. “Just three points. I’ll finish this quickly.”
It’s a big doubles match against a rival team, and the two Parks are giving their all, until Taeyang sprains her ankle — it was so bad that she could barely walk, let alone play the match. Despite Taejun and their health coach dissuading her, she insisted on carrying on as she was determined to win. Not wanting to see her in agony, Taejun made the decision to play solo in a partners’ competition, doing all he can to win for them both
Don’t forget, this is the guy who didn’t even want to be Taeyang’s partner at the start! Ladies, time to find ourselves a partner like that.
5. “You can run away if you’re having a hard time. It’s okay“
In the midst of being seen as a traitor for looking at changing companies, Taeyang broke down while apologising to Taejun for leaving. But instead of telling her to face her issues head-on, he told her that it was okay to avoid them and run away, that he understood. Now, most people would encourage us to not avoid our problems, but you know what? Sometimes all we really need is someone to support us and our decisions, and tell us that it’s okay to do what we need to do.
Taejun’s way of comforting Taeyang is a reminder that we should all look for that one person who always has our back
6. “Will you please love me?” “I do already“
To the audience, Taejun is portrayed as someone who’s always felt that he was not talented enough, and stuck in the shadow of his sister. We feel his pain when he asks Taeyang to love him. When she replies that she already does, this is the moment that we know that their love is meant to be.
These six moments are only a drop in the bucket of our favourite Taejun & Taeyang moments, and with many more episodes to come, we hope you’re just as excited to see their love blossom!
Going to You at a Speed of 493KM is available for streaming now on Disney+.
Photos by: Disney+