This article contains spoilers for Solo Leveling’s Manhwa and Anime
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Solo Levelingis currently one of the hottest series, especially after the sensational arcthat was the Jeju Island arc, and the intense fight Jinwoo had against the Ant King. Fans saw many characters shine in Season 2 ofSolo Leveling, but one side character who fans always have their eye on is Joohee.
Many fans remember Joohee, the ginger girl who accompanied Jinwoo into the double dungeon. The creator reveals some exciting information about her and Jinwoo’s romance, which is sure to intrigue some fans.
Solo Leveling Creator Confirms Jinwoo and Joohee’s Romance
InSolo Leveling, there are many popular ships that the fans have created for Sung Jinwoo, the protagonist of the series. The two biggest ships remain between Sung Jinwoo and Cha Hae-In, and Sung Jinwoo and Joohee.
However,as fans of the Manhwa know, who Sung Jinwoo ends up with is already set in stone. Sung Jinwoo ends up with Cha Hae-In, a Korean S- Rank Hunter. Their relationship is slowly being built up in Solow Leveling, as fans saw in Season 2.
That said, this doesn’t mean that Sung Jinwoo doesn’t have romance with the other contender, Joohee, and the creator of the series, Chugong, confirms just that. He spoke about this on a Korean forum known as Dcinside about a year ago, which many fans missed as the conversation is in Korean.
Chugong confirms that Sung Jinwoohad feelings for Joohee, but the two had to go their own ways due to her being unable to overcome her fears and mental issues. After all, she was deeply traumatized by the events of the double dungeon and never truly got over it. This is understandable, but an unfortunate roadblock for this potential relationship. Here’s what the creator had to say:
“Joohee’s mental health was very weak and therefore couldn’t handle the path Jinwoo would be going forward.
Jinwoo also judged that this was the case and let her go due to this reason. (In fact, because she was with Jinwoo, she was involved in various incidents as well before.)
Jinwoo did have feelings for Joohee before they went their separate ways.” — Chugong
Chugong goes on further and explains how he wrote Joohee as a victim of the twisted world of Solo Leveling, and how Jinwoo’s actions helped her forget her trauma after the ending of Solo Leveling. He expresses how his message with Joohee’s character was missed by many fans. Here’s what he exactly said on the forum:
“To give more details, Joohee was one of the characters who represents the victims of the abnormal world.
She was originally supposed to live the life as a University Student, but such a weak-hearted girl had somehow obtained a power that doesn’t fit her and had settled into the abnormal world unwillingly.
During the ending of Solo Leveling, Jinwoo’s goal was to turn the abnormal world back to normal. Therefore, Joohee was able to forget about her life in the abnormal world and go back to living as a normal girl. And Jinwoo, who was able to confirm this and was happy for her.
This was the message I wanted to convey, but it looks like I didn’t exactly write it as well to have the readers understand this.” — Chugong
Fans of the series on the forum have, however, expressed their disappointment with how Chugong wasted Joohee’s character, especially as she experienced the double dungeon together with Jinwoo, and her kind of character seems to be popular with that audience.
A “What If” Story Where Jinwoo Ends With Joohee
Perhaps the most interesting reveal in this forum isn’t even all of this, but that the creator, Chugong, has expressed that he would like to create a “what if” story where Joohee overcomes her challenges and trauma and stays by Sung Jinwoo’s side. This would definitely be a very interesting story to explore, especially as it would drastically alter the story and the following sequel sincethe protagonist is Cha Hae-In’s son.
Perhaps the author could even showcase the “what if” child that Joohee and Jinwoo have together. Fans definitely hope Chugong doesn’t drop the idea and actually writes this story.
Who’s The Better Partner for Jinwoo?
Cha Hae-In Remains The Better Choice
While the creator did express wanting to create a “what if” with Joohee’s character, the canon ending for Jinwoo remains with Cha Hae-In, and that was the creator’s final choice.
Joohee couldn’t keep up with Jinwoo in any way, meanwhile,Cha Hae-In is a powerful hunter who fights by Jinwoo’s sideon multiple occasions. At the end of the day, Joohee is only a B-Rank Hunter, and in a series likeSolo Leveling, she would’ve had to stay on the back for most of it, while Cha Hae-In has incredible abilities to showcase.
