A Day Before Us is an animated Korean drama that follows four main characters—Ha Eun, Yeon Woo, Yeo Reum, and Kim Wook—as they navigate budding romances and everyday encounters in their youth. The series delves into key themes of unrequited love, subtle emotional connections, personal growth through choices, and the bittersweet nature of young relationships.
This collection aims to curate the best quotes to illustrate these themes, highlight character development, and capture the emotional resonance of pivotal moments across the series’ arcs.
Friend – a mask to hide real feelings
Episode 3 (Before the Night is Gone)
Kim Wook
Reveals Wook’s internal struggle with unrequited feelings for his best friend, underscoring themes of hidden emotions and youth’s relational complexities.
Romance – not so far yet not so close
Episode 4 (Before our Lips Touch)
Yeo Reum
Captures the tentative tension in a near-kiss, highlighting character hesitation and growth in navigating intimacy amid everyday uncertainties.
Heart throbbing thrills, youth, a love story
Episode 10 (A Day Before Us)
Yeon Woo
Expresses the series’ core essence in a confessional moment, emphasizing emotional weight of young love and personal evolution across arcs.
What a view… Eugh. Bad idea
No specific episode (thematic narrative)
Narrator/Al-like figure (from thematic parallel)
Illustrates aversion to change, connecting to broader themes of adaptation and the emotional impact of confronting past choices.
Before I reach you
Episode 1 (Before I Reach You)
Ha Eun
Sets the tone for initial awkward encounters, showing her development from shyness to bold connection in peaceful rainy-day moments.
Before you and I become “we”
Episode 2 (Before You and I Become “we”)
Yeon Woo
Reflects hesitation in texting, capturing the emotional vulnerability of budding romance and themes of relational timing.
Before getting close
Episode 6 (Before Getting Close)
Kim Wook
Depicts brave yet jealous actions, highlighting his growth from coldness to openness in a mix of peaceful and conflicting interactions.
Before confessing love
Episode 9 (Before Confessing Love)
Kim Wook
Builds to a potential couple formation, emphasizing the impact of vulnerability and connection to youth’s romantic themes.
My heart would stop beating if this happened to me on a rainy day
Episode 1 (Before I Reach You)
Ha Eun
Conveys fluttering excitement in a chance meeting, tying to character empathy and the series’ focus on subtle emotional highs.
This is what happens when you have a crush on your best friend
Episode 3 (Before the Night is Gone)
Kim Wook
Exposes hidden feelings, illustrating internal “battles” and development toward honest expression in friendship dynamics.
Ouch. This is what happens when you use the same straw as your “girl” friend
Episode 4 (Before our Lips Touch)
Yeo Reum
Adds lighthearted tension to a shared moment, connecting to themes of accidental intimacy and relational growth.
The boy who has been giving you the cold shoulder acts differently all of a sudden
Episode 5 (Before I Noticed You)
Yeon Woo
Shows shift from indifference to care, highlighting emotional depth and character evolution in everyday scenarios.
What will you do if the guy you’re flirting with sits next to you on an empty bus
Episode 7 (Before I See You)
Ha Eun
Captures anticipation in a quiet ride, emphasizing themes of chance encounters and personal confidence building.
How would you feel if your “boy” friend suddenly acted that way
Episode 8 (Before We Meet Again)
Yeo Reum
Explores jealousy in cute form, tying to broader arcs of friendship turning romantic with emotional stakes.
A sweet confession of Yeon Woo before the episode ends
Episode 10 (A Day Before Us)
Yeon Woo
Climaxes with honest emotion, underscoring growth from silence to expression in the series’ love themes.
Do you think Wook can tell his secret at last
Episode (thematic special, from Season 3 context)
Kim Wook
Questions revelation of heartbreaking secrets, connecting to character arcs of overcoming internal conflicts.
If we could have heard each other’s voices, everything would have been so much better
No specific episode (broader thematic parallel)
Ishida Shoya-like figure (adapted context)
Echoes regret in miscommunication, highlighting emotional weight and development in relational understanding.
The past makes you want to die of regret and the future makes you depressed out of anxiety
No specific episode (thematic resonance)
Hachiman Hikigaya-like (from parallel quotes)
Ties to youth’s temporal struggles, balancing peaceful reflection with internal battles in character journeys.
Stop pitying yourself. Pity yourself, and life becomes an endless nightmare
No specific episode (emotional parallel)
Osamu Dazai-like (adapted)
Encourages self-acceptance, linking to themes of personal growth and overcoming youth’s insecurities.
You will never be able to love anybody else until you love yourself
No specific episode (romantic theme)
Lelouch Lamperouge-like (parallel)
Emphasizes self-love as foundation for relationships, connecting to character development in love stories.
If you don’t take risks, you can’t create a future
No specific episode (choice theme)
Monkey D. Luffy-like (adapted)
Reflects on bold choices, highlighting emotional risks in peaceful and tense moments across arcs.
Be who you are. There’s only one of you, and our uniqueness makes us truly special
No specific episode (growth theme)
Ymir-like (parallel)
Promotes authenticity, tying to themes of individuality and emotional impact in social dynamics.
To survive, you need to be able to adapt
No specific episode (change theme)
Chiriko Tsurumi-like (adapted)
Addresses adaptation to life’s changes, balancing character arcs in various story phases.
The theme of choices plays a significant role… minor decisions can lead to profound changes
No specific episode (core theme)
Narrative voice
Underlines series-wide impact of decisions, connecting emotional weight to growth and relational themes.
Whether it’s unrequited love or a budding romance, the mood is set through a series of subtle mannerisms
No specific episode (overall narrative)
Narrative description
Captures the series’ essence, emphasizing subtle development in both calm and intense emotional moments.
