Endless Rain (2021) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A quiet romance about memory, regret, and the hope that an improbable meeting can become real.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

Rain and Uncertain Beginnings

Young-ho introduces his belief in unlikely events and frames the story around waiting for rain on December 31. His present-day encounter with a disabled dog leads into memories of academic anxiety.

Key Events

• Unlikely Rain Reflections — Young-ho reflects on improbable events and the hope that the rain he awaits will come. Characters: Young-ho Location: Unspecified present setting
• God's Tears — He recalls believing as a child that raindrops were God's tears. Characters: Young-ho Location: Unspecified present setting
• Waiting for December Rain — Young-ho announces that his story concerns waiting for rain on December 31. Characters: Young-ho Location: Unspecified present setting
• Teaching a Disabled Dog — Young-ho helps a customer learn how to walk a disabled dog named Blessing. Characters: Young-ho Location: Unspecified customer setting
• Return to Eight Years Earlier — The story shifts back eight years to Young-ho's difficult cram-school period. Characters: Young-ho Location: Cram school

Lessons in Failure

Eight years earlier, Young-ho struggles at cram school while the Teacher warns students about failure. His fixation on mathematics and the future establishes his emotional isolation.

Key Events

• The Teacher's Warning — The Teacher harshly warns that most students will fail. Characters: Young-ho, Teacher, Student, Student Location: Cram school
• Young-ho Questions His Future — Young-ho remains absorbed in mathematics, failure, and the meaning of his future. Characters: Young-ho Location: Cram school
• The Waiting Assignment — Young-ho becomes connected with So-hee through an elementary-school assignment about someone waiting. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Unspecified correspondence setting
• So-hee Does Not Remember — So-hee initially does not remember Young-ho. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Unspecified correspondence setting

Letters Across Distance

Young-ho and So-hee connect through an assignment about waiting. Their correspondence grows warmer as they debate talent, effort, imagination, and the value of pursuing what they love.

Key Events

• The Waiting Assignment — Young-ho becomes connected with So-hee through an elementary-school assignment about someone waiting. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Unspecified correspondence setting
• So-hee Does Not Remember — So-hee initially does not remember Young-ho. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Unspecified correspondence setting
• Letters Grow Intimate — Their exchanges gradually become more intimate. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Unspecified correspondence setting
• Talent and Effort — They debate talent, effort, and whether people should pursue what they love. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Unspecified correspondence setting
• The Bookworm Nickname — So-hee calls Young-ho a bookworm, and he accepts the nickname. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Unspecified correspondence setting

The Sea and Hidden Feelings

Soo-jin interrupts Young-ho's study-bound routine and takes him to the ocean. Meanwhile, Young-ho's feelings for So-hee deepen, leading him to admit that he has lied.

Key Events

• Soo-jin Interrupts Studying — Soo-jin encourages Young-ho to stop studying for a moment. Characters: Young-ho, Soo-jin Location: Unspecified setting
• An Impulsive Ocean Trip — Soo-jin impulsively takes Young-ho to the ocean. Characters: Young-ho, Soo-jin Location: Ocean
• Young-ho Sees the Sea — The playful trip gives Young-ho one of his first experiences of the sea. Characters: Young-ho, Soo-jin Location: Ocean
• A Confession of Lies — Young-ho admits that he has lied and wants to show So-hee his better self. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Unspecified correspondence setting
• The December 31 Proposal — Young-ho proposes meeting on December 31 in front of their demolished old school. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Old school site

A Promise Measured by Rain

Young-ho proposes a December 31 meeting at their demolished school. Discovering So-yeon's death confronts him with fragile memory, while So-hee's final agreement makes the meeting depend on rain.

Key Events

• The December 31 Proposal — Young-ho proposes meeting on December 31 in front of their demolished old school. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Old school site
• So-yeon's Death Discovered — Young-ho learns that elementary-school classmate So-yeon died from an illness in 2003. Characters: Young-ho, So-yeon Location: Unspecified information-search setting
• Memory and Fragility — So-yeon's death makes Young-ho confront fragile memory and human connections. Characters: Young-ho, So-yeon Location: Unspecified setting
• Waiting for a Miracle — Young-ho and So-hee discuss loneliness, regret, and the possibility of miracles. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Unspecified correspondence setting
• So-hee Admits Her Lie — So-hee acknowledges that she has also lied. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Unspecified correspondence setting
• Meeting Depends on Rain — So-hee agrees to meet Young-ho on December 31 if it rains, leaving their future uncertain. Characters: Young-ho, So-hee Location: Old school site

Story Breakdown

• Rain Framing Device — Young-ho presents rain as an unlikely miracle and establishes the story's central act of waiting.
  • Unlikely Events — He reflects on snow in a desert, dying penguins, and improbable hope.
  • December 31 — He announces that his story concerns waiting for rain on the final day of the year.
• Academic Anxiety — Young-ho's earlier life is shaped by cram-school pressure, mathematics, failure, and uncertainty about his future.
  • Teacher's Warning — The Teacher tells the students that most of them will fail.
  • Fear of Failure — Young-ho remains preoccupied with failure and the meaning of his future.
• Letters of Waiting — An assignment about someone waiting creates the connection between Young-ho and So-hee.
  • First Correspondence — Young-ho and So-hee begin communicating through letters and conversations.
  • Growing Intimacy — Their exchanges become more personal despite So-hee initially not remembering him.
• Ideas and Imagination — Their correspondence explores the values of talent, effort, love, and imagination.
  • Talent versus Effort — They discuss whether talent or effort matters more.
  • The Bookworm — So-hee calls Young-ho a bookworm, and he accepts the nickname.
• Soo-jin's Escape — Soo-jin pulls Young-ho away from relentless studying and gives him a vivid memory of the sea.
  • Leave the Books — Soo-jin encourages Young-ho to stop studying for a moment.
  • First Ocean Memory — Their impulsive trip gives Young-ho one of his first experiences of the ocean.
• Truth and Regret — Young-ho confronts his own lies while the past reveals how vulnerable memory and connection can be.
  • Young-ho's Admission — He admits that he lied and wants to show So-hee his better self.
  • So-yeon's Death — He learns that his elementary-school classmate So-yeon died from an illness in 2003.
• The Rain-Bound Meeting — The hoped-for reunion becomes conditional, leaving the future suspended between promise and uncertainty.
  • Demolished School — Young-ho proposes meeting So-hee on December 31 at their former school site.
  • If It Rains — So-hee agrees to meet only if rain comes, with no further promises.

Directed by

Cho Jin-mo

Key Cast

• Kang Ha-neul — Young-ho
• Chun Woo-hee — So-hee
• Kang So-ra — Soo-jin
• Lee Seol — So-yeon
• Lim Ju-hwan — Young-hwan