This songs also relates to Juheon in certain parts as well When he disappeared, it wasn’t because he stopped loving Dohu. It was because staying meant facing feelings that he really loved dohu but that what he saw as betrayal meant that Dohu would hurt him like other ppl did in his life, so he choose to leave to save himself and save his heart from being more heartbroken . The “I can breathe for the first time” isn’t relief for him, it’s emotional numbness. Breathing because he shut everything down. Because running was easier than admitting he was scared.
And “now I get what I want” hits in the most ironic way. What he wanted back then wasn’t freedom ,it was control. Safety. Distance. And he got it, at the cost of the person he loved most.
That’s why none of the moving-on parts actually fit him. Juheon didn’t move on, he froze. He stayed exactly where he left things, convincing himself it was over while carrying everything with him anyway.
So when Dohu reappears, it all unravels. The breathing stops. The control cracks. Because Juheon never healed — he just survived.
Do you have the novel link
I'm excited and scared for the next ch. Upon rereading the book again, “Since U Been Gone” reminds me so much of Dohu, especially after Juheon suddenly disappeared.
At first, I think the breakup crushed him with guilt. Not just the loss itself, but the realization that he couldn’t give Juheon what he needed at that time, which was reassurance, clarity, and emotional language. And once Juheon was gone, there was no way to go back and fix it. No conversation. No closure. Just silence.
What hurts is that Dohu didn’t run from that guilt. He didn’t deny it either. He had to accept the choice he made, live with the consequences, and keep moving forward instead of staying trapped in “what ifs.” In that way, the song’s lyrics “I can breathe for the first time” doesn’t feel like freedom, it feels like survival. How Dohu Learned how to live because he had no other option.
The breakup hit him deeply, he grew out his hair, was reminded of Juheon in the places where they used to go to, He then learned how much he truly loved juheon but didnt know to what extent until he disppared. Dohu then had to learn how to function, and how to exist without the person he loved most, even if it never stopped hurting.
That’s why Juheon reappearing changes everything. Seeing him on TV for the first time where he was huddled and in a depressive state, and then running into him at his work, feels like a second chance Dohu never thought he’d get. It doesn’t erase the past, but it reassures him of one thing, he shouldn’t give up anymore and chase toward what he truly wants and what his emotions are telling him to do .
This time, he knows what he failed to express before. And now that Juheon is back, Dohu isn’t running, he’s choosing to face it head-on and work for him, no matter how long it takes.