Stay with me Solo Leveling fans, Sung Jinwoo and Lee Joo-hee's ship might still sail

With the recent release of the official Solo Leveling: Arise side story, many newer angles are being explored by the series. While this opens up a wide variety of new possibilities for the main story, fans might get a new relationship angle that many have wanted for years.

With how the side story turned Sung Jin-ah, Sung Jinwoo's sister, into a hunter, there is a high chance that Lee Joo-he and Jinwoo might become an actual relationship in the story. Many fans have been wanting this for years, and with how everything is changing in the side story from the ARISE project, their wish might get granted.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinions and contains potential spoilers from the main Solo Leveling storyline.

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Why Lee Joo-hee might end up in an official relationship with Jinwoo in Solo Leveling: Arise

Solo Leveling

@SoloLevelAnime

Joohee and Jinwoo before the Double Dungeon ♥️

It is a known fact that the author of the Solo Leveling series, Chugong, revealed on the DC Inside website that Joo-Hee is, in reality, the first woman Jin-Woo ever truly loved, and that love was reciprocal. Even in the anime series, a lot of romantic tension could be seen between the two from their several interactions before the double dungeon incident.

According to the author, the reason why no love interest was developed between them is largely because Lee Joo-hee was deeply traumatized by the events of the double dungeon and never truly got over it. This also pushed her to return to her village, and the interactions between the two ended at that point.

"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. Jinwoo did have feelings for Joohee before they went their separate ways,” said the author Chugong.

DomainofAnime🇮🇳

@Shivansh1863252

Chugong the og author of solo leveling, came to his Korean blog site to clear the misunderstanding about joohee and jinwoo. This makes it clear that people are not able to understand sl story as a whole at all. #SoloLeveling

Based on the explanation by Chugong and the patterns of the Solo Leveling: Arise side story, there is a high chance the series will explore the unexplored romantic angle between Jinwoo and Joo-hee. The story might continue with Joo-hee not being traumatized after the double dungeon, and they might carry on clearing dungeons together, further developing their relationship.

The main difference between Cha Hae-In and Lee Joo-hee in the original series was that while Joo-hee was traumatized and gave up the hunter life, after the Jeju Island arc, Cha Hae-In became more determined to become stronger and develop herself as a hunter. This narrative difference brought Hae-In closer to Jinwoo, and Joo-hee further from him.

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Final thoughts

Joo-hee and Jinwoo as seen in the Solo Leveling anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

With the Solo Leveling: Arise official side story exploring several other character angles that might have been otherwise impossible to explore, the possibility remains for a romantic relationship between the main protagonist, Sung Jinwoo, and Lee Joo-hee. Whether this possibility becomes a reality is yet to be seen.

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