Moving Out
Episode 5 of Record Of Youth begins with Jeong-Ha meeting Hae-Hyo who admits that her dream is to have her own make-up brand. She thanks him for her opportunity but his lingering look seems to imply that he has feelings for her. For now though, he keeps these to himself. Not long after, Hye-Jun runs into Jeong-Ha who shows up for the script reading. As Hae-Hyo teases him, the duo start childishly playing together and fighting over Jeong-Ha’s attention. Gyeong-Jun goes flat searching but he’s pretty picky, to say the least. Eventually though he finds one he likes and heads back home to tell his parents. There, he finds Ae-Suk and Yeong-Nam discussing the former’s hand-me-down clothes from I-Yeong. When Gyeong-Jun returns, he tells Ae-Suk not to work for Hae-Hyo anymore but things soon become awkward. With rent at 900,000 won, Ae-Suk worries about his future financial prospects. Eventually she calls a family meeting and storms out. Sensing something up, Gyeong-Jun questions his Father over whether there’s something going on with Ae-Suk. Given she’s reading the book “Girl With A Pearl Earring” he thinks she may be having an affair. At I-Young’s place, Hae-Na receives news that she’s got in to University. She’s less than enthused though and brushes this off, telling her Mother she’ll celebrate when she wants to. When Ae-Suk arrives, she starts going about her job and monologues how she originally didn’t like the cleaning role she was given. While she and I-Young talk, their inner-voices say very different things about their feelings. I-Young actually appreciates Ae-Suk’s help but doesn’t want her feeling too proud about it. When she leaves, I-Young definitely feels the effect of the different housekeepers and eventually pleads with Ae-Suk to return and work for her. Meanwhile, Hye-Jun receives word of the upcoming family reunion and is told to attend. Before he does that though, Jeong-Ha and Hae-Hyo playfully joke around who’s car Jeong-Ha will ride in. Eventually she agrees to go with Min-Jae. Hye-Jun takes to the driving seat though and the trio ride away together. Struggling with the door, Hye-Jun eventually leans over and opens it for her. The pair share some lovely moments together and continue to flirt as their friendship blossoms naturally. As they walk away, Hye-Jun can’t help but smile. When he returns home, Gyeong-Jun confronts his brother about moving out. Hye-Jun brushes it off though and prepares for the family meeting. Before arriving at the dinner table, Yeong-Nam speaks to his son about the Pearl Earring book. It turns out Ae-Suk loves it because of the housekeeping and cleaning schedule not the affair element of it. As the meeting gets underway, everyone has a chance to say their piece about Gyeong-Jun moving out. The attention then turns to Min-Ki who remains convinced that Gyeong-Jun is moving out to live more comfortably. As he speaks, he eventually reveals that he’s also moving so that he and Hye-Jun will no longer fight. Tensions eventually bubble over and result in the family being torn in both directions. In the wake of the fight, Min-Ki decides to become a model – and a successful one at that. When Yeong-Nam and Ae-Suk show up, they talk to him about what happened and apologise. Elsewhere, Jin-U and Hae-Na both cross their fingers and hope for the best when enrolling for university. In the wake of this, the duo eat food together and discuss what they’ve applied for. Hye-Jun meanwhile memorizes his lines in the script ready for his big performance. Although Min-Jae drives him there, she apologises for not being able to be on set with him. However, the pair discuss his acting and try to alleviate any tension. On set, Hye-Jun does his best and really gets into his character. Despite some initial nerves, Hae-Hyo and Jeong-Ha watch on as he embraces the thug he’s playing. This catches us up with the scenes from last week where Hye-Jun improvised his lines and changed what was supposed to happen. As they continue on, the fight sequences gets a little heated and Hye-Jun winds up with a cut on his forehead. While shooting, Min-Jae learns that Tae-Su put in a good word for Hye-Jun and helped get him a role with Do-Ha. She gets him a gift for his kids as her way of thanking him and the two seem to be on good terms. Just before she leaves, he tells her she’s a good manager. After the shoot, Jeong-Ha and Hye-Jun both head home together. She fusses over him and tells Hye-Jun he should have just gone straight home after the injury. He teases her and the duo walk together, discussing Hye-Jun’s dream. Predictably, it begins raining again when they’re together but Hye-Jun tells her he wants to be rained on. As he looks at her, he suddenly blurts out that he thinks he likes her. Interesting, the camera pans out to show writing scribbled on a mirror that seems to say “I’ll tel (with one l) the light to guide you” or is that “I’ll let the light guide you”? I’m not 100% sure but it’s definitely a cute ending and keeps you itching for more.
The Episode Review
Record Of Youth is a very simple slice of life drama. At its core, this familial-centric series revolves around a group of friends fighting for their dreams. The centerpiece of this is, of course, Hye-Jun and his acting career. Jeong-Ha compliments him perfectly though and her aspiring dream is just as ambitious and interesting. When these two share the screen it really is magical. Along with the brotherly teasing of Hae-Hyo, they all have really good chemistry together. However, the latter’s obvious interest in Jeong-Ha could cause friction to grow and evolve into a love triangle of sorts. I can’t help but feel all of this is going to come undone soon when secrets come to light surrounding Hae-Hyo’s fame too. Quite how that will affect the friends remains to be seen. Still, for now Record Of Youth leaves the door wide open for tomorrow’s episode and based on the ending to this, it’s not one to miss!
