Record of Youth: Episode 5 Recap

Slowly but surely, things are working out for Hye-jun. It becomes more and more obvious who is on his side in support of him and who isn’t. Regardless, sometimes change can be good and that might be what Hye-jun needs in order to ramp things up.

Record of Youth: Episode 5 Recap

Hae-hyo picks Jeong-ha up in his van and together the two head to Hae-hyo’s script-reading session. Jeong-ha’s a bit nervous as this marks the first of many more steps in hopes of achieving her dreams. All make-up artists usually start off by doing other celebrities’s make-up and this is one of those occasions. Jeong-ha also addresses the topic of being Hye-jun’s fan and informs Hae-hyo that Hye-jun already knows. She’s grateful to Hae-hyo for the opportunity and even leans in towards him to grab a piece of hair on his shirt. Hae-hyo tries not to be nervous around Jeong-ha, but it’s obvious that he is. While using the restroom, Hye-jun comes across CEO Lee who pesters Hye-jun once again. If Hye-jun had just stayed with him, he could have been under CEO Lee’s new entertainment company. Hye-jun shows no hints of regret and doesn’t have much too say to CEO Lee. He’ll prove CEO Lee wrong.

Upon exiting the restroom, Hye-jun encounters his two friends who finally arrive at the script reading session. They greet each other and chat for a bit before the session. Gyeong-jun goes apartment hunting for a new studio. He breaks the news to Dad and Mom when he gets home later on that day. He plans on moving out since he now has a job. He also pleads for Mom to quit her job as Hae-hyo’s housekeeper. He’ll give her allowance and take care of her so that she doesn’t have to put up with Mama Hae-hyo or keep wearing Mama Hae-hyo’s hand-me-down’s. Mom doesn’t respond so enthusiastically to both information. She doesn’t plan on quitting her job nor does she want Gyeong-jun to move out. It’s great that he has a job, but the rent for the studio will be high and he won’t have much after paying all the expenses. Plus, he’s an impulsive buyer and spends more than he earns. Dad attempts to advocate for Gyeong-jun, but Mom shuts the both of them down. She eventually gives in and gives up and leaves the conversation hanging to go to work. Dad and Gyeong-jun assumes something must be up with the way that Mom reacted to Gyeong-jun’s request about quitting her job.

Gyeong-jun assumes Mom must be having an affair of some sorts for her to work as Hae-hyo’s housekeeper for a decade. It all started when he noticed she was reading the book “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. It’s odd that Mom would continue to work as the housekeeper even after she quit once. Dad doesn’t believe in Gyeong-jun’s investigation and thinks it’s silly of him to even come up with such a thing, lol. When Mom arrives to work, she learns about Hae-na’s acceptance into law school. It’s a great day for Hae-na and she agrees to set up a congratulatory party at the request of her mother who volunteers to plan the party for her daughter. While changing into her work clothes, Mom reflects on her job as Hae-hyo’s housekeeper and her conflicting feelings towards it. Her job gives her a deeper look into someone else’s private life so that means she sometimes learns things about people that she had no intentions of learning about. She didn’t like her job when she first started, but now she’s come around to feeling neutral about it. In between the decade’s worth of work, she’s learned many lessons about cleaning and societal status.

After cleaning up, Mama Hae-hyo and Mom have a conversation about her job. Mama Hae-hyo can always hire more housekeepers, but Mama Hae-hyo is reluctant to. Although she uses the excuse that she doesn’t want too many people to have access to her house, the honest truth is that Mama Hae-hyo doesn’t approve of other housekeepers. She learned this firsthand when Mom quit the housekeeping job and Mama Hae-hyo had to hire another housekeeper who didn’t meet her expectations and who she found difficult to work with. When she learned that Mom was working for another family, Mama Hae-hyo went out herself to search for Mom. With some convincing, Mama Hae-hyo managed to persuade Mom to return as her housekeeper. Mom only gave in because she received Hye-jun’s blessing and approval to work as Hae-hyo’s housekeeper. And that’s how Mom eventually returned as their housekeeper.

After the script reading session, our three friends set out for lunch. The meal for the day will be none other than jajangmyeon and Hae-hyo and Hye-jun bicker for a bit on who Jeong-ha should ride with on the way to the restaurant. She eventually settles for Hye-jun and she enters Min-jae’s car with Hye-jun as the driver. CEO Lee and Do-ha catch up with each other after the script reading session. Do-ha can’t help but grow fond of the lead actress co-star who he finds beautiful. CEO Lee jokes around that he’ll get her number for Do-ha which Do-ha jokingly declines. Upon arriving at the restaurant parking lot, Hye-jun reverses the car into a parking lot space. Jeong-ha’s a bit impatient and she unbuckles her seatbelt a bit early. At the last second, a little boy jumps out in front of their car as he chases after his ball toy. This causes Hye-jun to hit the brakes and everyone in the car jolts forward. Thankfully, Hye-jun extends his arm out to protect Jeong-ha from flying and the two bicker with each other like a couple afterwards.

Min-jae, who’s sitting in the backseat, can’t help but notice just how the two seem to be fighting as if they’re a couple. Upon questioning their relationship, Jeong-ha and Hye-jun quickly deny the accusations. They’re not dating nor are they fighting, they’re just exchanging opinions, lol. Min-jae’s had enough of the two and she takes their orders so that she can order their food ahead of time. Both Jeong-ha and Hye-jun yell out the words “jajang” at the same time which results in another round of awkward silence. Haha. Seconds after Min-jae leaves, Jeong-ha and Hye-jun also prepare to exit from the car. Jeong-ha has trouble opening her door so Hye-jun offers his help by leaning in towards her side to open her door for her. Of course, the skinship gets her heart beating and her stomach turning and she’s so nervous that she forgets her cellphone as she leaves the car.

Hye-jun grabs her cellphone before getting out of the car and purposely asks her for her cellphone. Jeong-ha panics upon not having her cellphone with her, but rest assured, Hye-jun hands Jeong-ha her cellphone. Jeong-ha isn’t so happy with Hye-jun’s teasing as it makes her seem like she needs to be taken care of when it’s usually the opposite. She’s also not a fan of Hye-jun’s sarcasm and has a hard time believing him. She even brings up how she had a hard time believing her mom who betrayed her trust by leaving her dad for another man. Hye-jun is fascinated by how honest Jeong-ha is about these details and stories, but he also likes it. Hye-jun gets a taste of his own medicine when Jeong-ha is also sarcastic to him. Now he knows how she feels and he understands better.

CEO Lee hangs out with his friends who can’t help but notice just how different he is now compared to years ago. Although popular actor Do-ha is now under CEO Lee, he reminisces the memories and times he shared with Hye-jun who he thought would be successful under him. There was no reason as to why Hye-jun’s career wouldn’t take off, but it just never did and that’s when CEO Lee realized that he had to do something different if he wanted to be successful. He changed so he could survive in the industry and it’s something he doesn’t regret. When Hye-jun arrives home, he’s first greeted by Gyeong-jun who pleads for his help. In order to persuade Mom to let him move out of the house, Hye-jun has to bring up how he wants his own room. It’ll help Gyeong-jun fight for his case. Hye-jun doesn’t say much before entering the house.

The next person to greet Hye-jun is none other than Mom. She encourages Hye-jun to remind Dad about the family meeting that night so Hye-jun goes over to Dad’s room to invite him to the meeting. Dad is busy reading the book that Mom seems obsessed with and he even asks Hye-jun for his thoughts and opinion. Is it ridiculous to ask why Mom seems so into this book? Hye-jun knows the real reason though and explains to Dad why Mom enjoys the book so much. It’s simply because of the fact that she can relate to the female character and can find bits of herself here and there throughout the book. It’s not that complicated or serious.

Mama Hae-hyo and her family go out to a luxurious restaurant to celebrate Hae-na’s acceptance into law school. Mama Hae-hyo and Hae-hyo’s dad attempt to one-up each other for the congratulatory speech which puts both Hae-na and Hae-hyo into an awkward position. Regardless, they celebrate and congratulate Hae-na on the success. Back at Hye-jun’s house, the 5-member family gathers for a meeting. Mom cuts to the chase and voices her disproval with Gyeong-jun’s plan to move out of the house. She’s afraid he won’t have much saved up after paying rent and other expenses and tries to persuade him to stay. Gyeong-jun argues that he wants to be responsible for himself now. Plus, it’s about time Hye-jun gets his own room since he must feel uncomfortable sharing a room with Grandpa.

Of course, Hye-jun isn’t happy with the way that Gyeong-jun dragged him into the conversation. Hye-jun never said such a thing and doesn’t have a problem with sharing a room with Grandpa. Dad also jumps in by defending Gyeong-jun and criticizing Hye-jun for speaking back against his brother. Grandpa too has something to say and clarifies the comments going around that Gyeong-jun takes after him. Sure, he also moved out when he was around Gyeong-jun’s age, but he did it because he wasn’t mature and thoughtful enough whereas Gyeong-jun is moving out for his own comfort and well-being. There’s a difference. Gyeong-jun once again steps in to defend himself and blames Hye-jun as the reason. They’re always fighting so if he moves out, the fighting will end and there will be more space for everyone in the house. Grandpa can’t help but notice just how persuasive Gyeong-jun seems. It’s as if he’s a con artist and Grandpa knows this by experience. Dad once again talks down to Grandpa which tests Grandpa’s patience. Grandpa’s already paid for everything; he’s already had his fair share of punishments by being ridiculed and embarrassed every time by Dad. Isn’t that enough?

After the family meeting, Mom, Dad, and Gyeong-jun moves to the bedroom to discuss about Grandpa. Grandpa knows that they’ve been badmouthing him behind his back so Mom worries as to what they should do. Meanwhile, Grandpa updates Hye-jun on his decision to model. He’s going to become a model so that he can prove to Dad what he’s capable of. At that moment, Mom and Dad enters the bedroom to have a private talk with Grandpa so Hye-jun steps out. Mom starts off by apologizing, but Dad still has a bit too much pride to do the same. Instead, he bickers with Grandpa again and can’t seem to let go of the past. With the decision to let Gyeong-jun move out, Gyeong-jun expects some kind of appreciation and gratitude from Hye-jun. Hye-jun’s thankful he gets his own room now, but that doesn’t change the fact that Gyeong-jun’s had it easier than Hye-jun. When Hye-jun returns to his bedroom that night, he takes out his script and begins to memorize his lines. He too is going to prove everyone wrong.

Hae-na and Jin-woo spend some time together. Hae-na enrolls in classes for school and Jin-woo shows her the vaccinations he got. It’s time for another movie shooting. Manager Min-jae drops Hye-jun off at the salon and the two are hopeful that things will go well. Su-bin breaks the news to Jeong-ha and can’t stop raving about how handsome Hye-jun looks with his outfit change, but it’s already something Jeong-ha knew a longgg time ago, haha. Jin-ju makes her way into the storage room to join the two girls and just like all the other times, she takes a jab at Jeong-ha. She assumes Jeong-ha must be excited to be at the filming set, but Jeong-ha clarifies that she’ll be there to work. And so our make-up artist greets both Hye-jun and Hae-hyo in the salon. Hye-jun is feeling a bit nervous for his fighting scene, but his two friends cheer him up. They even agree to stay behind to watch the fighting scene themselves.

Hye-jun rehearses with Do-ha on their fighting scene (more like Hye-jun-beating-Do-ha-up-scene but you know what I mean). It takes a while for Hye-jun to warm up to his role, but he eventually gets into the swing of things and it’s impressive just how much he changes when he’s acting. Hae-hyo and Jeong-ha watch him attentively from behind the cameras. Jeong-ha acknowledges just how talented Hye-jun is as an actor, but Hae-hyo too wants a compliment from Jeong-ha so she also says the same thing about him, lol. Grandpa attends his modeling academy and although it’s not easy, he puts in the hard work needed to succeed. Things are going well for him.

Hye-jun impresses the director on the set with his ad-libbing which Do-ha isn’t so happy about. They move forward with some of Hye-jun’s ideas and improvisation and the fighting scene seems to be good so far. However, things take a slight turn when Hye-jun accidentally punches Do-ha and hurts him. Do-ha still isn’t so happy with Hye-jun on set and the atmosphere between the two of them intensifies. Manager Min-jae meets with a director who also happens to be one of CEO Lee’s colleague. Talks about his next project is brought up and Min-jae is interested in knowing who the cast members for the project will be. Min-jae takes the time to meet with CEO Lee afterwards and expresses her gratitude to the CEO. She heard from the director that CEO Lee spoke highly of Hye-jun during their meeting which was how Hye-jun was casted in the director’s movie. The two pretend to be on good terms with each other, but Manager Min-jae is just more thankful than anything.

Hae-hyo leaves the drama set early since the fighting scene is still being filmed. It’s Do-ha’s turn to take his anger out on Hye-jun and he hits Hye-jun’s head with a wooden stick a bit too hard to the point where Hye-jun begins to bleed. Jeong-ha watches as Hye-jun bleeds and the two head to the pharmacy afterwards to treat the scar on his forehead. Hye-jun doesn’t think much about it (it’s not like he’s dying) and volunteers to take Jeong-ha back home. And so the two sit next to each other on the bus and Jeong-ha makes sure to take extra good care of Hye-jun. She likes responsible people which can explain as to why she’s such a responsible person herself. While walking Jeong-ha back home, the two debrief about the day and chat about what it was like for them.

At one point, it begins to rain and Jeong-ha runs to take cover. She notices that it always rain when the two are together for some reason. Unlike Jeong-ha, Hye-jun isn’t in a hurry to move. He actually wants to be in the rain. There’s something more pressing on his mind at the moment that he wants to say. He feels conflicted about it, but it’s been on his mind and in his heart for a while now. While staring into Jeong-ha’s eyes, Hye-jun garners the courage to confess to Jeong-ha. He thinks he likes her.

My Thoughts:

I was not expecting a confession so soon into the drama (and I spoiled myself by accidentally reading the title of a video to the confession on Youtube.. so silly of me!), but it totally makes sense as to why Hye-jun likes Jeong-ha and has feelings for her. Things are only going to get more complicated when Hae-hyo is added into the mix (as he already is sort of getting there) and it’ll be interesting to see what happens. The three are so cute together as friends, I want to see more of them as a friendship trio before all the feelings and loving and angst gets shoved in T_T

Extra screenshots from the episode~