Things can only get worse before they get better. Hye-jun has been on an uphill battle for a very long time and is now experiencing the most challenging fight just yet in his career. Things are also getting rocky in his relationship with Jeong-ha and things aren’t looking so bright. For the popular model-turned-actor who’s always been a fighter, just how much more fighting will he have to do until things get better?
Record Of Youth: Episode 15 Recap
Jeong-ha skips out on meeting with Hye-jun to meet with Reporter Kim instead. Reporter Kim is more interested in pressuring Jeong-ha with questions about Hye-jun, but Jeong-ha isn’t phased. She’s willing to answer questions about Hye-jun, but she also wants to make sure that Reporter Kim doesn’t twist her words around. She pulls out her cellphone as a warning and records their interview (YOU GO JEONG-HA!!). She clarifies that she and Hye-jun are not dating and that she and Hye-jun are only affiliated for career purposes. While writing up a news article to deny the dating rumors between Hye-jun and Jeong-ha, Min-jae receives two phone calls: one from Gyeong-jun and the other from CEO Lee. Gyeong-jun updates Min-jae on his apology letter and how he decided to eventually write one. Meanwhile, CEO Lee still wants Hye-jun under his wings, but Min-jae isn’t so concerned. She knows who Hye-jun wants to stay with.
Reporter Kim tests Jeong-ha’s patience and intelligence by bringing up Hye-jun’s former relationship with Ji-Ah. Ji-Ah is clearly still in love with Hye-jun and the two look great together so maybe the two should get back together. Jeong-ha is well aware of the dirty tricks Reporter Kim is trying to pull on her so she doesn’t fall for it. If Reporter Kim wants to meet with Jeong-ha next time, she should book an appointment with her. Hye-jun contacts Hae-hyo to meet up since his date with Jeong-ha was unsuccessful, but Hae-hyo too has plans to attend his pilates class. While at the gym, Hye-jun comes across none other than Do-ha who mention about the latest news article denying Hye-jun and Jeong-ha’s relationship.
Hye-jun hurries to meet up with Hae-hyo to talk about the news article as well. He wasn’t aware of the news article until Do-ha brought it up to him and now he’s worried. Min-jae meets with one of the brands that Hye-jun is endorsing. The representative isn’t so happy with all the dating rumors and controversy surrounding Hye-jun at the moment and Min-jae has to reassure the representative that everything will be taken care of. On the way out of the building, Min-jae encounters CEO Lee and the two go at it in regards to Hye-jun. Hye-jun not renewing his contract with Min-jae just yet says a lot to CEO Lee about Hye-jun’s trust in Min-jae, but Min-jae tries not to think about it too much. As usual, CEO Lee believes he can do a much better job at managing Hye-jun than Min-jae can. He even pitches forth the idea of bringing in both Min-jae and Hye-jun under him like old times.
Min-jae’s next meeting is with Hye-jun who isn’t so happy with the news articles. It’s one thing for her to do her job as manager and protect Hye-jun, but Hye-jun dislikes how she didn’t give Jeong-ha a heads up about the article. Min-jae wants to protect Hye-jun, but for Hye-jun, he wants to protect Jeong-ha. On the bus ride back home, Jeong-ha checks her SNS account to find tons of hate comments criticizing her and her relationship with Hye-jun. When she gets back home, she picks up a call from Hae-hyo who checks in with her. Jeong-ha’s mom is coming to visit her soon so she’s home early. She also reasons that she picked up Hae-hyo’s phone call (and not Hye-jun’s) because he’s a great friend. It’s as simple as that. Jeong-ha reflects on her relationship with Hye-jun and recalls the conversation the two once had about apologizing in a relationship. Hye-jun claimed that he would never ever say sorry when in a relationship, but fast forward to the present and it seems like the popular celebrity has failed to keep his words. Hye-jun fails to get in contact with Jeong-ha and stresses out over it.
Mom and Dad watch an interview of Hye-jun on TV and Dad finally admits that Hye-jun’s made it. He’s successful. They also worry about all the mess that Hye-jun is involved in and whether or not Min-jae will be able to handle everything just fine. Dad admits that he wouldn’t be as worried if it was a bigger agency that was supporting Hye-jun. Just then, Grandpa exits his bedroom to attend his meeting with his modeling academy. Mom encourages Dad to go with Grandpa knowing fully well that Dad is no longer employed by Jin-woo’s Dad as a result of his shoulder injury. She reassures Dad that she makes enough from her job to cover their living expenses so they should be fine. With that, Dad heads out with Grandpa (as hesitant as he is) to his meeting and they learn that the modeling academy wants an exclusive contract with Grandpa. They’ll split the payment 60:40 and they’ll take care of him so that Dad won’t have to be his manager anymore.
Grandpa isn’t so keen on accepting the contract as he feels more comfortable working with Dad than with the modeling academy. With that, he declines the exclusive contract for now and Dad doesn’t oppose. Instead, he agrees with Grandpa and the drive back home is peaceful and smooth. Not as much bickering as before (nice!). Hye-jun finally manages to get into contact with Jeong-ha after she picks up his phone call. He offers to come over to her house to visit her, but Jeong-ha declines the opportunity since Mom’s arrived at her house right at that moment. With that, Jeong-ha reunites with her mom who plans on sleeping over at the house for a few days. Gyeong-jun is assigned to help set up the table for dinner since Hye-jun’s busy decorating some shoes that he bought for both him and Jeong-ha. Couple shoes! I like it!
While eating dinner, Jeong-ha and her mom first converse about Dad. Mom assumes Jeong-ha favors her dad more than she does her mom despite all that they’ve gone through when they were younger, but Jeong-ha doesn’t say much. Mom then teases Jeong-ha about her relationship with Hye-jun especially after reading the article. She’s proud of her daughter for thinking ahead. Mom assumes Jeong-ha quit her office job to open up a salon because she plans on getting married to Hye-jun. Although Jeong-ha reasons that things aren’t as they seem, Mom believes otherwise. Hye-jun and his family all have dinner together. Mom is opened to having dinner with Jeong-ha that weekend which Hye-jun accepts. Everyone is also surprised to find out Dad’s determination to be Grandpa’s agent. He thinks he’ll excel at it, but Hye-jun gives him a few pointers on how to perform as a manager. Dad is confident regardless.
After dinner, Dad catches up to Hye-jun as he heads to his bedroom. Hye-jun updates Dad on the lawsuits before they move on to talking about their relationship. Dad assumes Hye-jun still holds a grudge against him for all the things Dad did to him in the past, but Hye-jun remains mature. He’s aware that Dad only said and did those things because he wanted to motivate Hye-jun to succeed. Dad isn’t so persuaded though with Hye-jun’s response and assumes his son still has a grudge against him. Hae-hyo returns home to a worried mom who wants to know how her son is doing. Hae-hyo isn’t in the mood to talk to his mom and he’s still disappointed in her. He thought she did everything for him out of love, but it clearly was all just for herself. Although Mom comes up with a bunch of different reasons and excuses to defend herself, Hae-hyo doesn’t buy it. Mama Hae-hyo takes it out on her husband again later on that night and blames him for everything like usual.
Hae-na and Jin-woo meet up for another date. Now that she doesn’t have her credit card on her, Hae-na isn’t feeling so great when the two eat out at a luxurious and expensive restaurant. Hye-jun checks in with Jeong-ha one last time that night before sleeping. He updates Jeong-ha about Mom’s plans to grab a meal together that weekend which Jeong-ha is thankful for. The next morning, Jeong-ha finds her mom busy cooking in the kitchen. Seconds later, Jeong-ha finds her with the pair of shoes that Hye-jun dropped off at Jeong-ha’s apartment before heading to his schedule. Mom’s excited and enthusiastic upon reading the card that Hye-jun had written for Jeong-ha. So the rumors were true then! Jeong-ha must be set for life considering that Hye-jun is crazy for her.
Jeong-ha can’t help but notice Mom’s awful behavior and she’s not a fan of it. Mom decides to just cut to the chase with Jeong-ha’s comment and asks for some money. She’s in need of money and she won’t hide it any longer. Min-jae meets with Gyeong-jun at work to collect his apology letter. She’s in a hurry since she has to meet with Hye-jun on set so she leaves quickly afterwards. While Hye-jun wraps up filming, Min-jae overhears some staff members speaking badly about Hye-jun in the restroom. She apologizes to the staff for failing to protect him as his manager, but the staff members just awkwardly leave the restroom without reacting much. Lol. Reporter Kim looks over the lawsuit that Hye-jun has filed against her and she complains about it to her boss. She assumes her boss and the company will stand up for her, but she’s left hanging when her boss beats around the bush and doesn’t say much.
However, Reporter Kim still doesn’t back down. She goes to the police station and tries to compromise for Hye-jun’s last text messages with Charlie Jung. While having some lunch, Min-jae even pitches the idea of revealing the text messages to the public. Hye-jun disagrees since he’s not that desperate at the moment even with all the slander to his name. He also expresses interest in going on vacation which surprises both Min-jae and Chi-yeong. During the drive to his next schedule, Chi-yeong relays his admiration for Hye-jun. Even with all that is going on, Hye-jun remains strong, but Hye-jun reasons that it’s not like all that it seems. He cries himself to sleep at night so that he can smile during the day.
Jeong-ha sends Hye-jun a photo of the shoes he got her and thanks him for the gift. She also waters and takes care of the small plant tree that he bought her for her salon. She glances at photos in her cellphone that the two took together in the past and heads home afterwards to find her mom asleep on the couch in the living room. She’s reminded of a positive memory during her childhood between her and her mom and admits that things were good when she was younger. Jeong-ha felt her mom’s love and warmth as a young kid and that’s why she can forgive her mom. She also calls Min-jae to check up on Hye-jun’s schedule. She wants to meet with him.
We then return to Hye-jun’s meeting with Jeong-ha at the Jjampong office. He’s excited to finally be able to talk to her in person after what has felt like forever. Jeong-ha starts off by complimenting Hye-jun’s ability to endure everything that’s been happening to him and she even mutters the words ‘I love you’ to him. However, she quickly follows it up afterwards with a request to break up. She wants to return to the time before she fell in love with him and before he would apologize to her. That’s all that he’s been saying to her and she doesn’t like it. Hye-jun used to be someone who would stand by his words, but he’s changed. Jeong-ha doesn’t want to be an emotional outlet for Hye-jun. So with that, she breaks up with Hye-jun and even apologizes to Mom who was excited to meet Jeong-ha that weekend. Hye-jun walks Jeong-ha to the elevator, but she cuts things off with him then and there. Jeong-ha heads back home in the elevator while Hye-jun stays in the hallway alone and heartbroken.
Min-jae stresses out while watching a livestream talk negatively about Hye-jun. He’s no longer as popular given all the controversy and scandal surrounding him so Min-jae feels the urgency and need to resolve everything. She ends up emailing the last text messages that Charlie Jung had sent to Hye-jun to a reporter to get an article published. When Hye-jun arrives home, he finds Grandpa in the house and Mom out at work. Hye-jun isn’t feeling the greatest and has to pretend as if everything is fine between him and Jeong-ha when Grandpa asks about the dinner date that was scheduled for that weekend. Hye-jun proposes that it be rescheduled and then heads to his bedroom to get some rest. There’s a lot going on in his mind and he lays it all down.
News articles about the last text message exchanges between Hye-jun and Charlie Jung are revealed in a news article. Reporter Kim isn’t so happy with the article, but she’s also not happy with how her boss keeps reacting towards her lawsuit. She ends up meeting with Ji-Ah to discuss the situation and just like she’s been told prior, Ji-Ah suggests for Reporter Kim to settle. Ji-Ah also brings up how CEO Lee isn’t all that innocent like how he made it out to seem to Reporter Kim. He stole Hye-jun’s money back when Hye-jun was under him and committed fraud back then. Reporter Kim is dumbfounded and taken aback by the news. It doesn’t take long for Reporter Kim to confront CEO Lee about it. He painted himself to be the victim when he was the one behind everything and even scammed Hye-jun. He lied to her. Reporter Kim loses her trust in CEO Lee and even goes as far as to vow to take both A June Entertainment and Do-ha down.
Do-ha encounters Hae-hyo at the gym, but takes him to a club to hang out with some ladies afterwards. Hae-hyo isn’t in the mood for such a thing and he quickly heads home after. Hae-na has a talk with Hye-jun’s mom about her complicated and stressful relationship with her mother. Mom recommends that Hae-na just talk things out with her mom so Hae-na gives it a try. However, Mama Hae-hyo doesn’t fall for it. She remains stubborn and hard-headed and is determined to teach Hae-na a lesson. The attempt is unsuccessful and Hae-na fails. Hye-jun receives a visit from Min-jae in his bedroom and she updates him on her latest move in the media. Meanwhile, Hae-hyo looks over details and information regarding enlistment.
On the TV show that Reporter Kim is a cast member for, she updates everyone on the last text messages exchanged between Hye-jun and Charlie Jung. She’s quick to highlight the respect that Hye-jun had for Charlie Jung which could explain as to why he didn’t reveal the text messages much earlier despite all the controversy and gossip. Min-jae and Hye-jun watch the broadcast of the show together and Gyeong-jun joins them shortly afterwards. Gyeong-jun expresses dissatisfaction with the way that Min-jae handled things despite some shift in Hye-jun’s public image. Hye-jun would have liked to wait a little bit longer to reveal things given just how hot everything is at the moment. Regardless, the damage has been done and Min-jae accepts her fate with Hye-jun. She’ll respect his choice on whether or not he wants to renew his contract with Jjampong.
And so Reporter Kim does as she plans. She writes up a news article about Do-ha’s military enlistment which Do-ha complains to CEO Lee about. Just like all the other times, CEO Lee has to reassure Do-ha that he’ll take care of everything. Ji-Ah stops by Jeong-ha’s salon to get her make-up done for a court trial later on that day. She reassures Jeong-ha that she and Hye-jun are just friends and that she can even stop contacting him if it makes Jeong-ha feel better, but Jeong-ha has something to say herself. She and Hye-jun are no longer together. Ji-Ah meets with Min-jae and Hye-jun after her trial to update them about the lawsuit with Reporter Kim. Reporter Kim is willing to settle so Hye-jun is okay with the results. However, there’s something else that Ji-Ah wants to discuss with Hye-jun so the two have some time to themselves to talk. Ji-Ah has accepted her past and the fact that nothing will ever amount between her and Hye-jun ever again. With that, she expresses interest in befriending Jeong-ha who she has a great perception of.
While driving back home, Hye-jun recalls all the moments when he apologized to Jeong-ha in their relationship and just how apologetic he felt because he had gotten too busy to spend time with Jeong-ha. He pulls over and breaks down in his car. He misses Jeong-ha so much, but he also knows just how much she had to go through in their relationship. Later on that night, Hye-jun garners the courage to meet Jeong-ha outside of her salon and to speak what’s been on his mind and his heart. Despite what Jeong-ha wanted, he can’t do it. He can’t get himself to break up with Jeong-ha. The two stare at each other in silence as Jeong-ha ponders over what Hye-jun just voiced.
My Thoughts:
Cheers to it being finale week with 15 episodes down and one more to go~
Extra screenshots from the episode~
MaryMeKpop 