'Backstreet Rookie' Episode 9: Dae-hyun and Yeon-joo's break up is offset by a parody of 'Parasite'
'Backstreet Rookie' Episode 9 begins with Yeon-joo (Han Sun-hwa) learning about Saet-byul (Kim Yoo-jung) staying at Dae-hyun's (Ji Chang-wook) house after she hurries up to meet him and confess how she cheated on him with her friend Seung-joon. She had hoped for another chance with Dae-hyun, but instead, Saet-byul's presence distracts her and even pushes her further away from Dae-hyun. She is also not ready to listen to Dae-hyun about why Saet-byul had to stay at his home in the first place. She rushes away in anger and doesn't respond to his calls or messages which leads Dae-hyun to approach Yeon-joo's mother to tell her that he is at the moment trying to clarify a misunderstanding that has occurred between the two of them.
He also tells Yeon-joo's mother that he would prefer if she stayed out of their business until then. She agrees initially but also makes plans to show Dae-hyun where he belongs if things between her daughter and Dae-hyun did get serious. She approaches his family members and gives them opportunities that seem brilliant initially, however, if one were to look deeper; all of it was an attempt to show Dae-hyun that his family did not belong in the same level as Yeon-joo and her family. It is this particular plotline that the makers have used to present a parody of the Oscar award-winning film 'Parasite'. They have used the scene where Kim Ki-taek is tested by Park Dong-ik on how good his driving skills are.
From the man holding a drink to check how smooth the driver's driving capabilities are to the sharp turns; all of it is presented in the show. Only we see Yeon-joo's mother testing Dae-hyun's father in this scene and it doesn't necessarily hold the same meaning as it does in the film, but the intention is clear. The divide between upper-class families and others are being definitely drawn in this episode, and while it is driven by humor, the intent is to show Dae-hyun that he doesn't belong with Yeon-joo and her family.
Dae-hyun is yet to realize that his family is being used by Yeon-joo's mother. In fact, even Yeon-joo is not aware of her mother's plans as she has a plan of her own to orchestrate. After attempting to patch things up after learning that Saet-byul has been driven out of Dae-hyun's life, Yeon-joo continued to falter and that is when she ended up cheating on her boyfriend as well. Since she doesn't have the guts to confess the truth to Dae-hyun and tell him that it was not her parents who were against him but it was she herself who was not confident about him or their relationship, towards the end of the episode, Yeong-joo ends up breaking up with him.
She tries to come across as considerate when she ends up setting a dinner date with him at a place that he would be more comfortable with. Yet, her decision to get Seung-joon to pick her up after she tells Dae-hyun that they should break up shows that she is not only inconsiderate but also extremely selfish.
The fact that she tells Dae-hyun all of this while he is going through trouble at his convenience store makes it all the more worse. At this point, Dae-hyun should be ecstatic about getting out of a toxic relationship. Can he really give up on Yeon-joo and move on at this point? That is what will be the crux of the upcoming episode.
'Backstreet Rookie' originally airs on SBS on Fridays an Saturdays at 10 pm KST.