'Record of Youth' Episode 10: With Sa Hye-jun at the cusp of controversy, will Jeong-ah's love be his savior?
The teaser of 'Record of Youth' Episode 10 has hinted at how Jeong-ah (Park So-dam) might decide to spend time with Hae-hyo instead of Hye-jun (Park Bo-gum) on the day of his big win. However, this had more to do with Hae-hyo being sad and needing moral support than it had to do with Jeong-ah and Hye-jun or possibly the space that is beginning to form in their relationship. One of the interesting things about 'Record of Youth' is the way in which the show doesn't hold its audience's attention by throwing a twist at the end of the episode or a cliff hanger for that matter. Instead, they tell us what is about to unravel much ahead of time.
For instance, when the show had shown us that Hye-jun would win the Best Actor category in Episode 9, it was a fast progression from just landing the show to getting awarded the Best Actor for the same. So how did it happen and what happened to Won Hae-hyo's Rookie of the Year Award? By showing us what Hye-jun's future held, the show increased the anticipation of the audience by raising the question of what it took for Hye-jun to get where he did. So far, we saw how much effort Hye-jun had to put in order to get appreciation, attention, and fame.
So in Episode 10, we see how Hye-jun managed to keep Jeong-ah around as much as possible even if it meant visiting her home instead of going to his own. They watched his work together and while she took pride in his work and appreciated every role he took on, he enjoyed the attention despite being embarrassed by watching himself with his girlfriend on screen.
She supports him not only because she is his girlfriend, but because she was his fan first and she continues to see talent in him. She even tells him how he shines because of his passion that continues to burn. Their love, on the other hand, is not made of passion but comfort and even the soundtrack that plays in the background speaks of how the two of them value comfort and the warmth that comes with it more than anything. It is beautiful how the two of them manage to portray something as simple as watching a show together or having a meal together. To convince us of the beauty lies in relationships that run on comfort, seems to be the aim of the relationship that Hye-jun and Jeong-ah have in the show.
Then we have the nuances of friendship also portrayed with conviction as Hae-hyo and Hye-jun's friendship sees a change in the dynamics this episode. All this time, it had been Hye-jun who had been compared to Hae-hyo. It was Hye-jun who received the short end of the stick for not having the connections that Hae-hyo did. However, now that Hye-jun with the help of his manager and his instinct and hard work has become a successful actor, Hae-hyo is seeing the other side of what it means to be compared to a friend and he is not liking it one bit. However, he doesn't speak about this to Hye-jun but instead tells their other friend Jin-u about the discomfort that he feels and just as a true friend would, Jin-u points out how Hae-hyo and Hye-jun had always been compared.
Despite the pressure that Hae-hyo has been receiving from his mother and father to perform better, he still ends up asking Jeong-ah to help him. She owed him twice and he asks her to repay her debt now and this had nothing to do with Jeong-ah feeling left out after the award ceremony when Hye-jun met his family and left with them. After all, Hye-jun is at that point in his life when he cannot be in a relationship openly. However, it seems Charlie Jung, the designer who had hit on Hye-jun all this time has committed suicide and Hye-jun at the end of the episode gets called in for investigation. Where are things headed now?
'Record of Youth' originally airs on tvN on Mondays and Tuesdays in South Korea and can be streamed on Netflix in the US.