'Record of Youth' Episode 8: Hye-jun's ex-agent plots his fall with the new star and Jeong-ah busy and in love
'Record of Youth' Episode 8 begins with Hye-jun (Park Bo-gum) preparing for his role in 'Gateway' in which he plays a doctor and the 'melo-ment' -- romantic feelings being portrayed in a cheesy and heart skipping manner -- of the show ensuring an increase in the number of fans that Hye-jun has. The reason why Hye-jun had been denied a role in the first film that he had auditioned for was that he did not have a social media following. However, the same has now changed and this has resulted in him gaining not only other interesting opportunities but also commercial advertisement deals as well.
Despite his increasing popularity, the only thing that has changed is the way people around him have begun treating him. His mother and his grandfather are proud of their boy for having done it all on his own with no support from his family. This is unlike Hye-jun's friend Hae-hyo's success because until now, he has got his mother's help in making connections and getting roles as a result of the same. So Hye-jun's success truly belongs to him and his manager Min-jae alone. It is his talent, hard work and Min-jae's dedication that helped the two of them come up, but then, Hye-jun's path is still not clear.
Despite having Hye-jun's role snatched from him, Min-jae has not learned her lesson. Instead of keeping her cards close to her vest, she attempts showing off Hye-jun's new opportunity to the ex-agent and this leads to not just his jealousy but anger as well. You see, the commercial advertisement deal that Hye-jun was given originally belonged this agent's client, actor Park Do-ha. However, this time the contract is being rescinded so that they can change the face of their brand. So, this evil, a***ole of an agent does what he does best -- plot and scheme against Jjampong Entertainment run by Min-jae and her only client Sa Hye-jun.
He does this by bringing up designer Charlie Jung's name to a reporter who tells him that she plans on covering Sa Hye-jun in her next piece. It is obvious that the agent is hoping to create a negative image of Sye-jun by connecting him to a designer who had attempted to bring him on board as his lover in return for being Hye-jun's sponsor. However, Hye-jun had refused the offer. Knowing this agent, he is sure to distort the facts and present it to the reporter in a manner that gives him and his client an advantage. While all of this is brewing in the background, Hye-jun focusses only on two things.
First is his upcoming project, and the second is Ae-jeong (Park So-dam). Hye-jun doesn't want to do what other stars have done so far to attain the status of Hallyu stars. He wants to be known first and foremost as an actor and fill his filmography with projects that he would be proud of despite its success or failure. He doesn't look at it from a commercial viewpoint like his agent as she tries to convince him to pick a project that would give him a foothold in the industry as the next heartthrob. Hye-jun refuses and rightly so. If he were to do projects just based on shallow requirements, the chances of him disappearing with one whiff of controversy are high. Quite similar to Park Do-ha. So, the choices that Hye-jun is making will only take him in the right direction, but the obstacles sure are a handful.
Ae-jeong, someone that he has grown close to recently, has become his lover and his friend. She is there for him even when his family isn't and yet, despite his best efforts, he is unable to stand by Jeong-ah when she is struggling with how her mother treats her. Jeong-ah's father is extremely supportive of his daughter's passion, but her mother believes that only an office job is stable and secure. She had even left her husband for not being financially stable as an artist. Things have changed over the course of time as Ae-jeong's father is now a rich artist who has a fulfilling life. However, it is her mother who is still struggling with poverty. When Ae-jeong tries to point out the prejudice prevalent in her mother, things escalate quickly and Jeong-ah is left feeling extremely low.
When she tries to reach out to Hye-jun, he is unable to attend because of how busy he has been and this doesn't exactly cause friction between the two of them, but things do get sober. All that romance that was in the air begins to disappear bit by bit as the two face the reality of their respective careers and family. What is extraordinary about the show is how all of these transitions within a relationship is portrayed in the simplest of manners. Even when Hye-jun wants to express his love, there are no firecrackers, or cakes and champagne flutes but it is a simple confession. The reciprocation too is simple and reminds us of regular love stories that were simple, with no frills but a lot of love.
In the upcoming episode, we will see if the mean agent's plan works and if Hye-jun's success would continue. 'Record of Youth' originally airs on tvN on Mondays and Tuesdays in South Korea and can be streamed on Netflix in the US.