88

Age of Youth 2: Episode 3

Ji-won and Eun take center stage this time around, and we dig a little deeper into each of their stories. We get more of a glimpse into Ji-won’s background than we ever have, as she tries to trace back her own childhood, hoping to rediscover a missing memory, and takes full charge of her mission. Eun has a mission of her own, and as she learns more about her housemates, we also learn a little more about how she ended up at Belle Epoque.

 
EPISODE 3: “I’ve decided to hate you” #crimeandpunishment

As Eun makes breakfast, she watches Eun-jae somberly walk to the bathroom and knock her head against the wall. Ji-won comes out of the bathroom and gags in the kitchen sink as she finishes brushing her teeth, and Eun gives her a disgusted look. Ji-won dramatically explains that she’s in bad health and asks Eun to keep her terminal illness a secret from the rest of the housemates.

Eun looks confused and asks why Ji-won told her this secret. Ji-won says dramatically that she doesn’t want to burden those closest to her, while she and Eun are just not there yet. Ye-eun walks out of her room and calls it all a lie, and Ji-won happily owns up to her morning joke.

The housemates leave for the first day back to school while Eun trails behind them, and Jin-myung arrives for her first day of work.

While Eun-jae and Ye-eun don’t look excited to be back at school, Ji-won looks pumped. She walks with a skip in her step and gleefully declares that she doesn’t have class because she’s on leave. She cheers on her housemates as they head off on their separate ways.

Ye-eun anxiously walks through the building, looking visibly gloomier than her former self. Two friends welcome her back, and one lifts her fist in mock punishment for leaving school suddenly without warning. Ye-eun flinches in fear, which surprises the friend, and the other friend later explains the rumor that Ye-eun has been receiving psychiatric treatment.

In class, Ye-eun shakes and takes a deep breath, trying to convince herself that everything is okay. Eun-jae repeats the same mantra in the bathroom before going to class and gains some confidence when two younger students bow to her as their sunbae. But her false confidence melts as soon as she sees Jung-yeol in class.

The class goes silent, and Jung-yeol greets her with an awkward wave. She freezes and bows formally to him, and the air in the classroom gets even more uncomfortable when a classmate (omg is that greasy hair sunbae?) comments on how the couple still keeps their distance even after a year together. Mortified, Eun-jae walks out of class before it even begins, and friends scold the oblivious classmate, since the couple broke up.

Over lunch, Ji-won tries to comfort Eun-jae, saying that breaking up isn’t a huge deal. Ye-eun retorts that Ji-won has no dating experience, and Ji-won responds that she doesn’t need experience to know. She continues to advise Eun-jae, saying that it will all pass, and Ye-eun intervenes. Of course she knows it will pass, but it’s the short moment before it all passes that’s hard.

Ji-won asks why they made their relationship public in the first place, and Ye-eun answers that hiding your feelings is harder. Ji-won writes off dating as a hormonal imbalance, but Ye-eun points out that Ji-won’s the one thirsty for guys. Ji-won clarifies that statement and yells, to her roommates’ embarrassment, “What I really want is SE…”

We jump to a nightclub, where Ji-won dances wildly while her classmates and sunbaes drink in celebration of their media award. A sunbae who seems new to the group eyes her with interest and hands her a beer, and when she happily chugs it down, her ever-present classmate Sung-min throws her a disapproving look.

Her friends comment that she hasn’t changed and wonder if she’s still single, and Ji-won confirms that she’s only ever been single. She says that losing her virginity is more urgent than getting hired, and she vows that she’ll make a public announcement on that day.

Sung-min throws food at her to be quiet, but their little fight quickly ends when they’re asked about their future. Sung-min is going to graduate school, while Ji-won doesn’t worry and crows that the award is a free pass to any job. Her classmate scoffs that everyone has at least one award these days, and Ji-won looks briefly concerned before resuming her carefree dancing. The interested sunbae continues looking at her.

When Ji-won comes out of the bathroom, he’s waiting for her outside. He asks if losing her virginity is that urgent, and suggests that they leave together. Ji-won’s still unclear on what he’s suggesting, so he makes it clear: “Let’s have sex. I think you’re all right.”

Ji-won just smiles blankly, and he takes her arm to lead her out. As they walk, Ji-won’s eyes glaze over and her smile stays frozen in place. The sunbae puts his arm around her shoulder, and Ji-won’s frozen face looks even more uncomfortable. When the elevator doors open, he steps forward, but Ji-won falls to the ground, eyes wide open but completely unaware of her surroundings.

The sunbae tries to shake her out of her reverie, but everything sounds muffled to her ears and Ji-won stares as if in a trance. When Sung-min arrives, he shoves the sunbae aside to get to her side, shouting her name worriedly.

Sung-min holds her and calls out to her, and Ji-won finally manages to say, “Pretty shoes.” Then, Ji-won’s gaze focuses on Sung-min and she slowly comes back to consciousness.

Eun and her friend Ye-ji eat at a restaurant and try to figure out which of the four housemates the threatening letter is addressed to. They consider each person, and we get glimpses of each person as Ye-ji describes them. For instance, Eun-jae is the one you kind of want to pick on for no reason. We see Eun-jae riding the bus, and she’s asked to move because a couple wants to sit together.

Ye-ji calls Ye-eun the “pink hamster” who acts completely differently inside and outside the house, and we see Ye-eun eating alone in the cafeteria and nervously leaving when two guys sit at her table.

Next up is the talkative one who also lies: Ji-won. As Ji-won walks home with Sung-min, she retraces her memories of the night, only able to remember up to the point when the sunbae asked her to go out. Sung-min seethes that the guy’s a crazy bastard and asks if she was really going to sleep with the sunbae. Ji-won shrugs and says probably, which makes him even more incredulous.

Sung-min disapproves of them both and says that your body is precious, especially for the first time. Ji-won gasps, wondering aloud if he’s also a virgin. He gulps a little but doesn’t answer, just telling her to go home. She decides that he is and says generously that it’s okay, and as he walks away, she teasingly yells that she’ll keep his secret about his virginity, which has him running back to shut her mouth.

Finally, the uppity one: Jin-myung. Jin-myung asks if Eun is enjoying her comics, and Eun shrinks a little to see her with a copy of Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat.

Still, Eun says that’s not a big issue, since the other housemates also seem to have a similar reaction. We see them loudly playing a game on their phones, and when Jin-myung arrives, they all stop playing and decide they should study. Ye-ji asks what company Jin-myung works at, but Eun can’t remember, so she says it must be some no-name company.

When Eun gets home, she sees an open laptop and tries to snoop, but doesn’t get the chance because Ji-won comes out of the bathroom just in time. The rest of the housemates lie in bed, exhausted from their day, but Ji-won chirps on about how she actually fainted earlier. Noting Ji-won’s lie about being ill, Eun doesn’t fall for it this time, even though it’s real. Then Ji-won tries to clear her ear when a ringing sound grows louder.

Everyone leaves the house separately in the morning, and Jin-myung receives her ID card at work. It’s a surreal moment for her, and she relishes it.

Ye-eun continues to struggle walking through the crowded hallways alone, staying close to the wall and keeping her head down. Ji-won also seems to be in a sad mood, crouched on the floor and sighing audibly for Sung-min to hear. He reluctantly asks what’s going on, and she explains that she went to the hospital earlier that day.

Sung-min is used to Ji-won’s dramatics and tries not to engage, but at her prolonged silence, he crouches down in front of her to ask if she’s sick. She looks up with tears in her eyes and reports that they said nothing was wrong with her. Sung-min jerks his hand up in frustration, but Ji-won looks seriously worried.

Ji-won grabs onto Sung-min’s arm and worries that something might actually be wrong with her mind. She says that she saw something weird when she fainted. She recalls vague memories of a playground, white head sculptures, and young children playing hide-and-seek. And she remembers pretty shoes, which she’d mentioned back at the club.

A group of students enter the room, and Ji-won immediately shoves Sung-min away, calling him an animal and running out the door. The students stare in confusion until someone identifies her as Ji-won, and then they all nod their heads in understanding. Sung-min sits down at his desk and wonders how much of her words were truthful.

Eun-jae bumps into someone while going up the stairs, and the person grabs her shoulders to help regain her balance. She looks up, and it’s none other than her ex, Jong-yeol. Once he realizes it’s Eun-jae, he lets go of her and quickly apologizes before going on his way.

At home, Eun-jae tells Ji-won and Ye-eun that she can’t believe that he simply said “sorry,” when he used to touch her body like his own. That puts Ji-won’s mind in the gutter, and Ye-eun kicks her before she can ask how far the couple went.

With that, Jong-yeol suddenly gets goosebumps (ha, what a fun transition) at the bar. When his friend asks why the two broke up, he changes the subject to the baseball game.

Eun also asks why Eun-jae broke up with her boyfriend. Eun-jae says vaguely that they “just broke up” and Ji-won overexplains that there was no cheating, scamming, or hitting. At that last example, Ye-eun shoots her a look, and Ji-won shuts up.

Eun wonders if people actually break up for no reason, and Eun-jae clarifies that there was a reason: their love went cold. She says it’s the saddest reason for a break-up.

Jong-yeol’s friends ask if he was dumped, and he chugs his beer. Over at the house, Eun asks the same question, and Eun-jae insists that she did the dumping.

Ji-won and Ye-eun take her side, but Eun points out that they’re talking about it like she’s been dumped. Eun-jae contradicts her fiercely, and Ji-won explains that the guy couldn’t be reached, wouldn’t respond to messages right away, show up late.

Eun-jae adds a whole string of grievances: seeming bothered to walk her home, looking at his phone when together, yawning while she’s talking, being completely unaware of their once-in-a-lifetime 333rd-day anniversary…

Through her tirade, Ji-won and Ye-eun say all the right friend things, although it seems clear they’ve heard this all many times before and are a little tired of it. Eun looks amused and says that it sounds like Eun-jae was dumped, but Eun-jae states firmly that she was the first one to say that they should break up.

Eun-jae storms off to her room, and Ji-won explains that Eun-jae is especially sensitive to details because this was her first relationship and first break-up.

Jong-yeol and his buddies divide up the check, and his friend asks once more why they broke up. Jong-yeon replies, “What, and only date her for life?” It doesn’t seem to be the real reason, but that’s enough of an answer for the friend.

Eun-jae sits on her bed and strangles her stuffed animal, still angry about the break-up. Jong-yeol sits on the bus alone, and it seems like he’s not completely over the break-up either.

The next day, the professor hands out the team assignments for their project. Eun-jae panics when she sees that she and Jong-yeol have been assigned to the same team, and she takes a moment for herself in the bathroom. When she arrives to meet her team, Jong-yeol’s friend tells her they switched teams, and she responds with a mixture of relief and disappointment.

And anger, apparently, given how Eun-jae later storms into her room and writes furiously in her journal. She vents about how she doesn’t want to be in a group with him either and still wanted to keep the peace but then why did he tell her that he loved her? She rips out the paper and throws it in fury, and imaginary steam shoots out of her nostrils.

Ye-eun meets up with some high school friends, who’ve reached out to her out of the blue. They share news of another classmate and claim that they just reached out to catch up, although it seems they’re really here for gossip about Ye-eun.

Alas, the friends ask about her leave from school and say they heard what happened to her. Ye-eun tenses up right away, grabbing onto her purse nervously, and can only answer in monosyllables as the friends ask about her experience being abused by her boyfriend.

Ye-eun begins to fidget uncomfortably, rubbing her arm and neck, but they don’t notice her discomfort or ignore it, asking for details of her experience. When Ye-eun says she doesn’t want to talk about it, they insist that talking it out is therapeutic and keep prodding.

A guy in glasses (Lee Yoo-jin) at another table hears the conversation unfold and begins to remember his own traumatic experience being bullied in high school. He begins to fidget as well, rubbing his ears where the bullies grabbed him.

The friends continue asking detailed questions about the kidnapping and abuse, triggering Ye-eun’s vulnerable mental state, and the triggered guy at the next table finally can’t stand it anymore and intervenes.

He’s so socially awkward, however, that he doesn’t know quite what to do. He walks right up to their table, but can’t think of what to say when the women ask what he’s doing. Without any better ideas, he finally grabs Ye-eun by the arm and runs away from the café.

Glasses guy leads her outside, thinking he’s saving her, but Ye-eun is extra spooked by his behavior and screams. Shaking, she recoils when he tries to approach her and runs away. A few bystanders ask him accusingly what he’s doing, and he can’t explain. Ye-eun watches from around the corner and ignores a call from her friend before going on her way.

Ji-won tells Sung-min about a strange dream she had, which was about an all-glass shower and nobody else with her, regrettably. She says that she’s been having weird dreams ever since she fainted, and she’s trying to figure out why. She retraces her steps to what she was doing when she fainted, and he drolly answers that she was about to have her wish come true. He concludes that she simply passed out because she was so happy.

Ji-won scolds him for only looking at what he can visibly see and wonders if she’s actually scared of sex. Sung-min laughs incredulously and can’t fathom that, considering she talks about it all the time. She makes an analogy about children who’ve experienced big surgeries always playing the doctor in role play, and she thinks maybe she’s overcompensating because of a childhood experience. She can’t believe that someone as sexy, elegant, and intellectual as her could not have had sex yet.

Sung-min asks if she remembered anything after the incident. She explains that she’s been watching porn during her free time to stir possible memories, but nothing. She wonders if it’s because porn is two-dimensional, and she slowly approaches Sung-min with a naughty look in her eyes. She backs him up against a car and places his hands on her behind. She holds his face and tells him that it’ll be over soon, and he closes his eyes, bracing himself for the impact.

Before she can kiss him, the window of the car rolls down. Ji-won casually acknowledges the driver’s presence and apologizes, but she doesn’t look ashamed at all, ha. They get into Sung-min’s car, and she wonders why she didn’t feel anything. The air isn’t at all awkward and they slide right back into their bickering friendship.

Jin-myung goes to the convenience store to get a drink for her overtime work, and she recognizes a guy who’s humming to the music. She remembers him as the guy in the clown make-up asking to borrow a phone, but she doesn’t think too much of it.

As she passes him, she happily texts “My Chef” about being happy to work overtime, and the guy assumes she’s texting about him. He confronts her about exposing his private life and tries to check her phone, but Jin-myung turns serious when he tries to invade her privacy. He apologizes and says that he trusts that she didn’t take a picture of him. As she leaves, she glares at the supposed celebrity who spoiled her mood.

Ji-won takes the train to her hometown, and is met by her mother. In the car, her mom asks about her job prospects, and Ji-won complains that there are three taboo topics: job prospects, marriage, and children. Still, her mother tells her to focus on her studies so that she can get a job.

Ji-won asks her mom if she experienced any traumatic event in her childhood, and her mom confirms that she fell and broke things in all kinds of accidents, but Ji-won isn’t talking about clumsy cuts and bruises. She doesn’t know how to mention what she wants to know, though, and just asks how Dad is doing.

Dad greets Ji-won joyfully when they arrive, and Ji-won is immediately fed home-cooked food. Although her relationship with her parents seems normal and happy, Ji-won glances at Dad with some suspicion and thinks back to her research about sexual assault. She’d read that sexual assault is often inflicted someone the victim knows, possibly by a father figure.

Dad calls her over urgently, and when she sits next to him, he delivers a fart bomb to her face. As he laughs heartily, she grabs Dad in a headlock, and then she apologizes to him vaguely for suspecting the unimaginable.

Ji-won searches her desk for any journals from her childhood, and she accuses Mom of throwing them away. But Mom didn’t throw anything away—Ji-won just never wrote a journals when she was younger.

Then, late at night, Ji-won wakes up her sleeping parents to ask if they recognize a girl in a picture who’s holding hands with a childhood Ji-won. Mom looks at it carefully but can’t remember anything about the girl and barks at her to go to sleep. Ji-won is convinced that she’s been adopted, but her parents joke that if they had the choice to adopt, they wouldn’t have chosen her.

Outside her parents’ room, Ji-won takes a closer look at the photo and finds a name written on the back: Moon Hyo-jin. There’s also a date and the note that it was a field trip, but it doesn’t bring any new information to mind. Ji-won thinks back to the girl in her dreams saying “pretty shoes,” then calls it a night.

At home, Ye-eun tells Eun-jae about her enraging encounter with her high school friends. She vents that they only wanted to hear the reason for her dating violence and blame her for deserving it. Eun-jae wonders why the stranger grabbed her and ran, and Ye-eun angrily responds that she has no idea. Eun-jae and Jin-myung comment on her improvement—she’s much less timid now—and Ye-eun is happy to hear that her counseling sessions have been worth the money.

Just as Ye-eun mentions her medication, Eun walks into the house and they all shush the conversation. Eun-jae tries to cover up their awkward moment by calling Eun by her nickname (Admiral Jo), but it’s painfully obvious. Before Eun walks into her room, Ye-eun opens up about her dating violence experience last year. She explains that it would have been weird to bring up to Eun, so they ended up talking about it privately—but they didn’t mean to be exclusive.

Eun nods in understanding, then asks who was living in the house last Christmas. They don’t quite remember, but they conclude that it was just the four of them without a new housemate. It’s an odd question, but they don’t think too much of it.

At a cafe, Eun adds more to her profiles of each housemate, and she circles Ye-eun’s name as her leading candidate. Ye-ji tiptoes into the cafe and tries to cover Eun’s eyes, but Eun avoids her because she could smell Ye-ji’s perfume.

As they talk about who the letter belongs to, Eun admits that she thought it would be obvious who the letter would be for—she thought they’d be strange and mean. But it’s turning out to be much more difficult than she’d initially thought.

Ye-ji thinks Eun is the strangest of them all, with her moving in to deliver such a letter. Then, she suspects that there’s something else going on. Eun’s mind wanders to her watching her father happily walking with his new wife and young daughter. Eun had run into a bookstore, out of sight of her father, and watched them walk by.

Before Eun left the bookstore, she heard a voice asking for help. As she walked through the bookstore, searching for the voice, a book fell on the ground behind her. She picked up the book—titled Delayed Justice—and found the letter inside.

Ye-ji asks what Eun plans to do after finding the owner of the letter, but their conversation is cut short by a phone call. Eun arrives at a hair salon, and she heads right upstairs to the source of a loud ruckus that a stylist explains as construction noise.

But when Eun opens the managing director’s office door, her mother is screaming at the two women who hold her back. She immediately calms down at the sight of Eun.

Eun asks what the problem was this time. Her mother doesn’t specify and just says that she had a manic moment of anger. She threw and ruined everything in her room, and Eun helps her pick up the pieces.

On the bus home, Eun looks at the threatening letter on Christmas stationery. She’s deep in thought about her own complicated situation with her father, but she tries to persuade herself that things aren’t that complicated. She tells herself, “It will get simpler. You come to realize there’s no such thing as good people or uncontrollable circumstances. I’m tired of that.”

As Eun walks home, she decides, “I’m choosing to either like or hate. Friend or enemy, I’ll only be one. I don’t want to know too much, since you’ll become pitiful. And when you become pitiful, I can’t hate you.”

She thinks back to childhood when her father used to tie her hair, and also of her manic mother. “I don’t want to understand, I won’t understand, I will never try to understand.”

Ye-ji’s question rings in her head: What will she do after finding the letter’s owner? Eun vows to get revenge. As she walks in on everyone laughing over Ji-won’s story, she wonders which one of them has the audacity to laugh after ruining someone’s life.

Epilogue.

Walking down a small neighborhood street, Eun-jae is confronted by a trenchcoat flasher. She screams and covers her eyes, and he chases her down the street, cackling gleefully.

Next, the flasher exposes himself to Jin-myung, but she just calmly calls the police. Ji-won stares with interest and starts to ask the flasher questions, which spooks him—and as he hurries away, she chases him, exclaiming, “Wait, teacher!”

Ye-eun screams too, and falls to the ground in a frightened huddle. The flasher skips off happily—only to be chased off by angry neighborhood ajusshis. Last but not least is Eun, who walks right by the flasher and he doesn’t do anything at all.

 
COMMENTS

I enjoy seeing the Belle Epoque housemates from Eun’s perspective because it gives me a fresh take on everyone’s situation. We’re aware of our housemates’ demons from the first season, but it’s not so clear from the outside. Without an explanation, it’s hard to understand each housemate, and I think it’s quite clever use this new perspective to relearn their stories. I can see Eun slowly warming up to everyone, despite her intentions and desires to keep everything so black and white. Her intentions and rationale for seeking revenge are terribly misguided, but I’m sure come from a place of unattended resentment and fatigue. I’m ready to learn her story and learn to like her, empathize with her, and understand her—just like she’ll learn to do with the rest of her housemates.

I love Ji-won a lot and learning more about her story made me more invested in her character. Unlike the rest of the housemates, it seems like Ji-won has absolutely no idea what’s going on, and I like that the viewers are going through the discoveries together with her. I was definitely shaken up by her sudden fainting, but it was more chilling to watch our lovable Ji-won slowly freeze into an uncomfortable smile, being so passive about her consent. Ack, what a chilling moment. Thank goodness she has Sung-min, and bless him for dealing with her dramatic antics. They’re really cute together, and I hope Ji-won’s story includes her friends-to-lovers transformation with him on top of her self-rediscovery.

This show does a great job of baiting us into the story by providing just enough to keep us wondering. It doesn’t feel like a cliffhanger as much as an intriguing clue into the lives of our housemates, and I’m eager to learn more. The show is cleverly written, and the anecdotal storytelling is done very well. There’s always some sort of anecdotal evidence for someone’s perceptions of you, and this show makes use this common habit of humans to make assumptions based on a moment. It feels unfair to judge someone based on a few encounters, but it’s also how we coexist with each other at a distance. In a house of mysterious ladies, unaddressed letters, and a few broken hearts, it takes a lot of courage to open yourself up and make yourself vulnerable. But it’s also the only way invite strangers to be your housemates and allow your housemates to become your family.

RELATED POSTS

Tags: , , , , ,

88

Required fields are marked *

Omg, recap is here ! Wait for me~ I had planned to watch it when I get back home from work tonight. I hope I can still be able to stay awake up until then :D

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

So happy that the subtitle came out faster this time * thanks subbing team ! You guys are awesome ! And thanks for @dramallama too :D *

I'm late for their 1st week episodes, so I want to rave about how much I'm loving this new season here.. hehe..

So, about the girls first..
▶ I'm fine with Yoon sunbae new look, she's prettier and looks mature than ever
▶ Ji Won is still my fav character, especially when she gets more spotlight this season
▶ I hope Ye Eun can get over her traumatic memory with the help from the right person
▶ I still often imagining what it would have looked like if Park Hye Soo was there as Eun Jae, but there's nothing I can do about the new actress no matter how much I'm complaining so I'm still trying to adjust myself
▶ Jo Eun has now become my 2nd favorite character among the girls. Idk, something about her make she looks more interesting than the other. I feel strongly attached to her character especially after her breakthrough-Eun Jae's-room scene..

1
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Now about the couple. Up until ep 3 (I haven't watched ep 4), my favorite couple is Ji Won-Sung Min. Their chemistry is the most natural, Sung Min is grumpy towards Ji Won almost all the time but he is the only person who truly cares and understanding Ji Won's weird mind, and that's really sweet :)

Or maybe because they are the only original couple from season 1.

Eun Jae-Jong Yeol used to be my most favorite couple. They had this simple, warm, and fluffy chemistry in last season. Jong Yeol has survived as the only original heroine's couple, but the heroine isn't original so it feels different and cold now

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Poor Ye Eun... I hope you can recover soon.... fighting!!!!

3
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

BIG thanks for the recaps.
My questions:
-Ye-Eun: is she wearing black now because of her traumatic event with her crazy ex? I remember her in last season always wore something pink or girly.

- Eun: I'm confused about the letter... Is the letter addressed to her (accidentally through a book)? Or, it's for someone in the Belle Epoque?

1
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yes I noticed that too about Ye-Eun and how she always wears black cloths outside now and makes sure to wear long dresses to cover up her arms and legs. I think its an attempt to 'hide' herself from men's eyes. Its something assault /rape victims do where they try to cover up as much of their skin as possible and wear muted colors to avoid attention since they falsify believe that a part of the reason why they were assaulted/raped in the first place is their own fault for drawing unwanted attention. So its a mark of trauma for her to be wearing those cloths and still behaving like that outside. Its pretty sad if you ask me.

As for the letter, I think its the same letter we from the end of season 1. We get a brief look at Ye-Eun's ex writing a letter to her from jail where he accuses her of ruining his life and I think this is the very same letter Eun finds in the bookstore. How it got there is anybody's guess, but it does make me worry about where her crazy ex might be right now, and if hes planning his revenge.

6
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Aw, thanks for reminding me that Ye-Eun ex wrote a letter from the prison. I'll check that scene. Now that I'm curious how the letter ended up in that book, and how then Eun misinterpreted the letter.....

It's getting more interesting now.....

3
reply

Required fields are marked *

I am loving this 2nd season so far. The writing seems to be tighter and funnier. The mystery component of the plot seems to be more integrated to the character development and the lives of the Belle Epoque residents where in the 1st season many times I felt many times the tonal shifts jarring.

And the cute! I cannot get enough of the natural chemistry between Ji-won and Sung-min! I love how comfortable and honest they are around each other. Even if Sun-min is unaware of his feelings yet, it is so awesome to see how he really gets (or even embraces) Sung-min’s quirks and recognize her sheer awesomeness . It is impossible not root for this adorable One True Pairing. Park Eun-bin is totally killing it!

14
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

Omg, you took the words right out of my mouth. I agree - this season feels a lot tighter and more cohesive, both tonally and narratively - something that the first season definitely lacked. And I love how much funnier this season is too! Especially with Ji-won and Sung-min, who have some really great comedic scenes together. I didn't ship them romantically at all in the first season, but I love how their relationship's been given more focus this season. They're so cute.

3
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yes! I didn't even consider them as a romantic possibility until the very end of the 1st season and suddenly I wanted to see it happen immediately! So happy that we get a 2nd season to witness the relationship growth, and who doesn't want to see much more of Park Eun-bin inhabiting the role of Ji-won!

3
reply

Required fields are marked *

How fantastic was Park Eun-bin in that fainting scene? I was gripped!

9
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

I love before fainting her smile was frozen but I could see that her brain was in overdrive dealing with a sleuth of conflicting emotions!

9
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

To me, it was like she was catatonic for a brief second - something was triggered, and she just lost all control. Either way, it was sooo wonderful. More Park Eun-bin is needed, all the time.

4
reply

Required fields are marked *

I love love love it! Song sunbae will always be my favorite one, but I still love other girls as well. I love Song Ji Won and Sung Min moments. LOL.

I get excited just to see Yoon sunbae is texting chef! How I wish Yoon Park is still doing this drama or maybe a cameo. I know for sure that I'll be against Yoon sunbae with the wanna be celebrity. As for Eun Jae, anyone knows when did she break up with her boyfriend? I thought in episode 1 she did say about her being the only one with boyfriend. Anyway, poor Ye Eun. I hope she'll recover soon! As for our new girl, Jo Eun, I just hope she'll realize that her so-called revenge is misguided and get along with the rest of the girls.

8
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

How awesome to see Yoon Park coming back even if just for a scene or two...I just want to get the opportunity to see Chef and Song sunbae happy together even if just for a brief moment since it was such a labored relationship during the 1st season. Their casual flirty texting this season is already making me so happy!

Although I am really curious to see more of Ahn Woo-yeon's idol character. I love him in Circle and his character description here as "an idol group member so sunny and outgoing it borders on shamelessness" just screams comedy. Cannot wait to see all of it unfold!

7
reply

Required fields are marked *

One thing I'm glad the show addresses is how often the victim of assault cases, specially when in a dating relationship with their assaulter, is blamed for the crime. That scene where the friends kept prodding Ye-Eun for details regarding her ex was the perfectly highlights what is wrong with society. Instead of consoling Ye-Eun and honoring her wishes to not talk about what happened, their first response was to victim blame by trying to find some justification for the way her ex reacted. By asking her "was there something that happened before he did all that" and then exclaiming "ah i knew it was something" when Ye-Eun says she broke up with him, shows how people always look for justification for the crime. Its not ok for her ex to have done all that since she broke up with him. His actions are not something that can be justified and I am glad the show pointed that out through Ye-Eun's uncomfortable reason.

It was painful to watch Ye-Eun struggle to extricate herself from a difficult situation but not knowing how to. Watching her so called friends prod her for gossip in the name of therapy was sickening and it really made me want to punch them in the face! I'm glad though that she has good friends back home that she can actually rely on to support her and love her no matter what. And that ultimately what i love the most about this show.

15
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

Hear hear! So far I think the writer is writing with sensitivity portraying the aftermath of experiencing the trauma of sexual assault. I am also interested to see how the friendship will grow between Ye-eun and Lee Yoo-jin's based on their shared experience as assault victims.

6
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Bless Lee Yoo-jin, though, he really did try!

2
reply

Required fields are marked *

I really want to know what the deal is with Eun-jae and Jong-Yeol. Why is he so evasive whenever people bring up the breakup? How exactly did they break up? Was it really just because of cooled feelings? Will they ever get back together again?!?! I started rewatching Eun-jae/Jong-yeol clips from the first season again, and it made me even sadder that they'd broken up now. And it also made me miss Park Hye-soo a lot too - I was pretty content with new Eun-jae in the first two episodes, but the more I watch her, the more I miss Park Hye-soo. :(

8
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

I don't know if I would feel the same if Park Hye-soo were still portraying Eun-jae, but Ji Woo is frustrating me massively.

4
reply

Required fields are marked *

Right? I really miss the innocent vibe Park Hye Soo gives to Eun Jae

3
reply

Required fields are marked *

YEAY recaps! Thank you!!
Btw pardon me, but Jung yeol's scene when he got goosebump actually a lot funnier and interesting; he actually got goosebump because the girls talked about sending him to Army for the second time not because of how far they went.

Anw, I love Jiwon and Sungmin, I just want them to date quickly!!

4
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thank you for the recap, dramallama! I just finished watching this episode when the eng subs came out earlier.

This season keeps on making me intrigued. Part of me thinks that it may be Hyo-Jin who sent that letter and that she is a ghost, while the another part of me thinks that Eun's friend has something to do with the mystery of this season. I think I'll reserve some of my theories for later.

AND CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT HOW SANG-MIN AND JI-WON'S RELATIONSHIP IS DEVELOPING AND HOW CUTE THEY WERE THESE PAST FEW EPISODES?

12
12
reply

Required fields are marked *

*SUNG-MIN OMG I WROTE THIS COMMENT IN A RUSH

1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Sung Min was genuinely worried when Ji Won passed out and stays quiet for a long time, he deeply cares for her, he just doesnt want to admit it. I really love their bickering with each other

8
reply

Required fields are marked *

I am really a loser to this kind of romance. THEY ARE SO DAMN CUTE TOGETHER.
Ji Won and all her antics, and Sung Min who accept them all despite his nagging are so fun to watch.

7
reply

Required fields are marked *

RIGHT?! sung-min pushed the other guy out of the way so hard when he saw that ji-won had collapsed that he went flying right across the floor LOL.

10
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

someone knows "other guy's" name?

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I love how he can't really ignore her! When Ji-won sat there in the corner, he tried his best to ignore her, but couldnt. Then Ji-won with her drama queen mode went all, "don't ask, leave me alone." Then he was like okay, lets just ignore her. But then Ji-won was sighing three times and louder each time to get his attention. LOL the whole scene of them together is really funny! I love how only Sung Min can handle her craziness.

13
5
reply

Required fields are marked *

'I love how only Sung Min can handle her craziness.'
I'm such a sucker for this! As someone who is currently trying to be a Sung-Min for a larger-than-life persona like Ji-Won's I know it's no easy task. It really needs that special one to see through all their jokes and craziness and to ground them.

9
reply

Required fields are marked *

My favourite scene was when Sung-min found out that Ji-won had fainted and he shoved the senior who wanted to sleep with Ji-won away so hard, he fell. And then he lifted Ji-won into his arms!

10
reply

Required fields are marked *

IKR! Sung Min's little jumpy moves and mad hand gestures are life ! Is it weird if I find him really hot in this drama compared to him in Hello Monster, where I found him really disgusting? Maybe it's the roles, that's how we know he's good isn't it? I just loveee Sung Min with Ji Won here.

3
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

You need to see him in Healer. He took his character and ran with it.

2
reply

Required fields are marked *

Exactly.. Everytime he tries to ignore but just couldnt.. The chemistry between them is way too awesome.. They nailed it..

1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I just love love love that their interaction in the car is back to business as usual bickering dynamic after Ji-won's failed advance on Sang-min in the parking garage! (and how priceless that our heroine is not embarrassed at all when the guy rolled down the window)

7
reply

Required fields are marked *

Comment was deleted

1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I need to know why Eun Jae and Jong Yeol broke up! Will Yoon sunbae and her chef boyfriend break up too? I supposed that Ahn Wo Yeon's character is gonna be Yoon sunbae partner this season. If it is true, I will be so sad, I'm loving the chef because he is always there for Yoon. And I'm glad that we have a backstory for Ji Won, she always said that nothing extraordinary ever happens to her, I think she is about to have an emotional roller coaster journer and I pray that Sung Min will always by her side. I'm rooting for Ji Won and Sung Min this season!

6
5
reply

Required fields are marked *

Here a cheer to my Chef's lover comrade. I really loved their chemistry together. Chef who was there when Yoon Sunbae was at the lowest of her life. I was surprised to see that the Chef is dating her now, cause i thought they broke up or somehow lost contact when she was in China.
And, if Yoon Sunbae will be partnered up with the idol, she will have to broke up with him, right? I need a strong reason for that, and i might cry a river latter. At least gimme a cameo from Yoon Park for their break up...... For now, i still cannot give my heart to Ahn Wo Yeon's character, but he still got a chance to change that. I will give my blessing to the one who can make Yoon Sunbae happy. her life was so hard on the first season.

6
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

No please don't exchange Chef Park with the celebrity, whoever he is. We need concrete reasons to believe they aren't doing well together. I have a little crush myself on the mature Chef Park.

5
reply

Required fields are marked *

Joining the clique of people who can't let go of the Chef -sunbae pairing. How can I get over them with all the hardship they went through together? *cry*

2
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

is it 100% confirmed that they're going to be a romantic pairing then?? i'm trying to imagine how they'd transition from Chef to Ahn Woo Yeon but it feels kind of weird, because sans the long distance thing, they seem to be in a pretty good place with their relationship right now LOL.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Not really confirmed, but from the poster picture I think every guy is for each our belle epoque girls. I just wish that Yoon sunbae and the celeb is just good friend because I do agree that it might be too fast for Yoon to change partner when she's still in contact with chef

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Ji Won and Sung Min are so damn cute together, they complete each other. Sung Min is putting up -and having fun in his way despite his nagging and grumble- with all Ji won's antics, is sooo fun to watch,
And i already like Eun's character, she is so cool and chic, but naive and fragile at heart. I didn't know that i will fall for the new girl this fast (cause i was one of the few people who didn't like adding another girl to the house).

9
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

oh God! This show is too good! I am thoroughly invested in all characters apart from Eun jae....Song sunbae is the best!! her back story is so intriguing...and yes it becomes even more interesting because she knows as little as us..I hope General Jo (I want to know more and more about her!) will start mingling with the girls really fast now...I cant wait for them to be a team. Also, that opening episode murder plot..was it just there or is it supposed to have significance later. Finnaly, though I did not like Ye Eun at all last season, but I am looking forward to her getting all chirpy again! Hwaiting Girls!

1
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I just can't wait to find out more abour Song Ji-won! FINALLY!

3
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

´´ Ji-won gasps, wondering aloud if he’s also a virgin. He gulps a little but doesn’t answer, just telling her to go home. ´´

I took it as if she was going to ask if he was jealous of that guy, and he was scared she caught him, but then she asks if he is virgin too lol!

1
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Ya me too.. Even i was thinking the same.. I thought she will ask whether he is jealous of that guy and his reaction was also like that.. Eagerly waiting for more scenes of them together..

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

with this episode, Eun's character totally grew on me. I'm so glad we get to see more of Jiwon's background story too. She's always saying her life is boring, but it feels like there is something she has blocked out of her memory. AFter seeing he parents, her whole personality suddenly made sense lol, they're such a cute family, but maybe there is something more? The different perspectives is also refreshing, I feel like Eun is starting to like them, even with her hidden agenda.

2
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

In season 1 Jiwon mentioned Hyojin one time and I was wondering how would the writer knew there would be another season for her to explain their story

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Comment was deleted

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This is so random, but can you tell me the girls majors? Haha
I think I only remember that Eun-Jae is a psychology major lol

1
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I think I remember their majors were explained in season 1 ep 1 and if I'm nof wrong
Ye Eun is a nutrionist major
Ji Won is a communication major
Yoon sunbae is a businnes or economic major (sorry, I forgot)

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

can someone please tell me WHERE one can watch this drama with Eng Subs???

d****nice has only the first ep subbed, tho it says ep 2 is subbed - i see nothing!!

where, where??

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

Comment was deleted

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Also fastdrama has the episodes

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

You can try d****fire. It has ep 1-3 subbed

1
reply

Required fields are marked *

ahh, thanks! will try those sites!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

The fact when Sungmin didn't even try to push Jiwon away when she tried to kiss him and just closed his eyes instead. Dude you're acting like you didn't want it but you totally did. I thought you said the first time is so precious and you should cherish your body.

Sungmin just totally likes Jiwon, period

11
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I really like Eun's character, I feel like she fits right in and doesn't actually feel like she's new to the show (imo). I really want to know more about her friend though..I feel like there's more about her than they are showing!

1
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

definitely love eun too!! her addition to belle époque didn't feel jarring at all, and i can't wait for her to finally let down her guard with the rest of the girls.

1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Age of Youth is my fave drama of 2016 but I wish I have not watch it because Eunjae looks is so unsettling. My mind is tired. I kinda just skip her parts and just look others.

2
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Comment was deleted

1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Really enjoying this season so far! I really, really like Eun (it helps that I spent most of my formative years looming over my peers lol), though I miss Yi-na a lot.

Every time I watch an episode I'm reminded of why I love Park Yeon-seon so much. There's always a lot of sensitive, nuanced thematic build-up, and then one scene that completely turns your assumptions on their heads and makes you really think. Like in this episode you spend an hour sympathizing (though Ji-won makes it hard sometimes lol) as the girls trying to use other people as an excuse for their own anger/insecurities/confusion, and then Ye-eun has that terrible meeting with her high school friends and comes home and explodes because they were acting like she must have triggered her boyfriend into kidnapping her. Sometimes it's very disturbing to see the other side of the coin.

I am finding it a bit harder to overlook some of the dicier performances this season. Han Seung-yeon is adorable and she fits the part perfectly, but she simply isn't skilled enough to deal with Ye-eun this season, given how complicated she's become. Also, while I don't really miss Park Hye-soo, I'm having a hard time getting used to the new Eun-jae. I think Choi Ah-ra is doing okay so far, though, and of course PEB and HYR <333

3
8
reply

Required fields are marked *

So glad you are enjoying it! I'm still waiting for the subs :(.

1
7
reply

Required fields are marked *

I downloaded the raws and found subs here (hope it's okay to provide a direct link here):

https://subscene.com/subtitles/age-of-youth-2-hello-my-twenties-2-cheongchunsidae-2-2

iirc, you were having some trouble with sub scene with another drama, so hopefully this works for you!!

1
6
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thank you <3. If it wasn't "Age of Youth" I wouldn't bother but I love the show and Park Yeon-seon's dramas is not something I want to miss.

1
5
reply

Required fields are marked *

No problem <3 I hope you like the new girl!

Have you been watching anything else lately? I still have to finish Woman of Dignity :P Might try Argon if it gets subbed, though!

1

I'm watching quite a few shows but mostly rewatching old dramas like "The Duo" and enjoying it more the 2nd time around. I think Lee Sang-yoon is growing on me lol.
"The White Tower" because I'm missing Kim Myung-min and An Pan-Seok. An is finally coming back with a new drama (yay). I was afraid he would disappear on us like Jung Ha-yeon.
The rest are non Korean shows. I'm exploring Turkish historical adventure series ( Diriliş: Ertuğrul) and their version of the Mongol invasions (Goryeo timeline). It's very interesting and entertaining with the tradition and culture being all new to me.
We are on the same boat with "Women of Dignity." I'm not in a hurry to finish it to be honest.
"Argon" is the only one on my list beside AoY. I'm also going to watch it depending on subs.
"The Table" with Jung Yu-mi, Han Ye-ri, Jung Eun-chae,Lim Soo-jung is on top of my movie list right now. I read a few good reviews on it.

What else have you been watching beside "The Americans?" Is Kerri Russell good in it?

1

I have a soft spot for Lee Sang-yoon lol. It helps that he's very cute, but more than that, given the right material, it seems like he always does better than I give him credit for lol. I'm glad you're enjoying The Duo! I love those characters so much.

I saw that Ahn Pan-seok is coming back!! I'm trying to keep from getting too excited too early lol.

The Americans season 4 finished airing a while back, and I'm super excited to see how things will end next year. Kerri Russell and Matthew Rhys are both awesome in that!

Other than that, I've been trying to catch up on American classics I've never seen. I finished up Deadwood a couple months ago (if you're interested in the American wild west at all and don't mind gratuitous profanity/violence, it's soooo good!), and now I've started on the Sopranos, which is like the most important show I've never seen. I both love and hate the aesthetic (love the 90's setting; hate New Jersey lol), but it's just so well made. I don't think it's going to beat The Wire or Breaking Bad for me, but I can see why some people think it's the best.

1

Those classics are the type of shows that I like to watch with a friend because I'd want to talk about it after every episodes like the sageuks of old.
"The Americans" are next on my list :).
I haven't seen any US shows in a while but I'm excited to go back and watch something that friends recommend.
Enjoy the "Sopranos"!

1

I really hope you like The Americans! It doesn't hit its stride until season 2, but when it gets good, it's really, really good imo.

I just lurk in old forums lol (I prefer just reading what other people think most of the time, anyway). I'm really sad that Television Without Pity is gone, because it had a lot of great discussions. I used to spend a lot of time there when Mad Men was still on.

Have fun with your Turkish show! That sounds really cool!

1

Thank for the recap! Yoon-sunbae was my favorite last season just because I'm a sucker for characters who clearly deserves happiness. Now I'm glad she that she is just so happy in this season. I have prepared my brain and heart that she'll end up with An Woo-yeon's character but seeing how she and Chef are still together, this makes me a little worried. I love An Woo-yeon but Yoon-sunbae and Chef have gone through so much that I cannot accept a love line between Woo-yeon's Heimdal and our Sunbae. I'm curious though how the writer has planned this out, and the kind of relationship she wants between Yoon-sunbae and Heimdal.

I'm still getting used to Ji-woo's Eun-jae. I have seen her in You're All Surrounded and Star of Universe, and think she's a capable of actress. But the only thing bothering me is the difference in personality. Since we were introduced to Park Hye-soo's shy Eun-jae, we did not get to witness her transition to this more open and less reserved character. Now with a new face and a more brighter Eun-jae, Ji-woo feels off. I'm curious to see how Park will play this but her performance in Introverted Boss gives me an idea on how her S2 Eun-jae would have been.

But I'm still enjoying this. It's my favorite out all of the dramas I'm watching (Save Me might be great but that's a different kind of enjoyment). As many have said, I too agree that this season feels better in executing the story. Tighter and stronger. Still funny and light but the looming darkness is placed well that it is not jarring when the drama shifts to something heavy. It's the right amount of emotion and funny for a perfect slice of life drama.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This season really would be pretty much perfection if Park Hye Soo were still Eun Jae....
Love, love, love Park Eun Bin.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

some one know what is the song title played at the coffee shop where Ye-eun meet her high school friends? please i love it

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

My reply is late but it's chungha's why don't you know.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

SO HAPPY THE GIRLS ARE BACK!!! :):) SQUEEE! More crazy roommate shenanigans please!!! Ji Won is such a drama queen i love it. I am very sure the actor who plays Sung Min is trying very hard not to burst out laughing at certain points. When Ji Won was pressing him against the car, he really looked like he was holding his laughter in hahahaha!!

2
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

The more jung yeol showed up,the more i miss park hyesoo T.T

1
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Comment was deleted

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I like this show... but they need to give different names to the characters... eun-jae, ye-eun, eun... that's a lot of eun in one story .....? or may be its just me nd they are in fact different names or something

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I love Ji-Won & Sung Min scenes.. How much more cuteness they can bring to this drama.. Ahhh...:> I really wish for a kiss scene which Sung Min initiates.. Waiting for more of their scenes.. I really like Ji-Won from first season.. She s just awesome..

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

there's a song that plays when the tall girl is in the bus and she's thinking about her father and his new family. I've tried looking for it but i can't find it anywhere. Does anyone know the name of it?

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I doubt that u still need it but just to throw it out there - the song is 청춘시대(age of youth) by kim minhong ft drain

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Does anybody know the name of the game they were playing??

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

hi, do you know the game they were playing? i just finished the drama :3

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Who is the interest sunbae name is?

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Someone knows the name of the game that the 3 girls are playing??,

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

okay but does anyone know what game they were playing?

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Can someone please tell the video game they were playing ??

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *