Recap Korean Drama "Behind Every Star 2022" Episode 9

Behind Every Star episode 9 starts with Kim Joo-ryeong dreaming about her time on Squid Game and then completely losing her mind when the director of her new film asks her to go rappelling. Meanwhile, as the office reels from Myung-aeh’s loss, Sunny continues to boss everyone around. On the other hand, Hyun-joo asks Tae-oh to meet her mother, leaving him in a very uncomfortable position.

Things get more complicated when the three senior managers butt heads with Hae-jun once again after he tries to reduce the managers’ fieldwork expenses without consulting them. After some heated back and forth, Hae-jun asks the three of them to bring some significant change that they each make at work and only then will he let them run management on their own. If they fail to do so, he won’t tolerate them talking back to him the next time.

At first unhappy with the suggestion, the three realise that they don’t have any other choice but to accept his proposal if only to hold on to their autonomy at work. Later on, as Hae-jun teases Jane about Sang-uk, Jung-don tries to set Hee-sun up in a celebrated director’s new musical while also trying to cure Joo-ryeong’s phobia of heights.

With different feelings flying around everywhere, the time has finally come for Tae-oh to have lunch with Hyun-joo and her mother. It’s apparent that Jung-hee is quite tense about the reunion, and when Tae-oh finally does arrive at the restaurant, there’s an air of familiarity and comfort. At Method Entertainment, however, Eun-soo can’t help but overthink her tender moment with Tae-oh.

Her overthinking, unfortunately, gets him into trouble when Eun-ha comes looking for her husband in the office, and she unwittingly takes her to where Hyun-joo is having lunch with her mother and Tae-oh. Eun-ha seems to know already what’s going on, and her suspicions are confirmed when she sees them together.

The two women face each other for the first time, and Eun-ha is absolutely hostile. However, she does take Jung-hee’s number in order to speak to her before she leaves and clear the air. It’s an uncomfortable and mortifying end to an otherwise good day, and Eun-ha asks her husband to sign the divorce papers before leaving him in the street.

At Method, Jane is left stunned when A-hyun makes a glamorous entrance only to run towards Hae-jun, and the two of them squeal like schoolkids. She clears the confusion with Jane and tells her that Hae-jun was the sponsor for her modelling agency and that he was a big help. Jane looks almost helpless, watching her give Hae-jun the attention that she wants. On top of that, he doesn’t even ask A-hyun to sign with the company because, well, he likes being petty.

However, Jane knows what’s going on and mentions how he was exactly like this in school as well. She tells her off, and he retaliates by throwing a party and telling Jane that he will show her what he’s capable of. Having had enough, the managers decide to boycott the inauguration ceremony itself and promise not to attend it.

However, this plan is going to be more difficult than they think because everything that they want ends up at the party, and almost everyone ends up attending for their own reasons. It’s hilarious when they all realise that they are all there; the look of disappointment towards themselves is just extremely entertaining. Funnier still is when Joo-ryeong meets Hae-jun, opposite whom she was a love interest in Squid Game. I honestly laughed out loud in this scene!

Anyway, the rest of the night goes pretty well for everyone involved – Tae-oh finally chats with Eun-soo, Hee-sun gets her big break, and Jung-don realises that he might have a thing for Method’s receptionist. Hyun-joo, too, finally comes clean to Myung-aeh and apologises to her.

As the night winds down, the alcohol starts to take effect on everyone – Joo-ryeong tries to save a cat from a tree and finds out soon enough that it wasn’t one of her best decisions. However, this drunk stunt does leave her more comfortable surrounding her fear and accepting of the future. On the other hand, a drunk Jane finds Sang-uk comforting her, only for it to turn out to be Hae-jun, whom she made out with and eventually slapped.

The next morning is a mixed drunk bag of confusion and awkwardness all around!

I feel like the entire series changed for the better the moment Heo Sung-tae joined the cast. He’s easy to love and hate, and the way he squealed like a school kid in the middle of the office is what kept me going during this episode. That, and the fact that Kim Joo-ryeong acted like he was his boyfriend as a throwback to her character’s toxic relationship with Sung-tae’s character in the series.

Apart from that, the series has invested me in the personal lives of the managers of this K-drama. Although it’s nothing phenomenal, the series is rather interesting, especially when you watch your favourite actors play themselves and face very human problems behind the glitz and glamour. I don’t know, guys; the series is growing on me – and it’s definitely because the story has become rather dramatic and personal.

I am a little confused about Hyun-joo’s character still, though. It seems like she’s one of the main cast members, but her character hasn’t done anything noteworthy yet to catch the eye – other than being Tae-oh’s secret daughter. Speaking of daughters, that scene in the restaurant gave me second-hand embarrassment; it was a short scene but so funny, although it didn’t really add anything to the story as a whole. Let’s hope they actually tell us just a bit about what the two women talk about in privacy.