First Impressions: "Friendly Rivalry" Is A Story Of Teen Angst, Dangerous Pursuits, And Psychological Games

The elusive Chaehwa Girls’ High School is an elite institution for the top 1 percent students, who not only come from privilege but are also on top of their game when it comes to academics.

Yoo Jae Yi (Hyeri) is Chaehwa’s top-ranked and star student. Jae Yi is not only revered by her classmates who want to be on her good side, but it seems the teachers too are in awe of Jae Yi. Jae Yi is the daughter of a well known doctor, but is also extremely influential when it comes to the school’s management and decisions.

Woo Seul Gi (Chung Su Bin) is the new transfer student at Chaehwa. She does not come from privilege, having grown up at an orphanage. Seul Gi would rather be a wallflower but catches the attention of Jae Yi, who goes out of her way to befriend her. But it seems that while Jae Yi has an agenda, Seul Gi too has her own reasons to get close to Jae Yi.

Kang Hye Won takes on the role of Joo Ye Ri, the queen of gossip at Chaehwa Girls’ High School who is obsessed with looks and luxury brands, and Oh Woo Ri portrays Choi Kyung, the perpetual No. 2 student who struggles to gain recognition despite her efforts. There is also GOT7’s Youngjae in a never-before-seen role, who keeps up the momentum as he gets embroiled in the dangerous games at play.

“Friendly Rivalry” is an adaptation of the popular webtoon of the same name. It’s a teen mystery thriller where psychological games takes center stage, where only the crafty can outwit the other. Here’s what you can expect from the first couple of episodes!

Warning: spoilers from episode 1-4.

Hyeri as the super competitive and scheming Yoo Jae Yi

Yoo Jae Yi (Hyeri) has only one agenda and that is to be number one in all that she does. She is the most popular girl in school who commands attention wherever she goes, given her  good looks and top grades.

Jae Yi is the president of the medical club and is also aspiring to be a doctor like her father, Yoo Tae Joon (Kim Tae Hoon), the director of J medical Center. Her father had taught her that everything in life can only be won through competition, even if it means trampling over others. In order to win her father’s conditional affections, Jae Yi outsmarts her own sister by being the over-achiever amongst the two. It is the same attitude she carries with her in school—she spares no one in her pursuit to win and be first.

Her classmates try to win her favor because being on Jae Yi’s good side is imperative to survive the school year. But Jae Yi is her own person. She decides who she wants to be seen with and give the honor of her presence and time. She is most taken with the new girl in class, the transfer student Seul Gi. Jae Yi extends a hand of friendship towards Seul Gi, only to get rejected by her. Rejection is not something Jae Yi is used to, and if there is something Jae Yi wants, she has her own modus operandi in achieving it. It is only a matter of time that Seul Gi is taken under Jae Yi’s wing. From encouraging Seul Gi to run for class president, which would help her grades, and going out of her way to get close to her, it makes you wonder: what is really on Jae Yi’s mind?

Jae Yi has devised her own standards for perfection. Even though there are times she wants to defy the good girl act, it seems she can’t be anything but perfect, even when playing bad. There is a moment when she looks bored sitting in church, telling herself there is nothing she needs to atone for. She tries to live wildly, but it seems in her father’s eyes even that’s okay as long as she is on top of all she does. It is lovely being on the top, and though Jae Yi discards people and situations on a whim, what would happen to her when she finds herself in a situation with no way out?

Hyeri plays Jae Yi to the hilt. The actor articulates the duality of her character through her facial expressions. The friendly and kind girl act is a facade, masking her passive aggression and convoluted thought process well.

Chung Su Bin as the secretive and oppressed Woo Seul Gi

In her own words, Woo Seul Gi describes herself as someone who is not worth remembering. Since her childhood, it seems life and those around her have been oblivious to her existence. Lost on a school trip, she spent the better part of her life in an orphanage in the countryside. Friendless and constantly brow beaten by her classmates, she has devoted herself to studying hard. In order to earn money, she takes on the chore of couriering prescription drugs for a local drug trafficker.

In her final year, she decides to transfer to the illustrious Chaehwa Girls’ High School. Her reasons to transfer is the death of her father. She moves in with her step-mother. Seul Gi too has secrets—she lies to her mother that she has no idea about her father’s missing phone, or his university key ring.

Arriving at school, the first person she notices is Jae Yi, who is the student rep at the parent-teacher meeting. Seul Gi soon learns Jae Yi is Chaehwa’s Queen Bee, but what perhaps shocks her even more is that Jae Yi wants to be friends with her.

In Chaehwa it is a huge deal if Jae Yi chooses to sit with someone in class, and in this case she decides upon Seul Gi. But Seul Gi does the unimaginable: she not only rejects her, but also point blank tells Jae Yi to leave her alone.

However, Seul Gi realizes that she is not up to speed with the curriculum in her new school, since all her classmates attend fancy academies. When she trespasses at one of the academies, it is Jae Yi who bails her out. But it is when Seul Gi realizes who Jae Yi’s father is that she changes her attitude toward Jae Yi and accepts the friendship she had rejected.

With Jae Yi endorsing Seul Gi for class president, much to the disdain of her other friends, there is a perceptible shift in Seul Gi and her stance. What is her agenda? Things get even far more intense that one night in Jae Yi’s home between the two girls. Seul Gi also comes across Jae Yi’s secrets.

Chung Su Bin slips into her character with ease. Seul Gi is a passive onlooker who observes everything yet says nothing. However, it seems she does have several cards up her sleeve.

Toxic parenting, teenage angst, and murky secrets

It is true when it’s said that the home is a child’s first school. We are shown that when Jae Yi was in kindergarten, her grades weren’t impressive. Rather it was her old sister who was the better student. But when Jae Yi scores better than her, it is her father who fuels the rivalry between his daughters. He is a man who creates a hyper competitive atmosphere at home. He tells Jae Yi that in order to succeed, it’s okay for her to run over her sister, since there can only be one winner. Jae Yi avoids her sister, refusing to acknowledge or play with her. It’s so much so that when she is asked about her sibling, she matter-of-factly shrugs, saying she could well be dead, so who cares.

Constantly trying to live up to her father’s expectations and her constant pursuit in getting his validation, Jae Yi cares little for people or their feelings.

Chaehwa, too, has a hyper competitive ecosystem, and even though just teenagers, the girls go to any means to achieve their end, in this case being on top of the class. When Jae Yi turns her attention toward Seul Gi, it consumes Choi Kyung (Oh Woo Ri) with jealousy. Choi Kyung and Jae Yi are frenemies and have an ongoing rivalry. It is Choi Kyung who unearths a shady secret about Jae Yi’s father and his medical malpractice related to the death of Seul Gi’s father.

Seul Gi’s father, who was a college entrance exam question setter, had mysteriously died at Yoo Tae Joon’s hospital. What could possibly be the motive behind his death? And beyond the classroom, the girls soon find themselves entangled in a deadly web of lies and deception. As secrets are spilled, there are dangerous mind games at play, as ambition overrides everything else.

“Friendly Rivalry” is a taut teen mystery which deals with several socio-cultural issues and how the pressure of expectations molds as well influences impressionable minds. The desperation to excel and fit in takes precedence over everything else. And the ensemble cast keeps up the pace in the narrative, which comes with several twists and turns.

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Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.