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Friendly Rivalry, starring Lee Hye-ri and Chung Su-bin, debuted on February 10, 2025. This mystery thriller, adapted from a webtoon, is set at Chaehwa Girls' High School—an elite institution for South Korea's top one percent, where intense academic pressure pushes students to their breaking points.
Chung Su-bin takes on the role of Woo Seul-ki, an orphan from the countryside who transfers to Chaehwa High but struggles to adjust to the competitive environment. In contrast, Lee Hye-ri plays Yoo Je-yi, the most influential student at the school, known for her wealth, intelligence, and manipulative nature. Je-yi develops a peculiar fascination with Seul-ki.
In episodes 9-10 of Friendly Rivalry, the incident blows out of proportion, and an investigation is held. Though Seul-ki names Je-yi as the one supplying the drugs, Je-yi keeps protecting Seul-ki.
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Friendly Rivalry episode 9-10 recap: Je-yi frames Je-na to save Seul-ki
Episode 9 of Friendly Rivalry starts by shedding some light on Je-na’s past. Je-na would protect Je-yi from their parents' fights, covering her ear, but as they grew up, Je-yi stopped entertaining any friendly advances from her side. Feeling abandoned as their father focused solely on Je-yi, Je-na wished for a terminal disease for attention. Her desperation grew when her father promised to prioritize her if she excelled academically.
Driven by the need for approval, Je-na became paranoid and started using drugs to enhance her performance. Her actions escalated when she broke into the school to steal a test paper but was caught by Seul-ki’s father, Do-hyuk. Instead of reporting her, he agreed to listen to her, leading Je-na to manipulate the situation into an affair. Unbeknownst to her, a security camera captured everything, with her father, Yoo Tae-jun, finding out about it.
In the present, Je-na confronts Je-yi, trying to retrieve Je-yi’s phone, but it falls out the window during their struggle. Security arrives, forcing Je-na to flee while Je-yi takes the phone. Meanwhile, Seul-ki is attacked, triggering a school lockdown. Hiding nearby, Ye-ri overhears a conversation linking the incident to drugs. Choi kyung takes the weapon used in the attack but is stopped by her mother from handing it over to the police.
Je-yi rushes to her father’s hospital after finding that Seul-ki is being treated there while the school undergoes a drug check. Meanwhile, Je-yi’s business partner, A-ra, panics as a video of Seul-ki’s attack goes viral. When Seul-ki wakes up, Je-yi confronts her about her father’s inappropriate relationships with students, but Seul-ki is offended and leaves.
Later, Seul-ki witnesses a body bag being brought into the hospital. Investigating further, she finds a corpse inside, ending the episode on a chilling note in this episode of Friendly Rivalry.
In episode 10 of Friendly Rivalry, Je-na teases Je-yi and tells her that their father killed Do-hyuk and that she needs Do-hyuk's phone. Meanwhile, Seul-ki finds a dead body in one of the hospital rooms. Finding her there, Tae-jun locks the door and tells her that he uses them for his practice. Sometime later, he unlocks the door and lets Seul-ki go.
Next day, the police show up at school. An investigation is carried out, and all the students are interrogated. When Seul-ki shows up, she is brought to the principal, and Beom-su accuses her of selling her the drugs despite her and Do-hyuk's wife's protest. She is then interrogated by the police. To save herself, she tells them that Je-yi was the one selling the drugs.
As A-ra is called for interrogation, Seul-ki ignores Je-yi. A-ra tells Je-yi that Seul-ki has ratted her out to the police. Je-yi goes to speak to Seul-ki, but she refuses. Upon her insistence, Seul-ki responds that she will not be trampled upon and take the blame for something she has not done. Je-yi lauds her for the decision. Just then, Byeong-jin shows up at the school and brings Seul-ki to his place in this episode of Friendly Rivalry.
He reveals his plan of taking down the person who is selling drugs and taking her place instead. He asks her to message the account where she collects her drugs from. Tae-jun asks Je-yi to stop selling the drugs and that they will frame Seul-ki since she was seen lurking around the pharmacy during her last check-up.
Je-yi reveals that she is aware of the situation with Je-na and Do-hyuk. Seul-ki, upon Byeong-jin's insistence, arranges to get the drugs delivered. She has to go to the Gangnam Station Exit 4 at 6:00 pm. However, it is a trap that A-ra set up to get her arrested. When Je-yi finds out about this, she asks Je-na to meet her at the same location and changes the location that Seul-ki is supposed to come to.
According to her plan, Je-na is arrested as Byeong-jin watches. Je-yi finds Seul-ki and takes her away. Episode 10 of Friendly Rivalry ends here.
The next episode of Friendly Rivalry is scheduled to be released on February 26.
