You and Everything Else Episode 1 Recap & Review

You and Everything Else Episode 1, Ryu Eun-jung, played by Go-Eun, lives a quiet life now. She works behind the scenes in film, mostly staying out of the spotlight. That changes the moment she gets a call from Director Choi.

He tells her about Cheon Sang-yeon played by Ji-Hyun. Sang-yeon is no longer the girl Eun-jung remembers. She is now a powerful CEO. She just won a Baeksang Award.

At the ceremony, Sang-yeon thanks Eun-jung by name. It stuns everyone, especially Eun-jung. Not long ago, Sang-yeon swore she would destroy her. The speech makes no sense to anyone who knows their past.

Eun-jung stays cold and distant when Director Choi brings it up. She calls what happened between them a “messy friend break-up.” She gives no details at first.

Still, bits of their old story surface. She says Sang-yeon stole her project, Echoes of Summer. That stolen work became the foundation of Swallow Pictures, the company that made Sang-yeon rich.

Eun-jung has never forgiven her. She avoids all of Swallow’s films to this day.

The First Clash: 1992

The episode jumps back to 1992. Fourth grade. Second semester. Ilyeong Elementary. Twelve new students join the class. Among them is young Sang-yeon.

Sang-yeon stands out from the start. Her grandfather was a government minister. She used to study at the best private school.

She is sharp, confident, and used to winning. Sang-yeon becomes the top student within weeks.

Eun-jung’s world is the opposite. She lives in a semi-basement with her mother in a poor part of town. Her clothes are worn. Her lunch is plain.

The teacher favors wealthier students and ignores kids from her area. When desks run out, only the poorer children are told to sit on the floor.

One day, Eun-jung visits a normal apartment building. It has clean floors and more than one bathroom. It feels like another planet. She leaves a small sticker in a closet that says, “You’re so lucky.” That same apartment later becomes Sang-yeon’s new home.

Sang-yeon soon becomes class president. She rules with strict rules. When Eun-jung talks back during class, Sang-yeon smacks her hands as punishment. That moment burns into Eun-jung’s memory.

As the school year turns, Eun-jung finds new friends. She grows bolder. Tension between the two girls sharpens. During a game of dodgeball, Eun-jung hurls the ball straight at Sang-yeon’s head.

Notice how the childhood conflict isn’t just stated; it’s shown through specific, relatable details. The semi-basement apartment, the worn clothes, the act of being forced to sit on the floor, these aren’t generic symbols of poverty.

They are tangible experiences that build Eun-jung’s worldview and make her rage during the dodgeball game feel earned. As writers, we must move beyond “she was poor and angry” to “the clean floors of the apartment felt like another planet.”

This is the key to authentic characterization. It is not an accident.

Secrets, Shame, and Departures

Eun-jung finds comfort in Ms. Yoon, a warm teacher who quietly watches over her. Ms. Yoon knows her father left years ago. She encourages Eun-jung to keep a diary and try to fill the emptiness inside her.

Meanwhile, Eun-jung helps her mother by delivering milk to apartment complexes. During one delivery, she sees Sang-yeon’s father at their building. He does not notice her, but shame crushes her anyway.

Soon after, a classmate named Kim Seong-kwon mocks her for the milk job. Eun-jung assumes Sang-yeon told him. She storms over and accuses her. Sang-yeon insists she said nothing.

A hidden truth then comes out. Ms. Yoon is Sang-yeon’s mother. This explains how Eun-jung’s mother once knew about Ms. Yoon punishing Sang-yeon for hitting her. The two families are tied in quiet, complicated ways neither girl fully understands.

After this, Sang-yeon transfers to a new school. Right before leaving, more tension sparks. A boy named Jun-ho chooses to sit beside Eun-jung instead of Sang-yeon, upsetting her deeply.

At the same time, Eun-jung starts to like Sang-hak, Sang-yeon’s older brother. Their lives stay tangled even when apart.

The story expertly uses shame as a currency between the characters. Eun-jung’s shame over her milk delivery job is mirrored by the revelation that Ms. Yoon is Sang-yeon’s mother—a secret that recontextualizes their entire dynamic.

This creates a rich thematic layer about the masks we wear and the hidden connections that define us.

A Final Request in the Present

The story returns to the present. Sang-yeon reaches out to Eun-jung and asks to meet. When they sit down together, Sang-yeon drops a truth that changes everything. She is dying.

Her doctors found an aggressive cancer. It cannot be stopped. She does not want to spend her last days suffering. She hands Eun-jung an envelope.

Inside is a boarding pass to Zurich. She wants Eun-jung to travel with her to Switzerland. She plans to end her life through legal euthanasia.

This explains the strange Baeksang speech. It was not pride. It was goodbye.

Episode 1 sets the path for the series. Two women with a broken past are forced back together. Their story now moves toward a final journey where old wounds and new grief will collide.

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