Friendly Rivalry episode 12 delivered intense moments and shocking revelations. The story took unexpected turns as secrets unraveled, leaving the characters in turmoil.
Ye-ri found herself in trouble after being caught. She apologized, but Jae-i questioned whether her father had instructed her. Ye-ri denied it and explained she had stolen Teacher Woo’s phone but failed to deliver it. She admitted she needed money because her family had gone bankrupt. With her apartment being auctioned, she had been sleeping in a sauna. Choi Kyung doubted her, but when Ye-ri threw her sauna room key, everyone was left speechless.
Seul-gi, still concerned, thanked Ye-ri for telling the truth. Meanwhile, Byeong-jin appeared and asked if they were searching for Jae-i’s elder sister. Ye-ri then showed a picture of Je-na. Byeong-jin revealed that he had seen Je-na on the anniversary day, and she had forgotten her ID prescription card. Jae-i was shocked and asked if he had used the ID to buy medicine. She then revealed that Je-na had narcolepsy.
Seul-gi pulled Byeong-jin aside and questioned him about seeing Je-na at the metro station. He turned the conversation around, asking if she was the girl selling drugs. He suggested that if they caught her, they could uncover the entire market. Then, he mentioned that he had seen Je-na being forcibly taken away in an ambulance.
Je-na’s Death and the Unraveling Mystery
Shortly after, Jae-i received a phone call—Je-na had been found. They rushed home, where Tae-jun was speaking to a detective about a suicide note. Jae-i went to the morgue, only to see Je-na’s lifeless body. Her face was bruised and unrecognizable. The doctor explained that she had fallen into a valley, hitting the bottom. Meanwhile, Byeong-jin sneaked into the hospital, searching for a stack of stolen IDs.
At school, Woo Seul-gi couldn’t shake a disturbing thought. She recalled seeing yellow nail polish and burn marks on a previous corpse’s foot and compared it to Je-na’s body. The realization unsettled her. Later, some girls began gossiping about Jae-i, accusing her of killing her own sister. Seul-gi, furious, threw balls at them. Before things escalated, Ah-ra intervened and whispered something in her ear.
Choi Kyung’s Hidden Knowledge
Choi Kyung later met with a teacher who suggested that applying for medical school would be a better path than being caught up in the ongoing investigation. The teacher advised her to maintain the status quo. Choi Kyung, however, had other plans. She accessed the CCTV footage from two years ago. The video showed her in a classroom at night, touching herself. Suddenly, a flashlight appeared outside—it was Teacher Woo Dae-ho in the corridor. She then witnessed a shocking sight: Teacher Woo and Je-na were in a close, intimate encounter. Without hesitation, she deleted the footage, but Ye-ri had seen everything.
Meanwhile, Jae-i struggled with nightmares. Seul-gi visited her, and Jae-i revealed a hidden box. She confessed that the rumors about her father’s affair with a student weren’t false. She also shared the password to the phone, but the phone had already been taken away. Seul-gi frantically searched for it, but Jae-i suddenly hugged her from behind and told her a story. She recounted the tale of Cabel and Avin, two brothers who killed each other out of jealousy. In her dream, she saw herself killing Je-na. But she insisted—Je-na was a coward; there was no way she would commit suicide.
Elsewhere, Ye-ri discovered the deleted footage. She brushed it off as nothing significant but then questioned how Choi Kyung had known about Teacher Woo’s relationship with Je-na for so long.
The Clues and the Cliffhanger
Seul-gi, determined to find answers, searched for Soo-jin, the one who had stolen an ID from Byeong-jin and sold it to Je-na. A flashback showed Seul-gi being bullied in her old school, crying in the bathroom. Soo-jin had approached her and revealed burn marks on her foot. Now, Seul-gi tracked Soo-jin’s Instagram and discovered she had been admitted to a drug rehabilitation center. She visited the center and questioned a patient about Soo-jin’s whereabouts.
Meanwhile, Ye-ri and Choi Kyung went to the chemistry lab. Beom-su had seen Je-na hiding something inside a table. They checked and found a loose nail on the table. Behind it, they discovered a note containing a room key for Room 209.
Seul-gi reached a building and found Room 208. People were clearing out the room. When she asked about the resident, someone informed her that the person had died a month ago. A man revealed that someone, who looked like a gangster, had been paying the rent, claiming to be her brother. As Seul-gi was about to leave, she spotted Ye-ri and Choi Kyung. The three of them went into Room 209.
Inside, the walls were covered with complicated math problems, all solved for a college exam. Seul-gi noticed a locked diary and tried to break the small lock. Before they could read it, the episode ended.
Kavita Mishra is a dynamic writer and passionate Korean entertainment enthusiast, combining her love for K-pop and K-drama with a flair for storytelling. With a keen eye for the latest trends, Kavita crafts articles that capture the pulse of K-pop idols, chart-topping hits, and the most buzz-worthy dramas taking over screens worldwide.
