We’ve got one more love interest (or ex-love interest, booo) confirmed for JTBC’s upcoming Age of Youth 2. Shin Hyun-soo (Ruler—Master of the Mask), the sunbae boyfriend of Park Hye-soo’s introverted freshman character, will be returning for the second season of the youth drama.
When I first heard the announcement that JTBC would air another season of Age of Youth, I was really excited because I felt that all of our Belle Epoque residents still had a lot of their story left to tell, and I wanted to watch them continue to grow. But the casting news since the initial reports of a second season have been a bit of a mixed bag: Han Ye-ri, Park Eun-bin, and Han Seung-yeon are all returning for the show, but Park Hye-soo has been replaced due to scheduling conflicts, and Ryu Hwa-young’s character has been written out of the show, though she will make short appearances in a guest star capacity.
With Park Hye-soo out and a new face replacing her (Ji-woo), I’m not sure how I’ll react to Shin Hyun-soo interacting with our wallflower Eun-jae version 2.0. On top of which, the upcoming season, set a year after the end of the first, is supposed to start with her hurting after being dumped! Aaah, that news made me almost cry, because their awkward, adorable courtship was one of my favorite things about the slice-of-life drama. I do admit that I’m interested in getting the backstory on why their relationship fell apart, though, because Shin Hyun-soo’s character was endearingly smitten with Eun-jae the last time we saw him. Maybe their trajectory this season includes making up and getting back together? *hopeful eyes*
Another disappointment is the fact that Yoon Park (Introverted Boss) will not be returning as the chef with a crush on Han Ye-ri’s character. I rooted for their budding but bittersweet romance in the first season, but I can see how their relationship might have ended offscreen before it really began. I’m still on the lookout and hoping for the return of one more of our girls’ potential love interests, though: Son Seung-won (Person Who Gives Happiness), the perpetually annoyed friend of Park Eun-bin’s character who also worked for the university newspaper. The brief glimpses we saw of them together showed a cute dynamic, and there were some signs pointing towards romance in the last episode of the first season. Here’s to hoping that he returns and Park Eun-bin makes it out of singledom at last!
I’m excited to get back to Belle Epoque and our lovable roommates, and we won’t have to wait too long now: JTBC’s Age of Youth 2 will air after Woman of Dignity on Fridays and Saturdays, and will premiere in August.