This week, yet another runaway mother makes a sudden appearance only to vanish just as quickly, while the other lingers on, despite nobody wanting her there.
Encountering misfortunes might be necessary for growing up. But do our boys have to go through this hell just because they were born to the wrong parents? Luckily, they aren’t on their own, as our sweet heroine spares no effort taking care of her “siblings.”
Bunny S. watches Family By Choice on Viu
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02
Family By Choice Episodes 5 and 6 Highlights
“I can’t hear anything, so you can talk all you want, okay?”
In the aftermath of Hae-joon and San-ha’s fight, poor Ju-won is stuck between those stubborn two, racking her brain over a way to get them to reconcile. Thankfully, Ju-won soon gets a light-bulb moment, roping this stubborn pair into joining her on a biking trip, expecting they will be forced to talk to each other this way. But Ju-won ends up drained, having done all the biking while San-ha and Hae-joon were having another fight in the backseat.
Despite her brilliant idea turning out to be a failure, San-ha and Hae-joon end up joining hands after spotting Ju-won passed out because of heatstroke and mistaking the situation for some mean boys harassing her. It was hilarious watching San-ha and Hae-joon defend each other despite being at each other’s throats a few moments ago. Everyone gets taken to the police station, but the day is saved, thanks to Dad Kim.
“I can pay back the money later when I am older. I could have paid it back.”
Hearing from Dal that Ju-won has been sick for a few days, San-ha and Hae-joon settle to pretend to be on good terms in front of Ju-won so they wouldn’t worry her. Good thing they did that because Hae-joon’s birthday is just around the corner, and everyone will be uncomfortable if they keep at it.
As usual, Hae-joon’s aunt kills the mood by mentioning how Hae-joon should do his best to pay Dad Yoon back after getting into college and that he is different from San-ha because Dad Kim pays for San-ha’s living expenses. Satisfyingly enough, Dad Yoon calls Aunt out on saying those nonsensical things whenever she comes by. To him, taking care of Hae-joon isn’t a burden but a joy. Moreover, San-ha asserts that he and Hae-joon are the same, and Dad Yoon considers them his sons.
I have already gotten used to how annoying Hae-joon’s aunt is. But one thing I am curious about is the reason she changed her mind and told Hae-joon to go with Mr. Biological Father after threatening to cut ties with him last time. By any chance, does it have anything to do with Hae-joon’s mother’s sudden return and her brief visit to Dad Yoon?
Showing up as abruptly as she fled, Hae-joon’s mother hands over an envelope of money to Dan Yoon, claiming it is payback for the money Dad Yoon lent her before and an extra sum for Hae-joon’s college tuition and insisting that Dad Yoon takes it. Dad Yoon tries to convince Hae-joon’s mother to meet Hae-joon before she leaves. But she just takes off hastily, arguing it won’t do Hae-joon any good for them to meet.
Though Dad Yoon does his best to keep this visit a secret, Hae-joon ends up learning about it all anyway while visiting his aunt at the hospital to check on her after giving birth. He doesn’t say a word about it to Dad Yoon, but secretly bawls his eyes out, hurt by the fact that his mother cared more about paying back her debt than meeting him.
“Why are you asking me for So-hui?”
Meanwhile, San-ha faces some trouble as well. His mother calls frantically, saying that his half-sister, Jung So-hui, has gone missing and that she might be on her way to see San-ha. Luckily, Dad Kim stumbles across So-hui while responding to another call and takes her to Dad Yoon’s noodles restaurant, where everyone is waiting for her.
Once again, instead of admitting to her fault, Toxic Mother blames this incident on San-ha and uses this chance to throw another tantrum and re-blame San-ha for his younger sister’s death. That woman has got nerve! Poor San-ha gets heartbroken, hearing those harsh words yet again. For the next few days, he shuts himself off, heading to school early and skipping his meals so he won’t see anyone. Both Ju-won and Hae-joon are worried about San-ha, with the former delivering him food and the latter waiting for San-ha at the bus stop to check on him.
Eventually, San-ha comes around and joins them for dinner after Ju-won goes looking for him for over an hour during a rainy night, worried San-ha might not have an umbrella. San-ha is drenched from running in the rain and sobs his eyes out while eating. After dinner, our trio head to their usual spot, the rooftop, where San-ha opens up about missing his dead sister, and Ju-won and Hae-joon also share the sentiment of missing their mothers.
Later that night, San-ha develops a fever, so everyone takes turns checking on him till the fever comes down. The next day, Dad Kim takes San-ha to visit his dead sister’s urn, finally uttering the right words and assuring San-ha it wasn’t his fault that his sister died but the fault of the adults who left them home alone. From now on, Dad Kim hopes San-ha will follow his heart and stop burdening himself with the past. Hearing those words, San-ha looks more at ease and promises to visit the urn with Dad Kim next year, too.
“You are dense, too.”
In another plot line, we have Dal’s cute crush on Hae-joon, though she can’t muster up the courage to say it to his face. It also doesn’t help matters that Hae-joon is dense and clueless, wrongly assuming that Dal has a crush on San-ha. But Hae-joon isn’t the only one who is dense. Perhaps more clueless than Hae-joon is Ju-won, who doesn’t seem to take the slightest hint that San-ha likes her as a girl.
From feeling uncomfortable and jealous because of Jun-ho, to buying Ju-won sneakers, to cracking a smile when he spotted the food she dropped off, the drama made it clear that San-ha has romantic feelings for Ju-won. Which makes me wonder where we are headed with this theme. Hopefully, it isn’t a love triangle we are getting, but two sweet love stories. But I guess this depends on where Hae-joon’s heart lies.
Family By Choice Episodes 5 and 6 Musings
If it were up to me, I would bid all the mothers in the drama goodbye and focus on our trio and the two fathers. (Are those women competing for the worst Mother of the Year award by any chance?) Still, experiencing those hardships might be crucial for our boys to grow up, though I am a bit disappointed by Hae-joon’s decision to keep his sadness to himself after last week’s progress. On the other hand, I hope San-ha makes peace with his past and starts living his life differently, without blaming himself for anything.
Amidst all of this, those two are lucky to have Ju-won around. From standing up to San-ha’s mother when they ran into her while buying Hae-joon’s gift to barely holding in her anger when Hae-joon’s aunt started spewing her nonsense, Ju-won is always worried about San-ha and Hae-joon. If anything, I believe Ju-won grew up to be the most selfless character among our trio. This isn’t to say the other two are selfish, but to praise our girl for caring about those around her more than she cares about herself.
Photos and Videos: JTBC Drama
