Following a ten-year hiatus, the boys are back in town. But it seems it will take some effort on their end to smooth things over with our heroine, who got sick and tired of waiting for them to return and now wants nothing to do with them.
It isn’t all lost though, and perhaps if they become more honest, our boys can win over our leading lady again.
Bunny S. watches Family By Choice on Viu
Family By Choice Episodes 9 and 10 Highlights
“How could you make that decision alone?”
We spend the bulk of the first half of the week, following the rest of the family’s reactions to the news about the boys’ departure. For Ju-won, she is shocked. And not even San-ha can get her to calm down. When he later learns that she went to Seoul alone to see him, San-ha follows Ju-won to her favorite cafe, assuring her he will call her every day, and they will never part ways again after he returns though no one knows when that will be.
As for Dad Yoon, he feels heartbroken, though he acts fine before the boys and keeps telling them to take care of themselves. On the night before Hae-joon leaves, Dad Yoon and Hae-joon share another heartfelt conversation. Hae-joon promises to make it big and return home afterward, and Dad Yoon tells Hae-joon not to push himself too hard. He wants Joon to play basketball to his heart’s content and come back whenever it feels too tough.
Lastly, Dad Kim tries to change San-ha’s mind about moving in with his mother since he knows how much San-ha will suffer there. But San-ha counters that his mother tried to commit suicide twice since she regained consciousness. So, he needs to be there for her. One might think a 19-year-old boy won’t be able to take care of a suicidal woman suffering from other mental issues by himself. Not to mention looking after So-hui and attending college. But I guess the plot needs San-ha to go away for now.
On the day of the boys’ departure, Ju-won hides away, unable to say goodbye, yet cries her eyes out when she is alone with Dad Yoon, who feels as devastated if not more. Before Ju-won, Dad Yoon holds it in and pretends to be fine. Yet when Dad Kim returns home drunk one day, Dad Yoon can’t help but rant away about how jealous and mad he is that Mr. Biological Father took Hae-joon after abandoning him and his mother. How can that man be Hae-joon’s father when he did nothing for his son, while Dad Yoon looked after Hae-joon for 10 years?
At first, our trio keeps in touch, texting often and celebrating Ju-won’s birthday through video calls and sending her gifts. Then, those calls turn into brief texts and empty promises to come next year to celebrate Ju-won’s birthday with her until our trio drifts apart. During that time, the dads did their best to cheer Ju-won up and not make her feel lonely. But there is only so much they can do.
“What do you want? It is all in the past now.”
Ten years have passed since the boys left. Ju-won now looks more at peace, running a bakery store, and living with Dal, who became a lawyer and is still as sweet as ever. Everything is going well except for a weirdo lurking around the store. When caught, the weirdo slaps Ju-won on the face while trying to run away. But our girl drags him to the police, where we learn that the weirdo is none other than Hae-joon.
A reunion at the police station is something that never crossed anyone’s mind, especially the part involving Ju-won insisting on pressing charges since Hae-joon is a practically stranger to her. Actually, Hae-joon isn’t the only one returning. Soon, San-ha, who has just arrived in town, catches up with them at the station, dead worried about Ju-won after spotting the mess in the store.
During this reunion, we learn that Hae-joon didn’t graduate from college and quit basketball. But the shocking part was that he came back to Korea a while ago and even served in the military. It has been a week since Hae-joon got discharged, yet he couldn’t face anyone and kept lurking around Dad Yoon’s restaurant and Ju-won’s store. While San-ha graduated from medicine school and is now a third-year resident, specializing in orthopedic surgery.
Anyway, the boys head home with the dads while Ju-won goes to the store to clean up the mess. But it is only an excuse to avoid meeting Hae-joon and San-ha. You see, it isn’t like Ju-won has never imagined the day our boys will come back home. But seeing them in person, they seem like strangers to her, and she doesn’t know how to act around them.
Resolving to treat Hae-joon and San-ha as distant relatives she met after too long, Ju-won joins the family for dinner. On the outside, it may feel like the old days when everyone gathered around the table for dinner, but the air is different especially when San-ha says they have come back for good and how they are looking forward to celebrating Ju-won’s birthday together and Ju-won doesn’t seem too pleased about it.
San-ha and Hae-joon might have thought they could appease Ju-won and go back to how things were, but Ju-won has no plans to do that. They might have lived together for a decade, but that was all in the past. So, Ju-won wants nothing to do with them now. Except, San-ha probably expected that turn of events and rented out the unit next to Ju-won and Dal’s place so that he could be next to Ju-won.
At first, Ju-won is mad to learn that they are now neighbors. But she calms down after some time, giving Hae-joon her card to buy a pair of sneakers instead of the flip-flops he wears and walking home with San-ha. While alone, Ju-won peeks at the family’s photo and it is clear she still remembers that time fondly but is mad at the boys for staying away for too long.
Though she vowed not to celebrate her birthday with the boys, Ju-won shows up at the birthday party the family threw for her. After blowing out the candles, Ju-won confronts the boys about returning too late, starting with Hae-joon. Why did he get out of touch 5 years ago? It was about the time he quit basketball, so they were worried about him. Dad Yoon even called Mr. Biological Father to ask about Hae-joon only to get told to mind his own business.
As it turns out, Hae-joon injured his leg at this time and kept pushing himself until he couldn’t use his leg anymore. The only one who knew about it was San-ha since Hae-joon called him to ask if he could walk again and whether the doctors were right. Having learned the truth, everyone gets shocked, especially Dad Yoon, who gets devastated and can’t stop his tears from falling.
Giving Dad Yoon some space, our trio takes off to the playground where Ju-won shares that their lack of honesty and how the boys keep her in the dark is the real problem. And I don’t blame her for it. If it weren’t for San-ha blurting out the truth, everyone would still be oblivious to the fact Hae-joon got hurt. But it looks like San-ha has no plans to come clean about the real reason he couldn’t come back, since when asked about it, San-ha claimed he was too busy to return while leaving the important details out.
It isn’t like San-ha didn’t want to come back, but it is his toxic mother who held him back all this time. They even had a fight where she got San-ha’s hands scratched while San-ha was packing up, since she didn’t want him to leave. What a crazy woman! Still, it isn’t like we didn’t see this coming. That woman only cares about herself, pestering San-ha with calls so that he will return to Seoul and take care of her forever.
Throwing a mini celebration party at the bakery after work, Ju-won waits eagerly for the boys to show up (especially San-ha) though she pretends not to care. Whenever someone comes in, Ju-won looks in anticipation, only to get disappointed after realizing it was someone else and not one of the boys. At least, Hae-joon dropped by, albeit late, but San-ha couldn’t make it after getting stuck in the hospital.
The next day, Ju-won was elated to see the beautiful earrings San-ha bought her. So, she decides to wear them for her “date.” Hearing that Ju-won is going on a date with another man, San-ha gets restless. As soon as he gets off work, San-ha rushes over to the store and tells Ju-won not to go on the date. He likes her and it took him 10 years to utter the word. It looks like we have a confession here. But we have to wait until next week to hear Ju-won’s answer, though as things stand, I doubt it will take long for Ju-won to realize she likes San-ha too.
Family By Choice Episodes 9 and 10 Musings
With the teenage part out of the way, it seems like we are heading into the romance department and the problems our trio will face as adults. As for the latter, I am looking forward to getting some much-needed character growth for our trio, especially the boys. San-ha needs to stand up for himself and make it clear to his toxic mother that taking care of her isn’t his life mission. As for Hae-joon, he needs to overcome his childhood trauma and open up to others about what he feels. Putting on a smile while keeping his sorrow pent up isn’t the right thing to do.
As for the romance, can we please not get a love triangle? So far, it seems Hae-joon considers Ju-won a sibling and nothing more. But I can’t help but get worried about what is yet to come. Can’t Dal take a page from San-ha’s playbook and confess her feelings, too? Hae-joon and Dal look so sweet together and will make for a cute couple.
I don’t want to judge since I know both boys left against their well. But ironically, they spent a decade away from their family yet got nothing in return for their suffering. Not only did Hae-joon quit basketball, but he also sustained an injury that might affect his life forever. Further, San-ha might have graduated from a prestigious college, yet he was taken for granted by his toxic mother who expects him to cater to all her requests or else she will throw a tantrum. Can’t we turn the page on the suffering and get more light-hearted moments instead?
Photos and Videos: JTBC Drama
