When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025) s01e08 Episode Script

1
[opening theme music playing]
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU TANGERINES
[car horn honks]
[traffic noise]
[kettle whistling]
[liquid pouring]
Are you even in charge here?
Are you the presiding judge?
Are you who decides what happens to us,
or do you answer to someone else?
If you say I'm a thief, I'm a thief.
You say I go to jail, I go to jail?
-Am I right?
-The ring next to the porcelain jar.
-The diamond ring.
-[groans]
No, look, I never saw a diamond ring.
She doesn't have it.
Who was that female officer?
Was it Yeon-sun?
Tell her to come here. We need a pat down.
[officer 2] Yes, sir.
Why would anyone need to pat me down
if I am not a thief?
Listen to her?
You're hiding something, aren't you?
The lady turned a blind eye,
knowing this girl took money from the jar.
-No, see, I earned that money, really.
-How did you earn it?
Are you a tutor?
[officer 2] She said
she cut this girl some slack
and let her take the money
because she's a poor college student.
[Geum-myeong groans]
Not every poor person steals.
You couldn't even beat
certain people into stealing.
Let us pat you down, then.
Oh, come on!
Wait. I'm not a thief. Why must I undergo
I think you're shady.
What's your home number?
I need to speak to your father.
Oh, why would you need
to talk to my father
if I'm not I'm not a thief. Why?
[officer 1] If you're innocent,
then call him.
You're guilty.
That's why you're acting like this.
If I told Dad I was suspected
of stealing something, he'd
he'd just be totally devastated!
[car horn honking]
This is the stop for everyone who lives
I get it. Go away.
I'm waiting for the bus to take me home.
And not to the base?
-I, uh I'm on leave until Friday.
-So go back early.
Sorry?
Geum-myeong is off-limits for you,
understand?
Well? Answer me?
You two
are dating?
Are you trying to win me over?
She dumped me.
Dumped? You?
I get dumped usually, sir.
[laughs]
Jeez.
You spend all your time
chasing girls instead of studying.
Well, of course
they break up with you, kid.
Did your father really tell you to date
as many girls as you can in college?
[Yeong-beom] Actually, sir,
Geum-myeong's the only one.
She's dumped me eight times now.
Would you like one?
Oh, I'm fine. Keep it, Father.
Oh!
Uh, Mr. Yang.
Have a safe trip back.
So why?
Why doesn't she like you?
[chuckles]
-I just think that
-It's because you're too, just too
Boy, stay away, or I I'll kill you!
-It's not that.
-See, she had me for a father.
Her standards are high.
Until she was five,
she said she'd marry me
when she gets older.
Clearly, you're not
good enough for her, all right?
Just move on with your life now.
It seems like
you're just not right for her.
But the reason
we're off and on a lot, sir
Off and on so much?
-Uh
-What?
She always says, "Cat got your tongue?
Why aren't you saying anything?"
[gong sounds]
Cat got your tongue or what?
Why aren't you saying anything?
[Ae-sun] So I'm ready.
[Gwan-sik] Take this ring,
and it's a done deal.
"When," I said.
[car horn honking]
-Um, um So
-[jaunty music playing]
Since you did offer it
[Yeong-beom straining]
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] No.
Go away.
[gong sounds]
You lied about the ring?
She didn't take it, right?
[housekeeper] Goodness gracious.
[Jenny] Why did you need
to send her to the police?
Typically, you just frame and fire them.
[Jenny's mom]
Nobody would believe a thief.
We make her look like a thief
so she starts saying all kinds of things.
That way, it won't backfire on us.
What if she starts a rumor
about Oh Jenny from Daechi-dong
who's looking for someone
to take the test in her place?
Then we need to cope with all that shit.
So that girl stole the ring,
and she's the thief.
Don't I always tell you?
In life, you either
have the upper hand, or you don't.
You're either the hunter or the hunted.
It's decided in a moment.
There's absolutely no need
to pity the losers.
Don't waste time
with crap like compassion.
You've got to be ruthless with folks.
That's how I made my money.
[Jenny] So you keep making good money.
If you lose your spunk, we're done.
What?
I'm learning from you.
You're saying she stole
the flower-shaped ring
that's always been here.
Is that what you're trying to say?
Huh? Yeah.
How dare she.
-It's a diamond ring.
-Yes. Diamond.
[housekeeper] How many carats was it?
About half a carat?
How much was it?
It's pricey.
[housekeeper] Flower-shaped?
Yes, flower-shaped. Quit it, lady!
You even know what you're saying, huh?
Oh my. Look, here it is.
I found it.
It's right here.
Oh, it must've fallen on its own.
[jaunty music playing]
You should
call the authorities now, right?
Lady, what are you doing?
Call the police.
Make sure they know it's here.
-Say sorry about the confusion.
-What the hell are you trying to do?
So you won't call, then?
Are you deaf or what?
[distant siren wailing]
If you don't, I will throw it out.
Are you out of your head?
Do you have any idea how expensive it is?
-Damn it, woman!
-But you already lost it, right?
Yes, you reported it stolen
and said the girl was the thief?
Are you gonna tell the cops
that I threw it down to the street?
[screams] How dare you! You better not!
You know me.
I'd throw this very far. Look.
[screams]
[grunts] That ring's worth more
than you are!
Call them.
You bitch. You better stay out of
my goddamn business.
Apologize.
Who do you think you are?
Mind your business. Do you know her?
-I do.
-God!
I'm gonna lose my mind, damn it!
Call them right now!
[jaunty music continues]
[phone ringing]
[phone ringing]
Hello?
What now? You need cash?
We don't have any.
Geum-myeong's mom!
Your baby's calling.
Oh! My baby!
-Oh dear!
-Baby? Seriously?
Hi, dear. Where are you? Where?
She's out spending your money again.
[Geum-myeong] I wanted to cry like a baby
and tell her that people in Seoul
were really evil.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Baby, have you eaten?
[Geum-myeong] But I just couldn't speak
when I heard her voice.
Yes, of course I have eaten, Mom.
[Geum-myeong] The anger in me melted away.
No, no reason. I just wanted to call.
Can't I call just because I feel like it?
[sighs] I do.
I have cash.
What about you?
Everything good?
[groans]
Come on, Mom.
I told you to stop street vending.
I hate how you have to eat
sitting out on the street there every day.
[groans]
Those damned abalones.
Abalones. Oh God.
What is the damn deal with abalone?
Your back always hurts.
Set up a store or something.
We don't have enough to start a store.
[sighs] Mom.
Why don't you ever have any money?
[middle-aged Ae-sun laughs]
I know, right?
Oh, why don't I ever have money, huh?
-Because of you! Because of you!
-[whispers] Quiet.
[Geum-myeong] I was mad at my mom
for being poor.
I knew she was poor because of me.
[wistful music playing]
Baby, you haven't seen Dad yet.
Did you call me because you saw him?
Dad's coming?
Your father got a reward
for saving that man from drowning.
I told you he was going to the mainland.
The governor sent him and a few villagers
over there for vacation.
He gave them museum tickets
because a a new one opened or something.
Where on the mainland? Which museum is it?
He wanted to see you
if you could make time for it.
Uh, where on the mainland?
On the mainland.
The one museum that opened, you know.
God, if you just say "the mainland,"
how am I supposed to know where that is?
And the museum, where is it?
I'm busy, Mom. What do you want me to do
if you visit without notice?
So tell me,
is Dad coming to see me or not?
Geum-myeong, he'll get there.
Dad will go see you.
[chanting] for Kim Yeong-sam!
We will vote for Kim Yeong-sam!
We will vote for Kim Yeong-sam!
[Geum-myeong] My God,
the traffic is terrible.
[girl 1] She's basically mentally ill.
How can she accuse you of being a thief?
Did the cops call your house?
Oh, no.
I didn't give them my home number.
[buzzer sounds]
You're not going to tell your family?
No way. I can't.
I don't care if everyone knows.
As long as my parents don't find out.
[Geum-myeong] Parents never have
any idea of the instant
when their child's heart gets wounded.
If they do notice,
they will try to protect their child.
So God prevents them from finding out.
[tender music playing]
No child can grow up without heartbreak.
But God knows a father's heart
will break if he finds out
his child is wounded,
so God makes the child
keep quiet about her wounds.
Goodness.
You'll be the absolute death of me.
My God, Dad.
I could've been really late!
It's cold out. It's colder at night.
How long have you been waiting, Dad?
Do all college kids have these books?
[Geum-myeong] What time did you get here?
Let's go. Go. [chuckles]
Isn't this bothering you all the time?
Why is your strap always twisted?
[tender music continues]
[Geum-myeong sighs]
[music fades]
[Geum-myeong sighs]
So did you come to Seoul to eat jjamppong?
Aren't we going to talk?
You drink too.
I hold my liquor.
So you don't go to
student protests, do you?
There isn't a new museum, is there?
Where are you staying?
I just stopped to look.
Tear gas is very painful.
The tears don't stop.
Which subway line is it?
Can you go alone?
You're not dating
some soldier, are you, honey?
-You shouldn't date them.
-[sighs]
Why are we having dinner
if this is how it'll go?
We're talking of different things.
I quit my part-time job.
I got kicked out of residence.
My scholarship's running out.
That's okay.
All these kids
were top students in high school.
Basically, your school's all big fish
that came out of a small pond.
You can't always be the top student.
It's impossible.
I never ate lunch with kids
like that at school.
[sighs]
"A big fish from a small pond."
I really hate that saying.
What good is it that you're a fish
that made it out of the pond?
What if you're from a small pond?
So what if you were the best there?
I got into the study abroad program.
But I won't go.
I really, really hate that Oh Ye-rim
is going to go instead, but
but I won't go.
I want to study abroad.
I I don't wanna be
at that damn part-time job.
I wanna be doing tons of things.
And I won't get to.
I'm just very greedy, I suppose.
I'm being egotistical.
[Geum-myeong sighs]
I want to soar high above it all.
There's always something holding me back.
Is it Mom and Dad?
Oh, no.
My guilt. Mine.
The higher I want to soar
[tender piano music playing]
the stronger my guilt holds me back.
Why should I feel bad that I want
to do more than others, Dad?
[sighs]
It's all so infuriating.
[Geum-myeong] I just wanted
to say I was sorry,
but everything that I spewed at Dad
turned into thorns.
Geum-myeong.
What, Dad?
Do it.
Do it all.
I'm still here for you, dear.
[Gwan-sik] Geum-myeong,
tell your teacher
I'll pay your school fees
in three days, okay?
[middle-aged Gwan-sik chuckles]
I'm still here for you.
I'm no longer a child.
Why do you still keep
giving me your squid?
[music fades]
[middle-aged Gwan-sik]
I want you to find a place
in a safe neighborhood.
Don't worry about rent.
The sea has fish, um, you see.
All I really have to do
is catch them all first, dear.
And don't date military guys.
Don't abuse hard liquor.
Don't go to student protests.
Tear gas is very painful.
You can't stop crying.
The stuff on the news scares me the most.
I don't know anything.
I really don't.
Sleeping is hard
when I see soldiers
with batons in their hands on the news.
Just hearing that young college kids
get beaten up at protests
Oh God, I'm
It makes me shiver in fear.
So, Geum-myeong,
if possible
[indistinct chattering]
[man] Be quiet!
I'm trying to hear this.
-I said be quiet!
-Oh, it's so annoying.
What?
Oh, but did you vote for someone else?
[Geum-myeong sobs] You're frustrating.
You're frustrating, Dad.
You said you came to see me
because the museum was nearby.
This is so far away from here!
[crying]
[woman] Please tone it down!
[Geum-myeong sobs]
It's very hard for you to visit.
We're far away too.
-[wistful piano music playing]
-[sniffles]
[crying]
[middle-aged Ae-sun]
Geum-myeong, he'll get there.
Dad will go see you.
He never goes on a vacation.
You know that.
Even if it's New Year's or Chuseok,
he goes fishing.
He just took this chance to see you.
But I have my own
stuff going on too.
Baby, he would really like
to visit his eldest daughter.
So listen up, Geum-myeong,
if you see your dad
YONGSAN INTERCITY BUS STATION
[sighs]
Cheonan to Seoul.
Why would he come all this way?
So annoying.
[middle-aged Ae-sun]
So listen up, Geum-myeong,
if you see your dad,
don't lose your temper.
Be sweet to your father, okay?
His affection for you has been
one-sided for 20 years.
[melodic pop music playing]
[Ae-sun] Catch a lot of fish!
Catch so many squids for me!
[melodic pop music continues]
Oh no, I'm leaving
that little thing on her own.
[Geum-myeong] Dad felt bad
about leaving behind a daughter who,
in his eyes,
would never grow up.
Because I'll always be
a young girl to him.
FROM YANG EUN-MYEONG (CLASS 2-7)
What am I gonna say? What am I gonna say?
I'm not good at things like this.
Tell the kids who bought those plastic
"S" letters to give them back.
Just return their cash
and take back the letters, understand?
They keep saying they don't
have them anymore though.
Do you know what this scotch cost, huh?
Or how much I work to make this much?
[Geum-myeong] That fall
Oh, harvesting season of my life, my foot.
The older you get,
the more you take from me.
You took the harvest of my life.
Home room is Sonata.
Your principal is Stellar.
Chinese Writing is Pony, right?
-Uh, yeah.
-Huh?
Oh, hello, sir. Hello, sir.
[chuckles] Hello there.
[Geum-myeong]
Everything she reaped and sowed
was taken away back then.
[footsteps approaching]
[Jenny's mom] Is that your booze?
So how do you know that girl anyway?
Is she your daughter or something?
I know her.
Yes, yes, sure you do.
-[Ae-sun] I've had enough freebies.
-[Gwan-sik] Those free things?
Listen up.
If you get drunk, they will rob you.
She said to drink it all
and melt like butter, right?
Who are you guys?
Be careful.
Just don't turn off the lights, okay?
That woman is an actual thief.
She will steal your suitcase
when you sleep.
Yeah, but why tell me this?
-Huh?
-Why are you telling me this?
So why did you help me?
Why did you bother at all?
Aren't I a stranger?
What am I to you?
Why?
Why?
It'd be terrible.
It'd be terrible
if your suitcase was stolen too.
That's all it is?
We didn't want something awful
to happen to you.
[young housekeeper] You're right.
We don't want bad things for each other.
No, we don't want bad things
for each other.
I'd be so upset if that child
was wrongfully accused of stealing.
Wow, might as well be
Mother Teresa talking like that.
You don't know that girl
or Seoul National University.
And you're always so nosy about things.
[laughs]
I do.
She guarded my mom's inheritance
when I was a kid.
Lady, that girl
was not even alive at the time.
Similar looks.
My goodness.
If you weren't connected with that
boss lady, I'd have seen to it
What? [chuckles]
You'd make me a thief
and get me canned too?
Miss Kim.
It's ma'am to you.
Miss Kim.
Quit calling me "Miss Kim"
in front of my daughter.
Why do you live such a terrible life
when you adore your daughter?
You know she watches every move you make.
Shit! I told you to
throw out the ones that are dead.
-[lighter clatters]
-Be good to each other.
-Just be good.
-[sighs]
Parents' virtue and goodness
are passed on to their children.
Look.
I'm serious.
You can tell she's on a bad road.
I know already.
[both sigh]
-[camera shutter clicks]
-[upbeat music playing]
[Jenny] My mom made me do it.
[train horn blares]
SEOUL STATION
[sighs]
[sobs, sniffles]
[sobs]
[sobs, sniffles]
How can I leave if
you're standing there like that?
Then stay with me. Don't go.
[both crying]
So, are we together again then, honey?
I don't know. Just stay still.
Please stop upsetting me.
I might become a deserter at this rate.
But but how long will you serve?
797 days.
[crying]
Oh God, I hate the DPRK.
We can continue this on-and-off romance.
But if you get married,
choose me, will you?
We'll see.
-We'll see how good you are to me.
-You said you'd marry me last time.
So? How do I know if that's right?
They say you don't know
up until you walk down the aisle.
[Yeong-beom] Just watch, okay?
I'm gonna see you in a wedding dress.
[Geum-myeong] No matter how much
I believed I was different from Mom
Hey, you boarding the train or what?
I was exactly like her.
But I also wasn't.
[crying]
[man] The bride will now enter
to walk down the aisle.
[crying]
-Geum-myeong.
-[sniffles]
Daddy's right here next to you, okay?
You do what you want, baby girl.
Just do whatever you please.
[crying]
[Geum-myeong] Mom's love story
was a fairy tale.
[man] Please welcome the bride.
["Bridal Chorus" playing on piano]
[guests cheering, clapping]
[Geum-myeong] Will my love story
also be one?
'67 THE 7TH HALLA CHUNSA FESTIVAL
-[festive music playing]
-[children laughing]
Stop bumping into everyone.
-[man] Here you are. Enjoy.
-Thank you.
[man] Yes, sure, sure.
THEME
JEJU, SPRING BREEZE, WIND
[Geum-myeong] "Jeju."
"Dodong Girls' High School,
sophomore, class five. Oh Ae-sun."
Ten thousand waves
Ten thousand winds
A rock still remains
A rock that never moves
From my heart
[Ae-sun sighs]
My mom
[groans]
I begged you not to sit next to me.
You're not supposed to be on this side.
You should be
at practice right now, Gwan-sik.
What are you doing here?
I raised my hand
and said I wanted to see you.
You know what people say around town?
They say Gwan-sik wakes up
just so he can follow Ae-sun around.
You will win this. 100%.
I think you're going to be
a renowned poet, Ae-sun.
A renowned poet.
-Think so?
-Mm.
Well, what do you know?
Nothing really.
I can't write.
[sighs]
I'll send an anonymous complaint
to the board.
Athletes need to study hard too.
It's not like
they're going to provide for your future.
This is so upsetting, seriously.
A moth? Erase it. Why did you draw a moth?
Butterfly.
Jeez.
Can you write me a poem too?
Name it "Yang Gwan-sik," dear.
[feel-good music playing]
Why would I?
[feel-good music continues]
[woman] Rice cake for sale!
In life, you never know what will happen
unless you go for it.
Who knew that I'd still be sitting here
20 years later?
THE 28TH HALLA CHUNSA WRITING CONTES
THEME
SPRING, WIND, MOON
Submit this.
FALL BREEZE
OH AE-SUN
[middle-aged Ae-sun]
I'm not in high school anymore.
The sheet was just lying on the ground,
so I just scribbled a few lines.
I still think you better send it in.
[chuckles] No, I'm not sure.
Sports day tomorrow is canceled again.
Why?
Well, they're rehearsing for the Olympics.
All the time.
[groans]
We get the most sales
on sports day though.
What about starting a store?
We might even take out a loan.
I'm fed up of
carrying this bundle everywhere.
[woman] Excuse me.
Oh, hello. Would you like to try some?
Ae-sun? You're Ae-sun, right?
I'm Chang-suk. Go Chang-suk.
We went to high school together.
Oh, Ch Chang-suk.
How long has it been?
I haven't seen you since school, have I?
All the girls are wondering
what you're up to.
Why don't you come to reunions?
Oh, do you not get them?
The reunion invites?
Is your info not on record
because you were expelled?
[chuckles]
Oh, I Why don't I give you some for free?
I'll I'll give you plenty.
-These are real.
-Oh God.
The poor woman can't even look at him.
Is she, uh, self-conscious about school?
Oh no, not the old friend from school.
[wistful music playing]
[Geum-myeong] Mom could never look
at children his age.
[middle-aged Gwan-sik sighs]
How old are you?
[boy] Fifteen.
Year of the Tiger.
[boy 2] Hey, where?
Is that "in" these days?
-Sorry?
-What else is popular right now?
Thank you, mister.
Of course. Be sure to enjoy, kids.
Yes, sir.
[Geum-myeong] In Dad's heart,
Dong-myeong kept growing up.
I think that sympathy
truly is also a part of evolution.
Look at the grandmothers in the country.
They go on fine after their kids die.
They'd have eight kids, and two would die.
They'd casually say things like,
"You had a brother once,"
like it's nothing.
-Mm.
-[Ye-rim] Does that make sense?
How do you live after losing a child?
But they do.
What are they supposed to do?
Cry every day? Starve themselves?
No, no, the point of this is
to prove the correlation between
empathy and developing civilization.
Right?
[Geum-myeong]
Because you're better than them?
What?
You think they live that way
because they're less civilized?
[sighs]
[Ye-rim] Just keep on dusting away
your eraser debris.
It's not because
they're not as good-natured as you.
They pretend nothing's wrong
not because
they're not as evolved as you are.
They live on 'cause they need to.
Geum-myeong, I'm sorry to ask this.
Are you jealous of me or something?
Me, why?
Well, um, for several reasons.
I'm going abroad in place of you.
You're only going
because I turned it down.
Turned down? [laughs]
Then maybe you should go.
You can go.
You're still acting
like as if you yielded it,
but you don't get to go
just because your GPA is higher.
Family circumstances
are all taken into account.
Who said that? Was it your father?
Events in life are decided
by multiple things.
[young Ae-sun] I don't get it.
I got 37 votes.
So what if you got 37 votes?
So what if you got more votes?
In the real world,
it doesn't even matter who got 37 votes.
It's between Man-ki and you,
you understand?
There's something that goes beyond
the nine-vote difference. All right, kid?
CLASS MOTTO
HONESTY
[teacher] Mm.
Take it.
Yeah, here. Take it.
Leave it here. Take one. Hmm.
Man-ki's dad brought buns to celebrate him
becoming class president, got it?
You got snacks from him last time too.
If you took food from Man-ki's family
but didn't vote for him,
you'd better feel bad.
If you're staying behind,
you'll only get a bun after you're done.
[students moan]
[teacher] Yeah, take one. Okay. Go ahead.
DIARY
OH AE-SUN
[chortles]
[sighs]
Man-ki, come on! Are you even studying?
Are you sure you aren't just
eating cream buns at home?
[young Ae-sun] Our class president
is a fake president,
a cream bun president.
Even if Man-ki had 100 cream buns,
he'd never score 100 points.
I got 100 points.
[lively music playing]
[Geum-myeong] Mom was like a flower
that found a way to grow
through the cracks into the sunlight.
[worker] Let's hurry.
[Geum-myeong]
She always found her light again.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] I had my blind date
here with Bu Sang-gil many years ago.
AUNTIES'
FRESHLY PICKED BY HAENYEO
At the time,
I really thought that
my life was already over.
I heard you were after a man from Seoul.
So, I'm practically from Seoul myself.
I got an education on the mainland
as good as any in Seoul.
Had I not moved here after I got married
[wistful music playing]
[dishes clatter]
-I mean, who says it's wrong to love?
-Goodness. [chuckles]
Who would've thought I'd own this store?
Like I say, in life,
you never know what'll happen
unless you go for it.
Go!
And I even thought of
the name of the store.
[laughter]
Yeah, the educated one
better name the store.
"Sun and the three Aunties."
We don't need a name that's difficult.
Even a poetry collection will sell well
if the title is understandable.
Thousands of people are called
"Sun" in the world,
so if we're able to attract them,
it'll be lots.
You're so self-centered.
-Let's do it!
-You are. Okay, okay.
-Do it.
-Yes.
-Yeah.
-Yeah, do it.
Let's just stop having lunch
by the street from now on?
I'm going
to have lunch at a table.
You eat at the table.
So each of us gets a quarter?
Ae-sun, you take what's left
and just pay for this section, okay?
[Gyeong-ja] The water pressure is weak.
-Huh?
-[woman 6] Oh, the water pressure.
This is enough, right? You can manage
to clean sea cucumber and sea squirt.
-I don't think so.
-I'll do the washing.
[Geum-myeong] However,
while there was barely any water
dripping out of the faucet,
the money my family made
gushed out steadily.
ELIGIBILITY FOR STATE-FUNDED STUDY ABROAD
I just think it's odd
for an English lit major to go to Japan.
It also means I'll graduate later,
so I don't think
Well, I should
I, um,
would like you to go.
[sighs] Ye-rim is a little
uppity.
Since you don't qualify
for the state-sponsored scholarship,
as I said earlier
Oh, no, no, don't.
Don't. Please don't.
I'm going to leave, and I won't come back
if you call me again.
No. My family has money.
You can pay it back later.
You told me your car was the cheapest
in the faculty lot before.
What's so important about my situation?
You need to be brazen and take it now.
Or you'll end up just like me.
[chuckles] But you're
a fantastic person though.
I'm pretty sure you're the only professor
who feeds apples to sparrows.
But anyway, thank you so much
for looking out for me.
From the bottom of my heart.
Feels like I already went to Japan.
You have a way with words, girl.
[Geum-myeong] For others, it was as though
I was writing a love letter.
I was mindful of every word
that came out of my mouth.
Yeah, yeah,
she's such a good person. She is.
[Geum-myeong] When others treat you well,
you think
they're the greatest gift to you.
PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMEN
[Geum-myeong] Yeah, so you have to send
the best tangerines you can find.
She's so good to me.
So what did she do for you?
Say you did well, or she likes you?
Oh, what did she say?
I wanna hear
the nice things she said to you.
Oh, she's about to take a loan out
to send me to study abroad.
Not easy to do for someone else, right?
She calls me to the faculty cafeteria
and buys me food.
But you didn't want to study abroad.
That's what you said.
I know. Just send me a box of tangerines.
Do you wanna study abroad?
You wanna go?
Oh, but I couldn't go
even if I wanted to, right?
Uh, how much is it?
How much is it?
You don't need to know.
Well, I'm not saying I'll pay for it.
Just tell me how much it costs roughly.
The Japanese yen costs so much.
Don't you watch the news?
Say how much it is.
Just tell me how much, at least.
You're making me mad now.
You're not that needy.
You have parents.
Why should someone
have to take out a loan for you?
What did you tell her for her to say that?
You think I present like someone
who comes from wealth?
All the kids at school know how poor
we are because I chose not to go to Japan.
How much is it, then?
Tell me just how much it costs to go!
So what if I tell you? You'll send me
to Japan with street vending money?
If you can afford it,
stop selling on the street.
Listen, I wanna stop too. I do.
But how can I?
[sighs]
Whatever, forget it.
Don't even send the box.
Talking to you just makes me mad.
[sighs]
[Geum-myeong] But I treated the one I owed
my whole life to as harshly
as if I was writing on scrap paper.
[sighs]
Oh, what now?
[Geum-myeong] I wasn't mindful
-You always just drive me nuts.
-of my words or my heart.
[soft pop music playing]
I don't qualify at all.
[sighs]
[thunder rumbling]
[rain pattering]
[Geum-myeong] How much is that?
Just 300 won. Give me 300 won.
[thunder rumbling]
[soft pop music continues]
How much for all of it, ma'am?
Hmm?
I like beans a lot.
[Geum-myeong] A kind-hearted mother
[middle-aged Ae-sun]
gave birth to a kind-hearted daughter.
[Geum-myeong] They were loving
and fond of each other.
[middle-aged Ae-sun]
And they broke each other's hearts.
[music fades]
Sure I wanna stop street vending.
Who wants to be a street vendor
if they have a choice?
Once I was coy and girly too.
I was a bookworm as well.
Jeez.
You know when I see
a friend from the past passing by
as I sit there eating on newspaper,
I wanna stop eating the food right away.
I lose my appetite for the whole day.
[sighs] She's not the only one with pride.
Does she think we live like this
because we lack pride?
But what can we do?
There are a lot of things
she wants to experience,
and us not being able to provide them
makes me die inside.
[sighs]
I knew there was something wrong
when you started drinking
each time you'd come home
from seeing Geum-myeong.
Well [tuts] I have nothing to say anyway
to both you or her.
So
My mom must've cried
because back when
I didn't get to be class president,
she couldn't provide for me.
Oh, I get it now. I get it.
What did she say?
Did she cry about going abroad?
Was she frustrated?
[emotional music playing]
[Geum-myeong] They sold their house
for their daughter,
who will never grow up.
These are our last persimmons. Look.
You have them all, Ae-Sun.
Don't give them to anybody else.
[chuckles] Not even to the kids?
Not even to the kids. Only for you.
[laughs]
We knew raising kids would only get
more and more expensive.
We knew that about parenting
from the start.
It's a losing business, isn't it?
[Geum-myeong] She left the house behind.
Her mother, her younger self,
and Dong-myeong,
whom she could never mention,
would be missed.
[distant clattering]
[sighs]
[tender piano music playing]
Mom, I didn't grasp how young you were.
You need to get rid of the cracked ones.
Throw these out.
I dreamed about you when we moved here.
Did you return 'cause we're leaving?
It's bittersweet to see you.
You should've visited me more
in my dreams.
Oh, Mom, I'm so upset.
I still have so many things
that I wanted to speak to you about.
Why are you writing him a letter?
He can't even read.
He never learned to read,
so what's the point?
[middle-aged Ae-sun] In case
he comes to see us during the holidays.
I didn't want him to be surprised
to see that we were gone.
I didn't wanna scare the baby.
[music fades]
You and Gwan-sik
still never talk about him?
So why not talk of Dong-myeong?
Why would we?
We already know
how we feel about his loss.
With grief above anything else,
time can heal our sorrow
and dull the pain.
But when the grief is one that
cuts so bad,
you bury it.
I I can't bring it up with him.
Ae-sun.
Speak to him.
Pour it out.
The waves can reach
the ocean floor
and raise even the deepest waters.
[chuckles]
I'm sorry to say this to you.
I know I shouldn't say it.
I do love remembering you, but
but not Dong-myeong.
Not my little boy.
I just wanted for you to live a good life.
I always wonder how you'll survive.
How my baby will survive this.
[emotional string music playing]
I do forget briefly
every once in a while.
From time to time, yeah.
Somehow, I'm surviving every day.
THE MOON WANES,
YET THE YOUNG HEART REMAINS.
[Geum-myeong] Tomorrow.
[mover 1] Hurry, this way.
[Geum-myeong] Tomorrow,
we live under tomorrow's sun.
[Eun-myeong] Oh, look, that plane.
Why are there so many of them, man?
[indistinct announcement over PA]
OPEN STUDY ABROAD POLICY
SPARKS SURGE IN STUDENTS GOING ABROAD
[Geum-myeong sniffles]
[sniffles]
[sniffles]
Why did she wrap this so tightly?
Why did she do this?
God. [sniffles]
[breathes deeply]
[sniffles]
[sobs]
Have a bit, crybaby.
Thank you very much.
Sure.
[sniffles]
[man] Are you okay?
[wistful music playing]
[Geum-myeong] I took their dreams
and spread my wings
with the seeds of
my mom's dreams in my heart.
[wistful music continues]
[laughing]
Is this funny?
Is this funny to you?
You know what? A bit.
I wanted to go to college
so badly when I was younger.
[laughs]
But now, my daughter is off
studying abroad.
It just feels so good.
I'm proud of her, you know?
So you're happy now?
[groans] Jeez!
[young Ae-sun] Mom!
-Mom!
-[whistles]
[middle-aged Ae-sun]
My mom passed her dreams on to me.
[wistful music continues]
[Geum-myeong]
My mom passed her dreams on to me.
They were so heavy.
They were scorching hot.
[sobs]
[middle-aged Ae-sun] When you kids soar,
it's like I get to soar too.
I do.
[Geum-myeong]
Finally, their wings took flight.
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU TANGERINES
DODONG GIRLS' HIGH
Hey, did you get Ae-sun's consent?
Why should writing contests be
only for kids?
The best cheeses are aged.
And to know something, you need to live.
Kids don't comprehend life at all.
[teacher on PA] One more time,
will the student Oh Ae-sun
please come immediately
to the faculty's office?
Oh Ae-sun.
I told you all
when students complete tests,
there are some
who never specify their grade and class,
even if you tell them over and over!
Did I or did I not explain that
you need to tell them a hundred times?
Did I or did I not?
What, am I talking to a wall now?
The winner is from our school,
and we can't find the student!
What am I supposed to tell the principal?
Goodness gracious!
EVEN AS I GENTLY PRESS MY HEAR
TO SOOTHE IT DOWN
THE MOON WANES,
YET THE YOUNG HEART REMAINS.
[upbeat funky music playing]
[music ends]
"IN THE HOPE THAT OUR ECHOES
WILL FLOW AND FLOW UNTIL THEY REACH YOU."