Family By Choice – K-drama Episode 13 Recap & Review

Episode 13

Episode 13 of Family by Choice begins with Hae-joon’s mother revealing to Jeong-jae, Joo-won, and San-ha that she had killed someone. Before leaving, Joo-won tries to make her understand that Hae-joon deserves to know he wasn’t abandoned.

They return home, where San-ha meets his mother and sister, waiting as Hae-joon leaves to stay at Joo-won’s house. Despite his mother’s attempts to manipulate him into coming back, San-ha firmly tells her that he’s not leaving.

Later, Joo-won visits San-ha in the hospital and tries to stay strong as she tells him that if he needs to go, she won’t be as troublesome as before. However, San-ha reassures her that he isn’t leaving. San-ha’s sister visits him later to convince him to come back, but San-ha makes her understand that staying around their mother is harmful to her.

He recalls how his mother’s issues are psychogenic. His mother also visits him, appearing to realize that his sister’s death was her fault and not San-ha’s. However, she quickly reverts to her controlling behavior once Joo-won arrives to see San-ha. Joo-won recalls how San-ha’s mother had given him to her and asserts that he won’t be going anywhere. The two leave together, and San-ha confesses his love for Joo-won shortly after stepping outside the hospital.

Back home, San-ha finds Hae-joon waiting for him. Hae-joon questions him about the sleeping pills he’d found and scolds him for not sharing his feelings. Eventually, San-ha breaks down and cries his heart out.

The next day, Joo-won comes to wake the two boys and finds the apartment in a mess, with San-ha and Hae-joon still asleep. As she tries to wake them, San-ha pulls her in, and they share a kiss before Joo-won leaves for her house.

A little while later, Hae-joon and San-ha show up for breakfast at Joo-won’s place. Here, San-ha finally reveals to the family that he had been going through a tough time but is fine now. San-ha later meets Hae-joon’s mother to tell her that Hae-joon should know he wasn’t abandoned.

Later, while drinking with friends at the apartment, Hae-joon suddenly remembers seeing San-ha and Joo-won kiss. He screams, thinking it was a dream. He heads over to Joo-won’s place to retrieve something. Just as Joo-won and San-ha return and are about to kiss inside the apartment, Hae-joon sees them, utterly shocked.

The Episode Review

As we near the finale, the plot is almost wrapping up with Joo-won and San-ha’s relationship. The issues surrounding San-ha and his mother have become somewhat repetitive, going in circles, with this episode superficially resolving things between them.

While the second half of the show feels less developed than the first, focusing more on the romantic relationships between the characters, the episode remains adorable and enjoyable as a cozy slice-of-life K-drama. In contrast to San-ha’s issues with his mother, Hae-joon’s trauma and his troubled relationship with his mother—marked by his constant feelings of abandonment—feels much better developed than San-ha’s.