On the second episode of Reply 1988, they tell the story of how the five friends met, how their friendship began, and how it kept going.
Taek was the last one to move on their block. After his mother passed away, they left their home which was full of her scent, and came to Seoul. They did not know why they chose to live there, but one thing is for sure, the four trouble makers of their block found a new friend.
Taek has always been a quiet kid, so the boisterous kids may have been too much for him. Even so, Taek was always with them. Even when they were doing mischievous things or doing pathetic things, he was always by their side. Though, he always had an expressionless face, he was with them.
Still, the block creates friendships just through the power of time. That is how the taciturn child, and the four noisy kids became friends; and that is how they became five.
On the other hand, while she was in school, Deok-seon received a phone call from her sister, Bo-ra, informing her that their grandmother passed away. Bo-ra said to pack her things because they will go to their grandmother's house.
After packing, the siblings, Bo-ra, Deok-seon, and No-eul, immediately went to the wake. Deok-seon and No-eul, cannot stop themselves from crying because of longingness and pain that they are feeling as of the moment. Bo-ra, as an older, told them to stop crying because they should console their father, that their feelings are nothing compared to his' (which is the son of the dead grandmother). However, contradictory to what they expect, the funeral was not so sad as they think. People were laughing, and they eat as if it was a feast.
"Is this a funeral? It feels more like a party."
Their father's siblings were talking about their jewelry as if they were not mourning, and her father was drinking with their guests.
"Is dad a cyborg? How could he not shed even one tear?"
One morning, Deok-seon saw her father near his grandmother's coffin. She thought that her father was crying, but it turns out that he was just sleeping, making himself sober from drinking last night. Her father's sisters also bring him a hangover soup.
"Are all adults like that? They don't get sad?"
Deok-seon felt bad for her grandmother because no one seems like mourning for her loss. She almost lost hope of seeing everyone sad and mourn until a man came in and called his father's name.
"Dong-il."
It was his father's older brother.
"Our poor mother. Why did she have to go so soon? Why?"
"Now we cannot see her anymore. I want to see Mom."
"Why are you here so late?"
For the first time, she saw her father cry.
It is just that adults keep it bottled up. They were just busy being adult and they just acted strong due to the pressure that come with their age. Adults feel pain, too.
Seon-woo, Jung-hwan, and Dong-ryeong were going with the same school. They always pack their food in school to eat during lunchtime, and as always, they share it together.
Seon-woo's mother is not a good cook. She would fail to remove stones from rice and accidentally mix eggshells to eggrolls; she is just a bad cook that even when the food is impossible to taste bad, she can make it happen. However, her son, Seon-woo, will always eat her food and is ready to fight to whoever say that his mom's cooking is bad.
He just protects his mom's feelings so much. He pretends to enjoy his mom's cooking just to avoid her being hurt. For him, if he can make his mother happy just by thinking that her cooking is good, it is not hard to eat disgusting food.
Even so, it is fine to be deluded sometimes. There is no need to force the harsh truth onto a small bit of happiness. Sometimes, you just need an illusion to be happy.
At a very young age, Taek has achieved a lot. He is playing baduk, competing in different countries, and even win. Though his mother died when he is still a kid, they are pretty sure that she is proud of him.
One night, Deok-seon's father came out to buy in a store and happen to bump into Taek. He then asked Taek to be his drinking buddy just for that night. As a minor, Taek is just sitting there waiting for Deok-seon's father to finish his alcohol, until they start talking about their moms. Taek apologized for not coming to his mom's funeral, and as a joke, Deok-seon's father said that he might cry for asking bringing that up, "Your mother is the one you miss the most, whether she is alive or dead" he also added.
"When do you miss your mom most?"
"Everyday. I miss my mom every single day."
An adult-like child is just one without complaints. It is just that they have acclimated to the world of adults and they have grown used to the illusions around them. An adult-like child is just that, a child. An illusion is short, but a misunderstanding lasts a long time. That is why illusion offer freedom while misunderstanding chain you down.
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