Oh My Baby: Episode 2

by TeriYaki

After learning that her life-long dream may never come true, our heroine struggles with how to best respond, and it doesn’t help when she’s given lots of unwelcome advice. Verging on desperation, she tries to re-enter the dating scene but relationships take time, a luxury she can no longer afford. Further complicating her life is a certain pesky photographer who’s suddenly everywhere, and it’s becoming clear that there’s something about our heroine that he can’t ignore.

  
EPISODE 2: “Am I on the right path?”

At the hospital, a nurse returns the fake pregnancy belly to Yi-sang when she can’t find Ha-ri. Outside, Ha-ri tries to come to terms with the fact that her chances of having a baby are rapidly evaporating. Just minutes earlier, her doctor had explained that Ha-ri could delay her surgery to have a baby first and gave her six months until her next appointment.

When Yi-sang finds Ha-ri, she blurts out, “Do you want to marry me,” and then she breaks down in sobs. After Yi-sang carefully explains that he’s not interested in marriage, Ha-ri realizes that she uttered the proposal out loud. Yi-sang is understandably confused when Ha-ri hops up to explain that what she meant is that she’s so grateful she could marry him.

Yi-sang offers Ha-ri a ride and persists even after she declines. When Yi-sang points to his car, Ha-ri sees her fake pregnancy belly on the hood and hurries to retrieve and scurries away.

At her house, Ha-ri’s mom refuses Jae-young’s offer to change a light bulb, used to doing things herself after being without a man for so long. Jae-young balks when Mom asks him to treat her like a mother-in-law, especially when she reminds him that Ha-ri would make the perfect stepmother. Sensing Jae-young’s discomfort, Mom explains that she only meant that he feels like family.

While walking down the street clutching the fake pregnancy belly, Ha-ri sees some schoolchildren running to their mothers. Ha-ri imagines herself as the mother of one of the young girls until a call from her mom breaks the spell.

Mom reminds Ha-ri about about her cousin’s wedding that weekend but she claims a looming deadline won’t allow her to attend. Mom recognizes Ha-ri’s standard excuse and advises, “Missing family events like this only make them pity you more,” upsetting Ha-ri even more.

Ha-ri finally makes it back to work to find that Chief Editor Shim, is back from maternity leave a week early. Editor Shim sees the fake pregnancy belly and scolds Ha-ri for agreeing to wear it. Assigned to oversee the photoshoot for the next magazine cover to get a client to renew their advertising contract, Ha-ri protests that she doesn’t work for that department. When Editor Shim snaps, “I didn’t cut my baby’s breastfeeding short just to hear you talk back at me,” Ha-ri grabs her things and goes home.

On the bus, Ha-ri has to endure a young woman’s phone conversation about a friend’s upcoming wedding. When some mothers nearby lament how fast time flies now that one of them has a daughter in high school, Ha-ri stares glumly out the window.

It’s late when Jae-young delivers the wedding invitation to Ha-ri’s place and he’s startled to find her lying on the floor in the dark, wearing the fake belly. A pensive Ha-ri confesses that she took getting married for granted in her twenties and found that the blind dates in her thirties felt like interviews. When Jae-young urges her to remove the fake belly, Ha-ri protests, “I’d rather mope around like this a little more.”

Jae-young leaves, stopping when he remembers that Ha-ri’s mom visited his former home. She was worried that Ha-ri was going to end up all alone and suggested that Jae-young could stay by her side, “If you two grow on each other, you can settle down together.” When Jae-young protested that Ha-ri was like a sister, Mom backpedaled, “Exactly…be close like you’re brother and sister.”

Jae-young goes back to Ha-ri’s place and invites her to join him for soju. In answer, Ha-ri hands Jae-young a parting gift, pajamas for Do-ah, telling him, “Let’s never meet again.”

After mumbling, “I don’t think it’ll work with me. That’s our destiny,” Jae-young offers to set Ha-ri up on a date. She simultaneously answers that she doesn’t need a guy but that a nice, average looking one is good enough for her. Frustrated with Ha-ri’s indecisiveness, Jae-young advises, “There are too many voices inside of you, right? Just stick to one.” After he leaves, Ha-ri recalls the doctor’s warning that with every passing month, her fertility decreases.

The next day, a friend snaps a photo of Yi-sang while climbing a rock wall together. When Yi-sang posts the photo on social media, he sees Ha-ri’s fake pregnancy photo and ‘likes’ it.

A friend meets Jae-young at a kids’ zone where he’s playing with Do-ah. Distressed to learn that Jae-young had to sell his house after being out of work for five months, he tosses him an envelope, “Jung-won asked me to give you her child support payment.” Jae-young returns it with a message, “She abandoned her own baby. Tell her to stay out of our lives.” As his friend is about to leave, Jae-young asks, “Want to meet a girl?”

While waiting at Soo-chul’s studio for the photoshoot to begin, Ha-ri sees that Yi-sang liked her photo. She complains to Soo-chul that the guy who didn’t like her, ‘liked’ her post, unaware the Yi-sang is right next to her.

Yi-sang reminds Ha-ri that the point of social media is to follow people and like posts but Ha-ri only does that with people that she’s close to. As they bicker, Soo-chul observes, “Are you two childhood friends? You seem very close.”

Soo-chul’s friends turn on him since his arrangement with Yi-sang guarantees that they’ll be running into each other regularly. When Yi-sang reminds Ha-ri that she was once so grateful that she proposed, she informs him that it’s time they had a serious talk.

At a café, Ha-ri explains that since Yi-sang makes her uncomfortable, she’ll only visit the studio when he’s not there. Yi-sang argues that he’s the one who should be uncomfortable and Ha-ri suddenly remembers that she got very drunk after their disastrous meeting at the New Year’s party.

Later that night, Ha-ri was outside on some steps when Yi-sang walked by. She grabbed the hem of his coat and forced Yi-sang to sit next to her. After accusing Yi-sang of hating women, Ha-ri promised that she would make him fall for her.

In the present, Yi-sang argues that it doesn’t make sense for Ha-ri to be angry with him considering her promise. After Ha-ri confirms that Yi-sang hasn’t fallen for her, they agree to stay out of each other’s way, but he can’t hide his amusement as she makes her exit.

Back at the studio, the baby model for the photoshoot still hasn’t arrived and Soo-chul reminds Ha-ri that he has another shoot to get to. Kang-eu-tteum shows up, sent by Manager Kim to help Ha-ri secure the contract renewal.

Soo-chul suggests that Yi-sang could solve their problem but when they seek him out, he doesn’t even turn around as he announces, “No, I don’t want to.” When Soo-chul can’t change Yi-sang’s mind, Ha-ri complains, “…did you have to make us talk facing your back? It’s not like you have a really broad back anyway.”

Ha-ri goes downstairs just as the baby model, Na-eun, arrives. While Ha-ri discusses the toy featured in the photoshoot with their client, Kang-eu-tteum snatches it away from Na-eun and calls it ‘dirty’.

Ignoring Kang-eu-tteum’s comment, Ha-ri asks for another of the toy’s selling points and is told that it’s durable. That’s when Na-eun knocks over the display for the photoshoot and seeing how easily it broke apart, Kang-eu-tteum complains, “This is so weak.”

Ha-ri assures the client that she’ll reassemble the display but she can’t manage it, even with Soo-chul’s help. Luckily, Kang-eu-tteum is a whiz at that sort of thing, creating a display worthy of the magazine’s cover. By then, it’s time for Soo-chul to leave and Yi-sang saves the day when he agrees to take over the photoshoot, after warning Ha-ri, “I don’t like babies. So you can be the one to make her smile.”

With Yi-sang behind the camera, Ha-ri does her best to get Na-eun to smile. She suggests that Yi-sang should smile too, so that Na-eun won’t cry, but first he wants to know, “Does my back still look small to you?” Ha-ri admits, “It kind of looks broader now,” and when she attends to Na-eun, Yi-sang smiles.

At Dachae Media, Yeon-ho, Hyo-joo and So-yoon evaluate the men in the break room as potential matches for Ha-ri. When asked if she’d date a colleague, Hyo-joo protests, “Gosh, no way. Our company sucks.” That’s when So-yoon confesses that she asked out someone from the camera department after Ha-ri predicted they would end up like her.

Soo-chul is back from his photoshoot when a smartly dressed Ha-ri promises someone over the phone that she’ll be in Gangnam soon. Seeing all the bags that Ha-ri has to deliver, Soo-chul suggests that Yi-sang should drive her. When he declines, Ha-ri leaves in a huff and Yi-sang find himself unable to concentrate on the magazine in his hand.

Outside, Ha-ri ignores Yi-sang when he pulls up until he vows to stay put until she accepts a ride. Ha-ri eventually climbs into the back seat after reminding Yi-sang they agreed to avoid each other.

Ha-ri thanks Yi-sang when she gets out to make her delivery and is surprised to find him waiting when she’s done. Ha-ri hesitates for just a second when Yi-san offers her a ride to her cousin’s wedding, and this time she joins him in the front seat.

At the wedding venue, Ha-ri invites Yi-sang to stay for the meal, “The snow crabs are to die for.” Ha-ri hops out after he declines but now Yi-sang wants snow crabs.

Inside, Ha-ri greets her aunt and uncle before seeking out her cousin. When Ha-ri’s mother arrives, she explains that Ha-ri can’t make it, unaware that her daughter is already there. As Ha-ri congratulates her cousin, she promises a special gift but doesn’t give any details.

During the ceremony, Mom complains to Ha-ri, “How can I cover for you when you don’t tell me things?” Unable to hide that her leg is shaking, Ha-ri explains that she’s nervous and the reason becomes clear when a surprise guest performer is announced. On stage with the bride and groom, Ha-ri gets the crowd to clap along as she performs the trot song, “Love’s Battery,” and Yi-sang joins in when he enters the hall.

After the service, Ha-ri doesn’t see Yi-sang, who falls in step behind her. Some interested bachelors approach Ha-ri but when they see Yi-sang, they keep on walking. Ha-ri finally notices Yi-sang and demands to know, “Why are you here?”

Holding out his hand, Yi-sang asks for his meal ticket, “I haven’t had snow crabs before.” Frustrated, Ha-ri slaps the ticket into Yi-sang’s hand and then has to point him in the direction of the dining hall.

During the meal, Ha-ri asks her mother to help her find an eligible bachelor as she scans the hall. Ha-ri’s aunt and uncle advise her to stay single, surprised when Ha-ri announces, “I’m going to get married.” After Ha-ri adds, “Please set me up with anyone decent you know,” Mom looks away and her aunt and uncle jump up in relief when the snow crabs are served.

Mom reminds Ha-ri that her aunt set her up on many dates and now, no one’s interested in her. Seeing the hurt look on Ha-ri’s face, her mother pivots, “A lot of women marry at your age…The man that’s meant to be will turn up.” Thinking of Jae-young, Mom suggests, “…don’t look in strange places. Look close by.”

That evening, Yi-sang signs a contract with his new manager in a café in Gangnam, just as Ha-ri walks in. Seeing Yi-sang, Ha-ri turns to leave just as Jae-young’s friend calls her name. After greeting her date, Ha-ri suggests going elsewhere but he’s already placed an order. When his new manager leaves, Yi-sang decides to stay for another cup of coffee.

As it begins to rain, Ha-ri’s date asks if she was hesitant to meet a divorced man but she reasons that her never-married status carries more of a stigma. Yi-sang sits down within earshot as Jae-young’s friend discusses how difficult it is to date after forty.

When Jae-young’s friend nervously suggests that he and Ha-ri should take their time getting to know each other, she reminds him, “It’ll be hard to have kids if I wait too long.” He’s not worried since age isn’t a problem for men but Ha-ri calculates out loud how many chances she has left to conceive before menopause. Her date is horrified and Yi-sang cringes when Ha-ri concludes, “And that’s only when you have lots of eggs.” Catching on too late, she feebly adds, “So my point is, I envy men.”

After her failed date, Ha-ri is forced to walk in the rain without an umbrella. Nearby, Jae-young buys baby formula for Do-ah along with beer and soju for himself. Ha-ri is surprised when Yi-sang catches up to her with an umbrella, explaining, “I didn’t think that guy would share an umbrella with you, so I ran out and bought one.”

Angry because Yi-sang deliberately intruded on her date, Ha-ri asks, “Why do you always show up during my most humiliating moments?” Warning him not to follow her, Ha-ri walks away. Suddenly feeling guilty, Yi-sang tries to apologize, “I didn’t mean to humiliate you. I’m sorry.” When Ha-ri won’t listen, Yi-sang pulls at her sleeve and rips both her jacket and her blouse just as Jae-young walks by.

Thinking Ha-ri is in danger, Jae-young runs to her rescue. Trying to separate the two men, Ha-ri gets pushed to the ground and watches as the men bump chests. After several missed punches and kicks from both men, Yi-sang gets Jae-young into a headlock until he’s bitten on the chest. When Ha-ri tries to stop the ensuing pushing match, the three of them move around in a circle as if they’re playing a child’s game.

By the time the rain stops, the unlikely trio is drinking together at a pojangmacha. Jae-young apologizes to Yi-sang, “I didn’t know you were her colleague,” but Ha-ri corrects him, “He isn’t my colleague.” Jae-young asks how Ha-ri’s clothes got torn when she was supposed to be on a blind date and asks, “Did you get rejected again?” Yi-sang volunteers, “…they weren’t meant for each other. No one did anything wrong.”

Ha-ri sighs, “Love only left me with heartaches and hardships,” and a flashback shows a boyfriend breaking up with her by throwing cherry blossoms in her face. Yi-sang laments, “It becomes meaningless once time passes by. No matter how much you loved each other,” as his flashback reveals that his fiancé returned her engagement ring.

Jae-young is the last to chime in, “All break-ups…leave you with a heartache or a broken memory…It just ruins you.” In his flashback, Jae-young stared at his wife’s wedding portrait as movers took her things, her signed divorce papers in front of him. In the present, Ha-ri confesses that she’s never been happy because of a man and decides, “I’d rather be single and happy than become miserable just so I could get married.”

In the morning, a text from her friend, Eun-young, wakes Ha-ri. When Ha-ri visits Eun-young, the overwhelmed mother of twin boys, she shocks her with the news that her mother allowed Jae-young to move in. As the friends visit, Eun-young realizes that her boys are unusually quiet and sees that they knocked over the rice container.

As Ha-ri helps her clean the mess, Eun-young complains, “They really drive me crazy,” and confesses that being a mom is tiring. Eun-young is speechless when Ha-ri shares, “I can’t have kids,” and she’s visibly relieved after Ha-ri adds, “How can I…when I can’t even get married?”

It’s late when Ha-ri returns home and she scolds Jae-young when he walks in without knocking. Dressed in a suit, Jae-young hands Do-ah to Ha-ri, asking her to babysit so that he can attend the funeral of a friend’s father.

Later, as Ha-ri tries to get Do-ah to sleep, she realizes that the baby has a high fever. Unable to reach Jae-young, Ha-ri lets her mother know that she’s taking Do-ah to the ER.

At the funeral hall, Jae-young keeps his back to his ex-wife, Jung-won, as she offers her condolences to their friend. When she leaves without saying a word to Jae-young, he’s too distracted to notice another call from Ha-ri.

At the ER, Ha-ri has to explain that she’s not Do-ah’s mother when the doctor reports that the baby has bronchitis. Back home, Ha-ri sleeps next to Do-ah, waking often to check on the sick baby. In the morning, Ha-ri opens her eyes to find Do-ah feeling better and playing quietly by her side. Ha-ri tells herself, “I’m not cut out for this at all,” but when she looks at Do-ah, she’s gripped by sadness.

At Dachae Media, Ha-ri is handed a copy of the new issue of The Baby. Inside, Ha-ri is featured in the article, “When I become a mom…,” and while looking at her photos wearing the fake belly, she makes her decision.

With a spring in her step, Ha-ri returns to the hospital to inform her doctor that she’s postponing her surgery to have a baby. When asked if she’s getting married, Ha-ri answers, “I’m not getting married. I just want to have a baby.”

  
COMMENTS

After the rollicking premier episode, Oh My Baby gets serious as it tackles a woman’s fading fertility and the grief that holds for someone like Ha-ri. As she tries to figure out what to do, if anything, Ha-ri regrets whatever time she wasted when she was younger. Dating is challenging at any age, trying to find that certain someone who loves you just the way you are and who wants to build a future together. For some, each relationship leads nowhere as the dating pool shrinks, because everyone around you is getting married. Suddenly, younger women are competing for whatever men are left and a career ends up taking on greater importance. Thanks to her health crisis, Ha-ri can no longer ignore the fact that soon, her dream of becoming a mother may never come true.

As one would expect, Jang Nara breathes such life into Ha-ri as she grapples with her options. She conveys Ha-ri’s desperation to marry as soon as possible without making her seem pathetic (almost but not quite), not an easy task. Jang Nara’s Ha-ri is wistful and sad but also caring and sensitive. Ha-ri’s journey has just started and already, there’s been so much depth to her character. I can’t wait to follow the twists and turns that hopefully lead to a happy ending.

Ha-ri isn’t the only one going back and forth regarding major life decisions. Ha-ri’s mother is giving me whiplash as she pushes Jae-young towards her daughter, only to back off whenever he protests. I can understand why Ha-ri waffled when Jae-young offered to set her up on a date, her mother flip-flops constantly.

And then there’s Yi-sang. Considering that he doesn’t ‘like’ Ha-ri, he’s finding it impossible to stay out of her business, even after agreeing to steer clear of her. For someone who’s sworn off marriage, Yi-sang is the last person who should understand Ha-ri’s dilemma. However, after learning about his broken engagement, Yi-sang knows all to well that a “happily ever after” isn’t so easy to come by. For now, Yi-sang doesn’t ‘like’ Ha-ri but his push-pull behavior is suggesting that may change.

After that hilarious fight between Jae-young and Yi-sang, when neither one of them could land a punch or a kick, their bonding over soju was quite revealing. Of all the heartbreak in their respective pasts, Jae-young’s was the saddest because whenever he looks at his daughter, Do-ah, he’s reminded that his ex-wife not only walked out on him, but on their baby too. That kind of abandonment scars a child forever and he knows it, which is why Jae-young harbors so much resentment towards his ex.

Our trio of Ha-ri, Y-sang and Jae-young have deep wounds to contend with, another reason why Ha-ri made the decision to skip getting married to just focus on having a baby. She doesn’t have time to deal with her wounds but deciding to have a baby and actually getting pregnant are very different challenges. Now that Ha-ri has decided to go down that path, who’s going to be her baby daddy?

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