This is the recap for Family by Choice: Episode 1. Joo-Won who’s a kid. He plays a game with other kids outside. The teacher asks them to speak out the words of three syllables. Joo-Won says horaebi. She’s excited. Because she thinks she’s going to get an older brother.
Joo-Won’s father Jung-Jae cooks at the restaurant. The teacher takes Joo-Won back. The kids asks Jung-Jae if he’s a horaebi. Jung-Jae asks his daughter who said that. Joo-Won points at Madam. Madam flees. The father and the daughter are on the way home.
Joo-Won reports to her father that Madam planned to arrange a blind date for him. They see a truck. Jung-Jae learns that it’s third floor. He’s excited to tell her daughter that she’s going to get an older brother. They join the family San-Ha, Jung-Hee and Dae-Wook. Jung-Jae thinks it’s a family of three. But Jung-Hee scolds him.
Jung-Hee throws a fit to his husband Dae-Wook because it was a family of four. The police come after they received a complaint. They recognize the chief cop Dae-Wook. They leave Dae-Wook’s house. One of the cops reveals Dae-Wook lost a daughter. Jung-Jae overhears it when he carries Joo-Won.
He tells her not to mention the sister in front of San-Ha. They run into the kid. Jung-Jae invites San-Ha to watch TV with them. San-Ha rejects it. He returns home. His father asks him not to blame his mother. Jung-Jae meets with Madam. He asks her to keep the secret for Dae-Wook. But she thinks there’s no secret to be kept.
San-Ha returns home. He walks into his mother’s room. He finds out that his mother is sleeping. He takes out the noodles. He remembers the death of his sister. He eats noodles outside his house. Joo-Won shows up. She tells San-Ha to knock at her door if he’s hungry.
Joo-Won reports to Jung-Jae that San-Ha ate noodles. Jung-Jae goes to cook meat pancake. Joo-Won brings the meat pancake to San-Ha. But he refuses to eat it. Hae-Joon and his mother Seo-Hyun arrive at the seafood market. Seo-Hyun tells Hae-Joon to be a good kid. Madam comes to pick them up.
Madam takes them to Jung-Jae’s restaurant. But Jung-Jae pours water on Seo-Hyun. Seo-Hyun meets with Jung-Jae in his house. Madam tells Joo-Won that she’s going to get a mother and an older brother. But Joo-Won is against it because she doesn’t need a mother.
Madam takes Joo-Won and Hae-Joon outside. She leaves then. Joo-Won is furious to walk away after knowing her father is going to get married. Hae-Joon follows her. We return to the house. Jung-Jae invites Seo-Hyun to stay for dinner. He falls for her.
Joon-Won and Hae-Joon join San-Ha. They fight with the kids who badmouthed San-Ha. Jung-Jae lets the kid and his mother apologize to San-Ha after knowing they badmouthed San-Ha. Hae-Joon favors the new father. He has a dinner with the new family. Jung-Jae hands over the meat to Hae-Joon. But Joon-Won gives Hae-Joon’s meat to San-Ha.
Jung-Jae leaves with Seo-Hyun and Hae-Joon. Joon-Won gets angry because she thinks the mother and the son took away her father. San-Ha accompanies Joon-Won to the playground. But she chases him with an earthworm. Jung-Hee watches it from her room. She looks unhappy.
Joon-Won takes San-Ha to her room. She shows him her mother’s photos. She tells him to look at his sister’s photos if he misses his sister. But he looks lost. Jung-Jae sees Hae-Joon and Seo-Hyun off at the bus stop. Hae-Joon and Seo-Hyun are on the bus. Hae-Joon tells his mother that he likes the meat the uncle cooked. Seo-Hyun gets a call from someone. She looks shocked.
San-Ha returns home. He takes a look at his sister’s photo. Jung-Jae returns home. He sings a song for Joo-Won when she’s sleeping. He promises not to get married. Madam is at Jung-Jae’s restaurant. She reports to Jung-Jae that the lady changed her number. She thinks Seo-Hyun is in trouble.
Seo-Hyun meets with her sister Yi-Hyun. She asks her to take care of Hae-Joon for her. Hae-Joon doesn’t want to be separated from his mother. But Seo-Hyun gives him a hug and she leaves. Dae-Wook takes the new colleague to visit Jung-Jae’s restaurant. Madam persuades Dae-Wook to be nice to his wife. Joo-Won shows up. She’s very happy after knowing San-Ha will eat with them.
San-Ha passes by Jung-Jae’s restaurant. Joo-Won takes him to get into the restaurant. She looks at him with smiling when he eats the noodles. Jung-Jae gets a call from Seo-Hyun. She wishes to sell her hair salon to him. He asks her about Hae-Joon.
Jung-Jae finds Hae-Joon according to the address Seo-Hyun gave to him. Hae-Joon takes Jung-Jae to his aunt’s house. Jung-Jae takes out the dumplings. He lets the poor kid eat it. Hae-Joon’s aunt comes back. She claims that Hae-Joon is fine. But Jung-Jae doesn’t think so. He volunteers to take care of the kid. Hae-Joon also likes to live with the uncle.
Jung-Hee walks into San-Ha’s room. She finds the family photo San-Ha kept. Dae-Wook returns home with the food Jung-Hee likes. Jung-Hee shows Dae-Wook the family photo. She thinks San-Ha killed his sister. She mentions her son enjoyed the food when she had no appetite.
San-Ha overhears his mother’s words outside. She breaks into the house and he promises not to go to the restaurant. But his mother doesn’t listen to his appeal. She returns to her room. Hae-Joon moves into Jung-Jae’s house. Jung-Jae plans to prepare a bed for the kid. He agrees to let Hae-Joon call him father.
Joo-Won cannot stand it. She rushes to Hae-Joon. But her father carries her away. Hae-Joon eats the food Jung-Jae prepared for him. Joo-Won learns that the brother will live with her. She lies on the floor to express her protest. But nobody listens to her. Hae-Joon lies in the bed. He feels happy after he got a father.
San-Ha meets with Joo-Won outside. He informs her that he won’t go to her house. She goes against it when she follows him. Jung-Hee goes out. She agrees to let Joo-Won have San-Ha. She’s cold to leave San-Ha. San-Ha cries when Joo-Won feels happy for getting the older brother.
San-Ha studies at Joo-Won’s house. Joo-Won invites San-Ha to play sword with her. He ignores her. She plays with Hae-Joon then. The three kids eat snacks together outside. They grow up. They become a family and they have breakfast together. But Joo-Won minds the complicated family relationship.