The girl Ae-Sun is homeless in When Life Gives You Tangerines Episode 1. She visits her first love Gwan-Sik. She plans to marry him and live in his house. She asks the guy to go to persuade his grandma. We are surprised that the guy is heartless. He takes away all valuable jewelry from home. He elopes with her.
Episodes 1-2
Many years ago, a girl Ae-Sun who wears purple clothes is anxious to urge her mother Gwang-Rye to come ashore on the glistening sea. The greedy mother comes ashore after she got the abalone. She’s going to sell the fish to the Fishmonger’s son. The sea woman persuades Gwang-Rye to share the fish with the sick sea woman who cannot go to sea.
But Gwang-Rye doesn’t want to pity someone else to make her child hungry. She takes Ae-Sun home and she’s angry to question her daughter why she came to her house. She married the new husband after her ex-husband passed away. She cannot take care of Ae-Sun. She asks Ae-Sun to go to visit her grandma if she needs help. Ae-Sun is very sad. She wants to have meal at her mother’s house.
Her grandma disliked her because she’s like her mother. Her uncle didn’t give her the yellow fish. She wants to live with her mother. Gwang-Rye scolds Ae-Sun. She asks her to go to ask for food on her own. She’s heartless to drive her daughter away. She sees the cigarettes Ae-Sun hid. She holds her breath for a living as a sea woman. She asks for death if she smokes.
Gwang-Rye sighs. Her husband Byeong-Cheol persuades her to keep Ae-Sun. She knows her vampire husband wishes Ae-Sun to come to the house taking care of her brothers and her sisters. But Ae-Sun can complete her education at least if she stays at her grandma’s house.
Gwang-Rye reads the poetry Ae-Sun left. Ae-Sun got the second place because of the poetry. She complained about her mother in the poem that her mother knows to fish for abalone. She worried that her mother will be dead in the sea. Her mother can earn 100 won if she fishes for one abalone. She wished to earn 100 won for buying her mother one day. So her mother won’t work hard too much.
Gwang-Rye cries after she read the poetry. Ae-Sun doesn’t expect that her mother would read her poetry. She’s busy in preparing dinner for her grandma Chun-Ok and her family. She sees the fishmonger’s son Gwan-Sik bringing six yellow fish. He claims that he wants to give one fish to Chun-Ok.
Gwan-Sik has feelings for Ae-Sun. He knows her uncle hasn’t let her eat fish. So he gave one more fish to Ae-Sun. The uncle just takes over the yellow fish. Gwang-Rye is angry to carry the yellow fish. She leaves the fish on the table and she blames Chun-Ok and her family for bullying her daughter. She kicks away the dishes Ae-Sun is washing. She takes her to leave the family.
Gwang-Rye takes Ae-Sun to the beach. She wipes the corner of her mouth. She tells her daughter that she wanted to spend the whole day to accompany her. She wishes her to grow up so that she can give her 100 won each day and she doesn’t have to go to the sea. Gwang-Rye takes Ae-Sun home. She looks at her sleeping daughter. She feels relieved. Everyone relies on her and they suck her blood. Only the poor child would feel sorry for her.
Ae-Sun lives with her mother. One day, she returns home and she cries. She complains it to her mother that she’s only the vice-president even if she got the most votes. The president position was gotten by a boy whose family has power and money. Gwang-Rye looks at the way her daughter cries. She feels sorry for her.
She’s in the hot sun and she helps Ae-Sun’s pregnant aunt Yi-Sook hoe. She does it for borrowing the pearl necklace from her. Gwang-Rye gets the pearl necklace. She dresses up and she comes to the school to see her daughter’s homeroom teacher. She brings a box of rice cakes to the guy. She hints at him that the rice cakes are very special. She leaves. He takes a look at the cash in the box. He’s happy with it.
Gwang-Rye and Ae-Sun are on the way home. Ae-Sun worries that she will bring a burden to her mother. She comforts her mother that it’s fine even if she’s only the vice-president. Gwang-Rye encourages her daughter. She tells her to enjoy the life. She takes out the cigarettes she hid in the evening. She throws it into the fire. Because her daughter told her that she will buy her pearl necklace once she grows up. She wished her to live to see it.
But Gwang-Rye is sick. The sea women persuade her not to go to dive. They promise not to let her starve. But Gwang-Rye is stubborn. She doesn’t want to die of begging. She wants to leave more money for Ae-Sun. Ae-Sun is furious to bun her mother’s diving suit. She cries to run away from home. She goes to the beach and she throws the rock at the sea. She scolds him and she asks him to forgive her mother. Her mother has worked all her life. She’s going to leave the world before she lives the good life. Gwan-Sik is silent to approach Ae-Sun. He hands over the roast chicken to her. He tells her that crying will make her hungry. So she eats the roast chicken when she cries. She claims that she won’t marry him.
Gwang-Rye knows she’s going to die. She wakes Ae-Sun up. She prepares grilled abalone for her. She knows she cannot see her daughter getting married. She dyes balsam nail for her. She tells her to go to her grandma’s family after she dies. She thinks she will be the maid of her stepfather if she stays there. She asks her to let her uncle replace her to marry her off. She will cry if she knows there’s no elder marrying her daughter off.
Gwang-Rye passes away after Ae-Sun fell asleep. Ae-Sun is sad at her mother’s funeral. Gwan-Sik brings a bowl of meat soup to his lover. She cries when she sees him. She reveals she begins to miss her mother after she just lost her mother in the morning.
Ae-Sun intends to leave her stepfather’s family. But he asks her to take care of her brothers and her sisters because he needs to go fishing. He promises to let her go after the tuna fish season. She has to promise it. She clears the land in Gwan-Sik’s help when she takes care of the children.
The stepfather Byeong-Cheol has more reasons. Ae-Sun has stayed there. As the color of the flower fades on the nail, the living people continue the tough life. Gwan-Sik brings fish to Ae-Sun frequently. He intends to give her a balsam hairpin.
Ae-Sun doesn’t want to take care of her siblings anymore. Her stepfather Byeong-Cheol comforts her that he will earn money and send her to college. She can study the literature she loves most. After all, her grandma won’t let her go to college. She agrees to it.
Ae-Sun goes to the market to sell vegetables except going to the school. Her vegetable stall is placed in front of Gwan-Sik’s fish stall. She holds the book to read each day. He helps her sell vegetables. He takes her to the market and he carries the chair for her.
The sea women smile when they look at the two. They think Ae-Sun’s mother doesn’t have any regret after she passed away. After all, Gwan-Sik takes care of Ae-Sun. Gwan-Sik’s mother Gye-Ok complains that she gave birth to a silly son. She won’t interfere with the two.
But Gwan-Sik’s grandma Mak-Cheon cannot stand it. She flips Ae-Sun’s stall and she tries to chase the girl. Gwan-Sik stops his grandma. His grandma leaves. He finds Ae-Sun and he helps her change her shoes. He follows her silently. He listens to her complaint. She swears that she won’t marry him. Because he’s a fool who knows nothing about nostalgic poem. She wants to marry to Seoul.
Gwan-Sik is nervous to pinch the corner of his clothes. He asks Ae-Sun to put her hand into his pocket. The two go to the canola field. She sees the mackerel he carries. She laughs at herself that she doesn’t need his alms and pity. He turns his head stubbornly. He yells at her that he has been her follower over ten years not for pitying her. She asks him about the reason. He holds her hand and he kisses her. He wants to live with her. She’s shy to lower her head. She has actually waited for the moment since she was fourteen years old. The two kiss passionately.
Although Ae-Sun agrees to be Gwan-Sik’s girlfriend, she still doesn’t want to marry him. She’s very happy after she was in love. She returns home and she finds out that her sister is missing. She walks into the house to look for her sister. But she sees Byeong-Cheol and his new girlfriend Min-Ok.
Min-Ok doesn’t want to take care of Ae-Sun. She wants to drive the girl out of the family. Ae-Sun doesn’t want to live in the family as well. She asks Byeong-Cheol for the university fees. He promised her to prepare the university fees. Min-Ok reveals the man is broke. Ae-Sun can only rely on herself. She visits her uncle and she asks him to keep her. But he wishes her to give up her studies and go to the factory in Busan. The factory provides food and house. She can get salary. Her uncle asks her to send half her salary home. She doesn’t want to do it. She remembers her mother told her to live for herself. She decides not to be sucked blood by the family of her grandma.
Ae-Sun doesn’t have any place to stay. So she finds Gwan-Sik. She cries to ask him if there’s any empty room in the house. She asks him if he can persuade his grandma. She doesn’t have any family and she only has Gwan-Sik. She breaks down and she cries after knowing she can only marry an islander. The silly Gwan-Sik is loud to recite the nostalgic poem. It’s the poem Ae-Sun loves most. She’s furious to scold him. She thinks she has a hard life and she needs to live with a silly boy like him. He hugs her tightly.
Gwan-Sik doesn’t dare to go to see his grandma. He steals the jewelry from the family and he wants to elope with Ae-Sun. She takes away Min-Ok’s jewelry as well. She wears the lady’s dress and she gathers with Gwan-Sik. She tells him that there’s no turning back once they elope. They have to hang in there together till in end. He doesn’t fear it at all. He’s excited to kiss his girl. He takes her to get on the ship to Busan.
The sailor wants to check the two’s IDs. But they don’t have any ID because they ran away from home. Gwan-Sik shudders and he tries to take out a ring to bribe the sailor. But Ae-Sun stops him. She tells the sailor that they’re not kids.
They reach Busan and they go to the jewelry store to pawn the jewelry they stole. Gwan-Sik confesses it to the jewelry store owner that they ran away from home. She refuses to accept the jewelry because she doesn’t know where the jewelry came from.
Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik are broke. They go to a motel. They want to mortgage a room with the ring. The motel owner is a good person. She mistakes the two for the honeymoon couples. She lets them live first and she prepares the noodles for them. She’s warm to persuade them to drink the wine and have a burning night. She laughs and she leaves.
The next day, Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik wake up. They find out that their luggage is missing. They’re anxious to ask the motel owner if he sees their luggage. But the motel owner claims that the two came to the place without carrying anything. She asks her husband to call police for catching the two who want to live for free.
Ae-Sun realizes that the motel owner was interested in their jewelry. So she set up them. But the motel owner doesn’t admit it. She threatens to call police if they don’t leave. After all, the two don’t have any ID. Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik are disheveled to sit on the street. She cries and she decides to take on the motel owner. She wants to take back their luggage.
There’s a female motel customer coming to live. The motel owner plans to use same way to get her drunk. Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik sneak into the customer’s room after the motel owner left. They stop her from drinking and they persuade her not to turn off the light.
The motel owner waits it for a long time. But the female customer doesn’t sleep. She has to turn off the light and she sleeps. Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik sneak into the room after the motel owner and her husband fell asleep. Gwan-Sik goes to steal the money box. Ae-Sun looks for the luggage and her mother’s photo. She finds out that her hairpin is on the little girl’s head. She tries to take it off. But she wakes the little girl up.
Ae-Sun is caught by the motel owner. Gwan-Sik throws away the money box and he rushes to the motel owner. Ae-Sun gives the motel owner a headbutt at the same time.