Original subtitles

[This program is suitable for viewers ages 15 and up.]

[Call Me Mother]

Um...

is this your daughter's bag?

Is she Kim Hye Na from Class 1-3?

[Cafe Latte]

[One month before Hye Na's disappearance]

[The lab will close as of January 2018, so please take note of the following...]

How can you manage to be looking at this right now?

This is the critical time

in which all of the data from the past year can be collected.

Everyone else is packing their things.

When do we have until?

The end of this month, at most.

I'm planning to wrap things up here by the time the kids have vacation

and move over to the Pacific Seasonal Migration Project.

Have you seen this?

A GPS tracker?

It sends the GPS coordinates once every four hours

and you can check it on an app.

And it's accurate within a 40 meter radius.

That's crazy.

By the way, what are you going to do?

I recovered 9 of the 120 rings.

I'm planning to pack my things when I collect 20.

How will you manage when we stop getting paid?

I'll have to do anything I can by using what I've studied.

[How do birds fly?]

How do birds fly?

I'm going to draw the shape of a bird's wing.

If you were to cut a bird's wing

the cross-section would look like this.

Teacher!

What's a cross-section?

- Cross-section? - What's a cross-section?

A cross-section is...

I thought you were going to use me as only a science teacher.

Yes, that was originally our plan.

But the teacher of Class 3 said that she's quitting immediately.

She got pregnant with twins, and I think her babies will be born soon.

And the kids will have their vacation soon

so it'll be hard to hire a new teacher.

So please be that class's homeroom teacher for just three weeks, Ms. Kang.

And please help her out a little, Ms. Song.

Don't worry about planning lessons.

I've written all of them

so all you need to do is go to the classroom and follow them.

Oh Cheol died yesterday morning.

Who died?

Oh Cheol. It was a duck that the kids in Class 3 were raising.

I'm sure that the kids will be quite sad.

Ah, have the kids write a letter to Oh Cheol during fifth period.

[Lesson Plan]

Write a letter to a dead duck?

As you know, children also feel pain from loss.

So we have to give them a chance to express that.

[A Letter to Oh Cheol in Heaven]

Hye Na.

Are you not going to write one?

Dead things can't read letters, Teacher.

To be honest, there's no such thing as Heaven, either.

I feel so sorry for Oh Cheol!

Teacher.

Ducks can't read, anyway.

- Yeah, you're right! - Yeah, you're right!

Hi, Duck. You can't poop anymore since you're dead, huh?

Be quiet, kids!

When you're dead, you can't breathe

and you can't eat.

That's right.

And you don't poop, either.

So I'm sure he can't read a letter, either.

But Oh Cheol is a duck that you guys were raising since he was young.

So to have a duck like that die...

would probably make you all sad.

And I'm sure you miss him, too.

Write stuff like that in your letters.

So if you write a letter like that

you will feel a bit less sadness and pain than before.

You don't have to write a letter if you don't want to.

Since Oh Cheol can't read your letter anyway.

Goodbye!

- Ah! - Oh, oh!

Goodbye, Teacher!

You're so pretty, Teacher!

I love you!

- We love you! - We love you!

What is this?

The secret behind Oh Cheol's death.

Joo Hyuk Tan and Jang Min Sung heard that

ducks die if they eat chocolate and cooking flour

so they fed the duck chocolate and flour every day.

It's only three weeks, so do your best.

Looks like you'll end up learning a lot about young primates.

I applied to programs in China, Iceland, and Canada.

The Skomer Center in Iceland is quite interested in researching murres.

How many rings did you retrieve?

12.

So you have eight left, then.

Leaving quickly, and coming back quickly.

You're just like a migratory bird.

I'm thinking about not coming back this time.

Don't you have any interest

in participating in society, like other people?

Don't you want to stay in one place, find a mate, and maybe have kids?

10 percent of all groups of animals are loners, you know.

What did they say?

Look for Soo Jin.

Is it... cancer?

Go find Soo Jin.

It's been over 10 years since we were last in touch with her

so how could I suddenly go and find her now?

First, tell me what they said--

I want my daughter, Soo Jin, to be the first person I tell.

"The elephant and crocodile tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen."

"Then, the lion said, 'Let's all share a little.'"

"'I think the giraffe is acting that way because it's hungry'"

"'and I think the monkey got mad because it was woken up from its sleep.'"

"The elephant saw the giraffe and monkey make amends, and said"

"'Wow, Lion! You really are amazing!'"

[Normal Garbage]

Who did this?

Teacher.

I don't want to eat next to Hye Na.

Why?

Her nails are so dirty.

Do you know what my job is?

A... bird researcher?

I know a ton about birds.

But you know, the way that Oh Cheol died this time was quite suspicious.

Ducks really don't die that easily, you see.

But when I started observing Oh Cheol

I noticed that he suddenly started eating a lot less, and vomited strange things.

Maybe...

someone fed him something that he shouldn't have been fed?

For example, chocolate... or cooking flour.

It wasn't cooking flour.

It was candy sugar.

There is a way for me to check.

I can go get Oh Cheol's carcass

and open up his stomach with a knife

and check what's inside.

And I can use the CCTV camera footage

to find out who fed Oh Cheol what kinds of things, too.

Should I do it, or not?

Don't!

Don't, Ms. Kang.

Can you promise me one thing?

Don't ever...

harass animals, girls, or anyone weaker than you ever again.

- Yes, Ms. Kang. - Yes, Ms. Kang.

"Napoli."

"Pizza."

"It is..."

"comparable to a pizza"

"made by..."

"a pizza-making master from Italy."

There are two consonants at the end of this syllable cluster.

It's difficult, isn't it?

There aren't a lot of kids in my class who know how to read all the words

with two consonants at the end of a syllable cluster.

Were you surprised, Ms. Kang?

Why are you walking around alone at this time of night?

I've always walked around alone, ever since I was five years old.

What about your mom?

She's not home yet.

Would you like a bite?

I don't eat red bean buns.

It tastes good, though.

Want me to give you a bite?

It really does taste like an Italian pizza-making master made it!

You know what I'm talking about, right? Napoli pizza!

You smiled.

It's the first time I've ever seen you smile, Ms. Kang.

What's that?

A notebook filled with my favorite things.

If I write down the things that I like, like this

I won't forget them, and I can take it out to read them when I need to.

Um... kind of like a refrigerator.

And what do you have written in there?

A curving, sloped road.

Big bags with wheels on them.

When balloons get bigger and bigger.

A key, and a lock.

[Cafe Latte]

Cafe lattes.

What?

Cafe lattes. I really like them.

Young children shouldn't drink coffee.

I'm fine, though.

If young kids drink coffee

they won't be able to sleep well.

And it's not good for their brains.

You won't get taller, either.

Really?

What kinds of things do you like, Ms. Kang?

Eating a meal...

quietly, by myself.

Kim Hye Na.

Listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you.

Cut your nails once a week.

And wash your hair at least once every three days.

Be sure to wipe your mouth after you eat anything.

Change your socks and underwear once a day.

And if you don't have a lot of clothes, alternate outfits.

A dirty child will be attacked.

Because it's a sign that there's nobody taking care of them.

So you might as well have a sign on you that says you're easy prey.

What do you think you need to do if nobody is looking after you?

You have to take care of yourself.

Many children do this.

So I'm sure that you will be able to do this, too.

Did you know how to cut your nails when you were eight years old, too?

You evil wench!

You were so wicked to your mother

so how dare you covet someone else's child? Huh?

You deserve to live alone forever without ever having your own kids.

She's my teacher, Granny.

And I really like her.

- Hey! - Stop it, that hurts!

Where's Hye Na?

She's sleeping in the bathroom!

Hey, it's not like the bathroom is the classroom!

[Nurse's Office]

The nurse says that she thinks she's malnourished.

And...

she has scars all over her body.

I worry a lot for children who are raised by single parents as is...

but she's such a strange child.

She doesn't cry no matter what happens to her.

Didn't you notice anything off about her?

Hye Na.

Did Ms. Ye Eun leave?

Yeah.

That teacher is weird.

Why?

I told her that I tripped down the stairs

and she took a photo of me.

Where? Which part of you did she take a photo of--

Do you...

enjoy seeing other people's scars, too?

I tripped down the stairs, too.

Did it hurt?

Did it hurt?

Did you cry?

A little.

I didn't cry.

At times like that, you should think of something you like.

Then you might stop crying even when you're crying.

I see.

But you know, Ms. Ye Eun really is weird.

She keeps asking me if I like my mom.

So, what did you say?

I told her that I like her quite a lot, of course.

I see.

Are you relieved?

What did I tell you last time about what I do to noisy kids?

But, Uncle.

We... live on the first floor.

Is anyone home?

Are you home, Hye Na?

Oh, Hye Na!

Hello.

I'm Song Ye Eun, a teacher from Hye Na's school.

Hye Na didn't come to school today, so...

I called the school and told them that she has a cold.

Um, but...

Hye Na, what happened to your ear?

Oh, I'm sorry. Did it hurt?

Um, let me see, Hye Na.

Show her, Hye Na.

And tell her how you got hurt.

I got hit by a baseball.

On the street, right here.

Oh, you poor thing!

They said that she almost burst her eardrum.

I don't know why they were

playing baseball on the street instead of at a field.

Um...

Hye Na has other injuries all over her body, too.

I know.

Did you...

come here to ask if I was the one who did it, by any chance?

Ms. Song.

I just keep tripping a lot.

The doctor said some kids trip a lot because they have bad hearing.

Right, Mom?

I heard that there is a man who is living with you two--

Ms. Song.

I make a living on my own, and raise my kid alone.

I leave for work at 10 a.m. and come home at 8 p.m.

so what am I supposed to do with my child?

Should I put a lock on the door and lock her inside?

Also, do I need to tell you two if I'm seeing a man or not...

just because you two are my child's teachers?

- Ow! - Oh!

Hye Na! Are you all right?

Oh no, you're bleeding!

Oh gosh, oh no! Are you okay?

Huh?

You saw that, right? She was acting.

They say that a child who is being abused

protects their parent, no matter what.

Goodness.

And what did the child say?

She said that she tripped on the stairs.

That makes no sense. You can't get injuries like these from tripping!

I believe that she's lying. 100 percent.

And her mother is saying the same thing, as well.

I'm sure that she told her to say that.

First, we'll have to put in a request for some assistance

and pay them a visit at home.

We'll get an idea of the situation then, and--

What about after that?

To be honest, even if a child has injuries like these

if both the parent and child insist that she tripped or bumped into something

we can't do anything.

So, our job is to visit them at home to see if the child is safe there.

And when necessary, we'll work alongside the police

and give them a stern warning.

We'll keep an eye on them for three to six months or so

by paying them a visit at home once a month, or something like that.

Shouldn't we get that child out of that home immediately?

She doesn't only live with her mom! There's a man who lives with them, too!

Do you think her eardrum almost burst because she was beaten by her mother?

In Korea, parental authority is considered to be quite important.

According to the law, we can't just ignore the parent's authority

and forcibly investigate the home.

And it's even more impossible to just forcibly remove a child from her home.

Hello?

Is anyone home?

This is the police!

Is anyone home?

What brings you here?

Is this the home of Student Kim Hye Na?

Yes, so?

We received a report

so we will be confirming if your child is faring well here.

May we come in?

Wait.

Um, sure.

Kim Hye Na!

Are you Hye Na?

How did you injure your ear?

I got hit by a ball.

A baseball.

Why? Were you playing baseball?

I got hit by one on the street.

While I was walking by.

You're a good girl, aren't you?

You can't lie to a police officer.

We'll check all of the CCTV cameras.

What are you doing right now?

Are you threatening my child?

Well, we're here because we received a report.

So we need to check everything thoroughly.

Hey, Jjing.

Let's eat, Jjing.

You were hungry, weren't you?

I'll feed you, so let's eat.

I'm really sorry, Honey.

I'm sorry that I'm a woman who has a daughter.

And I'm so thankful that you're so understanding, but...

But please, let me ask you one favor.

Leave her alone. Please?

Things will be really difficult for me if people keep showing up like this.

If you really can't stand the kid

should I send her off to an orphanage or something, instead?

I'll give birth to your kid instead.

- Okay? - Damn it!

Don't go, Honey.

What am I supposed to do if you just leave like this?

Mom.

I'm sorry.

Go away.

I said, go away!

Go somewhere I can't see you!

Sweet potatoes...

are delicious.

Delicious things...

are...

I heard that the child is quite obedient to her mother.

It's because her mother is the only person she can trust

so the child has no choice but to cling on to her.

I've heard back from the police

and I've requested help from Child Protective Services as well

but we have to treat this matter with the utmost seriousness.

A child, her family, and our school's honor are all on the line here.

Outsiders can't really get involved too much in other families' matters.

At any rate, I've already visited the principal, too.

I don't like this school or the cops.

If they all sit and do nothing, aren't they all just enabling domestic violence?

Right?

In my opinion...

I think we should listen a bit more to what Hye Na has to say.

Hye Na is being manipulated by her mother right now!

She said she tripped on the stairs and got hit by a baseball!

And you want us to keep listening to this sort of nonsense?

I think that Hye Na is saying that

she's afraid to betray her mother, who is her only blood relative.

She's scared to say that she got hit and was abused.

She's embarrassed to tell other people about it.

And she's scared to be sent to a facility full of strangers.

I think those are the kinds of things that she's saying to us.

How long do you want us to just sit and watch her get hit, then?

Rather than referring to is as "sitting and watching--"

You're talking about this as if it's someone else's problem.

You don't want to become a teacher, do you?

Becoming a teacher means that

you have to take on responsibilities that may be difficult or troublesome!

Do you honestly think that I want to be doing this?

My wedding is next week!

I don't have time to be going all over the place.

I'll be going now.

She keeps asking me if I like my mom.

So, what did you say?

I told her that I like her a lot.

- Of course. - Are you okay?

Huh?

Are you relieved?

She finished her master's at the University of Wisconsin in 2008.

And in 2014, she was working on her Ph.D

at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand

and moved elsewhere three years ago.

Her advisor from the university in New Zealand changed

so they said that they don't know for sure where she went.

They did say that they'd look into it for us, but--

Jae Beom.

Yes, Ma'am?

I want you to go.

Where?

Do you really think they'll try that hard for us

when they couldn't truly know just how much of a rush we're in?

So, I want you to go to New Zealand.

But, Ma'am!

You have events on your schedule here and you're not in the best of health.

So how could I leave you?

And I can't speak English, either.

Give us a moment.

Jae Beom.

Yes, Ma'am?

I'm not just asking you to search for Soo Jin on a whim.

For the past 10 years

it was so hard for me to let her roam free, doing as she wished.

But I can't allow her to do that anymore in my current state.

Find her for me.

I'm begging you.

Mom!

Ah, you're here, Yi Jin?

What's going on that you're looking for Big Sis?

I'll tell you later.

She hasn't contacted us once in the past 10 years.

And yet, there's something you can't tell me about

but want to talk to her about?

She's still your big sister, whether she kept in touch or not.

Just wait until we find her.

Found you.

Eat this.

Eat this.

Eat it quickly.

How disgusting.

So, when do they want you to come?

As soon as possible.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

I used to buy you tons of food because I thought you were from a poor family.

I am.

But your mom came looking for you in your first year.

Mom!

Mom!

There are a lot of cases in which the mom is rich, but the daughter is poor.

Feed yourself well there, and don't be lonely.

All right.

I don't get lonely, though.

Are you really not lonely at all, even in the slightest?

Haven't you ever liked someone and wanted to be with them

or gotten mad because you cared for someone?

You've never felt like that?

I'm home.

What's this?

We were playing hide and seek.

But I couldn't get out of here.

Honey!

I really find these sorts of pranks to be quite scary!

What if someone came here and saw this?

Go outside and play.

[Yoon Bok's Restaurant]

"We do delivery."

"Yoon Bok's Restaurant."

"Curry and rice."

"Omurice."

"Donkatsu."

I love donkatsu more than anything in this world.

"Spicy rice cakes."

"Spicy rice cakes with ramen noodles."

I'm memorizing how to pronounce the names of foods well, at least.

Kim Hye Na!

Ms. Kang!

Young children shouldn't be out at this hour!

This caller cannot be reached. You will be transferred to voicemail.

Your mom keeps on not picking up her phone.

Is it okay if I feed this to Jjing, Ms. Kang?

Jjing is hungry.

Yeah, sure.

There's some left over...

so should I eat this?

Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do!

I'm not really good at reading books.

Why not?

Because I can't read quickly.

Really?

I had no idea.

[Yoon Bok's Restaurant]

So I practice every day.

My mom is really good at cooking, too.

Really?

What's she good at making?

Um, curry and rice?

Omurice.

Donkatsu.

Sounds yummy, right?

And...

spicy rice cakes...

and spicy rice cakes with ramen noodles.

You must be so happy...

that your mom is good at cooking, Hye Na.

Yes! And my mom is really pretty, too!

Really?

She's really good at putting on makeup

and she works at a cosmetics store.

So she smells nice.

But...

why don't you ever put on any makeup, Ms. Kang?

My mom is really pretty, too.

And she's really good at putting on makeup, too.

When I was young and watched my mom put on makeup, I thought to myself...

that there was no way that I could do it.

And that I should just give up altogether.

You didn't want to become like your mom, Ms. Kang?

Yeah.

Did you...

not like your mom, Ms. Kang?

Then, who do you like, Ms. Kang?

I like birds.

"The birds... started..."

"flying toward Egypt..."

"and they are now already in Egypt."

Migratory birds fly across oceans...

on journeys that are sometimes tens of thousands of kilometers long.

And yet, they never lose their way.

Rain or snow, day or night...

they fly over chilly oceans...

without any maps or landmarks to follow as reference.

But they always reach their destination, no matter what.

Wow!

Because they have maps and directions, all in their heads.

What do you think it feels like to fly such long distances?

Want to go see them?

The migratory birds, I mean.

When?

It's too cold right now.

So if we get some sleep and bring a blanket and some warm food...

But then, my mom...

My mom might worry, don't you think?

Yes?

Yes.

Yes.

Your mom said that she's home now.

Let's get you dressed.

All right.

Thank you.

- Get home safely. - Ms. Kang.

I really want to go later.

To see the migratory birds, I mean.

Let's go.

Did it hurt?

Did you cry?

I've never asked you for a favor before, right, Senior?

Did something happen?

[Baek Island Elementary School, Class 1-3]

I'll give you a call later, so can you check to see if she's safe for me?

What do I need to check on, exactly?

If she's attending school and is getting home safely.

I don't know. I feel like something will happen.

Is she a student in your class?

- Yes. - So, why?

I'm worried.

I'm so worried that I feel like I'll get angry!

I saw the man who lives with her and her mother.

It was the first time that I'd ever seen him, but...

he had a look in his eyes that I am familiar with.

The look of a beast who breaks women and children.

Well, at any rate, congratulations.

A person needs to chase her dreams.

I'm sure I'll find another teacher somehow.

Don't worry too much.

Thank you for everything up until now.

Sure. Go on, now.

I knew this would happen.

You've been given an opportunity to pursue your passion, right?

I'm sure things were quite tough on you because of me, Ms. Ye Eun.

So... you research birds?

- Yes. - It suits you.

And your cold, callous image.

Hye Na!

Kim Hye Na!

I thought that I would be going to see the migratory birds with you, Ms. Kang.

Jjing!

Jjing!

Mom.

Where's Jjing?

Jjing went to Heaven.

That's better for her than living locked up in there.

But, Mom.

Heaven...

doesn't exist.

I'm not the one who did it!

A curving, sloped road.

Big bags with wheels on them.

Were you crying?

You didn't cry, right?

If you cry, you die.

The sound of Jjing eating sunflower seeds.

If that tear falls, you're dead.

If you make even the smallest sound...

you're dead. Got that?

The sound of waves crashing.

The smell of the wind before it rains.

What did I tell you last time about what I do to noisy kids?

When my eyes meet a cat's gaze.

But, Uncle.

We live on the first floor.

Falling from the first floor...

won't kill me.

When balloons get bigger and bigger.

Want me to tell you what I did to Jjing?

I pressed down on her really hard, like this.

Really, really hard.

The road that leads to the ocean.

And then, do you know what happened to her?

Her eyes swelled up like a shrimp's eyes...

and they popped right out of her head.

There was this liquid, the color of blood.

And there was also this sticky thing mixed in there, like saliva.

All right?

The sun reflecting on the ocean.

All right?

You're disgusting, all right?

You're disgusting.

Mom!

Mom.

When my mom hugs me tight.

How disgusting!

How disgusting!

[Cafe Latte]

Cafe Latte.

What time is the movie?

I want to have a nice, sweet cup of coffee.

I need to get myself together, too.

Cafe latte.

The first day that Ms. Kang Soo Jin smiled.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Would you like some water, Hye Na?

Is there anything you want to eat?

Would you like...

a cafe latte?

I want to go see...

the migratory birds, Ms. Kang.

I'll tell you a secret.

His name was...

Lee Hwan.

When Uncle was living with him and Mom...

he was being too noisy...

so Uncle threw him off the balcony.

But that apartment was on the fourth floor.

You don't have to tell me.

Don't tell me if it's scary for you to remember.

At the time, he was five years old...

and died, so he can't become an elementary schooler anymore.

He attended Long Legs Kindergarten, and was in the Ongdalsaem Class...

so I wrote his name in my notebook.

Even if all of his classmates and teachers forget his name...

I will never forget it.

Because the only person who knows how he really died...

is me.

Uncle told me that he'd kill me...

if I told someone else.

Hey, you guys! Where are you all going?

Can't you take me with you?

Take me away with you!

Far away!

Far, far away!

To Heaven!

Hye Na.

Listen to me carefully.

I will take you away.

To a place several thousand kilometers away

where nobody will find you.

Won't you go to jail if you do that, Ms. Kang?

I could.

No, Ms. Kang!

You don't have to leave with me.

If you leave, you'll never be able to come back.

And you'll never be able to see your mom again, either.

But if you go back home...

you may end up like Lee Hwan from Ongdalsaem Class one day, too.

Why is it that a child can't survive without a mother?

They can.

And I'll help you so that you can.

My mom threw me away in the trash bin!

And now...

you will be the one throwing your mom away.

Will you be able to do it?

[Call Me Mother]

Subtitles by DramaFever

Let's walk on bravely, as if we're completely fine.

I'm not scared, Mom.

I feel like my head will explode

because I feel like she died because of me!

This wasn't an accident. It was murder.

You would've left already if it hadn't been for me.

Hye Na!

Hye Na's face... is on television?

- Her mother must consent... - No.

- I can't live like that. - The child may have died already!

What if she's not dead?

I'm sure it'll be fine.

- Quite a lot. - We'll take it slow.

Because I'll find a way, no matter what.