Losing someone without saying goodbye leads to inconsolable pain.
At first, I thought that the statement above is the focus of the drama Hi Bye, Mama!, a Korean drama that recently aired on tvN and is now on Netflix. The protagonist, Cha Yu-ri (Kim Tae-hee), suddenly dies. She's not ready to leave, and the people around her aren't ready to let her go. Death is something no one is ever ready about.
Because of Yu-ri's death, she misses a lot of her life while remaining as a ghost for six years. At the same time, she witnesses the changes happening around her.
Her husband remarries, and her daughter grows up knowing a different mom. Her husband is traumatized by operating rooms, and her best friend can't stop thinking about her. Her parents and sister live a lifeless existence and continue to grieve. Yu-ri is unable to do anything about it.
For me, this part is frustrating, as she watches all of them crying and asking why it happened. None of them are ready to move on and accept her death, which adds to her determination to stay with them until they're alright.
Of course, ghosts aren't supposed to stay with us, they're bound to leave. But Yu-ri notices how her precious daughter starts seeing ghosts. This is why even when she's supposed to go, she curses the gods above. Before she knows it, she's human again! We don't know why, but the gods allow her to go back. This causes a lot of commotion and unexpected twists and turns each episode. Because of this, I never guessed how it will end.
Throughout the series, I realized that it isn't just about the sudden death of a mother, it's also about the regrets that people have when they die. Some ghosts who hang out with Yu-ri regret ending their lives. They regret not saying their goodbyes, one last "I love you" or "I'm sorry." Some regret not living in the present because they're too excited for tomorrow.
It's also about how our mothers can love us without question. They can sacrifice everything for us, even their lives. This made me treasure my parents even more, and it actually made me ask God to let them stay beside me until I die.
Lastly, I also realized that to be truly happy, we must live each day like it's our last and treasure the people around us, so we won't have regrets in the end. We must live our lives answering the following questions:
Am I making the people around me happy?
Am I happy living this life?
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