[Prologue: A Scene of Ordinary Deprivation, and Stepping into the Golden Swamp]

1. The Child Who Grew Up Holding a Bottomless Pit (Past: An Unquenchable Thirst)

I first began to doubt the fact that I was 'ordinary' around the fourth grade of elementary school. My father was an accounting manager at a small company, and my mother was a cashier at a local mart. Both were diligent, there was always warm food at home, and new notebooks were placed on my desk every new semester. There was no obvious hole that could be called deprivation anywhere. Yet, every time I was invited to a friend's birthday party, every time I breathed in the subtly different air of their living room, I heard the sound of something constantly leaking from somewhere inside me. Why do the fruits on their table shine brighter than ours? Why can that kid's mom smile so relaxedly? I was too young to find the answer and too sensitive to ignore it. Passing through puberty, I accepted one fact. My family wasn't poor, but we weren't rich either. And that ambiguous middle ground—it eats away at a person more slowly than obvious deprivation. Growing to 175cm, I was always the tallest kid in class, and people talked about my looks and height first, but standing before the mirror, I was always plagued by the feeling that something was missing. A thirst for life that constantly leaked through invisible cracks and could never be quenched. That was the 'bottomless pit' I grew up with, and I didn't know then—that Cha Wonseok would eventually stick his hand right into that crack.

2. Five Rejections and the Temptation of the Golden Swamp (Past: The Gold-Leaf Business Card Received on a Bench)

"We'll get back to you later." That cliché rejection from the interviewer rang in my ears. It was already my fifth failure. I slumped onto a nearby park bench with heavy steps. The iced coffee in my hand was bland as the ice had all melted, and the cigarette smoke in my mouth scattered like a sigh. The flashy 'Officetel Promotion Center' in front of me was exceptionally dazzling. The employees behind the glass walls all wore Italian custom suits, flashing luxury watches on their wrists and bags with clear logos on their shoulders. "Ha... when will I ever get to wear something like that?" A hot sense of defeat rose from the bottom of my chest. They and I were likely in the same 20s, but the temperature of the world was this different. Right then, a black Porsche Panamera glided to a stop on the road in front of the center. It was an exquisite silhouette that reminded me of a 'successful young businessman'—not too extravagant, yet not ordinary. As the car door opened and a tall man stepped out, the employees all bowed 90 degrees in unison. "Team Leader, you've arrived!" I exhaled a long puff of smoke and watched the scene blankly. "Nice car. When will I ever ride in something like that..." Just as I swallowed my monologue, he suddenly turned his head as if he had caught a scent while heading into the center. Our gazes met in mid-air. I tried to look away in embarrassment, but he was already approaching with smooth, long strides. Even the stale smell of cigarettes near the bench was covered by the expensive woody scent he wore. "Judging by your expression, you must have just tasted bitterness somewhere again." He smirked after scanning my disheveled hair and the worn-out resume envelope in my hand. It was a fishy, yet strangely enchanting smile. "Did the interview go well? Well, I can tell without asking. Instead of wasting time there, why not try working with us? In this sales job, even if you only close one or two deals a year, you take home more than the annual salary of most big corporation employees." He pulled a gold-leaf business card from his coat's inner pocket and held it out. [Sales Division 1 Team Leader, Cha Wonseok.] "Ah, no. I don't know anything about real estate or that kind of thing..." As I waved my hands and stepped back, he raised an eyebrow and cut me off smoothly. "Don't worry. We have our own training program all set up, so you can just come and learn. We don't look at academic background. This is a place where anyone who is diligent can make money. Come by for an interview sometime." He disappeared into the promotion center without waiting for an answer. As he stepped through the glass doors, the employees bowed once more. I rubbed the heavy texture of the business card left in my hand with my thumb. It was a sweet temptation.

3. The First Month, the Most Expensive Signature and Sweet Illusions (Past: A Time Walking on Clouds)

Three days later, I was sitting in a flashy VIP consultation room deep inside the second floor of the promotion center. The interview was surprisingly formal. Cha Wonseok didn't even look at my resume and immediately pushed a stack of crisp papers toward me. "We aren't a place that ties you down as a salaryman like a regular office worker. Seoyun, from today, you are becoming an 'independent partner' of our company. It's a structure where you earn an unlimited amount based on how much you work." [Commissioned Contract and Sales Partnership Agreement.] The fact that it wasn't an employment contract bothered me, but my reason was easily paralyzed by the sight of other team members laughing while twirling foreign car keys. "Since you don't know anything at first, the company supports everything. Providing a desk, top-tier external instructor training fees, and even online blog marketing costs to pull in client DBs. The company is 'pre-investing' all of this in you, Seoyun. Later, when you break through with a contract and get an incentive, you can pay it back slowly then. Everyone starts like that and ends up driving the Porsche out there, so don't feel pressured and sign here." The longing to escape this tedious poverty blinded me. Without even reading the clause written in tiny print on the back of the agreement—'In case of mid-term termination, 2x the subsidy will be charged as a penalty'—I carefully wrote my name in the signature blank. Baek Seoyun. I didn't know then—that the moment those three syllables were etched onto the paper in ink would be the most expensive signature of my life. For the first month after that day, I lived in a perfect illusion. The steps I took to work, wearing the most decent blouse pulled from the corner of my closet, felt like walking on clouds. When I wore the black 8cm stiletto heels I bought on credit card installments because Cha Wonseok said "sales positions are all about the shoes," my height became 183cm, and the world looked down upon from that height flowed with a slightly different texture than usual. "Oh, I joined a real estate consulting firm this time. It's a pretty big place. They say even a year of hard work here makes a 100 million won salary look easy. I'll give you a ride once I get a Benz!" The me of that time, bragging to college friends I hadn't contacted in a while, believed that the 'bottomless pit' I had carried all my life would finally be filled. I was overflowing with motivation. I was the first to arrive at 7 AM and made hundreds of calls until 10 PM, and on weekends, I handed out flyers in busy districts while wearing high heels. Even when profanities flew over the receiver and pedestrians threw flyers onto the ground, I didn't budge. Those people are just fools who missed a chance to make money. I am different. I will succeed. Drunk on that blind 'high,' I worked like a madwoman. Every time Cha Wonseok crossed the office and brushed my shoulder, saying "Seoyun, you're doing well," I believed it was a sign of recognition. The fact that it was the touch of a hunter checking the fatness of his bait—the me of the first month couldn't even imagine.

4. The Second Month, Sprouting Anxiety and Denial (Past: The Time the Shell of Illusion Peeled Away)

In the second month, the shell of illusion peeled away, and the chilly reality began to touch my skin. My performance was still '0 deals.' Am I incompetent? Sentences of self-reproach began to appear in my diary, which had been full of confidence. Is it because I can't talk? Because I lack sales skills? Or... just because I'm pathetic? While I constantly ate away at myself, the large electronic board in the center of the office choked me. Along with the team members' accumulated performance, the 'accumulated subsidy (debt)' was displayed in red letters in real-time. [Baek Seoyun - Monthly Training Fee: 500,000 won / Promotion Agency Fee: 1.2 million won / DB Provision Fee: 800,000 won / Accumulated Total: 5 million won.] This isn't an investment; it's my debt. I only then vaguely noticed the strangeness of the system, but I tried hard to deny it. I had to deny it to be able to go to work the next day. The seniors' flashing luxury watches were no longer motivation, but felt like a giant wall pressing down on me. Because of the pride I had displayed to my acquaintances in the first month, I couldn't even utter the words I'm quitting. To save on lunch money, I crouched on the building's emergency exit stairs and swallowed triangular kimbap while wiping away tears. Leaning my back against the cold, moldy wall, not even realizing my mascara was smearing. That evening, while wiping off the smeared makeup in front of the bathroom mirror, I faced myself in the reflection. A tall height of 175cm, porcelain skin, sharp fox-like features. A face that had everything others wanted to have was there. But why did that face look so miserable? Why couldn't I earn a single cent even with all of this? "Just one deal, if just one deal breaks through, this anxiety will end." That was a lingering attachment closer to a curse than a prayer. And that curse—the moment Cha Wonseok threw the number 16 million won in front of me inside the Team Leader's office with the blinds down in the third month—was scheduled to be fulfilled perfectly, in the most cruel way.

🖋️ [The Visual: Wild Beauty That Poverty Couldn't Hide]

Baek Seoyun (26 years old / Sales Partner (Commissioned))

1. 175cm Tall, a 9-Head-Tall Hourglass That Overwhelms with Proportions

Standing 175cm tall with 9-head-tall proportions, the hourglass figure resting on a narrow and thin frame stands out precariously. Compared to her thin bones, her chest is full, her waist is a handful, and her hips spread wide, revealing her lines with every step. Even without special care, her skin was born as flawless porcelain, reflecting light smoothly even under fluorescent lamps. Her skin, so pale that thin blue veins show through, works with her sharp fox-like features to capture people's gaze instantly.

2. Sharp Fox-like Features, the Eyes Every Interviewer Pointed Out

With long corners of the eyes slightly tilted up in a fox-like face, her deep and clear monolid eyes gaze as if cutting through a person. "Your impression is too strong," "For customer service, it's a bit..." —words she heard without fail in every one of her five interviews. Even when she is just standing normally, her face itself was a hurdle in social life. When she doesn't smile, she is cold, and once she smiles, a suffocating sensuality leaks out.

3. Waist-Length Straight Hair and a Small Graduation Suit

Dark brown straight hair falling to her waist, untrimmed for 4 years because she couldn't spare the 50,000 won for a salon. The ends are slightly split, but the sheer volume gives a heavy impression. She wears a single black suit her mother bought for her college entrance ceremony—over 4 years, her chest and hips grew larger, pulling at the buttons and making the skirt cling to her thighs. The only 'new' thing she owns is a pair of logoless black 8cm stiletto heels she bought because the Team Leader insisted "sales positions are all about shoes."

4. Neat but with Poverty Leaking Through the Exterior

She irons her interview suit by hand every night and keeps her hair neatly tied in a ponytail to maintain decorum. However, her bag contains only spare Daiso stockings, mart PB lip balm, a worn-out tube of mascara, and a nearly empty bottle of BB cream. With no decent perfume or cosmetics, her beauty is not 'decorated,' but the kind that 'leaks out even when hidden.' —That was the real reason she caught Cha Wonseok's eye.

🌑 [The Aura: A Person Who Hardens While Breaking]

1. A Sales Partner Fallen from Ordinary Job Seeker to Debtor

After graduating from a local university and failing five interviews, she received Cha Wonseok's business card on a bench in front of a flashy promotion center. Behind the plausible name of 'Independent Partner' lay a commissioned contract, 8 million won in accumulated debt, and a 16 million won penalty. She ruminates every night on where she went wrong.

2. Between Crumbling Pride and Persistent Attachment

The curse-like attachment that "everything will end if just one deal breaks through" ties her to that office. Thinking of herself in the first month, bragging to friends, is unbearably shameful, which makes her unable to quit even more. Her pride is both saving and killing her.

3. Essence is 'Recognition Desire,' Not 'Goodness'

What she truly wanted was not money, but the desire to 'belong among them.' Cha Wonseok pinpointed the gap in that desire exactly, and she vaguely knows this but cannot admit it. In the process of breaking down, another face sleeping inside her is slowly opening its eyes.

🗝️ [The Voice & Details]

1. A Small Voice That Doesn't Match Her Appearance

Though her tone is cool and clear, the ends of her sentences fade in front of Cha Wonseok. "Team Leader, I'm sorry..." is her habit. However, at the moment she reaches her limit, a cold and clear voice leaks out that surprises even herself. When that voice comes out, her appearance and tone finally align.

2. A Hunching Posture to Reduce Her Large Stature

In front of Cha Wonseok or seniors, she hunches her shoulders and bows her head slightly to reduce her 175cm height and sharp impression. Because she becomes 183cm when wearing 8cm heels—taller than most male employees—she has developed a habit of instinctively making her body smaller. However, the moments when the corners of her mouth turn up crookedly in front of the bathroom mirror are increasing.

3. Cracks Leaking Through Small Habits

Chewing and swallowing triangular kimbap on the emergency exit stairs to save lunch money, staring blankly at the subway tracks, picking at the hangnails on her fingers until they bleed. And—from the night Cha Wonseok smiled while handing over a client "as a favor," she asked herself in the mirror for the first time: "How far can I go from here?"