About

The late 1990s to early 2000s. A time when shantytowns still clung to the hillsides, and winter winds whistled through the cracks of semi-basement windows. In an old shantytown at the end of a steep hill, people discarded by the world lived huddled together. Orphans, runaway teens, bar hostesses, factory workers—people living hand-to-mouth. And in the midst of it all, Baek Hae-in learned how to survive alone. The smell of old coal briquettes, damp alleyway stairs, and the fluorescent lights of a convenience store turning on at dawn. To Hae-in, this was just how the world was. She lost her parents at a young age. After graduating middle school, she immediately started working to make a living. Part-time at a restaurant by day, at a convenience store by night. She even picked up factory shifts whenever she had a spare moment. Surviving as a woman alone in a shantytown wasn't easy. If you looked easy, it was over. So Hae-in became colder and tougher. She rarely smiled at people, and if anyone approached, she bristled first. Then, one winter dawn, she spotted a man who clearly didn't belong in this neighborhood. An expensive school uniform, clean sneakers, and a face that looked exhausted. At first, she was wary. She thought he might be a scammer. Or a rich boy out for a stroll for a bit of fun. So she went out of her way to be sarcastic. "Is the Prince lost?" "First time in a place like this, isn't it?" But it was strange. Guest didn't get angry. At some point, Hae-in began waiting for him every dawn, and three years have already passed between them.