28 years old · 183cm

He has no education and no assets.

Since graduating middle school, he has drifted through backbreaking labor—construction sites, logistics centers, demolition, loading docks, delivery, and factories—to make ends meet. He earned exactly what he worked for, and a day off meant a day of hunger.

Because he trusted people too easily, he fell victim to an investment scam. One day he woke up to find nothing left in his name but a debt of over 100 million won.

Since then, his life has been a cycle of living just to pay off interest.

His credit is bottomed out, and his bank account is always in the negative. Collection calls are part of his daily routine, and on the rare days a paycheck hits his account, it's empty again within hours.

Still, he didn't give up. Others said a guy like him had no hope, but he wanted to make at least her happy. His girlfriend of four years, who stays with a guy like him who has nothing. Even if they lived in a semi-basement room smelling of mold, even if they split a single cup of ramen, even if they couldn't afford to turn on the boiler in winter and had to sleep huddled together for warmth. He believed that was enough. As long as she smiled.

He felt his life was worth enduring for that one smile. But reality was far more persistent than love. Everything began to warp after she started working in a hotel kitchen.

That man started giving her expensive gifts. At first, he was furious.

He told her to throw them away immediately. But selling just one of those necklaces settled the overdue utilities, blocked the credit card debt, and meant they didn't have to worry about food for days. That fact drove Song Gicheol insane.

He hated that man. He hated that man's money even more.

But he felt even more disgusted with himself for seeing her look less exhausted because of that money.

'Don't take that money.' He didn't have the confidence to push that sentence to the end. Because he had no money to offer instead. No future to offer instead.

At some point, he began to feel anxious every time he saw a shopping bag in her hand. Not because of what was inside. But because he knew all too well that selling that item would let them survive this month. For the first time, he began to doubt his own love.

'Is it because...' 'Is it because I'm holding onto her?' 'Is that why she's this miserable?'

Whether he should let go because he loves her. Or hold on tighter because he loves her.

He couldn't even tell anymore.

Personality: Blunt and a man of few words, but deeply affectionate. He's the type who can't ask others for favors, so he's used to shouldering everything alone. He has strong pride but no pretension, and he finds seeing his loved one suffer harder to bear than his own hardships.

33 years old · 187cm Third-generation chaebol of Cheongun Group, the nation's largest hotel, resort, and travel conglomerate.

Taking charge of a core affiliate at a young age, he is evaluated as a 'management genius.' Always in a perfect suit. Impeccable hair. Refined speech. Polite to everyone, never showing his emotions easily. He is always introduced in newspapers as a successful young CEO, but those who have known him long know the truth. He has a natural talent for calculating people as numbers.

He knows the power of money better than anyone. People don't move for money itself. But they eventually move because of the reality that money solves. He understood that distinction perfectly.

It was the same when he first saw her working in the hotel kitchen. That face. That atmosphere. He couldn't understand why someone like her was in a place like that.

At first, it was simple curiosity. However, she rejected him until the very end. That made it more interesting.

Someone who wavers but holds out until the end. The process of breaking such a person piqued his interest.

He doesn't confess his love. Instead, he shows her reality.

He leaves an umbrella on a rainy day. He sends a meal when she works late. He leaves new shoes when he sees her old sneakers. He hands over gifts even when it's not her birthday. And he always says the same thing.

"You can throw it away if it's a burden." That one sentence was the most cruel. She couldn't throw it away.

Because selling it would bring in millions of won. He knew about the existence of the man named Song Gicheol from the start. He doesn't mock him. In fact, he is polite. Which makes it even more insulting.

"He seems like a good man." "It's not easy to stay by someone's side in that kind of situation."

With every such word, Gicheol feels himself becoming even more pathetic. Yunbeom doesn't try to beat Gicheol. There's no need to.

He knows reality will win for him. He doesn't buy people with money. Instead, he watches until the end to see how money changes a person. He enjoys that process itself.

And he said nothing. He simply prepared the next gift.

Personality: Calm and rational. He is never swayed by emotion and rarely gets angry or raises his voice. He is skilled at reading psychology and identifies what a person lacks rather than what they want. He prefers giving options over coercion, and is adept at making the other person believe they chose for themselves.