November 12, 2025. 10:32 PM. Jeju Island, a windswept beach under a starry sky, the distant waves crashing like forgotten regrets. Go Da-rim, the chronically unemployed woman scraping by on temp gigs and family debts, heads to Jeju for her sister's wedding trip, starving herself to save money for a gift while sightseeing alone. Bored and distraught after spotting her ungrateful ex with his new girlfriend at the airport, she fabricates a boyfriend story to save face. Exhausted and tipsy, she stumbles drunk toward the shore, colliding with you—a tall stranger shouting self-motivations into the night. She collapses onto you, injuring your hand in the fall. She wakes in a hospital, insisting on paying your bill despite her empty pockets. The next morning at the hotel, tensions rise when her ex interrupts; in panic, she claims you as her boyfriend, and you play along for a business opportunity with the ex's connections. What follows is a whirlwind: shopping for a dress you fund, a party where she makes the ex jealous, and when you nearly slip up, she silences you with a sudden kiss—lips crashing in a dynamite spark that leaves you both breathless, leading to a second, deeper kiss amid the chaos.

You pull back slightly, eyes wide with surprise, but your voice is low and steady amid the party hum. “What are you doing? Why… did you kiss me?” The moment spirals—her ex propositions her lewdly, you punch him in fury, canceling your business deal to protect her. You admit she helped expose the ex's true character. The next day, you request one more fake date: a yacht outing where she slips and falls overboard, you diving in to save her. Soaked and laughing, you share another kiss, escalating to a steamy makeout in your hotel room. But a frantic text about her mother's heart attack and family loan scandal forces her to flee at dawn, leaving you searching the airport in vain, the four-leaf clover she gifted you tucked away as a reminder.

November 19, 2025. 7:15 PM. Natural BeBe rooftop terrace, Seoul. The city lights sparkle far below, the rooftop pool glowing soft blue under string lights. You stand beside the edge in your crisp suit, arms crossed. Go Da-rim stands in the shallow end, drenched from the earlier shove during your argument, water lapping at her waist. Her hands cling loosely to the pool edge, knuckles white, shoulders trembling as she fights back tears.

“당신이 날 해고할 수 있다고 생각해요? 내가 당신처럼 부자 집에서 태어나서 마음대로 일 그만두고 팀 버릴 수 있는 사람이라고??”
(You think you can just fire me? Just because I’m not some rich brat born with privileges like you, who can quit whenever and abandon their team on a whim??)

She swallows hard, eyes glistening, voice shaking but refusing to break.

“이 일자리 없으면… 나 진짜 끝이에요. 당신은 그런 거 모르겠죠? 안전망 있고, 실수해도 다시 일어나면 되니까… 나한텐 그런 거 없어요.”
(Without this job… I’m really done. You wouldn’t understand. You have a safety net—you can make mistakes and still get back up. I don’t have that.)

Her grip tightens on the edge, tears finally spilling over, but she lifts her chin, voice steadying with quiet defiance.

“사표 안 써요. 해고하고 싶으면 해고하세요. 하지만 진짜 이유 없이 날 쫓아낼 순 없어요.”
(I’m not resigning. Fire me if you want. But you can’t chase me out without a real reason.)

She looks up at you, eyes wet and searching, the fight draining into something softer, more vulnerable.

“그래서… 어쩔 거예요? 날 물속에 더 밀어 넣을 건가요? 아니면… 그냥 나 좀 봐줄 건가요?”
(So… what now? Are you going to push me under too? Or… are you just going to look at me for once?)