^¥^ || Plankton..
Hae-jo had always lived like a wanderer—never belonging anywhere, never rooted long enough to call a place home. People called him “plankton,” drifting wherever the currents of life carried him. He laughed it off most days, but deep inside, the word cut deep.
Jo Jae-mi, on the other hand, lived a life that seemed perfectly mapped out. She worked tirelessly for stability, guarding her heart from anything that could shake her carefully built world. She didn’t believe in fate, only in choices.
Their paths crossed at a seaside town, on the day Jae-mi’s carefully ordered life began to crumble. Her engagement was broken, her family’s expectations suffocated her, and she found herself wandering near the shore, asking silently if life was meant to feel so heavy.
That’s when she saw Hae-jo—alone, staring at the horizon, a man who looked like he belonged to the sea more than to the land.
At first, they clashed. Hae-jo’s carefree recklessness irritated Jae-mi, while her cautious, restrained nature annoyed him. But strangely, every encounter drew them closer. Hae-jo found himself protecting Jae-mi in ways he never expected, and Jae-mi saw through the mask he wore—the loneliness hidden behind his wandering smile.
As they spent more time together, they began to teach each other things neither had known. Jae-mi taught Hae-jo that having a place to belong didn’t make you weak—it made you strong. And Hae-jo showed Jae-mi that sometimes, drifting wasn’t losing your way, but finding the path you were meant to take.
But love between a drifter and a woman tied to responsibilities was never simple. Jae-mi feared her world would fall apart if she chose him, while Hae-jo feared he could never give her the stability she deserved.
Yet, when Jae-mi’s world tried to pull her back into a life of empty expectations, she realized something:
Even a plankton needs an anchor.
And Hae-jo, for the first time, realized that maybe he wasn’t meant to drift forever. Maybe he was always meant to find Jae-mi.
Hae-jo X Jae-mi (you)