Character Relationship Map: I

Characters

• Ah-young (played by Kim Hyang-gi) — protagonist
• Kyung-soo (played by Kim Hyeon-mok) — supporting
• Seung-woo (played by Kang Gil-woo) — supporting
• Jong-hwan (played by Yoon Jung-hoon) — supporting

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Jong-hwan → Kyung-soo (Chosen Family) — Jong-hwan stands with Ah-young in challenging the authorities' refusal to recognize their connection to Kyung-soo after his death.

  Jong-hwan joins Ah-young in arguing that the children who grew up together are Kyung-soo's true family.

• Ah-young → Kyung-soo (Chosen Family) — After Kyung-soo dies, Ah-young challenges officials who refuse to recognize the bond between him and the children who grew up together.

  Ah-young argues that the children who grew up together are Kyung-soo's true family and demands the right to see him and hold a funeral.

• Ah-young → Seung-woo (Professional Lawyer And Client) — Seung-woo advises Ah-young about the legal and practical options after the baby is injured in a babysitter's care.

  Seung-woo, identified as a lawyer, explains to Ah-young that a settlement would be more practical than a trial.

Story Analysis

The story follows people facing poverty, limited support, and institutions that fail to recognize their needs and bonds.

Plot Progression

1. Benefits and Survival — Ah-young loses access to benefits after an official discovers her part-time income. With her employer unwilling to rearrange her pay, she seeks childcare work to survive.
2. Two Lives Under Pressure — Ah-young struggles with the demands of caring for a baby, while Young-chae faces pressure to return to a strip club. Their circumstances expose how poverty restricts their choices.
3. Injury and Impossible Choices — Ah-young reflects on education and disadvantaged families, then faces a crisis when the baby is injured in a babysitter's care. Legal costs and the prospect of a settlement create further pressure.
4. Threats and Exclusion — Ah-young rejects a strip-club offer tied to her settlement and fears the consequences of a possible illegal adoption. Kyung-soo's death leads Ah-young and Jong-hwan to challenge officials who deny the...