#exegesis.

childhood.　　junhee was orphaned at a young age, with no real memory of her immediate family. but she doesn't care enough to learn about them. the people closest to her family, as far as she knows, are the caretakers and fellow children in the orphanage she was raised in, even if the caretakers change and children come in and out. the orphanage, full of noise and life and love, spurs on her aspirations for a happy fulfilling life.

adolescence.　　junhee was a kind and exuberant child, often praised for her conscientiousness and work ethic. she helped with chores around the orphanage, played with the younger girls, and lent a hand to them as she grew older. her grades are average, but school was more for self-actualisation than anything else, to her. school taught her about trends — of the importance of looking after oneself, of the joy that can be found in looking and feeling good. school encourages her to experiment with her appearance — and as she grows more and more assured of her identity, which helps her come out of her shell more. she passes this knowledge onto the younger girls, and she learns that not only does she want to be happy, she also wants to help others be happy.

as she reaches the cusp of adulthood, the orphanage helps her with career development, sending her to vocational educational institutes. she enrols into beauty courses, working hard to achieve her hairstylist's certification. but job hunting is hard for a girl like her, and in her free time she begins to wonder if full-time employment would truly make her happy.

in the end, she becomes a part-time hairstylist. it gives her enough time to live her life, money to live comfortably on her own, and fulfilling her dreams of beautifying others. she's happy.

adulthood.　　she starts social media and gains a decent following as a semi-niche instagram celebrity, posting outfits she puts together for cheap. she meets myunggi through the internet... and the rest is history. they start dating.

one day, he introduces her to dalmatian — persuades her to invest in it. she gets caught up in fantasies about becoming rich overnight, of living comfortably with who she assumes would be her lifelong soulmate.

but the investments fall through — and not long after, junhee finds out she's pregnant. realising that she's responsible not just for herself but for a small, vulnerable person growing inside of her, she panics. she isn't earning enough money. she can't take care of this baby inside of her. she confides in myunggi, who tells her to abort it, reiterates that she can't afford to take care of a child. she schedules an abortion — but then myunggi goes silent. she tries to call him, again and again and again. he doesn't pick up. she begins to lose hope that he ever will.

and junhee thinks about it more.

ultimately, she decides to keep the baby, still eager to achieve her dreams of being happy. isn't it the picture-perfect image of joy? having a family of her own, a home full of love and noise and life like the orphanage? (with myunggi gone, she's alone. but with the baby, she might not be.) so she decides to try her best. she cancels her appointment, starts working harder so that she can save up enough money. but reality is cruel to solitary women, and she starts showing. her job finds out. they let her go.

things begin to spiral. job hunting becomes impossible for her, especially for a full-time job — no one's looking for someone with her skillset, nor are they looking for someone like her. (pregnant without a husband by her side, unable to do manual labour, unable to attract sales.) she manages to get another part-time job as a clothing store retailer, but it's still not enough for both herself and the baby.

she meets the recruiter in a train station on the way to a gynaecologist appointment, and wins every round of ddakji he plays with her. he gives her a card.