"I
really
tried
very
hard
at
work.
I
did
20
jobs
in a
year.
Really,
I
don’t
even
have
time
for
leisure
and
fun.
But
do I
still
lead
a
life
like
this?
I
thought
all
you
need
is
hardwork,
and
life
will
get
better.
Isn’t
that
what
the
teachers
taught
in
school.
Life
is
awarded
to
those
who
worked
hard.
Early
birds
get
the
worms.
The
fact
is,
reality
is
not
so.
The
wealthy
starts
wealthy,
and
poor
will
stay
that
way.
Everyone
deserves
a
chance.
Why
do I
lead
such
a
tough
life?" ~
Lee
Soo-jung
Waiting
for
life
to
give
her
a
break,
Lee
Soo-jung
(2004
SBS
Award
winner
for
Outstanding
Actress,
Ha
Ji-won)
works
as a
tour
guide
in
Bali
after
a
harsh
and
unforgiving
childhood,
hoping
that
one
day
a
wealthy
man
will
rescue
her.
She
finds
herself
guiding
a
tour
with
the
director
of a
large
company,
Jung
Jae-min
(2004
SBS
Award
winner
for
Outstanding
Actor,
Jo
In-sung),
his
arranged
marriage
fiancee
Choi
Young-joo
(Park
Ye-jin)
and
the
man
she
attempted
to
run
away
with,
Kang
In-wook
(So
Ji-sup).
Three
seemingly
perfect
people
entangled
in a
triangle
of
love.
When
Lee
Soo-jung
finds
herself
back
in
Seoul,
her
desire
for
success
leads
her
to
seek
Jae-min
for
a
job,
unwittingly
setting
off
a
course
of
events
that
further
complicate
the
love
triangle.
Thanks
to a
series
of
mind
boggling
coincedences
they
all
find
themselves
interconnected
by
love,
greed,
power
and
status,
each
playing
the
other
like
pawns
on a
chess
board,
only
to
be
held
back
by
their
pride.
This
drama
reveals
the
inner
materialistic
desires
of
people.
It
reflects
upon
the
sometimes
ugly
(but
truthful)
side
of
man
where
nothing
matters
more
than
money.
Ha Ji-won as Lee Soo-jung
Lee
Soo-jung is an orphan who works as a tour guide
in Bali. She has a useless brother that
constantly gets into trouble and needs her to
bail him out all the time. She struggles to make
ends meet and aspires to be rescued out of her
current predicament by a rich and wealthy man.
Soo-jung started out as a bubbly and worldly
girl (sometimes a little thick skin) trying to
make a decent living as a tour guide was
resilient and her positive attitude to life
makes for an energetic and optimistic person.
But all that sunshine is lost the moment she
returns to Seoul.
Jo In-sung as Jung
Jae-min
Jung
Jae-min is the youngest son of the wealthy
Chairman of the Pax Group. He is uninterested in
business, irresponsible, arrogant, childish,
self-centered and a playboy. Jae-min is
constantly put down by his elder brother and
beaten up by his father, but he is immune to all
these treatments. He is engaged to Choi Young-joo.
Both Jae-min and Young-joo are not in love with
each other and he continues to sleep around. Jae-min
is of the opinion that even with marriage, it
should not affect how both of them are to lead
their lives.
So Ji-sup as Kang
In-wook
Kang
In-wook comes from a broken family, his parents
are divorced and his mother opens a small
restaurant. He is a capable person at work but
he has a cold exterior and it is difficult to
read his mind. He ruined his career and his life
with embezzling the companys money. He pays the
price, as he does not win Soo-jung's heart in
the end either.
Park Ye-jin as
Choi Young-joo
Choi
Young-joo, comes from a comparable wealthy and
powerful family. Young-joo is still in love with
her ex-boyfriend Kang In-wook whom she left so
that she can be engaged to Jae-min (as per
arranged by both parents). She lost both Jae-min
and In-wook because of her twisted possessive
and manipulative nature.