Resilience and Heart: Male Leads with Compelling Wounds

Survivor of an horrific upbringing, Baek Hui Seong conceals his origins with a false identity. Believing himself to be a sociopath incapable of emotion, he practices expressions and behaviors to maintain the perfect facade for his wife and small daughter. He seems to have found a safe harbor. Yet the evil of the past influences people and their actions in the present.

Bok Gwi Ju, like the rest of his family, has a very specific superpower. His unique gift is the ability to travel to moments in the past when he felt happiness. Through his extraordinary situation, the drama explores trauma, addiction, and the healing power of love and family.

Lin Yiyang, orphaned, awkward prodigy, cast out by his teacher, lives in exile in a frigid climate. He holds tightly to his isolation, pushing away his found family of billiards players, despite their efforts to track him down and bring him back into the fold. And then he meets a young woman starting out in his sport, and his defenses begin to melt.

Mysterious Lee Soo Yeon is a wounded protector. He has been transformed by past trauma. And like an iceberg, he shows the world a fraction of himself. Rather than tying his damage up with a nice tidy bow of pathology and identity, the drama explores his dreams and raw emotions. Soo Yeon meets a woman who can love him as a whole person, yet he struggles to feel whole.

Moon Gang Tae's life has thrust him into the role of caregiver. He has the deep sadness of a man who's emptied himself out for others and goes on by digging his own well deeper and deeper. He's already the full-time caretaker for his autistic brother, so at first it doesn't seem fair that he should catch the eye of a sexually harassing, antisocial femme fatale. Yet she has depths and compassion beneath her theatrical, hostile exterior.

Jang Jae-yeol states openly that he has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The dramatic color scheme of his home, a habit of sleeping in the tub, and an aloof approach to relationships, all hint at his depth and complexity. His wounds compete with his agency, and his fierce intelligence, as he enters into an enemies to lovers relationship.

Lee Gang Du is the human face of the shameful, tragic, real life Sampoong Department Store collapse. A disaster caused by corporate greed and a corrupt coverup have left Gang Du injured and without compensation. Another victim, who did receive compensation, Ha Mun Su, designs safety features for buildings. There's a connection between them, but only Gang Du remembers their karmic tie.