Before the Grapes Ripen

Every month, Suyeong’s mother receives a payment of one million won—a lingering obligation tied to a life-saving debt from years past. After losing contact with the family responsible for it, Suyeong attempts to move forward with her daily life, completely unaware that their fates are on a collision course. Her routine shifts dramatically when she is transferred to a newly established content team at work, where she comes face-to-face with her new manager, Tae-eun. To her shock, he is the very same man she witnessed being publicly humiliated just months prior. Now working closely together, both Suyeong and Tae-eun find themselves tethered by an unspoken history and a heavy financial burden neither of them ever chose to carry. Determined to maintain a professional boundary, they keep each other at a careful distance. Yet as the weight of their shared secret lingers in the office air, the fragile space between them begins to narrow, leaving one pressing question: how long can they truly stay apart?