Pak Sunwoo

Park Dae-hyun, 48, is Jihoon's father. He owns a company that produces gym equipment and accessories. He's a businesslike, demanding, and quite serious man. He's used to being in control at work, so he sometimes worries too much about Jihoon and his future. However, he's never stopped his son from practicing equilibristics and pays for his training, travel, and competitions.

Yoon Mina, 45, is Jihoon's mother. She teaches music at a private school. She is gentle, patient, and understands her son's personality very well. It was Mina who first noticed that after Sunwoo arrived, Jihoon began smiling more often and was much more willing to stay after practice. She doesn't force anything on her son, but treats Sunwoo warmly.

Sunwoo and Jihoon's families have known each other for several years through sports. Their parents met several times at competitions and gradually began to communicate. So Sunwoo can easily visit Jihoon at home, and Jihoon has long since stopped feeling like a guest in Sunwoo's apartment.

The sports center itself is located between their homes. It's a large, modern building with several gyms, a weight room, locker rooms, a medical office, and a small cafe on the ground floor. One gymnasium is equipped with parallel bars and other gymnastics equipment, while the adjacent room is equipped for tightrope walking. It was there that Sunwoo and Jihoon first began to regularly cross paths.

Over time, their routine became almost unchanged: school, a few hours of practice, a brief meeting in the hallway of the sports center, and the ride home. Sunwoo almost always found an excuse to stay late after his own practice, and Jihoon gradually grew accustomed to the fact that after class, Sunwoo would almost certainly be waiting for him at the exit.

17 years old. Jihoon is in 12th grade and trains at the same sports center, but he specializes in equilibristics. He started training as a child and gradually developed his hobby into a serious sport. Unlike Sunwoo, Jihoon doesn't look bulky: he's about 170 cm tall, has a small and graceful build, and moves lightly and precisely. He has soft features, dark hair, and a calm gaze. He's used to taking care of himself and pays particular attention to the condition of his arms and legs after training.

Jihoon is much calmer than Sunwoo. He's more cautious around people, takes a while to warm up to new groups, and dislikes being the center of attention outside of the sports field. However, with close friends, he's talkative and quite funny. He's good at arguing with Sunwoo, though he usually caves quickly when Sunwoo gets too pushy. Jihoon enjoys music, evening walks, coffee from small cafes, and taking photos of the city with his phone.

He lives with his parents in a two-story townhouse in a quiet neighborhood of Seoul. The house is about a twenty-minute drive from a school and sports center. The interior is filled with warm light, wooden furniture, and family photos. The first floor contains the kitchen, living room, and his father's small study. The second floor houses the bedrooms. Jihoon's room is small but very cozy: a bed against the wall, a desk by the window, a bookshelf, and a few photos from his sports performances. Small plants and a collection of keychains from various cities sit on the windowsill.

Kang Min-seok, 46, is Sun-woo's father. He is an architect and the head of a small design studio. He is calm, reasonable, and a bit strict. He played sports as a child and understands Sun-woo's dedication to gymnastics. He never pressured his son to pursue an athletic career, but always supported his choice. Min-seok rarely praises him verbally, but he shows his pride in his actions: he goes to competitions, helps with travel, and is always the first to inquire about his results.

Han So-ra, 44, is Sun-woo's mother. She works as a doctor at a Seoul clinic. Unlike her husband, she is emotional and talkative. She constantly reminds Sun-woo to eat properly, get enough sleep, and rest. The refrigerator at home is almost always stocked with containers of food she prepared for her son. She quickly became attached to Ji-hoon and treats him almost like another child in the family.

Sunwoo, 16, is an 11th-grader at a school in Seoul and has been training in gymnastics since the age of seven, specializing in the uneven bars. He spends most of his free time at the gym and takes his training seriously, but not fanatically. Gymnastics has long been a regular part of his life.

Sunwoo stands approximately 185 cm tall. He has a strong, well-developed, athletic build, broad shoulders, strong arms, and noticeable physical endurance. His dark hair is usually neatly styled only before training, after which it becomes slightly tousled. In everyday life, he prefers simple clothing: solid-colored T-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, and sneakers.

Sunwoo is very calm and reserved by nature. He's hard to anger, rarely raises his voice, and almost never reacts impulsively. Even when things don't go according to plan, he first assesses the situation and only then acts. Sunwoo dislikes idle chatter, loud groups, and excessive attention. He'd rather sit on the sidelines and observe than try to become the center of attention.

At the same time, Sunwoo is quite self-assured. He doesn't doubt his decisions and isn't afraid to make the first move, especially when it comes to Jihoon. His initiative isn't expressed through pushiness, but through calm actions: he's the first to text, the first to ask to meet, he waits for him after practice, and he notices even the slightest changes in Jihoon's mood.

Sunwoo softens a little with his loved ones, but he's forthright about his feelings. If Jihoon is tired, Sunwoo will silently bring him water. If he's forgotten his jacket, Sunwoo will notice before he does. If Jihoon needs to go somewhere alone late at night, Sunwoo will simply offer to walk him home without making a big deal out of it.

Sunwoo lives with his parents in a spacious apartment on the twenty-second floor of a modern residential complex. His own room is quite large and neat: a bed against the wall, a desk by the window, a closet with clothes, and a separate shelf with sports medals.