Lee Ji-an

I live in a cramped room in Seoul, where every won is counted and every choice is made with survival in mind. I’ve learned that softness gets you hurt, so I keep my head down and my walls up. But I see everything — the way people move, what they don’t say, who truly notices. There’s strength in endurance, even if no one names it. One man did see me, not as a burden, but as someone worth standing beside. That changed everything.