Aahana Swrup
‘My Dream,’ a Korean fantasy show, follows a workaholic heiress to the family business whose life takes an unpredictable turn after she crosses paths with a charming, albeit cocky demon. Do Do-hee is committed to her work and not much else. Jeong Goo-won is an ancient demon known to make mutually beneficial deals with humans. However, the pair’s fates become intertwined after Goo-won somehow loses his powers, and Do-hee becomes his key to earning them back. Thus, the two must work together to find a mutually beneficial solution to the problems that their life-changing meeting causes.
The show’s pilot episode sets up each protagonist’s characters and their clashing dynamic while also establishing the fantasy setting that is bound to introduce much magic to the plotline in the future. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Goo-won’s Demonic Enterprise
Jeong Goo-won is an ancient demon who has been walking the Earth alongside humans for hundreds of years. According to him, demons have protected humans as their guardians and helped them with their problems. The same is true in part since the man mostly just makes deals with humans, granting them their wishes in exchange for a time-bound return on investment by laying hell’s claim on their soul.
Years ago, Goo-won made a deal with a fisherman, Park Bok-Gyu, who continued serving him as his loyal butler for years to come. In the present day, the demon lives as a businessman from the mysterious Sunwol Foundation, whose headquarters hold ticking clocks signifying hundreds of deals made by the man. Upon the completion of one such deal of promised power and wealth to a gangster boss, Goo-won reaps the man’s soul.
Later, to celebrate the deal’s end, Goo-won books an entire restaurant for himself to enjoy an extravagant, delicious cake. However, his long-awaited moment gets ruined when a haughty, if beautiful, woman joins him in his meal uninvited.
Do Do-hee’s Tumultuous Family Business
At 28, Do Do-hee, the consecutive two-time CEO of the Year award-winning businesswoman, is at the top of her game. Fittingly, the woman is married to her work, with no time for life’s frivolities, such as romance. Nevertheless, despite the formidable aura she expels, the woman can’t refuse her guardian, Chairwoman Ju Cheon-Sook’s wishes. Do-hee lost her parents when she was eleven. As such, Chairwoman Ju took her in, making her an integral part of her dysfunctional family.
The Chairwoman’s family is filled with untrustable individuals. Her eldest son, Noh Suk-min, has to live under his mother’s shadow, while her second child, Noh Su-ahn, a Paris fanatic, continues to live cheerily despite a distant husband. Comparatively, Ju Seok-hoon, her nephew, is the only one with a significant contribution to the company’s growth. Nevertheless, the Chairwoman despises them all, knowing each is waiting for her to kick the bucket so they can overtake the family business.
In the midst of such characters, Do-hee, who refuses to partake in their childish internal power struggles, remains Ju’s favorite. Thus, Do-hee has no choice but to comply with the older woman’s wishes and agree to a blind date. Yet, the woman has no intention to allow the ordeal to take up more time of her day than necessary and intends to only stay for a courteous 30 minutes no matter how handsome, if arrogant, her date turns out to be.
The Blind Date And The Chaos That Follows
Thus, due to misunderstandings, Do-hee and Goo-won end up on a blind date together. Since it’s Do-hee’s birthday, she assumes Ju booked out the whole restaurant to make the meeting noteworthy for her. Similarly, through some comedic semantics misreading, Goo-won assumes the woman is another magical being, perhaps even sent by God. Nevertheless, neither gets off on the right foot with the other.
Still, the duo have a meal together because Do-hee wishes to keep her word to the Chairwoman, and Goo-won doesn’t care enough to leave. However, when their time together comes to an end, men belonging to the gang whose leader’s soul Goo-won reaped arrive at the restaurant to confront the demon. Although Do-hee excuses herself to the bathroom for a pep talk, she finds herself reluctant to leave the establishment. Meanwhile, the gang ruins Goo-won’s highly anticipated cake, leading to a fight between them.
Eventually, after the demon effortlessly gets rid of the men, Do-hee returns, perhaps deciding to give the man another chance since she can’t deny her flustered state. Nonetheless, Goo-won only rudely gets rid of her, leaving no love lost between the two. Although Do-hee discovers the afternoon’s errors later after a conversation with Ju, she pays Goo-won no further mind.
In fact, Do-hee has bigger fish to fry, considering Ju’s family members continue trying to drag her down in their inner politics. In one such attempt, a nameless man contacts the woman, offering her information that will make her the Chairwoman of Mirae Group. Still, Do-hee has no interest in concerning herself with such matters. Instead, she drives down to the beach to spend the rest of her birthday.
Do-hee opts for a designated driver car service for her ride home, only to realize the man behind the wheel is a crook. Halfway through the drive, Do-hee catches the driver in his disguise, leading to a confrontation that results in the woman running down the dark, empty road, scared for her life. Simultaneously, Goo-won searches for another prey to catch in his deals and feels a pull toward Do-hee’s desperation.
As a result, the demon arrives in the right place at the right time and offers to save Do-hee in exchange for a deal. Although reluctant, Do-hee agrees, only to flee from the scene the minute Goo-won engages with her attacker. In the end, the woman ends up hidden behind the cliff’s fence. As Goo-won extends his hand to her for help and to seal their deal, the attacker comes after them again in his car. However, to the demon’s surprise, his magic fails him the minute his hand touches Do-hee’s
Thus, the duo ends up falling down the cliff into the water. While drowning, Goo-won passes out, but Do-hee tries to swim to the surface. Yet, she can’t find it in herself to leave the man behind, even if it meant endangering her life. Part of the reason behind her motives stems from the demon’s unique name, which translates to “salvation.” Therefore, she holds his hand underwater, and the act somehow transfers his demon mark, a cross tattoo, onto Do-hee’s hand. The next morning, when the pair ends up washed ashore, Goo-won realizes his powers have switched allegiance to Do-hee, sending his life down an unexpected spiral.
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