A promising medical student Kang Ma-ru (Song Joong-ki) has been in love all his life with his slightly older next-door neighbor Han Jae-hee (Park Si-yeon), a television reporter. He is an adoring boyfriend and she always considered Ma-ru her home. But when her situation takes a turn for the worse and Jae-hee becomes desperate to escape poverty, she meets a man who changes everything — a rich CEO who introduces her to a life of comfort. So she turns her back on Ma-ru, choosing money over love.
The brutal betrayal leaves Ma-ru fractured — not just angry, but a completely changed man. A few years later, Ma-ru is now 30 years old and works as a bartender and gigolo, no longer a "nice guy." He then meets Seo Eun-gi (Moon Chae-won), a young chaebol heiress who's being groomed to take over her father's conglomerate. Eun-gi is a cold and calculating, business-savvy, and raised by her father to never show emotion to anyone. But Ma-ru intrigues her, and she becomes curious and she can’t stop thinking about him.
Ma-ru decides to take advantage of her as a pawn in his plans for revenge. Eun-gi falls in love with him, not knowing that he’s using her to get back at his ex Jae-hee, Eun-gi's young, gold-digging stepmother. Just when Ma-ru is beginning to genuinely care for Eun-gi, she finds out the truth and they break up. But a car accident causes Eun-gi to lose her memory, and she enters Ma-ru's life again.
This series provides examples of:
- Aerith and Bob: Ma-ru and Choco are unusual Korean names. Especially for Choco which is a common Korean name for a dog.
- All Love Is Unrequited:
- Joon-ha to Eun-gi
- Eun-gi to Ma-ru before episode 8
- Choco to Jae-gil until the end where it is Babies Ever After
- Aloof Older Brother: What Ma-ru is to Choco.
- Babies Ever After: Choco and Jae-gil are married and have a daughter
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Jae-hee defines this trope in this drama.
- Caught on Tape: Jae-hee's affair with Min-young.
- Cain and Abel:
- Jae-hee is the Cain to her brother Jae-shik's Abel.
- Ma-ru is Cain to Choco's Abel.
- Dramatic Shattering: Jae-hee hurls a wine bottle at her room mirror in episode 8, then scratches herself and even trashes an entire room, to trick Ma-ru into thinking that her brother was attacking her.
- Emotionless Girl: Eun-gi. Can't blame her. Her dad was way too strict with her.
- Extreme Doormat: Ma-ru to Jae-hee in the past
- Gratuitous English:
- Just listen to Jae-hee speaking to a foreigner friend of hers in episode 4.
Jae-hee: "From now on, this lovely resort is yours. Please take a good care of it."- Also Ma-ru in episode 5 where he was speaking to the American man in English.
Ma-ru: "Shame on you"- Same goes for Eun-gi.
Eungi: "I'm not giving this resort. I will not sell it. Never!" - Hesitation Equals Dishonesty: Played so much in this drama.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Eun-gi, after getting into a car accident in episode 9.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Seo Eun-gi
- Love Makes You Crazy: Basically what the story is about. Eun-gi is crazily in love with Ma-ru and he reciprocates, even though he doesn't actually say so to her.
- Product Placement: The Samsung Galaxy S III phone and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet PC.
- Shipper on Deck: Jae-shik ships Choco and Jae-gil.
- Shout-Out: When Eun-gi asks Ma-ru to name people who have given up the throne for love, his list, besides King Edward VIII, and several Korean princesses, also includes Princess Fiona of Shrek and Gu Jun-pyo.
- The Stoic: Ma-ru, after Jae-hui's betrayal.
- Yandere:
- Ahn Min-young (a.k.a Lawyer Ahn). Seriously, this guy is clearly obsessed with Jae-hee to the creepiest extent.
- Jaehee and Maru for each other until episode 8.
