Characters / Just Between Lovers

Lee Kang Doo

Portrayed by: Junho (2PM), Nam Dareun (young)

Kang Doo's dream of being a professional soccer player was crushed when he injured his leg during the S Mall accident. He lost his father in the same accident, his mother died due to an illness, and his sister lives separately from him. He struggles to live while taking any opportunity to earn money.

• Aloof Big Brother: Averted, despite living separately with his younger sister and meeting her for only three to four times a year, Kang Doo tries his best to help her out, even giving her all of his salary so that she can live a good life.

• Berserk Button: Don't mess with Jae Young in any way. Just... don't.
• Broken Tears: Sheds them after his Parental Substitute, the grandmother, dies.
  • Cries them again in the last episode where he realizes that he really doesn't want to die as that would mean leaving his little sister completely alone, without anyone to rely on. As the realization dawns on him, he just sits there crying, distraught over his desperate situation. Seriously, the poor guy can't catch a break.
• Cool Big Bro: Kang Doo to Jae Young, and in extension, Sang Man (who is supposed to be the big brother instead of the other way around).
• Character Development: Initially he doesn't care much about anything that happens to his body, as long as his loved ones are safe and sound. However, as his relationship with Moon Soo develops, he gradually realizes that him hurting himself hurts the people around him too, as they genuinely care about him. By the end of the series, he is much more careful about his own well-being since he now understands that if he is hurt or injured, there are people who will be sad for him.

• Dark and Troubled Past: The S Mall collapse led to Kang Doo injuring his leg, preventing him from being a soccer player, and losing his father. Later on, it's also revealed that he was the last survivor found, lasting for seven days under all of that rubble. In the present day, he regularly gets flashbacks and hears a voice in his head whenever something triggers him: it turns out that while he wasn't saved yet, he spent his time talking to a dead body as if it were alive.
• Deadpan Snarker: Has a sharp tongue. Not that it is a bad thing.
• Disappeared Dad: His father died in the accident.
• Family Business: His father was also working in the construction field.
• Forgotten First Meeting: At first, he tries to get Moon Soo to remember that they were together during the accident, but he later gives up.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Though he talks and acts rudely, he works hard day and night to provide for his younger sister, takes care of a grandmother with no blood relations to him, genuinely cares for Sang Man, and saved Moon Soo and Mari from dangerous situations.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Despite appearing to be a confident individual most of the time, he has a rather low opinion of himself, even when others tell him that he is a great person.
• Hopeless Suitor: At first, he feels this way towards Moon Soo, thinking that a man like Joo Won would be a better match for her than him. Moon Soo proves him wrong, as he is the person she genuinely "loves" among the two.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Kang Doo starts to avoid Moon Soo when he realizes that Joo Won is a better match for her than him. Instead of leaving Kang Doo when he pushes her away, Moon Soo just clings onto him even more. He later resolves to work hard to become a good man for her.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With the grandmother.
• Like Brother and Sister: With Mari.
• Love at First Sight: Kang Doo was attracted to Moon Soo the moment he saw her at the ice cream shop.
• Missing Mom: Kang Doo’s mother died before the story started.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: He threatens Yoo Taek after he finds out about his developing relationship with Mari.
• Odd Friendship: Kang Doo’s relationships with the grandmother and Mari, and later develops one with Yoo Jin.
• Parental Abandonment: His parents died prior to the start of the story, and even when his mother was alive, it's implied that he wasn't home very often.
• Parting-Words Regret: When he notices that Moon Soo is avoiding her mother due to her family circumstances, he mentions how he avoided his own mother and told her to "get lost" because of her whining (which is understandable, since he himself was still in rehab and was hurting due to his horrible leg injury) and that he terribly regrets it to this day. He tells her to not make the same mistake and to try to make things right while her parents are still alive.
• Perpetual Frowner: Considering how shitty his life has been, you can't really blame him, can you?
• Scars Are Forever: Has a large scar on one of his legs due to the aforementioned accident.
• Secret Relationship: Kang Doo and Moon Soo keep their relationship a secret from Moon Soo's parents, because both of them don't approve of her dating Kang Doo.
• Secretly Wealthy: Becomes one after inheriting the grandmother's land and money, saying that he could go on for 10 years. Cheongyu also pays him the support fee for the death of his father after ten years.
• Smoking Is Cool: He is seen smoking, but it's always shot from the back, probably to maintain his image as an idol.
• Spell My Name With An S: Kang Doo or Gang Doo? The former is mostly used when talking about the drama, while the spelling "Gangdu" is seen on his jersey.
• Stepford Smiler: The depressed type. Even when he is suffering and in pain, he will smile and pretend to be alright so as to not worry the people who care about him. His sister even lampshades this by saying that if she was the one who asked Kang Doo about the medicine he takes, he would act as if he's alright, so she wouldn't be worried.
• Sweet Tooth: One of his differences with Moon Soo.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Ice cream and twisted donuts.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: Just when things finally seem to be going well for him, he is told that he has a bad liver and will most likely die unless he gets a transplant surgery. If this wasn't enough, he later finds out that Sang Man agreed to donate his liver for him. He is understandably distraught about this as Sang Man is one of the few people he treasures the most. Thankfully, things get much better for everyone at the end, so it could be considered a Subverted Trope.
  • Also happens in one of the earlier episodes where he asks Moon Soo if she remembers Bulldog Mansion, the name of a band he had mentioned when they were stuck in the rubble after the mall collapsed, and she replies that she doesn't (as she had lost her memories of said incident). The look on his face just says it all.
• Younger Than They Look: Somi calls Kang Doo as “ahjussi”, basing on the fact that he looks like one despite him being the same age as Moon Soo.
• Your Days Are Numbered: He has a liver injury that got worse as the series progressed, and the only way to cure him is to get a liver transplant.
• The Woobie: In-universe, Moon Soo describes him as this. At one point, she even asks him what he did wrong in his previous life for his current life to have turned out so shitty, to which he responds by saying that he feels like he must've done a great deed, as he feels fortunate to have met someone like Moon Soo.

Ha Moon Soo

Portrayed by: Won Jin Ah, Park Si Eun (young)

After losing her younger sister in an accident, her family was broken: her mother drinking all day and her father living separately. But even so, she stays strong and works hard as an architect while maintaining her family's sauna and salon business.

• The Ace: Moon Soo can make architectural models, revise blueprints, fix pipes and electrical wiring, and can even drive a truck.
• Aloof Big Sister: Moon Soo was one to her younger sister Yeon Soo, which made her feel guilty after the accident.
• Broken Tears: Sheds them after hearing about Kang Doo's deteriorating health.
• Dark and Troubled Past: She lost her younger sister, which in turn led to her family being torn apart. She also loses her memories of said accident.
• Deadpan Snarker: Just look at her interactions with Kang Doo!
• Disappeared Dad: His father lives separately, but she comes to see him from time to time.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: She starts out with her hair tied into a ponytail, and as the series goes by, she lets her hair down, which indicates that she's opened up a lot more.
• Family Theme Naming: Moon Soo and Yeon Soo, which is how people in-universe find out that they're siblings.
• First Love: Moon Soo’s first love, whom she was supposed to meet on the day of the accident, died in the S Mall collapse, which is also one of the reasons why she feels so guilty about surviving the accident.
• Forgotten First Meeting: Kang Doo and Moon Soo already met in the past, because they were together during the S Mall accident. However, while Kang Doo remembers her, Moon Soo doesn’t because she can’t remember anything about the accident due to trauma. She later remembers seeing Kang Doo during the accident, but doesn’t remember anything other than that.
• Guilt Complex: Develops one after the said S Mall collapse incident. Kang Doo calls her out on this, which culminates in a heartwarming and tearjerking moment where he tells her to stop blaming herself for everything.
• Innocently Insensitive: Initially, towards Kang Doo.
• Secret Relationship: Kang Doo and Moon Soo keep their relationship a secret from Moon Soo's parents, because both of them don't approve of her dating Kang Doo.
• Strong Family Resemblance: It is mentioned that Moon Soo looks a lot like her father.
• Survivor Guilt: Moon Soo feels that her selfishness is the reason why her younger sister and first love died during the collapse, which made her feel really guilty that she was the one who survived.
• Sweet Tooth: Initially, she does not prefer sweet things, but she later develops a taste for ice cream, possibly due to Kang Doo's influence.
• Stepford Smiler: Tries her best to be one, but Kang Doo easily sees through her façade. He doesn't say anything about it unless it's necessary as he knows that mentioning it will probably make her uncomfortable.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Wan Jin reveals that Moon Soo hit her head sometime during the accident, and this led to her losing her memories of that time, which is why she doesn’t remember Kang Doo.

Seo Joo Won

Portrayed by: Lee Ki Woo

Joo Won's father was one of the heads of the construction for S Mall, and criticisms and insults received after its collapse led to his father's death. After his mother married the head of Cheongyu, a construction firm, he pursued his dream of being an architect and is now the CEO of the architectural firm Seo Won.

• Big Fancy House: Yoo Jin, Yoo Taek, and Joo Won’s family live in one, while Joo Won also has his own large apartment.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Joo Won’s father committed suicide after being blamed for the accident (with Joo Won being the one to discover his body), his girlfriend (the only person he trusted) left him for the company, and his mother married said girlfriend’s father so that Joo Won could have a chance to become a successful architect.
• Disappeared Dad: His father died after being blamed for the accident.
• Family Business: His father was also an architect.
• Hopeless Suitor: Moon Soo says she likes Joo Won, but as a senior and someone she respects, unlike the "like" she has for Kang Doo.
• Nice Guy
• Remarrying for Your Kids: The reason why Joo Won’s mother married Yoo Jin’s mother was so that Joo Won could live a better life. It is later revealed that she actually loved him, which is something that disappointed Joo Won.
• Sex with the Ex: Almost happens when Joo Won stumbles into Yoo Jin’s apartment after finding out that his mother loved his stepfather genuinely. Yoo Jin pushes him away before anything happens. Later on, after meeting her arranged marriage partner, she goes to Joo Won and it's implied that this happened.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Joo Won’s mother and Yoo Jin’s father marry each other, each for their own reasons, leading to Joo Won and Yoo Jin breaking up since they became siblings. Characters in-series note that the relationship between Joo Won and Yoo Jin could be seen as a Romeo and Juliet story.
• Working with the Ex: Joo Won and Yoo Jin. While the former seems delighted since they’re forced to see each other due to work, Joo Won doesn’t seem happy with it.

Jeong Yoo Jin

Portrayed by: Kang Han Na

Joo Won's ex-girlfriend turned stepsister, Yoo Jin is the daughter of the CEO of Cheongyu, the company who was in charge of the construction for S Mall. In the current day, she returns to Korea to become the team leader of external relations, keeping an eye on her brother's work.

• Armor-Piercing Question: From Joo Won, of all people, after Yoo Jin asked him about his opinion on her having a blind date arranged by her brother:
  Joo Won: Let's say your brother married someone he didn't want to. But I lost my father. Even you whom I trusted the most. You turned your back to me saying you have to work for the company. How about you? What did you lose?
• Arranged Marriage: Her brother wants to set her up on one, with Joo Won approving of it. Though he is shown to regret it later on.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: The reason why she fell in love with Joo Won was because he was the only one who treated her nicely at college and defended her from other people's opinions of her.
• Big Fancy House: Yoo Jin, Yoo Taek, and Joo Won’s family live in one.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Coming from a stereotypical rich family, she had no friends, a family who cared about making money more than their children, and was ostracized by the other people at school due to her connections. Joo Won, her only friend, became her boyfriend, and they broke up after the accident happened since she had to help her family and the company. And because they became siblings, it screwed up her family even more.
  • She's notable for being the only main character who wasn't present in the accident itself, despite her family having something to do about it. Which leads to the question asked by Joo Won mentioned above.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She has her moments, especially around the main characters.
• Family Business: Cheongyu is run primarily by the CEO’s son, Yoo Taek, and his younger sister, Yoo Jin. Joo Won works for the company for the Bio Town project.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The responsible one. She's the one who keeps Yoo Taek in check, scolding her brother for his incompetence at work.
• Hopeless Suitor: Yoo Jin feels this way towards Joo Won, who likes Moon Soo.
• Ice Queen: Her initial appearances make her look like an antagonist, but she's just actually being rational and annoyed by her brother's work ethic.
• Missing Mom
• Nice Girl: She was one before the S Mall incident happened. In the present time, she is still nice, but she turned into a very cold woman.
• Odd Friendship: With Kang Doo.
• Only Friend: Joo Won was her only friend prior to their breakup. In the present day, she later considers Kang Doo as her only friend.
• Out of Focus: She's a main character, but gets lesser screentime than the other three.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: When she went to university, rumors spread that it was because her father got her into it. She was apparently the teachers' favorite because of her family.
• Sex with the Ex: Almost happens when Joo Won stumbles into Yoo Jin’s apartment after finding out that his mother loved his stepfather genuinely. Yoo Jin pushes him away before anything happens. Later on, after meeting her arranged marriage partner, she goes to Joo Won and it's implied that this happened.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Joo Won’s mother and Yoo Jin’s father marry each other, each for their own reasons, leading to Joo Won and Yoo Jin breaking up since they became siblings. Characters in-series note that the relationship between Joo Won and Yoo Jin could be seen as a Romeo and Juliet story.
• Working with the Ex: Joo Won and Yoo Jin. While the former seems delighted since they’re forced to see each other due to work, Joo Won doesn’t seem happy with it.

People around Kang Doo

Lee Jae Young

Portrayed by: Kim Hye Jun

Kang Doo's younger sister, who is an intern at a hospital.

• Aloof Big Brother: Averted, despite living separately with his younger sister and meeting her for only three to four times a year, Kang Doo tries his best to help her out, even giving her all of his salary so that she can live a good life. Jae Young, however, seems to act aloof towards him, but is actually concerned about his living conditions and health and looks out for him regularly.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Though she was not part of the accident, said accident led to her father's death and her older brother's estrangement. She also lost her mother later on and grew up living alone.
• Emotionless Girl: She is mostly shown with a serious expression on her face.
• Not So Stoic: Despite having a serious face when Kang Doo gave her gifts, she is shown to be happily looking through each one when she was left alone. When Kang Doo was struggling with his liver problems, Jae Young cried a lot.
• Parental Abandonment: Kang Doo and Jae Young’s parents died prior to the story, and the siblings live separately.
• Protectorate: Messing with her will lead to Kang Doo picking a fight. The main reason for Kang Doo not wanting to die at the end of the series is because he doesn't want to leave Jae Young alone.
• Significant Birth Date: It was her birthday on the day of the accident, and it's never been a happy one for her ever since.
• Spell My Name With An S: Jae Young and Jae Yeong are both ways to spell her name.
• The Stoic

Ma Ri

Portrayed by: Yoon Se Ah

The owner of the club "Mary & Club", and an older sister figure to Kang Doo.

• Becoming the Mask: She eventually falls in love with Yoo Taek, not that she'd like to admit it.
• Berserk Button: She got angry at Yoo Taek after his attitude towards the grandmother's death.
• Cool Big Sis: Mari to Kang Doo and the workers in her bar. She genuinely cares for the girls who work for her, giving them medicine, not allowing them to overwork, and even asking Kang Doo to chase after Yoo Taek when he harassed one of the workers. She lets Kang Doo use her bar as his address, gives him food, saves him when he gets into brawls, and stands up for him when Yoo Taek unjustly fired him from his job.
• First Love: The reason why Yoo Taek hires Mari to give him company is because she reminds him of his first love.
• Like Brother and Sister: The relationship between Mari and Kang Doo. She was even willing to donate her liver when Kang Doo became sick.
• Nice Girl: One of the nicest girls in the series. The reason why Kang Doo doesn't want her to date Yoo Taek is partly because she is too good for him.
• Parental Substitute: She is very close to the grandmother and calls her "Mama".
• Spell My Name With An S: Mari is pronounced as Ma-Ri, but her club is named "Mary & Club".

Grandmother

Portrayed by: Na Moon Hee

An illegal medicine seller who used to be a loan shark.

• Cool Old Lady
• Doting Grandparent: Though the grandmother is sharp-tongued and a little prickly, she loves Kang Doo very much and takes care of him in her own way.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kang Doo, who talks and acts rudely, works hard day and night to provide for his younger sister, takes care of a grandmother with no blood relations to him, genuinely cares for Sang Man, and saved Moon Soo and Mari from dangerous situations.
• Intergenerational Friendship: The relationship between the grandmother and Kang Doo.
• Loan Shark: Kang Doo borrowed money from loan sharks when his mother was hospitalized. Grandmother was the head of said loan sharks at that time.
• No Name Given: The grandmother’s name is never mentioned, with Mari and several others calling her Mama, Kang Doo calling her “Halmo” (a shortened form of halmoni, which means “grandmother” in Korean), and other characters calling her “grandmother”. Kang Doo only finds out her name, Jeong Sook Hee, when she was already in the hospital.
• Odd Friendship: Kang Doo’s relationships with the grandmother and Mari.
• Parental Substitute: The grandmother to Kang Doo, almost as if she is his real grandmother. When she died, she left everything she had to Kang Doo so that he could pay off his debt.
• Secretly Wealthy: The grandmother actually makes a lot of money with her business, but chooses to just store the money in boxes instead of using it to improve her life situation. She even owns some land in the area, which she later gave to Kang Doo.
• Smoking Is Cool
• Your Days Are Numbered: According to Jae Young, the grandmother has a tumor. If it isn't treated immediately, it will lead to her death as she isn't in a good condition anymore. The grandmother is later hospitalized, but she eventually dies.

Sang Man

Portrayed by: Kim Kang Hyun

The son of the owner of the motel "Milky Way" which Kang Doo stays at.

• Cool Big Bro: He treats Kang Doo as one, while Kang Doo regards him as this.
• Gratuitous Foreign Language: Sang Man seems to speak a little Japanese and Chinese.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kang Doo.
• Korean Honorifics: Sang Man calls Kang Doo "hyung", even though Sang Man is older than him. His mother reveals that he calls everyone who is taller than him "hyung". He later calls Joo Won as "hyungnim", because he is way much taller than Kang Doo.

Sang Man's Mother

Portrayed by: Park Myung Shin

The owner of the motel "Milky Way" which Kang Doo stays at.

• Anger Born of Worry: She is always this towards Kang Doo, but especially when she finds out that Sang Man decided to donate his liver to Kang Doo.
• Doting Parent: She dotes on Sang Man a lot.
• Good Parents
• Parental Substitute: Kang Doo has lived under her roof for eight years. Despite always getting angry at Kang Doo, she is always worried whenever he doesn't come home and feeds him a lot. By the end of the series, she refers to him as one of her own sons.

People around Moon Soo

Ha Yoon Ok

Portrayed by: Yoon Yoo Sun

Moon Soo's mother, who became an alcoholic after her youngest daughter Yeon Soo's death.

• Alcoholic Parent: Though she tones it down after Moon Soo has a breakdown thinking that her mother will die.
• Awful Wedded Life: Moon Soo’s parents had a lot of problems after the collapse of S Mall, and decided to live separately, with Moon Soo staying at her mother’s place. Her father even files for a divorce during the present day.
• Dark and Troubled Past: After leaving her two daughters, they get caught in an accident which eventually led to one of them dying.
• Good Parents: Moon Soo’s mother, though initially shown to only care for her younger sister, actually cares about Moon Soo a lot.

Ha Dong Chul

Portrayed by: Ahn Nae Sang

Moon Soo's father, who runs a noodles shop near the construction site.

• Awful Wedded Life: Moon Soo’s parents had a lot of problems after the collapse of S Mall, and decided to live separately, with Moon Soo staying at her mother’s place. Her father even files for a divorce during the present day.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Imagine being mostly at work, having little time to see your family, only to find out that they were involved in an accident, which led to your daughter's death.
• Good Parents: Despite living separately, he still takes care of Moon Soo.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In Joo Won's memory, Dong Chul was the one who blamed his father for the collapse of S Mall, which led to Joo Won's father committing suicide.

Ha Yeon Soo

Portrayed by: Han Seo Jin

Moon Soo's younger sister, who was a child actress and model.

• Cheerful Child
• Plot-Triggering Death: Her death is the reason why Moon Soo's life is somewhat tangled.

Moon Soo's Aunt

Moon Soo's aunt, who comes to their house regularly to help out with the sauna and to take care of Yoon Ok.

• Awful Wedded Life
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Moon Soo, her mother, and her father all refer to her aunt as “Aunt”, despite said aunt calling Moon Soo’s mother as “unnie”.
• No Name Given

Kim Wan Jin

Portrayed by: Park Hee Von

Moon Soo's best friend who is a webtoon artist. She became wheelchair-bound after a motorcycle accident.

• All Girls Want Bad Boys: According to her story about her ex-boyfriend.
• Beta Couple: She and Jin Young are slowly shaping up to be one. They are later implied to be a couple.
• Parental Abandonment: Wan Jin is living separately from her parents.
• Secretly Wealthy: She says that her family is a "bit" rich. Her family seems to own buildings.

Jin Young

Portrayed by: Kim Min Gyu

A man who was arrested after posting malicious comments on Wan Jin's blog. He later becomes her assistant.

• Beta Couple: He and Wan Jin are slowly shaping up to be one. They are later implied to be a couple.
• Nice Guy: He turns out to be one.
• Tsundere: He was initially one to Wan Jin.

Somi

Portrayed by: Park Gyu Young

One of the workers at Seo Won who initially did not like Moon Soo, but they became close friends after.

• Shipper on Deck

Seung Jae

Moon Soo's first love, who died at the S Mall incident.

• Chekhov's Gunman: He's introduced as the reason why Moon Soo left her sister, but later it turns out that he's the person who was with Kang Doo after the accident happened, as well as the voice that Kang Doo has been hearing in his head.
• First Love: He was Moon Soo's first love.
• Momma's Boy: His mother speaks of him as he is still alive. His last wish was for Kang Doo to go tell his mother that he was still under the rubble.
• Survivor Guilt: Moon Soo feels that it's her fault that Seung Jae couldn't grow up to be an adult.

People around Joo Won and Yoo Jin

Jeong Yoo Taek

Portrayed by: Tae In Ho

Yoo Jin's older brother and the head of Cheongyu. He is a frequent customer at Mari's club.

• Arranged Marriage: He and his wife were married two months after the S Mall accident due to the struggles of the company.
• Big Fancy House: Yoo Jin, Yoo Taek, and Joo Won’s family live in one.
• Family Business: Cheongyu is run primarily by the CEO’s son, Yoo Taek, and his younger sister, Yoo Jin. Joo Won works for the company for the Bio Town project.
• First Love: The reason why Yoo Taek hires Mari to give him company is because she reminds him of his first love.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish to Yoo Jin's responsible.
• Hidden Depths: He's shown to be a stereotypical head of the company villain at first, but his personality is explored during his trips with Mari.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Though he is seen as the antagonist, his interactions with Mari show that he isn't just a jerk.
• Lonely Rich Kid

Joo Won's Mother

Portrayed by: Nam Ki Ae

Joo Won's mother, who married in to the Jeong family.

• Awful Wedded Life: Her position in the Jeong household is more like a maid. But she doesn't seem to mind it, though, since she really loves her husband.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Her husband committed suicide due to the S Mall collapse, and she married said mall's CEO so that her son could have a good life.
• Good Parents: She takes care of her son though they don't live together.
• No Name Given: She's just referred to as "mother" by Joo Won and "that woman" by Yoo Jin and Yoo Taek.
• Remarrying for Your Kids: The reason why Joo Won’s mother married Yoo Jin’s mother was so that Joo Won could live a better life. It is later revealed that she actually loved him, which is something that disappointed Joo Won.