Just then, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Park Jang-goon. He had sent a video of Seung-cheon’s father being humiliated at a convenience store, begging for a loan. Jang-goon’s mocking caption read: Like father, like son. Dirt spoons forever.

Earlier that afternoon, while running away from another brutal encounter with Jang-goon's lackeys, Seung-cheon had stumbled upon a mysterious old woman selling trinkets on the street. Amidst the junk, a gleaming, ornate golden spoon had caught his eye.

Seung-cheon was a "dirt spoon"—a child born into a family with no money, no connections, and no future. His father was a failed webtoon artist with a heart of gold but zero financial sense, constantly drowning the family in debt. His mother worked herself to the bone at a dead-end job, and his sister sacrificed her own dreams to help pay the bills. Seung-cheon was brilliant, attending the ultra-elite Seoul Jeil High School on a scholarship, but brilliance meant nothing in a world ruled by gold spoons.