In Destined with You, Hong-jo has feelings for Kwon Jae-gyeong, a man who is considered the most good-looking man at the City Hall. Ha Jun plays the role of Kwon Jae-gyeong.
When Hong-jo gets transferred to City Hall, she gets a chance to work at the same place as Kwon Jae-gyeong. Hong-jo has feelings for him, and she comes to believe that Jae-gyeong reciprocates her feelings. However, the truth is something else.
The man everyone likes
Everyone who works at the City Hall knows Jae-gyeong, the most handsome man there. His good looks have earned him the title of PV, the person in charge of visuals in Onju City Hall, and he has many women vying for his attention.
Despite that, Jae-gyeong is not vain. He is a smart man who knows how to get the work done. He was Sin-yu’s senior when they were in university. While Sin-yu used to enjoy himself, Jae-gyeong used to work hard and study in the library to get good scores.
Since Jae-gyeong remembers Sin-yu and knows that he is a competent lawyer, he advises the mayor to hire him for legal counsel. He knows that Sin-yu does not care about the salary, so he offers him the job and convinces him to take it. Sin-yu will be working with Jae-gyeong.
Furthermore, Jae-gyeong is always nice to Hong-jo. His kindness and concern for others make Hong-jo like him. When protestors throw water at Jae-gyeong, Hong-jo shields him with her body, not caring about her own welfare.
The difference between kindness and love
Unlike Hong-jo’s team at the City Hall, Jae-gyeong is fair, and that is why he is able to recognize the worth of Hong-jo’s work. He compliments Hong-jo on the City Hall message board, something that no one has done until now.
When her coworkers try to demean her and question him about the compliment, he defends her and tells them that he likes the way she treats the people who come to file complaints. He even gets Hong-jo a shirt because hers was ruined when she shielded him.
This leads to Hong-jo accidentally confessing her feelings for him. His actions also give her hope that he might reciprocate her feelings. However, it turns out that Jae-gyeong was just being kind to her. He tells her that he likes her as a person but not romantically.
Jae-gyeong does not want to make things awkward between them, so he tells her that he will forget about her confession. Unfortunately, everyone else at their workplace finds out about it, and Hong-jo is disappointed as well as humiliated, even though Jae-gyeong tried to avoid that situation.
Also Read: Jang Sin-yu: Destined with You character explained