High Society

Tae-jun proposes a low-interest citizen's bank as a solution to gentrification and social inequality. He also heroically saves an elderly man who attempts self-immolation during a protest, drawing public admiration. These events culminate in a nomination from the conservative party, thrusting him into national politics.

Soo-yeon, initially aiming for the gallery director’s chair, realizes she can increase her power by backing Tae-jun’s parliamentary bid. She begins maneuvering behind the scenes, leveraging political and corporate ties to advance her husband’s profile. Her decision marks a shift from personal ambition to strategic alliance.

Tae-jun begins an extramarital affair with a young aide who was once his student. The liaison deepens despite risks of scandal and strain on their marriage. Soo-yeon outwardly tolerates the relationship, prioritizing her own ambitions over moral concerns.

Soo-yeon rekindles a relationship with her ex-boyfriend, a promising artist, and their affair travels to Paris, where they are filmed having sex on camera. The footage becomes a potential weapon in the power struggle inside the gallery and politics. Time: mid-story

The sex tape ends up in the hands of Chief Min, a rival for the director position, threatening Soo-yeon’s ambitions. He uses the material to pressure her and influence the scramble for control of the gallery. Time: mid-story

Soo-yeon seduces the gallery’s conglomerate chairman, offering herself in exchange for the directorship. The chairman defends an art ideology built on celebrity sex on canvas and preserving such imprints. The negotiations push her deeper into the corrupt orbit of power.

As a conservative candidate, Tae-jun tries to secure funding for the citizen bank from corporations. He later discovers the party is colluding with those same corporations, using the bank as a political tool. It’s revealed that even the elderly man he rescued had been paid off to stage the incident.

Just before Soo-yeon consummates her deal with the chairman, the current director storms in, turning the tables. She counters by offering the director a compromising video of the chairman in exchange for real power, and she becomes co-director alongside the chairman’s son. This marks a pivotal shift in the gallery’s leadership dynamic.

On the opening day of a new exhibition, Soo-yeon publicly screens her own sex tape as an art piece, delivering a self-critical confession of her desires and exposing corruption within the gallery. The audience responds with applause, signaling a dramatic reversal of public perception. Time: final act

Tae-jun relinquishes his parliamentary seat and hands over evidence of the conservative party's corruption to a prosecutor. The bold move, paired with the exposure of gallery rot, frees him from political ambition. He shifts to running a small-scale citizen bank.

With the corrupt system exposed and their ambitions redirected, Soo-yeon operates her own independent exhibition space while Tae-jun runs a modest citizen bank. They are depicted as liberated from elite trappings and pursuing more grounded paths.

Having rejected the political and art-world power games, the couple steadies into quieter, purpose-driven lives. They choose autonomy and integrity over public acclaim, signaling a lasting shift away from their former ambitions.