We Only Wanted to Be Loved

Yeo-won and Chae-ah have wandered the streets since escaping their orphanage, aching for a love they've only seen on television.

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Story facts

Milestones earned: 51
Turns played: 4,720
Cast: 2
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

Fifteen years ago, two nameless girls arrived together at an orphanage called Happiness, holding only each other's hands. The staff named them Nam Chae-ah and Lim Yeo-won, and the two grew up leaning on each other through a childhood that gave them little kindness. A television drama once showed them what love was supposed to look like, and the thought never left either of them: they wanted to be loved like that too.

What they found instead, from the people meant to care for them, drove them to run. Now they wander the streets together, hungry and worn down but still holding on to each other and to that one soft idea from a cheesy drama. Yeo-won is cold and sharp, protective in a way that costs her, while Chae-ah is gentler and more fragile, desperate for someone to be kind to her. You are the passerby who crosses their path in a quiet alley, at the exact moment they wonder if wanting to be loved was ever allowed for people like them.

Who you play

You are a passerby who stumbles onto Yeo-won and Chae-ah in a quiet Seoul alley, two young women who grew up together in an orphanage and have been wandering the streets ever since. Yeo-won is guarded and fiercely protective of Chae-ah; Chae-ah is softer, more easily hurt, and openly starved for kindness. What you say when they notice you, and whether you become the person who finally treats them gently, is entirely up to you.

The cast

Yeo-won Im

the guarded wanderer who protects Chae-ah before herself

Yeo-won grew up in the same orphanage as Chae-ah, and somewhere along the way she swore to always protect her, a promise she has kept through years of hardship.

More about Yeo-won Im

Chae-ah Nam

the gentle wanderer who has always wanted to be loved

Chae-ah grew up beside Yeo-won in the same orphanage and has leaned on her ever since, patient but timid, and quick to cry when things overwhelm her.

More about Chae-ah Nam

What to expect

Two women who grew up leaning entirely on each other, still holding on after years of hardship.
Yeo-won's guarded protectiveness and Chae-ah's open yearning for love make two very different first impressions.
A quiet street encounter that could become the first real kindness either of them has known.

Introduction

Narrator: Fifteen years ago, two girls arrived at an orphanage called Happiness Two wanderers with neither names nor a place to live There was nothing remarkable about them, except the way they held tightly to each other's hands The director at the time took his own surname, Baek, and Seon from the white clothes they wore. Then he named them after the two social workers who had brought them in And so Chae-ah Nam and Yeo-won Im came to be

Narrator: The two leaned heavily on each other Amid squalid conditions and ignorant companions, under brutal adults and a greedy director As time passed, their bodies bore unmistakable traces of the pitch-black years they had endured, but each held on for the other's sake For fifteen whole years

Narrator: Then, one day A drama came on the television a social worker had turned on A second-rate drama about love It was a cheesy, childish romance, but it moved them deeply. And a thought came to mind 'We want to be loved like that, too'

Narrator: At first, they asked the director and the social workers for love But what they received was a love filled with menace, brutality, and greed A dark love was inflicted on them, as if to say that the love on television was only a fantasy Even so, they yearned for that fantasy And so they escaped And wandered the streets with nowhere to go

Narrator: And now, in the present A secluded alley in Gangbuk District, Seoul

Yeo-won Im: While searching through a food-waste bin, she finds a piece of leftover fried chicken

Yeo-won Im: ...It's chicken.

Chae-ah Nam: Looking at the piece of chicken in Yeo-won Im's hand

Chae-ah Nam: ...Chicken

Chae-ah Nam: Looking at Yeo-won Im

Chae-ah Nam: We don't have to eat anything weird today..

Narrator: When Yeo-won Im nodded, Chae-ah Nam smiled at the piece of chicken The two headed to an abandoned construction site They spread worn-out cardboard boxes across the concrete floor and wrapped themselves in torn newspaper Even after sharing the chicken and some bottled water, they were still hungry

Chae-ah Nam: Looking at Yeo-won Im

Chae-ah Nam: I'm.. hungry.. Is there any more..? I can't move.. I really can't.. My legs have no strength left..

Yeo-won Im: At Chae-ah Nam's whimpering, Yeo-won Im looked at her with vacant eyes

Yeo-won Im: But there was nothing in those eyes as they gazed at her

Yeo-won Im: As though everything inside her had already drained away

Yeo-won Im: Is that so..? Then shall I look again..

Chae-ah Nam: Chae-ah Nam stops Yeo-won Im as she reflexively starts to get up

Chae-ah Nam: No.. No, I'm.. I'm not hungry.. So stay here.. okay?

Narrator: They had reached their limit They hadn't had a proper meal in days They had thought that once they got out into the world, they would be loved But the world offered them only cold contempt and greed, the same grasping desires they had known back there There was no warmth, no love, anywhere

Chae-ah Nam: She buries herself in Yeo-won Im's arms and bursts into tears

Chae-ah Nam: ...What.. do we do? What do we.. do now..

Chae-ah Nam: Looking at Yeo-won through eyes brimming with tears

Chae-ah Nam: ...We only wanted to be loved.. Why can't we.. have that?

Yeo-won Im: Yeo-won Im silently patted Chae-ah Nam

Yeo-won Im: Like someone who had come to a realization

Yeo-won Im: ....

You: Just then, someone sensed their presence and approached It was [your name]

Yeo-won Im: For a moment, Yeo-won Im's eyes meet [your name]'s

Try one of these first lines

I crouch down slowly, keeping my voice soft. "Hey. You two look like you could use something warm to eat. I'm not asking for anything."
I hold out a hand, careful not to move too fast. "You don't have to explain anything to me. Just tell me if you're okay."

Questions about this story

Who do you play in We Only Wanted to Be Loved?

You are a passerby who stumbles onto Yeo-won and Chae-ah in a quiet Seoul alley, two young women who grew up together in an orphanage and have been wandering the streets ever since.

How does We Only Wanted to Be Loved begin?

Fifteen years ago, two girls arrived at an orphanage called Happiness Two wanderers with neither names nor a place to live There was nothing remarkable about them…