Aside from the tension between mothers and daughters, the drama also explores how women become marginalized amid gender bias and stereotypical ignorance.

Ren's mother, for example, holding the outdated belief of favoring boys over girls, refuses to spend 68 yuan ($9.96) on a much-needed school uniform for her daughter, yet spends 95 yuan on a set of encyclopedias for her son. After growing up and graduating from a prestigious college, Ren's life remains overshadowed by men. Her husband, a best-selling author and professor with whom she seems to have a perfect marriage, is actually a thief, stealing Ren's diary and using it as material for his new novel.

Known for popular female-centric dramas such as A Dream of Splendor, director Yang was drawn to this new project by the socially relevant issues concerning women. The two protagonists' experiences, from childhood to adulthood, reminded her of women who face hardships and strive to overcome them throughout their lives.

"As a woman myself, I was quite interested because it's a novel about women. It reflects the authentic status quo faced by many women," Yang says.

Recalling that she read the book in late 2022, while she was shooting Imperfect Victim — a crime drama about a workplace sexual harassment case — Yang says she was hooked by the story's in-depth narrative approach.

"Suspense is the vehicle to drive the plot and keep audiences engaged episode after episode," she explains. "But my motivation behind this project is to reveal the hidden aspects of the characters — seemingly ordinary people who fight against unfair fates and selflessly support and help one another."