Ellis is a primary character and one of Cassia’s male romantic interests. He is 28 years old and works as a landscape architect for Watson and Associates, the firm of his boss and best friend, Daniel Nam. Ellis found himself in this trade by happenstance, never having pursued a career in horticulture, but quickly discovering a natural aptitude for the craft via his work with Daniel. His willingness to try new things, to challenge himself, and to reinvent his life is one of the many things that draw Cassia to Ellis. Ellis is also a happy-go-lucky character who always sees the positive in life. He is reliable, a good listener, and self-assured, without being pompous or rigid. At times, Cassia dismisses his ease as an artifact of his youth, but Ellis proves himself to be authentic, following his personal belief system in his relationships and work alike.

Ellis changes how Cassia sees herself and defines love. When the two meet by chance, Ellis falls for Cassia at first sight. Cassia is readily taken by Ellis, too, but feels confused by their undeniable chemistry because he is not her fated, Daniel Nam. She can’t deny that she and Ellis get along, that Ellis has a magnetic aura, or that the two are sexually and emotionally compatible. Even so, she struggles to reconcile their connection with what she knows about her destiny with Daniel. Giving Ellis a chance and letting him into her heart would mean rejecting Daniel and the future she has anticipated for her entire life. Over time, however, she comes to see that letting go of destiny and following her heart might lead to a more fulfilled future. As Matthew suggests when the two are discussing the matter in Detroit, “maybe that’s the adventure” (298).

Daniel Nam is another of the novel’s primary characters. He is also another male romantic lead and the third member of the novel’s central love triangle. At the start of the novel, Daniel Nam is only a name: one Halmoni gave to Cassia when she read her face and her future on her 30th birthday. For 10 years, Cassia has waited to meet and start a life with Daniel, but no one has been able to track him down. Even still, Cassia builds him up in her mind as the epitome of love, stability, and happiness. When the two finally do meet through Ellis—Daniel is Ellis’s boss at Watson and Associates—Cassia feels torn between the two men. Daniel is attractive, charming, and put together; in short, he is everything Cassia has hoped for in a romantic partner. However, he is not Ellis.

Throughout the novel, Cassia’s feelings and regard for Daniel vacillate in accordance with her relationship with Ellis. Cassia breaks up with Ellis to be with Daniel, but whenever she runs into Ellis around town, she finds herself swept back up in their marked chemistry. When she and Daniel are alone with one another, Cassia reminds herself how perfect she and Daniel are for each other and throws herself back into this version of destiny. In these latter moments, Cassia’s internal monologue becomes more rigid and templated, outlining Daniel’s good qualities as if to remind herself why they should be together:

I’m noting a few things—this man is purposeful. Goal-oriented. I think about the way his life has unfolded; he’s created all this for himself. I admire him for it. I wonder if this is why Daniel and I are fated, and why we might be drawn to each other life after life (156).

Cassia lists all of Daniel’s positive traits as if completing a chart. While Daniel is indeed purposeful and strong, he and Cassia do not have the same fluid chemistry as Cassia and Ellis.

Despite Daniel’s marked goodness, he and Cassia do not end up together. After she learns that her father was her mother’s fated and that they still didn’t end up together, Cassia decides to break up with Daniel. Fated love no longer means guaranteed happiness, love, or commitment. Therefore, Cassia chooses to spend her life with Ellis instead of forcing a future with Daniel.

Marcella is a secondary character. She is Cassia’s best friend and largely occupies the role of sidekick to the female lead, as is common in romantic comedies. Marcella is kind, clever, and funny. She is dependable and is always at Cassia’s side when she needs a listening ear, comfort, or encouragement. The two take bike rides together, visit the park, go out for coffee, have dinner at each other’s houses, spend time with one another’s families, talk on the phone, and show up unannounced on one another’s doorsteps. Their relationship is based in mutual love and respect.

Marcella is married to a man named Logan with whom she has two children, Ozzie and Mica. Cassia admires their family, particularly how her best friend adores her husband and devotes herself to her children: “Marcella is a force to be reckoned with” (50), and Cassia “would say she’s superhuman for doing all she does with two kids” (50). Beyond motherhood, Marcella is also a budding restauranteur—she is working on opening her own restaurant throughout the novel. Cassia’s admiration of her implies that she respects Marcella’s opinions and worldview.

Marcella challenges Cassia to follow her own path and listen to her own heart. While she loves love as much as Cassia’s family, she is less married to notions of fate and destiny than her best friend. She understands how much One & Only Matchmaking means to Cassia, but she has always hoped that Cassia would exercise her agency and take more risks. Cassia doesn’t always accept Marcella’s opinions or follow her advice, but she values what Marcella has to say. Over time, she puts more stock into Marcella’s worldview, allowing Marcella’s more flexible views of love to influence her own.