as far as the red & yellow circles go for membership inside the ring-- are all members of the ring rich? if so, how exactly are red and yellow circle members rich, if they are escorts or signed on to a sub-par agency? or do they just operate as eden workers that cater to the ring? i can't tell if red/yellow circle members are part of the ring or not?
Oh, I do get where the confusion comes from, anon, so let me start from the beginning. In general, members of the ring are part of the upper class, but that’s not a rule without its exceptions. That said, the red and yellow circles, indeed, parts of the ring, and, while they’re certainly no chaebol heirs, their income isn’t as tight as one would imagine.
The line of high end escorts of the red circle is a more subservient class within the ring. As escorts first and foremost, they must prioritize member’s requests over their own choices as long as they are paid. They shouldn’t be necessarily rich, especially if they’re new in the job, but, after a while working in the red circle, they should make a decent living for themselves, which would come from their pay as high end workers, as well as from the cut they get from the drug trade, as they often play the role of middlemen and deal directly to their clients.
As for yellow, the company catering to less luxurious ends in modeling doesn’t mean its board of directors, associates and agents make little money. Their subpar handling of their models implies only the lower rank staffers and models are on the weaker side of the power dynamics, but the ones running the business are quite wealthy, and those are the ones who would join the ring. Yellow was inspired by the average medium sized entertainment company currently active in hallyu, so those could be used for reference, in that sense.
Also, just adding this in case it isn’t clear, since this roleplay is about the ring, all muses in it should necessarily be part of the ring, be it within a subplot or not.