CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER (mostly)
The Beginning: Tragedy and Deception
In the Joseon era, Yeol-guk, a wealthy nobleman, falls in love with a woman from a lower status. They have a child, Jae-i, but Yeol-guk is already married to the ruthless Lady Min. Fueled by jealousy, Lady Min murders Jae-i’s mother while she is giving birth.
Lady Min is cunning and power-hungry. Before her marriage, she plots to inherit her father’s wealth by forcing Yeol-guk, a poor nobleman, to marry her instead of being adopted by her father.
Yeol-guk, aware of Lady Min’s schemes, deliberately ignores Jae-i, knowing that if he showed kindness, Lady Min would torment her even more. Lady Min physically and emotionally abuses Jae-i throughout her childhood.
The Death of the Real Hong Rang
Yeol-guk and Lady Min have a son, Hong Rang (real). One day, while his nanny is momentarily distracted, he climbs a ladder to the roof to see a swallow’s nest and falls to his death, cracking his skull. Terrified that Lady Min will take her anger out on her daughter, the nanny secretly disposes of Hong Rang’s body by throwing it into the well. His disappearance is reported as him going missing, but in reality, he is already dead.
When Yeol-guk learns this later, he tortures her publicly and beheads her daughter.
The Arrival of the Fake Hong Rang
At the same time, a young boy - a slave - loses his parents. He is captured by human traffickers (working under Yeol-guk) and sold to Prince Hanpyeong, who cruelly experiments on him by tattooing obscene paintings onto his back. Eventually, he is sold to a gisaeng house.
Among the gisaengs is Song-wol, once the lover of Yeol-guk. She was betrayed and sold into servitude by Lady Min. Recognizing that the slave boy resembles Yeol-guk’s missing son, she buys him and raises him, giving him the name Hong Rang, to use him for her revenge against Yeol-guk.
Years later, Hong Rang (fake) learns the truth about his past and seeks revenge against the powerful nobles who destroyed his life.
The Shaman’s Curse: Gwigokja
Gwigokja, a shaman whose past is intricately linked to Lady Min. As a child, she watched her mother (a fellow shaman) being beaten to death by Lady Min for refusing to perform a ritual Lady Min demanded.
Now grown and using the name Gwigokja, she inserts herself back into Lady Min’s world, feeding her twisted prophecies and half-truths. She never mentions that Hong Rang will die young, nor that his soul will be trapped in the courtyard well after death. She whispers lies that fan the flames of Lady Min’s hatred for Jae-i, pushing her further into madness and paranoia.
Mu-jin’s Struggle for Recognition
Mu-jin, the son of a poor nobleman, is sold to Yeol-guk for 2,000 nyang. His real name is Seol-kyung. Though raised in the household, he is never truly accepted. Lady Min refuses to consider him her son, making it clear that he will never be an heir.
Mu-jin grows up in constant struggle, wanting to be recognized and loved. Over time, he develops romantic feelings for his stepsister, Jae-i. However, she only sees him as family.
The Return of Hong Rang (Fake)
After ten+ years, Hong Rang (fake) returns to the household, claiming to be the lost son of Yeol-guk and Lady Min. He is met with suspicion, especially from Mu-jin and Jae-i, who are convinced that something is off.
At first, Hong Rang’s goal is simple: revenge. But things become complicated when he falls in love with Jae-i. Torn between his thirst for vengeance and his newfound love, he begins to hesitate.
Lady Min, unaware that Hong Rang is an imposter, decides to transfer all her wealth to him, abandoning Mu-jin completely. This devastates Mu-jin, who realizes he has nothing - not family, not love, not even wealth.
Feeling utterly discarded, Mu-jin confesses his feelings to Jae-i and begs her to run away with him to Yeonggyeong. However, she refuses, as she is in love with Hong Rang. Heartbroken and empty, Mu-jin hangs himself. He doesn't even get a proper funeral. Imagine doing everything you can, but no one accepts your worth.
Secrets, Escape, and Poison
Following the nanny's torture and her daughter’s execution, fake Hong Rang helps the nanny escape.
Meanwhile, since his return, Hong Rang has been secretly poisoning Yeol-guk through a special wild honey. Over time, Yeol-guk’s health deteriorates. His servants whisper that his condition is irreversible, that he’s being eaten alive from the inside.
The Ultimate Revenge and the Fall of Yeol-guk
Yeol-guk, still suspicious of Hong Rang’s origins, investigates and uncovers his true identity. He captures and locks Hong Rang in a vault. Mu-jin tortures him.
He escapes the vault and determined to be free from his past, he peels off his back skin to remove the cursed tattoo, enduring unimaginable pain.
Yeol-guk's connection with human traffickers is revealed to everyone. He is accused to treason and get imprisoned and dies soon because of the poison.
With Hong Rang’s final wish, Lady Min transfers all her wealth to Jae-i, just as she had originally planned to do for Hong Rang. Lady Min later dies due to chronic illness (Yeol-guk had made her addicted to opium to get everything she inherited after her death).
Love and Tragic End
With Yeol-guk gone and the wealth in Jae-i’s hands, Hong Rang and Jae-i finally confirm their love and spend the night together. However, the cost of his revenge is too great - Hong Rang is dying from the toxicity of the severe wounds from peeling off his own back skin.
Despite Jae-i’s desperate attempts to save him, Hong Rang dies in her arms. Heartbroken, Jae-i holds a soul wedding for him.
She is left as the sole survivor, inheriting everything but losing everyone she ever loved.
