CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER (mostly)
The Beginning: Tragedy and Deception
In the Joseon era, Yeol-guk, a wealthy nobleman, had a surrogate 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 slave boy, born to impoverished parents, suffers a tragic life:
He loses his real parents due to their master’s cruelty.
The boy, nicknamed "Ratshit", runs away after the master's father's death.
Caught by human traffickers (working for Yeol-guk), he is sold to Prince Hanpyeong.
Hanpyeong experiments on the boy, tattooing obscene paintings onto his back, and calls him "Halfwit" while locking him underground to bleach his skin pale.
While under Hanpyeong’s cruel captivity, the boy (then named Shinmyo) once tries to escape, but Hanpyeong’s men cut his ankle tendons as punishment.
After overhearing plans to bury him alive in the bamboo forest, believing he was now "useless," the boy tries to take his own life. A boy named Inhoe, a new captive, stops him, helps him escape, and sacrifices himself by taking Shinmyo’s place.
Running through the bamboo forest, Shinmyo is spotted by Song-wol, a gisaeng queen and former lover of Yeol-guk. Recognizing that he resembles the missing Hong Rang, she buys him from Hanpyeong, names him Hong Rang, and trains him to be an assassin - not out of motherly love, but for her own revenge against Yeol-guk.
Hong Rang, unaware of her true motives, believes Song-wol is a caring mother figure.
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.
The GraveBefore Hong Rang reveals his true backstory to Jae-i, Song-wol visits Yeol-guk.
Hong Rang warns her not to go, knowing she will die.
Before leaving, Song-wol cruelly reveals the truth: she never loved Hong Rang and had only used him for revenge.
Heartbroken and furious, Hong Rang cuts ties with Song-wol.
Drunk and devastated, he wanders to Hanpyeong’s grave, whom he had assassinated on Song-wol’s orders (using a poisoned needle to make it look natural).
Mu-jin sends assassins to capture him alive.
Outnumbered and weaponless, Hong Rang almost falls, but Inhoe appears, killing the assassins with bow and arrow and hands Hong Rang a sword.
In a fit of rage, Hong Rang digs up Hanpyeong’s body and rips it apart with the sword.
Afterward, full of guilt over his harsh words to Jae-i, Hong Rang returns to her house in the early morning, collapsing, covered in blood.
Jae-i finds him and breaks down crying, horrified at his condition.
Rumors quickly reach Yeol-guk and surviving Mu-jin supporters that Hong Rang desecrated Hanpyeong’s grave.
That's when Yeol-guk realizes the truth: the boy is not his real son, but a pawn created by Hanpyeong.
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.
