Lee Seungwan, the son of a wealthy merchant, is introduced to the audience. He is a young man of twenty-one years old, and he is a member of the clan of Kiho, a wealthy family. His father, Lee Manseong, was a successful businessman, and his mother was the second wife of the wealthy merchant. Lee Seong, the eldest son of the merchant, was born into a middle class family, and succeeded in the trade of silk. His mother died when Lee was a child, and Lee was raised by his father's second wife, who died when he was a young woman. When Lee asks about his relationship with his brother, Seong asks if it is related to the scars he has received from his brother. Seong replies that it is not, and that his brother is not the kind of person who would do such a thing. He then asks who gave him the scars, and Seong says that no one could do that, because his brother isn't the type of person to do such things. He asks if his brother asked him to do it, or if it was his father who asked him, and so on. When Seong calls him a bastard, the butler calms him down, saying that he needs to calm his heart so that he can get the medicine out.