Early spring in the late 1950’s, a couple of middle-aged man and woman are in a raw fish restaurant on the beach.  The man, Ku Bon-Woong, a fauvist, is drinking as if he’s appreciating the taste of wine and the comely woman, Kumhong, is speaking quietly.  Their faces are full of remorse of the past. 

In 1932, Bon-Woong comes back from Japan after studying.  His first private exhibition after returning home is held as he is called as the first fauvist in Korea.  At this exhibition he meets many people, one of whom is Yi Sang, a would-be genius young poet.  Bon-Woong and Sang understand each other and make inseparable friends as soon as they meet.  To Bon-Woong Sang is a modernist genius full of passion. To Sang Bon-Woong is an open-hearted artist as well as a friend of wealth. 
Both Bon-Woong and Sang commit many queer things almost everyday.  Love affairs with women are one of the queer things.  Bon-Woong is inferior to Sang who is tall, handsome and eloquent, in the woman matters.  Finally Sang comes to have relations with Bon-Woong’s fiancee and Bon-Woong feels betrayed.  But they begin to get together again because they know each other very well.  One day they escape from the capital city, Kyung-Sung (Seoul), on account of Sang’s serious illness. 

They live in retirement in a country town.  They feel easy until Kumhong appears.  Shortly Sang falls in love with Kumhong.  Bon-Woong is also lost in Kumhong’s beauty as he sees her.  Sang and Kumhong’s love becomes so hot, and even abnormal.  Kumhong makes love with other man at Sang’s suggestion as if it is a kind of evidence of their love.  Bon-Woong and Sang leaves for Kyung-Sung after they quarrel as Bon-Woong is mad at their abnormality in love. 

In Kyung-Sung, Bon-Woong and Sang works hard.  Later Kumhong get together with Sang and both live a stable life for a while.  Sang begins to suffer from bad situations.  Readers complain about his poems and his coffee shop business, which was opened when Kumhong came to Kyung-Sung, is getting worse.  Kumhong leaves Sang after her dispute with Sang.  After she leaves, Sang’s abnormality is getting severe and….