although born and raised in joseon, sungkyung's mannerisms differ significantly from those of the average joseonian. her mother, a former gisaeng, died shortly after her birth, leaving her to be raised by her father and mother's family. her father, in the most uncommon of circumstances, was a portuguese merchant who had unintentionally impregnated her mother during a period of momentary infatuation. she had been performing at one of the king's events--he had thrown a grand party to welcome the western foreigners, whose skin and eye colors had never been seen before in the dynasty--and her father ,bewitched by the gisaeng's beauty and grace, had subsequently wooed her until she was writhing in pleasure in his bed. days before sungkyung's birth her mother approached her father, desperate for his support and care. despite his initial reluctance to accept the child as his, he eventually acquiesced in her final pleas as she lay dying on her bed, baby in her arms.

sungkyung grew up as somewhat of an outcast, living on the outskirts of the city in an isolated house with only her family and a few neighbors to keep her company. she spoke korean with her mother's parents but spoke portuguese with her father--they would share secrets, giggling about anything and everything as no one else could understand them. on ocassion he would take her to the ports, sharing stories of growing up in portugal and the secrets to effective bartering. ever curious and energetic, she would sneak out of the house when her father was working and enter the main city, often playing games with the local children or sweet-talking the older vendors into giving her free sweets. everyone was utterly charmed by her: the girl had the beauty of a doll, slender with perfect, light skin; her eyes, in a stark contrast to the muddy, depressing color of the average korean, were a striking hazel, pools of deep green with specks of gold and chocolate hidden within them; her hair was a fair brown, blonde highlights vaguely underlying her soft, wavy locks.

sungkyung, oblivious to the reasons for her charm but not to the charm itself, inevitably used the population's fascination to her advantage--she would gaze at adults from beneath her thick lashes and ask them in the sweetest of voices, tone twinged with a slight accent, to do things for her, and they would more often than not accede. she learned to read and write from young, noble students, learned to cook from kind pub workers, and learned the craft of medicine from traveling physicians. out of all her academic pursuits, medicine became the center of the focus: her mother's death still haunted her, and watching physicians work their magic made her dream of helping others to prevent others from experiencing the same absence she felt.

at the age of 13, a young physician, captivated by her eyes and pure heart, took sungkyung under his wing as an apprentice and taught her everything he knew about medicine, from the best locations to find certain herbs to the processes of performing small surgeries. her father, supportive of her pursuits, would sit with the girl and teach her western medicine under the flickering of candlelight late each night. at 17, her father died unexpectedly, and stricken with grief she left her house to live in the city with her mentor, devoting each minute and breath to her studies. months later sungkyung's mentor referred her to the palace to join the uinyeo, a group of female physicians who treated female commoners. her intelligence and quick-thinking slowly allowed her to move up the ranks until she was treating only the most important of people.

after four years of this sungkyung grew weary and tired, feeling as if she had lost sight of her original goal and feelings, too caught up in the ways and lifestyle of the nobility. she, with permission from the highest-ranking royal physician, quit her job and, using her savings, bought a small house in the center city. she now works as a merchant like her father, employing the strategies he had taught her to make small profits here and there while continuing her practice on the side, her house open to all in need of care free of charge.

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