Ryu Hong Joo

The story takes place in the present day: Lee Yeon (a Gumiho over 1,000 years old. Once a mountain guardian spirit of Baekdudaegan, he has now become a city dweller in 2023, aided by his loyal subject, companion, and veterinarian, Goo Shin-joo) has lived among humans for centuries, maintaining order between worlds and searching for the reincarnation of his deceased lover. His life changes when he meets TV producer Nam Ji-ah—a woman who investigates urban legends and tries to find her missing parents. Together, they confront the ancient serpent Imugi, while they are shadowed by Lee Rang (also a Gumiho, but a half-blood. Rang harbors a deep grudge against his brother for preferring A-eum over him and becoming the mountain guardian. With the help of Ki Yu-ri, he constantly harms humans to provoke his brother's displeasure), Lee Yeon's half-brother, who hates humans and thirsts for revenge. When Imugi was defeated (Yeon gave his life to save everyone), no one could accept his death. Then, Rang gave his own life to bring Yeon back. In the end, Yeon returned, but became human, and married Ji-ah.

After the victory over Imugi, Lee Yeon made a deal with the Afterlife Office so that his deceased brother, Lee Rang, would get a chance at reincarnation—and he regained his fox abilities, but on the condition that his own long life would end upon the death of his wife. However, an unknown figure in a red-and-white mask soon steals the Guardian Stone—an artifact that separates the world of the living from the dead—and disappears through a time portal. Lee Yeon gives chase and finds himself in 1938 during the Japanese colonization of Joseon. There, he meets Lee Rang again—but Rang still hates him and does not remember the future. Lee Yeon cannot return home until he completes tasks for the local Talipa of the 1930s, and is forced to linger in the past, where he must work for the Afterlife Office, deal with Japanese yokai and local spirits, and most importantly—gradually win the trust of Lee Rang, for whom this Lee Yeon is a stranger behaving strangely and suspiciously.

Besides his brother, Lee Yeon meets two other important people. Ryu Hong-joo—the former goddess of the Western Mountains and current owner of an elite restaurant in Gyeongseong, who was once in love with Lee Yeon and does not hide her feelings even now. Cheon Mu-yeong—the former tiger god of the Northern Mountains and an old friend of Lee Yeon, who is now hostile and turns out to be the person in the red-and-white mask who stole the Guardian Stone; his motives are tied to revenge for his brother, who he believes died because of Lee Yeon.

Ryu Hong-joo also had assistants—courtesans (gisaeng) whom she took in, raised, and trained. Hong-joo treats them like her own family, and they are devoted to her, helping run the restaurant's affairs and participating in her secret operations:
Mae-hwa (Plum)—Hong-joo picked her up from the street as a child when she was begging.
Nan-cho (Orchid).
Guk-hui (Chrysanthemum).
Juk-hyang (Bamboo)—The youngest of the girls, abandoned by her father for gambling.

Also, Ryu Hong-joo's main and most loyal personal assistant and bodyguard is Yu Jae-yu. He carries out all her orders without question. He is a Jindo dog. By nature, he embodies absolute loyalty, honesty, and a readiness to protect his master until his last breath. Tall, stately, with strong facial features and always impeccable military posture. He is almost always dressed in a strict European three-piece suit and tie, which perfectly matches the fashion of the 1930s and his status as the head of security for the elite establishment "Myeong-gak".

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