1975. Lee Sung-Chun and Lee Yong-Joon are best friends cum business competitors in the music industry. Their singers - Jung Tee-na and Yang Kyong-hee (Yang Mi-mi) are contending for a coveted award. Yang Kyong-hee is reputed to be the winner but an alleged drug charge dashes her hopes.
Yong-joon suspects Sung-chun of framing Kyong-hee and confronts him, resulting in an accidental murder. Sung-chun's assistant - Bong-tal helps cover-up the murder. Yong-joon's wife, Myong-ja is devastated over her husband's untimely death, Sung-chun promises to take care of Myong-ja and her son, San-jae.
Sung-chun fetches Myong-ja and San-jae back to his home. His mother-in-law is enraged and is spiteful towards Myong-ja. Sung-chun's children, Min-chul and Min-ji treat San-jae and his mother with animosity.
Sung-chun brings San-jae to the orphanage. San-jae interrupts a small birthday celebration and is acquanited with two orphans, Kim Yeon-soo and Kim Sae-na. Yeon-soo gives Sae-na a picture as as a gift but Sae-na is unhappy about it. San-jae gives her his watch instead. Yeon-soo is unhappy about receiving gifts without a proper reason, San-jae takes her drawing as an exchange for his watch.
Yeon-soo scalds Sae-na accidentally, Sung-chun rushes the little girl to the hospital. Since then, Yeon-soo vows to take good care of Sae-na . Yeon-soo is leaving the orphanage to seek a living in Seoul, Yeon-soo promises Sae-na they will reunite at the Seoul Tower on their birthday. She gives Sae-na a ring to wear around her neck as a rememberance.
Sung-chun is celebrating San-jae's admission to medical school when Min-chul returns from overseas. He is upset that Min-ji has left home to stay with their grandmother. He arrives in time to see his grandmother before her death and returns home with Min-ji.
Sae-na stands up for a fellow orphan and admits to stealing and is subjected to punishment. She runs away to Seoul in hope of looking for Yeon-soo. Yeon-soo learns about Sae-na and is shocked. Sae-na waits eagerly for Yeon-soo at the Seoul Tower but Yeon-soo meets with an accident on the way and fails to turn up for the reunion. Sae-na is upset and is convinced that Yeon-soo has abandoned her.
Yeon-soo's friend, Kang Na-rae introduces her a job at Victory Records. Yeon-soo is excited as she believes she has a higher chance of meeting Sae-na at the company as Sae-na has dreams of being a singer and she might turn up at Victory Records one day.
Min-chul reminds his staff to attend a post-celebration party at the disco after the awards ceremony. Just then, he is notified of the rowdy fans outside the company. To distract their attention, he dresses Yeon-soo in a singer's garb and leads her out of the company. Yeon-soo is taken aback by his actions. Yeon-soo returns to the company and learns that Min-chul is the owner's son - she thinks about San-jae.
Yeon-soo's supervisor discovers a shop-lifter and alerts her staff. Yeon-soo gives chase and is shocked to see that the shop-lifter is Sae-na. Sae-na takes the opportunity to escape.