The drama begins with Kim Do-ran living with her foster parents. Her mother had passed away shortly after her birth and her father was jailed 28 years ago. Do-ran's foster father and her father were friends since childhood. After learning that his childhood friend had asked his landlady to put his daughter, Do-ran in an orphanage, he brought Do-ran home. Do-ran's foster father hid the truth about her father from her and his own family. He treated Do-ran very well and ensured she had a good education. Because of this, Do-ran was treated unfairly by her envious foster sister, Mi-ran, and her foster mother who never regarded her as her own daughter.
Despite such treatment, Do-ran did all she could to earn money for her foster family. During one of her part-time jobs, she had an incident with Dae-ryuk, the scion of the Wang family. Mi-ran wanted to study abroad and become a TV announcer. Do-ran's foster mom and Mi-ran were angry that the foster father wanted to send Do-ran abroad instead. Before he could do so, he died in an accident. His assets were inherited by the foster mother and the foster sister, and Do-ran was thrown out. Alone, she rented a simple apartment and sought employment.
At this time, a general amnesty was issued and Do-ran's father was released from prison. He found a job as a chauffeur with the Wang family. His childhood friend had faithfully sent him pictures of Do-ran's development through the years so he knew what she looked like and how she was doing. However, the letters and pictures suddenly stopped, weeks before his release. In the days that followed, he tried to find Do-ran and came to learn of his childhood friend's accident and death.
Do-ran landed a job as a secretary in Bom and Food Company owned by the Wang family after helping the Wang matriarch, Geum-byung who mistook her for her younger sister during her bout of dementia. Her foster mother who made some bad judgements in investment and was in trouble with loan sharks later sought shelter with her. On learning of the loan shark problem, Do-ran's father secretly helped them by asking for an advance on his chauffeur salary. Taking Do-ran's advice, her foster sister and foster mother later sought employment and were able to support themselves.
Do-ran's relationship with Dae-Ryuk who's the director of the company developed further. Eventually, they married but relations with Da-ya who married the younger Wang brother and Dae-ryuk's mother were strained. The truth that Do-ran's father was a convict and was responsible for Da-ya's father's death came to light one day. The couple was forced to divorce. However, Do-ran's father was later cleared of the murder and he was able to resume a normal life; running a bakery and getting married. Do-ran also severed relations with the Wang family and lived with her father and her foster family. Dae-ryuk still loved Do-ran and wanted to remarry her. The drama finally ended when they promised to remarry each other and walked towards the end
Cast
Main
Choi Soo-jong as Kang Soo-il (formerly known as Kim Young-hoon): Do-ran's biological father[4]
^Repackaged with two 35-minute episodes shown each night from this drama onwards in accordance with MBC and SBS drama serials and with other drama time-slots.
^Originally scheduled to air for 100 episodes, the series was extended by six episodes due to its popularity.[2]
^"Nielsen Korea". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
^Woo, Bin (January 1, 2019). [2018 KBS 연기대상] 유동근 대상 "장미희 덕분인데 내가 왜..대하드라마 부활 기원" [[2018 KBS Drama Awards] Donggeun Lee Grand Prize "Why am I ... thanks to Jang Mi-hee.]. Ten Asia (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2019 – via Naver.
^Cho, Yeon-gyeong (April 5, 2019). "55회 백상예술대상 영화부문 최종 후보 공개". Is Plus (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved April 5, 2019.