In 1994, Eun Hee, 14 years of age, is the runt of three children, sibling to a delinquent middle sister and an overachieving but violent elder brother. Her parents run a small rice cake store and provide little parenting to their children as they constantly quarrel in front of them. Eun Hee dates a local boy and gets up to mischief with her best friend Ji Sook until she becomes spellbound by her new Chinese character teacher, Young Ji. As Eun Hee deals with the people and pressures around her, summer wears on with several major news events happening in the background, including the world cup, the death of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and the collapse of the Seongsu bridge.