Sean goes surfing to cope after finding his girlfriend cheating, but the moment turns tragic when he drowns and is hospitalized. His friends misread his condition as a suicide attempt and try to lift his spirits by taking him to a party at a bar. A group of girls approaches, and one who speaks Chinese licks his face before they part ways.
The next day, while delivering a surfboard to a local shop, he meets Emily again. She explains that she was drunk and lost a game with her friends, which required her to lick a stranger’s face as punishment. They talk, share a few moments, and Emily suggests they try graffitiing on the street. As their bond grows, Sean invites Emily to dinner, though she insists she’s on a diet and refuses to eat. Afterwards, Sean shows Emily a vintage car left behind by his deceased father, which he hesitates to sell. As their relationship develops, Emily begins staying at Sean’s place.
One day, Sean discovers a nail clipper bitten in half in the bathroom and asks Emily about it. She panics, discards it, and makes an excuse to leave. Feeling that her secret is exposed, Emily later confesses that she is actually a “nail clipper monster,” a creature that resembles humans but feeds on nail clippers. Sean is initially skeptical, but Emily offers a detailed explanation of her race, describing how her ancestors came to America during the Gold Rush to search for metals for nail clippers.
Sean shares this with his friends, who all doubt Emily’s story—except Sean, who starts to wonder if there might be truth to it. His friends propose tests, asking her to eat a nail clipper or explain why she needs a fridge at her place, but Emily deftly dodges every challenge. She shares a dream of a world where her people are accepted by humans and even speaks of opening a café for nail clipper monsters. To show his commitment, Sean sells his father’s vintage car and funds the cafe, and Emily confesses her love for him. The couple buys a shop and renovates it, deciding not to include a kitchen and to fill a large wall with nail clipper decorations that match the cafe’s theme. They run the cafe with enthusiasm for a while, but there are no customers, and Sean begins to worry about losing his money. Emily decides to close the cafe and leaves him, urging Sean to sell the shop to recover some capital.
Heartbroken, Sean honors her wish and puts the cafe up for sale. But with its lacking kitchen and quirky design, buyers stay away, forcing him to lower the price until a man buys it. His friends grow convinced that Emily was a scam, and one even hires an investigator who reveals that she is a Chinese woman who grew up in Hawaii, not a Joseon exile in hiding. The buyer turns out to be her cousin’s boyfriend, who can simply add a kitchen by removing the nail clipper–decorated wall that connects to an empty attic. Unwilling to accept the truth, Sean travels the world to find Emily.
Six months later, Sean returns for his best friend’s wedding and considers pursuing a relationship with a longtime confidant who has secretly cared for him. Meanwhile, Emily receives a package containing a supply of nail clippers from her favorite brand. The film closes with a final image of Emily on a rooftop, happily munching on several nail clippers that are missing from the pack.
