Secret Sunshine

After her husband dies in a traffic accident, Shin-ae and her son Jun relocate to his hometown of Miryang seeking a fresh start. On entering the city, their car breaks down and a local mechanic, Kim Jong-chan, fixes it and offers further help. He helps Shin-ae start a piano academy and pursues land to build a house, presenting himself as a benevolent Good Samaritan.

One afternoon Shin-ae meets a middle-school girl outside her home. The girl's father, Park Do-seop, is Jun's daycare teacher, linking Shin-ae to a potential source of trouble. The encounter foreshadows the intertwined fates of Shin-ae, Do-seop, and Jun.

Shin-ae visits a pharmacist who tells her the solution to her problems is belief in God. The pharmacist gives her a scripture, and Shin-ae accepts it despite lingering skepticism. This encounter plants the seed for a new faith in her life.

At home, Shin-ae and Jun engage in a prank where she pretends she cannot find him. The prank underscores the fragility of their relationship after the trauma of the loss. It hints at Shin-ae's unsettled mental state and longing for control.

Shin-ae's brother visits from Seoul to question why she remains in Miryang and mentions rumors about her late husband. Shin-ae denies the gossip but resents the point, revealing unresolved guilt. He also remarks that Jong-chan is not Shin-ae's type.

One night Jun goes missing after Shin-ae returns home late from partying. She receives a call and withdraws nearly all her money to pay a ransom, only to realize the demand is pitifully small. The shock of the kidnapping unsettles her and sets the course for subsequent grief.

Police take Shin-ae to a reservoir where Jun's body is found, and the killer is Do-seop, Jun's daycare teacher. Shin-ae does not burst into tears at the funeral, appearing numb rather than shocked. The revelation deepens the sense of injustice and confusion she carries.

Feeling unwell, Shin-ae visits the pharmacist again and is persuaded to join their faith, seeking meaning after Jun's death. She gradually embraces belief and begins to tell others she has found inner peace. Jong-chan also starts going to church with her.

Shin-ae hears noises in her bathroom and finds a little boy from Jun's daycare using the space, a chilling echo of the day-to-day chaos around her. The moment deepens the sense that her world is merging with unexpected strangers. It foreshadows how ordinary life continues alongside unresolved trauma.

Shin-ae's church friends throw her a birthday party, signaling her integration into the faith community. She declares that she will visit Do-seop in prison to forgive him, and Jong-chan accompanies her. Do-seop claims he has found God and is absolved, challenging Shin-ae's understanding of forgiveness.

Shin-ae steals a CD of the song Lies and blasts it on a loudspeaker at a gathering thanking God, creating a scene of provocation. The act signals her estrangement from her earlier acts of devotion and her willingness to provoke religious sentiment. The public backlash marks another turning point in her unraveling.

That night she receives a phone call she believes is from the kidnapper and goes to the pharmacist's husband; she seduces him, but he cannot perform and she becomes ill. Later she seeks solace with Jong-chan, who rejects her romantic advances. The sequence exposes her desperation and the fragility of her relationships.

A vigil for the pharmacist couple is interrupted when a rock is hurled at a window, signaling ongoing hostility around Shin-ae's circle. She then returns home and slashes her wrists, acting on despair rather than protest or revenge. The act marks a dramatic low point in her grieving process.

On the day of discharge, Jong-chan takes Shin-ae to a salon where the girl from Jun's daycare now works and has revealed past juvenile detention. Shin-ae processes these revelations and the way people around her have suffered, contributing to a shift in her empathy. The scene sets the stage for the final moment of self-reflection.

During the salon visit, Shin-ae begins cutting her own hair, then leaves the cut incomplete to indicate her unsettled state. At home she continues cutting her hair, while Jong-chan arrives and offers to hold up a mirror for her, signaling quiet support rather than judgment. The ending pictures Shin-ae moving forward with tentative, fragile healing.