The Truth Beneath

Jong-chan publicly announces his bid to unseat the incumbent No Jae-soon, shocking Yeon-hong and their circle with the couple's sudden shift toward politics. The announcement signals a new era of ambition for the family, who hope to blend public success with a comfortable private life. As the campaign heats up, the looming election casts a long shadow over Min-jin and her school life.

Days after the announcement, Min-jin vanishes, triggering a frantic search by the family. At first, Yeon-hong fears she has run off to gain attention, but the clues quickly prove otherwise. The friends Min-jin claimed to meet do not exist, deepening the mystery and setting a troubling tone.

Yeon-hong realizes the supposed meeting with Min-jin's friend doesn't exist and begins focusing on Mi-ok, a poor girl who wears an expensive watch that resembles Min-jin’s. The contrast between appearance and reality unsettles her, hinting at deeper school-wide pressures. She confronts Mi-ok and begins gathering more clues.

Yeon-hong uncovers a leaked set of exam papers from a young female teacher at the school and learns she leaked them to help Min-jin and Mi-ok improve their grades. The teacher admits the leak, claiming the motive was to reduce bullying and level the playing field. However, the move only heightens tensions and complicates the investigation.

Desperate for answers, Yeon-hong turns to unconventional sources, including a shaman, as the trail grows colder. She follows a string of ambiguous signals rather than police leads, hoping for a different kind of truth. The pursuit deepens the personal stakes for her as the case expands beyond the courtroom.

Police finally discover Min-jin’s body in the woods, shattering any remaining hope of a simple rescue. Yeon-hong is jolted into accepting that the tragedy has become a pawn in the political game as she pushes for citywide sympathy for Jong-chan’s campaign. The discovery reframes the investigation from a missing-person case to a murder that implicates powerful people.

As the public learns of Min-jin’s death, Yeon-hong confronts the rift between the party’s plan for a sympathy vote and the grim reality of her daughter's death. The campaign strains under the weight of scandal, while Yeon-hong wrestles with how far to go to protect Jong-chan’s political future. The political machinery begins to collide with the private tragedy that has upended their family.

Yeon-hong’s investigation leads to an abandoned building linked to Min-jin and Mi-ok’s music, where she uncovers a hidden stash and clues about their bond. The discovery of the secret hideout deepens the mystery rather than resolving it, revealing how far people will go to survive financial strain. The buried money hints at a broader web of influence and pressure manipulating events.

Yeon-hong learns that Mi-ok and Min-jin recorded their schoolteacher with her lover using a hidden camera concealed in a car air freshener to threaten for money. The girls’ scheme shows how fear of punishment and poverty can drive desperate actions. The case grows increasingly tangled as the teacher’s affair connects to broader pressures at the school.

It is a rainy night when Min-jin is struck by a car as Mi-ok hides nearby and witnesses the aftermath. Mi-ok then uses the driver’s car to murder the killer and drags Min-jin’s body into the woods. She takes the killer’s phone and disappears, leaving Yeon-hong with a crucial new clue that shifts the investigation toward those who hired the hit.

A series of flashbacks reveal that the man involved with the teacher is Jong-chan, and that he unknowingly hired a contract killer to murder his own daughter. The revelation reframes the tragedy as political collateral damage and exposes a hidden layer of manipulation behind the family’s life. The truth begins to reshape Yeon-hong's understanding of blame and responsibility.

Yeon-hong confronts Jong-chan, ties him up, and uploads a sex video featuring him to the internet, destroying his public image and career. The brutal reversal leaves him powerless as the truth about Min-jin’s death becomes widely known. The scene marks a culmination of Yeon-hong’s pursuit of justice and the collapse of the family’s political ambitions.

The family’s life is left in ruins as sympathy votes evaporate and scandal eclipses their public faces. Yeon-hong is left to weigh the costs of truth against political expediency, and the audience is left pondering who bears ultimate responsibility for Min-jin’s death. The film ends on a question about ambition, fear, and parental desperation.