If Wishes Could Kill Episode 2 Recap: What Did Se-ah Wish For?

The mystery involving the killer app intensifies in the second episode of “If Wishes Could Kill,” as the story delves deeper into its functionality and draws the group of friends further inside the rabbit hole. Previously, Hyeon-wook used the strange Girigo app to ace perfect scores in mock tests, triggering a timer of a day’s duration in the process. An already troubled Hyeon-wook became even more miserable upon receiving a call from someone pretending to be Se-ah, and his insecurities started tormenting him even further. As the timer ran out the next day, a terrified Hyeon-wook took his own life, similarly to how a girl named Hye-ryung did at the beginning of the episode.

Spoilers Ahead

Se-ah Figures Out the App Connection

The second episode begins with a flashback scene set years ago, when a young Se-ah had just arrived at Seorin to live with her aunt after the tragic demise of her parents. Se-ah had joined the school as a transfer student, and became a subject of gossip, as instead of sympathizing with her, some of the kids in the class were more eager to spread nasty rumors about her past. A lonesome Se-ah was welcomed by Geon-woo, Na-ri, Ha-joon, and Hyeon-wook, who not only provided her emotional support but also made her a part of their friends group. Na-ri even defended Se-ah from the ones spreading baseless rumors about her, and together the friends provided Se-ah a place to belong. Needless to say, having lost people close to her, a young Se-ah found some comfort in having friends who supported and cared for her. At present, as Se-ah witnesses the gruesome spectacle of Hyeon-wook taking his own life in front of her, old memories start flooding back in her mind. After preliminary checking, the authorities determined the incident to be an act of suicide. The tragic incident has taken a toll on the friends; they can’t make sense of what might have prompted Hyeon-wook to take his own life. 

As it turns out, Se-ah had visited Hyeon-wook the previous night to hand over his birthday gift, as she wouldn’t have been able to attend his birthday party due to her training. Hyeon-wook had mentioned to her about receiving a fake call from someone pretending to be her, and that he mistakenly believed the caller to be Se-ah. As Se-ah visits Coach Song in the gym, she tries to console her, and it’s apparent that Se-ah blames herself for not being able to save Hyeon-wook. Willing to give Se-ah some time to cope with the tragedy, Coach Song cancels the weekend’s training. It suddenly strikes in Se-ah’s mind that Geon-woo had sent a wish in the app to have her training cancelled, and she gets alarmed upon believing that the wish has come true. Willing to see what happens if the circumstances of the wish are changed, she asks her coach to let her come for training anyway, when a roof panel of the gym falls right in front of her as if an invisible force is warning her not to interfere. A terrified Se-ah returns to Geon-woo and learns, as she had assumed, that a timer has started a countdown of a day’s duration. 

Gathering her friends, Se-ah reveals everything, shows the video sent by Geon-woo the previous night, and mentions her suspicion that the strange Girigo app is linked with Hyeon-wook’s demise. Needless to say, none of them, especially Na-ri, is willing to believe such a theory. Ha-joon alters the time settings in Geon-woo’s phone in the hopes of having the app reset, to no avail, as the countdown continues as usual. Na-ri acts all bitter towards Se-ah; aside from Hyeon-wook’s death, she is also dismayed upon learning Se-ah and Geon-woo are in a relationship. A distraught Se-ah shares the trauma of losing her parents, as nightmares have been projected in her mind, and she fears having to lose her loved ones once again. 

Geon-woo Gets Possessed 

Upon realizing the app’s mechanism to be wired in a strange way, Ha-joon decides to take a better look into its programming, and Se-ah invites all of them to her apartment to learn more about the issue they have found themselves entangled in. While returning home together, Se-ah and Geon-woo share a tender moment as Se-ah reveals that after losing her parents, she had decided to give up on her passion for track and field. It was Geon-woo who pushed her to keep her passion alive, and she is grateful for his presence in her life. Back at his apartment, Geon-woo receives a call, similar to one Hyeon-wook had received the night before his death, and listens to someone pretending to be Se-ah and Na-ri belittling him behind his back. Geon-woo is not tricked by this, and he rushes to Se-ah’s apartment to let her listen to the call, but by the time he reaches the apartment, the call has been cut off from the other side. Geon-woo wonders whether his phone has been hacked and someone is using deepfake audio to mess with him, and Se-ah reveals that Hyeon-wook had mentioned receiving a similar call. 

Later that day, as the friends arrive at Se-ah’s apartment, Ha-joon inspects the coding of the Girigo app using his laptop, but isn’t able to find anything that might explain the app’s strange functionality. Se-ah suggests he delete the timer function while resetting the app – and Ha-joon decides to try that out, which is going to take some time. Meanwhile, Geon-woo starts acting strangely all of a sudden, rubs his eye until it is bloodshot red, and acts extremely terrified of an invisible presence inside the room. Geon-woo points at someone at the corner of the room, only to have his own finger forcefully turned towards him and to bleed his eye. Geon-woo sees a female spirit present and asks his friends to leave in haste, before convulsing and vomiting blood profusely – prompting Ha-joon to try to control him while Se-ah calls emergency responders. The app reset completes, showing no change in the countdown at all, and Geon-woo becomes possessed by a malevolent spirit and attacks Se-ah. As Ha-joon tries to stop him, a possessed Geon-woo almost chokes him to death until Se-ah knocks him out by striking the laptop on his head; the entire incident is recorded by Na-ri. 

Ha-joon Learns About the Truth

Geon-woo is taken to the hospital, but despite his head injury not being serious, he is still unconscious. Se-ah, who has been taken to the hospital as well, meets Na-ri, who is concerned about her well-being now that she has realized how wrong she was to blame Se-ah for everything. Se-ah entrusts Na-ri with her apartment’s security code to bring whatever stuff she has left there and shares a tender moment with her. Se-ah remains terrified upon speculating whether she has to lose Geon-woo as well, and the nightmares will return all over again. 

At his home, Ha-joon receives a call from Kang Ha-young once again, and this time he attends the call. As it turns out, the caller, a woman named Haetsal, is the shaman who sensed trouble in the first episode upon seeing the white snake’s movement, and she is also Ha-joon’s elder sister. It can be assumed that Ha-joon shares an estranged relationship with her, as she kept him away from the world of the occult and spirituality. Haetsal somehow knows that her brother and his friends have gotten entangled with the murderous app, and immediately warns him not to tinker with the app any further. Haetsal reveals Geon-woo’s smartphone has turned into a Jugu, a conduit for demonic curses that latches onto anything, capturing a person’s thoughts and exploiting them using curses. Haetsal witnesses the white snake acting strangely once again, and she warns Ha-joon about Se-ah’s fate. 

What Did Se-ah Wish For?

Meanwhile, an unconscious Geon-woo is experiencing seizures in his hospital bed, and none of the medics are able to help him. Se-ah experiences a déjà vu moment as she remembers how desperately her aunt, Ji-sun, tried to save her father, to no avail. She follows all the instructions to the T to use Girigo to wish for Geon-woo’s survival, despite having an idea about what is going to happen to her. Aside from the fact that she is willing to do whatever is needed to save her friends, Se-ah wants to confront the entity that terrified both Hyeon-wook and Geon-woo and delve into the mystery surrounding the app. Ha-joon rushes to stop Se-ah from taking such a drastic step, but by then it has already become too late. Her wish has been fulfilled, Geon-woo is in a stable condition, and the timer has started. Haetsal asks Bang Ul to get his dagger, as the shaman duo prepares to take the next step to confront the entity inside the app. 

Late at night, Na-ri enters Se-ah’s apartment using the passcode she provided and obtains Geon-woo’s phone. She notices Geon-woo and Se-ah have activated their wish timer eight hours apart, and as the episode draws to a close, she is surprised to see Geon-woo’s timer count to have stopped all of a sudden. It seems thanks to Se-ah’s interference, the thread of fate which had been cut short has been realigned once again. However, Se-ah has willingly chosen to seemingly sacrifice her own life by activating the wish mechanism, and it will be interesting to see how her interaction with the spirit goes. 

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