Sirens Kiss Episodes 1-2 Recap: Is Han Seol-ah A Killer? 

Director Kim Chul-gyu’s “Siren’s Kiss” follows Cha Woo-seok and Han Seol-ah. Even though they are worlds apart, their paths cross when Woo-seok comes across a series of deaths, all connected to the insurance company where he works. Although it begins as a murder mystery, with time, the Korean drama explores the complexities in Woo-seok and Seol-ah’s bond.

Spoilers Ahead

What Happens In The Kdrama?

“Siren’s Kiss” begins with Cha Woo-seok catching an insurance scammer who forced his underpaid workers to cut off their thumbs. Just after Woo-seok reaches his office, he learns about a wounded girl and goes to visit her at the hospital. To his surprise, the girl’s mother had burned portions of the body just to get richer by claiming her daughter’s health insurance money. A heated verbal exchange happens, but since the girl refuses to admit everything, Woo-seok fails to bring any legal charge against the mother. That night, Woo-seok receives a tip about an insurance fraud from Kim Yun-ji, who works as an associate auctioneer at the Royal Auction Art Gallery. However, just before Woo-seok arrives at her office and calls to meet her, Yun-ji dies right in front of him. The next day, when Woo-seok goes to the gallery to investigate Yun-ji’s death, he comes across Han Seol-ah, the gallery’s chief auctioneer. Woo-seok tries to strike up a conversation with her, Seol-ah leaves but Woo-seok catches her staring at him in the car mirror, which makes Woo-seok intrigued about Seol-ah. 

Later, he discovers that Seol-ah was once married to the gallery’s owner, Yoon Seung-jae, who cancelled his insurance policy just before his death. This immediately alarms Woo-seok. He rushes to the gallery and meets Seol-ah but fails to extract any useful information from her. As days pass, Woo-seok’s suspicion grows sky-high, and he keeps visiting the gallery without any permission, despite the police chief’s strict warning. He does not leave Seol-ah alone and even follows her when she visits Yun-ji’s house one day.

Why Is Cha Woo-seok So Desperate?

When Cha Woo-seok was young, he was in the police. One day, he lost his sister when her boyfriend murdered her. Despite being in the police, Woo-seok could not bring justice for his sister due to the huge connections the murderer had. Even after the man was arrested and put to trial, he only served a year in prison before getting out. Woo-seok also held a grudge against the police chief, thinking that he loosened his grip just because the criminal had powerful connections. That one incident made Woo-seok quit being a cop, and he became a part of the Special Investigation Unit of an insurance company. 

We see how far Woo-seok goes to extract information for Yun-ji’s death. From the beginning, he is adamant about the death not being a suicide, considering how far the body fell on the ground, away from the skyscraper. Even after getting warned by the police chief, Woo-seok’s desperation grows because of his tenacity of uncovering the truth. Woo-seok’s suspicion grows for another reason; the day he visits the gallery, he overhears a colleague and learns that Yun-ji was days away from getting an assured promotion to the position of chief auctioneer. By then, Seol-ah had already taken a firm stand for herself by convincing the police chief and official investigators. Woo-seok still refuses to accept that Yun-ji was thinking of suicide, especially when she was about to be promoted. He becomes certain that Seol-ah must be hiding something, especially due to her anxious behavior in Yun-ji’s house. When Woo-seok searches for clues in Yun-ji’s room, he finds Seung-jae’s business card.

Although we are far away from discovering if Woo-seok’s desperation and suspicion are of any use or not, the investigation comes to a pivotal moment when Woo-seok knows about Seung-jae’s unnatural death in a yacht. Moreover, he comes to know that Seung-jae is not the only one who was in love with Seol-ah and lost his life. Seol-ah’s other suitors, a Korean man and a doctor named Choi, all of them have died of unnatural causes. 

Did Han Seol-ah kill Kim Yun-ji?

Han Seol-ah and Yoon Seung-jae were married before the man drowned in a yacht accident. The matter reached a dead end due to the absence of strong evidence regarding murder or similar efforts. However, Woo-seok’s investigation revealed how Seol-ah did not bat a single eyelid when she saw her husband’s dead body. I hope you were also baffled when you knew that Seol-ah’s Korean boyfriend was attacked by terrorists while he was in Syria and that Dr. Choi killed himself. After Woo-joo discovered Seung-jae’s business card in Yun-ji’s room, he came to know about a connection between the two. A restaurant owner revealed that Yun-ji came to meet Seol-ah’s husband one day since she wanted to say something. However, that meeting never really happened as apparently Seung-jae avoided Yun-ji. 

Way before Yun-ji died, Seol-ah suspected that her husband had an affair with Yun-ji. One day, Yun-ji and Seung-jae got intimate when she was not at home. They were caught by Seol-ah when she returned, and that moment stayed in her mind, giving her nightmares even after Seung-jae’s death. Just before Kim Yun-ji died, that night, she had a standoff with Seol-ah related to a rich client. He was talking with Seol-ah when Yun-ji interrupted them to introduce herself, hoping to get a share of his purchase in the next auction. This made Seol-ah leave the spot, but she secretly became agitated with Yun-ji. Although she was at the office when Yun-ji died, she deliberately made up an alibi to stay off the police radar. 

Although we never see any flashbacks or a scene where she pushes Yun-ji down, I think the truth is right in front of our eyes. Apart from being the chief auctioneer, Seol-ah has a hobby that no one really knows about. She keeps her sculpting skills in the dark, but Seol-ah is a skilled sculptor in real life. However, the artworks she has made till now signify the deaths that have happened so far. She has four sculpted birds in her collection, each of them representing a death. Woo-seok has not come across that yet, but he has found out about all the other men who have once loved Seol-ah. 

Will Cha Woo-seok and Han Seol-ah fall in love?

From the moment Woo-seok came into the scene, he made Seol-ah’s life difficult. She always feared that one day, Woo-seok’s sharp intellect would blow her cover away. If I were in her place, I would have also panicked if I saw Woo-seok coming anywhere near me. He was the only person who could see right through the façade of composure and perfection that Seol-ah put up. The day when Seol-ah visited Yun-ji’s house, she found out and hurriedly hid Yun-ji’s planner where she used to note down Seol-ah’s whereabouts. Seol-ah never wanted Woo-seok to discover her dead husband’s illicit relationship since it’s a common motive for murders. Still, she failed to overpower his desperation to reveal the truth. 

After Woo-seok finds out about her affairs, he sends a symbolic artwork titled “An Orphan From Syria.” to Seol-ah’s gallery. It sends shivers down her spine, forcing her to watch it, and shortly after, she meets Woo-seok again. It becomes clear to her that Woo-seok has understood everything about her secrets. He thinks that everyone who falls for Seol-ah ends up being dead. Seol-ah’s superiority complex makes her challenge Woo-seok to fall in love with her, for him to find the truth. Woo-seok has always maintained the highest level of professionalism in his line of work. Given how desperate he is, Woo-seok is not someone who is ready to give up, despite any hurdle in his face. However, Seol-ah’s beauty has always captivated him. Even if he never shows any emotion towards Seol-ah, who knows what the future holds for him?

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