Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Se-ri’s diversion in the parking garage gives Jeong-hyeok time to reach her and forces Cheol-gang to retreat. She replaces the compromised security staff and uses her own resources to seek information about the attackers. She also finds the insurance worker who kept searching for her and offers him a job. At home, she treats Jeong-hyeok’s injury and discovers how seriously he has taken an online game.
A quiet evening lets Jeong-hyeok admit the future he wants: marriage, children and time to grow old beside Se-ri. In the North, Seung-jun tells Dan how the collapse of his father’s business led him towards revenge against Se-ri’s family. The village women also face a choice when Young-ae’s husband is detained. Despite the risk of being watched, they bring their isolated friend food and supplies rather than leave her alone.
Jeong-hyeok spots Eun-dong outside Se-ri’s event and finally reunites with the men sent to retrieve him. Se-ri welcomes them into her home, then overhears their deadline for returning north. A visit from her mother brings back the childhood memory of being abandoned on a beach. When Se-ri later finds her flat dark and empty, she thinks everyone has left. Their birthday surprise turns that fear into an emotional reunion, while Jeong-hyeok promises to remember her birthday wherever he is.