Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Yeong-ro's confession gives Soo-ho more leverage rather than persuading him to release everyone. He places her at a window where her father can see her and keeps her among the remaining hostages. Chung-ya secretly warns Soo-ho that the dormitory is wiretapped and an assault is planned. Han-na hopes to pass Gang-mu a concealed gun during his treatment, but Gyeok-chan discovers it in the medical kit and attacks Chung-ya. He drags her to the window at gunpoint. Yeong-ro picks up the dropped weapon and demands her release, only for a sniper's shot to send the confrontation into fresh gunfire. Soo-ho shields Yeong-ro, dropping the paper-plane letter he has kept.
Han-na slips away to clear the secret passage for SWAT, but the assault has been cancelled. Outside, a recording of Professor Han undermines the official account of his death. Ae-ra proposes keeping the hostage crisis in the news until the election, and the leaders negotiate another deal with the North. Soo-ho removes the listening devices before acknowledging Chung-ya as a superior operative. She identifies herself as Moran Hill 1 and explains that her treatment at Gyeok-chan's hands was part of maintaining her cover. New instructions promise the spies a return home after ten days if they keep the hostages alive. Soo-ho questions whether the South can be trusted, while Chung-ya insists that they follow the order. The students remain trapped as their captors' timetable becomes tied to the election.