Shi-woo finds himself face-to-face with a wolf-beast, which chases and knocks him over. But a ray of sunlight glints off the jewel in his pendant and into the beast’s eyes, infuriating it, but also stopping it in its tracks.

Following the beast’s growls, Chi-ang finds Shi-woo and distracts it, then goes after it with a flimsy stick like he’s fencing. That’s pretty brave. He yells at Shi-woo to get a move on, so Shi-woo climbs a nearby tree, and Chi-ang clambers up right behind him.

Sun-ah is determined to go up the mountain to help the boys, but the only one willing to go with her is Soon-deok (who even thinks to pack Chi-ang’s sneakers). Before they go, Soon-deok says there’s something they must do.

Up in the tree, Shi-woo reluctantly thanks Chi-ang for his rescue, and Chi-ang calls them even. Shi-woo is all Yeah I know, don’t make a big deal over it, but there’s no heat in his voice this time, and he even cracks a tiny smile. Of course Chi-ang teases him for smiling, but betrays a little grin of his own.

They seem to have come to a tentative truce, and even have a splash-fight at the stream where they stop to drink. Okay, this bromance is going to be my new favorite thing.

Later they lay on a rock to dry out, and Shi-woo shushes Chi-ang, wanting to just listen to the sounds of the forest. He asks if they can really make it to Moorim Peak, and Chi-ang says they’ll be lucky if they just make it off their little rock alive. Truer words, my friend.

Chi-ang’s leather-wallet-shoe is falling apart, and Shi-woo just wordlessly tosses him his own wallet to use. Awww, I love this.

With the benefit of a map, the girls realize that the boys probably took the most dangerous path up to Moorim Peak. The whole school is unsettled at Sun-ah and Soon-deok’s decision to look for Chi-ang and Shi-woo, but Dean Hwang takes the news calmly.

Professor Oh walks in just as Professor Daniel beats Professor Kim in another sparring match — poor Professor Kim wonders why he can’t win against anyone today, ha. He’s annoyed that none of the kids are here to practice, but Professor Oh reminds him that their minds are all on Moorim Peak.

Chi-ang tries to start a fire with two sticks, but Shi-woo just pulls out his phone and uses a heat source (cigarette lighter?) on the back to ignite some leaves. Chi-ang throws money on the fire to help it get going, and jokes that this is a pretty expensive fire, ha.

Shi-woo asks if Chi-ang is really a Boy Scout as he claims, then laughs when Chi-ang gets the motto all wrong. Chi-ang’s convoluted explanation of what he meant makes a weird sort of sense, even to Shi-woo. He asks how Chi-ang learned to fence, referring to how he fended off the wolf with a stick, and Chi-ang says he studies self-defense because he’s been kidnapped so many times.

He says that his father even kidnapped him here, but at least he got to meet his Ariel. He shares his one snack with Shi-woo, congratulating himself on how selfless he is. Later he asks Shi-woo why he’s here at Moorim when he doesn’t have to be, and he hits the nail on the head by asking if it’s because of Shi-woo’s ear.

He asks if that’s what happened at the concert too, when Shi-woo was the only one who didn’t run from the falling lights. Shi-woo admits that Chi-ang is right, and that the doctors don’t know what’s wrong or how to fix it. He came to Moorim, hoping that Dean Hwang could help him. He says sadly that he has no family or anyone in the world, just music, so if he can’t hear…

But Chi-ang cuts him off with a smile and tells him not to worry. He’ll make a huge comeback — his Ariel will make sure of that. Shi-woo doesn’t respond, but his face relaxes and he seems a bit more peaceful than before.

Apparently, the thing Soon-deok and Sun-ah needed to do before they go was to make a video of Soon-deok explaining what happened the night of Shi-woo’s scandal, and post it online. The Moorim students watch it and wonder why Shi-woo never defended himself, and Nadet says they wouldn’t have believed him, anyway. He’s not wrong.

They post comments on the video, backing up Soon-deok’s honesty and apologizing to Shi-woo for not believing him. Even Teacher Samuel gets into the act, and Dean Hwang visits the boys’ empty room.

The makeshift shoes aren’t cutting it anymore, and Chi-ang’s foot is cut up and bleeding. But for once he doesn’t whine, and just admits he’s spoiled and soft, asking for a rest. Rather than take advantage, Shi-woo hangs back with him, bringing him nuts to eat and helping him walk.

When they stop for another break, Chi-ang reminds Shi-woo that only one of them can win this race and stay at Moorim. He tells Shi-woo to go on without him, which frankly angers Shi-woo, but Chi-ang is serious. He can’t go any further, and one of them may as well win.

But instead of taking the opportunity, Shi-woo sits down with Chi-ang and claims to be tired, too. Chi-ang blusters that as soon as he’s rested, he’s going to win this thing, but his tiny little smile shows that he’s glad Shi-woo is staying. Awww.

Meanwhile, Soon-deok’s video is working — all the news media sites are reporting the story and video, and public opinion swings back in his favor.

Tonight the boys find a cave for shelter, and Shi-woo starts a fire then starts to go looking for something to eat. By now, Chi-ang seems actually upset that Shi-woo refuses to go on and complete the task without him.

The wolf-beast has tracked them to the cave, so Shi-woo runs back to help Chi-ang escape. This time both boys are armed with sticks, but the wolf-beast has brought his whole pack. The wolves attack, and one of them manages to clamp down on Chi-ang’s arm.

Thank goodness, the girls find them just in time, and with Soon-deok’s sling and Sun-ah’s whip, they chase off the wolves. But one wolf-beast turns back and heads straight for Chi-ang — Shi-woo screams, and everything seems to slow down in that moment. In the instant that the wolf hangs in the air, Shi-woo shoves Chi-ang out of its path, so that when things move normally again, he takes the brunt of its attack.

He gets a nasty bite too, but they manage to chase off the last wolf and Soon-deok doctors everyone up. Her bravery has done nothing to dampen Chi-ang’s feelings, and he stares at her with hearts in his eyes as she puts on the shoes she brought for him.

Shi-woo notices, and looks annoyed. When she gives the same attention to a scratch on his face, he’s not unaffected by her proximity. Soon-deok jokes that his fans will be devastated if he comes back with a scar on his face, and assures him that there will be fans who care about him again.

Interesting how, out of the two boys, it’s Shi-woo who notices that Soon-deok is injured as well.

At the exact moment that Chi-ang was injured, his mother had seemed to sense something, and broken a vase in her shock. She goes shopping for a new one, and runs into Aunty outside the shop. She does seem happy to see Aunty at first, but quickly schools her expression.

They end up at Chi-ang’s mother’s house, and now she has someone she can ask about the school without being shut down. She tells Aunty that she’s been having terrible dreams for two nights and she can’t reach her son, but Aunty assures her that Soon-deok is there and can watch over him.

Aunty makes a comment about Chi-ang’s mother being the wife of the chairman of Sanghae Group, and Mom doesn’t correct her, but looks nervous about it. She jumps up to get refreshments and steps on a serving fork on the floor, and complains about how hard it is to get good help these days. Aunty gets an idea, and asks if possibly she’s thinking of hiring a new housekeeper.

Even with his sneakers, Chi-ang’s injured foot makes it difficult to walk, but he powers through “since my Ariel vitamin is next to me.” Soon-deok snarls at him when he wants to hold her hand, and Shi-woo doesn’t look too happy about it either.

As night falls, Chi-ang asks for a break, and Shi-woo notices that his wolf-bitten arm is bleeding. Soon-deok wants to take him back to the school now, but he insists that he can’t stop here, after coming this far. He’s the one who has to stay, to be near her and his mother.

Shi-woo steps in to suggest they rest for an hour, but even Sun-ah is against it. She gives Chi-ang credit for getting this far with a hurt foot and after what they’ve been through, but even she thinks it’s time for him to turn back. She offers to take him back to the school, and Soon-deok can go on with Shi-woo.

Shi-woo wants Soon-deok to take him back if he has to go, and Sun-ah barks that of course she wants to stay with Shi-woo (earning her stares all around), but she’s stronger and can help Chi-ang walk. Chi-ang is forced to admit defeat, and he tells Shi-woo to go on without him — at least one of them can succeed.

On the walk back, Sun-ah recommends that Chi-ang ask Dean Hwang if he can stay anyway, since he didn’t give up, but had to turn back because of injuries. But Chi-ang isn’t hopeful, calling Hwang a monster, small-minded and stubborn. He even wants to fight the dean, but his show of bravado doesn’t impress Sun-ah one bit.

Shi-woo is distracted as Soon-deok leads him up the mountain, and soon he stops altogether. Out of nowhere, he says to her, “I don’t want to be like the members of Mobius.” They only do whatever benefits them, and he doesn’t want to live like that.

Chi-ang talks a big game about how he’s going to make Dean Hwang sorry for how he treated him. Finally, Sun-ah informs him that that’s her father he’s insulting. At least Chi-ang looks chastened and apologizes.

“Did he mess up again?” they hear from behind them, and turn to see Shi-woo and Soon-deok. Soon-deok simply says that Shi-woo wanted to quit, but he doesn’t give any more explanation that that he’s afraid of the wolf, without Chi-ang with him. Okay, awwww.

Shi-woo assures Chi-ang that he’s not doing this because he feels sorry for Chi-ang. It’s that, when he thought about it, he realized that Chi-ang wouldn’t have gone on without him, either. Chi-ang is too touched to speak, and Shi-woo simply slings his arm over his shoulders and starts walking him back down the mountain.

They get back to school and head straight for the dean’s office, heads bowed. They tell the dean what happened, for once speaking as a team instead of arguing. Chi-ang especially makes sure Dean Hwang knows that Shi-woo could have gotten the banner, but he didn’t for Chi-ang’s sake. In his turn, Shi-woo says he only got as far as he did because of Chi-ang, and that he was afraid to go on without him. Chi-ang tells the dean that he should still let one of them stay, since the school values life lessons, and they both learned while on that mountain.

The dean hasn’t said a word until now, but that last comment makes him smile. He even nearly laughs when Chi-ang calls him on it, covering it with a cough, and just tells them to get their injuries treated and be on time for class tomorrow. I knew it — they were never meant to get the banner, they were meant to learn to work together.

The rest of the students celebrate to hear that both boys get to stay. They’re all thrilled, with the obvious exception of Jeong. He refuses to admit they earned the right to stay considering they didn’t finish the task, or that he cares that he’s alienated all of his former friends.

It’s a similar story for the teachers — they’re all glad the boys are staying, though Professor Kim says he’s not happy about it. That could have more to do with Professor Oh prodding him though, as he doesn’t actually seem that upset.

Up in their room, Chi-ang asks Shi-woo if he thinks the other students will treat them differently now. Shi-woo just offers to clean the bathrooms until Chi-ang’s arm heals, then threatens to rescind his offer when Chi-ang gloats about how he fought off that wolf. Cute.

Shi-woo finally gets to see Soon-deok’s video defending him against the unfair accusations, recalling how she promised him on the mountain that everything would go back to how it was for him. Both boys see other videos of Shi-woo’s fans, now on his side again and begging him to come back.

Shi-woo shoots Chi-ang a pointed look when he comments on fickle fans, and Chi-ang defends himself that it’s not like Shi-woo told him the truth, so of course he believed it, too. Shi-woo just tells him to rest, and leaves.

Dean Hwang does explain his decision to Professor Beop — instead of one boy being successful, both failed. And in life, people learn more from failure than success. Professor Beop isn’t so sure about Chi-ang, and he thinks that Shi-woo will probably leave on his own.

The man in the coma lays in his hospital bed, reliving his last few moments of lucidity. There’s a fire, and he’s fighitng someone whose face we don’t see. Chairman Wang’s assistant gets a report that his vital signs seem to be improving, which he says the chairman will be happy to hear.

Shi-woo stays up late thinking, and in the morning he slips out of his room with his bag packed. Chi-ang wakes to see Shi-woo’s bed stripped, and knows what it means. In town, Shi-woo is recognized by shrieking fangirls, but right beside them is a poster of him that was defaced with hateful comments. Fickle fans, indeed. As he walks on, he hears Soon-deok on her scooter behind him, delivering chicken, but he doesn’t turn to look.

Shi-woo is here for a reason, and he meets with a representative from his agency’s rival, DS Entertainment. They want to offer him a contract, and to help him make a huge comeback as a solo act after clearing his name. Shi-woo tells the rep that he’s dealing with a problem right now, but the rep already knows about his ear. He says that Shi-woo can just take some time off and write songs, get his ear treated, then come back.

Back at Moorim, Sun-ah is horrified to hear about Shi-woo leaving, and begs her father to help him get his hearing back. Chi-ang just sits alone in their room, staring at Shi-woo’s empty bed.