The underlying mystery reveals that the 2000 factory explosion was caused by corporate negligence that was covered up by bribing authorities. Chaebol Chairman Park Ro-sa colluded directly with high-ranking politicians and MSC network leadership, instructing news anchor Song Cha-ok to frame firefighting captain Ki Ho-sang as a cowardly fugitive to shield corporate wrongdoers.
When Ha-myung's brother Jae-myung embarks on a lethal vigilante spree against the responsible factory managers, Ha-myung chooses the excruciating ethical path: he exposes his own brother on YGN, ensuring lawful accountability while preventing further bloodshed. Jae-myung accepts his imprisonment and passes the responsibility of vindicating their family to Ha-myung.
In the final act, an identical chemical plant fire occurs, and Chairman Park attempts to deploy the same media smear campaign against an innocent Olympic athlete. Armed with internal text logs preserved by In-ha and Beom-jo, Ha-myung confronts Song Cha-ok, prompting her to turn against her corporate master. Beom-jo takes the legal blame for his mother's operations to force her into confessing in open court, leading to Chairman Park's arrest and conviction.
The finale resolves all threads: Song Cha-ok steps away from news broadcasting to teach journalism ethics; grandfather Gong-pil dissolves Ha-myung's adoption to give his blessing to Ha-myung and In-ha's relationship; and the two reporters, dressed in their wedding attire, step forward committed to ethical truth-telling.