Hierarchy follows a scholarship student’s attempt to investigate his brother’s death by getting admission to an elite school in Korea. The series is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Jooshin High is the most prestigious school in Korea. The richest of the rich send their children to this school, where a person’s family wealth determines their place in the social hierarchy.
The school gives full scholarships to a few top-ranking students who do not come from rich families, but they never last long due to the bullying and discrimination they face.
Just last year, a student named In-han died in a car accident while running from bullies. To fill his spot, a student named Kang Ha is given a scholarship.
A group of four friends—Ri-an, Jae-i, He-ra, and Woo-jin—are treated as royalty at school because their parents are the richest and most powerful.
A few months ago, Jae-i went to the US and cut all contact with her boyfriend, Ri-an. When she returns, she breaks up with Ri-an without giving him an explanation.
Ha is warned to steer clear of rich students and respect them, especially Ri-an, whose grandfather founded the school. It is rumored that Ri-an killed In-han because he was friends with Jae-i.
However, Ha does everything he can to provoke Ri-an, including dating Jae-i, who only pretends to be with Ha to protect him from the bullies Ri-an sends his way.
While keeping up the pretense, Jae-i and Ha grow close. Jae-i notices Ha’s bracelet, which is very similar to the one In-han used to wear.
It is revealed that Ha is In-han’s twin brother, and he has come to Jooshin to find out how his brother died. Ha knows that his brother was being bullied and assaulted at school.
The faculty knew about it but did nothing to help him. In fact, they covered up his death. Ha wishes to collect evidence against those who hurt his brother and expose them.
Ha starts liking Jae-i, whose father is a controlling man who suffocates her and threatens to abandon her, as he did with her mother, if she does not do as he says.
Jae-i never told her father that she dated Ri-an because Ri-an’s family is their business rival. Ri-an did not tell his mother either.
Jae-i’s half-brother, Jae-hyeok, saw her with Ri-an and recorded a compromising video of them. He used the video to blackmail Jae-i.
Additionally, Jae-i found out that she was pregnant. She went to the US to get an abortion, but before she could gather the strength, she ended up having a miscarriage.
Jae-i still loves Ri-an. She broke up with him to protect him from experiencing the same pain she suffered.
Now, someone else also has the video that Jae-hyeok took, and they are using it to blackmail Jae-i.
No one knows what Jae-i has been through, not even her best friend He-ra, who has liked Ri-an for a very long time and now wants to date him.
He-ra reveals to Jae-i’s father that she is dating Ha, which leads to her father arranging a marriage of convenience for her. Jae-i will now be sent to New York with her fiancé.
Until then, Jae-i is to live at her vacation home. When Ha goes to visit her, Jae-i confesses that In-han was bullied because he was friends with her.
In-han supported her when she was being blackmailed by Jae-hyeok. He was the only one she confided in about her pregnancy. She blames herself for his death.
Ha then tells her that he is In-han’s brother. Ri-an, who had begun suspecting Ha, also finds out about him being In-han’s brother.
This revelation leads to Ha being bullied at school, but Ha fights back every time. He is also receiving messages from the person who is blackmailing Jae-i.
It turns out that the person behind these messages is Principal Park’s son, Ju-won. He is ashamed of his mother’s inaction and wants to get the bullies punished.
Principal Park has access to the students’ cloud storage as well as the school’s CCTV cameras. Ju-won has been able to get dirt on everyone through his mother’s computer.
Ha has developed feelings for Jae-i, who makes it clear to him that she loves Ri-an and that she will stand in Ha’s way if he tries to hurt Ri-an.
Despite that, Ha cannot let his brother’s death go unpunished. Ha figures out that it is Ju-won blackmailing Jae-i and decides to work with him to expose the bullies.
Just as He-ra is about to celebrate Jae-i leaving for New York, she finds out that her father’s company has gone bankrupt and her family will have to move into a motel.
On top of that, Ri-an prevents Jae-i from leaving for New York and gets back together with her. He even tells his mother about their relationship.
Now that he is with Jae-i again, he will not let anyone stand in their way, including his mother or He-ra, whose heart he breaks by rejecting her.
He-ra swears to get her revenge on Jae-i and Ri-an. The perfect opportunity presents itself when Jae-hyeok shows her the video he has been using to blackmail Jae-i.
However, He-ra refuses to stoop as low as him. In fact, she feels for Jae-i when she finds out that Jae-i was blackmailed by her own brother.
She had earlier asked Woo-jin to pick a side. Woo-jin likes He-ra, but he has been sleeping with their teacher, Ms. Han.
He decides to break up with Ms. Han and side with He-ra. He had found out about Jae-i’s pregnancy and now decides to get revenge on Jae-i on He-ra’s behalf.
He informs Jae-i’s father about her pregnancy and threatens to leak the news if he does not send Jae-i to New York for good.
Ending explained:
Reconciliations
Jae-i discovers that Ju-won is the one who has been blackmailing her and that Ha plans to use the videos that Ju-won has, except the one of Jae-i with Ri-an, to expose the bullies.
Jae-i decides to confide in Ha about everything she has endured in the past few months, including her miscarriage and her decision to break up with Ri-an to protect him.
Ri-an also receives the video that Jae-hyeok took of him and Jae-i, but it is not sent by Ju-won. He-ra informs Ri-an that Jae-hyeok recorded that video.
This leads to Ri-an attacking Jae-hyeok. It is Ha who stops him, knowing that his actions will further upset Jae-i.
Ha explains to Ri-an why Jae-i broke up with him and what she went through, urging him not to let Jae-i suffer alone anymore.
Heartbroken, Ri-an blames himself for not being there for Jae-i. Now that all the secrets are out, Jae-i can be honest with Ri-an.
However, Jae-i’s father is sending her to the US because of his deal with Woo-jin. She agrees to leave quietly on one condition: she wants him to help He-ra’s father.
Jae-i never stopped considering He-ra her best friend. She reconciles with He-ra, whose father’s business is saved because of Jae-i’s intervention.
Exposing the bullies
Ha finally goes to the police with all the videos, leading to all the bullies being summoned. At school, Jae-i stands up for Ha, preventing the bullies from harming him.
Jae-i regrets not doing anything to stop the bullying of scholarship students. She is the only one who wants to take responsibility for her actions.
She apologizes to Ha for not helping In-han when she had the chance. Jae-i is now ready to move on, so she lets go of the ultrasound image of her baby with Ri-an.
Ri-an finds out that it was his own mother who asked Principal Park to send him his and Jae-i’s video. His mother did it to keep him away from Jae-i.
Ri-an’s mother cares more about him inheriting her business than being a supportive parent. Ri-an would rather give up on being his mother’s heir than Jae-i.
However, his mother is not going to let him abandon the role she has been preparing him for. She cries and manages to stop him from leaving.
The truth about In-han’s death
In-han’s death is not a simple hit-and-run case. His pen had a camera attached to it, which he had with him at Woo-jin’s birthday party on the night he died.
That night, Jae-i confided in him about her pregnancy. Later, while fleeing from his bullies, he encountered Ms. Han and Woo-jin.
He witnessed them kissing and was so shocked that he ran out of the building. Ms. Han followed him to prevent him from revealing her relationship with Woo-jin.
She accidentally hit him with Woo-jin’s car, resulting in In-han’s death. She then took his pen camera and fled the scene.
Woo-jin, fearing that his father’s political career would be affected, had the accident covered up and allowed Ms. Han to keep the car.
Principal Park discovers Ms. Han and Woo-jin’s relationship and Ms. Han’s involvement in In-han’s death from the videos on Woo-jin’s cloud storage.
After Ha submits evidence of bullying to the police, the school’s reputation suffers, leading to Principal Park firing Ms. Han, fearing further damage to the school’s image.
When Woo-jin learns that Jae-i saved He-ra’s father’s business, he regrets betraying Jae-i and confesses the truth to He-ra, who advises him against revealing it to Ri-an and Jae-i.
Now that Jae-i stands up for scholarship students, Woo-jin decides to make up for his mistakes by giving Jae-i In-han’s pen camera, which he found in his car.
Jae-i gives the camera to Ha, even though it contains the recording of her telling In-han about her pregnancy, and Ha delivers it to the police.
As a result, Ms. Han and the students involved in bullying In-han at Woo-jin’s birthday party are arrested.
The police arrive at the school with a search warrant, resulting in Principal Park getting fired by Ri-an’s mother and a new principal taking over.
The aftermath
Once the videos are released, Jae-i’s pregnancy also becomes public knowledge, leading to her father disowning her.
Jae-i has always feared her father, but she is not afraid anymore. She is determined to stand on her own two feet without her father dictating her life.
Jae-i also makes Ri-an realize that he had a role in the bullying of scholarship students. While he never directly participated, he encouraged others to do so.
Ri-an then apologizes to Ha, admitting that he wanted his friends to hurt In-han because he was jealous of his friendship with Jae-i, but Ha is not willing to forgive him.
Ri-an decides to take responsibility for his actions and turns himself in, confessing that he was also involved in the bullying of In-han.
As Jae-i has been disowned by her father, she is not moving to New York anymore, but she still wants to take a break from Ri-an.
She wants herself and Ri-an to not be so dependent on each other for their happiness. She will get back together with him once they learn to be independent.
She also says goodbye to Ha, admitting that she did develop feelings for him when they were pretending to be a couple.
She moves in with her mother, whom she has been separated from since the age of three due to her mother’s humble background.
After all the revelations and arrests, things get better at school. The scholarship students do not get bullied anymore.
Just when everyone thinks that the trouble is over, a body is found in a classroom, and Ri-an gets a cryptic message that very moment, possibly from Ha.
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