The ending of SBS‘s Friday-Saturday drama ‘My Perfect Secretary’ Han Ji-min and Lee Joon-hyuk’s lips being super close together brought excitement.

In the 4th episode of ‘My Perfect Secretary’ (directed by Ham Joon-ho and Kim Jae-hong, written by Ji-eun) aired on the 11th, the process of Ji-yoon (played by Han Ji-min) and Eun-ho (played by Lee Joon-hyuk) seeping into each other was depicted. Above all, the ending where the two‘s lips almost touched each other made viewers’ reactions explode as their hearts raced. As a result, the viewership ratings recorded 11.3% nationwide, 11.3% in the metropolitan area, and a peak of 14%, defending the top spot among Friday-Saturday dramas and continuing its perfect upward trend. The target 2049 viewership ratings rose to 4.1%, taking first place among all programs aired during the week. (provided by Nielsen Korea)

In that day‘s broadcast, the story of Ji-yoon staggering to the point of collapsing at the rival company ‘Careerway’ was first revealed. Five years ago, Ji-yoon, who worked there at the time, was greatly affected by the paper company of the project she was working on with her then-supervisor Hye-jin (played by Park Bo-kyung). However, Ji-yoon received a tip that an internal employee was involved in this investment fraud, so she spoke out for an investigation, and the CEO at the time, who did not want the situation to get worse, took responsibility for everything and committed suicide. The resentment of the ‘Careerway’ people was directed at Ji-yoon, and she was kicked out and founded ‘People’. Hye-jin took office as the CEO after handling this matter. A cold war of nerves always prevailed between Ji-yoon and Hye-jin, who met again as CEOs competing for the first and second places in the industry. Even in the corporate magazine interview, Hye-jin, who had been keeping Ji-yoon in check, deliberately let Eun-ho hear, saying, “You’re the one who killed your senior, it‘s so obvious,” and spilling the beans about that day.

However, the perfect secretary Eun-ho took great care of Ji-yoon’s mentality. Knowing full well that asking just because she was curious could hurt someone, Eun-ho chose to remain silent. Then she suggested a refreshing walk and playing basketball, and once again became a strong ‘my sidekick, saying, “I‘ll only believe what I’ve seen.” Later, when she found out the whole story through CFO Mi-ae (played by Lee Sang-hee), she understood how lonely and difficult Ji-yoon‘s past must have been, saying, “I guess she had no choice but to become stronger.”

In the meantime, an incident occurred that caused conflict among the ‘People’ employees. Kyung-hwa (Seo Hye-won), who had never had a proper solo achievement, worked day and night to prove her ability by making the World Trading Company successful. That’s why she worked hard to change the mind of the picky candidate, but it all came crashing down with a phone call from Manager Young-soo (Heo Dong-won). Young-soo, who didn‘t know that Kyung-hwa was working on the same candidate, offered him another job, and the candidate said that he would reexamine World Trading Company. Young-soo took a step back from the complicated situation, but an awkward discomfort settled between Kyung-hwa and the two.

Eun-ho stepped in. In times like these, it’s better to have a drink together and resolve things naturally. Eun-ho, with the active support of Mi-ae and Jeong-hoon (Kim Do-hoon), pushed for a company dinner under the pretext of her own welcome party. Young-soo, who was asked to give a toast at the event, unfailingly made his trademark old-man joke, and the room suddenly became cold. The only thing that broke the silence was Kyung-hwa‘s laughter, who liked his dad jokes because they had the same humor. That’s how the reconciliation started, and the two strengthened their camaraderie more than before.

Ji-yoon, who had never attended company dinners because she thought it was awkward when working together, was alone at the company that day, working overtime. However, she was worried about the female employees who were excited about the company dinner with Eun-ho, and she changed her mind after Eun-ho‘s text saying, “You can come anytime, I’ll be waiting.” It was Eun-ho who snatched Ji-yoon‘s glass and drank it instead, as the employees who were excited about the first company dinner with the CEO kept drinking their glasses one after another. Since Ji-yoon came, he only looked at her and didn’t listen when someone told him to. The sight of the two people soaking into each other and caring for each other made his heart rate rise.

The dopamine highlight of the day exploded at the ending. Ji-yoon, whose instinct to “go home” instead of “going home” kicks in when she drinks, went back to the company while Eun-ho called a taxi driver. Eun-ho, who heard about Ji-yoon‘s injection(?) from Mi-ae, found Ji-yoon fast asleep in the CEO’s office. When Ji-yoon opened her eyes after some time, Eun-ho, who had been waiting for her to wake up, was asleep. Ji-yoon stared at his face and said, “You‘re handsome. Yoo Eun-ho,” and touched his lips with her hand without realizing it, and Eun-ho opened his eyes at her touch.

The romantic tension that reached its peak, how will the two progress in one second? SBS’s “My Perfect Secretary” airs every Friday at 10 p.m. and Saturday at 9:50 p.m.

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com