Lee Sun-bin and Kang Tae-oh completed the ending of their close eye contact in the pouring rain.

In episode 4 of tvN‘s Sat-Sun drama ‘Potato Research Institute’ (directed by Kang Il-soo, Shim Jae-hyun, written by Kim Ho-soo), the relationship between Kim Mi-kyung (played by Lee Sun-bin) and So Baek-ho (played by Kang Tae-oh) reached a turning point. So Baek-ho went ahead with the layoffs despite Kim Mi-kyung’s persuasion, but he kept getting on her nerves, which was unusual for him. So Baek-ho‘s appearance in front of Kim Mi-kyung, who was struggling in the pouring rain to protect the potato seeds, raised expectations for the turning point in their relationship.


On this day, Kim Mi-kyung couldn’t believe that she was a target for layoffs. So Baek-ho said that the potato research center needs experts, and told Kim Mi-kyung that she was a ‘surplus worker’ from a research team with low research contributions. Kim Mi-kyung was confused by So Baek-ho’s harsh explanation. So Baek-ho also felt uncomfortable in a corner of his heart at Kim Mi-kyung’s struggling appearance. Even though it was a restructuring that had been done so far and was done according to the principles, So Baek-ho felt that she had changed from before.

Kim Mi-kyung is not one to back down like this. The day after receiving the notice of dismissal, Kim Mi-kyung went to see So Baek-ho. When Kim Mi-kyung asked if there was any room for reconsideration, So Baek-ho firmly said that there was no going back. Kim Mi-kyung tried threatening to resign before being dismissed and even offering to freeze her salary until the year after next, but it didn’t work. After accepting reality, Kim Mi-kyung met her ‘ex-boyfriend’ and So Baek-ho’s direct supervisor Park Ki-se (played by Lee Hak-joo) who she never wanted to see again at the headhunter. Park Ki-se‘s words that he could help her continue attending the Potato Research Institute made Kim Mi-kyung feel even more miserable.


In the meantime, an unexpected incident occurred during the regular meeting of the Potato Research Institute research team. Jang Seul-gi (played by Kim Ji-ah) accidentally sent a message criticizing So Baek-ho to the research team’s group chatroom. In order to fix Jang Seul-gi‘s mistake, Kim Mi-kyung took So Baek-ho’s cell phone away and lied that she had made a mistake, successfully deleting the messages in the director‘s office computer chat window. So Baek-ho was greatly disappointed in Kim Mi-kyung’s actions, but he kept worrying about it. So Baek-ho followed Kim Mi-kyung to the research institute on a rainy night. Kim Mi-kyung, who had moved the potato seeds so that they would not get wet, hung on to fix the plastic that had been torn by the strong wind. As she lost her balance and staggered due to the strong wind and rain, So Baek-ho appeared. Kim Mi-kyung and So Baek-ho‘s deep eye contact made the viewers’ hearts flutter and made them even more curious about what would happen next.

Episode 5 of ‘Potato Research Institute’ will air at 9:20 PM on the 15th.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com reporter projecthong@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.