[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] Park Eun-bin and Yang Se-jong portrayed a romance that grew even stronger in the face of adversity.

In Episode 9 of tvN’s Saturday-Sunday drama “Chilling Romance,” which aired on the 15th, the story unfolded around Cheon Yeo-ri (Park Eun-bin)—who was on the verge of being ousted from her position as CEO of the Reina Hotel—and Ma Kang-wook (Yang Se-jong), who stood by her side.
Having become an official couple after their engagement, the two enjoyed a rare, ordinary date. Even though a curse prevented them from holding hands, they found happiness simply in being together and dreamed of the day when they could naturally hold hands like other couples.
However, their sweet moments were short-lived, as Cheon Yeo-ri faced the very real crisis of being removed from her position as CEO. During this time, Ma Kang-wook’s presence became particularly prominent. He stayed up all night with Cheon Yeo-ri searching for a solution and even saw her off on her business trip abroad, supporting her as both a lover and a steadfast ally.
Cheon Yeo-ri traveled to Singapore to persuade key shareholder Han Se-in (Noh Soo-anna) in an effort to retain control of the company, but things did not go as planned. Han Se-in rejected her proposal, stating she had already been in contact with another party, and even the scheduled meeting with an investor was suddenly canceled.
Kang Min-hwan (Ong Seong-wu) was behind it all. After being rejected by Cheon Yeo-ri, he took action to bring her down, emerging as a new wild card in the battle for control.
The person who appeared before a cornered Cheon Yeo-ri was Ma Kang-wook. He had flown all the way to Singapore himself, carrying a clue that could sway Han Se-in’s heart. In particular, the scene where he took her hand while wearing the same gloves as Cheon Yeo-ri heightened the romantic tension by playing on the couple’s backstory as “lovers who cannot hold hands.”
Another conflict was also foreshadowed. When Ma Kang-wook’s grandmother, Pang Myo-soon (played by Cha Mi-kyung), discovered that Cheon Yeo-ri was born in the “Year of the Black Monkey”—a sign she had always opposed—it created a new complication for the couple’s engagement.
Episode 9 of “Chilling Romance” recorded a nationwide average viewership rating of 6.1% and a peak of 7.6% on Nielsen Korea’s paid platform. It ranked first in its time slot across all channels—including terrestrial broadcasters—in both the nationwide and Seoul metropolitan areas, and also took first place in the 20–49 demographic for that time slot.