[Edaily Starin Gim Ga Yeong Reporter] Viewership ratings for “Dr. Romance” have dropped slightly.

According to Nielsen Korea, a ratings research firm, on the 27th, the seventh episode of ENA’s Monday-Tuesday drama “Love Doctor,” which aired on the 26th, recorded a nationwide household viewership rating of 2.2%.
The episode depicted Park Min-jae (played by Choo Young-woo) and Im Yu-jin (played by Kim So-hyun) as they continued their awkward yet innocent romance. However, it also showed Park Min-jae facing a crossroads after Kim Se-jin (played by Im Jin-hyo), who had caught wind of their secret relationship, unexpectedly challenged him to a duel.
Throughout the episode, Im Yu-jin continued to feel hurt by Park Min-jae. Ignoring Im Yu-jin’s desire to spend some intimate time alone with him, Kim Se-jin inserted himself between Park Min-jae and Im Yu-jin. Park Min-jae didn’t even realize that the situation was odd. After deciding to go to a dessert shop and then see a movie together as a group of three, Im Yu-jin made an excuse that she needed to head home and left first. Im Yu-jin’s disappointment grew deeper due to Park Min-jae’s indifferent attitude, as he failed to understand her feelings.
Im Yoo-jin began to bring up the things she’d been keeping to herself, one by one. “I don’t think you like me, senior. You don’t like me as much as I like you,” she said, even posing a childish question: “If you and Kim Se-jin were drowning, who would you save first?” When Park Min-jae replied that he would, of course, save Im Yoo-jin first, a smile gradually spread across her face, and her hurt feelings began to subside. Next, Im Yu-jin asked an unexpected question: “What would you do if your parents opposed our relationship?” Unlike Park Min-jae, who said they could still date even if her parents objected, Im Yu-jin firmly replied that she wouldn’t see him if they did. Her unexpected answer left Park Min-jae with mixed feelings. A sense of anxiety crept into his heart—the fear that he might one day waver in the face of reality’s obstacles.
Meanwhile, Kim Se-jin’s “project to find a girlfriend” also got underway. Having sensed Kim Se-jin’s special feelings for Im Yu-jin’s friend, Jeong Su-bin (played by Park Ha-rang), Park Min-jae suggested to Im Yu-jin that they try to set the two of them up. Although Im Yu-jin wasn’t entirely keen on introducing Kim Se-jin to her close friend, she also thought it might be a natural way to distance Kim Se-jin from her relationship with Park Min-jae. Ultimately, unable to resist Park Min-jae’s persuasion—that she could at least let them have a meal together—she decided to accept the proposal.
After setting up the date between Kim Se-jin and Jeong Su-bin, the two enjoyed some time alone together for the first time in a long while. From a café date to a date at home, the two openly expressed their feelings for each other, looking every bit like a fresh-faced couple. However, their happiness was short-lived, as Kim Se-jin—whose blind date hadn’t gone well—set out to find them. Kim Se-jin happened to witness Park Min-jae and Im Yu-jin enjoying a romantic date and discovered their secret relationship. Because Kim Se-jin followed them all the way to Park Min-jae’s house, Im Yu-jin had to return home once again, leaving her regrets behind and avoiding his gaze.
The next day, Kim Se-jin confronted her, demanding to know if she was dating Park Min-jae. Lim Yu-jin denied it, but she couldn’t hide her bewilderment at Kim Se-jin’s suspicious tone as he asked what her intentions were in approaching Park Min-jae. Eventually, Kim Se-jin challenged Im Yu-jin to a duel. He even set an absurd condition: if he won, Im Yu-jin would break up with Park Min-jae, and if she won, he would quit the lab and return to Daejeon. Im Yu-jin initially turned away, calling it a ridiculous proposal, but her subsequent acceptance heightened the tension over what might unfold between the two.
Meanwhile, Park Min-jae received an email confirming his acceptance into a postdoctoral position at a U.S. university recommended by Professor Ahn Jae-hong (played by Lee Chang-hoon). Despite the long-awaited good news, Park Min-jae found himself deeply troubled. With mixed feelings, he headed straight to meet Im Yu-jin. Even when Im Yu-jin playfully teased him out of joy at seeing him, Park Min-jae struggled to smile. Standing at a crossroads between his dreams and love, viewers are left even more curious to see what decision Park Min-jae will ultimately make in the next episode.
“Dr. Romance” is an ENA Monday-Tuesday drama depicting the spicy, bitter, and sweet romance between Min-jae, a doctoral student who was a high school swimmer but lost one leg to illness, and Yoo-jin, a master’s student who, after wandering aimlessly following a career setback, has embarked on a new path. The series is also drawing attention as the late Director Ahn Pan-seok’s final work. It airs every Monday and Tuesday at 10:00 p.m.