Park Eun-bin, Yang Se-jong K-Drama 'The Haunted Palace' Surges in Ratings

Park Eun-bin and Yang Se-jong are pulling stronger numbers for tvN's new weekend drama, as the show leans into a run of impossible-to-explain coincidences between its two leads.

The second episode of "Chilling Romance" (Ossakhan Yeonae), which aired on the 19th, averaged 5.3% nationwide and peaked at 6.2%, according to Nielsen Korea's paid-platform data covering cable, IPTV, and satellite. In the Seoul metropolitan area, the drama averaged 5.4% and peaked at 6.3%. It also finished No. 1 in its time slot across cable and general programming channels for the second week in a row.

The tvN series, directed by Lee Min-su and written by Choi Jung-mi, is planned by CJ ENM and produced by CJ ENM, CJ ENM STUDIOS, B.pic, and Sangsang Film. It airs Saturdays and Sundays.

In the second episode, Cheon Yeo-ri, played by Park Eun-bin, and Ma Gang-uk, played by Yang Se-jong, keep bumping into each other by accident. Each meeting pushes them further into each other's lives.

Curious about how Cheon Yeo-ri keeps showing up at his crime scenes, Ma Gang-uk visits her at the Reina Hotel and asks her directly. She tells him the truth: a ghost told her. He does not believe a word of it.

Cheon Yeo-ri later confronts Park Seung-jae, played by Kim Do-wan, the boyfriend of her cousin. He had been charged with the murder of a woman named Jang Eun-ju, played by Yoon Hye-rim, before being released. After hearing that Cheon Yeo-ri called him a parasite who jumps between women based on what they can offer, Park Seung-jae lashes out at her. But Cheon Yeo-ri has already heard the full story from Jang Eun-ju's spirit. She provokes him by bringing up Jang Eun-ju on purpose, and he slips, calling Jang Eun-ju "the dead girl." His earlier claim that Jang Eun-ju had simply disappeared falls apart.

Ma Gang-uk, the prosecutor in charge of the Jang Eun-ju disappearance case, is searching for her body. Studying the evidence, he climbs to the rooftop water tank where he suspects Park Seung-jae dumped her. As he hurries up the ladder, the ankle he grabs to steady himself turns out to belong to Cheon Yeo-ri. Once the shock wears off, they realize they came for the same reason. Together, they find Jang Eun-ju's body and lock in the case against Park Seung-jae.

Their next collision happens on Jeju Island. Cheon Yeo-ri travels there for a business meeting at a hotel and runs into an old friend, Kang Min-hwan, played by Ong Seong-wu. He asks her to stay the night, and she agrees. Ma Gang-uk happens to be at the same hotel for a friend's wedding.

They end up assigned to the same room. Neither notices the other in the dark, and both sleep in the same bed. Morning brings a matching pair of screams.

Cheon Yeo-ri spends the next stretch worried that touching Ma Gang-uk during the night might have passed her ability to see ghosts to him. When she carefully asks whether they had any contact, he snaps back that she is not his type, leaving her speechless. Moments later, when she is in danger, he throws himself in the way to save her.

A new ghost then asks Cheon Yeo-ri for help, opening a new case. At the same time, Ma Gang-uk is looking into a request from a haenyeo diver he is close with, who has asked him to find her missing granddaughter. Both investigations lead them to the same cliff. "Why are you here again?" Ma Gang-uk asks, floored.

When Cheon Yeo-ri loses her footing and instinctively pulls away from his hand, he tips over the edge with her. As they struggle to get back to the surface, they find a body sunk beneath the water. The identity of the victim, and the story behind the death, becomes the drama's next question.

Episode 3 of "Chilling Romance" airs on the 25th at 9:10 p.m. KST.