Episode 3: My Bias, My Boss Delivers Ultimatum and Crisis

tvN’s “My Bias, My Boss,” an adaptation of a webtoon, accelerates its romantic and professional tensions in Episode 3, which airs August 10 at 8:45 p.m. KST. The series centers on the collision between romantic motivation and professional suspicion, as protagonist Nam Da Reum (Kim Hye Jun) navigates her workplace while harboring a secret agenda. Her relationship with CEO Kang Ha Gi (Kang Hoon) becomes increasingly fraught when corporate espionage fears compound their personal conflicts, leading to confrontations that threaten her employment and her chances of bonding with her bias, actor Lee Chan (Cha Woo Min).

A Workplace Romance Grounded in K-Drama Tradition

“My Bias, My Boss” operates within a familiar K-drama framework: a woman enters a company under less-than-honest pretenses, pursuing her longtime celebrity crush, only to develop a complicated dynamic with an unexpected person. Nam Da Reum’s motivation is refreshingly explicit. She turned down a position at a major corporation to join APPELLO, a fashion-focused company, for a single reason—proximity to Lee Chan, her idol and current coworker.

This career sacrifice immediately communicates her priorities. She values being near her bias enough to abandon professional advancement, a decision that roots her character in understandable, if somewhat unwise, motivation. Her coworkers appear sympathetic to her situation, offering support and consolation when workplace pressure mounts. This social safety net suggests that Nam Da Reum is not universally disliked at APPELLO, even as her relationship with leadership deteriorates.

The Corporate Espionage Subplot

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Complications deepen when CEO Kang Ha Gi uncovers what he perceives as a threat from within the organization. He learns that SE Trading, Nam Da Reum’s former employer, is developing a fashion platform that mirrors APPELLO’s own business model in fundamental ways. This discovery immediately casts suspicion on Nam Da Reum, whose work history now appears convenient rather than coincidental.

A Prime Suspect Based on Professional Background

Because Nam Da Reum previously worked at SE Trading before joining APPELLO, and because she has frequently clashed with Kang Ha Gi since her arrival, the CEO identifies her as the most probable candidate for corporate espionage. Rather than passively observing her behavior, Kang Ha Gi shifts into active surveillance mode. He requires Nam Da Reum to accompany him to a fashion show rehearsal—a task framed as professional necessity, but clearly designed to monitor her actions and gather evidence of disloyalty.

The Ambiguity of Contradictory Motivations

The narrative tension depends on this unresolved ambiguity. Nam Da Reum’s stated reason for joining APPELLO—her desire to work alongside Lee Chan—does not exclude the possibility that she simultaneously operates as a corporate spy for SE Trading. Both motivations could theoretically coexist. She could be pursuing her idol while gathering business intelligence for her previous employer. This possibility justifies Kang Ha Gi’s suspicion and his protective stance toward confidential information, even as her actual intentions remain unclear to the audience.

Episode 3: The Ultimatum Arrives

Newly released production stills reveal a significant escalation in the conflict between Nam Da Reum and Kang Ha Gi. Despite her persistent efforts to earn his approval—a necessary prerequisite for joining Lee Chan on a business trip—the CEO ultimately delivers an ultimatum. The visual evidence captured in these stills shows a stark contrast: Kang Ha Gi visibly enraged, while Nam Da Reum appears dejected, receiving comfort and support from her colleagues.

A second still depicts Nam Da Reum standing alone on a street, heightening uncertainty about her future. The source materials explicitly note that this image raises questions about whether she might face termination. For someone who sacrificed a better corporate position to join this company, being fired would represent a catastrophic professional failure and a personal betrayal of her own priorities.

Crisis and Redemption at the Fashion Show

A Sudden Storm Threatens a Major Company Event

Episode 3 introduces a new complication when heavy rain strikes just before APPELLO’s outdoor fashion show begins. This event represents one of the company’s major annual projects, a showcase that required substantial planning and investment from many team members. If the event must be cancelled due to weather, the financial and reputational consequences would extend to both APPELLO as an organization and the fashion brand being promoted. The stakes are immediate and measurable.

Nam Da Reum’s Unexpected Display of Company Loyalty

Undeterred by the downpour, Nam Da Reum takes independent action to protect the event. She runs around the venue, working to shield products from water damage. Critically, nobody assigns this task to her—she volunteers for it, stepping up more actively than any other employee in a moment of genuine crisis. This action creates a narrative contradiction with Kang Ha Gi’s spy theory. A corporate spy would welcome the event’s collapse as an opportunity to undermine APPELLO. Instead, Nam Da Reum works to salvage it, demonstrating a commitment to the company’s interests that conflicts with his suspicions about her loyalty.

Narrative Significance and Implications

The fashion show emergency functions as a potential turning point in the series’ central dramatic conflict. Nam Da Reum’s observable sincerity, demonstrated through her hands-on crisis response, may prove sufficient to shift Kang Ha Gi’s perspective. He cannot easily reconcile his corporate espionage theory with her visible dedication to protecting APPELLO’s assets and reputation during a moment when the company faces its most serious threat.

However, the ultimatum delivered before this crisis remains unresolved. Episode 3 must navigate two parallel questions: whether the fashion show emergency prompts Kang Ha Gi to reconsider his ultimatum, and whether Nam Da Reum’s crisis-moment loyalty proves genuine enough to dispel his espionage concerns. These intersecting narrative threads suggest that the upcoming episode will function as a critical juncture for both characters’ professional trajectories and their personal connections.