Kim Hye-jun Stars as a Fan Who Gets Hired at Her Idol's Company in tvN's New Drama

Kim Hye-jun's new drama got off to a clean start. My Beloved Employee (최애의 사원), tvN's latest Monday-Tuesday series, pulled a 4.2% nationwide rating in its debut episode on August 3, according to Nielsen Korea data released the following day.

The setup is the kind of thing that reads well as a webtoon pitch and actually translates to screen: Nam Da-reum (Kim Hye-jun) is a lifelong fan of idol-turned-actor Lee Chan, a member of the group D.N.X played by Cha Woo-min. After ten years of dedicated fandom, she lands a job at Apelo, the fashion platform company Lee Chan founded, intent on finally getting close to the person she has admired for a decade.

It does not go smoothly. On her first day, a heavily drunk Nam Da-reum manages to get off on the worst possible foot with Kang Ha-gi (Kang Hoon), Apelo's CEO, creating an awkward entanglement that will clearly shape much of what follows. She then runs into Lee Chan himself near an elevator in the building she has just started to navigate, setting up the central triangle.

The show is adapted from the popular webtoon Our Older Brother Is an Idol (우리 오빠는 아이돌), a source with an established fanbase that likely contributed to the premiere's relatively comfortable opening number. A 4.2% rating on cable is a decent foundation, giving the production room to build audience through word of mouth as the romance develops.