Park Eun-bin’s ‘Spooky Romance’ hits 6% peak amid fluctuating ratings

Park Eun-bin's tvN weekend drama 'Spooky Romance' appeared to shake off its early sluggishness by recording a personal best viewership rating of 6%, but it has struggled to maintain a steady upward trend. While the peak viewership rating has doubled compared to the premiere, the numbers have fluctuated significantly with each episode, making it too early to say the series has secured a stable hit.

In the eighth episode of the tvN Saturday-Sunday drama 'Spooky Romance' airing on the 9th, the relationship between Cheon Yeo-ri (Park Eun-bin) and Ma Gang-uk (Yang Se-jong) undergoes another transformation. As the fake dating—initiated to avoid an unwanted engagement—begins to evolve into real emotions, a special event prepared by Ma Gang-uk for Cheon Yeo-ri hits an unexpected snag.

The two are maintaining their relationship by pretending to be lovers to deceive those around them. However, as they spend more time together, emotions that are difficult to explain as a simple contract or pretense have begun to sprout.

Ma Gang-uk decides that a proper proposal is necessary even for his fake engagement partner, Cheon Yeo-ri, and prepares an event. In released photos, Ma Gang-uk, dressed in a suit, is captured looking at Cheon Yeo-ri with a nervous expression while holding a ring case.

Cheon Yeo-ri also faces him with a bright smile, with Ma Gang-uk's jacket draped over her knees. However, the atmosphere shifts the moment she sees the ring case. Cheon Yeo-ri's expression freezes, and Ma Gang-uk, watching her, cannot hide his embarrassment.

Whether the proposal prepared by Ma Gang-uk reaches a successful conclusion will be the main point of interest for episode 8.

-From 3% at premiere to a 6% peak... but the upward curve is missing

The viewership rating trend for 'Spooky Romance' is somewhat complex.

The premiere on the 18th of last month started with a nationwide viewership rating of 3.0%. It then surged to 5.3% in the second episode, raising expectations, but dropped back to 4.4% in the third.

Fluctuations continued thereafter. While it broke its own record by reaching 6.0% in the sixth episode, it fell again to 4.9% in the seventh episode.

Compared to the premiere, the peak record is exactly double. In terms of raw growth, it is an encouraging figure. However, the problem is that the 6% peak has not led to a stable upward trend.

The ratings moved from a 3.0% start to 5.3%, then down to 4.4%, before surging to 6.0% and dropping again to 4.9%. In other words, while interest in the series clearly exists, it is too early to judge that it has secured a solid enough viewership base to drive continuous growth.

In the current drama market, viewership ratings are often judged by how long an upward trend lasts rather than a single episode's peak. From this perspective, 'Spooky Romance' sits somewhere between a work showing rebound potential and a stable hit.

-Will the romance between Park Eun-bin and Yang Se-jong be the key to a rebound?

Nevertheless, the elements for a potential rebound are clear.

Centered on the chemistry between Park Eun-bin and Yang Se-jong, the story is entering a full-fledged emotional phase by combining the familiar fake-dating trope with the stakes of an engagement.

As the relationship—which began out of mutual necessity—transforms into real emotion, the upcoming developments have become crucial.

The proposal in episode 8 carries weight beyond a simple event. While formally a relationship for a fake engagement, the moment Ma Gang-uk hands the ring to Cheon Yeo-ri, their relationship stands on the boundary between 'acting' and 'sincerity.'

With Cheon Yeo-ri's unexpected reaction, the possibility of a new rift between the two has increased.

Ultimately, whether 'Spooky Romance' will leave the 6% mark as a temporary peak or use it as a stepping stone to climb higher depends on what happens next.

Having already proven its potential by rising from 3% to 6%, the series needs more than a one-time spike; it needs narrative strength to maintain and grow those numbers. As the fake dating between Park Eun-bin and Yang Se-jong moves toward true love, attention is focused on whether the viewership rating can turn upward once more.