In the fifth episode of tvN’s weekend drama How to Become a Building Owner in Korea (hereafter Building Owner), which aired March 28, an unexpected incident in an underground cold-storage room upended Gi Su-jong (Ha Jung-woo) and Kim Seon’s (Im Soo-jung) plan to deal with an accident involving Oh Dong-gi (Hyun Bong-sik).
Kim urged him to focus on the immediate crisis, saying, “We both made mistakes—let’s deal with what’s urgent first.” She steadied him with: “We have to try. You have to choose—your family, or this person (Oh Dong-gi).”
Gi apologized to Oh and attempted to negotiate. Though he briefly entertained extreme options, he couldn’t bring himself to harm him. Oh, who knew that the money Gi had hidden in the bathroom came from the kidnapping, demanded 1 billion KRW (approximately $750,000) to keep quiet. He shouted, “Are you going to kill me? You’re not that kind of person—think of your daughter,” trying to sway Gi, who is a father.
Oh’s rage and desire for revenge triggered a larger, unforeseen consequence. Near the episode’s end, Jeon Yang-ja (Kim Geum-soon) sneaked into the Seyun Building to cut pipes and sabotage it. In the dark, Oh mistook her for Gi and attacked. The episode closed on Jeon bleeding in the cold storage while Oh fled—leaving viewers to wonder how the fallout will hit Gi and Kim.
The ambitions circling the Seyun Building created a spiral of incidents. Gi had joined a fake kidnapping to protect the property, then imprisoned Oh to cover it up—choices that culminated in Oh attacking Jeon Yang-ja. Jeon herself had targeted the Seyun Building to secure redevelopment shares and was injured in the process. Each character’s greed set off consequences that may be irreversible.
Gi expressed regret for taking part in the staged kidnapping, but felt compelled to clean up the mess for his family. Kim vowed, “Let’s go through this together,” putting the couple’s fate at the center of the story. Meanwhile, Jeon Yi-kyung (Jung Soo-jung) discovers her husband Min Hwal-seong’s affair and finds a photo showing Kim Seon’s back on his phone. A flashback to her own kidnapping hints at further upheaval in episode 6, raising anticipation for what’s next.
Sojung Lee, TenAsia reporter forusojung@tenasia.co.kr
