The corporate world is competitive, and you have to struggle and give your all to climb the ladder to the top. In this “race” to gain recognition in the corporate world, PR agent Park Yoon Jo is at the forefront. She works for a small PR agency but has big dreams. Her friend, Ryu Jae Min, is also a PR agent but works at a big firm. While it’s easy for Jae Min to climb the ladder, it comes with its own hardships. Be it a small agency or a large firm, both Yoon Jo and Jae Min have their share of corporate struggles.
Spoilers Ahead
What Proposal Is Yoon Jo Working On?
Park Yoon Jo works for PR JOA, a small agency with fewer than five employees. She has a weekend event and has to handle the entire event with her pregnant colleague. The event is already showing signs of failure because the client’s target audience is people in their 20s and 30s, but the few people who have shown up are teenagers or people in their 40s and 50s. Yoon Jo tries her best to revive the event, but it only gets worse. While Yoon Jo is struggling to do her job right on the weekend, Jae Min is having leisure time camping alone in the woods. However, his relaxing weekend doesn’t last for long as a reporter friend informs him that she has received a malicious article against their company. As a PR representative, he needs to stop the article from getting published. He drives back to Seoul, only to drive to another town four hours away to meet the factory manager who was interviewed by the reporter. Jae Min is trying to contact the reporter as well, but he won’t pick up anyone’s calls. Jae Min and Sun Tae thought that the reporter wanted money, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The article gets published anyway, and the PR department now has to cover up the mess.
On the other hand, Yoon Jo is finding a new client for her company after the failed previous campaign. Yoon Jo carries the company alone and makes sales and marketing work as well, even when her boss hasn’t asked her to. Yoon Jo wants to gain recognition for her work, but her job doesn’t provide her with enough opportunities for it. She is on the lookout for a bakery in her neighborhood and wants to pitch them an offer. She works even on holidays and only has one other friend apart from Jae Min. Currently, she is working on a proposal for a big company, Seyong, where Jae Min works. It is an important opportunity, as Seyong seldom outsources its projects. Jae Min had no idea that Yoon Jo’s agency was also participating in the bidding until he saw the proposal a day before. He wants to tell Yoon Jo that the presentation is just a show and another agency has already been selected, but he sees that Yoon Jo is working too hard on it. However, the next day, before the presentation, her boss informs her that Earth Communications has already won the bidding, but they have to stay professional and present their proposal in the best way possible.
What Makes Yoon Jo Upset?
Jae Min’s boss Sun Tae, holds a grudge against Yoon Jo’s boss, Hee Young, and Sun Tae’s subordinates know it already. When Sun Tae starts humiliating Hee Young during the presentation, it becomes more obvious. Hee Young tries to stay professional even when Sun Tae crosses the line, but Yoon Jo speaks up for her boss. Sun Tae goes quiet after that and lets her get done with her presentation quickly. Yoon Jo is upset, but her boss has been in the industry for a long time, and things like this don’t bother her anymore. Moreover, her junior, Dong Hoon, the CEO of Earth Comms agency, has won the bidding, and she is happy for him. Dong Hoon even joins them for drinks which makes Yoon Jo think that losing a project is really not a big thing for others, but she feels jealous of Dong Hoon and that she was wronged. She is yet to meet Jae Min, whom she is fuming mad at. She understands his situation and why he couldn’t inform her beforehand, but she needs to vent her anger because everyone else is celebrating except her. Jae Min simply accepts his mistake and lets Yoon Jo have her way.
The founder of Seyong, Lim Chang Soo, has passed away, and his daughter, Lim Ji Hyeon, who is the chief strategy officer of the company, has to fight with the vice president, Jung Gu Young, for the position of president. Jung Gu Young has been working for the company since its foundation, and he can take that position easily. Ji Hyeon needs to cover up for the losses caused by the recent malicious article, so she calls in the PR team. During the meeting, Jae Min suggests holding open recruitment instead of hiring from connections. Jae Min gets the right opportunity at the right time. He wants Yoon Jo to join the company because he can’t see her talent getting stolen by others. Even though Earth Comms won the bidding because it was the choice of higher officials, other employees liked Yoon Jo’s proposal more, and they are going to steal her proposal, which is a common practice in the industry. Dong Hoon is confused when he hears this from the company and asks them to wait for his answer. Meanwhile, Yoon Jo successfully managed the marketing campaign of the bakery she was on the lookout for. It gives her the sense of recognition she was craving.
Jae Min’s open recruitment idea has been implemented, and as Jae Min expected, Yoon Jo has applied for it. He is waiting for the result as much as Yoon Jo, but in the meantime, Yoon Jo gets another job offer. Dong Hoon offers her a team leader position at his company because he just can’t steal her idea. On the other hand, Lim Ji Hyeon offers Gu Jenny, a renowned PR expert, a big position at Seyong because she needs to make her side strong. “Race” Episode 2 ends with Yoon Jo getting two job offers in her hand. Jae Min gets all excited to see Yoon Jo’s name on the list of selected candidates, but he has no idea that she has another offer. Now, it’s up to Yoon Jo to make a decision on whether to accept a team leader position at Earth Communications or a temporary position at Seyong.
