What the new Between Steps poster shows
ENA released the main poster for its new Monday–Tuesday romance drama "Between Steps" (연애박사) on September 17, 2026, and it is built around a single quiet image: Kim So Hyun and Choo Young Woo sitting side by side on a bus .
Quick Answer: The main poster for ENA's "Between Steps," released September 17, 2026, shows Kim So Hyun and Choo Young Woo seated on a sunlit bus, her head on his shoulder and their hands clasped. The tagline reads "a spicy, bitter, and sweet romance between two young people who are clumsy at love." The drama premieres October 5, 2026.
The composition is deliberately still. Sunlight pours through the bus windows above the two leads, with Im Yoo Jin (Kim So Hyun) resting her head on Park Min Jae's (Choo Young Woo) shoulder and their hands joined between them . The copy running across the image reads "사랑이 서툰 두 청춘의 맵고, 쓰고, 달콤한 로맨스" — "a spicy, bitter, and sweet romance between two young people who are clumsy at love" .
Korean outlets described the mood as 나른하고 평온한 — languid and peaceful — and pointed to two details as the emotional anchor: the faint smile on Yoo Jin's face and the clasped hands, which coverage framed as the poster's clearest signal of excitement between the two .
The bus poster is the third piece of visual promotion. Here is what has been released so far:
- September 1, 2026 — premiere-date announcement with two mood teasers: one shows the pair walking under a shared umbrella in the rain, with Min Jae telling Yoo Jin, "You are like the sun. Hot"; the other shows them on a bus, where he calls her "pretty," then "cute and kind" .
- September 9, 2026 — campus poster and teaser: Min Jae and Yoo Jin sitting together on campus eating ice cream, both smiling and looking in the same direction ; the teaser released with it has Min Jae confessing "I like you" and telling Yoo Jin "To me, you're like the sun. You're scorching," her answering "Even still, try swallowing it," and the clip ending on their first kiss .
Read together, the campaign has moved from daylight and distance to shoulder-to-shoulder contact in the space of eight days — a sequencing that tracks the drama's own title. "Between Steps" premieres October 5, 2026 at 10:00 p.m. KST on ENA .source
Why this poster carries extra weight: Ahn Pan Seok's final work
The bus poster is the last promotional image released for a drama directed by Ahn Pan Seok (안판석), who died on August 12, 2026 . "Between Steps" is his final completed project, and the credit is why Korean coverage of a fairly standard campus-romance poster carried more weight than the image alone would suggest. Ahn spent three decades on melodrama that treated adult feeling as a matter of small gestures rather than plot turns, and a joined pair of hands on a bus seat is recognisably his register.
His filmography is the reason the name registers with international viewers: "Secret Love Affair," "Something in the Rain," "One Spring Night," and "The Midnight Romance in Hagwon" . Those titles share a method — long takes, natural light, dialogue that trails off — and the main poster's languid, sunlit framing sits squarely inside it .
The timeline reported by Korean outlets is short and specific. Ahn had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2025 and continued working through treatment . He collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage in July 2026 and died on August 12, 2026 .
Crucially for anyone wondering whether the drama is at risk, the production was already finished. Filming began in November 2025 and wrapped on February 28, 2026 , and editing was also complete by the time of Ahn's death that August — which is why the production team has said the broadcast schedule is unaffected . What premieres on October 5, 2026 is the version he signed off on, not a posthumous assembly by other hands .
"Between Steps" is written by Min Hyo Jung, whose earlier credits include "Attic Cat" and "Full House" .
Continuity runs through the cast as well. Seo Jung Yeon, who plays Im Yoo Jin's mother, is one of the returning faces from Ahn's earlier work, having appeared in his dramas "A Wife's Credentials," "Secret Love Affair," and "Something in the Rain" . Repeat collaborators of that kind are a fair signal of how the set was run.
"This clumsy yet universal love story is something everyone has experienced at least once, and it will bring viewers both tender excitement and empathy," the production team said alongside the poster, adding that the chemistry between Choo Young Woo and Kim So Hyun "exceeds expectations" (source: Soompi, 2026-09).
The premise: a swimmer-turned-engineer and a drifting student in a robotics lab
"Between Steps" is set inside a university robotics research laboratory, where a former athlete and a student with no plan end up at the same workbench. Park Min Jae, played by Choo Young Woo, was a competitive swimmer in high school until illness cost him his right leg; he leaves athletics behind and becomes a PhD candidate in robotics engineering . Im Yoo Jin, played by Kim So Hyun, is finishing a bachelor's degree in clothing and textiles and drifting without direction when an incident turns her toward robotics, and she enters Min Jae's lab as a master's student .
That setup matters because it decides what kind of romance this is. The pairing is not a workplace melodrama of hierarchy and office politics — it is a campus story, with the specific texture of graduate life around it: a shared lab, a supervisor's project, two people at different stages of the same degree track. Korean coverage describes the drama as blending the romance with the everyday rhythm of research-student life rather than treating the lab as decoration . The tagline on the main poster — "a spicy, bitter, and sweet romance between two young people who are clumsy at love" — reads as a description of that stage of life as much as of the couple.
The teasers released so far give a usable sense of the register. The first pair of mood teasers, published September 1 alongside the October 5 premiere-date announcement, catch the two leads in different registers: walking under a shared umbrella in the rain, with Min Jae telling Yoo Jin, "You are like the sun. Hot," and — in a second clip — seated on the bus that later became the main poster's setting, where he calls her "pretty," then "cute and kind" . A later teaser, released September 9 alongside the campus poster, moves the story to a confession: Min Jae tells Yoo Jin "I like you" and "To me, you're like the sun. You're scorching," she answers "Even still, try swallowing it," and the clip ends on their first kiss .
- Park Min Jae (Choo Young Woo) — ex-competitive swimmer, lost his right leg to illness, now a robotics engineering PhD candidate.
- Im Yoo Jin (Kim So Hyun) — clothing and textiles undergraduate, directionless, enters the same lab as a master's student.
- Setting — a robotics research laboratory; campus romance with graduate-lab realism, not office melodrama.
- Tone markers — rain-and-umbrella teaser line "You are like the sun. Hot"; bus teaser's "pretty," "cute and kind."
Read together, the character notes explain why the campaign has leaned on quiet, enclosed spaces — a campus bench, an umbrella, a bus seat — rather than on grand gestures. Both leads are written as people in an unfinished stage, and the drama appears to want the small scale to carry the weight.
Where and when to watch Between Steps
"Between Steps" premieres on October 5, 2026 at 10:00 p.m. KST on ENA, taking the channel's Monday–Tuesday 22:00 drama slot, and runs 12 episodes . At two episodes a week, that puts the finale in early-to-mid November 2026. International viewers do not have to wait for a licensing announcement: the series streams on Disney+, alongside a simulcast on KT's Genie TV .source
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | October 5, 2026, 10:00 p.m. KST |
| Broadcaster / slot | ENA, Monday–Tuesday 22:00 |
| Episodes | 12 (finale expected early-to-mid November 2026) |
| Domestic streaming | Genie TV (KT), simulcast |
| International streaming | Disney+ |
| Planning / production | KT Studio Genie / Studio Gothic |
| Korean title | 연애박사 (Yeonae Baksa) |
One caveat on the episode count. Most Korean coverage, and the materials issued through ENA and KT Studio Genie, give the figure as 12 . A single outlet, 중앙이코노미뉴스, reported 16. Until ENA publishes a full episode schedule, 12 is the working number, and anyone planning a watch calendar should treat a six-week run as the baseline rather than an eight-week one. ENA's own drama schedule page is the place to confirm slot changes once the run begins .
The behind-the-scenes lineup is worth noting for anyone tracking who makes what. Planning is by KT Studio Genie, the telecom-backed studio arm that also feeds the Genie TV platform, with production handled by Studio Gothic (스튜디오고티) . That pairing is why the domestic simulcast lands on Genie TV rather than on a rival platform, and it is the reason the Disney+ berth was locked in ahead of the premiere instead of being negotiated episode by episode.
A note on searching for it: the Korean title is 연애박사, a pun on 박사 meaning both "PhD" and, colloquially, an expert. MyDramaList files the show under the slug "love-doctor," so English databases and fan trackers may list it as "Love Doctor" rather than "Between Steps." Both refer to the same October 5 ENA premiere.
Who else is in the cast
The supporting cast of "Between Steps" is built around the two families that surround Im Yoo Jin and Park Min Jae. Kim Min Seok plays Im Yu Seong, Yoo Jin's older brother; Shim Hye Jin plays Hong Eun Ju, Min Jae's mother; and Seo Jung Yeon and Park Hyuk Kwon play Yoo Jin's parents . That casting shape matters for a 12-episode run premiering October 5, 2026 on ENA: with a robotics lab as the main setting, the family roles are where the drama's non-campus scenes are likely to live .
One name in that list carries its own history. Seo Jung Yeon has appeared in several of Ahn Pan Seok's earlier dramas, including "A Wife's Credentials," "Secret Love Affair," and "Something in the Rain" . For viewers who came to Ahn's work through those titles, she is one of the recurring faces of his filmography — and, since this is Ahn's final directed drama, her role here closes out the collaboration rather than extending it.
- Kim Min Seok — Im Yu Seong, Yoo Jin's older brother
- Shim Hye Jin — Hong Eun Ju, Min Jae's mother
- Seo Jung Yeon — Yoo Jin's mother; returning Ahn Pan Seok collaborator
- Park Hyuk Kwon — Yoo Jin's father
Neither the main poster released on September 17, 2026 nor the teasers released so far feature the supporting cast. The rain-and-bus teasers stay on the leads , and so does the ice-cream confession teaser on campus . Character stills or relationship charts for the family lines would be the next likely promotional beat before the premiere, distributed through ENA and the outlets covering the campaign.
What the production team is saying
The production team framed "Between Steps" around familiarity rather than spectacle. In comments released with the main poster on September 17, 2026, the team called it "a clumsy yet universal love story" — one "everyone has experienced at least once" — and said it "will bring viewers both tender excitement and empathy" . That positioning matches the poster copy itself, which promises "a spicy, bitter, and sweet romance between two young people who are clumsy at love" (source: etoday, 2026-09).
"The chemistry between Choo Young Woo and Kim So Hyun exceeds expectations. Please look forward to the two actors' committed portrayals of unfinished youth," — production team statement accompanying the main poster (source: Soompi).
"Unfinished youth" is the phrase worth holding onto, because it describes both leads at the same time: a swimmer who lost the sport and a student who never found one. Planning is credited to KT Studio Genie with production by Studio Gothic .
One practical note for anyone searching for the show: the title travels under at least three names. The Korean press uniformly uses 연애박사, a pun in which 박사 means both "PhD" and, colloquially, an expert — fitting for a drama set in a robotics lab. English-language coverage uses "Between Steps," while MyDramaList's entry slug is "love-doctor," so some English databases list it as "Love Doctor." The form "발자국 사이" appears in no Korean source and is not the Korean title.
Concretely: search 연애박사 or "Between Steps," set a reminder for October 5, 2026 at 10:00 p.m. KST, and watch on ENA, Genie TV, or Disney+ for the 12-episode run .
Frequently asked questions
When does Between Steps premiere?
"Between Steps" premieres on October 5, 2026 at 10:00 p.m. KST on ENA, taking the channel's Monday–Tuesday 22:00 drama slot . New episodes air simultaneously on KT's Genie TV and stream on Disney+, so viewers outside Korea can follow the run without waiting for a delayed release window .
Is Between Steps really director Ahn Pan Seok's last drama?
Yes. Director Ahn Pan Seok died on August 12, 2026, after collapsing from a cerebral hemorrhage in July 2026; Korean coverage reports he had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2025 . Filming started in November 2025 and wrapped in February 2026, and editing was also finished by the time of his death, which is why the production team has said the October broadcast schedule is unaffected . "Between Steps" is therefore the last completed work from the director of "Secret Love Affair," "Something in the Rain," "One Spring Night," and "The Midnight Romance in Hagwon" .
How many episodes does Between Steps have?
The working figure is 12 episodes, which is what ENA and KT Studio Genie materials and the large majority of Korean coverage state; on a Monday–Tuesday schedule from October 5, that puts the finale in early-to-mid November 2026 . One Korean outlet, 중앙이코노미뉴스, reported 16 episodes. That number is an outlier against the official planning materials, so treat 12 as correct unless ENA revises it .
What are Kim So Hyun and Choo Young Woo's characters like?
Kim So Hyun plays Im Yoo Jin, a student finishing a bachelor's degree in clothing and textiles who is drifting without direction until an incident turns her toward robotics, and she enters a research lab as a master's student. Choo Young Woo plays Park Min Jae, a competitive swimmer in high school who lost his right leg to illness, left athletics behind, and is now a PhD candidate in robotics engineering. The two meet inside that lab, and the drama pairs their romance with the ordinary texture of graduate-student life .
Is 'Love Doctor' the same drama as 'Between Steps'?
Yes, they are the same production. The Korean title is 연애박사 (Yeonae Baksa), a pun in which 박사 means both "PhD" and, colloquially, "expert" — fitting for a romance set in a robotics lab. English-language outlets such as Soompi use "Between Steps," while MyDramaList's entry slug is "love-doctor," so some English databases list the show as "Love Doctor" . The form "발자국 사이" appears in no Korean source and should not be treated as the Korean title.
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This article was written using information collected and analyzed by NAMANE's in-house K-pop research AI engine. We use AI technology to bring you faster, broader coverage, and in the process some details may occasionally differ from the latest facts. For important information such as dates, venues, and prices, please double-check with official sources.
