As Episode 3 of My Dream Life of Mr Kim unfolds us into the past, we find Nak-su on a date with Ha-jin, a diligent worker at a credit card company who attended junior college. The evening is fraught with awkward silence, Nak-su's charisma in check as he stumbles over small talk. When Nak-su excuses himself to the restroom for a phone consultation, Ha-jin seizes her chance and departs, leaving a note expressing her hope that he might find someone more suitable for him. Nak-su, undeterred, chases after her, determined to prove his mettle and dispel the notion of being a mere wallflower.
Nak-su suggests that Ha-jin use their date as a practice session for future encounters. They find common ground in their professional lives, and Nak-su is candid in admitting that he doesn't socialize much outside of work and is quite reserved. When Ha-jin looks at him and inquires if he plans to abandon his work when he gets married and settles down, Nak-su deflects the question with a compliment, calling her beautiful. This seems to win her over.
In the present, the aftermath of their heated exchange is palpable at home. Su-gyeom prepares to leave for a while to give Nak-su some space to cool off. Before he goes, he and Ha-jin sit down for a drink, the mood warmer than the forced interaction between father and son in the previous episode. She acknowledges that Nak-su is in the wrong and apologizes to Su-gyeom for stifling him all these years. She wanted their home to be a sanctuary where her father didn't feel diminished, but in doing so, she's obviously sacrificed her own aspirations and dreams.
Meanwhile, ACT is reeling from the Giga issue exposed by IT-Boy. Two other outlets have also published on the matter, and word is starting to spread rapidly.
Nak-su, the perpetrator of the fiasco, is now hushed and low-keyed, keeping his head down as he navigates the aftermath. Following a grand meeting, Sung-gu pulls Nak-su aside and confesses to having secretly recorded their entire conversation. This precautionary measure, he explains, serves both as a safeguard for himself and a potential bargaining chip for Nak-su. Jeong-tae's casual remark, "So what's the problem?" unexpectedly implicates the Director in the mess, giving Nak-su the leverage to blackmail him if he attempts to oust Nak-su from his position. However, Sung-gu's request is for the recording to be deleted.
Nak-su's short-sightedness in considering this long-term strategy is detrimental, as Jeong-tae intends to shift the burden of resolving the mess onto the sales team. With Nak-su at the helm, he comes up with the idea of reaching out to It-Boy and demanding he take down his videos. This, he believes, will give him an advantageous negotiating position in a counterattack strategy. While this plan is absurd and delusional, the email has already been sent—only for Nak-su to have second thoughts upon hearing his team's concerns.
Meanwhile, Su-gyeom pays a visit to the Jealousy, My Strength crew, though he has not officially joined them yet. He wants to observe their operations before making a decision. As Su-gyeom questions his choices, he notices them dancing about with headphones on, resembling a silent disco. Han-na speaks to him afterward and explains that his grounded approach is exactly what they need to stay on track.
Ha-jin prepares for her real estate exam and crosses paths with Sang-cheol and Ha-yeong. Despite their initial suggestion that this is a "friendly lunch," it is actually a sales pitch aimed at luring Nak-su into their company.
Fascinatingly, Sang-cheol reveals that he is friends with IT-Boy and discloses that the 'solution' ACT came up with is not only archaic but also embarrassing. Unaware of the fact that it was Nak-su's doing, Ha-jin remains in the dark. When she finally learns about it, the situation has already escalated beyond what it was before.
IT-Boy releases another video, and as Jeong-tae reprimands Nak-su for how he's handled this, Mr Kim shifts the blame to his team, revealing his weak leadership. Jin-woo steps up and believes they should post a corrective order notice on the website and a separate apology statement. They need to respond quickly to protect ACT's reputation, and with the situation even worse than it was before, Nak-su is not in a good position.
Jeong-tae chastises him, and Nak-su is reluctant to use Sung-gu's audio to protect himself. Afterwards, Nak-su speaks to Ik-kyeon, who decides they should let Team 2 handle the YouTube situation while they head out to Yangpyeong and apologize to the contractors, begging for forgiveness. Ik-kyeon's idea is to offer them free service for a while as a way of smoothing things over.
However, Nak-su is so fixated on the Executive position that he'd rather be the "MVP" and handle the Youtuber himself, believing it to be the bigger situation. As Sang-cheol phones while his team heads out to Yangpyeong to meet with IT-Boy, he confirms that they have agreed to a meet. Mr Kim rushes downstairs and forces Jin-woo to hang back and not take the tech team there so he can take all the glory for himself.
While Nak-su presents a simple presentation and awkwardly smooths things over with IT-Boy, the rest of his team are completely chastised by the leaders at the facility in Yangpyeong. Their contract is shredded, they're forced out the door, and Nak-su's absence makes things that much worse. Nak-su thinks this will just smooth things over, but Jeong-tae is furious. He bluntly replies "okay" to everything and then rants to Jin-woo about how Nak-su is like a child waiting for his homework to be marked.
On the ride back, "Mr MVP" phones Ik-kyeon and learns that the contract has been cancelled without a termination fee after all of this. The team is not happy, especially when they are dragged to a team dinner with Nak-su that they really don't want to be a part of. In the morning, Jeong-tae repeatedly rings Nak-su, who finds himself stressed and clutching his heart again.
