Jira succeeds in closing a deal on his first task as Mr. K. He meets Pheem again afterward, and with the rising tension between them, Pheem ends up kissing him.
In Burnout Syndrome episode 2, which aired on December 3, Jira accepts the job Koh offers him—to act as Mr. K—and successfully secures a deal with their client. Meanwhile, Koh informs Pheem that their company will fire his team. Later, both stressed from work, Pheem and Jira meet again at Burnout Bar, and the rising tension between them leads to Pheem kissing Jira at the end.
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Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Reader discretion is advised.
Burnout Syndrome Episode 2 Recap: Jira takes the job and signs the contract
Koh talks with his psychiatrist and admits he’s still struggling with insomnia. The psychiatrist advises him to go out and meet people. Koh replies, “I don’t meet people much,” but adds that if he can’t avoid it, he thinks he’s found a short-term solution—he met someone. He describes Jira as someone who isn’t complex, speaks his mind, and is easy to read. Koh even says Jira is “money-hungry… easy when they can be controlled with money,” and believes that since Jira isn’t in his industry, he doesn’t have the knowledge or power to hurt him.
Meanwhile, Jira talks to Ing for advice about whether he should work for Koh, especially since he still doesn’t know Koh’s real identity. Despite his doubts, Jira goes to Koh’s house. Koh’s butler escorts him and tells him he can’t bring any of his belongings for safety reasons.
Once inside, Koh asks Jira to sign a strict NDA to ensure none of Koh’s personal information gets disclosed—or he’ll sue. Koh also demands access to Jira’s social media and location for emergency purposes. Jira eventually signs but insists on one condition: if Koh asks him to do something he doesn’t feel like doing, he wants the right to resign. Koh acknowledges it but makes no promises.
Following Ing’s advice, Jira quietly looks around the house while Koh is away. He finds an invitation containing Koh’s name. To avoid detection, Jira writes it on the waistband of his underwear.
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Koh Puts Jira to the Test
Soon after, Koh takes Jira’s measurements for tailoring. While doing so, Jira finally asks what his actual job will be. Koh explains that Jira will act as Mr. K—essentially becoming Koh during business negotiations. He admits he hates meeting people because, for him, it’s nothing but “drama and chaos.”
Later on, Koh tests Jira by having him repeat what he’s saying from afar through an earpiece. Jira gets confused and complains that actors like him need to know their characters and their backgrounds. If he doesn’t understand what kind of man Koh is, along with the context and situation, he can’t portray him. Koh simply replies that the only context is “business negotiation.”
Koh then asks, “Is repeating after me too much of a feat?” Jira insists he isn’t a robot who can just accept programmed lines; acting requires emotions and understanding. So Koh shifts the test and tells Jira to play himself—the Jira who keeps getting rejected in every audition he walks into, the one who is good at nothing.
The shift breaks Jira. He tries again, repeating Koh’s lines while channeling his own frustrations, until he bursts into tears. When Koh asks what he feels, Jira confesses, “I feel like I don’t belong anywhere. I’m not good at anything. What I want to know is, how good I have to be to be chosen?” overwhelmed by his situation.
Koh tells him he is choosing him and reassures him that he did well. But he ends it bluntly: “No dramas for this job. I have no use for your tears,” before walking away.
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Koh tells Pheem to fire his team
Earlier, Koh calls Pheem to tell him that although their investors are on board, they want major cost cuts in the year-end production. Because of that, the company needs to lay people off this quarter—specifically, Pheem’s entire department.
The news leaves Pheem stressed, unsure how to tell his team they’re all about to lose their jobs. When he’s finally ready to make the announcement, his team suddenly surprises him with a birthday celebration, so he can’t bring himself to say it.
Later, Mawin joins Pheem outside while he smokes, and Pheem finally tells him the truth. The company is restructuring and replacing the application development team with the AI they built, which means they are firing them. Mawin immediately gets upset and asks, “Are you telling me I did all that coding only to get rid of myself?”
Feeling guilty about firing his friend, Pheem tells Mawin—who doesn’t know what to do anymore—to start saving money and even offers him a place to stay in the meantime.
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Jira succeeded in his first task as Mr. K in Burnout Syndrome episode 2
The butler delivers the suit, as fashionable as possible, and Koh makes Jira put it on while briefing him. Jira will act as a nominee, whose job is to make their potential partner feel comfortable enough to accept their investment. Their target is Mr. Thames from Library—the same man Jira worked with in episode 1. Jira worries that Thames might recognize him, but Koh insists, “He only remembers people who are useful to him.”
Soon after, Jira officially begins his first task with Koh. He starts by trying to charm Mr. Thames with small talk, but it doesn’t work, so they switch straight to business. Jira hands him a piece of paper with the price for a board seat, hoping to secure a long-term collaboration. Unimpressed, Mr. Thames refuses and starts to leave—until Koh “accidentally” spills wine on him at the door, forcing Thames into the restroom. Koh signals Jira to follow him, telling him to complete his work and make his pay worth it.
In the restroom, Jira personally cleans Mr. Thames’s suit and starts talking about fashion, specifically pointing out Mr. Thames’s suit. He also mentions that he once wrote a thesis on whether fashion counts as art, even interviewing Mr. Thames before. He hopes for an answer on why high-end brands create beautiful, artistic pieces that don’t sell, while lower-quality brands with less uniqueness often do.
Intrigued, Mr. Thames asks for the conclusion of his thesis. Jira replies that it doesn’t matter anymore because, “Nowadays they say good fashion is the one that sells.”
Mr. Thames then asks if he means the Library doesn’t sell because it’s bad. Jira clarifies, “Fashion isn’t fine art. It’s capitalism… If I join your management, you can go back to making clothes the way you like. I’ll—Mr. K—be the one bullshitting our way through, telling people it’s fine art.” Satisfied, Mr. Thames agrees to give them one board seat.
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Pheem kisses Jira at the end of Burnout Syndrome episode 2
Jira succeeds in his first task as Mr. K, and Koh praises him. Jira says, “I always make sure I’m worth my payroll.” When he asks why Koh wants the company, Koh explains he’s after Thames’s archive to test his AI.
He claims designers take too long to generate ideas and insists, “Fashion isn’t about trendsetting. It’s about keeping up with trends.” Jira disagrees, but Koh doubles down, saying the Library copies European designs anyway. If copyright issues arise, they can simply claim the AI learned from Mr. Thames’ brand. Hearing this, Jira quits, but Koh fires him instead.
Later, Jira goes to Burnout Bar to meet Pheem again. When Pheem arrives, Jira tells him that Pheem’s palm reading was almost right—he got a well-paid job but didn’t like it at all. He says it felt like scamming people; he had to trick them into making deals with him.
Pheem then shares that he had to fire a longtime friend at work and is questioning whether he wants to continue in a job that feels like part of who he is.
Despite this, he mentions it’s his birthday and that he’s glad to have met Jira. Inspired by Koh’s earlier “wine spill incident,” Jira asks Pheem if he can splash wine on him to show how artful the spill looks to him. Pheem agrees, but the result isn’t what Jira expected, so he asks to take the shirt home to paint it instead.
Pheem willingly removes the shirt and gives it to Jira, revealing his tattoos—XII MCMXCVII—which Jira admires. Feeling drawn to the tension between them, Pheem kisses Jira.
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Burnout Syndrome Episode 3 Preview and Release Date
Burnout Syndrome episode 3 teases Jira sending the suit back to Koh and requesting his own clothes. When Koh’s butler asks if Jira should be put on the blacklist, Koh says, “Not yet.” Jira also insists he’s not going to accept any more work from Koh, yet he finds himself at Koh’s place again. Jira will also finally discover that Pheem and Koh are associated with each other, and so will Pheem.
The episode will be released on December 10 and will air on GMM 25 at 8:30 PM (ICT). Fans can watch the rerun on the GMMTV OFFICIAL YouTube channel, with the uncut version available on iQIYI at 10:30 PM (PHT) / 9:30 PM (ICT).
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Source: GMMTV OFFICIAL, Burnout Syndrome X Account
