On the Sept. 28 episode of SBS’s "Running Man", the “Paycheck CEO” race took over the show.
Guests Kwon Eunbi and JOOHONEY teamed up with the members for a series of missions, with Kwon Eunbi, HAHA, and Song Ji-hyo stepping in as CEOs to lead their squads.
Here’s how it worked: Every time a company turned a profit, the CEO was supposed to share it with their employees. Individual salaries were kept secret, and midway through the game, employees got a single chance to either blow the whistle on their CEO or keep the faith.
If they trusted their CEO through the end, their bank balance would double. If they caught actual embezzlement, the company “collapsed” and the staff took the money. But accuse an honest CEO, and that precious whistleblowing chance vanished.
Right out of the gate, the members pegged HAHA and Kwon Eunbi as the biggest flight risks―HAHA for his serial betrayals and Kwon for her now-infamous, line-crossing gameplay on past visits.
They weren’t wrong. Kwon Eunbi started siphoning funds without a second thought, while Song Ji-hyo earned props for splitting every payout evenly from the jump.
During a meal break, HAHA divided the bill evenly, and Kwon Eunbi picked the payer by drawing lots. Song Ji-hyo, meanwhile, told her employees, Choi Daniel and Ji Ye-eun, “Let’s eat for free. I’ll make you some great instant ramen,” and whisked them off to her real-life lingerie company. It was the first time "Running Man" had ever shown her office, and she casually served up cup ramen and coffee like a pro.
After the third payday, the first accusation landed: Kim Jong-kook and JOOHONEY called out CEO HAHA. Turns out, that was part of HAHA’s plan all along. He’d acted shady just enough to bait an early accusation―without actually embezzling―so once his team burned their shot, he could freely pocket future paydays.
Following the final mission and one last round of salaries, the last accusation window opened. Choi Daniel and Ji Ye-eun chose to trust Song Ji-hyo. Over at Kwon Eunbi’s company, employees were sure she was skimming―but with roughly 20 million won on the line, they gambled that keeping faith and doubling their balances would pay better than pulling the trigger.
When the whistleblowing phase ended, the final bankbooks went public. Song Ji-hyo stood firm, splitting everything evenly to the very end, and her employees saw their balances double. “You’re genuinely a good person,” Ji Ye-eun said, impressed.
Kwon Eunbi’s team also got their balances doubled―then came the gut punch. Yoo Jae-suk showed 1,117,000 won, Yang Se-chan had 20 won, and Ji Seok-jin had 2 won. Meanwhile, Kwon Eunbi had quietly amassed 24,482,970 won, effectively taking the entire pot for herself.
“We just worked like dogs,” Yang Se-chan groaned. Yoo Jae-suk cracked, “What are you doing tomorrow? Let’s go protest in front of her building,” sending everyone into laughter.
A teaser for next week promised guest appearances by Jun Hyun-moo and Jeong Seung-hwan, stoking anticipation for the next episode.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Hyo-jung)