ENA’s Monday-Tuesday drama “Between Steps,” which portrays the awkward romance and growth of young people, is quietly gaining critical acclaim. It has ranked No. 1 in Korea and No. 5 globally in the Disney+ TV show category, according to FlixPatrol. The series is the final work of director Ahn Pan-seok, who died in August this year. His signature approach to romance of moving viewers through everyday words and glances, without rich corporate heirs or fantasy elements remained unmistakably his to the very end. Min-jae (Choo Young-woo), a doctoral student in robotics, is a guarded man who has never been in a relationship. Having lost a leg to bone cancer more than a decade ago and been forced to give up his dream of becoming a swimmer, he pretends to be unaffected but is full of thoughts and deeply afraid of being hurt. Yu-jin (Kim So-hyun), a junior researcher in his lab, boldly pursues him. Min-jae initially pushes her away, saying, “You’re too hot, like the sun,” but eventually decides to approach her. “Once I swallow something, I never spit it back out. I have to see it