✏️How to Write a K-Drama: Chapter 27
The motel. 🏚️
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He sauntered off and Da Young reached for her bag to realize that it was the one Jae Woon had grabbed already. She ran after him like a little kid trying to catch up with his long strides, Jo Suk close behind with Jae Woon’s own luggage—two suitcases, which beat Yul Hee.
Ha Na watched them with her sunglasses lowered on her slim nose.
“There has to be some mistake,” Jae Woon muttered flatly.
The three of them stood before a run-down motel that looked like a sand castle transplanted from the beach to this abandoned side of the road many moons ago.
“We have plenty of rooms,” said the girl sitting in a tiny office behind a small window, chewing bubble gum like a delinquent. “Take your pick.”
Jae Woon and Da Young just stared at her blankly. She groaned and grabbed two sets of keys off the wall and tossed them at her guests.
The rooms turned out to be at complete opposite ends of the motel, Da Young on the first floor and Jae Woon on the second.
The two wordlessly met in the middle of the first floor after they checked the states of their rooms—which were as poor as they had expected. Upon finding out where Da Young’s room was, Jae Woon made her switch with him, not explaining it was more dangerous for her to be on the first floor where someone could easily break in through the window.
But she knew, anyway.
Still, he was uneasy she would be on a whole floor by herself and suggested she switch to the one right above him instead of all the way on the other end. She made a big deal about it, full of sighs and eyerolls, but obliged because it felt safer for her that way, too.
Yul Hee liked spending time with Da Young so she came over to bother the writer and learn her lines, but she did prefer her nice hotel room and fluffy bed, so she left at night.
To Jae Woon’s annoyance, Kyung Hwan visited, as well. “I’m sorry the rooms turned out this way,” he said to Da Young when they met up in the sad excuse for a lobby at the motel. Kyung Hwan eyed Jae Woon slightly warily, which bothered the star.
“Do you think you’ll be okay here? We can switch if you’d like,” he suggested, but Da Young shook her head.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she replied. “Nice and secluded. Perfect for a writer.” In a horror movie, maybe, she added to herself, intrigued by the possibility. She did still have that story she was writing before she overcame her writer’s block…
Jae Woon knew that look in her eyes. He could practically see her fingers twitching like she was scribbling with that fluffy pink pen of hers.
To his annoyance, Kyung Hwan seemed to notice, as well, as he glanced at her hands, smiled, and said, “Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” He turned to leave, paused, then turned back to Da Young as if remembering something but feeling reluctant still to bring it up. Jae Woon narrowed his eyes at the assistant director.
Kyung Hwan said to Da Young, “There is something I’d like to talk to you about…” He glanced at Jae Woon, not even flinching at the narrowed gaze. “...in private,” Kyung Hwan added pointedly. He smiled back at Da Young. “But we can discuss it later. It’s not urgent.”
She nodded, her mind elsewhere. “Okay.”
“Anyway, take a break and turn in early tonight if possible. We have an early shoot tomorrow.” As he started to leave, Kyung Hwan gave a nod to Jae Woon. “You, too, of course,” he said politely, and then finally left.
“Go get settled in,” Jae Woon said to Da Young softly. She nodded and left for her room to wash up, rest, and text her parents that she had arrived. Seeing that her phone was dead, she plugged it in before heading into the small bathroom.
Jae Woon wondered what Kyung Hwan had to talk to Da Young about. He would have assumed it had to do with the drama, and yet there was no reason the topic couldn’t be discussed before Jae Woon. He mulled over it as he washed up, then went to his little balcony area for some fresh air.
He looked up at the vast sky sequined with tiny stars that took turns blinking at him, and a sudden peace and calm washed over him. This was a view that was hard to behold in the city. And instead of the loud sound of traffic, he could hear the distant crashing waves of the ocean nearby.
He sighed and closed his eyes to enjoy the peace, but it didn’t last long. Something hit him on the head.
He opened his eyes and looked around him, confused. Noticing a paper airplane on the ground, he picked it up and opened it to read the message: What are you sighing about?
He leaned over his balcony and looked up to see two owlish eyes peering down at him, making him nearly jump out of his skin. The eyes were practically luminescent against the backdrop of the night sky.
Jae Woon grabbed a pencil from inside and scribbled back: It was an exhale. I’m enjoying the cool night air. He tried to send the paper airplane back up, but it kept falling back on his face, so he crumpled it up and shot it upwards like a basketball.
A few seconds later, a new, crisp paper airplane came back down: Can I borrow your phone charger?
His paper ball landed next to Da Young’s feet. She read, I can’t believe you forgot yours.
I didn’t. It broke. I’ll buy a new one tomorrow. But for now…?
Hold on. I’ll be right up.
A few minutes later, Da Young heard a knock on her door and opened it to see Jae Woon. His eyebrows lifted the slightest as he realized she wasn’t wearing any makeup, but it was simply an observation. To him, she looked the same as always. She was always just Eun Joo Ni to him.
“Can I come in?” he asked, looking into the room.
The question threw Da Young off for just a second, but she nodded. He walked in, not closing the door behind him, and searched for an outlet to plug in his charger. He took her dead phone and plugged it in, then looked around casually, but she could tell he was checking the windows and for any hidden cameras. Jo Suk had already given her some advice on this, but she watched Jae Woon do his own routine.
Once done, he gave her a nod and said, “Let’s go eat ramen.”
The motel lobby had some cup noodles and a hot water machine. They filled up their cups and went out to the sandy beach to sit and eat under the stars.
“Don’t you worry about bloating before your shoot tomorrow?” Da Young asked, slurping up the noodles.
“I don’t bloat,” he said casually, but she heard the trace of pride in his voice and almost snorted. “Besides…I’d always wanted to do this. Eat instant noodles on the beach.”
“What else did you want to do?” she asked, her curiosity piquing.
“I’m going to ride my bike tomorrow.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
“That’s what’s fun about it. Is there anything you want to do on Jeju Island?”
“Eat.”
He laughed. The two sat there for a while in silence, and in that endless moment, there was peace. No need to speak. No thoughts on the brain. Just pure presence as they sat there, absorbing everything with all of their senses. The sand under their hand, the gentle waves lapping up the shoreline, the twinkling stars, the soothing breeze.
As they leaned back, their hands sat close between them, not touching but absorbing the presence of the other person as a source of comfort in this moment frozen in time.
–
Da Young woke up the next morning to see that her phone had fully charged overnight. When it came back to life, she quickly responded to a message from Yul Hee, then paused. The silence of the sunny morning was peaceful, but there was a disturbance to it unlike the night before. She realized what it was. She hadn’t been able to text her parents last night that she had arrived safely on her “business trip” because her phone had died. But besides the frantic text from Yul Hee who wanted to know why she hadn’t heard from her in a while…
There were no other messages.
Da Young turned her phone face down and turned over in bed for a few more minutes of sleep—but her mind was not at rest.
She wished she could go back to the night before, her belly full of spicy noodles and her mind at peace. She wished they could’ve stayed like that for a while longer.
Next week on 🌟How to Write a K-Drama🌟
“You’re so cute!” Yul Hee suddenly squealed, latching onto Da Young for a hug to not only show her affections but also steal some of her friend’s body warmth. She was disappointed at the reminder that Da Young tended to run cold, so the hug had the opposite effect.