✏️How to Write a K-Drama: Chapter 29
Panic at the airport. 🛫
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Before they knew it, the rhythmic pounding of the water lulled them to sleep, their heads leaning on each other like those times many years ago when they had long shoots and busy schedules, too young to say no but seeking solace in the little moments they could next to each other, sharing their warmth and unspoken words.
The next day, Jae Woon told Jo Suk to sell his bike.
Before they knew it, the last day on Jeju Island was fast upon them. The drama was continuing to do well, bringing lots of attention their way, whether this was hype for the talented stars or the beloved author. Da Young was getting more requests for interviews, which she politely turned down as always, unless they were written pieces where she did not have to talk to anyone face to face.
She wanted to enjoy the last day with Yul Hee or Jae Woon, but she somehow ended up sitting across from Ha Na, who had that same calm yet calculating expression on her face with her sharp features offset by the rounder, softer features, the opposites working together to create that intimidating yet charming aura.
Ha Na had said she wanted to ask her a few questions. Da Young preferred not to have any face-to-face interviews, but at least this seemed less formal than what she would expect from other publications since Ha Na was covering the drama overall.
Da Young was on guard, but she was, as always, also curious. The woman opposite her was certainly an interesting character, just not necessarily one she wanted to be on close terms with.
“It’s nice to talk to you again,” Ha Na said.
“Thank you,” Da Young replied as she did not feel the same way and was not one to hide her feelings or thoughts.
Ha Na read the room and went straight to the point—with some hope to disarm Da Young, who was generally immovable: “I heard about your dating project with the drama’s lead actor, Do Jae Woon.”
“He’s been of great help to me with this drama. It’s an exciting opportunity to work this closely with one of the lead actors in order to create something so beloved by the audience,” Da Young monotonously recited.
“You really are a writer. So good with your words,” Ha Na said primly, looking down modestly at the table. It seemed to Da Young that this was actually a reminder that Ha Na herself was a writer, as well.
Ha Na continued, “So you two were essentially dating?”
“We were planning out dates and discussing moments of intimacy and conflict between the characters to gauge the best scenes for the drama.”
“Without Han Yul Hee’s input?”
“Her focus has always been on her acting, how she portrays the emotions and brings the character to life on screen. She is very good at it and, at times, discusses with the director how to best approach scenes.”
“And Jae Woon?”
“It appears he’s grown more interested in storytelling and worldbuilding these days. He has been an actor for so long, he has interesting insight to offer. Each actor is different.”
“Yes, Jae Woon is very different. Quite special.”
Da Young looked back at Ha Na, not quite like a challenge but more pointed, wondering what the other woman was trying to say or do here. The rest of the talk went a lot more formally, Ha Na asking questions (some very insightful ones to Da Young’s annoyance) for her piece on the creative process of the drama. Nothing seemed untoward or suspicious about the overall conversation. Ha Na was very good at nuances. More and more Da Young could see—and admire to an extent—how dangerous this woman could be.
Ha Na closed her notebook. “Thank you. I think that’s all I needed for today. It was all very eye-opening, the whole creative process behind this hit.”
Da Young simply gave her a curt nod and left. Ha Na watched her, no smile on her face, then turned over her phone on the table to check for any messages. There was one from her assistant: Check your email! I found something very interesting.
Ha Na opened up the email in question. Her frown slowly turned into a smile.
–
Before they knew it, filming on Jeju Island wrapped up. They had a big dinner party at a famous restaurant that served delicious seafood and boar. It was a fun time. Jae Woon seemed happier, which Da Young was glad to see. She avoided alcohol so as not to confess her love to everybody there for the rest of the night. Yul Hee made sure of this with some help from Won Joo to Jae Woon’s relief. Jae Woon grew red remembering the time Da Young had kept telling everybody how much she liked them.
The next day, pretty much everyone woke up with a hangover except Da Young, Yul Hee, Jae Woon, and Kyung Hwan. Yul Hee watched over Won Joo as they left their hotels and headed to the airport, even giving him a piggyback ride at one point when he was particularly out of it and didn’t notice what was going on.
The whole cast and crew made for a big crowd so they were split up into two flights. Jae Woon and Da Young were on the earlier one, so Yul Hee settled into a chair with Won Joo as she waved them off.
Just a few minutes later, Yul Hee was browsing through a magazine, Essential as a matter of fact, while Won Joo slept on her shoulder when she felt her phone vibrating. She answered it. “Oh, hi, Dad! I’m not on the plane yet, but I’ll let you know when I–”
“Yul Hee, listen,” he said with some urgency in his voice that immediately made her snap to attention. He was generally a very stoic, self-contained character, and yet he was clearly worried. Won Joo lifted his head groggily, awoken by not only the loudness of the voice on the other line but how stiff Yul Hee’s shoulder had become. “Where’s Da Young?”
“She’s boarding the plane back to Seoul, why?”
Won Joo could hear the muffled response as Yul Hee’s father lowered his voice and relayed something to her. She grew stiffer. Won Joo could feel an icy air radiating from her as she put her phone away and bolted up from her seat.
At that point, people had noticed the two of them and were starting to approach slowly. Her sunglasses had briefly slid down her nose when she had shot up to standing. Confirming who she was, the crowd exclaimed in pleasure and gathered even more around the two.
“Da Young!” she yelped and rushed forward to do something, whether it was to grab her friend or get on the plane—whatever she could do, she absolutely had to.
Won Joo briefly registered the weird outburst from Yul Hee (did she just scream “Die young”?), before the growing crowd demanded his attention. Yul Hee tried to force her way through. Their security team started to help, but it was complete chaos, and throughout it all, Won Joo noticed more and more how frantic Yul Hee seemed. He tried to get to her amidst all the shoving.
Finally, the guards created space between the two actors and he could get to her, shielded by the crewmembers and security. He protectively placed one arm over her and gently pulled her away, even as she fought to go towards the gate through which the others on the earlier flight had disappeared.
He held her tightly to him as they made their way to a quieter, secure location, and slowly, she started to slump against him. While not weeping, she was clearly, genuinely upset, which he had never seen before. He held her even more tightly; the tighter he held her, the more she gave in to his embrace, eventually slumping completely, defeated. He held her up.
–
Da Young didn’t know what had happened, even though the news was covering the chaos at the airport. Such chaos rarely happened anymore, but because of the immense popularity of her drama, fans had lost their minds at seeing Han Yul Hee and Won Joo lounging around like normal people at the airport.
However, Da Young had not known any of that because as soon as she had landed, she had excitedly gone home to clean up and rest in the comfort of her own bed. She hadn’t looked at her phone.
She also hadn’t particularly wanted to see her parents. She hadn’t spoken to them at all since she had left, so she was bracing herself somewhat for their reunion, perhaps preparing to fight off any questions they might have had about her time away, but as she stood there before her bookstore, she didn’t care about their questions.
She had plenty of questions of her own.
For example, why was her bookstore dark? Why was it empty? Where were her books? Why was it partly boarded up? Where were her parents?
And more importantly, why was there a large sign in the front window that said “BUSINESS CLOSED”?
Next week on 🌟How to Write a K-Drama🌟
There was something about the way her mother had said those words and looked at Da Young that made her uneasy. She now froze, like the child version of herself, even as she glowered at the woman before her.