✏️How to Write a K-Drama: Chapter One

Song Da Young was busily typing away on her laptop...

Pick up where you left off in the Chapter List.

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This novel is deemed appropriate for young adults and older. There might be minor curse words, references to substances, and innuendos, but there will be no explicit content.

Song Da Young was busily typing away on her laptop in her empty bookshop when she heard the bell that hung on the door ring as a customer entered. She didn’t bother looking up. She was too focused on her writing; plus, she could already smell her friend’s familiar perfume.

“Working hard?” Han Yul Hee popped up on the stool to watch her friend. She was stylishly dressed with a crocheted bandana covering her head and chic sunglasses sitting on her dainty nose. Da Young was wearing a teal sweatshirt with the hood pulled over her head. The strings were completely drawn and tied tightly into a bow under her chin.

“Why aren’t you?” Da Young replied.

Yul Hee, used to her friend’s blunt responses, looked around the bookshop, which was as disorganized as ever. It combined used and new books and followed no particular organization system. Every time she visited, it looked worse and worse thanks to the neglect of its managers, Da Young’s parents.

“Are you working on your new drama? Let me see!” Yul Hee said, turning back to her friend, who was furiously writing. “What’s it about?”

“You wouldn’t like it. It’s horror, and I’m about to decapitate someone.”

“That doesn’t make for a fun drama. People are loving the light rom-coms again, you know. To be honest, I’m not sure horror was ever in.”

Da Young suddenly slammed her head down on her keyboard, frightening Yul Hee and causing a bunch of letters to dance across her screen like a cat was given free reign.

“I just needed to write something!” Da Young moaned.

“Why not write the drama you’re supposed to be writing? It’s the last one in your three-drama contract. Don’t you want a renewal, Ms. Eun Joo Ni?” asked Yul Hee, naming her friend’s pseudonym.

Da Young finally lifted her head, looking like someone in complete defeat. “That’s the thing. I can’t think of a single thing to write.”

Yul Hee stared at her in shock. “You have writer’s block?” she whispered like she was naming a deadly disease. For Da Young, that was very much the case.

“I…I think so?”

“But you never have writer’s block!”

“I know!” groaned Da Young, slamming her head down again. After a beat of silence, she mumbled, “I think I used up all my ideas on the first two dramas.”

“You can run out of good ideas?”

“Apparently.”

“Use your imagination.”

“No, really? I didn’t think of that.” Da Young lifted her head slightly and gave Yul Hee a very serious look. “I think…I just haven’t lived life enough to write about it, you know?”

Yul Hee paused, then threw her a knowing grin. “You talking about life or about love? I thought it was impressive you could write your first two dramas so well for someone who’s never dated.”

“Everything’s better in my head than in real life. That’s why my dramas were so popular. That’s why dramas are popular overall. But I don’t know…Now I wonder if I do need some experience to know what the hype is all about?”

“True. You wrote the basic drafts for your first two dramas back in high school when we were naive, optimistic, and…I guess hormonal.”

Da Young then stared at her friend as if seeing her for the first time. “You have more dating experience than me.”

“Kids in kindergarten these days have more experience than you.”

Da Young brushed that off as more of a symptom of their country’s problematic and pervasive dating culture. “Can you help?”

“If horror’s your thing now, I can 100% help.”

Da Young’s head met the keyboard again. 

Right then, the back storage door opened and Mrs. Song appeared. She caught sight of Yul Hee and said brightly, “Is that our superstar, Yul Hee? Oh, speaking of, look!” Mrs. Song pointed at a small TV sitting atop one of the bookshelves. Da Young and Yul Hee squinted their eyes as if that helped their vision and saw that they were looking at some celebrity dressed in black at the airport being screamed at by a compact group of fans. “That’s actor Do Jae Woon! You guys know him, right?” 

“Why’s there a TV in a bookshop?” Yul Hee murmured to Da Young.

“Yul Hee! You know him, right? Isn’t he dashing?” Mrs. Song continued. 

“I gotta go,” Yul Hee hurriedly whispered to Da Young, then shouted, “It’s so nice to see you, Mrs. Song! I have to run now, though! Sorry. Talk to you next time. Bye, Da Young!” She hurried off, the bell on the door ringing once more.

“Mom, come take over. I’m going, too.” Da Young slammed her laptop shut and moved from behind the register.

“Where?” Mrs. Song rushed over to the cashier. “Why don’t you follow Yul Hee and see what she’s up to?”

“I’m going to the cafe. You know the one,” Da Young curtly responded. 

“That’s so far away!”

“It’s fine. I’m just going to walk. I need some fresh air.”

Mr. Song popped his head out from the storage room. “That’s great for losing weight! I applaud you, my daughter!”

The bell rang once more as the door slammed behind Da Young.

Mr. Song sighed. “What happened to our daughter? She used to be so pretty.” He looked at the faded poster on the inside of the storage room door that showed three child models. They were two young girls around the age of five and a slightly older boy.

—

Do Jae Woon knew there would be fans waiting for him at the airport. They somehow always knew when his plane was landing or leaving and at what gate. All this info they knew even before he did at times. He often grumbled to his manager, suspecting him of leaking the information to the fans and press. It was common enough in the Korean entertainment industry, but sometimes he really didn’t have the patience to keep smiling after a long flight and worrying about his “airport fashion.” This was one of those times.

He pulled the black cap low over his head and secured the mask onto his face. There was no escaping the crowd, but he didn’t need his sullen face plastered all over the news sites after his disappointing stint in Hollywood. He heard the fans’ screams right as he came into view. The manager and guards surrounded him, shielding him from the camera flashes, but he knew he still had to acknowledge his fans, so he raised his cap slightly to give them his “smiling eyes,” waved casually here and there, and was finally escorted into his large black van.

Jae Woon sighed and tore off his cap and mask. 

“Hey, how was Hollywood, California, Do Jae Woon?” asked his manager, Cho Jo Suk, who like his name, could be redundant at times. 

“You know what it was like,” Jae Woon said flatly. The manager who had accompanied him to the states had likely reported back to the regular manager, Jo Suk, every single minute. 

“Don’t be too upset,” Jo Suk said kindly. “Want me to take you to your favorite cafe?”

This gave Jae Woon pause. It actually sounded like a good idea, so he gave the okay and his manager took off. He could get some peace and quiet around the cafe. It was in an isolated area built like a maze with little foot traffic. He usually could walk around sipping his iced Americano, feeling like a normal citizen, even to the point he sometimes would take off his mask. 

He gave a curt nod that his manager caught through the rearview mirror, and the two were off. As they drove without much traffic for once, he looked out the window and noticed a large digital billboard atop a corporate building. The advertisement featured a pretty woman with bright burgundy hair that just reached her collarbones. She smiled brightly as she excitedly promoted the product.

“I’ve been seeing her everywhere lately,” Jae Woon commented. Jo Suk looked in the rearview mirror, and then saw the billboard Jae Woon was nodding at.

“Oh, yes! Han Yul Hee is all the rage lately. Any drama she’s in is pretty much an instant hit.”

Shortly after, Jae Woon was let out at the start of a narrow alleyway with a cobblestone path, and he already felt more at ease. He started slowly walking down towards the lane that would take him to his favorite cafe when he started hearing—not quite shrieks—but excited, high-pitched, hushed murmuring that he was all too familiar with. 

He turned and saw a few girls in high school uniforms huddled together, pointing at him. When their eyes met, all hell broke loose.

Next time on 🌟How to Write a K-Drama🌟

Something about the way she said that caused a nervous edge to return to him. He looked at her face and saw her staring straight back, but her round eyes were impossible to read. They looked at him familiarly but also like they were assessing him, which made him uncomfortable. Did she want something from him?