✏️How to Write a K-Drama: Chapter Seventeen
The call from a stranger. 📞
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His phone buzzed and he looked down at it. Yup, it’s all beginning, he thought as he gazed at the ID.
Madame Do.
“Do you think this is her drama?” asked Mrs. Song to her husband as they stared up at the TV in their bookstore. It was playing a gory crime thriller with the knife and pools of blood censored to “protect” the viewers (when it was actually leaving everything to their imagination…which could be worse). The two of them had no idea what their daughter wrote. She wouldn’t tell them a thing for some reason, but they could tell she was fairly successful, which was the only reason they left her alone.
“Hm…” Mr. Song scratched his chin. The bell chimed as a customer entered, but they were too busy watching the drama to notice. The actress released a high-pitched scream of complete terror that reverberated throughout the bookstore. The bell chimed again as the customer did a U-turn and left.
Mr. Song tilted his head, enthralled by the drama as the masked murderer stabbed the actress repeatedly. “For some reason, this does seem like her style.”
The bell chimed again as Da Young entered and threw her parents a resigned look when she caught them watching a drama instead of doing whatever they were supposed to be doing at the store. Her mom was holding a broom like an accessory. Her dad was stepping on a book on the floor without even realizing it.
“Hi,” she said flatly. “I’m going to start helping Mr. Han out at his academy again by the way. It’ll be long, random hours, so don’t be alarmed if I’m not home.”
Her parents glanced at her as she headed up the stairs to her room. Their heads swiveled back to the screen, which was showing another actress.
Mr. Song sighed. “I feel like that’s how she would have grown up to look like…don’t you, honey? Maybe if she shaved her chin a bit to get that V-line…” He then noticed the book under his foot and picked it up. It was a new release that featured a shirtless man with long hair blowing in the wind as he back-hugged a busty woman in a torn, white dress.
“This can’t be written by her, right?” he asked his wife. She shrugged and went back to cleaning.
“That’d be none of my business,” she said, but when he put the book down and went into the storage room, she discreetly tucked it under her shirt for later.
–
“What’s your schedule for today?” asked Hye Ryong as she looked at Jae Woon’s reflection in the mirror and fluffed up his hair, wondering what kind of style to give him. She had done his hair and makeup for the last five years now.
He was slightly more sullen than usual. Jo Suk stepped up and told her that he had a CF shoot and a meeting. Hye Ryong nodded and got to work. The other workers at the salon saw him and came over excitedly.
“Jae Woon! We see you’re going to be in a new drama!” exclaimed one of them.
He smiled at her. He was already tired, but he knew the smile came out looking more soft than fatigued. He liked all the workers here. They were very nice and supportive, usually very respectful of his private life, too, like true professionals. But they, like most people he worked with, only knew his surface-level self—and there was always a risk he might respond slightly less congenially than normal and someone might take it as him giving attitude and get upset.
“I’ll definitely be watching it!” another exclaimed. “It’s been a while since we saw you in a rom-com. We’re so excited. Can you tell us anything more about it?”
He shook his head, still smiling. “You’ll have to tune in to watch.” He met Hye Ryong’s eyes in the mirror and asked, “Can you pay extra attention to my hair and makeup today?”
–
Da Young plopped down at her desk, not bothering to change. She stretched her hand, fingers, wrists, shoulders, and neck, preparing for a few hours of writing ahead of her if she wanted to get the drama on the right track. With the time crunch, the pressure was on. Although it should make her more nervous, she was feeling excited. The table reading had gone well.
She didn’t know how long she had been in the zone, but it was probably time for a break, so when her phone went off, she pushed herself back from the desk, stretched her neck a bit, and then absentmindedly answered the phone. She did not recognize the voice on the other line.
“Hello?” she asked. “Yes, this is Eun Joo Ni…Who is this?” Da Young was a bit on guard but mostly confused. Normally, any queries would be directed towards her agent. There was no way anyone would even have her personal number…
“Right now?” Da Young asked. She opened up her planner and jotted down the location where her mystery caller wanted to meet her. She texted Yul Hee so she would know. Da Young didn’t expect anything untoward happening to her and she was too curious to resist. Yul Hee was busy at a shoot today, but if anything happened to Da Young, at least someone would know what happened to her, even if it might be too late by then.
She grabbed her bag and set back out. Her mom was sitting by the cash register, which probably longed to be fed rather than sit inactive all day. When Da Young passed, her mother quickly stuffed something under the desk in the most suspicious manner possible. It was unusual for her to be reading. Otherwise, Da Young didn’t care.
“I’m going out,” Da Young said.
“Okay, have a good time!” her mother called back.
It didn’t take too long to get to the hotel in question by bus. Since it was a hotel, she doubted anybody was going to jump her or kidnap her. Some people might suggest she was too nonchalant about this, but a writer’s curiosity had to be satisfied. She suddenly remembered the gory scene playing out on the TV earlier today. Her parents were watching someone get brutally murdered. Da Young shrugged and let the server take her to a back corner covered by elegant folding screens.
She peeked in and saw nobody. She glanced at the server, who bowed and said, “She’ll be here shortly. Would you like anything to drink?” Da Young asked for just water for now, and then sat down at the corner, listening to the soothing music wafting throughout the relatively empty cafe. Her head was spinning with ideas she still wanted to write down for her drama, so she didn’t notice when a woman sat opposite her until the person cleared her throat.
Da Young’s eyes snapped to the woefully overdressed woman who had called her out. She was wearing a silky, emerald-green dress and radiating a mixture of elegance and arrogance. She was lovely despite her age and haughty facial expression, her perfume embracing Da Young in one of those hugs that felt too long for comfort. Da Young noted that all the lady was missing was a fur stole to look like a time traveler from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
“Writer Eun Joo Ni, was it?” the woman said in the same manufactured rich voice Da Young had heard over the phone.
“Yes,” replied Da Young, blinking at her.
The woman looked her up and down a bit distastefully, not bothering to hide the fact that she was clearly assessing Da Young, almost as if to emphasize that she had all the right to do so. Da Young didn’t shrink back or feel offended. She simply looked back at her, making her own mental notes because this strange lady would make for a great character design. Was she even real? She must’ve stepped out of a weekend drama.
As if on cue, the woman leaned back, crossed her legs, and shot Da Young a self-satisfied smirk. “You must know who I am and why I called you out.”
“No clue.”
Slightly taken aback by the immediate (and rather unflattering) response, the woman coughed as gracefully as she could into her hand, and said, “As a writer, you must be rather out of the loop.” She leaned forward, her eyes now looking piercingly into Da Young’s.
“Are you dating my son?”
Next week on 🌟How to Write a K-Drama🌟
Madame Do had not expected to want to throw a cup of water in her face—not quite this soon anyway—but this Joo Ni was indubitably rude. Unfortunately, the water had yet to arrive. The service here was not up to par and she would have to talk to the manager.