✏️How to Write a K-Drama: Chapter Twenty
The aftermath. 😵💫
Not yet caught up? Pick up where you left off in the Chapter List.
Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around his torso and squeezed him, almost as if to stop him from bowing again. Then finally, she proclaimed the words he had never gotten to hear thus far:
“I like you!”
Jo Suk tried his best to get Yul Hee into the van. Somehow, she had finished six bottles of soju all by herself despite periodic outbursts that she was on a diet. She was now fairly wasted, yet amazingly still had a lot of her faculties in check. Her manager was a good acquaintance of his, so Jo Suk made sure to let him know and took on the task of driving her home himself as Jae Woon had barely drunk anything.
Yul Hee refused to climb in, hugging Da Young and saying she’d go to the writer’s place. Meanwhile, Da Young was latched onto Jae Woon, who tried to support both women so they wouldn’t topple over. Won Joo stood there, near teary-eyed, wondering how he had been dragged into a surprise dinner with his castmates. It was a great chance for bonding, but it was burdensome to continually get love confessions from both women while Jae Woon, a senior actor he looked up to, mostly refused to talk to him.
As Won Joo watched the three of them, a memory suddenly flashed across his mind. This scene looked very familiar to the one he had seen last time with the two women fighting an old man while another young man pretended not to know them. It was around this area…
Won Joo stared in shock at Yul Hee. It had to have been her with the short hair. The voice was the same! She was also kicking her foot into the air as a warning to Jo Suk, who looked like he wanted to cry, too. I’ll never complain about Jae Woon again, the manager was thinking to himself.
Won Joo felt some semblance of relief. This time, he wouldn’t fall for his co-star and watch sadly as she chose the other guy in the drama. It happened more times than he liked to admit. He glanced at the writer, who was a whole lot less terrifying. Even though she was saying she liked every man who came into her line of vision, it had still warmed his heart to hear such a direct confession from a woman.
“I guess I can help Ms. Eun Joo Ni get home safely,” he said but was met with a suspicious glare from Jae Woon. “Unless…unless you’d…” He couldn’t finish the sentence as Yul Hee, finally getting into the van, grabbed him by the collar and dragged him in, mumbling something like, “You’re coming with me.”
The van door closed and she leaned over to strap him into the seatbelt. It took some time as she was not seeing clearly and her fingers were fumbling. Her face hovered by his for longer than he felt comfortable, especially as she kept exhaling the smell of soju on his face in her struggle to click in the seatbelt.
Once done, she said, “Have some common sense,” then winked and immediately fell asleep. Won Joo turned tomato red. What did that mean? She wanted to be alone in the car with him? Was she taking him home? Was this a “have ramyun at my place” situation?
Jo Suk, seeing Won Joo’s panic in the rearview mirror, said, “I think she was talking about the writer and Jae Woon. Where should I drop you off?” Won Joo sighed in relief and gave his address.
Da Young was hanging onto Jae Woon’s arm and possibly falling asleep. He didn’t know what to do with her. He couldn’t take her home. She lived with her parents. How sketchy would that look if he brought her to them in this state? How did the group split up like this of all ways? Maybe he could take her to the doorstep, ring the bell, dash off, and watch to make sure her parents found her there…But he remembered that weird old man from before. If anything, he wanted to avoid making a scene. Or feeling like a mom abandoning her baby on someone’s stoop.
For now, he decided to head in the direction of her bookstore. As he dragged her along, he checked his watch. It was now ten p.m. A lot of stores were closing their doors. It was getting dark in the streets. He came upon a familiar alleyway and continued on as she dozed off on his arm.
“Can you look more alive?” he muttered. He stopped short as two familiar faces stared at him with pure shock and contempt in their eyes. Baristas Pyo Min Ah and Sung Yoo Min had ended their shifts and were about to lock up the cafe when they had turned around and seen a sketchy man in a cap and mask dragging along an incapacitated woman.
Pyo Min Ah was quick to move. She pulled open the door, grabbed the broken yellow umbrella from inside, and started hitting him with it while Sung Yoo Min grabbed Da Young.
“Is that why the umbrella’s broken?” groaned Jae Woon, shielding his moneymaker (aka his face) with his arms.
“Oh, it’s you,” Min Ah said with no emotion, stopping the attack after one more hit for good measure and fixing her hair.
“I like you!” Da Young suddenly said cheerfully, launching herself at him and wrapping her arms around his neck.
He sighed. The baristas stared at them.
“Is this part of the fake dating? Or are you two really a thing now?” asked Yoo Min.
“I think it’s just a drinking habit,” he said with another sigh, hanging his head. “This is more work than I signed up for.”
Min Ah and Yoo Min glanced at each other and sighed in unison. They opened the cafe door and gestured to Jae Woon and Da Young to go in. He thanked them and sat Da Young on the white bench that lined one wall. He then sat next to her and she leaned on him, falling asleep.
“We cleaned up so we can’t offer any coffee, I’m afraid,” said Min Ah. She looked at Yoo Min. “Shouldn’t you go?”
Yoo Min looked dubiously at them all. “It’s okay…I’ll stay with you.”
“You should go see your boyfriend.”
“You have a boyfriend?” Jae Woon asked.
“Yes…”
“Then you should go. It’s kind of late, though. Will you be okay?”
“He said he was going to pick me up around the corner…” This was usually the only time she could see her boyfriend considering her long shifts at the cafe. Sensing this, Jae Woon hurriedly sent her off. He was left with Min Ah who was glaring at him with absolutely no intention of leaving the two of them alone.
Normally, in dramas, the man would take the woman to his home and she’d wake up wondering where she was before realizing she had spent the night at a bachelor’s place. Now that he thought about it, that would be pretty terrifying for a woman.
“I’m sorry to be a burden, but…”
–
Da Young slowly blinked her eyes open, the sunlight streaming through the window hitting her full on. She held up a hand to block the blinding light and slowly gathered her faculties. Her head was throbbing. She looked around. She was on a mattress on the floor, the covers colorful with yellow-and-red patterns.
Where am I? she wondered, extremely confused and a little concerned.
“Oh, you’re awake,” said a female voice. She turned and was surprised to see a familiar face peering over her. Da Young jumped back.
“It’s me, Pyo Min Ah from the cafe,” the woman said casually. She held out a bag. “Here. Jae Woon asked me to get you some hangover soup today.”
“Jae Woon?” Da Young was trying to force her brain to recall everything that happened last night. Min Ah relayed everything she knew, from how Jae Woon was beaten up with an umbrella to how he carried her to Min Ah’s little studio for the night.
Da Young was in deep thought once she finished hearing everything. Min Ah tilted her head and with a small, sly smile said, “You look disappointed.”
“I’m not!”
Min Ah just gave her a knowing smile and started setting up the small table on the floor for Da Young to eat her hangover soup. A fuzzy memory was starting to take place in Da Young’s mind. She remembered a pair of sturdy arms gently laying her down on the mattress. As he laid her head down, his voice by her ear murmured, “I’m going to be busy for the next week, so I won’t be seeing you until filming starts. Be well until then…”
He stood up and was about to leave, but he turned back to say one more thing.
“Things are going to be different now. I’m sorry.”
End of part two.
Next week on 🌟How to Write a K-Drama🌟
“What happened with you and Won Joo? Did you guys get home okay?”
“Let’s just say I’m not a decent gal.”
**Author’s Note**
How to Write a K-Drama will be going on a hiatus! I’m currently working on part two of my other series, Forget-Me-Not, and that will likely start going out soon. I will be working on part three of this novel and will be back before you know it! Thanks for reading along so far and for your patience and understanding.