With the premiere just over a week away, KBS is back with another teaser for its upcoming rom-com Heartbeat. Starring Taecyeon (Blind) as a vampire who dreams of love and Won Ji-ahn (If You Wish Upon Me) as a pragmatic human who finds herself saddled with a fanged cohabitant, this fantasy drama definitely earns itself a 10 out of 10 on the humor scale.
Opening with Woo-hyul and his vampire brethren looking dapper in fedoras and three-piece suits, the teaser wastes no time in establishing the drama’s tone — quirky, campy, and lots of fun. Our fanged trio gulp down paper cups of blood with relish, and just one glimpse of blood tofu through a storefront is enough to make Woo-hyul go wide-eyed with hunger pangs.
Woo-hyul isn’t your typical vampire, though. Dreaming of becoming human, he’d undertaken the challenge of sleeping in a coffin for a hundred years. Except he’s woken up a day too early by the human Joo In-hae (Won Ji-ahn), who’s just inherited her father’s house with a complimentary vampire on the side. (Also, since he was last awake a century ago, Woo-hyul talks like he walked right out of a sageuk, which I find hilarious.)
To In-hae’s dismay, Woo-hyul soon proves himself a troublesome housemate. Not only does he get drunk off instant ramyun, but he also returns home with several shopping bags after swiping In-hae’s credit card with reckless abandon. To be fair, Woo-hyul does somehow manage to pull off that garishly bright fuchsia coat, but In-hae is much less enthused about his spendthrift tendencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j46sfrJ-OgE
Now that his mortal plans have been foiled, Woo-hyul’s a man on a mission — in order to escape his current half-vampire state, he has to win over In-hae and have her fall in love with him. That’s easier said than done, since In-hae’s a fiesty go-getter. If Woo-hyul wants to stay in her house, he’ll have to earn his keep, and that’s a tall order for our fish-out-of-water protagonist.
To add to Woo-hyul’s woes, he has competition. Enter Shin Do-shik, played by musical actor Park Kang-hyun (West Side Story) in his dramaland debut. As In-hae’s amiable and kindhearted sunbae, Do-shik looks out for her with thoughtful gestures like driving her home and defending her from cockroaches. To Do-shik, In-hae is a woman he wishes to protect, and he’s certainly bothered by her cohabitation situation with Woo-hyul.
Do-shik’s proximity to In-hae also poses another problem for Woo-hyul, since he has to be extra careful keeping his secret under wraps. In the midst of a handshake, Do-shik curiously notes that Woo-hyul’s hand is particularly frigid — causing In-hae to smack their hands apart and stammer out a hasty excuse, “He has poor circulation!”
Hah, I wonder how else they’ll fib their way out of Woo-hyul’s vampirism. As a fan of Park Kang-hyun with lots of nostalgia for second-gen K-pop, I’m already excited for the drama’s premiere — and with such a musically-inclined lineup, surely we can look forward to some melodious tunes à la Divorce Attorney Shin, right?
Helmed by PD Lee Hyun-seok (Hello? It’s Me, The King’s Affection) and PD Lee Min-soo (The Stain), with scripts penned by Kim Ha-na and Jung Seung-joo, Heartbeart is slated for a June 26 premiere.