Looking at the recent drama market, one can notice that works in the BL (Boys' Love) genre are being steadily produced. To the extent that platforms specializing in producing and streaming only BL content have emerged, this genre has solidified a firm position centered around a specific fandom. There's a clear reason why the BL genre, in particular, maintains its tenacious vitality and continues to meet fans with new works amidst a competitive content market where numerous genres rise and fall.
The core consumer base for this genre is unequivocally women in their teens and 20s. They are active content consumers and form the backbone of fandom culture. A key characteristic of BL dramas is that they often feature a large cast of so-called 'pretty boys,' satisfying visual appeal. From a narrative structure standpoint, you could often replace one of the male protagonists with a female character without significantly disrupting the main flow of the story. This is because it follows the formula of traditional romance narratives while adding a fresh twist through the setting of a same-sex relationship. However, given the nature of the Korean content market, nuanced direction that delicately handles emotional lines and maintains an appropriate boundary is crucial to gain broader public sympathy.
Paradoxically, this constraint of 'having to maintain an appropriate line' can actually serve as a factor that stimulates the production team's creativity. Instead of direct and explicit expressions, they must convey the depth of relationships through metaphors, symbols, and delicate emotional portrayals, which in turn gives birth to more novel and brilliant ideas. Among the many BL dramas, this time, the timelessly beloved 'vampire' theme has made an appearance. While the love story between a vampire and a human is a common cliché, it foretells new fun by combining it with the genre characteristics of BL.
The drama, with two episodes released so far, focuses less on a grand narrative of how the vampires survived for hundreds of years and more on the story that unfolds as a single human enters their isolated world. A crack begins to form in the daily lives of the vampires, who have lived quietly within their own rules for decades, or perhaps centuries, minimizing contact with the outside world. For them, the appearance of a human is a major event that shakes their peaceful existence.
The world is now an era where even a grandmother living in the mountains can communicate with the world by filming videos on her smartphone. The practical problem arises that it is nearly impossible for vampires to continue living while hiding their existence forever. Consequently, they are placed in a situation where they must learn to live alongside humans. At the center of this change is the human character 'Han Dong-ha,' played by actor Park Dong-joo. He enrolls in a university in Seoul and moves into the share house where the vampires live, marking the beginning of a precarious cohabitation between vampires and a human.
Of course, the vampires do not readily accept the human from the start. In particular, 'Lee Joo-won,' played by actor Yoo Shin, is the character who most vehemently opposes Han Dong-ha's presence. He is a sensitive character who struggles to adapt to the changing world and can't even properly drink the artificial blood essential for his survival. The drama's premise that these vampires have survived by relying on artificial blood rather than directly feeding on humans allows for a deeper exploration of their agony and conflict.
However, as they start living under the same roof with a living human, a suppressed, instinctive curiosity begins to surface. A dangerous question starts to sprout: 'What does real human blood taste like?' It escalates to the point where Lee Joo-won even makes an impulsive attempt to bite a sleeping Han Dong-ha's neck. Although Han Dong-ha has only contracted to stay in the house for one month, an unpredictable tension flows between the vampires and the human during that short time.
This drama is based on a Naver webtoon of the same name. The original work has already met fans once through a Naver Audio Movie and was much loved for its solid story. Unlike the audio movie, which was produced as a 10-part series, this drama has been adapted into a total of 8 episodes. The cast of voice actors and the drama's actors are different, raising expectations for a new interpretation.
Currently, the drama can be watched on TVING and Wavve, with two new episodes being released sequentially each week. The core of the story is undoubtedly the changing relationship between the vampire Lee Joo-won, who was most hostile to the human, and Han Dong-ha, the human who inadvertently stepped into their world. The biggest point to watch will be what kind of 'something' develops between them, creating emotional ripples that start from their rocky first meeting.
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