A cute and cheeky 'The absolute value of romance' comes to viewers.
On the 14th morning at The Saint Hotel in Sindorim, Seoul, Coupang Play's series 'The absolute value of romance' held a production press conference. Actors Kim Hyang-gi, Cha Hak-yeon, Kim Jae-hyun, Son Jeong-hyeok, Kim Dong-gyu, and director Lee Tae-gon attended the event and shared various stories about the work.
Coupang Play's series 'The absolute value of romance' is a high‑teen series that follows a high school girl who used to write BL novels about handsome teachers and, after meeting them in real life at unexpected moments, becomes the protagonist of a tumultuous school life; it is set to premiere on the 17th. The work centers on Kim Hyang-gi as Yeo Euiju, a high school girl who enjoys a cheeky and cute double life, with Cha Hak-yeon as math teacher Ga U-su, Kim Jae-hyun as foreign language teacher No Daju, Son Jeong-hyeok as physical education teacher Jeong Gijeon, and Kim Dong-gyu as Korean language teacher Yoon Dong-ju, each character with different charms in a story that crosses reality and imagination.
In particular, Euiju, who had long been a 'no‑fun writer,' meets four handsome teachers newly assigned to the school, which explodes her creative instincts, and the novel featuring them rises to fame overnight, provoking playful imagination and curiosity. In the fresh relationships that connect student and teacher in reality and writer and character in imagination, viewers can look forward to what unpredictable developments will trigger thrilling dopamine.
At the event, the actors introduced their characters and expressed their affection for the work. First, Kim Hyang-gi said she is "a student who likes writing during the day and, at night, enjoys a secret double life under the pen name Imuk, a respectable professional," and about why she chose the work she said, "I thought the very cartoonish and three‑dimensional character was attractive. That gave it a charm that made me curious about the later story. I have always respected comedians, so I wanted to do well, and I strongly wanted to bring out the fun script and character. I thought I just had to shape the expressiveness in my own way."
With a cute visual hairstyle catching attention, Kim Hyang-gi said, "I tried to create the overall character. The visual is what you immediately see; I wanted to be funny. My hair wasn't long since my previous work had just ended. With improved techniques I could have added or attached things, but when I thought of the character I imagined the image."
Cha Hak-yeon said of his character Ga U-su, "U‑su thinks of himself as very cool and having his own framework, but he has clumsy moments and thinks he alone is perfect," and added, "For U‑su I actually paid attention to the way he speaks. His speech is supposed to be soft and rounded, but I thought U‑su should have sharp and pointed aspects, so I tried a speech pattern I hadn't used before. As for math, I didn't try to understand it. If I tried to understand it, I couldn't speak quickly, so I memorized it diligently and bought a blackboard to practice hard in my room."
Next, Kim Jae-hyun, who took the mic, prepared an impromptu self‑introduction in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese. He said, "Daju gathered the four friends to live in one house with abundant wealth. You can expect a bouncy charm like a rugby ball," and added, "When we started filming we had a full script reading. The four of us ate together and everyone except me was I (MBTI type). I was careful not to have my energy drained, and even on set when cuts were called I tried to keep the mood going," showing his role as the mood maker.
Son Jeong-hyeok, who plays Jeong Gijeon, said, "Jeong Gijeon is a former national luge athlete. He lives with three men and serves as the pillar of the household. I'm not naturally the type to be a gentle male lead, so I increased my training and tried to find my father's speech and actions to understand that temperament." He added, "I think Jeong Gijeon's charm point is being a supportive adult, fitting for a physical education teacher."
Kim Dong-gyu, who plays "a pleasant Korean teacher" Yoon Dong-ju, said, "Yoon Dong-ju is a pleasant male Korean teacher with an unusual past within his kindness. He watches over students and approaches them warmly," and added, "I'm grateful and looking forward to showing this, and I'm the youngest. The hyungs really took care of me so we filmed well, so please look kindly on it."
Director Lee Tae-gon said about why he took on directing, "A few years ago I had an opportunity to review scripts and this stood out the most. I thought it was immediately ready for production and felt its charm, so I contracted with the writer and prepared the script." He continued, "The process was fun, and for several reasons I wanted to direct this myself rather than have another director do it. The youth and fun the work offers made me think, like Qin Shi Huang searching for the elixir of life, that making this work might make me feel younger."
About 'The absolute value of romance,' the director said, "It had many strengths. Whether it's a school piece or a high‑teen romance, I wanted to focus on growth. People experience the most growth during their school years, and those experiences are important in life, so I hoped both viewers and creators would achieve growth."
In 'The absolute value of romance,' the BL novel 'We were friends' written by the character Yeo Euiju (pen name Imuk) appears as a framed story. Cha Hak-yeon said, "The character Jushion is very hot‑blooded and straightforward, expressing his feelings without restraint, unlike U‑su. He's the opposite character and had no framework. I wondered, 'Can we go this far?' There are movements you don't usually see in a typical drama. I hope people pay attention to that aspect."
Meanwhile, Kim Jae-hyun explained, "The friend Han Jaemin is the only one among the four who doesn't differ much from Daju and Jaemin. He doesn't break the fourth wall and gives a high five as is. To express him differently I made the actions a bit bigger. I tried to bring him as faithfully as possible," and Son Jeong-hyeok said, "I thought the character Kang Tae-ha, unlike the supportive adult Jeong Gijeon, is a wandering youth. He is a man who is confused about his feelings, suffers, and is capricious and fiery. Because he truly loves Choi Yun, he tried to find his beautiful points sincerely."
Next, Kim Dong-gyu said, "Choi Yun is a role who receives lots of love from Joo Si‑on and Kang Tae‑ha. On the surface he seems weak, but internally he's a strong character. I tried to portray him more delicately. I was very grateful and honored. There were awkward and difficult scenes, but the hyungs handled them so nonchalantly and well that I was able to seize the energy and focus. Since it was so fun, I hope people find and enjoy those points."
Director Lee Tae-gon praised the actors' sync, saying, "On the page the script can feel vague. I wondered what reaction it would get when filmed, and what the BL scenes would feel like on screen. Our actors, as if they had been waiting, executed them well." He said, "Many ideas came up on set and content not in the script was added, and it gradually became so realistic that the male actors seemed more bright‑eyed during BL scenes. Their immersion was so strong it could be mistaken for that tendency."
Cha Hak-yeon said about the on‑set atmosphere, "It felt like going back to school days. The director laughed without holding back, so we seemed to act while laughing a lot together."
Director Lee Tae-gon, asked how he intended to portray the characteristics of BL works, replied, "Honestly, before seeing this script I didn't know that genre existed." He said, "While preparing the work I watched several pieces and found them enjoyable. I learned there are people who like this, and I thought it could be seen as a subgenre if handled poorly. I didn't have that mindset, so I treated it as a genre: comic on the surface but with genuine and sincere feelings conveyed within."
Director Lee Tae-gon raised expectations, saying, "In the drama Euiju is caught by U‑su writing a BL novel. At that time U‑su asks, 'Why BL?' and Euiju has an answer while crying. Yeo Euiju or Imuk felt this way. That helped me in directing."
Meanwhile, Coupang Play's series 'The absolute value of romance' premieres at 8 p.m. on the 17th.
[Photo] Reporter Park Joonhyung
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