Korean dramas are famously chaste compared to Western TV series.
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dramas → compare → series
Though there are some exceptions, most K-dramas shy away from featuring even passionate kissing, let alone full-on sex scenes.
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dramas → be → kissing
But Take Charge of My Heart, Netflix’s latest Korean-language romance, adds a jolt, making “skinship,” or the physical intimacy between two people, a central part of its premise.
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skinship → take → premise
In the supernatural series, TV scriptwriter Na Bo-bae (When the Phone Rings’ Chae Soo-bin) has electrical currents coursing through her body, making it so she will zap anyone she touches with bare hands.
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she → have → hands
Because of the condition, Bo-bae has never dated.
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bae → date → condition
The lack of real-world experience is hindering her latest TV drama script—a romance about a chaebol heiress and her bodyguard.
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lack → hinder → heiress
Meanwhile, chaebol heir Baek Ho-rang (Trigger’s Kim Young-kwang) has an artificial heart that is failing.
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that → have → heart
When Ho-rang and Bo-bae happen to be in the hospital at the same time, Ho-rang’s doctor discovers that physical proximity to Bo-bae charges Ho-rang’s artificial heart.
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proximity → happen → heart
Even more shocking to Bo-bae, she can touch Ho-rang without anything happening to him.
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anything → touch → him
As Ho-rang waits for a surgery for a new artificial heart in three months, the two strike a deal: Bo-bae will move into Ho-rang’s massive house, and act as his portable charger, and Ho-rang will go out on dates with Bo-bae as research for her script.
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rang → wait → script
Of course, what begins as a mutually beneficial arrangement becomes something deeper when the two fall in love.
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two → begin → love
Will corporate machinations from Ho-rang’s aunt and cousin, Choi Do-yoon (Idol I’s Jung Jae-kwang), or an unexpected change in Bo-bae’s powers keep them apart?
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machinations → keep → them
Here’s everything that happens in the Take Charge of My Heart’s finale.
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that → ’ → finale
The Ho-rang exception
Take Charge of My Heart plays fast and loose with its plot logic, which is to say that the series is not overly concerned with consistency or science when it comes to characterizing Na Bo-bae’s powers.
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it → play → powers
Our protagonist was hit by lightning as a child.
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protagonist → hit → child
She survived the incident, but hasn’t been able to touch others without electrocuting them ever since—until Ho-rang.
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She → survive → rang
While Ho-rang’s resistance to Bo-bae’s powers could be artificial heart-related, the series also implies that it has more to do with fate.
uncertain
it → relate → fate
The two are meant to be together.
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two → mean → ?
Much of Bo-bae and Ho-rang’s relationship is encouraged by the necessity of their skin-to-skin contact.
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Much → encourage → contact
While Bo-bae can charge Ho-rang’s artificial heart by being within 10 meters of him, her charge-up is even more effective when the two hold hands, hug, or kiss.
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two → charge → hands
Though they don’t kiss as part of their contract, their hand-holding and embraces help both Bo-bae and Ho-rang realize that they have feelings for one another.
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they → kiss → one
What happened to Ho-rang’s parents?
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What → happen → parents
As is often the case with leading male characters in K-dramas, Ho-rang is an orphan.
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rang → lead → dramas
His loving parents died in a car accident when he was a child.
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he → love → accident
While we learn early on in the series that they were on their way to see Ho-rang, the full context of the tragedy doesn’t become clear until the finale..
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context → learn → finale
At the time, Ho-rang was in the hospital because of his heart condition, and was being visited by his grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousin.
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rang → visit → grandmother
Upset at constantly being overshadowed by his cousin, Choi Do-yoon called Ho-rang’s parents and lied to them, saying something was wrong with their son and that they needed to come quickly.
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they → overshadow → son
In their rush, Ho-rang’s parents got into a fatal car crash.
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parents → get → crash
Years later, Do-yoon is still traumatized by this accident, and is still sick of being treated as the screw-up of the family.
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yoon → traumatize → family
Bo-bae is kidnapped by Ho-rang’s cousin
Do-yoon has not given up on being the successor to the TS Group, the family chaebol.
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yoon → kidnap → Group
But he knows he needs to get rid of the much more competent Ho-rang to do so.
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he → know → rang
Knowing that Bo-bae is Ho-rang’s priority, Do-yoon kidnaps her on the night of the TS Group’s 30th anniversary celebration.
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yoon → know → celebration
When Bo-bae doesn’t arrive, Ho-rang is anxious but continues on with his speech.
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rang → arrive → speech
However, because Do-yoon also spiked his drink, Ho-rang’s artificial heart battery is losing power fast.
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battery → spike → power
He collapses on stage, his heart no longer functioning.
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heart → collapse → stage
Meanwhile, Bo-bae uses her electric powers to escape from the temple Do-yoon’s hired goons have locked her in.
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goons → use → her
She and Jae-ho rush to the party and arrive shortly after Ho-rang has collapsed.
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rang → rush → party
A desperate Bo-bae gives Ho-rang CPR, and sends a massive electrical current into his body.
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bae → give → body
Ho-rang’s heart starts beating again, but Bo-bae collapses in the effort.
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bae → start → effort
When she wakes up again, Ho-rang’s doctor tells Bo-bae that she can’t touch Ho-rang again without endangering his life.
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she → wake → life
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
