8 Take Charge of My Heart Facts, From Manga Energy to Rom-Com Nerves

Take Charge of My Heart takes familiar K-rom-com machinery—a wealthy heir, a contract relationship, an impossible attraction—and gives it an electrical jolt.

The Netflix series pairs Kim Young-kwang and Chae Soo-bin in a fantasy romance that deliberately embraces the bright, comic-book energy its creative team initially found both exciting and slightly intimidating.

Baek Ho-rang lives with an artificial heart whose battery is failing, while screenwriter Na Bo-bae has carried electrical power in her body since being struck by lightning as a child.

When her touch turns out to recharge him instead of hurting him, practical necessity leads to a three-month arrangement—and the kind of emotional complications neither planned for.

Behind that playful setup are eight production stories about casting doubts, visual design, nervous rom-com adjustment, and chemistry that became much easier once the cameras started rolling.

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1. Chae Soo-bin Was Not Immediately Convinced the Fantasy Premise Would Work

The woman who ultimately became Na Bo-bae initially had reservations about accepting the role.

Chae Soo-bin worried that the story contained so many unrealistic elements that presenting them naturally enough for viewers to emotionally accept could be difficult.

Her decision changed after meeting director Park Soo-won and the production team.

What persuaded her was not an attempt to deny how familiar some of the romantic-comedy ingredients were.

The team instead expressed confidence that familiar material could still feel warm, funny, and satisfying if executed well.

That assurance gave Chae Soo-bin enough confidence to commit to a heroine whose romantic problems literally involve electrical conductivity.

2. Kim Young-kwang Chose the Drama Because It Reminded Him of Reading Romance Manga

For Kim Young-kwang, the heightened premise was not a problem. It was the attraction.

Reading the script reminded him of the feeling he had when encountering shōjo manga as a child, especially the unapologetically comic-book situations surrounding Ho-rang and Bo-bae.

The timing also mattered. After working through darker projects including Netflix’s Trigger and other intense genre material, he had already begun wanting something brighter.

Take Charge of My Heart arrived as a chance to return to romantic comedy without pretending the genre needed to be realistic in the same way a thriller does.

3. Returning to Rom-Com Acting Made Kim Young-kwang Genuinely Self-Conscious

Wanting to make a romantic comedy again and actually performing one were two different things.

Early in filming, Kim Young-kwang found some of Ho-rang’s romantic and comic-book-style scenes embarrassing enough that he became visibly shy after performing them. Chae Soo-bin noticed.

Director Park Soo-won kept pushing him through that discomfort, assuring him that the heightened tone was working.

She even remembered applauding and encouraging him during the adjustment period. Eventually the awkwardness gave way to enjoyment, and Kim Young-kwang said he began having fun with precisely the kind of fluttery dialogue that initially made him uncomfortable.

4. Almost Every Baek Ho-rang Outfit Was Custom-Made

Ho-rang’s chaebol image was constructed down to what he wears when nobody is supposed to be watching.

Kim Young-kwang worked closely with the costume team because he viewed clothing as part of establishing a man who plans carefully, follows routines, and occupies the polished upper tier of corporate society.

Nearly all of Ho-rang’s wardrobe was custom-made, and even details such as silk pajamas were discussed as extensions of his personality.

Kim Young-kwang also emphasized that the styling shifts with the atmosphere and situation, giving the wardrobe a narrative function beyond simply making a wealthy character look expensive.

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5. Bo-bae’s Electrical Power Was Built Into Her Hair and Clothes

For Chae Soo-bin, portraying electricity meant thinking about more than visual effects added after filming.

She wanted Bo-bae’s entire appearance to reflect a woman who has spent years trying not to accidentally hurt people through physical contact.

That meant clothing herself defensively and using gloves as part of the character’s everyday behavior.

Then came the hair. Chae Soo-bin used tightly curled styling to suggest the static electricity constantly surrounding Bo-bae, turning a fantasy rule into an immediately readable visual detail.

Her costume and beauty design therefore communicates the character’s isolation before the script needs to explain it.

6. Park Soo-won Had to Readjust to Romantic Comedy Too

Kim Young-kwang was not the only person recalibrating. Take Charge of My Heart is Park Soo-won’s first full romantic comedy after directing projects with different tonal demands, and she admitted that returning to this brighter mode required an adjustment of her own.

The struggle was obvious enough that people on set encouraged her and even applauded during the early phase of production.

It creates a funny parallel behind the camera: while Kim Young-kwang was rediscovering how far to lean into romantic-comedy acting, his director was simultaneously rediscovering how far to push the genre from behind the monitor.

7. Chae Soo-bin Initially Found Kim Young-kwang Intimidating

Their eventual chemistry did not begin with instant off-camera comfort. Chae Soo-bin admitted that Kim Young-kwang seemed intimidating when they first met, partly because of his imposing height and partly because he takes time to warm up around unfamiliar people.

That impression flipped as filming continued. She came to describe him as warm and distinctly tsundere-like, while he good-naturedly complained that she kept repeating the story during promotional appearances.

By then, the production itself had become much looser: Kim Young-kwang said there were hardly any moments on set when the two were not laughing.

8. The Director Cast the Leads for Two Very Different Rom-Com Advantages

Director Park Soo-won was remarkably specific about what each actor brought to the genre.

She felt Kim Young-kwang had the physical presence of someone who could have stepped directly out of a romance comic, but also the contrast she wanted in Ho-rang: outwardly cool, privately playful, and unexpectedly affectionate.

With Chae Soo-bin, the response on set became its own informal test. Park Soo-won recalled staff members repeatedly remarking on how cute the actress was after scenes and argued that immediate likability is a powerful advantage for a romantic-comedy heroine.

In her view, the pairing worked because one lead supplied imposing comic-book scale while the other made the fantasy feel approachable.

FAQ: Popular Questions About Take Charge of My Heart

Is Take Charge of My Heart based on a web novel?

Yes. Take Charge of My Heart is based on the Naver web novel Charge Me Up by Haebeon.

Who directed Take Charge of My Heart?

Take Charge of My Heart was directed by Park Soo-won and written for television by Song You-chae.

Where can you watch Take Charge of My Heart?

Take Charge of My Heart is a Netflix series and streams exclusively on the platform. Netflix

Final Thoughts on Take Charge of My Heart

Take Charge of My Heart turns physical contact into both a punch line and something its heroine has spent years fearing. Underneath the electrical gimmick is a simpler romantic idea: intimacy matters more when touching another person has never been easy.

Its unapologetically bright fantasy places the series firmly in the tradition of high-concept K-rom-coms that turn impossible rules into emotional problems. If the premise has already sparked your interest, share the scene—or character pairing—you are most excited to watch.