Korean heartthrob Yeo Jin-goo was shy filming romantic scenes for 'Link: Eat, Love, Kill'

Yeo Jin-goo says he was drawn to the project because of the unique concept and the many genres it plays with. Photos: Handout

Drama Link: Eat, Love, Kill reunites former child stars Yeo Jin-goo and Moon Ga-young as romantic interests.

The drama, available on Disney+ Hotstar, is a mystery-romance about a famous chef Gye-hoon (Yeo) who is suddenly able to feel all the emotions and thoughts of a woman named Da-hyun (Moon).

Here are five things to know about the drama.

1. Childhood friends

This is not the first time Yeo, 24, and Moon, 25, are working together.

They played the childhood versions of the main characters in the period series The Reputable Family (2010) more than a decade ago.

In a video conference with regional media, Yeo (Hotel Del Luna, 2019) says: "When I heard that my co-star would be her, I started looking forward to the shoot since we have childhood memories together."

Moon (True Beauty, 2020 to 2021) adds: "It's quite fascinating that we can meet each other again in this drama as the leads. We've known each other for a long time so we're very comfortable together."

2. Heart-fluttering romance

While the two stars say their familiarity helped, acting out a love affair was still a little awkward.

Yeo says: "It's the first time I'm filming a romance with someone I already know. It can get a bit embarrassing, but I think that makes it more fun for us too."

Moon says Yeo was initially "quite shy" during filming for their more romantic scenes. "I saw new sides to Jin-goo that I didn't know before and that was very heart-fluttering for me," she adds.

'Link: Eat, Love, Kill' reunites former child stars Yeo Jin-goo and Moon Ga-young as romantic interests.

3. Emotional highs and lows

In the series, Gye-hoon is able to suddenly access Da-hyun's emotions.

And Yeo says: "Gye-hoon has to suddenly immerse himself in the emotions of Da-hyun frequently in the drama, so my emotional state has to change dramatically in a short time. We filmed one of these scenes recently and it was such a new experience for me."

4. A genre mishmash

Yeo says he was drawn to the project because of the unique concept and the many genres it plays with.

While billed as a fantasy romance with a mind-reading twist, the series also adds on the mystery of Gye-hoon's twin sister, who went missing at a young age, and throws a potential murder in the mix.

"It's rare to see a project leverage the strengths of different genres, but Link is one of them. I also thought it would be challenging to express the interesting phenomenon of being linked to someone," Yeo says.

Moon adds: "I think the concept of being linked to someone really heightens the romance factor of the drama.

"On top of that, there are so many characters in the series with their own stories – our families, the people who live in the same village. It's so diverse."

5. No to linking up

Both leads are reluctant to experience the K-drama's idea of linkage in real life.

Moon says: "I did think that it could be convenient to have someone know what you're thinking before you say it out loud. But sometimes, you're not having the most pleasant thoughts.

"Sometimes, you'd much rather keep something to yourself but you can't do that if you're forced into a position where someone knows what you're thinking." – The Straits Times/Asia News Network