Look beyond the rose-tinted glasses, and you will find the Internet strewn with articles calling out K-pop for being a brutal industry. And yet, if you allow your imagination to take over from there, words meant to expose idol scandals take shape into full-fledged love stories, almost to a point of obsession. It is common knowledge among fans that the idea of dating for a K-pop idol equals direct risk to their career. This limitation, that unfailingly births hot, risqué romance stories, has been the number one inspiration for many globally-hit K-Dramas. It comes as no surprise then that Axie Oh’s K-drama-style novel XOXO that circles around the life of wannabe idols became a New York Times Bestseller in 2022. On February 6, the author surprised her fans with a spin-off of the same novel. Titled ASAP, this sequel builds on the broken love story of two side characters — Sori and Nathaniel.

The book features a variety of ramyeon, including Jjapaguri, popularised by the Academy Award-winning film, Parasite. Representation pic; (right) the novel has a K-drama plot. Pic Courtesy/HarperCollins