What Omega X’s Jaehan And Yechan Learned By Filming A Boys Love Drama

Jaehan and Yechan of the k-pop band Omega X recently appeared in their first Korean TV drama. In the Boys Love (BL) drama A Shoulder to Cry On, Jaehan plays Da-yeol, a student, who is something of an outsider, while Yechan plays Tae-hyun, one of the school’s most popular students and a merciless tease. These characters meet in the school nurse’s office under less than ideal circumstances. When Dae-yeol stumbles on Tae-hyun fooling around with another boy, Tae-hyun claims that Da-yeol was trying to make out with him. The rumors follow Da-yeol, no matter how often he denies them, and Tae-hyun continues to tease him, primarily by following him around. Da-yeol despises Tae-hyun until one day he doesn’t. Realizing his true feelings, he must consider the often thin line between love and hate.

Since Omega X was founded in 2021, Jaehan and Yechan have lived, worked and performed together. But does spending every day together make it easier to play romantic partners in a BL drama? According to Jaehan, it helped.

“I think it was definitely helpful because we actually live and spend time with each other every day,” said Jaehan. “The best part was that we know each other so well already, so it was very helpful while shooting the drama.”

While BL dramas tend to be more implicit than explicit in portraying romantic relationships between men, Yechan also found it easier to act in his first romantic scenes with a fellow band member and friend. “I think I might have felt a bit strange and awkward if I acted with someone else,” said Yechan.

Jaehan wasn’t really familiar with the BL genre, which originated with Japanese manga and is mostly written by women. He was drawn to the drama because of his character’s growth.

“I liked the growth of Da-Yeol, which is the character I played for the drama,” said Jaehan. “And it motivated me to get the role. I encountered the BL genre for the first time after I got cast for A Shoulder to Cry On.”

It was also Yechan’s first time looking into the BL genre. “And I became interested in various shapes of love I didn’t know,” said Yechan. “Also, the most loving part of this drama is the characters’ changing emotions toward each other and their growth.”

As well as Jaechan and Yechan, Omega X has nine more members: Hwichan, Sebin, Hangyeom, Taedong, Xen, Jehyun, Kevin, Junghoon and Hyuk. A Shoulder To Cry On was not only the first acting experience for Jaechan and Yechan, it was also their first project outside of the group.

“I practiced a lot because it was my first time trying acting,” said Jaehan, who previously appeared as a contestant on Produce 101 Season 2 and is a former member of the band Spectrum. “There would have been many flaws even though I worked hard, but I believe this was an opportunity for me to grow more as an actor. There were challenges while filming A Shoulder to Cry On, but it made acting that much more interesting for me.”

Yechan worried he might not do his best. “I felt really challenged when I just started learning acting,” he said. “I was also worried a lot until I got into the first take. I needed to check how I talk and walk in my daily life. However, all the staff members and the director were so kind that I could express all the acting skills I have prepared.”

However challenging the experience was, they both want to try more acting. “I would like to try acting consistently,” said Jaehan. “My passion for acting grew a lot while shooting A Shoulder to Cry On. I would love to try out a criminal investigation story in the future.”

“After acting as Tae Hyun, I found it exciting to act as a three-dimensional character, whose characteristics change as the story progresses,” said Yechan. “Therefore, if there’s another chance to act, I would love to act that kind of character, maybe a good student turning into a villain.”

Omega X members composed and performed three original soundtrack songs for A Shoulder to Cry On. The first of the three tracks is the upbeat Come Together, co-composed and performed by Jaehan. Second is the plaintive You, Again, which is co-composed by Jaehan and performed by Taedong, Xen and Jaehan. Lastly, Hangyeom, along with his composing team WEHOT, created the sweetly soothing song Comfort, which is performed by Jaehan and Hwichan. All three original soundtracks were also released in English.

A Shoulder to Cry On can be seen on Wavve, WATCHA, and TVING in Korea and Rakuten Viki outside of Korea. The seven-episode drama was adapted from the webtoon of the same name, written by Dong Mul.