‘Take Charge of My Heart’ Adapts a Naver Web Novel About a Chaebol Heir With a Failing Artificial Heart

Netflix’s Korean romantic comedy ‘Take Charge of My Heart’ premieres all ten episodes on October 9, and the series comes from a web novel. Netflix’s own title information credits a Naver web novel by Haebeon as the source material. For viewers wondering where the story began, the answer sits in serialized Korean fiction rather than an original screenplay.

The series follows a man whose artificial heart is running out of battery and a woman who can recharge him. Understanding what ‘Take Charge of My Heart’ is based on helps explain its unusual blend of fantasy and contract romance. It also shows how the production approached a story with a built-in audience.

The Web Novel Source Behind Netflix’s ‘Take Charge of My Heart’

Netflix lists the source as the Naver web novel ‘Charge Me Up’ by Haebeon. The streamer repeated that credit in its premiere announcement, which describes the series as based on a web novel.

What’s on Netflix reports that the series is adapted from the web novel 나를 충전해줘 by an author it names as Hae Boon. The same outlet notes that the drama was formerly titled ‘Recharge Me.’ That earlier title points to the same idea of charging that now anchors the finished series.

The Korea Times describes the drama as based on a popular web novel of the same name. Reports differ slightly on how the novel is titled in English, so readers should treat Netflix’s own credit as the clearest reference.

How the Story Based on a Web Novel Plays Out

Baek Ho-rang is a third generation chaebol heir whose artificial heart is dangerously low on power. He wants to secure his succession to the TS Group, which raises the stakes on a battery that cannot be left to fail.

Na Bo-bae is a TV writer whose electric current shocks anyone she touches, but Ho-rang turns out to be immune to her power. An accidental kiss and a hospital encounter reveal that her touch recharges his artificial heart. The Korea Herald frames her ability as arriving after she is struck by lightning.

In the teaser, Ho-rang finds that his battery charges faster the closer he stays to Bo-bae, and he proposes that they live together for the sake of charging. He asks her to save him for three months. That arrangement is the contract at the center of the story.

Cast and Creative Team Adapting the Source Material

Kim Young-kwang plays Baek Ho-rang and Chae Soo-bin plays Na Bo-bae, with Park Soo-won directing and Song Yu-chae writing. NEW POINT and WHYNOT MEDIA produce the series for Netflix.

The project marks Park’s romantic comedy debut after her work on ‘Work Later, Drink Now.’ Speaking at a Seoul press conference, she told reporters that the female lead’s electrical powers hooked her, and that Ho-rang works like a pair of “non-conductive rubber gloves” against them. The remark suggests the adaptation leans on the novel’s central gimmick rather than hiding it.

According to The Korea Herald, Chae hesitated to take another romantic comedy because she feared being too closely tied to the genre. She said the director, the writer and the head of the production company convinced her to join.

Kim said the script gave him the same magic he felt reading romance comics as a child. He added that his goal with Ho-rang was authenticity, delivered through a calm and understated performance.

Why the Familiar Source Material Still Appeals

The Korea Herald notes that romances pairing chaebol heirs with spirited, ordinary heroines have become a well explored formula in Korean drama. The production appears to know this, and it does not present the story as a reinvention.

Park acknowledged that “We knew this was a familiar story,” while saying the goal was a fresh spin rather than a complete overhaul. She also said the focus was on executing the familiar flavor at a gourmet level, with a subtle edge that lifts standard rom-com beats.

Park believes global audiences respond to characters who clash before falling for each other, with comedy and romance moving together. That approach fits a web novel premise built on opposites, since one lead carries a dangerous current and the other cannot function without it.

The Korea Times argues that the fantasy twist lifts the contract romance clichés into something more energetic. Readers who followed ‘Charge Me Up’ may be best placed to judge whether Ho-rang and Bo-bae’s three month arrangement holds its charge on screen, so how closely does the adaptation match the story you remember?