Shin Hyun-bin transforms into a Cinderella at 2AM

by solstices

It’s time for some fairy godmother magic with Coupang Play’s upcoming rom-com Cinderella at 2AM, featuring a pragmatic princess who decides to break up with her Prince Charming and walk away with his mother’s chaebol cash. Based on the web novel of the same name, the drama transposes the rags-to-riches fairytale into an office setting.

Shin Hyun-bin (Tell Me That You Love Me) takes center stage as Ha Yoon-seo, the manager of the brand marketing team at a credit card company. Yoon-seo has been dating her younger boyfriend for a year and a half, cozying up together to read books and sharing sunset-lit moments by a lake. It’s all a dream come true — until one particular dealbreaker comes into play.

See, her beau Moon Sang-min (Wedding Impossible) is actually the third-generation chaebol Seo Joo-won, which naturally means Yoon-seo is poised to face parental opposition. When Joo-won’s mother — the chairman of the company they both work at — follows the chaebol script and offers Yoon-seo money to leave her son, Yoon-seo decides she’d rather save herself the drama. She’ll cleanly break up with Joo-won within two months.

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With that, our realistic Cinderella resolves to dispel the magic and reject her fairytale prince, even if it means walking away from him in tears. Joo-won, however, has other plans. “I’ll show you just how much I like you,” Joo-won declares, vowing to stick close to his beloved noona. Plan A: a playful wink and lots of aegyo. Plan B: holding Yoon-seo’s hand tenderly, and leaning in for a kiss.

Just like Cinderella’s prince, Joo-won kneels to offer Yoon-seo her shoes — first the other half of a pair of heels, then comfortable sandals for her aching feet. “If you want to break up with me, then it can’t be helped. That’s your choice to make, after all,” Joo-won tells her. “However, clinging on is also my choice to make.” Alone in her room, Yoon-seo gazes sadly at their photobooth snapshots, and fond memories of their giddy romance flash by in a montage. Perhaps it won’t be long before Yoon-seo’s heart wavers once again.

Co-directed by Seo Min-jung (Bora! Deborah) and Bae Hee-young, with Oh Eun-ji penning scripts and Park Joon-hwa (Alchemy of Souls) overseeing creation, Cinderella at 2AM will premiere later this month on August 24.