Gong Yoo, left, and Seo Hyun-jin in a scene from 'The Trunk.' Photos courtesy of NetflixThe contract marriage has been a beloved staple in romance K-dramas, where two characters enter a union—real or pretend—out of necessity or mutual benefit, only to find themselves unexpectedly falling in love.

Netflix’s “The Trunk,” which premiered Nov. 29, delivers a refreshing take on the trope, veering away from the typical lighthearted tone to delve into a more mature exploration of love and relationships, all while weaving in a layer of mystery.

The eight-part series follows Han Jeong-won (played by Gong Yoo, known for “Goblin” and “Train to Busan”), a music producer who enters a contract marriage in a desperate bid to salvage his previous one. His bride-to-be? Noh In-ji (Seo Hyun-jin from “The Beauty Inside” and “Why Her”), a seemingly emotionally detached employee of a clandestine company that specializes in arranging these temporary marriages.

However, their secretive marriage service faces a grave challenge when a mysterious trunk is unearthed from a lake, triggering a series of events that entangle Jeong-won and In-ji.

While the concept of a contractual marriage plays a significant role in the show’s narrative, it isn’t the central focus of its message—at least according to Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun-jin, who shared their views during a recent roundtable interview with select Southeast Asian press ahead of the premiere of “The Trunk.”

“I think we’re more posing a question to the viewers: What do you think love is? What do you think a relationship is? I think that’s the question we’re asking our viewers,” Gong Yoo said at the interview through an interpreter.

While Hyun-jin acknowledged that some viewers might see “The Trunk” as a story about marriage, she shared: “I personally thought that this is not a story about marriage.”

“I think it was more about people with exaggerated emotions, how they communicate and what their relationships are under this system of temporary marriage. And with that communication and relationship, how they change and how that [change] unfolds. I think that was the main message,” she said.

Gong Yoo in 'The Trunk'

Seo Hyun-jin in 'The Trunk'

Different take on love

Gong Yoo said he chose to take on “The Trunk” because he resonated with Jeong-won on a personal level and found the story’s nuanced exploration of love refreshing.

“There are many dramas and films that talk about love itself so it’s a very frequent theme. But in ‘The Trunk,’ it was so fresh because the nature of talking about love was quite different from the other pieces,” the 45-year-old actor said.

“I got to think about my perspective on love and relationships, contemplating it more and more... I got to think about what is the right love and more healthy love,” he added.

Gong Yoo also revealed that working with Hyun-jin had been a personal aspiration of his. “I really wanted to co-star and perform with Seo Hyun-jin… so it was delightful to meet her. It was really fun and entertaining and all. I learned a lot watching her performance,” he said.

Hyun-jin expressed similar thoughts. “For me, working with these two gentlemen and the whole staff, I learned a lot professionally as well as personally,” the 39-year-old actress said, referring to her onscreen partner and director Kim Gyu-tae.

“Even after we finished shooting this drama, it has been about seven months, but still to this date, I keep thinking about the script,” she said.

The lead characters in “The Trunk” each have their own complex backstories, but Gong Yoo and Hyun-jin did not find it difficult to relate to or portray their roles.

“As for me, how I understood Jeong-won in the series is that he doesn’t really put a lot of effort in overcoming his trauma or burdens, I think he was just living like that, neglected like that for a long period of time,” Gong Yoo told ABS-CBN News.

“Maybe not as much as Jeong-won, but I myself have a lot of burden in my daily living and I don’t really necessarily think that’s much of a pain so it wasn’t so unnatural for me to look at Jeong-won. I did not really see the need to research and study about the character,” the veteran actor added.

Meanwhile, Hyun-jun said she focused more on In-ji’s profession as someone who frequently enters temporary marriages. “I didn't have much in In-ji that I could not understand or comprehend. Of course I did put a lot of effort [in portraying her], but it’s not like, ‘Why is she acting or thinking like this?’ I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that,” she said.

“I did look at the particularities of In-ji’s vocation. But other than that, I could understand her quite well.”

Perfect chemistry

Director Kim Gyu-tae, whose past works include “It’s Okay, That’s Love,” “Our Blues” and “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo,” praised the chemistry between his lead actors.

“The two actors’ performance and chemistry were perfect and I really had high hopes as well,” he said.

He emphasized that the stars shared “respect and affection towards each other,” which greatly enhanced their performances.

“It was just a lovely couple to watch on the screen. And they had this attitude to support each other so that they can bring out the best performance out of each other. So their attitude was perfect and it was just great,” director Kim added.