Roh Yoon-seo and Lee Chae-min Reunite for Time-Loop Romance “I Decided to Die”

Roh Yoon-seo (노윤서) and Lee Chae-min (이채민) are officially reuniting on screen for the first time in three years, cast as the leads of I Decided to Die (죽기로 결심했다), tvN's upcoming drama adaptation of YUJU's acclaimed Naver Webtoon of the same name. As confirmed by ChosunBiz on March 24 and 25, 2026, Roh Yoon-seo joins as the female lead, playing Ji-oh, a high school senior and competitive taekwondo athlete who sustains a serious injury on the road to national team selection. Lee Chae-min takes the opposite lead as Cha-gyeol, a figure of enigmatic charm who enters Ji-oh's life during her recovery. The drama unfolds as a regression romance, a genre that weaves time-loop storytelling into second-chance emotional arcs. Directing duties fall to Kim Hee-won, the industry heavyweight behind Vincenzo and Queen of Tears, with the screenplay from Kim Sol-ji. Studio Dragon is producing.

Three Years Since Crash Course in Romance

The pairing carries weight beyond the casting announcement. Roh Yoon-seo and Lee Chae-min previously shared the screen on Crash Course in Romance (2023), and the news of their return has sent the fanbase into immediate excitement. As Chosun reported, the reunion is a deliberate callback acknowledged by the industry and already trending across K-drama fan communities on X. Both actors were born in 2000, giving them a shared generational sensibility that tends to read on camera. That kind of natural chemistry is not accidental casting.

A Webtoon Worth the Weight

The source material demands respect. YUJU's original webtoon, serialized on Naver Webtoon from 2021 to 2023, built a dedicated international readership for its emotionally layered portrayal of the relationship between Ji-oh and Cha-gyeol. When early reporting framed the adaptation as a romantic comedy, fans pushed back hard. As reported by multiple Korean media outlets including StarNews in February 2026, the webtoon's tone sits closer to romantic tragedy than light comedy, and readers were quick to correct the record. The comment sections made clear: this is not a breezy watch. It is the kind of story that earns its emotional payoffs through sustained tension, and the casting of two actors known for nuanced, restrained performances signals that the production team understands exactly what they have.

The Director Behind the Series

Kim Hee-won directing is not a footnote. It is the story's biggest production credential. His track record runs from the Netflix crime epic Vincenzo (2021) to tvN's record-breaking Queen of Tears (2024), a drama that became the highest-rated tvN series ever broadcast. Writer Kim Sol-ji brings her own sharp sensibility, having previously helmed the darkly comic Pegasus Market. With Studio Dragon behind the cameras, I Decided to Die has the infrastructure to match the ambition of its source material.

Two Stars, Both Built for This

Roh Yoon-seo arrives at this project as one of the most decorated young actresses working in Korean television today. She won the Best New Actress award at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards for her breakout performance in Crash Course in Romance (2023), a credential that instantly placed her among the most bankable emerging talents on the peninsula. Born January 25, 2000, she made her acting debut in Our Blues (2022), where her portrayal of a pregnant teenager navigating personal crisis drew immediate critical attention for its emotional precision. She followed that with the Netflix film 20th Century Girl and Hear Me: Our Summer (2024), cementing a filmography that moves easily between teenage drama and genuine heartbreak. Her upcoming Netflix fantasy drama The East Palace, which completed filming in mid-2025, is set for a Q3 2026 release per IMDb reports, making I Decided to Die one of her biggest live-action drama bookings this year.

Lee Chae-min has spent the last two years turning supporting momentum into genuine lead credibility. His breakthrough came through Hierarchy (2024) on Netflix, which introduced him to a global audience. He then starred in Bon Appétit, Your Majesty (2025), earning critical notice for his portrayal of a mercurial Joseon king with a taste for food and conflict. Born September 15, 2000, he signed with Varo Entertainment in August 2025 following his contract expiration with Gold Medalist. He enters I Decided to Die at peak momentum, playing a character whose surface-level mystery conceals emotional layers the original webtoon spent chapters building.

What Comes Next

No premiere date has been announced for I Decided to Die as of late March 2026. Production details remain largely under wraps, though the confirmed cast and crew point to a drama that will be closely watched once a broadcast window is set. With Kim Hee-won at the helm and two of Korean television's most compelling young performers in the leads, the real question is not whether this drama will land, but when.