On July 28 in Yeouido, Seoul, director Ahn Joo-young sat down for an interview to discuss her work on S-Line, the original fantasy thriller drama from Wavve. S-Line introduces a provocative concept where a red line—known as the “S-Line”—becomes visible between people who have had sexual relationships. As this line appears, it exposes forbidden desires and hidden truths, turning ordinary lives into psychological suspense.
Ahn Joo-young explained that the original webtoon inspired her to take on the project. “The source material was compelling. While it did contain provocative elements, sex was used more as a MacGuffin—a storytelling tool—to explore various aspects of human nature,” she said. “Rather than focusing solely on realism, I wanted to show different sides of people by incorporating surreal elements. That’s what made the story exciting.”
She emphasized that the concept of the S-Line itself isn’t inherently negative. “As long as it’s not tied to criminal behavior, I don’t think the S-Line should be seen negatively. But since unfortunate things do happen because of it, I naturally focused more on those darker aspects.”
A significant challenge was how to visualize the S-Line on screen. “We worked closely with the CG team. If it looked too much like a laser, it felt unnatural. If it was too matte, it wasn’t visible enough,” director Ahn explained. “We went through a lot of trial and error to find a texture that struck the right balance—eye-catching, but not disruptive.”
Addressing feedback that the finale (Episode 6) was confusing or rushed, Ahn Joo-young admitted, “I felt pressured to wrap everything up neatly in the last episode. When we filmed, I thought all the explanations were included, but it seems they didn’t come across as clearly as I’d hoped.”
Interestingly, S-Line was originally intended to be an omnibus format, mirroring the episodic and segmented nature of the original webtoon, which had no fixed protagonist. However, during the adaptation process, the decision was made to consolidate the story around a central character. “We tried to tie the episodes together with a main protagonist. I do wish we had more episodes to work with,” Ahn Joo-young added. “We selected episodes that fit well with the new characters we created.”
As for the overarching message she wanted to convey, Ahn Joo-young reflected, “The idea of being able to ‘see the S-Line’ symbolizes how people are naturally curious about others’ private lives, even as they want to keep their own hidden. That’s the paradox I wanted to explore through the drama.”
All episodes of S-Line are now available for streaming exclusively on Wavve.
Daum
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