The First Night With the Duke- Episodes 1-2

From Bookworm to Bedmate?!

Welcome to the wild ride that is The First Night With the Duke! Episode 1 wastes no time throwing us headfirst into drama, desire, and one seriously unexpected twist.

It all starts with a classic tale—an orphan girl in the Joseon era rises from tragedy to triumph, catching the eye of a charming prince and winning his heart. Just as things heat up, the story screeches to a halt. Turns out, it’s a novel being read in the present day. And the reader? She’s not happy. The author’s dropping the series, and she’s furious. She vents online, claiming she could write it better… until fate decides to test her big talk.

One slip later—literally—and she wakes up in the very world of her favorite book, The Obsessive Tyrant. But instead of the heroine, she’s now Cha Sun-chaek: a pampered noble daughter, minor character, and total background extra. At first.

Armed with modern sass and insider book knowledge, Sun-chaek sets out to navigate her new life. Her maid Wool-yi is baffled by her sudden personality change, and her family just assumes she’s finally maturing—especially when she agrees to attend a noblewomen’s event. Her father loads her up with cash for a pre-party shopping spree.

Things get juicy when Sun-chaek bumps into the story’s villainess, Do Hwa-seon. Hwa-seon demands the Chinese-imported dresses Sun-chaek just bought, and Sun-chaek gives them up to stay off the antagonist’s radar. But drama follows: Hwa-seon’s claws come out when Cho Eun-ae, the main lead and merchant’s adopted daughter, enters the scene. Hwa-seon clearly despises her—and plans a little social sabotage at the evening’s party.

Meanwhile, Sun-chaek uses binoculars (yes, seriously) to people-watch the capital. That’s when she spots him—Prince Yi-beon. Tall, brooding, deadly, and basically the walking definition of "don’t mess with me." The guy’s got a killer reputation—literally. Rumor says women who sleep with him are shipped off to nunneries.

Prince Yi-beon and his loyal shadow, second lead Jung Su-gyeom, make their rounds in the capital. Hwa-seon almost gets trampled during one of their rides, but the prince doesn’t even blink. Su-gyeom, however, can’t take his eyes off Eun-ae.

At the noblewomen’s gathering, Hwa-seon goes full mean girl, humiliating Eun-ae and pushing her to clean up a broken glass. Sun-chaek jumps in with a slick save, then flips the mood by suggesting alcohol. Cue: cocktail party, Joseon-style.

With Sun-chaek mixing drinks like a pro, the ladies get loud, rowdy, and totally unladylike—in the best way. While the capital buzzes with curiosity, Prince Yi-beon is off handling a treason plot and killing a man who offers him the crown. Broods by the river, as brooding princes do.

Back in party land, Su-gyeom watches Sun-chaek with growing interest. She’s the life of the night… until she gets a little too drunk. Stepping out for air, she stumbles right into Prince Yi-beon.

Fast-forward to morning, and BOOM—she wakes up in his bed.

Shocked. Confused. Naked.

Prince Yi-beon, cool as ever, tells her they shared a passionate night. The only problem? Sun-chaek remembers nothing.

Welcome to this twisted fairy tale. The bookworm wanted in the story—but definitely not like this.

Escaping the Prince? Not So Fast.

Buckle up, because Episode 2 of The First Night With the Duke takes the chaotic romance and turns the dial way up. We finally get a look at what really went down the night Sun-chaek ended up in bed with Prince Yi-beon—and it’s just as ridiculous, reckless, and swoon-worthy as you’d expect.

It all starts with a flashback. Sun-chaek, wine-drunk and wistful, stumbles near the river and starts fangirling about the future love story she’s dying to see unfold between the leads of her favorite book. But just as she’s caught in her own romantic daydream, she trips—and gets caught mid-fall by none other than the brooding heartthrob himself, Prince Yi-beon.

Naturally, she freaks out. He draws his sword. She kisses him. Then starts psychoanalyzing his trauma. Classic Sun-chaek. The man who’s used to being feared and obeyed is completely blindsided. No one has dared speak to him like this, let alone kiss him in a moment of emotional chaos. One thing leads to another, and… the night ends with tangled sheets and a future full of complications.

Fast-forward to the present: Sun-chaek wakes up in the prince’s bed, horrified and completely blank on the details. Yi-beon calmly gets dressed, gives her a cryptic warning not to leave, and—oh yeah—tells his servant to send a marriage proposal to her family. No chill whatsoever.

Sun-chaek does what any reasonable person would do: ignores the warning and bolts.

She runs into Eun-ae, who thanks her for saving her at the party and innocently asks if she’ll teach her to make cocktails. But when the topic shifts to the infamous prince, Eun-ae jokes that he might have “vitality issues”—which makes Sun-chaek flinch hard as she starts remembering... certain details. Still, they part as new friends, though Sun-chaek is already sweating over how her impulsive night might be warping the original plot.

Back at the palace, Prince Yi-beon gets grilled by the king about rebels, politics, and China. But Yi-beon’s got one thing on his mind: marriage. When the king realizes he’s serious, he gives him three months to “figure it out.” Meanwhile, the king orders surveillance—Yi-beon’s strange behavior isn’t going unnoticed.

Elsewhere in the palace, the Queen Dowager (aka Yi-beon’s grandmother) catches wind of a woman staying at the prince’s place. Her reaction? Let’s just say there’s ancient beef brewing between her and Yi-beon, and this mystery woman has added fuel to the fire.

Back on the run, Sun-chaek gets scooped up by Wool-yi and learns that the prince’s marriage proposal is about to reach her family. She rushes to stop it and—surprise—runs right into Yi-beon. In classic overdramatic form, she throws herself in front of his horse. Yi-beon, unfazed, dodges her and demands they take responsibility for their night together. If she runs, he threatens treason. Cue panic.

Sun-chaek now has three days to break the news to her family—or else. Her solution? Make him hate her. She tries every rom-com tactic in the book: looking filthy, acting like a gold digger, throwing around fake curses, even attempting to become a monk. Nothing works. Prince Yi-beon remains fully obsessed.

Worse, when she does try to sneak out, she runs into actual thieves in the forest. Enter knight in shining hanbok: Su-gyeom. He saves her and walks her back, inviting her to his Seonmun Club—a “study group” that’s basically an excuse to drink and gossip. Sun-chaek agrees to join, but before things can get cozy, Prince Yi-beon crashes the party.

He bans all unmarried people from gathering and vaguely says he’s “protecting something.” Translation: he’s jealous, and he’s not subtle about it. Then, as if things couldn’t get more chaotic, Sun-chaek’s three brothers stumble home drunk—only to find Yi-beon casually referring to them as his future brothers-in-law.

Before anyone can process that bombshell, Sun-chaek straight-up faints. Yi-beon pushes Su-gyeom aside to catch her like some unhinged K-drama prince straight out of fanfiction.

Inside her head, Sun-chaek wonders: Is death the only escape from this obsessive tyrant?

But wait, there’s more. In the epilogue, we see Prince Yi-beon confronting the thieves who attacked her. He lets them live, though—it seems even his wrath has limits when he’s busy chasing after his “bride.”

So, to sum it up: forced marriage threats, failed escape plans, a love triangle heating up, and one heroine who's suddenly realizing that being a side character in her favorite book might just kill her.

See you next week for more chaos, cocktails, and clingy princes.

DramaZen's Opinion

Okay, The First Night With the Duke is already my new obsession. Episodes 1 and 2? Pure chaotic gold.

We kick things off with a classic “girl gets sucked into her favorite novel” setup, but what sets this apart is how unhingedand hilarious Sun-chaek is. She’s not the graceful isekai heroine type—she’s loud, impulsive, totally out of her depth, and I love her for it. The way she drunkenly psychoanalyzes the prince and kisses him before waking up in his bed the next morning? Iconic.

Prince Yi-beon is the ultimate cold, dangerous male lead with a soft spot he didn’t know existed. And he’s already lost his mind over Sun-chaek. Watching her try (and fail spectacularly) to make him hate her was comedy gold. Her attempts to escape? Useless. Her attempts to disgust him? Only make him more obsessed.

Add in a jealous villainess, a sweet main lead, a charming second male lead, and a cocktail party that turns into a royal scandal? Yeah. I’m all in.

Two episodes in and it’s already delivering top-tier romantic chaos. Can't wait to see how Sun-chaek survives her own favorite story.