Short dramas lean on a handful of plot types so that a title tells you the story at a glance. A flash marriage is a wedding between near-strangers, a hidden identity is a lead whose real power is secret, and a luna is the mate of a werewolf alpha. The rest of the vocabulary is below.
Romance set-ups
Flash or contract marriage
Strangers wed in a hurry, often over a debt or a family order, and fall for each other later. A contract marriage writes the terms down and sets an end date. 2,167 dramas.
The boss
An icy executive who thaws for one person only, with the office hierarchy adding the friction. 3,723 dramas.
Billionaire
An ordinary life collides with a fortune, often via an accident or a husband who hid his wealth. 3,430 dramas.
Secret child
A child raised without the father knowing, and a reunion years later. The kids are frequently sharper than the adults. 2,377 dramas.
Werewolf vocabulary
Alpha, luna, fated mate
The alpha leads the pack; the luna is his partner and leads beside him; a fated mate is the one destiny picked. A public rejection of a fated mate usually sets up a comeback. 1,652 dramas.
Power and payback
Hidden identity
The lead is secretly rich, royal or unbeatable, and lives a modest life until the reveal. 3,532 dramas.
Revenge and face-slapping
A wronged character returns stronger. "Face-slapping" is the fan term for the public moment a bully is humbled. 9,041 dramas.
Returning war hero
A famed commander comes home unannounced, sees his family mistreated, and waits for the right moment to stop hiding. 728 dramas.
Divorce and regret
One partner leaves, and the other understands their loss only once it is final. 3,324 dramas.
Real and fake heiress
Babies swapped at birth, or a lost daughter returning to a family that favours the impostor. 2,698 dramas.
Other settings
Rebirth and transmigration
Rebirth sends the lead back in time with full memory; transmigration drops them into another body or into a book they once read. 4,713 dramas.
Palace
Court intrigue among emperors, consorts and ministers. 3,559 dramas.
Mafia
A feared crime boss and the person who changes him, often through a marriage between families. 1,585 dramas.
Fantasy
Cultivation, spirit beasts and heroes who climb from weakest to strongest. 5,005 dramas.
Each plot type has its own page under plots, and the apps' own labels are under categories.