Manhwa Review | Heat of the Moment by Yensha

Title: Heat of the Moment



Yeo-heun is a goblin. He’s a half-goblin, a creature that lives beyond the average human lifespan, can carry a regardless of gender, and is known to seduce and trick humans. They’re feared and hated, so when Yeo-heun was small, his mother scrounged every penny she had to have a seal cast on him. Unfortunately, as a poor, single mother, she couldn’t afford a complete seal, and though it sealed away the goblin part of Yeo-heun, it, unfortunately, sealed away his voice and parts of his memories, too. And, despite her best efforts, his identity as a half-goblin is still clearly visible. It can be seen by the color of his eyes: one gold and one violet. And by the color of his hair, streaked with gold. As a result, he and his mother have lived as outcasts on the outskirts of their village, avoiding everyone who wishes to bully and harm Yeo-heun.

All of that changes, however, when the new, young emperor, Ju Hee-yeon, is on the hunt for a goblin. Hee-yeon has been sickly, chronically so, to the point it is impeding his ability to lead. It’s all due to his bloodline, which carries the blood of . It has manifested in Hee-yeon with fevers and painful scales along his back. It’s said that only by lying with a goblin that he will be healed. So, Hee-yeon sends out a small group of soldiers who successfully hunt down Yeo-heun and bring him back to the palace, leaving his sickly mother alone. The two lie together, and, as expected, Hee-yeon’s fever and pain subsides.

But beyond the newfound freedom Hee-yeon has gained thanks to Yeo-heun, Hee-yeon finds himself entranced by the half-goblin. He wants to know more about this beauty and is determined to find a way to remove Yeo-heun’s seal. All the while, however, Yeo-heun longs to see his mother again. But when Hee-yeon sends out a party to find his bedmate’s mother, there’s no sign of her anywhere. Just what secrets lie in Yeo-heun’s locked memory? And how will Hee-yeon keep the wily goblin by his side?

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Manhwa Review | Home Alone Together by Shin Yuri

Title: Home Alone Together



Junwoo is a hikikomori – a young adult who has become a recluse. For the past five years, since graduating high school and after the death of his parents, he has holed himself up in his childhood home, where he spends his days in idle existence. The only thing he has to look forward to is the occasional visit from his neighbor Hanbit, a guy he’s had a crush on since he was a kid. Otherwise, his days are filled with severe loneliness and the self-loathing he hasn’t been able to shake.

One day, Hanbit comes by, implying that he might be moving in with Junwoo. This lights a fire under Junwoo, and he immediately assumes this is his chance to win over Hanbit. However, when Hanbit comes over, he brings along a stranger: Wooyeon. It turns out that Hanbit isn’t planning to move in. On the contrary, he is moving away to be with his longtime girlfriend. However, in fear of Junwoo being left alone unsupervised, Hanbit has the great idea that Wooyeon should move in with Junwoo.

Neither Junwoo nor Wooyeon seem jazzed about the idea, but both seem compelled to go along with it because of their affection for Hanbit. So begins the awkward orbiting the two have as they live together. Despite their disdain for each other’s company, slowly but surely, they grow to tolerate one another. And soon, that tolerance evolves into something more, something neither of them expected it would be. But these two have a lot of old wounds that threaten the peace they have created with each other. Will they be able to move forward, or are they destined to drown amid their surging trauma?

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