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Manhwa Review | The Black Mirror by Muhwa

Title: The Black Mirror

Author(s): Muhwa

Artist(s): Sugeun

Tae-jun spends every day trying his best not to rock the boat. He does his best to make everyone like him, to make the best grades possible, and to make his caregiver proud, all at the expense of any of his wants or needs. Tae-jun is whoever he needs to be to survive; that is all he can hope for. This all started because Tae-jun lost all of his memories after a traumatic accident during his childhood. The accident also had a lasting effect of strange hallucinations, which, as a child, made it hard for Tae-jun to fit in. So, to protect himself and fit in with a world that couldn’t understand him, Tae-jun changed himself to fit in.

All of his careful crafting of this perfect personality begins to crack when he encounters Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo recognizes Tae-jun immediately, but Tae-jun doesn’t remember Yeon-woo, much to Tae-jun’s despair. Nevertheless, Tae-jun is drawn to Yeon-woo, desperate to understand their history and see if Yeon-woo knows anything about the accident that caused him to forget his childhood memories. Yeon-woo is more than eager to let Tae-jun into his life and to help explore their past, but as they get deeper and deeper into their shared history, the hallucinations that have haunted the edges of Tae-jun’s life grow ever closer. The safe life Tae-jun has built for himself is about to fall apart, but he can’t seem to shake himself away from the cause: Yeon-woo.

Title: The Big Apple

Author(s): Harusari

Artist(s): Hodot

Joachim is in the relationship of his life with his hot hunk, Juergen. Unfortunately, they can’t be in a full-fledged relationship because Joachim has a huge secret. As far as his lover Juergen knows, Joachim works at a small finance company. In truth, though, Joachim, codename Sniper, works for the SIA. This secret government agency handles various undercover issues involving assassinations, mafia, magic, and all manner of things the average Joe isn’t even aware of in their day-to-day life. Every day, Joachim risks his life as the only sniper in the SIA, and he can’t say a word to Juergen without risking his life.

After a particular deadly mission where Joachim nearly lost his life, things are finally put into perspective. Joachim has to leave Juergen for his sake, especially before his next mission, which is pretty much a suicide mission. Joachim comes up with a plan to tell Juergen that he must return to Sweden and, as such, can’t be together with him anywhere, though. Juergen takes it well, which Joachim is simultaneously thankful for and hurt by… until Juergen decides to confine Joachim to prevent him from leaving him. If Juergen can’t be with Joachim normally, he’ll lock him up so he’ll never leave. With Joachim’s deadly mission coming up, he has to find a way to escape, even if he doesn’t want to.

Title: Why Ophelia Couldn't Leave

Author(s): Joo Ahri

Artist(s): samo

Ophelia has lived a tragic life. She was the child of her mother’s love affair with a mercenary who helped rescue her from her poor life in the countryside. Unfortunately, their relationship soured and ultimately ended in tragedy as Ophelia’s father died on the battlefield. Ophelia’s mother moved on fairly quickly to a knight, who also ended up dying an untimely death due to disease. Then, she meets a baron whose wife is frail, and Ophelia and her mother end up living with them for a time. Once the baroness passes, Ophelia’s mother marries the baron, only for him to pass away from illness as well. Finally, after the funeral of her husband, Ophelia’s mother meets and soon marries the Duke of Arpad, where Ophelia meets her new stepbrother, Alexander.

The two don’t hit it off right away, but after the unfortunate carriage incident that takes the lives of both Alexander’s father and Ophelia’s mother, they are soon intrinsically tied together until Alexander comes of age and is able to take over the dukedom. Ophelia attempts to leave after the funeral, but Alexander begs her to stay, at least until he becomes an adult. Then, she can leave whenever she wishes. So, Ophelia stays, but as time goes on, the question of whether or not the carriage accident was truly just an accident comes back to haunt the family of two, and the undercurrent of Alexander’s taboo affection for Ophelia steadily grows. Will Ophelia be able to make it until Alexander’s coming of age? Or will she be swept away by the mysterious circumstances of her place in Arpad manor?

Title: My Way with You

Author(s): u-pi

Artist(s): u-pi

Giran doesn’t care about most things anymore. Since his father’s suicide as a child, Giran has been raised by his grandmother, who devoted her entire being to raising him all on her own. As a result, Giran feels wholly indebted to her and spends his whole life working hard so he can one day pay her back for everything he has received from her. Unfortunately, though, Giran’s grandmother passes away at home alone during his work. Wracked with guilt for leaving her to pass away alone and being unable to fulfill the many promises he made to her, Giran’s life and goals fall by the wayside. He spends his days simply going through the motions, unable to move on with his life.

That is, until one day, he is at a club and catches the eye of a beautiful man named Seon-gyeong. The two have this immediate connection and magnetism that Giran can’t seem to shake. Somehow, they are constantly and inexplicably drawn to each other until they finally spend day after day together. Without any official declaration from either of them, they end up living together and spending more time together than they do doing anything else. But, as time goes on and their flame and passion fail to wane, it is clear something darker is pulling them together. Where did Seon-gyeong come from, and why is Giran so drawn to him?

Title: A Man of Virtue

Author(s): GGANG-E

Artist(s): Wook

Jinwoo works with his greatest enemy, Sangtae. Their rivalry began back in high school, where Jinwoo used to dominate academically. However, when Sangtae transfers to Jinwoo’s school, it isn’t long before Jinwoo roots himself firmly in Jinwoo’s spot, leaving Jinwoo permanently in second place. While this is frustrating, Jinwoo isn’t too worried about it. Of course, this won’t last forever. Sangtae is going to go to college, and they probably won’t ever see each other again, right? Wrong. As luck would have, Sangtae ends up working in the same company and even in the same department, and just as he did in high school, Sangtae rules the roost, leaving Jinwoo in the dust.

One evening, when Jinwoo is particularly frustrated by Sangtae, Jinwoo drinks excessively. Then, in his drunken stupor, he pukes on a haechi statue, drawing the beast’s ire. The following day, at random, Jinwoo is inundated by dirty fantasies to the point that he can barely function. Unfortunately, amid one of these fantasies, Sangtae catches Jinwoo trying to relieve himself, resulting in further embarrassment and rivalry between the two. Amid their fighting, though, Jinwoo realizes that he only gets the fantasies when he is near Sangtae, leading him to conclude that these are actually Sangtae’s fantasies.

With Sangtae mysteriously at the crux of Jinwoo’s curse, will he be able to team up with his greatest enemy to solve this issue? Or is this just one more reason to avoid Sangtae for the rest of his life?

Title: The King and the Paladin

Author(s): IRINBI

Artist(s): Park JiEun

Ezekiel is a noble paladin. For years now, he has been steadily building up his reputation, wealth, and standing in society in hopes of one day reuniting with his long-lost love Calli, and finally establishing a life with her. However, before finding her, he is appointed as the heir to a dukedom as the illegitimate son. Ezekiel accepts his role, and as the heir, he meets with the newly appointed queen of the kingdom. To his surprise, though, the bloody queen Calliope is none other than his long-lost love Calli. Before he can even express his joy, Calli captures him and forces him into a marriage ceremony right then and there.

Calliope has suffered for years under the power of her father’s concubine and her children. Her only reprieve from the suffering was the company of a mysterious man named Ezekiel, who was being kept and trained by the church. The two shared many sweet and intimate moments. After discovering the corrupt and salacious nature of the church, Calliope’s goal is to help rescue Ezekiel and take over her rightful place on the throne as its only direct descendent. However, upon making this decision for herself, she discovers Ezekiel has disappeared, and all she has to go on is the rumors that he has left to become a noblewoman’s concubine. Betrayed by her only love, Calliope goes on the warpath, ascends the throne, and with Ezekiel back under her thumb, she is determined to keep him by her side, even if it means destroying him in the process.

Title: Love Tractor

Author(s): HmmYongYong

Artist(s): AngryMonster

Sun Yool desperately needs an escape. His relationship with his father has been tenuous at best, and his relationship with his boyfriend hasn’t been going much better. While trying to keep the balance in his relationships, he’s also struggling through law school. Things are beginning to come to a head with Yool’s mental health when his mother talks him into going to his grandfather’s farm for a break since his grandfather is in the hospital, unable to keep up his home. Yool accepts the offer and leaves the city to escape to the farm.

Yool expects many peaceful days ahead. However, he doesn’t expect to find a big, burly young adult named Yechan, whom he briefly knew as a child. Yechan grows attached to Yool, and soon, the days with Yechan far exceed the days Yool has alone, and while he would never admit it out loud, Yool finds himself growing attached to the boisterous young man. But even in this idyllic scenario with the eye candy that is Yechan, the darkness of the life he left behind is ever-looming and threatening the fragile happiness he’s built for himself.

Title: Home Alone Together

Author(s): Shin Yuri

Artist(s): Shin Yuri

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?

Title: A Thousand Cranes

Author(s): Jeong Seokchan

Artist(s): Jeong Seokchan

Craig’s life has always been challenging. He’s always played the role of a parent to his younger sibling and had to be a punching bag to their father. So when his father disappears, Craig momentarily believes this is the relief he and his sibling desperately need. Unfortunately, though, debt collectors come knocking once their father is gone. It turns out that Craig’s father has accumulated a massive amount of debt and listed Craig as the guarantor for all of it. Craig sticks around, unable to leave his sibling behind and unwilling to throw away all of the responsibility his father did. He quits school, takes on as many jobs as possible, and starts the neverending task of paying off his father’s debts.

Over time, though, the responsibility is only getting heavier and heavier, and as time goes on, the debt never seems to let up, no matter how much he pays off. Life is beginning to seem not worth the effort. Then, on an evening when those dark thoughts are incredibly taxing, Craig comes upon a scene one would only expect to see in gangster films. In the shadows of a dark alley, there is a dead body, and standing above the dead body is a killer. Craig runs off but is soon captured by the killer. At first, the killer, whose name turns out to be Dean, is fully intent on silencing Craig forever, but there is something about Craig that Dean can’t seem to let go of. So, instead of killing Craig, Dean decides to hire him and take on all of Craig’s debt, so Dean is the only creditor.

With some of his stress lifted, Craig finds himself lighter and freer, even when tied exclusively to Dean. As they continue to work and learn more about each other’s pains and struggles, the superficial line between debtor and creditor begins to blur. Can these two broken and struggling people find solace in each other? Even as Dean’s job in the dark underbelly threatens to tear everything they’ve built apart?

Title: Rain Again

Author(s): Jeong Seokchan

Artist(s): Jeong Seokchan

Wujin is living life listlessly. He goes through the motions, just enough to stay alive and keep a roof over his head. He’s a recent graduate with no thoughts or feelings about his future. To escape the past that has placed him in this frozen state, he moves as far away as his funds will allow him. One day, while running an errand for his new landlord around the apartment building, he runs into his neighbor, Jin. Jin is a mysterious man. He comes home more often with wounds than not, with looks that could kill.

Most people would be dissuaded from getting close to him. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Wujin is drawn to him. As Wujin tears down the walls of this mystery man, he discovers that Jin is much more gentle and caring than he lets on. He also has a darker past that he is doing his best to escape. What Wujin doesn’t expect is for Jin to turn around and tear down his walls, as well. With two people suffering from mistakes they can’t escape, will they continue to run together, or will they run apart?

Manhwa Reviews

Manhwa Review | The Black Mirror by Muhwa

Manhwa Review | The Big Apple by Harusari

Manhwa Review | Why Ophelia Couldn’t Leave by Joo Ahri

Manhwa Review | My Way with You by u-pi

Manhwa Review | A Man of Virtue by GGANG-E

Manhwa Review | Love Tractor by HmmYongYong

Manhwa Review | Home Alone Together by Shin Yuri

Manhwa Review | Rain Again by Jeong Seokchan

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