Man Who Sees Auras and Matches People Up Based on Them Gets Pursued by Coworker
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Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Cupid in the Rainbow Trap.
Content Warning: There may be references to excessive drinking, mentions of divorce (not between the main couple), dubcon, manipulation, obsession, power imbalance, age gap, social gap, bombing visuals (used for the sake of humor), and depictions of couple changing (special episode shows the tops together), as they do appear in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Oh Taejun is known as the cupid of the sales floor. Why? Because if someone approaches him with dating advice, and he sets them up with someone, they are guaranteed to work out 100% of the time. So, part of his time at work is spent doing his actual job, while the rest is spent providing dating counseling. How does Taejun manage to have such an impeccable record?
Taejun can see a person’s aura.
Everyone has a colored aura, and they are best suited to be with someone whose aura matches theirs. But Taejun can only see the auras of people he has contact with. So, during these counseling sessions, he has slight contact with the person, and then does the same with the person they are attracted to. With this power, you’d think Taejun would be able to find the ultimate romance for himself, but there is only one problem.
Taejun doesn’t have an aura.
He assumes this means he’ll never have a chance to find true love. Then, he meets new hire Baek Hongyeon. Unfortunately, he meets him in the most embarrassing way possible. While drinking, Hongyeon ends up beside him, and Taejun’s drinking habit is none other than making out with the closest person to him. One would assume Hongyeon might be grossed out, but on the contrary, he ends up taking Taejun to bed, and from that day forward, he incessantly pursues Taejun. But Taejun knows it isn’t meant to be because now he can see Hongyeon’s aura, and it is a brilliant rainbow. Someone is destined to be with Hongyeon, and Taejun knows all too well that it isn’t him.
Review:
The art in this goes through an evolution. To start with, it is very, very sketchy, and I have to admit that I hated it. The faces and head shapes are as inconsistent as it comes, and as someone who is picky about art styles, that just irks me. The second season looks much better. It gets much more cleaned up, the secondary love interest (and the second couple’s bottom) is one of the cutest designs in the entire series, and gets a bunch of screen time, which is visually a win, but narratively a loss (which we’ll delve into later). It still isn’t the best, but it gets better, and I love to see it. I will say, though, the second couple’s top is one of the most unattractive designs, which is so sad since he is paired with the cutest design in this series. So, for the art snobs like me out there, this is probably going to be a miss unless you can stomach it to get to the better art later on.
Now, on to the story. I am a sucker for the fated mates trope, which this thankfully is. However, it takes it in a direction I didn’t expect, and I don’t think in a good way. As the reader, we see everything from Taejun’s point of view, and he assumes he doesn’t have an aura because he can’t see it. So, when he sees that Hongyeon has an aura, and a super vibrant rainbow one at that, he assumes they can’t possibly be together. I was personally hoping that Hongyeon’s aura was so vibrant because he was meant to be with someone who didn’t have one of their own, and he was Taejun’s missing aura. Instead, it turns out that Hongyeon can see auras, too, and he can see that Taejun’s is a rainbow like his. I hate this because it never explains why Taejun can’t see his own. I think this could’ve worked if Taejun, hurt by his parents’ divorce, became “aura-blind” to himself because he didn’t believe a child from a broken relationship could have love, only to suddenly see it when he realizes he deserves and wants love. I like the idea that he couldn’t see his own because he wasn’t in tune with his own wants and needs until meeting Hongyeon, much like how he can’t see someone else’s aura until he comes into contact with them. But that isn’t the case, and so his “aura-blindness” is never resolved, and I hate that.
I also despise when the side couple takes over. I don’t hate the side couple in theory. On the contrary, aside from the top’s hideous design, they have many of my preferred elements – like an age gap, a size difference, and they’re fated mates – but the way the main couple is used to bring them together is immensely irritating. Hongyeon, in particular, is a complete and utter ass. He is jealous of the other top, which makes little sense when Taejun clarifies that they are relatives, and the other top is the reason the side couple‘s bottom stops trying to break Taejun and Hongyeon up. So, whenever either the side bottom or side top tries to get advice from Taejun to get together, Hongyeon jumps in and prevents it from happening, which only causes more misunderstandings and more interruptions. If Hongyeon had just let Taejun tell the second couple that they are perfect for each other, the main couple could have moved on with their lives like Hongyeon wants, and the side couple could’ve finally gotten together. It is such an unnecessary and annoying arc that should’ve ended much sooner than it did.
Now, I’ve been super hard on this one. Not without reason, but it does have its bright points. I have to say the side stories in this are pretty fun. I love seeing the side couple finally consummate their relationship, since the bottom is so freaking cute, and there is a historical beastman side story that is cute too. But I adore the side story where Taejun is a comic artist and writer, and writes fanfic about the two tops together. It is so rare to see characters being paired in non-canon relationships in the same manhwa, and I really liked seeing it this time. Plus, having a big, bulky CEO bottom being dominated is always such a treat.
I also want to note that the artist of this manhwa did say they were diagnosed with cancer during the serialization, per their author’s note. Regardless of how I might feel about a story, real humans are behind these pieces, creating them for us to enjoy, despite whatever they may be going through in their lives. I am honored to read the work of these creators, including the work done here by An Eunjin. I am happy to see that since this was initially created (2020), they have continued to publish work, and I hope they are happy and healthy while doing so.
Results:
This was an overall miss for me. It had so many story elements that I personally feel could’ve been written differently to make the story much more satisfying and tie up some loose ends. The art also isn’t my favorite, though it does grow and get better over time, which I am always happy to see. Still, if you’re an art snob like myself, this might be a tough one on that alone. Add in an iffy story, and that makes this a really tough one to get through. However, I hope I get the chance to see more of An Eunjin‘s art and continue to see them grow as an artist.
Have you read Cupid in the Rainbow Trap? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
