Erotic Writer Gets Inspiration From His Housekeeper
About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series The Housekeeper's Load.
Content Warning: There may be references to BDSM, dubcon/noncon, power imbalance, sexism, sexual assault, sexual harassment, gossiping, excessive drinking, invasion of privacy, age gap, manipulation, parentification, blood, social gap, experience gap, perceived cheating, love triangle, vandalism, death, and being orphaned, as they do appear in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Choi Woojin is an erotic novel translator. Unfortunately, being a virgin, he has a hard time envisioning the scenes and understanding the emotions in them. But just because he’s a virgin doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an imagination. Unfortunately, all of his lustful imaginings feature one person: his housekeeper, Kim Ha-yeon. As Ha-yeon’s boss, Woojin knows the housekeeper is off-limits. But ethics can’t touch his imagination, and little does Woojin know that Ha-yeon is beginning to look at him differently, too.
Meanwhile, Woojin’s good friend Kang Sol, whom he usually asks for advice on sex-related matters, is having a great time teasing Woojin and his secret attraction to his housekeeper. While Woojin and Ha-yeon are figuring out their weird relationship, Sol ends up running into Ha-yeon’s little brother, Kim Jae-ho. With Woojin, his favorite person to tease, occupied by a chaotic love life, Sol sees a lot of promise in Jae-ho. But Jae-ho isn’t interested in this weird man. Undeterred, Sol continues to pursue Jae-ho whenever they run into each other, and in a cruel twist of fate for Jae-ho, they run into each other a lot.
Review:
The art in this is really rough in the beginning, but that ends up being a huge win, at least for me. I’m a big fan of reading an artist’s work and seeing how their talent changes and grows over time. I wouldn’t have expected it to change so drastically over the course of a single series, but it does – like night and day. Unfortunately, that does mean the first couple, which takes up most of the main story, looks really bad. However, the second couple of Jae-ho and Sol are stunning. They do look like a reskinning of the couple from Bye Bye, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Where this wins is the gradual shift from the rocky and rough early style to the much cleaner, more consistent, and uber-pleasing later style, which is much more in line with Bye Bye. If you’re coming from reading Bye Bye, you’ll probably be disappointed in this art in the beginning, but I promise, once you reach the second half, it is some of the most stunning work I’ve seen.
Speaking of the later portions of the story, I love that we get a look into the future where we see the youngest Kim sibling, a tiny little baby for most of the series, as a teen, the perfect marker for a time change. Everyone else looks relatively the same despite a decade having passed, though Jae-ho gives off a much more mature air in his design, which I appreciate. Other than the occasional Yaoi hand, the later art is impeccable, and it’s really nice to see the gradual shift and growth of the artist’s style. One thing I want to point out because I found it funny is that Jae-ho has a little mole above his eyebrow. I love that detail. However, the mole does, unfortunately, jump back and forth across his face. This is such a minor point that I doubt anyone cares about, but I noticed it, and I wanted to share it.
Admittedly, Sol and Jae-ho are my favorite couple between the two. Both couples have somewhat of an age gap, but Sol and Jae-ho’s relationship has a significant age gap. Their smut scenes are much sexier than the initial couple, and because the art gets better later in the series, by the time this couple is established, they look so much better than the first couple ever does. I also don’t feel like Woojin and Ha-yeon have the best chemistry. Their main issue is their inability to properly communicate and Ha-yeon’s unwillingness to say or do something that Woojin doesn’t like. This could just be a preference thing on my end. I prefer the hate-to-love-style relationship that Jae-ho and Sol have, but that also gives them a foundation to be a much more open and honest couple compared to Ha-yeon and Woojin.
While I’m admitting things, I have to say that I love this, not because the story is all that great but because this is a peak smutfest. I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve read something with such fun sex scenes. They are copious and diverse. Jae-ho and Sol have some of my favorites, of course. I’m sure that’s no surprise to anyone who’s read this review. The sex certainly carries this, as I don’t think the story is all that strong. If you’re looking for an in-depth and emotional narrative, this isn’t it, but this is a huge win for beautiful and delicious smut. Now, that’s not to say there aren’t emotional points. There are some beautiful and emotional segments at the very end in the bonus stories between each couple as they ruminate on how they’ve ended up together and what they can look forward to in the future. Still, the overall series is certainly more smut-focused, which I’m a fan of.
Results:
I’ve got to admit: I love this. The story isn’t revolutionary or fantastic, but it’s such a fun smutfest that I can’t help but love it. At this point, I think I’m very partial to kang pu con‘s art. I’m really attracted to their characters; the coloring is very vibrant and attractive to look at, and the way they draw smut is peak. It tickles something in my degenerate brain. The story is usually primary for me, but even I can admit some titles are good because of the smut, and that’s just fine with me. I love this.
Have you read The Housekeeper's Load? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!