BL Library - CEOs

Manhwa Review | Unromantic Romance by Jeong Seokchan

Title: Unromantic Romance

In a world where omegas rule, Oh Hyeon-oh is a lowly alpha. He is a college student who often freelances as a reporter in his free time to pay his rent. Unfortunately, his articles are often overlooked, as he focuses heavily on small local news rather than news on the wealthy. His current article is on a cat killer, who he happened to get a picture of. Once again, his article is criticized for being far too local and small. Hyeon-oh is, of course, deflated. His sunbae at the news feels bad for him, and to help him catch some big fish, he gives Hyeon-oh his membership card to a famous lounge where the wealthy are known to let loose.

Hyeon-oh still isn't interested in the rich and famous, but he decides to check it out out of curiosity. Once there, he ends up alone with someone at the top of the food chain. It's none other than the CEO of Seonghwa, one of the most powerful omega in the country, Chu Ga-in. Ga-in is intrigued by Hyeon-oh, especially since the membership card is from one of Ga-in's closest associates. To Hyeon-oh's surprise, Ga-in ends up inviting him up to a hotel room, and Hyeon-oh, hopelessly smitten, agrees. But once they're in the room, Hyeon-oh is tied up and patted down, suspected of being someone trying to take down Ga-in and, in turn, Seonghwa.

All of the romance and attraction Hyeon-oh has for Ga-in evaporates, and he's instead in what he perceives as a fight for his life. Thankfully, Ga-in and his men don't find anything suspicious, but instead of being let go, Ga-in fully intends on still bedding the young alpha. This leads to one of the most intense and pleasurable sexual experiences either party has ever had. But when Hyeon-oh wakes up the next day to a pile of cash and no Ga-in in sight, he intends to take revenge for the slight (though he's also still intensely attracted to the aloof omega). All while Hyeon-oh is hunting down Ga-in, and Ga-in is failing to shake off Hyeon-oh's romantic and vengeful advances, Hyeon-oh's cat killer article is picking up steam.

And the killer is now hunting Hyeon-oh.

Title: Scandalous M

Author(s): Kimdan

Artist(s): WnB hair

Chanbit is a superstar. He's a beloved actor at the top of his game. He exudes perfection, and everyone loves him because of that. What the world doesn't know that Chanbit's longtime college friend and now-manager Baekyung knows is that Chanbit is gay, an insatiable sexual dynamo, and a masochist on top of that. Baekyung does his best to fulfill these desires so that Chanbit doesn't risk his public image, but Chanbit frequently seeks satisfaction elsewhere. But what Chanbit doesn't know is that Baekyung isn't just bothered by his sexual escapades because he's his manager. He hates it because Baekyung is hopelessly in love with Chanbit.

Chanbit can't fathom anyone loving him beyond the love his fans have for him because of a traumatic relationship he had in college. That relationship also awakened in him a need to be dominated, and he generally enjoys BDSM. As a result, he spends a lot of his off time hunting for partners to satisfy his needs. So, most of Chanbit and Baekyung's relationship is spent with Baekyung trying his best to protect and satisfy Chanbit while hiding his feelings, and Chanbit doing everything he can to keep a safe distance from love and romance, focusing entirely on sex. This tenuous relationship works until a new CEO is announced for Chanbit's agency.

It is none other than Youngha Do, the man who abandoned and traumatized Chanbit in college. They've grown so much since then, so surely Youngha isn't interested in Chanbit anymore, right? Wrong. Youngha is back and fully intends to tie Chanbit to him through any means necessary — through violence, sex, and blackmail. Chanbit wants to protect his career, so he willingly goes along with everything Youngha wants, except for one thing: firing Baekyung. All the while, Baekyung tries his best to figure out what is going on with Chanbit, unaware that his charge is selling himself to the CEO to protect his career and Baekyung.

Title: Don't Get Me Wrong, Boss!

Author(s): Limeho

Artist(s): GANGDDO

Lim Iro has no drive or intention of getting a “real” job. As an erotic BL writer, Iro has the flexibility to live the way he likes, with no one telling him what he can and can't do. He's also pretty successful at it. But the arts are inconsistent, and his career is no exception. Money is tight, and there are times when Iro would love the stability of a conventional career. But that's not enough to push him into applying for one. What is enough is his parents' neverending insistence that he look for a job. While he's planning on applying, he has no intention of putting in much effort. Just enough to get his parents off his back.

Unbeknownst to Iro, he mistakenly attaches an excerpt of his latest work to his application for Beus, a drink company. One would assume this would knock him out of the running, which wouldn't be a massive loss to Iro. But despite his best efforts at lack of effort, Iro gets a call to come in for an interview. Shocked, he does show up, but in casual clothes among many suited-up applicants. Ho-ryung, the CEO, through the group interview, seems to toy with Iro, dropping hints regarding the excerpt, but all Iro cares about is getting out of there and going back home.

Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, Iro gets the job. The reason Iro got the job was because his application, and subsequently his BL novel, got into the hands of CEO Baek Ho-ryung. Ho-ryung would probably never have hired Iro despite his laissez-faire attitude. But upon seeing the love letter, not realizing it's fiction, he assumes it's Iro's love letter, bemoaning a breakup between Iro and his lover. Ho-ryung is curious about how someone could love like that and is determined to meet this romantic up close and personal.

Title: Aporia

Author(s): Seontae

Artist(s): Seontae

Goo Ja-wook is hopelessly in love with the infamous Yoon Gyum. Their relationship began by pure chance. Ja-wook just happened to be scoping out the exclusive club for BDSM enthusiasts, not because he was interested in BDSM, but because his company was being hired to design the space for an upcoming renovation and subsequent event. Ja-wook innocently took a seat at the bar to take down notes and sketch up plans when he was approached by none other than Gyum. Gyum was immediately smitten with Ja-wook, assuming he was a club patron as well, and intent on finding out how compatible they are in the bedroom, invited Ja-wook up to his room. Far too enraptured by Gyum to realize what he's walking into, Ja-wook happily agrees.

After a steamy night, Ja-wook wants nothing more than to be with Gyum, but rather than be asked out officially, Gyum has a different arrangement in mind. Gyum intends to form a dom-sub relationship with Ja-wook. The main stipulation? They never pry into the other's personal lives. What Gyum doesn't realize is that Ja-wook has no interest in being a sub, much less a masochist, but he does have a vested interest in Gyum. Ja-wook agrees for no other reason than that he wants to be with Gyum in any way he can, even if at the risk of his pride and health.

So begins Ja-wook's nosedive into the world of BDSM.

Title: Butler

Author(s): Nabit

Artist(s): Nabit

Seo Yian is a butler at a prestigious hotel where the elite of the elite frequent due to their unmatched service, but more importantly, for their all beta staff. Yian is just another one of those betas, serving as a personal butler for VIP client Yoo Jekwon. Yoo Jekwon is an alpha and a CEO of his own company. He is on a whole other level to most people, but especially to Yian, who feels lucky just to be in his presence every day. Jekwon is mysterious, pretty much living at the hotel. But Yian isn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth and instead takes full advantage of Jekwon's odd living situation.

To take their working relationship to the next level, Yian offers some “special services” to Jekwon. Though Jekwon is initially surprised, he happily accepts, and the two spend many steamy evenings together under the guise of a master-and-servant relationship. Unfortunately, after spending Jekwon's rut in his bed, Yian takes in a lot of alpha pheromones. This has the unfortunate side effect of forcing Yian into a transformation, causing him to manifest into an omega. While this would give Yian the chance to be with an alpha like Jekwon, it means he can no longer work as a butler, a job he adores. Jekwon is more than happy to take responsibility, but with Yian's pheromones being unstable, their relationship status undefined, and the threat of Yian's identity being exposed to his job, Jekwon has his work cut out for him.

All of this is only made worse as Jekwon's stepfather is determined to find any weakness Jekwon might have and exploit it to force his stepson to work in his company.

Title: One-way Romance

Author(s): TESIK

Artist(s): TESIK

Jae-hwan is a reporter. A broke reporter, more specifically, having lost all of his money in the stocks. Looking for a huge scoop to score a huge payday, he turns his attention to the upper crust. More specifically, he focuses on Hong Kong mogul and CEO Heo Chung. He's gotten a tip from a colleague that Heo Chung is going to be at a rooftop party, and Jae-hwan is determined to go and schmooze with Heo Chung, hoping to unearth some juicy gossip at least but to also expose his company's ties to the mafia.

Unfortunately, Jae-hwan isn't the only one looking to hang out with the hot-shot CEO. Every time Jae-hwan tries to get close, a whole gaggle of people surrounds Heo Chung, making it impossible for Jae-hwan to get in to talk to him. Add to the problem that he's been ensnared by a beautiful woman, buying round after round of drinks, and this mission has become impossible if it wasn't already. Sloshed, Jae-hwan's sense of decorum has gone out the window, and he decides to just go for it. He grabs two glasses of wine and makes his way over to Heo Chung, but he, unfortunately, bumps into someone else the media has kept their eye on: Liu Yuan, leader of the Hong Kong mafia group 13.

Jae-hwan spills all of the wine on Liu Yuan just before passing out. When he wakes up, he finds himself chained and in bed, with Liu Yuan explaining that he owes him around $90,000 for the ruined clothes. It goes without saying that Jae-hwan has gotten much more than he ever bargained for. Not only will he probably not get the scoop and subsequent payday he was hoping for, but there's a chance he doesn't make it out of this with his life, either.

Title: Love for Sale

Author(s): Dal HyeonJi

Artist(s): Dal HyeonJi

Namwoo is struggling. He's broke 90% of the time, working all day every day when he isn't in class, and trying to keep it all under wraps from his sister, who desperately wants to help, but who he doesn't want to burden if he can help it. So he suffers in silence, living day by day as best he can on convenience store food in his shoebox apartment. The silence doesn't last for long, though, when all of his stress and desperation come to a head after a night of drinking. While trying to treat his coworker to a coffee for covering for him at work, he can't even afford the coffee. He breaks down right on the spot, crying and wailing no matter who might hear.

As it happens, a kind older man passes by, helps pay for Namwoo's goods, and tries to slip away, only for a drunken Namwoo to follow him out. That man feels compelled to help Namwoo get home, but in Namwoo's drunken stupor, he demands money from the older man. The man placates Namwoo, withdrawing that money, which is hardly enough to cover a month of Namwoo's expenses, and Namwoo, forgetting he had even asked for it, assumes that the man is giving him money for sex. So the moment they get back to Namwoo's apartment, he jumps on the man.

The following day, horrified by his actions and the fact that he's essentially stolen money from a stranger, Namwoo is prepared to go to jail when he meets the stranger. As it turns out, the man is Si-eon, CEO of a publishing company, and rather than being disturbed or offended by Namwoo's drunken antics, he's intrigued. Still, Namwoo wants to pay the man back, but Si-eon refuses, offering a different solution. Si-eon wants to date Namwoo and shower him with all the money he can desire.

Title: Penthouse XXX

Author(s): Bacong

Artist(s): Bacong

Siyeon is leading a double life. Due to his ex, who stole every dime Siyeon had before disappearing, Siyeon is in debt and forced to moonlight as an assassin to make ends meet. He doesn't really know who his employer is. All he knows is that once or twice a month, he receives a package with a pill and information on his next target. So why would they choose a pretty boy like Siyeon to be an assassin? As it turns out, Siyeon is an esper who can manifest ice and change the temperature at will. The pill they send helps amplify his powers for a limited time, and with his abilities, he often causes his targets to have heart attacks by freezing their hearts, leaving no trace of any foul play. Otherwise, he's just a regular guy with freezing hands.

With his debt steadily falling by the day, Siyeon can finally better his living arrangements and goes to see a room that is being rented out in a massive penthouse by the owner of the building, who also lives in the penthouse. The man who answers the door is party animal heir Taekyung. Though Siyeon has sworn off men due to his terrible dating history, Taekyung doesn't make bad eye candy. Unfortunately, after a night of drinking, Siyeon's self-control wanes, and they get hot and heavy in the bedroom. While Siyeon regrets it immediately, Taekyung is all the more intrigued. He wants Siyeon, and he's going to do everything he can to claim him.

Title: On or Off

Author(s): A1

Artist(s): A1

College, for some people, is a time to live it up and have fun before going out into the world and settling down. In the case of Yiyoung and his friends, it is their chance to start their own company. More specifically, they form a game development company, initially led by Yiyoung's oldest and dearest friend, Mina. Unfortunately, due to a family issue, Mina has to leave the company to help support her family. Still, she leaves it in the hands of Yiyoung to manage the rag-tag group and make it a success with minimal funds and very little time. The goal for the company is to create a game for SJ Corporation, one of the biggest companies in the country, but they have to present the game to the company leaders, and for most of the team, social interactions aren't their strongest suit.

In comes Yiyoung, the bubbly and affable leader. Confident in his presenting abilities and social skills, he goes out to SJ Corporation, ready to sell them their game. While preparing for the presentation, in walks Director Kang Daehyung, and he is everything Yiyoung could want in a man and more. But, unfortunately, he is also the man who has the final say on whether Yiyoung's game is worth picking or not. Now full of nerves, Yiyoung fears the worst for the presentation but ends up starting strong. As luck would have it, though, his computer starts going through an update in the middle of the presentation. With time out and the leaders frustrated, Yiyoung is excused from the meeting with no hope of being chosen.

Disheartened, Yiyoung is prepared to call it quits and beg for forgiveness, but a sudden stroke of desperation sends him scrambling to fix his mistake for his team members. He writes up a proposal with a link to the game, sneaks it into Director Kang's office, discovers from his calendar where Director Kang will be that evening, then “coincidentally” runs into him at the bar, where he begs for another chance. Director Kang, suspicious of Yiyoung's intentions, throws out some bait to scare him off: sleep with me, then I'll consider your game proposal. Much to the director's surprise, Yiyoung takes the bait. But just how far is Yiyoung willing to go for his friends? And will he be able to face the director again after their night of passion?

Title: Siren's Song

Author(s): Clarju

Artist(s): Clarju

Yul has lived his entire life hopelessly strung along by others. “Lived” is a generous term. With his life never fully in his control, he has always been forced to follow the whims and commands of those around him. Even as an adult, that hasn't changed. He currently lives in an apartment owned by his adopted brother, who has an unhealthy obsession with him that goes beyond a sibling relationship. In that home, alone and unable to leave, Yul spends his day under surveillance and composing music that is presented to the world under his brother's name. His only solace is out on the apartment balcony, where he can sing and smoke to his heart's content.

Yul's small world is rocked, though, when one evening on the balcony, his singing is overheard by a neighbor on the balcony above. The neighbor Luan is immediately drawn to Yul for an inexplicable reason. However, Yul allows Luan to begin his plan for revenge against everyone who made his life hell, even if he has to destroy Yul in the process. Luan doesn't expect that as he grows closer to Yul and begins to uncover the history behind his existence, Luan not only wants revenge for himself but for Yul as well. But what he fears more than anything now is losing or hurting Yul amid his vengeful warpath.

CEOs

Manhwa Review | Don’t Get Me Wrong, Boss! by Limeho

Manhwa Review | One-way Romance by TESIK

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