BL Library - Debtors

Manhwa Review | Bongchon Bride by Gaepi

Title: Bongchon Bride

Author(s): Gaepi

Artist(s): Gaepi

Soongap is enslaved. The child of a concubine, when his mother died, he lost his place in the household, passed on to another master, and was raised by his grandmother. Alongside him, he had a childhood friend, and as they grew up, their friendship evolved into a romantic partnership, which allowed them to plan and hope for the future. They wanted to work and buy their freedom, then move away to have their own farm and home together. Unfortunately, before they ever get the chance, Soongap's lover, who has been chronically ill since childhood, ends up bedridden. No matter how hard Soongap tries to save him, he inevitably passes away.

Depressed and hopeless, Soongap just goes through the motions until he discovers his master's daughter having a secret love affair with another woman. Seeing himself in her, Soongap makes it a point to try and help them be together. Unfortunately, his efforts fail, and he is beaten nearly to death for his actions. Soongap is willing to simply fade away, only to wake up in an unfamiliar house. As it turns out, his master, a miser, sold him to a man who works his fields for fifty sacks of rice. The man is enormous and unkempt, with rumors that he is a murderer or a monster. Yet, he carefully nurses Soongap back to health, resembling a teddy bear more than a monster. His new master is Bongchun, and over time, being doted on and dubbed his ‘darling' to trick Bongchun's ailing mother into thinking Soongap is his bride, Soongap finds himself wanting to live for Bongchun.

Just as his life settles into a comfortable routine, a remnant from his past, back when his mother was still alive, comes to call. It's his younger half-brother, Pilgyeon. Pilgyeon has come to take back Soongap — not as an enslaved person, but as his lover. But Soongap never had any affection for his brother, and that hasn't changed. He has no intention of leaving his new master, and he'll do everything he can to protect his newfound happiness.

Title: Monstrous Heart (Tapas) | Ogus's Law (all other platforms)

Author(s): SYball

Artist(s): SYball

Johnathan Su is a human. Yet, he has been accepted into the prestigious monster academy: Augustine Academy. Why would a human be able to apply to such a place, and why would he even want to attend such a place when many monsters' primary source of energy and sustenance is humans? Johnathan's mother is drowning in debt. While he could easily move on in life and leave her to deal with it, he would never do such a thing. Unwilling to let his mother go into further debt, putting him through college, he can attend Augustine Academy for free and allow the monsters there to learn about humans through his presence there.

There are safety precautions in place in the form of laws that prevent the monsters in the academy from harming human students, but that doesn't mean the danger is gone. Still, Johnathan finds the risks worth it and attends all the same. Within just a few days, he's assaulted and attacked by various monsters. Eventually, he learns about the Pal system, where a human partners with a monster. This partnership opens both individuals up to more opportunities, including the ability to leave campus, and requires the monster to become an unofficial bodyguard for their human.

Johnathan initially intends on becoming the pal to a bunny demon, but the bunny turns out to be a serial killer, having murdered numerous humans and demons alike in revenge for them abandoning him or bullying him. Johnathan, after coming upon his latest kill, ends up being his next victim. Before the bunny can successfully kill and consume Johnathan, Lucian Yu, the infamous black fox demon, swoops in and kills the bunny. Unfortunately, Johnathan's wound is to his heart, and he's facing death. Despite his better judgment, Lucian hands over one of his three hearts to Johnathan, keeping him alive while also intrinsically tying these two together for the foreseeable future.

It's hard enough being a human and a blacklisted species of monster, but beneath the pristine veneer of Augustine, numerous plots are stirring that could alter the monster world forever.

Title: Bound to Be Fools

Author(s): gahyun

Artist(s): gahyun

Kangjin Cha was on the cusp of taking his own life in high school. He was ready to jump off the top of a building at school, hoping to embarrass his overbearing and cruel father as well as escape his suffering. Before he can go through with his plan, Jungkwon Jang, another student, rushes to the rooftop and snatches Kangjin down back to the safety of the roof. Having been rescued by a stranger, Kangjin is desperate to learn more about his savior and, to do so demands that Jungkwon take responsibility for the life he saved. Jungkwon reluctantly agrees.

Over time, the two become the best of friends. It isn't long after that that the two end up becoming boyfriends. They are the epitome of happiness with each other. But outside of their relationship, their individual lives are fraught with pain and suffering. Jungkwon, in particular, is struggling with the immense debt left behind by his late father, who committed suicide. The debt collectors are once again hounding his mother, and he is desperately trying to protect both his sister and his mother from the violence, only for Kangjin to come in and bear witness to one of the most embarrassing times in his life. He loves Kangjin, but he never wanted him to see him so low.

In a fit of rage, Jungkwon breaks up with Kangjin and refuses to see him ever again. Kangjin is absolutely heartbroken, Jungkwon's love being the one bright spot in his life. Kangjin's sorrow eventually swells into rage, and even years later, as an adult working as a host and sex worker, he still finds his life being directed by the trauma that abandonment caused him. When Kangjin ends up running into Jungkwon, all of those feelings come back to the surface, and Kangjin wants nothing more than to finally get revenge. As it happens, Jungkwon is still struggling with debt and desperate for a way to dig himself and his family back out, and what better way to get his vengeance than to drag Jungkwon into the same muck Kangjin is rolling in?

Title:

Author(s): Tsuta Suzuki

Artist(s): Tsuta Suzuki

Aki's family is cursed, specifically on his mother's side. Unfortunately, the curse isn't limited to his mother's side. His father, who married in, suffered from the same affliction and ended up with the same fate as Aki's mother and many other family members over the years: death. The only one left is Aki's grandfather, who is frail and sick, just like all of his family members who passed before him. In his final moments, Aki's grandfather tells Aki about someone who can help him survive the curse but doesn't provide much more information before he passes.

On his own, Aki is doing his best to get through life but grows frail as he is struck with an incurable disease he attributes to the curse. After passing out and being unable to return to work, Aki is desperate to keep himself alive and beat the curse. As he is on the cusp of succumbing to the curse, he follows his grandfather's advice and finds a bone hidden away. Disheartened by the useless discovery, Aki is ready to accept his fate when he gets blood on the bone, causing it to grow and expand with more bones, flesh, muscles, and skin until it takes the form of a half-man, half-god.

As it turns out, Aki's family acquired a guardian deity. The reason Aki's grandfather was able to live to old age is that this guardian deity helped consume the curse, prolonging his life. Aki can hardly believe it until the deity reaches into his body and pulls out a part of the curse, providing instant relief. Unfortunately, the best way for this deity to find the curse is to be intimate with the person. Now that Aki has completed the contract by giving the deity a name, Setsu, he has to suffer through the uncomfortable touch to keep himself alive. Even as he continues to claim he dislikes it all, he finds himself looking forward to the pleasure he can receive from Setsu. Once Setsu isn't needed anymore, he'll turn back into bone. Once the curse is cured, can Aki return to a life without Setsu?

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: Intense

Author(s): Kyungha Yi

Artist(s): Kyungha Yi

Jiwoon Kang is nothing more than collateral. After his father, in debt to a large criminal organization, kills himself, the boss, Yoonshik, takes Jiwoon on as collateral. The boss trains him up so Jiwoon can someday work off the debt. In the meantime, Jiwoon learns to kill and becomes Yoonshik's right-hand man. In an open secret, Jiwoon also plays the cooperative, though the unenthusiastic role of Yoonshik's lover. When Yoonshik is sent to prison, Jiwoon is hidden in the redlight district, where he protects the working girls. There, he meets Soohan Lee.

Soohan Lee is mute. He just happened upon the redlight district years ago and, ever since, has taken up residence there, doing odd jobs for a little bit of cash and a roof over his head. His life is rather mundane, even in the bustling streets, that is, until he meets Jiwoon. After getting beaten up while defending a working girl from a customer, Jiwoon comes upon Soohan bloodied up on the ground. Despite their odd circumstances, Jiwoon is compelled to kiss Soohan, which he does. This sends them down a dangerous path fraught with jealousy, violence, crime, and more.

But in the end, will it be worth the struggle?

Title: From Points of Three

Author(s): White Eared

Artist(s): White Eared

Jisuh is in a lot of debt. Due to his last relationship, which ended in Jisuh having to bail out his cheating boyfriend from some thugs using all of his savings and loans, Jisuh has trouble trusting anyone. He is more than happy to form a physical relationship with someone, but if there's even a chance he could get hurt, he's quick to cut ties and run. This rule applies to the famous actor Woo Heejae.

Jisuh happens to meet Heejae on a drama set where Jisuh is filming, and Heejae is the lead actor. Heejae isn't initially drawn to him as he's pretty plain-looking, but then Jisuh calls Heejae a snake. Having never been perceived in such a way, Heejae is immediately attracted to Jisuh's view of things. So, Heejae comes up with a plan to pull Jisuh into his grasp.

In exchange for helping pay off Jisuh's debt, Heejae wants Jisuh to film him and his partner Sun-yool during their BDSM play. And while Jisuh's role is a viewer, he imagines himself as a participant. What a surprise it is when Heejae reaches out to him and invites him to join them. It's just a physical relationship. Nothing could go wrong, right?

Title: My Dashing Delivery Driver

Author(s): Sabamiso

Artist(s): Sabamiso

Isshin just lost his job. Thankfully, the super hot and outgoing delivery man Haze is there to offer him a position at the delivery business he works at. Surely, this can't be any harder than what he did at his company job, right? Wrong. As it turns out, the delivery business is pretty labor intensive, which explains how Haze ended up with his ripped body.

Regardless, thankful for the opportunity to get so close and personal with Haze, Isshin does his best to succeed. After his first major blunder, his coworkers decide to throw him a celebration, much to Isshin's dismay. It only gets worse when Haze arrives to take part in celebrating his mistake. To dull the embarrassment, Isshin drinks excessively, resulting in him throwing up all over Haze and, in turn, his leather jacket.

With the jacket ruined and possibly even his chance with Haze ruined along with it, Isshin is determined to pay back Haze for the jacket. Haze is more than happy to take him up on the offer, taking advantage of the situation to work Isshin harder at work. Plus, this gives Haze the chance to tease his secret admirer, but what happens when Isshin takes the bait?

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?

Debtors

Manhwa Review | Bongchon Bride by Gaepi

Manhwa Review | Bound to Be Fools by gahyun

Manga Review | A Strange & Mystifying Story by Tsuta Suzuki

Manhwa Review | Intense by Kyungha Yi

Manga Review | My Dashing Delivery Driver by Sabamiso

Tags