Drama
A category or genre of narrative fiction intended to be more serious than humorous in tone.
Manga Review | My Darling Has My Favorite by Tsutako Tsurusawa
Manhwa Review | Love for Sale by Dal HyeonJi
Broke College Student Drunkenly Asks Older Man for Money and Ends Up in Transactional Relationship
Manhwa Review | Kinks in Development by NAS
Title: Kinks in Development
Jaewon’s life has been pretty smooth since moving in with his casual sex partner. In exchange for sex, he’s fed, clothed, and housed without having to do much else, which is a great deal as far as Jaewon is concerned. He spends his days idly until his partner asks him to sign up for martial arts classes at the dojang he works at. Jaewon isn’t interested, but if that’s all he asks, he could do that, at least. He joins a class, inadvertently joining under the tutelage of a former classmate, Jung-wook.
For whatever reason, Jung-wook seems to have it out for Jaewon, not that Jaewon is making it hard for him. Jaewon is lazy and self-important, spending class time napping or playing around, and while that’s enough to draw the ire of Jung-wook, the reasons are so much deeper than that. Jung-wook and Jaewon got close in middle school, far closer than friends. They kissed and shared some of the most intimate moments of their lives, both when they needed it the most. Jung-wook was ruthlessly bullied and tortured in school, and though Jaewon never came to his defense, he often lessened the bullying as much as he could by hanging out with the bullies. Jung-wook was fine with this arrangement, and he was fine even when Jaewon ended up spreading a rumor around the school, making the bullying worse.
What Jung-wook couldn’t stand was Jaewon moving on and abandoning him. Jung-wook wants revenge, and he’s willing to give Jaewon his body if he can get revenge. What Jung-wook doesn’t know is that Jaewon doesn’t remember anything about his betrayal. He hardly remembers Jung-wook at all, and he’s all too happy to go on this lusty ride of vengeance.
Manhwa Review | Surge Towards You by Cheongyeon
Title: Surge Towards You
Cheong-ho is a prolific athlete. He’s an Olympic-grade swimmer, but his position is constantly questioned with his diminishing records. His condition would be better as an alpha if he would have sex with an omega, but his fear and repulsion toward omega pheromones make it impossible. Due to a traumatic event in his childhood, Cheong-ho can’t stand being around omegas, which is part of why he loves to swim because they can’t trigger him in the water. With suppressants, he can achieve his goal of being a professional swimmer, but with them being banned as performance enhancers and considered doping, Cheong-ho’s future in the sport is bleak.
At the end of his rope, he tries exposure therapy to overcome his repulsion. While in a park, he encounters someone hanging out on a bridge. The person looks unwell, which leads to them passing out and falling into the water below. Without hesitation, Cheong-ho jumps in to rescue them, but upon pulling them out of the water, he discovers that it is an omega in heat. Strangely enough, he isn’t put off by them, but the reason is even stranger still: they’re odorless. The person he rescued is Olympic figure skater Yi-rim, a “defective” omega with odorless pheromones.
Yi-rim has never been able to attract an alpha since no one can smell his scent, and, as such, he assumed his life would be lonely until he met Cheong-ho. Cheong-ho needs Yi-rim, and Yi-rim will give anything to be with Cheong-ho, even at the risk of his heart.
Manga Review | A Strange & Mystifying Story by Tsuta Suzuki
Title: A Strange & Mystifying Story
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?
Manhwa Review | DEAR. DOOR by Pluto
Title: DEAR. DOOR
Kyungjoon is struggling. He’s doing everything he can to keep it together while out on the beat as a police officer, but the moment he gets back to his empty apartment, he’s forced to remember that his girlfriend and fiance have died. He spends evenings mourning her death while recreating moments of their life together and tending to the plants she left behind. Kyungjoon is stuck, with no sign of moving forward, not that he even wants to, to begin with. Thankfully, the rising threat of a cult keeps him busy, but the nights are still lonely.
He’s at home alone, as always, when something comes flying in from the balcony, breaking into his apartment. Rather than fearing for his safety, he’s more worried about the plants that have been destroyed. He can’t focus on this new loss for long, though, as a strange, humanoid, demonic creature appears before him alongside another demon. They’re discussing all kinds of things like “doors,” “mana,” and “war,” but none of it makes any sense to Kyungjoon. Then, before he can even begin to wrap his head around this chaotic scenario, Kyungjoon feels immense pain, so strong he feels that he’s ripped apart from the inside out.
As it turns out, he has become the door for the king of the western faction of hell, Cain. What does it mean to be a door? He is the way the demon king can go to hell and back to the earthly realm. Cain can open the door with a spell, which is the terrible pain Kyungjoon was subjected to. Or, he can use much more… pleasurable methods. Will Kyungjoon be able to maintain his dignity and sanity amid this civil war in hell, or will he meet the fate of every cultist that has been a door thus far and die?
Manhwa Review | Love Shuttle by Aeju
Title: Love Shuttle
Doyun feels like he’s only a half-omega. From the time he was small, it was clear he wouldn’t be the standard, stereotypical omega. As the youngest of four, all his older brothers being alphas, he was the strongest and tallest. What’s worse is that he has never gone into heat, which means he can’t get pregnant, nor can he sense or put out pheromones to attract alphas. Doyun isn’t all that concerned, content with his life as it is, though it does bother him when people assume he is an alpha based solely on his build. The main worry is that one day he might randomly manifest and won’t be able to protect himself, but there is no sign of that happening anytime soon, so Doyun isn’t all that worried about it.
One evening, after having his regular scuffles at work with his coworker Taehan, Doyun is hanging out at home, trying to sleep, when he is struck with a panicky feeling. His body is heating up, and his heart is racing. He’s never felt anything like this before, but he’s pretty sure he knows what this is: his first heat. He calls his doctor, who rushes over, only to find that the feeling he had is gone. The following day, at an after-work dinner with his coworkers, Doyun sits beside Taehan when that feeling hits him again. This time, though, he puts out pheromones that everyone at the table can smell. The only one who realizes it’s coming from Doyun is Taehan, and when Doyun attempts to leave on his own, Taehan follows.
Rather than Taehan taking advantage of Doyun, Doyun ends up pouncing on Taehan, leading to Doyun’s first night in full heat with an alpha. The next day, panicked, Doyun rushes away from Taehan, hoping he’ll just forget the whole thing. While they agree to put it behind them, Doyun’s body doesn’t seem interested in forgetting, going into heat over and over again whenever Taehan is near. Why can’t Doyun seem to escape Taehan’s allure?
Manga Review | No One Said Anything About a Baby! -What Happens When a Military Man Meets Alien Tentacles!?- by Yuzuru Mikumo
Title: No One Said Anything About a Baby! -What Happens When a Military Man Meets Alien Tentacles!?-
Yu is a sergeant in the army. Things have been way different than he ever imagined in this role when he was a child because aliens have made contact with Earth. Thankfully, this alien race only came with the best of intentions: we’ll give you all of our technology and advancements if you let us breed with your people. The alien race is from the planet Lambda, the Lambadians. They are a peaceful people, with their only intent being to propagate their species further. The human race is an optimal one, and the citizens of Earth are happy to make the trade.
Yu imagined flying choppers and the like, but with all of the innovations provided by the Lambadians, helicopters and many other technologies, once commonplace in the army, have been replaced with much more advanced variations. In Yu’s country, there still isn’t much in the way of breeding between humans and the Lambadians, but that might just change when Yu is assigned as the guide for Lambadian diplomat Sui. It isn’t love at first sight for either of them, but Sui is determined to breed with Yu because Yu stole Sui’s heart when he was just a child.
Unfortunately, men are perfectly capable of giving birth when breeding with a Lambadian, and Yu must avoid that fate for three months while Sui is on Earth. Can Yu protect himself from Sui’s wiles? Or will he be the first human male to give birth to a Lambadian child?
Manhwa Review | Hold Me Safe by Mocho
Title: Hold Me Safe
Han Jaehwa is a prolific mystery and crime novelist. He’s so prolific that his work is being adapted into live-action. Unfortunately, while he is a beloved novelist, those who know him in person aren’t as big of a fan of him. He’s prickly, never mincing words, no matter how harsh they may be. This leads to a lot of gossip, including rumors about him being gay (which he is) and having sex to get what he wants (which he doesn’t). Jaehwa couldn’t care less about what people have to say about him, just happy to live the way he wants without appeasing anyone.
Life is all good until Jaehwa comes home to find things moved around. Someone has been in his house. Fearing for his safety, Jaehwa hires a bodyguard, Seong Taekyung. As it happens, the bodyguard is exactly Jaehwa’s type, and after some heated moments between the two, they shift their professional relationship into an intimate situationship. The two are having fun together, and Jaehwa feels much safer, so everything is set to return to normal.
That is until a fan letter, full of razor blades comes in through the mail. The stalker has clearly not been deterred by Taekyung’s presence, and it seems their moves will only get more violent. Can Taekyung catch the stalker before he becomes someone worse? And can Jaehwa keep his relationship with Taekyung casual, or will he inevitably fall in love with his protector and the only person he can trust right now?
Manhwa Review | I’m Yours, Blood and Soul by GyaGa
Title: I'm Yours, Blood and Soul
Deok Bokhee is a vampire. At least once a week, if not more, he goes out to the clubs on the hunt for his next meal. He ends up with an impressive catch that leads to a steamy moment in the bathroom, then evolves to an even steamier time in a hotel room. The two are very compatible, which makes this meal all the more delectable. Bokhee is just about to take a bite of his prey when, out of nowhere, the man he’s in bed with sprouts little black wings. As it turns out, the man he thought was a human is a demon, also on the hunt for a meal.
Kim Mariam is that demon. While the sex was great, the prey wasn’t what he expected. Thankfully, vampires are just as edible as humans, if not more so, since vampires are immortal and have multiple souls inside them, thanks to their own hunger, often causing the death of others. So, Mariam isn’t all that put off, but Bokhee seems to be beyond disgusted. After Bokhee goes off to shower, Mariam takes a moment to rifle through Bokhee’s belongings, discovering an unusual bottle among his things. Thirsty and not worried about what’s in the bottle since he’s immortal, he gulps it down.
Unfortunately, that was a bottle of Bokhee’s 500-year-old vampire blood, and whoever drinks it creates a link with Bokhee that will make it so Bokhee can only drink from that person. Bokhee is beyond upset, as the only way to break the link is for one of them to die. As a demon, Mariam will never die, and Bokhee is not interested in dying. So these two are now forced together, and while Bokhee desperately wants out of this contract, Mariam seems all too happy to be linked to the resistant vampire. All while they are struggling to deal with this new connection, there is a serial killer whose murders resemble a vampire killing, and that puts Bokhee in the crosshairs of the police.
Manga Review | I Love my Best Friend by Washio Tobi
Title: I Love my Best Friend
Yoichi has been in love with Shige for as long as he can remember. Shige was the first person he came out to in high school, and though Shige was accepting and Yoichi also planned on confessing his feelings at the same time, Shige also made it clear he didn’t understand why a man would love another man. Knowing that confessing to Shige would probably mean the end of their relationship, Yoichi buries his love. If he can’t be with Shige romantically, he at least wants to maintain their friendship. It’s painful, but being with Shige any way Yoichi can is worth it.
But his efforts are dashed when Shige approaches him with an odd request: “Let me eat your dick.” Apparently, after suddenly noticing the man in the porn he was watching, he wondered if the woman actually enjoyed giving oral sex or not. Wanting to see for himself if it’s as enjoyable as it seems, Shige wants to try it out on the only person he believes he can trust and who might enjoy it: Yoichi. To say Yoichi is shocked would be an understatement. He’s so shocked that he can’t resist when Shige goes on with his plan.
After all is said and done, can Yoichi continue to be friends with Shige? Or has this physical relationship gone one step too far? One thing’s for sure: No matter how hard he’s tried, his love for Shige has never been buried.