Fake Romance / Contractual Relationships
These works feature the main character or multiple leads pretending to be in a romantic or sexual relationship for any reason.
Manhwa Review | Define the Relationship by Flona
Stoic Alpha Enters an Intimate Contract With a Romantic Alpha
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 | PAID by Fujoking
Title: PAID
Heejae is known as the conglomerate prince. He is part of the Jinhwa group, founded and controlled by his family, the Yeon family. His elder brother, Heekyum, is a chairman, and Heejae is a board member. For most people in Heejae’s position, this would afford him all manner of luxuries. However, while he does have the title and the money, he isn’t nearly as well-off as one would assume he should be as a person of his standing, living in a studio apartment and being left out of most significant decisions regarding the company. But Heejae doesn’t care all that much, just happy to live his life the way he wants… as much as he can under his brother’s thumb, that is.
Unfortunately, Heejae isn’t the brightest bulb in the box, and when his closest friend and secretary, Haeju, mentions a chance to get back at Heekyum by embezzling one million won, Heejae is more than happy to go along with it. Unfortunately, they don’t consider the bag with their contract and ledger, all with the evidence of their embezzlement inside accidentally getting swapped with someone else’s on public transportation. Thankfully, the bag was taken by a regular guy, Taekyung, who would probably have no idea what he had.
Paranoid and desperate to keep himself safe, Heejae decides to tail Taekyung, but when he is inevitably caught, his only excuse is that he is attracted to Taekyung. Thankfully, Taekyung is happy to go along with Heejae’s whims, and to keep Taekyung close, Heejae asks him to move in with him. With Taekyung agreeing, Heejae assumes everything is in his control. Unfortunately, he doesn’t anticipate Taekyung wanting to consummate their new relationship, and if Heejae wants to stay under the radar, he will have to go along with everything. Everything.
Manga Review | My Frilly Secret by Tamuko Kuwata
Title: My Frilly Secret
Aoi is known as the gloomy kid with no friends, and he agrees. However, it’s not for lack of trying. He would like to have friends, but his insecurities regarding his hobbies make it hard for him to reach out. His hobby in question? He enjoys the art of cross-dressing. Since he was a small child, Aoi has always been drawn to cute and feminine things, which he expresses in his bedroom decor and his collection of dresses, wigs, and accessories. Unfortunately, due to his insecurity, Aoi is forced to hide his hobby at home, unable to express himself publically.
One day, Aoi sees a dress he is drawn to. Unfortunately, the dress is $300, which is way out of his price range. Disheartened, he is forced to leave the dress behind… until his sister and classmates mention a method of earning money through “sugar daddies,” aka compensated dating. Interested in the opportunity, Aoi signs up for a profile and mentions his hobby in the listing, which draws the attention of a rather enthusiastic customer. While on the date, the customer pushes Aoi into going with him to a hotel to take photos of him while cross-dressing, which has Aoi on red alert and panicking.
Things aren’t looking so good until Yuto, one of Aoi’s silent and stoic classmates, comes in and rescues him. On the way out of the rescue, though, Aoi ends up exposing his cross-dressing hobby to Yuto. Thankfully, Yuto doesn’t seem bothered by it. Instead, he almost seems interested. In exchange for Yuto’s heroic rescue, Yuto asks for one thing in return: date him while cross-dressing so he can become comfortable with women. Grateful for all Yuto has done for him, Aoi agrees. Over time, though, Aoi begins to question why Yuto is so affectionate and kind, even though their romance is fake. Meanwhile, the enthusiastic “sugar daddy” continues to lurk around.
Manhwa Review | Undercover Partners by JayJay
Title: Undercover Partners
Kyuho Je is over being a conglomerate family heir. He is looking for any way possible to get out from under his family while maintaining his lifestyle for himself. He finds the answer to all his problems through a money-laundering expert by the codename “Smurf,” who, in the real world, is known as Kangha Nam. Once Kyuho catches Kangha, he extorts him into entering a contract. Kangha will help Kyuho launder money from Jeho corporation, his family’s corporation, while acting as Kyuho’s lover. Kangha isn’t all that willing to go along with it at first, but when Kyuho offers to compensate him at any price Kangha sees fit, the offer is just too good to be true.
Kyuho gets to work on his plan immediately. He gets Kangha on at work as his secretary and begins setting the stage for their very fake but very public romance. Kangha charges for every touch, every event, and every favor, which grows his nest egg exponentially. However, as time goes on and they spend more and more time in these compromising scenarios, it becomes much harder to distinguish what emotions are real and which are just part of the act. While Kyuho and Kangha try to identify the legitimacy of their feelings and relationship, the looming threat of their illegal schemes being discovered is ready to ruin everything.