I’m not sure I’ve ever fallen so fast for a story. February’s manhwa of the month is hilarious, spicy, and endearing. If you haven’t read Punch Drunk Love yet – seriously, you must get on it. If you like workplace romances, power imbalances, manipulation, and nerds with a kinky side, then you will be in absolute heaven.
Something magical is happening with this story because it takes everyone’s least favorite trope, miscommunication, and makes it work so well. Our main character, Seon-woo, is nerdy and complacent about being ordinary. He seems fine with his non-existent love life and shoves all his desires into his fantasies. That fantasy realm is the one thing about his life that isn’t ordinary—it’s extraordinarily kinky.
We meet Seon-woo after he had been obsessing over his new colleague, Tae-moon, for precisely 157 days. At this point, Seon-woo can’t keep his fantasies about Tae-moon from bleeding into his everyday life. He even goes so far as to write three-page diary entries about him while on the clock at work. When they have a one-on-one meeting regarding a professional matter, Seon-woo catches a glimpse of a gay dating app notification on Tae-moon’s phone and propositions him in the heat of the moment.
I love that this stoy immediately subverts the supervisor/subordinate trope by having the underling make a pass at someone above him in the workplace. This subversion takes the power imbalance between them and levels the playing field. Seon-woo is also the bottom in this series, and while that would usually stereotype him as the one getting used – in this instance, he is the one who takes the lead and manipulates the top into falling in love with him.
The overarching miscommunication at work is that Seon-woo believes Tae-moon has a reputation for being into BDSM. Tae-moon isn’t into that scene but plays along to scare off Seon-woo. Hilariously, this is what Seon-woo wanted all along, and he attempts to feign ignorance and play his cards just right to make him even more domineering in their interactions. He notes how much he loves Tae-moon’s angry face and intentionally provokes him to get even more worked up. He even acknowledges that pretending to be humiliated and not revealing how into it he is will keep Tae-moon interested. This trickiness made me love Seon-woo so much; he knows how to play a man even though he has never done it before.
I love to see the unexpected person in a relationship hold all the power. While Tae-moon tries his best to gain control of the situation, which should be easy given the reputation he has as a playboy, the virginal Seon-woo has him figured out in a heartbeat and already wrapped around his little finger. This dynamic shows us that no amount of experience can prepare us to fall in love.
This manhwa is gorgeous and full-color from the cover art to the last page. Moscareto is the author, and Okdong illustrates the art. It is censored but extremely explicit anyway. It’s completed online, available on Manta, and has two volumes in English print published by Seven Seas Entertainment. I am going to be collecting this series in physical editions and not reading it online to consolidate my spending, but let me tell you, volume one has left me itching and impatient to keep reading!
I hope you all enjoyed this pick for the manhwa of the month! The podcast will be released on February 15th, covering volume one of this series. If you haven’t subscribed on YouTube or your favorite podcast app, do so now to never miss a new episode! Until next time, remember, sometimes the delusion is the solution! Bye!
Yours in Deep Delusion
Courtney