chlorine's Manga

It's giving Wattpad. One of the better Wattpad stories, but still Wattpad. The characters are hot though, and the art style is nice

[UPDATE]

So I actually originally read this in March 2023 and hadn't read it since for some reason, so I actually ended up rereading the whole thing from the start—and bro, that original comment I made I still feel is a perfect encapsulation of this story. Like . . . This is literally a Wattpad story come to life. But I ain't mad.

When I originally read this, I gave it only three stars. I've bumped it up to four, though it is a very soft four. I feel like at its core, this is just a very silly, very fun story, and you just can't really get mad at that. It balanced its tone incredibly well, delivering both good comedic scenes and rather tense serious scenes. Its comedy didn't take away from its moments of gravity nor demean its serious plotlines.

Condensed down, this story is about an actor called Kang Dahyeok who's aspiring to be featured in a noir film but is finding it difficult due to everyone thinking he's too "pretty" for that genre—so when he meets a mysterious, scary-looking man called Taeman, he becomes enamored by him, and wants to grow closer to him as to "study his face" so he can learn to carry himself with the same mystery and edge that Taeman does. Only, Taeman is a serial killer, and when they fall in love, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep that a secret.

I'm quite weak to plots like that, honestly. With the secret identity and the way that secret just creates increasingly difficult-to-explain situations. It's both dramatic and funny, especially with this story and the way the secret identity is being a serial killer.

But with the mention of that, the serial killer aspect is the one obvious thing in this story that I wish was treated just a little differently. At the end of the story, the author says she and her editor agreed that if they want a happy ending, they can't have Taeman kill anyone . . . The serial killer. The can't have the serial killer kill anyone. Do you see how fucking stupid that sounds? I could go on and on about how stupid I think that is but I don't think I need to.

Another thing I am quite disappointed with is the subplot about Kim Seolho and the boss. For context, Seolho and Taeman are killers who work for someone they just refer to as "the boss," and Seolho has a huge crush on him. Every time Seolho gets blackout drunk, he comes onto the boss and they share a kiss before Seolho passes out. He's never able to remember it the following morning . . . Except for this one time. And my issue with this subplot is that it's just not needed at all, it's insanely underutilized considering I liked both characters and was quite interested in how this subplot would develop. But it doesn't develop at all. Out of nearly eighty chapters, they share, like . . . Maybe five scenes together. I imagine it's something that'll be addressed in the side stories if they come, but considering this is present in the main story, it should've had an at least semi-satisfying conclusion in the main story.

I loved pretty much every character. This artist has a really obvious type—big, pale guys with black hair and severe circles under the eyes—but I'm feasting 'cause that's my type too.

Taeman actually reminded me a lot of Mokhwa from Beware of the Full Moon In March. He's literally just Mokhwa if Mokhwa was slightly easier to read and just a little bit more expressive. I guess I like those types of characters—the big men of few words with a jaded past who if you're able to push down the brick wall they hide themselves behind, they're actually quite sweet, and honestly just cute.

Dahyeok is like the polar opposite. He's comedically expressive, and he's quite rash, especially near the ending—which was great character development. I loved how this relationship brought out his more wild side, and how he was willing to sacrifice everything for that relationship and that man. Throughout the whole story, all he wants is to be featured in a noir film, and when he finally lands an audition, he has to choose within himself whether he goes through with the audition or to leave it and search for Taeman, who was in danger. And I dunno, I just love moments like that. I think it's so sweet