muse ✨'s manga / #Manhwa(4)

Shiwoo returns home one day to find an injured man in strange clothing asleep outside of his apartment. The man can't speak Korean but seems astonished to see him and kisses him. After a few days and a brief crash-course in modern Korean, Shiwoo learns that the man's name is Jun, that he comes from another time, and that Shiwoo is the spitting image of Jun's husband. I would've liked to have seen a bit more development with regards to the idea of parallel universes. Was Shiwoo actually Myung's reincarnation or his double in another universe? Was the birthmark a coincidence? How did Jun arrive here? Why did Jun arrive with his memories? Does any of that matter? Maybe not. This story was ultimately about Jun accepting the loss of his spouse and moving on with life - and the same was true for Shiwoo as well. I liked the parallel with his missing brother and the hope that, like Jun and Myung, perhaps he is alive somewhere. The translator's comments throughout made me laugh, especially the dig about Onodera. I laughed out loud and had to save it.

Well this feels like a world of heartache just waiting to slam into me. The MC is a brat just turned adult and the prostitute he had sex with once actually has a serious thing for the MC's father. If they're the destined pair, it'll be a loooooong time before we see any emotional build between them, but I understand this is ending soon due to the author's health. (I feel awful for the author. I hope they recover.) Chapters are short and not much happens in each one, so I don't think we'll get much more in terms of character build. The art is beautiful, though.

After Haebom has spent his childhood believing he was hated by the boy who had been his closest friend, Taesung, they end up in the same class. Taesung - who has avoided him for years - begins to come to his rescue from bullies, sit with him in the lunch room, and walk with him to and from school. Slowly, they patch up their fractured friendship and realize they're in love with each other, find an apartment, and go away to college. But then a horrible stalker appears and messes things up for a few chapters. He's toast now, so I hope we get a bit more romance now.

I followed this on Lezhin for a year until the current love triangle (for lack of a better term) storyline started up, and I finally dropped the story when Siwon was kidnapped, which made me sad, because at one point this was something I looked forward to. It doesn't feel like the author wants Siwon and Jinha together anymore. So much of the confusion could've been cleared up with direct, honest conversation, but the kidnapping and forced jealousy aren't for me. I wonder if the author got bored with their own work? If the story ever reclaims the hints of sweetness it once had (Jun and Siwon's childhood story made me cry), and if Siwon can overcome his fear of what society will think of him, there's a chance for a good ending. But right now, this has skewed too far for me to enjoy.