Checkmate by Tan

[reviews_and_ramblings]

 

The colored rivals-to-lovers Boys’ Love webtoon/manhwa (comic) is coming to print in English for the first time!

Detached. Disinterested. Dispassionate. All words used to describe Soohyun and his uneventful, mediocre life. He’s nothing like he once was. As a teen, he had a fire, a passion burning within, all thanks to one person: bright-haired and brilliant Eunsung. Throughout high school, Soohyun obsessively competed with Eunsung for the top spot in all things, only to consistently come in second place. And as high school ended without victory, so did his passion for anything. But all this changes when, as an adult, he suddenly sees Eunsung again—except the other man is in the news, embroiled in scandal! Seeing Eunsung in a state of shame ignites something in Soohyun. Fiery hate, long thought dead, comes alive within him once more.

Determined to see a fallen Eunsung with his own eyes, Soohyun reinvents himself as a reporter and begins dishing out one dirty article after another. He’s sure that with each scathing article, Eunsung will come crawling to Soohyun and begging for mercy. Except, it doesn't happen. Eunsung doesn’t react at all the way Soohyun expects! Just who is being manipulated, and who, the manipulator?

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/3SecS61)

It's clear to everyone that Soohyun was in love with Eunsung, probably the only one who didn't know is Soohyun himself. His life after leaving high school, and therefore being separated from Eunsung is one boring day after the other, and one Eunsung comes back into his life is like a spark that ignites his inner fire again. I like how Soohyun is saying he hates Eunsung, how he wants to see him suffer, but all he is doing is making Eunsung fall for him and therefore staking his claim. Despite having a dark theme, the story between them was really cute, and I loved how the artist mixed neat panels with pretty and funny chibis, being not at all distracting, but actually having you fall even more in love with these two.