백만원의 로맨스

BAEGMAN-WONUI ROMANCE

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
Not Available
RELEASE
April 9, 2023
CHAPTERS
103

DESCRIPTION

"Will this make you happy?" Nam-Woo wakes up one night to find bills sprawled all over his room - along with the hazy memory of a handsome stranger. Even in his wildest dreams, all Nam-Woo wants is to have enough money to survive each month. Si-Eon, on the other hand, has everything he could ever want except happiness. Intrigued by Nam-Woo's humble wishes, Si-Eon offers him the money he wants - the catch being, he has to date him.

(Source: Lezhin US)

Note: Chapter count includes 17 side stories.

CAST

Si-Eon Choe
Nam-U Lee

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

aprocrastinator
90/100
Stressful at first but worth it!
To be honest, I don't know where to start with this one. Warning for spoilers -- I don't know how to talk about this without some!

Si-eon, whose age is never confirmed but I suspect to be 35-40, is wealthy AF. He gives Namwoo (early 20s by my guess? he's still in uni and maybe has done military service? I can't recall) basically unlimited money on the condition that they start dating. I've read enough BL to know where this could possibly go -- even though I was spoiled that it ended well (Si-eon being a "green flag" so to speak) -- so I was so stressed. You don't get any of Si-eon's perspective for much of the start of the story, and due to Past Trauma TM, he wasn't particularly expressive. Or, rather, he has this default serene-looking expression and was generally people-pleasing. There wasn't anything that intentionally sinister about his behaviour -- rather, he seemed genuinely hoping to do good -- but because of the inherent power imbalance (age, wealth) and Namwoo's hesitance to use Si-eon's money until he absolutely has to (fractures his arm, is broke, has family issues) and give Si-eon something back (namely, sex, because Si-eon doesn't explain why he wants them to start dating), it was all just very uncomfortable. Namwoo's reactions and worries felt so realistic. ...The first half of the story was so stressful. But I really appreciate that, even though I doubt I'll ever reread those parts of the story LOL.

I loved how you could visibly see how they, and their relationship evolved. I also loved how their responses to their issues were very realistic and (pardon me) how I could relate to both of their struggles in different ways. Being a younger child growing up around lots of parental conflict (largely stemming from finances) and an older sibling who responded very differently to that same trauma as him, Namwoo had lots of walls around him and didn't really rely on anyone, even when he was really in trouble (financially and medically), and even to those who evidently loved him (his sister, and to a lesser degree, his friends). Having someone randomly pop into his life able to offer him (unconditional?) support, care, and resources to help him stand on his own was a game-changer -- I know exactly it is easier to rely on someone you barely know (or don't know at all!) for support than those who already know you, and I think that is a lot of the reason why he eventually starts to rely on Si-eon. And that support really helps him grow! There are other factors, but the ever-changing combination of his confidence and outlook combined with that of his sister, Si-eon's coworkers, etc. did him wonders. He eventually comes out to his friends, etc., and I think it's understandable how he eventually ends up falling for Si-eon for realsies.

(This is more serious spoilers territory.) As I mentioned, Si-eon has this particular kind of facade. But we can see him starting to get uncomfortable when Namwoo starts liking him -- which is weird, right, because he was the one who wanted to date. Early-ish on we see him talking to his coworker (OK, well, he owns a publishing company, so one of the company's writers, so his subordinate technically) where he mentions he just likes taking care of people. But from past experience, he knows that in a relationship, being able to take care of other people is not enough; it's typically expressed as they like/love him, and want it to be explicitly reciprocated. He feels as though he can never give his partners what they want, and that they will be better off if he just lets them go. This was such a.... arospec moment to me? Even if it's rooted in his insecurities stemming from a lack of love growing up. (Bro... so much of this story relates to your environment as a child... I can't...) The idea that you like the idea of a relationship for XYZ reasons yet you're not sure if you can actually do your partner right -- is it because you're just not built for love like that? Or is it just because your walls are too high and you're afraid to let them come down? I can't...

Like Si-eon has such terrible internal EQ it's crazy. But as the plot progresses, and things happen, Namwoo begins to properly understand Si-eon as a person (and also himself and his wants). And so his relationship with Si-eon changes, and that in turn changes Si-eon and helps him understand himself better... I don't think I'm explaining this correctly, because most romance- or relationship-based stories are like this, right, it's all about the way people interact with one another and how that changes you as a person. But I think what's special about this one in particular is the way that you can see all of these changes in real-time. Their expressions change; I feel Si-eon blooming, so to speak. It's really sweet.

(A slight deviation to talk about the porn -- it was not particularly my thing, although most smut scenes for me aren't? But I also love how as their relationship progresses, it translates to how they engage in sex with one another too. All around consistent character growth, which I think is really hard to do as a storyteller.)

Last thing about the main couple that I wanted to briefly mention -- all their conflicts and concerns felt so real, and so were their conflict resolution skills. Especially in the side stories, after they've properly "gotten together", the differences in wealth and Namwoo's independence, being a gay couple and the differences in how they're perceived as such (likely in part due to the age gap) -- these are all things that the story touches upon in a very grounded way. (And the age gap isn't necessarily swept under the rug by the side characters either.) Their communication skills are something that they grow throughout the story, which you can see firsthand.

(Also, I wanted to briefly mention the side couple -- hello?? They were left on such a cliffhanger I want to know what happened. Why did the sunbae have a ring matching the redhead's?? Did the sunbae ever have a girlfriend?? What is the timeline here??? Someone speak to me about this????)

Anyway. A lot of care went into this story, and I really appreciate that. Also Si-eon is drawn very attractively IMO.
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