About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series The New Recruit.
Trigger Warning: There may be references to bullying as it appears in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Seunghyun is almost thirty and has never had a job. That isn't to say he hasn't been working hard. On the contrary, it's quite the opposite. Seunghyun has been spending much of his adult life in school, going so far as to earn his master's degree in business. However, his reasons for doing so weren't necessarily because he wanted to achieve such a big goal. Instead, his true intention was to follow his crush and first love. Seunghyun has been in love for five years with his old college friend.
Unfortunately, no matter how long Seunghyun carried the torch for his friend, the timing was never right. Resigning to the fact that he'll never be with his first and only love, Seunghyun ends up graduating without any idea what he wants to do with his life. So, he does what every newly graduated adult does: start applying for jobs. He doesn't have too much luck there either until he's able to get his dream internship. The only downside is that his boss, Mr. Kim, doesn't seem too happy that he is there.
But as Seunghyun works and proves himself, Mr. Kim begins to warm up to him, but that heat isn't as innocent as Seunghyun believes.
Review:
This is another one I almost didn't read because of the cover art. The art is better in the series itself. However, one thing I can't stand is the face shapes and designs. Our main guy, Seunghyun, suffers from this the most. His facial features seem far too low on his face, making his forehead more of a five- or six-head, giving him the illusion of having a square head. It gets better in certain panels, but for the most part, he is the square, six-headed Seunghyun. Mr. Kim's face and head aren't as bad, but, like in the cover art, his face goes wacky, especially with his long, more defined chin and thinner face. Again, I wouldn't say the artwork is necessarily bad; the stylistic choices just aren't my favorite, and it is inconsistent. However, I wouldn't let that deter you if you are interested. The sex scenes are some of the hottest out there, and the story is solid.
Speaking of story, the story is very, very sweet. It does feel relatively fast with how easily the hardass Jongchan goes from seeing very little in Seunghyun to being attracted to him, but he is so tender that I wasn't bothered at all. They quickly get together, and equally quickly, they fall apart for a bit before finding each other again. The drama based around Seunghyun's past romance and Jongchan's inability to understand Seunghyun's struggles doesn't last long, and they end up together fairly early on. The crux of the story is focused more on the office and how Seunghyun and Jongchan navigate their work lives together.
While, of course, the romance is great, there is an undercurrent of office politics that is established from the very first time we hear from Jongchan that really keeps everything moving. At the very beginning, he complains on the phone about getting an intern when he'd rather have someone with experience. The fact that conversation, which could have very easily been a throwaway, ends up being integral to the entire story is an amazing callback. I love it so much, and that is just one example of excellent writing in this series. I have to say the writing is one of the strongest elements of this series.
Wanna know what the other strongest element is? The sex scenes. Jongchan and Seunghyun's first sexual encounter is tender and sensual, but that is just the first taste of the raunchy stuff they get up to. The chemistry between these two in the sex scenes is palpable. It also gives Jongchan a layer of sensitivity and tenderness we don't get to see when they are at work together. Plus, Seunghyun makes some of the prettiest faces I've ever seen in manhwa sex scenes. He drools, he cries, and it is everything. My favorite, though, has to be in the epilogue, which is the phone sex scene. I'll leave it at that. One thing I have to point out is a bit of a mistake. There is a scene where they are going to have sex in the changing room of the studio. Jongchan starts everything by saying he won't go all the way because he doesn't have a condom… then, later on, he asks Seunghyun to get the condom out of his pocket. Not a big deal. I just wanted to note it.
Results:
This is a fun one to keep in your back pocket for a rainy day. This is an adaptation of a novel, and I think you can really tell because the writing is great. I wish I could find a legit copy of the novel because I think I might like that even better. The art is fine. Not my favorite, but it's good enough. However, the sex scenes are to die for, and I think you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you missed out on them. That phone sex scene is one that I return to often, and I implore you to read this for that if nothing else.
Have you read The New Recruit? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!