About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Wish Me Love.
Trigger Warning: There may be references to being outed, homomisia, mafia/gang activity, loan scams, sex work/sex in exchange for favors, dubious consent (dubcon), finger amputation, assault, blood, child abuse, extortion, major medical concerns, BDSM, death, suicide, captivity/confinement, child abandonment, and depression, as it appears in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Yijin has always dreamed of opening his own restaurant. In order to learn the business and get in on the ground floor, he ends up landing an awesome position in a company under the prolific Joohyuk, a famous restaurant franchiser. Yijin has idolized Joohyuk for so long that, finally, being in his presence is a dream come true. While Joohyuk's accolades are well-known, something else that is very well-known around the office is his sexual orientation. Apparently, the prolific bossman is gay. Yijin refuses to believe it until he catches Joohyuk kissing another man in the hallway at work.
As much as Yijin loves Joohyuk, he despises homosexuality more and begins to distance himself from the president he once adored. Yijin just can't understand why such a successful man couldn't find a woman he liked. His boss's sexual preferences, though, become the least of Yijin's worries when he gets a call from his parents. As it turns out, his parents own a restaurant and recently got a loan to upgrade their business. Unfortunately, while they were doing that, the property value skyrocketed, and the moneylenders, seeing a perfect opportunity, disappeared.
Without a way to make payments, Yijin's parents could lose their building to the moneylenders, which is all they have in the world. Yijin needs a solution and fast, but the only person with the resources and power to help him is none other than his boss. Yijin is willing to do anything to support his family, and Joohyuk will ask for the most.
Review:
I am going to sound cruel, but the art is bad. I hate it. The proportions are inconsistent, the characters are ugly, and the aesthetic is just not great. It is honestly hard to look at. The cover art is probably the best-looking this art style can be, and there are moments in the story itself where it looks like the cover, but those are few and far between. If art is critical to you, then this is not the manhwa for you. It's on the lower end when it comes to artwork.
The story has potential, but it's a bit aggravating how ignorant and bigoted Yijin is. His entire personality for the majority of the story is that he hates gay people, but he loves Joohyuk. These contradicting character traits make Yijin insufferable. However, the bigoted part is definitely the most frustrating. It goes beyond being bigoted, though. He is absolutely ignorant. Even after they've had sex and Joohyuk has made it clear he is gay and only wants men, Yijin still tries to convince Joohyuk that he just hasn't met the right woman. I hate hearing that so, so much, and this is no exception. Yijin even gets frustrated when Joohyuk tells a woman he is gay, rather than lie and just “let her down easy,” even though he had no reason to do such a thing. It's annoying, to say the least.
Beyond Yijin being a bigoted asshole for most of the story, the worst thing is that he does a complete 180 within a matter of episodes. He goes from being judgemental, rude, cruel, and more to Joohyuk, only to fawn over him when he decides he is bisexual and willing to be with Joohyuk. It goes beyond just being ok with himself and Joohyuk's sexual orientation. He becomes clingy, super affectionate, and the like. I would typically love that, but after seeing Yijin be so cruel and bigoted throughout the story, it was hard to believe he would act that way, even if he fell in love with Joohyuk in the end. It was just unbelievable to me after all of that build-up.
That doesn't mean Joohyuk is any better. The fact that he extorted Yijin for sex in exchange for helping catch the moneylenders was just as cruel as some of the things Yijin did. Essentially raping Yijin into understanding homosexuality isn't the best. Admittedly, Yijin was so annoying that I did end up liking Joohyuk more, and he became the ideal house husband after they moved in together, which was precious. The side stories are where this really shined for me, though it did have a massive character shift for Yijin. It's very slice of life, cohabitation, lovey-dovey, and smutty time, which was a nice change from the dark drama of the main story.
Results:
This wasn't that great. I don't know that I would recommend it unless you really just have nothing else to read. Otherwise, the story and art just aren't strong enough to justify the spend, in my opinion. If you are interested in dark manhwa with good art, I highly recommend My Way with You. If the art doesn't matter all that much, but you're still interested in dark content, The Black Mirror (horror-based) or Siren's Song (drama-based) would be my recommendations.
Have you read Wish Me Love? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!