Manhwa Review: A Business Proposal Vol. 4

Lots of Korean web comics and web fiction are successfully making the jump from the Internet to traditional media nowadays. One of these is A Business Proposal. Read on for the review of Volume 4 of the manhwa. (For other reviews of the series, click here.)

Back Cover Blurb

 Hari is about to finally end it with Taemu when disaster strikes. Sudden news of her parents’ accident throws her into a panic, but thankfully, her capable CEO is there to get things under control! Taemu proves with grace and efficiency that he really is good at everything―crisis management, emotional support…and frying chicken…? With her parents in the hospital, Hari needs all the help she can get to keep the restaurant open, and Taemu is determined to use this as a chance to rack up brownie points! However, things get heated when Minwoo joins in, increasingly possessive of his “best friend”…

The Review

Talk about an emotional roller coaster. Taemu and Hari steam up the first two pages with what was meant to be a goodbye kiss. Fortunately for Taemu, he gets the opportunity to keep the relationship going when Hari gets the sudden news her parents were injured in a kitchen accident. Yes, it is a conveniently timed crisis, but it allows Mr. CEO to demonstrate how serious he is about Hari, both in conventional rich person fashion (taking care of her parents’ medical care) and a more unusual way (rolling up his sleeves at the restaurant to help keep the family business going). Actually, everyone rallies to support Hari and her brother, so the entire swoon-worthy cast ends up in aprons. If you wanted to see the CEO and his secretary frying chicken together, this is your volume!

In addition to the crisis keeping Taemu and Hari together, it allows Sunghoon and Yeongsuh to cross paths and ultimately clear up their misunderstanding. With that, they kiss and make up – in a way that burns up the pages. The book definitely earns its “Older Teen” rating with their bedroom scene at the opening of Chapter 43. So things are just peachy for the pair – except for the fact that Yeongsuh’s dad doesn’t consider Sunghoon ideal husband material. Rich girl’s daddy has made a move yet, but it is imminent.

Also crossing paths during the restaurant crisis are Taemu and Minwoo. After everything poor Hari has been through, it’s satisfying to watch the two guys fight over her in between washing dishes and passing out restaurant flyers. However, the romantic tension with Minwoo comes to an abrupt end when he breaks up with his girlfriend and professes love to Hari. I expected more out of this scene, especially since he is the person Hari has obsessed over so long, but his confession is unexpectedly disappointing. By the end of it, he truly does seem like a squid. But at the very least, it allows Hari to make a clean break from him and focus on her situation with Taemu, which is complicated enough.

In Summary

An accident at Haha Chicken brings everyone to the restaurant to help Hari keep her family’s business afloat. In between our gorgeous characters dazzling customers as they clean tables and marinate chicken, Sunghoon and Yeongsuh light up the bedroom, and Taemu and Minwoo exhibit jealous behavior over Hari. Ultimately, things with Minwoo come to an unsatisfying and disappointing conclusion, but the progress between Sunghoon/Yeongsuh and Taemu/Hari are plenty to keep the drama going.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Manhwa Review: A Business Proposal Vol. 2

Lots of Korean web comics and web fiction are successfully making the jump from the Internet to traditional media nowadays. One of these is A Business Proposal. Read on for the review of Volume 2 of the manhwa. (For other reviews of the series, click here.)

Back Cover Blurb

On a romantic evening date with the young, rich, and unbelievably handsome Taemu, Hari is the envy of all women…but little do they know―it’s all fake! She has been trapped into playing the part of his girlfriend to appease his meddlesome grandfather, all the while desperately trying to hide the fact that she is actually an employee at his company! How long can she keep up this nerve-wracking double life?

The Review

After being coerced into becoming Taemu’s fiancée for hire, Hari’s got a dilemma: how does she pull off this gig without her employer-who-hates-being-lied-to discovering she works for his company? Thus Hari switches her femme fatale persona for another fake identity. Meanwhile, Taemu’s not being completely truthful himself. He’s still actually set on marrying her and using the “fiancée job” as a means to convince her to agree.

Sounds like a pretty good strategy for Taemu to accomplish his goal, but unfortunately, he is his own worst enemy. In keeping with his strict, single-minded personality, he regularly calls Hari at 4 AM as if it is normal, demands that she meet up with him with little to no warning, and nitpicks if she is a single minute late. Hardly charming behavior, and Hari runs herself ragged switching between her office drone and sexy escort look and avoiding Taemu in their workplace.

While watching Hari freak out is funny, the vibe isn’t exactly romantic between our main couple. On Taemu’s end, he seems more weirdly obsessed then smitten, and considering all the lies that Hari has thrown (and continues to throw) at him, it’s hard to tell what he finds attractive asides from maybe her looks.

The one who is basking in a romantic glow is Hari’s friend Yeongsuh. She’s found her Mr. Right, and she’s not particularly remorseful about the suffering she’s brought upon (and continues to bring upon) Hari. Between Yeongsuh and Taemu, this title is really painting rich people as awful, self-centered jerks. However, things can’t go TOO well for anyone in a Korean drama, and Yeongsuh’s blind date proxy scheme comes back to bite her in a big and personal way, LOL.

In Summary

The lies continue… Hari’s cover goes from femme fatale to part-time hired escort. And unfortunately for her, Taemu forces her to take a gig as a pretend fiancée. While some of the setup is implausible, it is entertaining to watch Hari frantically switching between personas. And then it’s REALLY satisfying when rich girl Yeongsuh, the cause of Hari’s troubles, gets bit by her own proxy blind date scheme.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Manhwa Review: A Business Proposal Vol. 1

Lots of Korean web comics and web fiction are successfully making the jump from the Internet to traditional media nowadays. One of these is A Business Proposal. Read on for the review of Volume 1 of the manhwa.

Back Cover Blurb

 Hari Shin has officially hit rock bottom. After being worked to the bone at her office job, meeting her long time crush’s girlfriend, and helping to pay off her family’s debt, she’s 0 for 3 with work, love, and money. Luckily, her friend Youngseo has a business proposal for her: go on an arranged date in her stead, and Hari will receive a hefty compensation. Things grow complicated, however, when the other party turns out to be her new CEO―and he’s got a proposal of his own!

The Review

Hari Shin’s overworked, drowning in debt, and friend-zoned by her longtime crush. So when her heiress friend Youngseo offers her cash to impersonate her for an arranged date and scare the guy off with a femme fatale act, Hari agrees. But things take a turn when the blind date turns out to be Hari’s new CEO. Worse, Hari’s efforts to drive him off result in a marriage proposal! What kind of pervert is he?

I was five pages into this manhwa adaption of a web novel and thought, “This is totally the set up for a contemporary K-drama series.” And as it turns out, A Business Proposal was adapted into a 2022 K-drama (available on Netflix). I haven’t seen the TV series, so I can’t make comparisons between the manhwa and the live-action adaption. However, the manhwa has many classic K-drama romance elements. The male lead, Taemu Kang, has gorgeous looks, an amazing body, wealth, and all the power and arrogance that comes with being the successful CEO of an international company. A company that just happens to be the employer of drowning-in-debt office drone Hari Shin. Her parents’ restaurant has gone deep into the red. To pay the rent, Hari’s taken a loan from her company, which has essentially turned her into a corporate indentured servant. So while Hari is college educated and her family debt doesn’t involve gambling losses or loan sharks, she falls into the category of financially-strapped heroine to offset our rich male lead.

Actually, the inciting incident portrays Hari more along the lines of poor normie getting caught up in the problems of rich people. One of the less typical aspects of this series is that Youngseo, the best friend of broke Hari, is filthy rich. As the heiress to a company, Youngseo’s situation is similar to Taemu’s in that they have comparable social status and are under pressure to meet potential spouses and get married already. And both view the matchmaking meetings arranged by their families as a waste of time. However, while Youngseo schemes to get out of yet another meeting by dressing up her friend to send as a substitute, Taemu decides to cut things short by simply marrying his first blind date, whoever she is.

That in essence is one of Taemu’s unique quirks. He’s stubborn about sticking to his word, no matter what new information might arise. At times, this quality runs counter to his other quirk: he hates having his time wasted. As Youngseo points out, if a quick marriage is his goal, it would be a lot more efficient for him to find someone willing rather than continue pursuing someone who’s turned him down. However, his third unique quirk is what has Hari terrified: he despises liars. Taemu’s notorious for firing employees for lying, and when Hari discovers that the suitor she’s trying to fool is him, she realizes her job is at risk.

At times, the details maintaining the story premise get a bit shaky. There’s one point where Hari could have easily shaken Taemu off for good, but she conveniently falls asleep (in a café no less!) during the 20 minute window she had to escape. That aside, the stakes of love and money (especially once Youngseo falls for Taemu’s head secretary) keep this an engaging and fluffy comedy of sham identities and misinterpreted intentions.

By the way, the artwork is great at projecting the mood, whether comic, frantic, or sizzling. Illustrations are rendered in full color on glossy paper, which makes for a nice looking but hefty book.

In Summary

Do you like workplace K-drama rom-coms? Then you might enjoy the impersonation hijinks of A Business Proposal. The premise gets a bit shaky at times, but the series is meant to be a fun, silly romp with lots of eye candy, so it works.

First published at the Fandom Post.