I wanna like it cuz I thought their relationship, especially at the end was cute. I loved their pet names for each other (Kitty, Tiger). And I loved the whole enemies to lovers bit goin on with Hyunsoo hating Youngchan's guts. But bruh there was a lot that bothered me.
Maybe it's cuz it was based on a novel, but the pacing was strange? Like sometimes I'd think I skipped a whole chapter because the next chapter started with something else. Or like this part of this chapter:
Jeong asked Hyunsoo if he knew Youngchan was gay and then asked if Hyunsoo was gay. And then was all "He already knew??" So I thought ya they both gay. But I was confused cuz in the prologue it seemed Hyunsoo started sleeping with men AFTER he got interested in Youngchan. And I was right??? He started having one night stands AFTER this scene. He wasn't into men before, he literally said he started with men cuz of Youngchan. And Youngchan also was like "I wasn't gay before I met him." So like what did Jeong know??? It doesn't REALLY make any sense unless he's just manipulating Hyunsoo to be gay for him to get dirt on him. Since he also wouldn't let Jungho (the cafe worker, I think that's his name) tell Hyunsoo to leave the bar because it was a gay bar after hours.
And then there's the whole office intrigue part. They'd be so vague and use that chessboard metaphor to make it seem more intriguing and mysterious and deep. But again, I had trouble understanding what they were even talking about half the time and who the villain even was. And then the characters just behaved so stupidly! Like Youngchan and Yeonji keeping it a secret that Hyunsoo is being stalked by Park Wonho. And then Hyunsoo is kidnapped and Jungho is like "I'm sure he's fine." Then he calls Jeong who TOLD him to, and Jeong like "not my problem." Like bros??? Why are you all so dumb. Yeah yea I'm sure it was "all according to keikaku" or watever but bruh.
And the relationship too! It was so stagnant I was getting really bored of it. Had to force myself to finish. Took me 3 days as opposed to like one cuz I kept stopping mid-chapter to just watch a youtube video because I was so bored. Which sucks cuz I genuinely did want to see how the story would end. But like it was an EXTREME version of a "will they won't they" with Youngchan acting like he'll confess then being all "nvm" then Hyunsoo getting the wrong idea like "he don't wanna kiss me cuz he hates me" or "he giving me a present as bribe." Like I get it, manz got issues. But seriously, it dragged on for way too long. I friggen laughed at the side stories when Youngchan was like "communication is key!" And then also proceeded to NOT communicate his insecurity and just bang Hyunsoo in the bathroom even though he said he didn't call him for that. Like REALLY! The plot and relationship relied way too much on zero communication between the two leads.
And then of course when it's not about Hyunsoo being insecure over relationships, it's suddenly Youngchan's fear that Hyunsoo will think he's violent. When he himself talked about being perfect for Hyunsoo cuz he can take Hyunsoo's hits and bad temper. And Hyunsoo all "mom wants to go back to her abusive ex but a violent person is always violent!!" And Youngchan like "damn he won't like me!!" And I'm like ok but Hyunsoo, you literally ALWAYS hit him?? Even before dating, threw his coffee on him, full on tackled him, pulled his hair, bit him. I mean those fights was the biggest display of sexual tension between the two culminating on Youngchan rubbing his dick on him. Which was not cool btw. Tho I admit, I did think Hyunsoo's face was hilarious when he's posed with his mouth open over Youngchan's arm and Manager Kim is yelling stop, and he proceeds to bite anyways. Regardless, Hyunsoo isn't one to talk about his mom's abusive ex, even if Youngchan says he likes being hit.
And continuing more with Youngchan being not cool, I also didn't appreciate his obvious manipulation of Hyunsoo. I mean sure, we all manipulate in small ways, such as acting cute if we think our crush would like it. Or wearing something we know they'd like. But bro is literally calculating. Hyunsoo wasn't planning on having sex with him again until he purposefully used his competitiveness against him and was like "yay now we'll keep having sex!" Or like Hyunsoo noticed, not using an umbrella to look more pathetic. I could overlook it for the smaller stuff, but using Hyunsoo's personality against him to start their sexual relationship felt too devious. I didn't like that.
I thought the side stories were better overall though since they were finally in a cute, stable relationship without any bigger worries. I also like the heavy implication that Youngchan's sister is probably dating Yeonji. And how Yeonji and Hyunsoo are similar and basically have a handle on the two siblings. I also liked how Jungo became friends with Hyunsoo after he called him out over the coffee thing. And I liked how the editorial department was protective over Hyunsoo, though part of that was because Yeonji and Manager Kim needed him as a key witness against Park Wonho. But still, it was sweet, especially since he transferred from a toxic department where he was being abused.
I wanted to like this because the story has elements I like. Traumatized MC who is blunt and doing his best clashing with a relaxed guy who is his polar opposite. Slowly falls in love and has to learn to accept others into his life and learn to relinquish control. Carefree ML with his own demons who looks hella hot when he's serious/angry and likes to push MC's buttons. At its core, Perfect Buddy is a good story. But the pacing and communication issues that plague the story made it hard to get through.
I wanna like it cuz I thought their relationship, especially at the end was cute. I loved their pet names for each other (Kitty, Tiger). And I loved the whole enemies to lovers bit goin on with Hyunsoo hating Youngchan's guts. But bruh there was a lot that bothered me.
Maybe it's cuz it was based on a novel, but the pacing was strange? Like sometimes I'd think I skipped a whole chapter because the next chapter started with something else.
Or like this part of this chapter:
https://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/perfect_buddy/uu/br_chapter-45463/pg-8/
Jeong asked Hyunsoo if he knew Youngchan was gay and then asked if Hyunsoo was gay. And then was all "He already knew??" So I thought ya they both gay. But I was confused cuz in the prologue it seemed Hyunsoo started sleeping with men AFTER he got interested in Youngchan. And I was right??? He started having one night stands AFTER this scene. He wasn't into men before, he literally said he started with men cuz of Youngchan. And Youngchan also was like "I wasn't gay before I met him." So like what did Jeong know???
It doesn't REALLY make any sense unless he's just manipulating Hyunsoo to be gay for him to get dirt on him. Since he also wouldn't let Jungho (the cafe worker, I think that's his name) tell Hyunsoo to leave the bar because it was a gay bar after hours.
And then there's the whole office intrigue part. They'd be so vague and use that chessboard metaphor to make it seem more intriguing and mysterious and deep. But again, I had trouble understanding what they were even talking about half the time and who the villain even was. And then the characters just behaved so stupidly! Like Youngchan and Yeonji keeping it a secret that Hyunsoo is being stalked by Park Wonho. And then Hyunsoo is kidnapped and Jungho is like "I'm sure he's fine." Then he calls Jeong who TOLD him to, and Jeong like "not my problem." Like bros??? Why are you all so dumb. Yeah yea I'm sure it was "all according to keikaku" or watever but bruh.
And the relationship too! It was so stagnant I was getting really bored of it. Had to force myself to finish. Took me 3 days as opposed to like one cuz I kept stopping mid-chapter to just watch a youtube video because I was so bored. Which sucks cuz I genuinely did want to see how the story would end. But like it was an EXTREME version of a "will they won't they" with Youngchan acting like he'll confess then being all "nvm" then Hyunsoo getting the wrong idea like "he don't wanna kiss me cuz he hates me" or "he giving me a present as bribe." Like I get it, manz got issues. But seriously, it dragged on for way too long. I friggen laughed at the side stories when Youngchan was like "communication is key!" And then also proceeded to NOT communicate his insecurity and just bang Hyunsoo in the bathroom even though he said he didn't call him for that. Like REALLY! The plot and relationship relied way too much on zero communication between the two leads.
And then of course when it's not about Hyunsoo being insecure over relationships, it's suddenly Youngchan's fear that Hyunsoo will think he's violent. When he himself talked about being perfect for Hyunsoo cuz he can take Hyunsoo's hits and bad temper. And Hyunsoo all "mom wants to go back to her abusive ex but a violent person is always violent!!" And Youngchan like "damn he won't like me!!" And I'm like ok but Hyunsoo, you literally ALWAYS hit him?? Even before dating, threw his coffee on him, full on tackled him, pulled his hair, bit him. I mean those fights was the biggest display of sexual tension between the two culminating on Youngchan rubbing his dick on him. Which was not cool btw. Tho I admit, I did think Hyunsoo's face was hilarious when he's posed with his mouth open over Youngchan's arm and Manager Kim is yelling stop, and he proceeds to bite anyways. Regardless, Hyunsoo isn't one to talk about his mom's abusive ex, even if Youngchan says he likes being hit.
And continuing more with Youngchan being not cool, I also didn't appreciate his obvious manipulation of Hyunsoo. I mean sure, we all manipulate in small ways, such as acting cute if we think our crush would like it. Or wearing something we know they'd like. But bro is literally calculating. Hyunsoo wasn't planning on having sex with him again until he purposefully used his competitiveness against him and was like "yay now we'll keep having sex!" Or like Hyunsoo noticed, not using an umbrella to look more pathetic. I could overlook it for the smaller stuff, but using Hyunsoo's personality against him to start their sexual relationship felt too devious. I didn't like that.
I thought the side stories were better overall though since they were finally in a cute, stable relationship without any bigger worries. I also like the heavy implication that Youngchan's sister is probably dating Yeonji. And how Yeonji and Hyunsoo are similar and basically have a handle on the two siblings. I also liked how Jungo became friends with Hyunsoo after he called him out over the coffee thing. And I liked how the editorial department was protective over Hyunsoo, though part of that was because Yeonji and Manager Kim needed him as a key witness against Park Wonho. But still, it was sweet, especially since he transferred from a toxic department where he was being abused.
I wanted to like this because the story has elements I like. Traumatized MC who is blunt and doing his best clashing with a relaxed guy who is his polar opposite. Slowly falls in love and has to learn to accept others into his life and learn to relinquish control. Carefree ML with his own demons who looks hella hot when he's serious/angry and likes to push MC's buttons. At its core, Perfect Buddy is a good story. But the pacing and communication issues that plague the story made it hard to get through.
TL;DR
I like the relationship, not the story.