muse ✨'s manga / #reencounter(186)

I've read this as part of another story on this site. This is the first part, where two men - Amano and Takano - who haven't seen each other in 20 years go out for drinks. They're interrupted by Takano's ex-lover, who mistakes Amano for Takano's current lover and punches him. When he wakes up, Amano is back in high school, in Takano's bed, and believes he's in a dream. He and Takano form a close relationship before he's taken back to the future, to find himself in the current Takano's bed. And Takano is angry, because twenty years earlier, after they'd slept together, Amano seemingly forgot everything about it. Also appears in http://www.mangago.me/read-manga/dorobou_to_hatsukoi/

Six months after the man he loved got married, Sora learns Rui has gotten divorced and goes to see him. Rui suggests they live with one another again, since Sora still suffers from a fear of thunderstorms and can't be alone during them. Plus it seems Sora wasn't the only one hiding his feelings The second story is about a man who rescues a young man named Daryl on the side of the road and makes him his servant and lover. Skippable.

Shiwoo returns home one day to find an injured man in strange clothing asleep outside of his apartment. The man can't speak Korean but seems astonished to see him and kisses him. After a few days and a brief crash-course in modern Korean, Shiwoo learns that the man's name is Jun, that he comes from another time, and that Shiwoo is the spitting image of Jun's husband. I would've liked to have seen a bit more development with regards to the idea of parallel universes. Was Shiwoo actually Myung's reincarnation or his double in another universe? Was the birthmark a coincidence? How did Jun arrive here? Why did Jun arrive with his memories? Does any of that matter? Maybe not. This story was ultimately about Jun accepting the loss of his spouse and moving on with life - and the same was true for Shiwoo as well. I liked the parallel with his missing brother and the hope that, like Jun and Myung, perhaps he is alive somewhere. The translator's comments throughout made me laugh, especially the dig about Onodera. I laughed out loud and had to save it.

A selfish boss and his subordinate end up in a hotel because the trains have stopped running. The boss, too drunk to recognize his coworker, comes onto him and asks his subordinate to film the encounter, giving him the perfect weapon for revenge. Only the more they get to really properly know one another, little by little, their relationship begins to change. I almost skipped this and am so happy I didn't. This was a fantastic love story, well paced and believable. I agree with other commenters who said this has the best confession scene they've ever read!

A collection of oneshots: the student president (who has a thing for cats) is regularly saved by his friend, a guy in love with his otaku friend (my favorite of the bunch), a man who had forced his friend to have sex gets a second chance (kinda iffy). Quick paces and little build, but it's nice as something to read over coffee.

A touching oneshot about a butterfly photographer and someone from his past.

A physical therapist with a specialty for happy endings finally reconnects with the one person he's been in love with for years, the captain of the football team he managed who injured his leg and that Minori hadn't been able to heal.

Two men are reunited after a bad breakup ten years earlier. They still harbor feelings and resentment over what happened, but they do take the second chance at love.

At 39, Ei is a successful researcher and still being pursued by 32yo Gin, a boy he met when they were 15 and 8. They are occasional sex partners, but Ei, who is terrified that his reputation of being openly gay could harm Gin in any way, refuses to acknowledge Gin as his lover and repeatedly tries to push him out of his life. Ei has horribly internalized self-loathing and hurts Gin thinking he's doing him a favor. He'll frustrate some readers, but I really related to him and understood his decisions. He knew first-hand what could happen to someone once they bear a particular label, and it was his unceasing love for Gin that kept him from being selfish and agreeing to date Gin long ago. I'm sure he thought Gin would eventually tire of it, find a wife, and settle down. Ei hates himself so much that he can't fathom someone actually loving him, despite how many times Gin has repeated it. And to admit he loves Gin in return would be to spoil the one pure thing he has, so he chooses to keep it locked away so that it's never taken from him. Frustrating, yes, but very human.

Nameless flower