Checkmate 01

Checkmate #1

by Tan, Nina Gliese (Translator)

Als Schüler stand Soohyun immer im Schatten des perfekten Eunsung. Er beneidete ihn so sehr, dass sich daraus eine regelrechte Obsession entwickelte. Doch so sehr er es auch versuchte, er konnte Eunsung niemals das Wasser reichen. Zehn Jahre später fristet Soohyun sein Dasein als gelangweilter Büroangestellter. Die Erinnerungen an die gefühlsstarke Schulzeit sind schon längst verblasst. Doch dann wird er Zeuge, wie Eunsungs Leben in sich zusammenfällt. Damit ist Soohyuns Leidenschaft wieder entfacht: Er will sehen, wie Eunsung immer weiter abstürzt …

Genres: Manhwa, Manga, LGBT, Romance, Queer, Yaoi, Graphic Novels

275 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2024

Reviews

[hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

♟️✨ my review for the entire series is going to be here because i have no idea where the chapters on lezhin match up with the published volumes ✨♟️

"jung eunsung's face, his sighs, lips, gaze...his touch, every single eyelash and hair. it's all mine. you will never get a single grain of it. i already have it all.”

HYPERVENTILATINGGGSGKSGHIFJSADJCJND 😳😳😳 i know this will always be a win for me no matter what i read, because possessiveness will always have me in a chokehold every time. but when they are both obsessed with each other? nothing can beat that for me. how can i not love them????

➸ final edit, after finishing the end & side stories. (may 7/25):

the absolute perfection of the second half of the story and the side stories was insane. it felt like a reward for all the angst i went through 😩 CLINGY EUNSUNG AND POSSESSIVE SOOHYUN?????? their dynamic was perfect. the way soohyun did everything he could to take down that awful man (park moon seob🤮) for eunsung. how he went from wanting to take down eunsung himself to protecting him instead and also.... possessing him (but he's always wanted to do that 🤭😳). they went through hell yall....💔 the plot was really dark and a lot of it was hard for me to read (so beware of those TWs). but the story was captivating and toxic and unhealthy, but so freaking good. and that character development though? they were so cute and sweet with each other by the end 😭❤️ i was smiling so hard during those side stories.

can we talk about that moment where eunsung looks up at soohyun while kissing his bloody hand???? i was speechless, i felt like the wind got knocked right out of me. that was so intense and basically a love confession imo 😭 i stared at the panel for a good minute.

more quotes because i'm obsessed with them ✨🦋

"why are you acting all embarrassed?" (eunsung to soohyun)
"what're you talking about? i'm acting the same as i always do."
"you don't look the same, though."
"it's nothing. i'm just...thinking about something."
"about what?"
"about where i should lock you up." (soohyun to eunsung)
"wow soohyun, that doesn't sound like a very healthy relationship...but i guess if that's what you really want, we could try it out."
~ plssssss i can't with them 😂

"after that day, eunsung has been sending me photos of himself. thanks to which, my photo album is slowly filling up with his pictures." 🥺🥺🥺
"something that used to be used for work and work alone is now being filled up by him. not bad at all. it seems my phone has found it's true purpose."
~ 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

2 seconds later...soohyun is texting eunsung about the photo...

"who took that?"
"huh? a co worker. they said they'd help me out lol."
"i don't care if it's blurry. take it yourself next time."
~ AHHHHHHHHH I REPEAT HOW CAN I NOT LOVE THEM 🤭🤭

i'm sad now that i'm finished, i want more of them 💔

➸ edit 3, episode 56. (may 5/25): POSSESSIVE AND JEALOUS SOOHYUN POSSESSIVE AND JEALOUS SOOHYUN POSSESSIVE AND JEALOUS SOOHYUN POSSESSIVE AND JEALOUS SOOHYUN POSSESSIVE AND JEALOUS SOOHYUN POSSESSIVE AND JEALOUS SOOHYUN 😈😈😈

➸ edit 2, episode 38. (may 5/25): that's the end of season 1. it's been a while since a character has disgusted me as much as park moon seob has. what a nasty and terrible person he is, and i swear to god i can't wait for soohyun and eunsung to take that man down. i think he may take the cake for one of my most hated characters tbh, i was fully disturbed by him.

the obsession is this is insaneeeee, i love it. all the "he's mine" and "no one can mess with him but me" vibes were so good. i was eating it up. soohyun is so badass and he scares me a bit ngl 😅 i know i've only read 1 season so far, but the romance is pretty slow which only makes sense considering they despise each other and this manhwa crosses the line right into unhealthy obsession and toxicity immediately. so i’m not expecting anything soft between them or anything like that, but still really looking forward to how their relationship is going to progress. once they come together, i just know it's going to be so good!! like total power couple!! 😍

➸ edit 1, episode 15. (may 4/25): bitchhhhhhhh I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT my jaw is dropped 😳 the plot is plotting and the chemistry and tension is fire holy shittttt. i love them so much already 😩

pre-read: i'm scaredddddd. i've heard this has two equally toxic and obsessive mcs and that's my shit so i'm very excited and nervous at the same time 😭🙏

[rory (jess' version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love my men manipulative, obsessive, mentally unstable, and wants a relationship full of emotional turmoil <3 (a joke, or is it? 🤨)

[Fish]

I had one day off and spent it reading 99+ chapters only for them to mention chess ONCE??

[kenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

and when I tell you there was ZERO mention of chess

[Kate♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5stars

I've been using Story Graph to track my manhwa reading, but I'm realizing I can put the ones that have official physical books here on Goodreads!

I liked this one enough to get to volume 3, but it's not my favorite. It feels quite long for the plot its carrying out, but I'll probably finish it

[Leila ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

13/11/2023 : Hoy me levanté con ganas de ser feliz y de volver a leer a mis hijos tóxicos favoritos; me animo a decir que me gustó incluso más que la primera vez que lo leí <33

4.25 de 5 estrellas.

------------------------------------

30/01/2023 : ¿Habla muy mal de mi el hecho de que disfruté una banda de esta historia? No se, me mantuvo entretenida desde el primer capítulo, tanto en el aspecto romántico entre los protagonistas, como toda la historia de trasfondo. No saber qué esperar kept me at the edge of my seat los 99 capítulos. Salvo el ✨primer encuentro sexual entre los protagonistas✨, lit no tengo nada negativo para decir de esta historia because I ate this shit up.

4 de 5 estrellas.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toxic and obsessive, this rather dark webtoon is filled with manipulation and secrets. I've found this messiness tends to work for me when each partner is their own variety of unhinged, which happens here. Plus there's a mystery plot driving the story along and it's quite compelling too.

[⋆ ࣪˖ ִֶָ sel ་༘࿐ · Rating 3 out of 5]

[S1CH1-37] I love stories like this! The uncomfortable obsession, manipulative tactics, murky circumstances, and other dark themes which is mixed with the underlying different kinds of mania are enough to spin my head around. It's like dogs trying tear each other off in the head.

At first, the story was pissing me off for just running around in circles trying to hook you with the ambiguous but snarky moments. But then it gets more and more interesting. Even the most fucked up (so far) scene was enough to make me giggle. I am looking forward to more! I want to dance watching their so called game.

[Emma Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved story arcs like this and following stories of a our main character’s obsessions with the rival that always beat him this book was a great first volume that really set up those stakes and the obsession that Soohyun has and how it has led him down a path that is turning much darker as the twists and turns continues. I’m a fan of the art style and tue way the story progressive I think is paced well enough that it kept me engaged while also hinting at the darker secrets that are hidden in the art studio that Eunsung was apart of and now Soohyun is investigating.

[Vivi · Rating 1 out of 5]

WARUM gibt es so viele bls die Vergewaltigung romantisieren. Its not cute its a CRIME. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOPPPPPPP. Vor allem in Manhwas ist es ein Problem. I hate it here. Ist consent so schwer zu verstehen???
abgebrochen

[Bibliothecat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is only for volume 1

When I first came across this series, I thought the premise sounded interesting albeit definitely leaning towards toxic and problematic themes. I did also suspect that it might be too dark and graphic for me but I decided to give the first volume a try to test the waters. it seems my initial feeling was correct, in fact, it was quite a whole lot darker than I had anticipated. I also find this one quite hard to rate as I imagine I am to an extent not the targeted audience; while I can enjoy a level of games and manipulations that transform into romance, this just felt a bit too crass and offensive.

The art is fine, not my favourite but there are some nice facial close ups. It was definitely very explicit though and there's a rape scene between the two main characters early on. There is also lots of rape and abuse that's part of the mystery - a mystery that could have definitely been intriguing had it not been presented in such a disturbing manner.

While I am not here to bash this series - as I said, I think I am not the right audience for this - I can't say I enjoyed this and I shan't be continuing the series. I'm giving it a bit of merit for the art and the basic premise.

[Rin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really obsessed with this one! The summary itself has gotten me hooked and the psychological conflicts made me stay reading it. I like the power struggle that's happening between the MC and ML, despite them working together.

I'm going to give it a 5 for now, hopefully the 3rd season won't dissapoint me.

[star · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very underrated webtoon! I have been reading this for about 2 months on Lezhin. I love how twisted, cunning, intriguing, and manipulative the characters were. It is my cup of tea, however, for some, it might be a big no-no. I do recommend giving it a try if you're into some drama.

[Xena · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is a dark/twisted story and so far, it’s living up to the dark/twisted narrative very well. I am actually interested.

[Molin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tension and toxicity.

Rate
S1 3.75☆
S2 3.5☆

Ongoing

[Sage Parsley]

really really toxic but it got more a lot nuanced and complicated as it went on. A very twisty and upsetting story that I couldn’t stop reading, thankfully with a happy ending.

[Darián · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ni lo terminé porque son unos tóxicos los 2 y hay v word. A eso no le hago yo

[The Girl Murdered by Her TBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

The angst people! The angst!

[Anna (Ink of Books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean yes this is dark romance but I draw the line at rape that is *almost* explicitly acknowledged by the MC and the word itself is interrupted by the rapist

[Jenna Giampaolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok so this kinda like put me off at first cause the dude has like a weird ass obsession with the other guy but then i kept reading and i lowkey got hooked. the relationship is super toxic but it gets sweet and i LOVE the lines that showed how possessive he was. im happy i kept reading and didn’t drop it

[Filip Skovin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character feels weak and inconsistent, which makes it hard to stay engaged.
The story moves a lot but doesn’t feel grounded I lost focus several times.
The concept is interesting, but the character’s motivation isn’t strong enough to carry the plot.

[t]

the art is GORGEOUS (and the two main leads are exactly what i like when it comes to character design and characterization) but soohyun is so deep into the closet that it makes me get secondhand embarrassment i had to drop it

[Marureviere]

Season 1: 3.5 stars
Season 2: 3.5 stars
Season 3: ( still ongoing )

[Maia Soria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gusta mucho que el sumiso sea tan obsesivo es como skdksoxk no se, me encanta

[Alicia Delfina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Efectivamente cine

[[melanie] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best start but it gets better later so…

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

[Krista C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super good enemies to lovers

[GuineaPigFalconer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waaaaay too toxic. Thought there might be some romance, but nope.

[MeadeReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did anyone else think this manga was going to be about gay chess players? Cause it’s not. It’s like a Drarry where Harry never stops obsessing insanely over his hatred of Draco after graduation.