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No Moral (Novel) #3
노 모럴 3
“법정이란 약육강식의 견본 같은 곳.
그러나 때로는 준비된 다윗이 골리앗을 이긴다.”
약자들 편에서 무료 변론도 마다않던 변호사 도윤신.
그런 그가 누나의 강권으로 인해
대형 로펌 〈도국〉에 입사하여
때론 비열한 수까지 써 가며 승리를 거머쥐는
파트너 변호사 강세헌의 어쏘로 들어가게 된다.
예상은 했지만 강세헌과 도윤신은
삶의 방식은 물론이요, 모든 것이 달랐다.
윤신이 견지해 왔던 건전한 상식은
비합리적인 것으로 치부되었고,
세헌은 변호사 윤신의 능력을 의심하며
혹독하게 방치하고 외면했다.
하지만 몇 번의 통과의례를 거친 덕분일까.
조금씩 마음을 열기 시작한 세헌이
급기야는 윤신을 뒤에서 몰래 도와주기 시작하는데…….
“수석님. 실은, 있잖아요.”
“그게 뭔진 말하지 마.”
“왜요?”
“……부탁 들어주고 싶을 거 같으니까. 난 귀찮아지기 싫어.”
그러나 때로는 준비된 다윗이 골리앗을 이긴다.”
약자들 편에서 무료 변론도 마다않던 변호사 도윤신.
그런 그가 누나의 강권으로 인해
대형 로펌 〈도국〉에 입사하여
때론 비열한 수까지 써 가며 승리를 거머쥐는
파트너 변호사 강세헌의 어쏘로 들어가게 된다.
예상은 했지만 강세헌과 도윤신은
삶의 방식은 물론이요, 모든 것이 달랐다.
윤신이 견지해 왔던 건전한 상식은
비합리적인 것으로 치부되었고,
세헌은 변호사 윤신의 능력을 의심하며
혹독하게 방치하고 외면했다.
하지만 몇 번의 통과의례를 거친 덕분일까.
조금씩 마음을 열기 시작한 세헌이
급기야는 윤신을 뒤에서 몰래 도와주기 시작하는데…….
“수석님. 실은, 있잖아요.”
“그게 뭔진 말하지 마.”
“왜요?”
“……부탁 들어주고 싶을 거 같으니까. 난 귀찮아지기 싫어.”
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First published March 23, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 17, 2023
I will admit the time skip caught me off-guard. I did not expect the story to skip a few years in the middle especially since the sister's lawsuit was taking up a majority of the story. I felt somewhat robbed of the story as I expected it to be much more dragged out than this.
Another factor in the story that caught me off guard was definitely the ending. As the version I was reading had over 100 more chapters left I was thinking that we were away from the ending. Thus when the story showed the words 'The End', I was left somewhat flabbergasted. I felt as if we were supposed to see more of their story. The side stories seem to expand on their romance but from what I see there are a few time skips in that too.
It feels like the author wanted to show more of their relationship without dragging the story. As I went into the story completely blind, I was not expecting the explicit content either. Due to the fact that the first volume was more plot-driven, I have to admit I expected the same tone throughout the rest of the book.
In no way am I complaining as I found all of this quite entertaining to read. Now that I've come this far, I might as well finish the side stories too.
Another factor in the story that caught me off guard was definitely the ending. As the version I was reading had over 100 more chapters left I was thinking that we were away from the ending. Thus when the story showed the words 'The End', I was left somewhat flabbergasted. I felt as if we were supposed to see more of their story. The side stories seem to expand on their romance but from what I see there are a few time skips in that too.
It feels like the author wanted to show more of their relationship without dragging the story. As I went into the story completely blind, I was not expecting the explicit content either. Due to the fact that the first volume was more plot-driven, I have to admit I expected the same tone throughout the rest of the book.
In no way am I complaining as I found all of this quite entertaining to read. Now that I've come this far, I might as well finish the side stories too.
Read
May 26, 2025“suits” if they had been brave about Mike and Harvey tbh
February 26, 2025
This is the last volume for the main story, and it focuses both on Yoonshin and Sehun's deepening relationship and the impending divorce proceedings of Yoonshin's sister.
Here, we get to read all about how Yoonshin and Sehun begin to imagine their lives intertwining after spending some time denying their feelings for each other. Both of our main characters have strong personalities, as expected of lawyers, but they also undoubtedly feel strongly for each other. Sehun can be quite a sadist in bed, but his actions outside of the bedroom are so tender and affectionate.
What I deeply appreciate about this series, from the first volume until this one, is how involved the legal aspect is in the narrative of the story. I was genuinely interested in how Ikyung's situation will unfold, and found myself a little bit dissatisfied that it was glossed over towards the end of the volume. (Then again, I feel like elaborating on this part of the plot would extend the main story by a full volume entirely.)
We end the novel with what I think is fairly typical for every Korean story involving office workers - with some kind of resolution regarding our main characters' careers. Thankfully, given how the plot unfolds in the middle part of this volume, there's nothing as dramatic as someone needing to move to another country or anything. But I found it quite amusing that every Korean office worker BL I've read employs this type of plot point or trope.
Overall, I really liked the main story! It admittedly starts slow and only picks up steam in the second volume, but I don't think it ever dragged to the point of boredom and I like how researched the narrative feels. The romance is still front and center but the setting and the character occupations aren't some throwaway props either.
Here, we get to read all about how Yoonshin and Sehun begin to imagine their lives intertwining after spending some time denying their feelings for each other. Both of our main characters have strong personalities, as expected of lawyers, but they also undoubtedly feel strongly for each other. Sehun can be quite a sadist in bed, but his actions outside of the bedroom are so tender and affectionate.
What I deeply appreciate about this series, from the first volume until this one, is how involved the legal aspect is in the narrative of the story. I was genuinely interested in how Ikyung's situation will unfold, and found myself a little bit dissatisfied that it was glossed over towards the end of the volume. (Then again, I feel like elaborating on this part of the plot would extend the main story by a full volume entirely.)
We end the novel with what I think is fairly typical for every Korean story involving office workers - with some kind of resolution regarding our main characters' careers. Thankfully, given how the plot unfolds in the middle part of this volume, there's nothing as dramatic as someone needing to move to another country or anything. But I found it quite amusing that every Korean office worker BL I've read employs this type of plot point or trope.
Overall, I really liked the main story! It admittedly starts slow and only picks up steam in the second volume, but I don't think it ever dragged to the point of boredom and I like how researched the narrative feels. The romance is still front and center but the setting and the character occupations aren't some throwaway props either.
January 13, 2025
First fav of the year. I'm shoocked. Review in Vol 1
January 18, 2024
No Moral starts off with a bang but slows down to a crawl after the main characters get together. In short, the last 30 chapters were painfully slow with little to no plot development. I particularly liked the characterisation in this book. Especially the ML - Kang Sehun. He is cynical, sharp, acerbic and extremely frosty. He’s basically an asshole who has little to no regard for anyone.
Sehun is a very believable character. He displays frustration over having to baby sit someone and displays displease over having to supervise him against his wishes. It’s also very believable for him to be contemptuous of the MC considering he believes that people with lofty ideals are those who can afford them. He has come up the hard way and believes showing mercy is akin to showing weakness.
Why did I particularly like this characterisation? Because being in love doesn’t drastically change Sehun. He continues to be an asshole, albeit to a somewhat lesser degree. He also doesn’t fall in love very easily. I liked the fact that his internal struggle came through in the writing. The push and pull he felt was very obvious and he doesn’t overcome his paranoia and suspicions overnight. It’s a gradual process and that made it more realistic.
In equal measure but diametrically opposite, the MC - Do Yoonshin, is very poorly written. He’s supposedly someone of high moral standing but the dude has little to no backbone. It goes against his seemingly ‘stands up for the weak’ persona, when he can’t stand up for himself. Sure, he’s a little bold and wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s also naïve and speaks his mind but he’s got no sense of awareness. He doesn’t question his sister’s motivations when she insists and forces him to work at Doguk and under Sehun. He doesn’t fight back when Sehun treats him like shit, which happens several times even after they get together. He doesn’t feel angry when Sehun bans him from allowing his sister to enter his home. He doesn’t suspect anything when his sister’s marriage is falling apart. He has no friends and is very happy being in a submissive role in his relationship with Sehun.
Because of this, the relationship doesn’t feel very balanced. It makes me, a cynic myself, ask what Sehun likes about Yoonshin and what Yoonshin likes about Sehun.
Yoonshin is not intimidated by Sehun. That is the only explanation we’re giving to understand why Yoonshin aggravates Sehun in the start. But is that enough to blossom into love? It’s a little hard to understand this relationship beyond the physical attraction. Sehun is described as hot, domineering and very smart. Yoonshin is described as pale, skinny with fair rosy cheeks. Does this make them sound interesting? Or does this fit within the stereotypical trope of a power top and submissive bottom?
No Moral had great potential if the last few chapters were given a little more spark and if the MC’s character was given a lot more spine.
Sehun is a very believable character. He displays frustration over having to baby sit someone and displays displease over having to supervise him against his wishes. It’s also very believable for him to be contemptuous of the MC considering he believes that people with lofty ideals are those who can afford them. He has come up the hard way and believes showing mercy is akin to showing weakness.
Why did I particularly like this characterisation? Because being in love doesn’t drastically change Sehun. He continues to be an asshole, albeit to a somewhat lesser degree. He also doesn’t fall in love very easily. I liked the fact that his internal struggle came through in the writing. The push and pull he felt was very obvious and he doesn’t overcome his paranoia and suspicions overnight. It’s a gradual process and that made it more realistic.
In equal measure but diametrically opposite, the MC - Do Yoonshin, is very poorly written. He’s supposedly someone of high moral standing but the dude has little to no backbone. It goes against his seemingly ‘stands up for the weak’ persona, when he can’t stand up for himself. Sure, he’s a little bold and wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s also naïve and speaks his mind but he’s got no sense of awareness. He doesn’t question his sister’s motivations when she insists and forces him to work at Doguk and under Sehun. He doesn’t fight back when Sehun treats him like shit, which happens several times even after they get together. He doesn’t feel angry when Sehun bans him from allowing his sister to enter his home. He doesn’t suspect anything when his sister’s marriage is falling apart. He has no friends and is very happy being in a submissive role in his relationship with Sehun.
Because of this, the relationship doesn’t feel very balanced. It makes me, a cynic myself, ask what Sehun likes about Yoonshin and what Yoonshin likes about Sehun.
Yoonshin is not intimidated by Sehun. That is the only explanation we’re giving to understand why Yoonshin aggravates Sehun in the start. But is that enough to blossom into love? It’s a little hard to understand this relationship beyond the physical attraction. Sehun is described as hot, domineering and very smart. Yoonshin is described as pale, skinny with fair rosy cheeks. Does this make them sound interesting? Or does this fit within the stereotypical trope of a power top and submissive bottom?
No Moral had great potential if the last few chapters were given a little more spark and if the MC’s character was given a lot more spine.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2024
Definitely had it’s flaws but I overall loved it I wish we got to see more of them and less of whatever is going on with the sister’s divorce. I didn’t particularly care for that and the cases and there was definitely a lot more build upon.. I just wish it was longer
July 16, 2025
I have mixed feelings on this volume. I still like Sehun and Yoonshin's relationship. There were quite a lot of sex scenes, which I'm personally not a fan of, but that didn't impact my rating. My main conflict is with the plot. While the majority of this book is focused on Sehun and Yoonshin's relationship, there is the underlying plot of Yoonshin's sister's divorce. Said divorce really starts to ramp up in this volume, so I figured there was going to be a bunch of focus on it. But there wasn't. We get maybe a chapter or two of the court proceedings, then a time jump to 2 years later with the case wrapping up. It just felt like the author got tired of writing the lawyer stuff and wanted to just skip over it and get back to the romance. I honestly should probably give this book 3 stars because of the main plot's abrupt ending, but whatever, I liked the romance.
May 7, 2025
DNF episode 20
It's not bad just painfully slow. Also I know Sehun also really loves Yoonshin but I'm not a fan of a lead in romance who doesn't verbalize their emotions. It's always Yoonshin who is the first--first to say I like you, first to confess, first to ask to date, first to ask to have sex, etc--and by this time it gets very annoying and feels unbalanced. Yoonshin feels so picture perfect for Sehun he feels like some AI dating model.
It's not bad just painfully slow. Also I know Sehun also really loves Yoonshin but I'm not a fan of a lead in romance who doesn't verbalize their emotions. It's always Yoonshin who is the first--first to say I like you, first to confess, first to ask to date, first to ask to have sex, etc--and by this time it gets very annoying and feels unbalanced. Yoonshin feels so picture perfect for Sehun he feels like some AI dating model.
October 30, 2024
I was looking forward to his sisters lawsuit I’m sad they skipped it instead we got them glued to each other which was not bad but not what I wanted
October 30, 2025
Actual Rating: 3.75
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews