The New Recruit 1

신입사원 [Sinip Sawon / Sinipsawon] #1

by Moscareto, Zec (Adapted by)

I'm dating my super strict boss!

After spending his 20s getting over a crush, Seunghyun vowed to never give his heart to someone in the same field again. Enter Jongchan, Seunghyun's tough new boss with a surprising soft side. Will Seunghyun's first job and first relationship be a success?

This volume collects episodes 1-13 of the webcomic The New Recruit.

Genres: Manga, Manhwa, Romance, LGBT, Queer, Yaoi, Comics

Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2022

Reviews

[Dilushani Jayalath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying, we should have more mature love stories like this. Adults acting as adults should. We have two mature characters finding each other slowly and falling (and healing) for each other. The office politics may be boring for some but so damn realistic. Considering the current place I work has a toxic environment similar to what is written in the story, I almost felt as if I was looking through a glass window at my own office.
Am I hooked on to it? Definitely. The story seems solid and the characters are easy to read. (Also it helps that the artwork is pretty). Off to the next volume.

[Drusilla]

Insanely boring. 🥱🥱🥱 It's hard for me to say anything good about this book. It is not bad in any way. The basic idea is nice, the characters are well developed. The coloring is well done and a nice bonus addition. But the dialogues are really boring and unfortunately super annoying in parts. The kisses are hot and I liked the blushing, very cute.
However, that alone is not enough to motivate me to buy the next part, even if this one ends at the most inconvenient passage imaginable. Annoying cliffhanger. 😤
I decided against giving the book a rating. It doesn't deserve a bad rating and I think it's rather due to me that it didn't work to convince me.

[Romysaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a goner for any work place romance, especially the office one. So our Seunghyun is taking his first job in his entire life.. but guess what? It's not the only first he got. Because he's surprisingly a virgin, with no ex's or kisses. Very interesting right?

Ahhh this was so sweet, Mr Kim is so charming and charismatic. I thought he was such a grumpy boss, but no.. I was wrong, he's so softy teddy bear. Although I didn't like the insta love so much, they're already together and it's the first volume, but I'm enjoying my self here. So much actually.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this is addictive. I like that both guys are unambiguously queer (no "gay for you" trope) and that the office aspect isn't just window dressing.

[туся · Rating 4 out of 5]

я думала, що ця стадія до переходу стосунків буде довшою, але...це також було добре.
милунчики, які можуть поговорити та віришити усі питання? так, це сюди
ну це смаколик

[Imanewreader ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i LOVE a good office romance with a cute puppy and scary, but sweet manager.
i'm smelling drama and HERE for it (mainly, because i have already read it multiple times and can handle the pain)

[angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you just discovered webtoons and BL... Oh boi

[Cyndi (hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The office politics and advertising mumbo jumbo sort of overwhelm the story, yet I'm kind of addicted to it. I'm having a hard time getting a read on Mr. Kim and I really need Seunghyun to stop calling him Mr. Kim when they're making out, but all of the blushing and the kissing and the holding hands make the awkward power dynamic worth it. I just need to see some personalities on these guys. They both feel very flat.

[andi ✿ · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay, that’s it! jongchan and seunghyun is now my newest favorite bl couple 🫶

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely think it's a 'me' thing. I don't think office romances in general are something that I enjoy. Maybe cos I work in one irl and just want to not be reminded of that 😆

[Daesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an ok story, the plot was pretty simple but the art cute. There were too many sex scenes, but the couple was sweet.

4 stars.

[Zara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry if nothing makes sense, I did this time after I read it and it also took me long to read considering is a short manga, I was tired and just finish it to get it off me so I’ll just write somethings I still have cuz I don't even remember the names.
Didn't get half of the stuff, like the reason of why the main characters "could not be together" (they were just wandering around, if they are not going to make them just date when they were already over each other, at least they could give us a real problem) are just dumb, the things happened really fast to my liking.
Also the things at work are really confusing I mean half of the time they show us the characters working and stuff but it doesn't really changes the plot, the only thing that makes a bit of sense is the guy asking to get the stuff done, but how did that guy got even there, they were in different areas and one of them was new so when did they got the chance to met each other, and thinking about it I don't know how the main characters got together.

[Carbonated Bubbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

The New Employee/Recruit (New Employee; 신입사원) by Moscareto, Ill. Zec
Type: Manhwa
Genre/Tropes: Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, Yaoi, Boss x Employee
Where: RidiBooks, Lezhin, Mr Blue, Naver Series
Languages: Korean, English
Warnings: Sexual Themes
Status: Complete
Description: Enter Seunghyun, a virgin in his late twenties. A late bloomer, he finally manages to score the internship of his dreams. On his first day at work, he runs into the handsome yet cold Jongchan Kim. Who is he? Just Seunghyun’s new boss! Will the two be able to keep their hands off each other at work?

[Jinx Winx · Rating 2 out of 5]

The romance itself is interesting enough, but the office politics sort of took me out of it. We are told the nitty gritty of aspects of the job and univerisities, but I just wanted to read a romance story. I am not sure if there's enough in here to continue the series.

[Poisonivy_Seastars · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually kind of cute??? And my jaw actually dropped a couple times—like some drama I did NOT expect went down

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a nice little office romance.
(Goddammit, I fell into the 'short romance manwha' trap again. I'm so weak.)

[Hoda · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was so cute gawd😭

very wholesome and sweet relationship
it's all good feeling and cute stuff.
no trauma or abuse
and gorgeous art

I really loved it

[Namratha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly straightforward office romance beautifully drawn (with colored panels) but more heavily focused on office politics and advertising jargon.

[Curious Madra · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this was a cute office romance story about the uke and the seme but the pacing was too fast for my taste

[Nix Buttons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the relationship, but the plot was a bit boring. There wasn't really anything besides their relationship itself going on.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love office romances, Perfect Buddy was my first and this one is my next and I love it so much. I can’t wait to continue this series

[Signe Tofft-Glans · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very addicting and the ending was very satisfying and very beautiful, however I didn’t like the fact that there is very few times where Seunghyon actually gives spoken consent in the sex scenes which got a bit painful to read at times. Otherwise I generally liked it. <3

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels like On or Off, but if they were taking things really slow. I love office romance in manga!!!!

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet and *spicy* office romance, BL manhwa.

This story follows 29-year-old Seunghyun as he tries to navigate both finding a job and finding romance. He’s not had much luck with either. A bout of unrequited love in college really demoralized him and attaining a master’s degree but still struggling to find work in such a competitive market has further discouraged him.

With the help of an old friend from his college’s LGBTQIA club, Seunghyun is finally able to snag an internship at a big company. There, he’s placed on a team with Kim Jongchan.

Handsome and talented, Kim Jongchan is known for his for expecting a lot from his subordinates and being tough. But, Seunghyun seems to meet all of Jongchan’s expectations—and then some. It’s actually surprising to Jongchan that Seunghyun has been looked over until now.

While working together, the two become quite close. Their feelings for each other quickly grow and the two decide to embark on a relationship.

But, is this workplace romance between an employee and their boss destined for failure?

Though tropey at points, I really enjoyed this story a lot.

Especially for the BL genre which is notorious for its toxic, abusive, and problematic stories, I think this series stands out for being more wholesome. Though there is an unequal power dynamic for sure, the central relationship is much more consensual and mutually respectful than is typical for the genre. Further, this story never uses the power dynamic in an abusive manner. It’s a component of the story but it’s not weaponized.

Honestly, I found the central relationship to be very cute and unproblematic. I appreciate how these two characters grow to support each other and how they demonstrate their care for each other through their actions and considerations. Somehow, that makes their relationship novel for this genre.

Anyway.

The *spice* is also very nice. The erotic scenes are both sensual and intimate. There’s a good balance between developing the central relationship and fulfilling reader fantasies. Plus, like most manhwa, we got full-color spreads here :)

So, I’d definitely recommend this series to BL readers who are looking for a more thoughtful story and/or to readers who enjoy a queer romance read with some decent spice~

[animasoul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aufgrund meiner neuen Leidenschaft für k-Dramas kann ich schlecht nein zu Webtoon-Geschichten sagen. *seufz* Das ist selbst für mich schwer nachvollziehbar. Aber gerade deswegen bin ich auf diese Reihe aufmerksam geworden. Allerdings habe ich hier mit einer noch etwas heißeren Liebesgeschichte gerechnet.

Im Vergleich zu meinen Erwartungen ist die Geschichte einfach viel erwachsenen, gefühlvoller und mitreißender als erwartet. Ich mochte die beiden Protagonisten von Anfang an. Auch einige, immer wieder sehr präsente Nebencharaktere fand ich hinreißend. Sie wurden als Menschen dargestellt. Und nicht immer lief alles perfekt. Jeder hatte seine Macken und wurde auch damit so akzeptiert.

Natürlich gibt es für die Protagonisten ein paar natürlich auftretende Hürden im privaten wie auch beruflichen Umfeld. Doch das wurde recht gut gelöst. Die Szenen, die eine Büroromane in der Regel ausmachen, blieben fast vollkommen aus. Denn auch hier konnte das Paar an sich berufliches und privates voneinander trennen. Ich frage mich immer wieder, warum das in normalen anderen Mangas nicht der Fall ist.

Der Zeichenstil ist für einen Webtoon/Manwha gut und hat mir wirklich gefallen. Ich gewöhne mich langsam wirklich dran. Was ich allerdings immer noch verschwenderisch finde, ist, wenn die Seiten nicht vollständig genutzt werden. Aber auch das hielt sich bei dieser Geschichte hier deutlich zurück. Da habe ich schon verschwenderischere Ausführungen gesehen.

Alles an sich eine sehr schöne BL-Lovestory zwischen zwei erwachsenen Männern mit einer kleinen Altersdifferenz, die sich zueinander hingezogen fühlen und aufeinander zugehen. Mich hat die Geschichte sehr gut unterhalten und ich freue mich schon jetzt auf Band 2.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where to Read: Manta

After spending his 20s pining over a crush, Seunghyun has decided to finally start living for himself. He's also vowed to himself to never get involved with someone in the same field again. But then he starts his internship and his new boss and his unexpected soft side has quickly started to wear away his resolve. Jongchan is known for being very strict, but producing amazing results. He's been dumped by many partners for being too dedicated to his work. He's decided to forget about relationships altogether, but for some reason the new intern makes him want to try again.

*Maybe more of 3.5

Once again reviewing the first volume as the full series. These Manta office romances are starting to blur together a little bit, but they're just so easy binge read. It was short and I think it was written and structured pretty well. Probably because it was based on a novel. It got way more involved in the work talk than I was expecting and I got a bit lost in some places especially with everything that happened in the end. Ignoring that though, I really liked the relationship. This was just a feel good read. There's not really much angst. I mean Seunghyun does experience some work place bullying, then there's the whole thing with the ex crush and I did tear up at the scene where he and his friend Jihyeon had their bonding moment talking about their failed romances. But otherwise there's nothing high stakes and the romance is really cute. This has similar vibes to On or Off imo. I liked it.

[Cassie Renais · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the only office romances I've read that actually paid attention to the office, the work, and the careers of the two MCs. There's a genuine plot to the setting and the relationship, and the conflicts that they have to work through are realistic (not just miscommunications that could easily be solved by talking to each other). They have rich inner lives and emotional journeys, as well as external challenges to overcome. Most impressively, the scary boss archetype actually had a personality! And the cute intern/underling archetype wasn't just a raging mess of hormones and bad decisions. Most importantly, they were both likeable in their own way, and even more likeable together because you can see how they make each other better people.

Like most of these webtoons, this devolved into more and more smut the longer the series went on, but it was always in character, which is more than I can say for a lot of similar stories.

Overall, I enjoyed this, but I kept waiting for there to be some kind of issue related to their workplace relationship, only it never eventuated. I can't decide if that's a good or a bad thing. On the one hand, it would have been stressful to read about them being outed at work; on the other, if they were being that unsubtle and unprofessional then they deserve to have consequences for their actions.

[Jibug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this for a very specific reason. When the drama was airing, I had just finished episode 1 and I was impatient to wait for more episodes, so I picked up the source material and finished reading this before finishing the drama. The drama is so much more tame and innocent than this manhwa. Aside for all the smut that was taken out, the ending to the drama is different from the manhwa, but the differences don't really change much with the core plot.

As for the manhwa, it didn't stand out to me. It was a typical office romance BL with in-office politics and a protagonist falling for his boss. There are misunderstandings in the beginning and pasts that pop up that the couple have to move forward from. It's just that I've read better than this. I don't think it's bad, just boring to me. The only reason why I finished reading it, is mostly to compare it with the drama. The drama isnt the best I've seen either, but I do want to support LGBTQIA media because South Korea hasn't produced very much, but within these last couple of years it's really starting to take off which is awesome and if I can I always like to go back to the source material.

[Elaine White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this! The art is gorgeous and both MC's are clearly distinguishable, in looks and personality.

Seunghyun Woo is an intern at a big firm, joining the advertising team. It's not his dream job, but the only place he got accepted. He's had an unrequired crush on college friend Yusung for years, but recently given up hope. Unfortunately, he quickly discovers that Yusung works at the company he's just joined!
Worse, he's on a team with the most notorious leader - Jongchan Kim - who takes an unexpected shine to him.

I really loved Seunghyun and Jongchan, who were sunshine x grumpy together. They had amazing chemistry and a great story leading up to them getting together. I also loved Seung's bestie Jiyeon, who is so much fun.

Jongchan is the total opposite to Seunghyun - he's dated often, but always get accused of being married to his work and not invested in the relationship. Seunghyun on the other hand has zero experience, despite coming up for 30! So when they come together, there's a definite opposites attract trope as well as a virgin MC.

Seunghyun is SO cute and Jongchan is far more forward and fun than I expected. I can't wait to read more.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A interesting BL manhwa that takes place in corporate South Korea. Im sure you could guess that though, whats most interesting is the dynamic between the two. You have a protagonist that is into someone and bases their entire career existence on them, then you have a new crush in the office. The clash of that dynamic happens in Volume 2. However, the first chapter serves as excellent set dressing for the series. It introduces our characters well enough for a BL manga, there could always be more investment in "what are their morals?" and other questions about their psyche. I will say that there is a "German shepherd boy and Emo goth girl" type dynamic here, a super upbeat positive optimist VS a serious tough brooding and mature professional. If you're tired of this trope, of which you likely are you might wanna skip this series. However, if you are like me and you tend not to care about clichés and stereotypical writing, you just here for the feels and the fluff. This could be a interesting read.

Volume 1: 7.5/10 ⭐
Volume 2: Currently Reading
Volume 3: