Haunted by Desire

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When approaching a Manhwa, I always brace myself for the long run because I feel like Manhwa has the tendency to drag out the plot with incessant sex scenes without the plot budging any inches forward.

Nevertheless, I more or less become infatuated with "Haunted by Desire", the reasons for which I will briefly elaborate to summon more readership:

The story sets in the historical Joseon era, and the soft watercolor art works well to accentuate the nostalgic mood. At first glance, the art doesn't seem to stand out but at closer examination, I realized the strong technicality behind little details in the hands, eyes, lips, ... sceneries. The fact that those details feel almost hidden yet elicit such distinct emotions within a change of brush angle is what amazes me. I mostly adore the facial expressions for the same reasons - each character has their own demeanor that isn't too in-your-face stereotypes like bulky, arrogant, violent, power-hungry tops and foul-mouthed, wretched bottoms (if you get what I mean). I love how most of the time, the characters are mild-mannered, especially Dohwi, and how the supernatural theme is not abused for showing-off purposes.

There are more than one couple in the story, and each has their own expression of love, all with its own allure which really puts me into those damned romantic musing - the "oh, to be pined for and embraced like that" sort of thought.

The first 40 chapters has the strongest execution, with meandering, poetic dialogues and cinematic transitions between the frames. After the revelation, the plot offers nothing new and you basically just stick around to show support for your favorite couples.

So in short, the plot is sufficient for the story to stand on (but not for long), and the artistic execution is absolutely endearing. Overall, "Haunted by Desire" is a sugarcoated story with a vibe similar to those Kdrama that involves mythological elements.