The New Recruit (Comic) Vol. 2

신입사원 [Sinip Sawon / Sinipsawon] #2

by Zec (Illustrator), Moscareto

OFFICE OVERTURE

In college, Seunghyun pursued both a master’s degree and unrequited love. Now, not only is he single, but he’s the oldest intern at AR Creative. Worse, he’s been assigned to work under the extremely handsome but super-strict Mr. Kim. Quite unexpectedly, the aloof Mr. Kim develops a soft spot for his subordinate. But before anything becomes serious, Seunghyun nips their romance in the bud when he discovers that the boss’s ex is none other than the guy he was pining for during his student days. Are the two just a flash in the pan, or are they headed towards a full-on, steamy office romance?

Genres: Manhwa, Manga, Romance, Yaoi, LGBT, Adult, Contemporary

272 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 2022

Reviews

[L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

LMAOOOO WHAT A MEAN PLACE TO END THIS VOLUME, both for me and Kim Jongchan lol...

I am continuing to love this series, and it is quickly becoming one of my all time favorite bl manwhas. Seunghyun is super cute and endearing, I love everything about Jongchan and how desperately in love he is with Seunghyun, and their relationship is just so heartwarming and a breath of fresh air -- a perfect mix of mature and cute and sexy. Like really sexy. I am a huge fan of both ZEC's art style and many things that go on in the sexy scenes. It's a delight.

But outside of that!! I love how mature their relationship is. I cheated and went and watched The New Employee while waiting for this volume to come out, and I was delighted when I saw both how brief the fight was and how desperate they both were to resolve it, and I think the manwha does it even better. I really could feel how much they care about each other, how much they want to keep caring about each other, and how they had to find a balance between their emotions and understanding the other person, and that's just... such a good, mature basis for a relationship -- loving someone and wanting to be better for them and because of them, wanting to understand them, and wanting to meet them half way, supporting them without smothering them.

Ahhhhh... I just really love these two. I can see myself returning to this series often to just indulge this warm, fuzzy feeling...

[Dilushani Jayalath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seunghyun is such a sweetheart—honestly, calling him a “cute puppy” feels like the most accurate compliment. He’s gentle, thoughtful, and impossible not to love. Characters like him are rare, and he brings so much warmth to the story.
What really made this book stand out to me was how realistic and mature the romance felt. There’s a subtlety to the way feelings develop, and that quiet emotional depth made everything feel incredibly authentic. Nothing felt rushed or overly dramatized—it was all about the small, meaningful moments that build a genuine connection.

Books like this are such a refreshing change from the usual high-drama love stories. It’s soft, emotionally grounded, and still manages to hit you right in the feels when it counts. I love when a story knows how to be romantic without being loud about it.

Also, major bonus points for the fact that there’s a physical English translation available—I love being able to hold a book like this in my hands. It’s definitely one I’ll be keeping on my shelf (and probably rereading when I need something comforting).

If you enjoy slow-burn romance with emotional maturity and a truly lovable cast, this one is absolutely worth picking up.

[Francis Dominic · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This volume is so hot. And their relationship talks are SO REAL to irl situations. I love the personal growth depicted in this one. Might have to give it 5STARS because the s*x too felt intentional and with purpose. Yeah I love these two so much. But I didn’t know VOL 3. IS THE LAST ONE?! (05/30/2025)

[Imanewreader ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

hi, it's me. reading office romances in the office hoping for a manager Jongchan Kim to come to me and take care of me (emotionally, romantically, and physically)

God, have you seen what Moscareto did to her characters? i want the same.

i'm alright. (no)
i love them. (so much)

[MistyWish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this even more than the first because everything from the art style and the tender moments made my heart melt and made me jealous of how cute they looked together and just how they are around each other it literally made me blush in a thousand different ways, I NEED book 3!!!!!

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a wild place to end this volume, but I look forward to seeing how this series ends.

[Ester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Con casi treinta años, Seunghyun ha conseguido entrar de becario en la Agencia AR, el lugar donde sueña con ser un empleado oficial y, aunque no sepa nada de publicidad, disfruta aprendiendo del señor Kim, su jefe, y después de pasar tiempo con él, su relación laboral está derivando a una más personal y profunda. Por ello, y a pesar de que Seunghyun no quería tener que vivir ningún tipo de romance en su lugar de trabajo para no volver a sufrir algo parecido a lo que experimento durante sus años de universitario, la realidad es que lo que está sintiendo por su jefe es superior a sus fuerzas y más cuando los besos y las manos de Jongchan Kim hace que pierda la razón.

Pero lo que menos se imaginaba nuestro adorable y tierno becario era que, después de haber tenido una noche ardiente con su jefe entre besos y caricias, una pluma estilográfica lo llevara de nuevo al pasado y a los sentimientos que tanto desea olvidar y sepultar para siempre bajo una losa. ¿Por qué el señor Kim tiene esa pluma que él ayudó a su primer amor a escoger para su novio?

Sin mediar palabra, Seunghyun se marcha de la casa del señor Kim y comienza a evitarlo, confuso, sin saber cómo sentirse y rememorando el sufrimiento de su amor no correspondido y el día en el que decidió ponerle fin; el día que ahora parece habérsele pegado a la espalda como un fardo y del cual no puede desprenderse.

Cuando la situación se hace insostenible y el señor Kim coge por banda a Seunghyun para que le dé una explicación, las cosas solo van a peor y es que Jongchan es incapaz de comprender los sentimientos de Seunghyun; es más, para él todo ese amalgama de emociones es insignificante. Esta incomprensión entre ambos pondrá fin a su incipiente relación, ¿pero qué hay de esos sentimientos que ambos siguen sintiendo y que parecen negarse a desaparecer?

Encontrándonos en el nudo de la historia, en su centro, este segundo volumen de El nuevo empleado se centra mucho en los sentimientos de ambos protagonistas y en sus psicologías para que podamos entenderlos y para que ellos mismos, a su vez, se autoanalicen y decidan si dar un paso adelante o no hacia esa relación que habían comenzado y que, antes de avanzar, se encuentra con el primer y más complicado de los obstáculos.

Podéis leer la reseña completa en mi blog:

https://unabibliotecaentremundos.blog...

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

when men are competent at their jobs *fans self*

[Cheesy (Rhysand's wife) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raw. Next question.

[Flor Márquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia fue separada en tres volúmenes pero yo voy a hacer una sola reseña para todas las partes.
Me gustó la historia pero fue un poco aburrida. La pareja principal es muy cute y ambos tienen muy buena química pero todo el tema empresarial fue extremadamente tedioso, la verdad es que me salte la mayoría de las páginas que trataban de charlas laborales. Mi otro problema fue que le faltó angst y drama porque el plot principal de la historia llega a su punto más alto y te quedas como: “¿eso es todo?” “¿Este va a ser todo el problema que van a tener que enfrentar?” meh.
Al final voy a terminar olvidándome de este libro muy pronto.

[| Shakshi | · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well.. Since it is in the office.... I am in !!
💞💞💞

[Ritika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is getting better and better!

[Megan | The Mood Read Queen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just realized the webtoon had been published in three volumes in Korean, which means I can count all three books. My real review is on the first volume. :)

[Ada Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

giggling and kicking up my feet for real with this one

[☽｡⋆ Naidah ₊˚ෆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

Man I love this story. It’s so wholesome 🥹

[Manon · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this one!

[Akansha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll do my best to make you think maybe all that heartache over Yusung happened so I could meet Jongchan.

A green flag top and a couple that understands the importance of sorting out their issues through proper communication will always we superior. I loved how both the main characters put so much effort to make the relationship work.

[Jzaday · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, I think the issue is my personal taste. if you like a fluffy office romance this is fab! but I want more angst. there was 0.0001 second of jealousy hahaha. that's just my tastes but I still enjoyed it

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been reading more bl manhwas lately (and enjoying them!) but these huge dongs need to be sized down lol. These tops have monster dongs and it’s a little scary!!!!

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Moscaretos works so much

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd forgotten that there's actually so little real drama in their relationship. I like that.

Their separation at the start of this volume is due to an understandable surge of hurt and confusion with Kim Jongchan being too tightly tied to Seunghyun's past. It's something that's difficult to explain to someone he really hasn't known for very long, and when he finally makes the attempt, it doesn't go well.

Kim Jongchan tries, at first, to do everything that makes sense to him: explain that the relationship between him and Yusung is long over and was entirely casual anyway; offer to put some distance between himself and Yusung to make Seunghyun feel more comfortable; throw away the fountain pen he'd forgotten had ever been a gift from an ex.

Seunghyun says no to all of those practical solutions, stuck in an emotional turmoil that Kim Jongchan can't understand and gives up on in frustration. It's too much; he's 35 years old, has never been good at emotional confrontations, and always loses relationships anyway when his partners say he's not able to understand them. So what's the point? It's over now anyway.

So they don't talk, for a while. But Kim Jongchan does absolutely nothing to make Seunghyun's life any different at work, which is important: workplace romances have their issues, but he's consistently a really good boss and a really good person, and Seunghyun sees this even during the worst points of their breakup.

The thing I like about all of this is that both of their points of view make sense. Kim Jongchan, as someone with a lot more experience with relationships and romance and everything in between, is pretty dismissive of a one-sided crush that'd ended a long time ago. Why would Seunghyun cling to that when it didn't even mean anything? Why should it have an impact on a very current and very real relationship?

Seunghyun stands up for himself, though, telling Kim Jongchan that he doesn't appreciate him brushing off his emotions like that, and I really, really liked that. (Something I also...feel like I don't often see in manhwa.) Maybe he's inexperienced, and maybe it looks silly to other people, but it did mean something to him, and it's not okay for anyone else to minimize his pain.

The reunion was really, really good. Kim Jongchan tells Seunghyun, in complete honesty, that he doesn't understand him and won't ever lie about that just to try to smooth things over. But he wants to learn how to understand him - for the first time ever in a relationship. It's such an important building block for a real relationship, and it patterns things for them and their future.

The rest of the volume is a lot of office drama, with layers of management feeling threatened by Kim Jongchan, and Seunghyun getting caught in the crosshairs. I liked how open Seunghyun is about the benefits he's receiving from his relationship with Kim Jongchan - as a non-director or team lead, he can't recommend Seunghyun for an open position, but he can coach him through the application process. Unfair? A little, yeah. But as someone who's gotten my fair share of jobs through the temp worker to permanent hire route, or through an inside track of knowing someone who works there, that's just the way the business world works, and you have to leverage your connections. Especially appropriate, really, for their type of work, where you have to learn to sell yourself as much as you do the products and ads.

The other thing that's great about this series is Seunghyun's friendship with Jiyeon. Love seeing two queer people being best friends and bonding over heartbreak and things that require a very specific sort of understanding. It's such a nice anchor for Seunghyun to have.

[Genevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these two! They are so adorable and their personalities, relationship, and anxieties are very realistic.

[Bee C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute volume but apparently not very memorable. I had to struggle to remember what I read and then I remembered 😅. Simple story of boss and subordinate relationship that was a bit rocky in the first volume. Seunghyun and Mr. Kim eventually talk out their problems and things get on their way. The only semblance of a plot is that Seunghyun is applying to work at the place he’s an intern at and Mr. Kim is helping him study, meanwhile the old geezers running everything are changing the process a bit and sorta have a bone to pick with Mr. Kim. Something tells me it’s not gonna work out for Seunghyun but with the next volume being the last we are gonna get that happy ending. Or else. 😑

[Cara Patel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one I've just seen all over Instagram and Facebook, and I had a good time reading it. It's a lot of fun and very gay, with a lot of workplace dynamics. It's a very quick and easy read, and it didn't have too much substance to it. Also, obviously if this was to happen in real life there's obviously the issue of someone sleeping with their boss, so morally this isn't the best story but, with comics like this I never take them too seriously in terms of things like that. So overall this is a very fun and quick read.

[Corrine Zelaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

They are too freaking cute. And he is so damn possessive and protective I love it. I really can’t wait til they can openly kiss at work. And I hope seunghyun gets the job and becomes more confident in himself.

[🧸♡뀨♡🐣 · Rating 4 out of 5]

這車速真快啊，組長好派！
（每次在外面都提心吊膽，為什麼都不怕被發現==心臟好大）

[Reyna Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 estrellas, en realidad

Disfruté la historia, pero esta temporada la sentí muy corta, me habría gustado tener más contenido de ellos. Además, tanta plática sobre trabajo me abrumo

[Estefany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hay algo que no me acaba de gustar, aunque la historia de amor me parece dulce y sin mucho drama.

[Eve Healy]

Spoiler-Included Review

[Keeloween · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love a green flag in BL