Quick Guide to This Review:
- 📚 Basic Info about the Work
- 🧡What I Liked & Disliked
- 🎯 Ratings & Memorable Quotes
- 📘 Learn a Korean Phrase
- 🟦 Recommendations & Warnings
✨ 1. Introduction
This story is a bit hard to evaluate. I clicked on it because of the eye-catching cover and the childhood-friends-to-lovers tag, and while I was initially excited… well, let’s just say it’s complicated. Was it a great read? I can list quite a few areas that need improvement. Was it terrible? Not really—I actually finished it smoothly—and I’ve even read it three times in total.
Like most childhood-friends stories, the plot is driven by one-sided love—here, it’s the top, Cha Dohyeon, who’s been secretly in love for years. He’s obsessive and cunning, and the story unfolds mainly from the bottom (Yeo Eunho)’s perspective. I expected to be swept away by the Dohyeon’s bold advances through Eunho’s eyes, to feel the fluttering heart and nervous tension—but honestly, those moments didn’t quite hit as hard as I hoped.
Let me explain in more detail below so you’ll understand where I’m coming from.
ℹ️ 2. Basic Info
• Title: Summertime / 하절기
• Author: (Original Novel) Iiromill 이로밀 / (Adaptation) Minggur 밍구르 / (Art) Zeolgu 절구
• Platform: Ridibooks & Lezhin (Korean) / Tappytoon (English)
• Status: Completed (38 main episodes + 15 side stories)
• Tags: Childhood friends, School life
• Top (Cha Dohyeon/차도현): One-sided love, Obsessive, Cunning, Dominant
• Bottom (Yeo Eunho/여은호): Oblivious, Hot-tempered, Pretty boy
Official Summary
(The following is the official description of “Summertime” from Tappytoon. It is provided here solely for reference. All rights belong to the original author and publisher.)
Yeo Eunho and Cha Dohyeon have been friends all their lives. After 19 years, Eunho seems to have a good grasp on Dohyeon, even knowing that his “perfect” image at school is a façade. But what Eunho is absolutely oblivious to is the fact that Dohyeon has had an obsessive crush on him for years. Though Dohyeon has been able to keep it a secret in order to slowly ease his way into Eunho’s heart, the sudden arrival of a new student named Kwon Yihyeon throws a wrench into his plans. What will Dohyeon do to keep Eunho by his side? And will Eunho ever realize his best friend’s feelings for him?
❤️ 3. What I Liked & Disliked
Things I liked:
• Cha Dohyeon’s sneaky obsession with Yeo Eunho
Before he confessed his feelings, Cha Dohyeon was your typical obsessive top—secretly enjoying physical closeness, constantly finding excuses to touch Eunho. There’s a scene where he randomly takes off Eunho’s slipper and starts massaging his foot while casually chatting. I was like, “WTF??? You freak???” 😂
Since their feelings aren’t fully revealed until about two-thirds into the story, the ambiguous phase lasts quite a while.
• Yeo Eunho’s obliviousness
- He’s clueless about his own charm.
Before their mutual feelings come out, Eunho is bothered by how popular Dohyeon is with girls—feeling strangely uncomfortable as a fellow guy. But really, he’s just completely unaware of his own appeal. According to Dohyeon, Eunho has always been more popular since middle school—he just never noticed. - He doesn’t realize how special he is to Dohyeon.
Eunho never even knew Dohyeon had germaphobia, since they often share food and eat off each other’s plates. Turns out, to Dohyeon, everything in the world is gross—except Eunho. 😂
Things I disliked:
• Contradictory setup
The two are so close that Dohyeon looks for his pajamas in Eunho’s closet, yet Eunho doesn’t know Dohyeon can’t even cook instant noodles? These kinds of inconsistencies feel forced—just to make Eunho go, “I really don’t get that guy,” and add drama to the ambiguity.
• Plot is triggered by a random side character
Dohyeon originally planned to slowly work his way into Eunho’s heart, but his plan gets derailed when a new gay transfer student shows up—making him jealous and kicking off the story.
While this transfer student seems important at first, he ends up being irrelevant and unlikable. There’s no emotional tension between him and Eunho, nor do they share any meaningful bond. He’s just a plot device to make Dohyeon jealous.
If that’s the only goal, a random classmate goofing around with Eunho would’ve been enough—there was no need to introduce a whole new character.
🎯 4. Ratings
• 🎨 Art ★★★★ (faces) / ★★★ (everything else)
- Pretty character designs
Cha Dohyeon is your classic school prince. Yeo Eunho is a gorgeous, catlike boy who’s just as stunning. Their faces alone are a treat, and the chibi art is adorable. - Youthful color palette
It fits the school setting perfectly. - Weaknesses in anatomy and perspective
The more dynamic the pose, the stiffer it looks. It doesn’t break immersion, but there’s definite room for growth. Perspective drawing also feels amateurish—some angles look warped.
• 🎬 Plot development and pacing ★★★
As a story about a one-sided childhood crush, the emotional intimacy is there. Unfortunately, too many scenes feel rushed—there’s not enough buildup for readers to get fully immersed in the characters’ emotions.
For example, the scene where they watch a movie together is over in what feels like three seconds. There’s no portrayal of their anticipation before the “movie date,” and barely any interaction or inner thoughts while they’re watching. It honestly just feels like—they watched a movie, and that’s it.
The 38-episode length is decent. But if they’d cut unnecessary characters (like the transfer student) and focused more on emotional development and inner conflict, the plot density and logic would have been stronger.
One example of rushed pacing:
They kiss → Eunho runs away → Dohyeon comes after him—this all happens in just 13 panels. It’s easy to follow, sure, but the emotional impact is weak.
I gave it ★★★ mostly because it still delivers the basic tropes of a childhood-friend + one-sided love combo. It’s passable (and hey, I did read it three times).
• 💬 Memorable Quote
내가 없는데 어떻게 여기가 우리 동네야.
Said by Cha Dohyeon after being rejected when he asks Eunho to move out together after starting university.
[Translation:] “If I’m not here, how can this still be our neighborhood / home?”)
📚 5. Korean Tip Time: Does “우리 동네” Really Just Mean “Our Neighborhood”?
The sentence “내가 없는데 어떻게 여기가 우리 동네야.” might look like it means “I’m not here anymore—how can this still be our neighborhood?”
But here, 우리 동네 means more than just a physical neighborhood. It refers to “our shared space or our world together”.
📖 Suggested translation:
“How can this still be our home, if I’m no longer in it?”
✔️ More examples of 우리 in use:
• 우리 집 — Literally “our house,” but often used to mean “my home” in Korean.
• 우리 학교 — Even students say “our school,” expressing a sense of belonging.
• 우리 엄마 — Koreans say “our mom” when referring to their own mom—super endearing, right?
🎥 This line will be featured in Episode #4 of my [Korean with BL Webtoons] Shorts series. Curious about Korea’s unique “we” culture? Follow me and see how the character delivers this line—so heart-wrenching and moving!
🟦 5. Who It’s For (and Not For)
• If you love bickering childhood-friend couples
• If you’re into ambiguous physical affection
• If you’re into tops who are borderline psychotic in their obsession
🚫 But maybe skip it if…
• You care a lot about logical, consistent character settings
• You’re looking for a slow, sweet, emotionally rich romance
🔚 6. Conclusion
Overall, I’d rate this story ★★★, and the side stories ★★★★.
The side stories take place after they’re already together, so the earlier flaws are gone, and it’s just a sweet couple being in love.
That’s all for my thoughts on “Summertime”. What did you think? If you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop them below!
✍️ Got a webtoon you want me to review next? Drop it in the comments!
📌 Cover image source: Summertime (하절기) on Ridibooks . Copyright belongs to the original creator.
This site is intended solely for personal reviews and language learning.
If you have any copyright concerns, please get in touch via the [Contact Me] page — I’ll respond promptly.
