What used to gather metaphorical dust on top of my to-read list turned out to be one of the best manhwa I've ever read. From an interesting concept to impeccable execution, everything about this story is crafted with depth and attention to detail.
The protagonist gets her hand on a mysterious box that lets her exchange letters with a character from a book that she's trying to get published at work. Their letter exchanges start off as a joke at first but gradually become a more and more important part of their lives, and eventually they become unable to go even a day without writing to each other. So the format of this manhwa is quite original; the story is told in letters the characters write to each other. And these letters are so well-written and funny that they make the characters really come to life. Because they are separated by time, space, and universes, letters become the only thing that connects them. On top of that, eventually that letter box allows for some interesting time-and-space storyline manipulations, making the story more and more complex, introducing other characters, and even a separate story within the main one.
Nuturally, the characters' relationship is unique—a sort of long-distance friendship turned love. It starts off playful, lighthearted, and wholesome, but gradually becomes more intense with yearning for someone you can never meet, no matter how precious they become to you. Eventually they start exchanging things in addition to letters, and most importantly, they start exchanging and discussing books, and I can tell this was written by a true book lover because it really shows—they treat books as companions that help you in times of trouble, as important life-changing experiences. Among other things, the characters read "Wuthering Heights" and Shakespeare's plays, and I was fangirling the whole time while reading about reading them, and it might have rekindled my love for books again.
We're given a lot of breadcrumbs and hints about the things that the characters comically refuse to notice until the end, and despite all of that, the plot gets more and more complicated, introducing several different timelines and storylines that are intertwined with each other. It would be easy to get lost, but the manhwa unties the right mystery knots with perfect timing, keeping us engaged with the story but not confused. And most importantly, it all gets tied up in the end in an orderly fashion with no weird plot devices, and every single character and detail has a purpose in the story.
The manhwa has a fairytale-like and yet down-to-earth vibe to it; it's funny, relatable, and FREAKING ADORABLE and so so wholesome. I literally cried when it ended because I'm five, apparently. ~~please i need more~~ We need more stories like this, kind and just a little bit sad at times, stories that don't need gore, blood, and human sacrifice to be deep and have something meaningful to say.
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