가짜 동맹

GAJJA DONGMAENG

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
5
RELEASE
June 27, 2023
CHAPTERS
75

DESCRIPTION

From childhood friends to lovers! Se-I Yun and Jae-Ha Kim are model high school students who form an alliance to escape the prying eyes of their strict parents. They used to be childhood friends until something caused them to drift apart. Will this fake alliance be able to bring them back together?

(Source: WEBTOON, edited)

CAST

Jae-Ha Kim
Se-I Yun

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

mikumi
100/100
Even the spin-offs are worth a read.
Initial Thoughts

I encountered this comic through WEBTOON! Only a few chapters were out, and the moment I laid my eyes on Cakenyam's art style, I knew I had to read it. I lean towards modern rather than historical comics, so this pushed me to read it even more! It's difficult to find manhwas I like, so I just dart wherever I can. I especially found Jaeha's character design to be so stunning. I kept up with the WEBTOON for a few months or so, but the chemistry between the two leads felt slow, so I eventually stopped. Now, after a year, the English translation has finally come to an end! So, naturally, I wanted to wrap it up. After all, I only left off halfway into the plot (Chapter 37), so it wouldn't be any trouble to just finish the rest. I honestly didn't expect this comic to be so record-breaking for me. It was a predictable plot, but something about the two leads just kept me reading and reading.

Post Thoughts
_Spoilers included._
Favourite Characters . . . I think it's crystal clear that Jaeha & Se-I were a very lovable duo. They complete each other. Jaeha has always been there for Se-I, and the way he treats her is something even I began to wish for. Their love is imperfect. This may be a bit cliche, but I think, without a doubt, their best scene was when they realised they had mutual feelings for each other. It was a moment I was waiting for ever since I started reading this WEBTOON, and the fact it came sooner than I thought was crazy. All I can say is they're so cute together. If destiny is real, this is it.

Favourite Scene . . . After the main couple confessed around chapter 40, I did not understand what else they could cover for the remaining 20 chapters. Was it just going to be them being lovey-dovey? That'd be cute, but I'd be bored, and would just be reading for the sake of completion. Thankfully, I was so wrong. The plot delved into Jaeha's backstory. At first, I didn't really comprehend what was going on, but it turns out Jaeha is adopted, and his grandma really didn't like him because her sister died because of him "supposedly." This does spark a question: Where is Jaeha's dad? I'm not sure if I missed something, but it is definitely questionable. The scene where Jaeha meets an abandoned kid at an amusement park especially stuck with me. When the Mom came back for the kid, Jaeha said something along the lines of how he shouldn't abandon her kid. I didn't really understand at first why he commented or how he knew honestly. But now I see why. He was speaking from his past experiences. Anyway, now I feel like this comic was too short. Only 68...

Artstyle . . . I can't conclude this review without mentioning how pretty the art is. There are so many moments in this manhwa where I'm just in awe of how Cakenyam draws their characters. I actually noticed Jaeha's character design is slightly different before and after the confession. Before, he had these white streaks in his hair, and after, his hair turned purely black. I'm not really sure what the reason for this is, but Jaeha definitely looks different after Se-I confessed. I also find it really amazing how this art style barely uses any shading. It's mainly just flat colours. As an artist myself, I have no idea how you could pull that off! I hope Cakenyam releases another comic again! I will miss seeing this art style in the meantime.

Honourable Mention . . . Jimin and Ye-eun. Can we just appreciate the fact even THEIR romance is cute too??? Normally I'd be bored of whatever is going on that's not about the main leads, but these two are just inevitable. Jimin is a cheeky guy and Ye-eun hides her feelings. As I'm writing this, the spin-offs haven't all been translated yet, but even the SPIN-OFFS are interesting! I was at the edge of my seat reading them!! That's usually not the case for me, so I think the plot was very well made. Nothing felt like it was written with half-effort.

Closing

Thank you, Cakenyam, for creating such a great comic. Our Secret Alliance will forever remain in my top favourites. I was actually also in a neverending burnout, so reading this comic really resurrected me back into the manga community. I firmly believe there cannot be a better comic than this.
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<span class='markdown_spoiler'><span>A big thank you to <a target='_blank' href='https://anilist.co/user/SaiteiDaOrette'>@SaiteiDaOrette</a> for helping me with this review! I know I didn't entirely follow what you suggested, but it really motivated me to get started. Otherwise, it might take me another year to write one...T__T</span></span>
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fluent
91/100
"We're Se-i and Jaeha, two people who share a secret"
This Review contains some spoilers

"Our Secret Alliance" may seem like your average Highschool Romance Manhwa, and while it mostly is a simple fluffy romance, it does all it's storylines so well that you can't help but keep reading. Oh and be prepared for Diabetes because every single chapter is filled with comforting sweetness. This will be a shorter review as I won't go into depth of the story but talk about the characters themselves and what I liked about this story overall.

Short summary of the start:

At the beginning we're introduced to our main characters Se-i and Jaeha, as well as their families who appear to be close. They have an appointment to go study together and they seem to be really close initially. But as they exit the door and they are out of sight, both of them split up like strangers and do their own thing—Jaeha goes to play video games, and Se-i goes to meet boys she's dating/interested in. This is the result of a secret alliance they formed: They act as if they were dating, and because their families are close and trust each other, they can sneak out and do whatever they couldn't have done alone. As Jaeha goes to the arcade to play games, Se-i goes to a waffle shop to meet up with a boy she's interested in, Jimin, and with that we start a long journey of self discovery, understanding your own feelings and family drama

Personal thoughts:

I can sit here and praise this Manhwa all day. It doesn't promise a complex story, but you'll still be engaged in the story developments. There's a love triangle, but it's still somehow wholesome. It has a small side cast, but they're still awesome characters that have been written well. The main characters Se-i and Jaeha are just so sweet that I literally took around 40 screenshots of their interactions with each other while reading. 😭
And speaking of Se-i and Jaeha, I'd like to shortly elaborate on their characters and relationship.

Se-i initially seems like the usual Shoujo beautiful but oblivious and childish character without a care in the world but romance. However as the story goes on, we learn that this is not the case at all. She is an extremely empathetic girl who puts others before herself without a second thought while showing a mature and emotionally intelligent side of herself. Due to past trauma she is shown to lie when needed to get things her way, for example the secret alliance they made. However, with the help of Jaeha and her many experiences throughout the story, she receives incredible character development and learns to face both her lies and the things she had long hidden from people closest to her. As a result, she becomes an honest and loving girl who is open about her feelings and thoughts.

Jaeha on the other hand had no issues expressing himself, however he was a victim of parental pressure. From a young age, he was expected to maintain top grades and behave professionally and respectfully. Additionally to that, we learn that he was adopted by his uncle and that his mother had actually committed suicide due to financial problems and the pressure of being a single parent. This only added to the pressure: He thought that he had to work hard to pay back those who took him in despite him not being their actual son (as the story goes on we know that his adoptive parents love him a lot, even if they are not blood related).
As a result, he became mature for his age and learned to be emotionally intelligent, but he also had a bad habit of keeping problems bottled up and not being too communicative. As the story goes on however, Se-i teaches him that he needs to speak up on his problems, whether it was his school pressure or Se-i unintentionally hurting him.

Physical attraction is only one part of Romance. A much more important part is the emotional attraction and commitment. This story is about two flawed teenagers falling in love, filling the void in each other's hearts and completing each other in the process, and that is precisely what I love about this story.

The story at the start felt refreshing and engaging. It slowed down after the first 20-30 chapters because of the slow-burn romance and the focus on family issues, however it quickly recovered and brought that comforting feel with it. Usually I complain about how Romance Manhwa/Manga get boring after the main couple gets together and get lovey-dovey with each other, so I thought it was going to be the case for this Manhwa too, but booooooy was I wrong. It genuinely only gets better after they get in a relationship. We get a lot of sweet but meaningful interactions between them, scenes of them bonding as well as little storylines of them healing each other. Genuinely one of the most wholesome things I've ever read. Oh and I wouldn't have minded if Jimin and Yu-Eun had a seperate Manhwa for themselves, they are so adorable. 😭🤍

"Our Secret Alliance" depicts human connections accurately and shows what it takes to have a healthy relationship with those close to us. And while doing that, it also heals the readers by giving us one of the most comforting stories filled with positive developments and adorable interactions, and that's what I came to love about it.

The Art was okay at the start and I was hesitant to continue reading because of it, but I'm very glad I did. The simple and vibrant art, which may not look like a lot at the start, actually compliments the story and mirrors the intentions of a simple but wholesome story quite well. And if you are still worried, I can assure you that the art improves massively and becomes beautiful.

Overall, I'd say this was a very satisfying and wholesome read. I love every part of this Manhwa and I personally have nothing to criticize. I want to encourage EVERYONE who is thinking about reading this to just give it a shot and enjoy.

Also special thank you to @Serendipity for recommending me this!
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