The Dangerous Convenience Store Vol. 1

Author: 945
Illustrator: 945
Publishers: Seven Seas, Webtoon
Age Group: Mature
Genre: boy love, comedy, romance, slice-of-life
Type: Manhwa

Content Warnings:  explicit smuttiness, hot mobsters (Ah-juicy!)

Spoilers ahead

Plot

Eui-joon Yeo is a college student working the graveyard shift at a convenience store. Wouldn’t be too bad, right? Except most of his clientele are gangsters. Enter Gunwoo Beom, a tall hunky stoic mobster who starts frequenting the store for cigarettes and booze. 

Eui-joon’s been in love with a classmate for several years, but when he confesses and the guy gets him all discomobulated, Gunwoo coaxes Eui-joon they should do it so he can forget his classmate. Things get spicy as Gunwoo and Eui-joon interact more. 

Can Eui-joon handle getting involved in the violent world surrounding Gunwoo? 

Character Development

Eui-joon Yeo is a very self aware and sweet natured college student. He often thinks too much which leads to misunderstandings and embarrassing moments. He can make impulsive decisions, but has strong morals when it comes to relationships by thinking of all parties involved. He’s very selfless. Though he wears his heart on his sleeve, he doesn’t like to bother others to the point he apologizes a lot. He can also be a bit of a cry baby. 

Gunwoo Beom is a middle aged (ahjussi though fans call him ah-juicy, because damn) mobster. He’s a stoic badass with a scary exterior and mannerisms to match. His heart on the other hand, is very caring. He takes the time to listen to Euijoon even though they barely know each other. He’s very forward, always speaking his mind. 

We have a few minor characters such as Eui-joons two friends that he goes to for advice and his crush Hyunwoo, who rejects him but then tells Eui-joon he likes him but that he wants to stay with his current girlfriend while also liking him. 

We also have several unnamed gangsters that frequent the convenient store causing problems for Eui-joon. There’s his boss who’s a good person and absolutely loves Eui-joon as an employee. We also have Gunwoo’s assistant who follows his orders but runs his mouth when he makes assumptions. 

World-building

The world is a contemporary setting in Seoul, Korea centering around the convenience store, Eui-joon’s apartment complex, and school. We don’t get a lot of world-building as the story focuses more on relationship dynamics. 

Themes

Love has no bounds

Eui-joon mentions to Gunwoo that love has no bounds. Gender doesn’t matter when you fall for someone. Love is love. I think this is a beautiful sentiment because it really doesn’t matter. We should all love who we wish according to our preferences. Preferences also change over time and that’s totally okay. Because the important thing is finding someone you want to spend time with and let into your little bubble. 

Observations & Predictions

I find the beginning of this to be fascinating because Eui-joon is dealing with a cranky gangster and hoping someone will come save him (a righteous/virtuous person). Enter Gunwoo. This part is reminiscent of how we all want a white knight in shining armor to come save us. Well…in Eui-joon’s case it was more a gray knight with dented armor, but still. 

I like the expressiveness in this manhwa. Not only are the faces very expressive and we get a lot through the experiences of the characters, but the art style also changes. It creates a very entertaining experience that keeps the audience involved to continue reading. 

One thing I will mention is that I actually read the entire webtoon comic as it was coming out. Once it started being officially published I was over the moon. It’s one of my favorite feel good stories that also has a lot of smut. The art style cleaned up a lot for publication from the online version to the official printed release.

Both protagonists look a lot better. In the version I read, Eui-joon had a much younger looking face but in the printed release he looks more his age. Very good looking. Gunwoo’s character was also rough around the edges (in more than just his personality). I’m glad they cleaned him up because he looks…well, let’s just say he definitely earns his fanbase name ah-juicy. 

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