Shinwoo Cho's got money and looks, but Yuju Lee knows he's arrogant and scandalous.
He's also her brother's best friend, so waking up in his bed after way too much wine was… not ideal. Yet the more Yuju tries to pretend it never happened, the more Shinwoo seems determined to remind her it did!

Don't Tell My Brother! has story by TARA and art by MASSAL. Localized by Manta Comics. Published by Manta (October 22, 2025). Rated M.

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

I'll be honest: this series wasn't originally meant to be included in the Guide. But whether it was my apparent weakness for incredibly messy (and silly) stories or my dysgraphia, I accidentally clicked on it when aiming for the icon next to it and then couldn't stop reading. Because let me tell you, if you like messy, ridiculous stories where everyone has the collective emotional intelligence of a water flea, this is the series for you – and even if you don't like that, it's still the kind of dumb it's hard to walk away from, if only because you want to know what ludicrous situation heroine Yuju will find herself in next.

Part of why this is escapism rather than stupidity is that Yuju isn't absolved of responsibility for the ridiculous actions unfolding around her. She didn't explicitly break up with her soccer star ex-boyfriend; she took it as read that he understood. She absolutely made a terrible mistake in asking her brother's friend Shinwoo to sleep with her, but it's not her fault that he's a possessive jerk who has probably been crushing on her for a long, long time. Should both men have known better than to act as they did? Should Yuju? Yes and yes – but that's what moves the story forward, and Yuju, at least, is aware of her mistakes, even if she can't quite solve them.

Mostly that comes down to the men she's surrounded by. After losing their parents early, Yuju's older brother raised her, and his two best friends, Sunho and Shinwoo, were always there, and both boys' families pitched in to help the orphans. Yuju had a crush on gentle Sunho, who remained utterly oblivious, but Shinwoo seems to have been nursing some unrequited feelings of his own, and when Yuju comes on to him (involvement of alcohol notwithstanding), he's not going to let the opportunity pass him by. He's also in no way going to admit to having emotions beyond lust, so Yuju has zero clue as to why he's suddenly all possessive and jealous – especially since historically he's been the opposite of those things to the tune of her lawyer brother taking care of Shinwoo's exes. No one is playing with all the information available to them, and that's more frustrating for Yuju than anyone else.

Even though it's such a disaster, this largely avoids feeling mean, although Yuju's feelings about her ex's inferior penis size are the exception. Everyone's just inept at emotions and expressing them in that very distinct romcom way that results in turmoil rather than torment. Don't Tell My Brother is pure soapy fluff, and while I'd hesitate to call it “good,” I also can't see myself walking away.

Bolts
Rating:

The classic “will they, won't they” dynamic is a tale as old as time. Let's take two characters that are constantly butting heads and absolutely assure everybody that they hate each other. I'm sure if we put them in a room together with some alcohol on the night of a wedding, no sexual tension will arise whatsoever! There's a reason why we've seen this type of dynamic in various stories and shows for the past couple of decades. As basic as it is, it is an entertaining dynamic when done right, and Don't Tell My Brother! does this dynamic exceptionally well.

Shinwoo is down on her luck and an inexperienced woman who is desperate for love, but she just can't get along with her brother's best friend, Yuju. After a powerful night of passion where she can't stop staring at his big dick, the story is about them exploring this weird, nebulous relationship status. They're not exactly together, but there is definitely a chemistry there that at least one of them is trying to deny. There are other factors to consider, like Yuju 's reputation and Shinwoo's aforementioned lack of experience, but something is entertaining about these two bouncing off each other. The dialogue isn't exceptionally witty, but it is sharp. I have met a lot of people who talk to each other in the same way as theirs. They are the types of characters that you yell, “Just get a room already,” except this time you get to actually see what that sex looks like.

The sex is pretty solid. It carries over a lot of the dialogue from their day-to-day life into the sex scenes themselves. Personally, I like some sex scenes with some actual back-and-forth, which is already the main hook for this story. It rides that perfect line of fighting each other while also being passionate for each other, which I think is very hard to do without it coming off as annoying at best or criminal at worst. If you're a fan of the bickered married couple energy, then I think this is worth a read. It's very solid and brisk with the right amount of passion.