Seou always knew that running away from the son of a murderer would eventually haunt her, but she never expected to be locked underground with him. Years after she abandoned Wonhyeok following a bloody secret on some stairs, a twist of fate traps them together in the suffocating darkness of an abandoned bunker. As the heavy door clicks shut, Seou must decide if the boy she betrayed is here to finally protect her, or if he's been waiting all these years to exact his revenge.

Daytime in the Bunker has story and art by 2myeon_z. English localization by WEBTOON. Published by WEBTOON (April 6, 2026). Rated YA.

Content Warning: bullying

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Wonhyeok and Seou have been failed by the adults in their lives. Repeatedly, and for many years. The first five chapters of Daytime in the Bunker want us to doubt Wonhyeok's motives, and yes, we see him from Seou's perspective, but if you pay attention to what's not being said, it's immediately clear that he's suffered just as much, if not more, than she has because the people meant to be taking care of them and watching over them have fallen down on the job. It's hard to read their story without your heart hurting at least a little.

What does that have to do with them apparently getting locked in an old bunker? That's a good question, and one that hasn't been answered yet, but at least part of the reason is that they have nowhere else to go. Seou lost her parents when she was ten and went to live with her aunt's family, two of whom actively resent her. When her cousin pitches a fit over Seou unforgivably coming home after school, her aunt asks her to spend the night with a friend instead – and hands her a bag that contains two condoms, along with her other overnight supplies. The implication is that the aunt knows Seou doesn't have anywhere else to go and is telling her to, if not outright engage in sex work, then to find someone willing to take her in in exchange for sex. Instead, Seou finds an old bunker and goes inside, figuring that it will at least be dry and safe. It probably is, but when Wonhyeok shows up and deliberately locks them in, she freaks out. That's because Wonhyeok was bullied relentlessly because his father was a murderer, and while Seou at first felt drawn to him as a fellow bullying victim, she later got scared when she saw him push down another boy, who hit his head. That Wonhyeok is now covered in blood isn't reassuring.

There are several things going on here. One is that Wonhyeok, if he did kill someone, did it in self-defense, because this kid has been through hell. But when he tells Seou that it's not safe to go outside, that opens the door for a horror possibility, such as a zombie apocalypse or a group of people who attacked Wonhyeok just outside. The bunker, despite being near “the border” (of North Korea? Of zombie-infested lands?), is amazingly well-stocked and still has electricity and running water, and I think we see a climate-control system as well. It's oldish, but definitely not from the days of the Korean War, so there's clearly something else going on in the background.

This is, to put it mildly, a lot. I'm not sure if we should be reading this as a horror story, a romance, or some strange combination of the two. I do know that I want to find out.