Day one of the new semester. Go Shin-jae, the top student in Hankuk University's Modern Dance Department, gets dragged to a pub for the semester kick-off party. There, he happens to overhear a slurred, drunken ramble from the table next to his.

This drunken confession from the next table, something Shin-jae would normally just laugh off, suddenly strikes a strange chord. Because for some reason... it feels like the person that drunk guy is talking about is me.

Heal, Heal, Heal! has a story by Domi, JINLAMB, and art by Keimjae. Translated by Lilac. Published by Lezhin (September 17, 2026). Rated M.

Erica Friedman
Rating:

Shin-jae is a stereotypical bored college student. He's annoyed by everyone and everything at the party he attends. When he overhears an (annoying) drunken confession by a guy nicknamed “Hippo” on an online game, he suddenly feels that he may be the guy being talked about. Baek Hanbin seems to be less of an existential crisis on legs. He comes off as cute and innocent. Circumstances will bring them together in the real world, as well as online.

Two men who have known each other online for five years, but never really talked, is not the most unrealistic plot I have ever read. It also isn't enough to get me engaged with either Shin-jae or Hanbin. Their relationship is foretold. This isn't even “will they or won't they?” it's much more “when will they and how many chapters will there be before they do?”

Eventually Shin-jae starts to worry that even their tenuous online relationship might fall apart, but at the same time he is worried when he learns that Hanbin is actually quite frail. At this point, we can see him developing empathy and, as a result, we should begin to care more about them both.

The art here is solid without being exciting. Panels show faces, with internal monologue in blocks, while you scroll past. Perfect for reading while distracted, I imagine, but somewhat spartan when one is looking for some depth to scene, character, or plot. It's the comic equivalent to a TV soap opera, with tight camera angles all the time.

I just recently read a GL manhua with much the same problem. There's no “there” there. One good conversation would jumpstart or end the situationship. So to keep the comic going, there has to be an agonizing series of missed opportunities and ignored moments, misunderstandings, and cross-communication for the story to have any longevity. If you are a fan of purest drama for drama's sake in your romance, Heal, Heal, Heal! will definitely be up your alley.