In Between, a romantic-drama manhwa, follows the bittersweet reunion of two childhood best friends in a modern college romance. Eunseo, an athletic girl who’d fallen for Sihwa, the perfect boy, in high school, finds her life thrown into chaos when he unexpectedly re-enters her life. Sihwa had always been the center of attention, but behind his golden persona, there was a dark past that threatened to destroy his life. Can they support each other through all the trials of misery, jealousy, and toxic relationships, or will their history start to pull them apart? Let’s get into In Between Chapter 1-10 to find out!
In Between Chapter 1: Familiarity Breeds Contempt (and Crushes)
In Between Chapter 1 begins as a girl badgers Eunseo Lee, an athletic student with cropped hair, about her relationship with Sihwa Kang. Eunseo was the childhood best friend of popular high school heartthrob Sihwa, and was accustomed to his ex-girlfriends treating her terribly. She walks away from the girl, ignoring her cruel taunts and- speak of the devil- runs into Sihwa himself. The son of famous actors, he’d undeniably inherited their good looks. Friendly, intelligent, and talented too, he shone with a bright radiance that drew comparisons to the likes of the sun. How could he not be popular?
‘Meanwhile, I’m so close to this “sun” that I’m about to burn up,” Eunseo thinks grudgingly as she sits beside him in the backseat. Sihwa tells her that their tutoring classes had been cancelled for the day. Why? It was her birthday, of course! He tells her that his mother had baked a strawberry cake just for her. While he speaks, Eunseo slowly lets the golden halo silhouetting Sihwa envelope her thoughts. They’d been friends for a long time- ever since birth- and did almost everything together. The forced proximity induced by their BFF mothers led to slow contempt between the two opposites: where Eunseo was loud and sporty, Sihwa was an elegant piano player. It was no secret that everyone liked him. Everyone, including Eunseo herself. In Between Chapter 1 concludes as she nervously blushes at him.
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In Between Chapter 2: Worst Birthday Ever
In Between Chapter 2 begins as Mrs. Kang hands Eunseo a small jewellery box containing a delicate necklace for her birthday. Delighted, she stares at the piece of gold jewellery in awe. How did she know exactly what she’d wanted for so long? “I figured! Sihwa told me-” she begins before being cut off by someone else. Eunseo misses her words and continues to smile at the gift fondly, a warm blush creeping into her cheeks.
A moment later, she cheekily holds a hand out to Sihwa, “I want my present.” Nonchalantly, Sihwa declares that he hadn’t gotten her anything and teases her for expecting one. Nevertheless, he asks her what else she wanted; if she told him, he’d get it for her. Eunseo stares at him in hesitation for a long moment before mustering the courage to ask him out. “Do you want to go out with me?” she asks timidly, fiercely turning pink with embarrassment.
Sihwa spits out his water in surprise, coughing and choking on his words. What did she say?! All the blood immediately rushes into Eunseo’s head as she reels from humiliation. Barely able to process her own thoughts, she jokingly plays it off- she was totally kidding- and rushes away. Finding herself in the bathroom mirror, she washes the fresh tears off her face and wishes soap could erase the memories, too.
We Meet Again
In the days that followed, Eunseo and Sihwa neglected to mention that day again. Eunseo resolved to never confess her feelings to anyone again and to remain friends with Sihwa.
Years later, she sits in a lecture room at college, thinking about the boy she was once best friends with. The one she’d loved. He’d left the country to study, and they’d lost touch; what was he doing now? She absent-mindedly doodles his name, thinking of all the years she’d spent by his side. In hindsight, it all seemed meaningless. Her professor begins the roll-call. One name echoes through the room, catching her attention: Sihwa Kang. Wait, what?! Eunseo turns to see Sihwa, her childhood friend, smiling down at her, concluding In Between Chapter 2.
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In Between Chapter 3: The Ghost Wonders If He’d Been Missed
In Between Chapter 3 begins as Eunseo and Sihwa are silenced by the lecturer. They begin passing notes to each other (once a schoolmate, always a schoolmate) in an attempt to catch up with each other. Eunseo asks Sihwa if he is back for good, and without a concrete answer, he flips the conversation to her. Eunseo’s hair looked really good. And more pressingly, had she missed him? ‘No,’ she simply writes back, coldly ending the paper text chain.
After the class ends, Sihwa tries to get Eunseo, who can only think about how he left her in the dark when he moved abroad, to open up. She did miss him, but that wasn’t the point. Why had he stopped talking to her for the past six years? He couldn’t even remember that it had been six years! “I missed you the whole time, Eunseo,” Sihwa says, truthfully, making her stop in her tracks. Suddenly, a blonde girl jumps onto him from behind, concluding In Between Chapter 3.
Chapter 4: Buy A Poor Freshman Dinner
In Between Chapter 4 begins as a girl, presumably Sihwa’s girlfriend, starts making out with him, right in front of Eunseo. She tries to make her presence felt, but the couple continues to ignore her. When Eunseo turns to walk away in disgust, Sihwa grabs her hand and slings an arm around her, leaving the other girl bewildered and completely alone.
Annoyed, Eunseo recounts the numerous times Sihwa had used her as an excuse to get out of a situation. Ever since they were kids, Sihwa had been using Eunseo to escape commitments. He teases Eunseo, the ‘upperclassman’, to buy dinner for him. Flashing her with his dazzling sunshine smile and taking her hands in his, Sihwa instantly melts Eunseo’s stubborn attitude (he knows what he’s doing) and convinces her to treat him to a meal. He tells her that he wants a home-cooked dinner, concluding In Between Chapter 4.
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In Between Chapter 5: The Master and His Puppet
In Between Chapter 5 begins with a flashback to Sihwa and Eunseo’s childhood. Blushing, Eunseo had been flipping through a romantic comic when Sihwa had tried to snatch it from her. In the process of fending him off, Eunseo had accidentally given him a papercut. Sihwa had complained about the wound and asked her to carry his school bag for him. With his classic winsome smile breaking across his face like dawn in the early hours, Sihwa manages to persuade Eunseo to fulfil his wishes.
Meanwhile, in the present, Eunseo unlocks the door to her apartment, stepping in with Sihwa on her tail. She opens her fridge… to find nothing inside. Since she and her mother had been trying to eat healthy, all they really had was rice. Sihwa comes closer to Eunseo and leans in, like he was whispering something intimate, to say that he didn’t want anything fancy. Rice worked. Eunseo’s heart races with the unexpected proximity, as she wonders why she let him push her around, concluding In Between Chapter 5.
Chapter 6: More Questions Than Answers
In Between Chapter 6 begins as Sihwa leans in closer to Eunseo, reaching for the instant noodles behind her. He asks Eunseo to make them for him, making her furious enough to knee him in anger. “Make them yourself!” she yells, inflicting damage on the deserving man. Later, Eunseo watches the weather channel on television while Sihwa slurps his noodles. She examines him out of the corner of her eye, wondering how tall he’d grown since the last time she saw him. When his eyes begin to water, Eunseo gives him a mug of milk; growth spurt or not, he still has the same old low spice tolerance.
A silence follows as Eunseo tries to sort through all the confusion she has. When did he return? Why didn’t he ever call? Was he going to leave again? When she finally decides to ask him, he reveals that he’d been in the country for three whole months before he’d run into her. Then, leaving Eunseo to mull over the shocking statement, he answers a phone call. Infinite queries chaotically tumble around in her mind, but when Sihwa returns, the only question that comes out of her mouth is “Is she your girlfriend?” In Between Chapter 6 concludes as Eunseo realizes the implications of her impulsive inquiry.
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In Between Chapter 7: More Than Meets The Eye
In Between Chapter 7 begins as Sihwa explains that the blonde girl from before was ‘just a friend’; they weren’t in a relationship. Even as a teenager, dating had been too big a commitment for Sihwa. Back then, Eunseo thought he just hadn’t found a girl he really liked, but now she knew that he was just a cruel player.
On the television, a segment highlighting an actress’s generous donations to society reminds Eunseo of Sihwa’s mother. Like the woman on the screen, she was an avid philanthropist too. However, when she brings up her admiration for Sihwa’s mother, an unmistakable shadow passes over his face. He half-heartedly agrees to her positive sentiments before emotionally shutting down. When Eunseo tries to figure out what was bothering him, he assures that it wasn’t her fault and rushes away. Later, Sihwa sits alone with his head buried in his knees on the sidewalk. In the dark of the night, his phone creates a halo of harsh light, continuously buzzing with a call from ‘Sigyun Kang’, concluding In Between Chapter 7.
In Between Chapter 8: Radio Silence
In Between Chapter 8 begins as Eunseo flies to grab her chiming phone- in hopes of a message from Sihwa- after a sleepless night… only to find a spam text instead. The next day, Sihwa doesn’t show up at college. When the TA begins to look worried, the other students gossip about his privileged life. Meanwhile, Eunseo runs laps with her friend, Haerang, while they discuss her new ‘RanTrain’ group (stands for ‘Random Training’). The only member of the group, Haerang, a track star, adorably persuades Eunseo to join the club. While she lobbies more athletes into her group, Eunseo checks her phone for messages. She finally gives up and starts to plan for dinner when she sees someone at the basketball hoop. Sihwa leaps into the air and neatly dunks the ball into the net, concluding In Between Chapter 8.
Chapter 9: The Mystery of the Rainbow
In Between Chapter 9 begins as Eunseo rubs her eyes to make sure she wasn’t imagining Sihwa playing a basketball match after being M.I.A. for a whole day. When he notices her, he begins to walk off the court. But Eunseo’s inner athlete doesn’t stand for it, and instructs him to have the ‘basic etiquette’ to finish the game. After the match, Sihwa explains that he didn’t have Eunseo’s number and decides to have dinner with her. He ignores a girl who tries to approach him by slinging an arm around Eunseo. Annoyed, she notes that he was using her as an excuse again; she wasn’t his girlfriend despite what others started to think!
At dinner, Eunseo tries to match the pieces of the puzzle called Sihwa. Where she could once solve it by memory, all his pieces were now new and irregular. He had changed. But she didn’t know how or why. She wonders why he’d become so agitated the day before, remembering that she’d been talking about his mother. Eunseo tells him that their mothers were still in contact with each other- that’s how she’d found out about his sudden shift abroad. She immediately regrets sounding spiteful about the event; it had all happened ages ago, and she should be fine now.
In Between Chapter 9 concludes as the students in the college group chat discuss Sihwa, the ‘rainbow’ who rarely showed up but always caused a spectacle, and his seemingly perfect life.
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In Between Chapter 10: Snake Infestation Detected
In Between Chapter 10 begins as Eunseo wonders if there was something going on between Sihwa and his mother, prompting him to accidentally drop his glass onto the floor. Frustrated, Eunseo concludes that Sihwa was troubled and wanted her to understand, but he didn’t want to open up or explain. ‘Does he think I care because I want to?’ she wonders in exasperation.
While they walk back home, Sihwa types his number into Eunseo’s phone. When she reads the digits, she realizes that they were the same as before (yes, she remembered his phone number). Dedication: he’d been deliberately ignoring her all these years. ‘Again, once again, I’m the only one who cared,’ she thinks miserably, before he texts her a simple goodnight.
Meanwhile, a young woman approaches Sihwa in his home as he stares up at his family portrait. She expresses how worried she was when he wouldn’t pick up his phone, putting her hand on his arm with concern, before Sihwa bats it away. He cruelly tells her to drop the act, saying that her pretenses made him want to kill her. “There’s not a single thing that’s likable about him. He’s a carbon copy of his mother,” the woman, smirking meanly, says to herself, concluding In Between Chapter 10.
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