In Rules for Dating Trash, Chapter 8–16, the emotional stakes skyrocket as Ihyeon dives deeper into her fake relationship with Chanu while trying to distance herself from her cheating ex, Taehyeok. The Rules for Dating Trash chapter 8-16 delves not only into the messy relationships. They also get into the personal development of Ihyeon, who went through life being emotionally dragged around, only to discover how to defend herself eventually. We watch her softer underbelly, particularly when old traumas come to the fore. But she starts to open up in the most surprising ways. She takes on many initiatives to establish a contract relationship, or recognizes that her feelings for Chanu may not have been so fake after all.
In the meantime, the continuous appearances of Taehyeok make it complicated and put the limits of this fake romance to the test. Awkward sleepovers, tense club meetings, surprise visits, and unexpected heartbreaks—these chapters have it all. Drama, slow-burn tension, and instances where it is difficult to tell where the pretense ends and the reality begins.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 8: Tears, Truths, and Taking the Lead
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 8 begins with Ihyeon frozen in disbelief as Taehyeok drops his classic manipulative bomb: he likes her now. Why? When they dated, she always followed him; she had no personal opinions. She says what she thinks now, and that is all of a sudden appealing to him. He even attempts to reverse the guilt by claiming that it was difficult to have to be the decider in the relationship. But Ihyeon recalls vividly how she had once proposed a mere date in the park, and he had outright refused. That one hurts. She turns and leaves without saying another word, her tears falling quietly.
Switch to Chanu, who is totally flustered. Ihyeon skipped the club meeting and even school. He encounters her on the road, and she is obviously distraught. She screams at him to get away. He estimates—was it Taehyeok? Is she hurt and drinking over that loser?
Truth Bombs
She turns to go and cries afresh. Stern now, Chanu tells her she must stop obsessing. Ihyeon breaks, screaming, “I wasn’t obsessed—I was being dragged around by him!” That puts him to silence, and he smiles and says, “Hyung is a bad guy, huh?” He asks her to stop letting men dictate to her and start being the author of her own life. Then, unexpectedly, tenderly, he takes her hand and says, “Let me help you.”
Next scene? Tension explodes. They are in bed, and Chanu is questioning whether she is sure and won’t regret it later. Ihyeon, with tears, whispers, “He promised to help,” and climbs on top of him and kisses him with raw emotion. Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 8 ends with vulnerability, heat, and a powerful shift in who’s finally taking control.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 9:Awkwardness & A Bold Proposal
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 9 begins with Ihyeon jolting awake—eyes wide, heart pounding—only to realize she’s in bed. With Chanu. And both of them are naked. Enter the internal screaming. She does not wait to think too much about it; instead, she takes her clothes and runs away before he wakes up.
Back at school, Ihyeon is fully in ninja mode, hiding behind corners, running out of classrooms, doing anything to avoid Chanu. However, the universe (as well as the film club) has other plans. She appears during one of the club activities, much to the joy of all. Ihyeon is smiling through gritted teeth as Chanu reclines near her, obviously bored, obviously attempting to attract her attention. She runs off like it is the Olympics every time he attempts to speak.
After returning to bed (fortunately, alone), Ihyeon is unable to stop attempting to reconstruct what, precisely, occurred that night. She can remember nothing clearly, and it is making her crazy. A couple of days go by, and Chanu appears at her place because she called off their study session. He is blunt: “Why do you keep avoiding me?” When she stammers to find a reply, he smacks her with the apparent: “Is it because we slept together?”
Ihyeon, embarrassed yet courageous, eventually admits, “Yes.” And as he is digesting that, she says something still more surprising: “Then… please go out with me.”Chanu? Absolutely shook. Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 9 ends with a stunned silence, a racing heart, and one wildly unexpected confession hanging in the air like a live wire.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 10: Terms and Conditions Apply
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 10 begins with Chanu, blinking in disbelief, asking Ihyeon the obvious: “Are you serious?” She is—but there is a twist. She does not seek a serious relationship; she wants him to fake date her. Chanu presses, “Why did you drink that night?” Why him? Were you that obsessed with Taehyeok? Ihyeon freezes, then utters no. That aspect of the rumor was not true.
But Chanu is not falling into her plan so far. He tells her with that trademark smirk, “I am not that kind of an easy man.” Ashamed, Ihyeon apologizes that she is not this type of girl. It is then that she opens up. Taehyeok not only cheated; he manipulated the story and made her look clingy and crazy, and the aftermath was vicious. She even needed to take a leave of absence from school to get her breath. Now? It is the same guy who spoiled her and is now making advances on her.
Chanu listens, really listens, “Yeah, that man is the one piece of trash.” He goes along with her plan, with conditions. New wardrobe. New tone. And she has to refer to him as “sunbae” even when they are alone. He assures her, he will assist her. “I do not break promises.”
Public Display of Pretending
But the following day, Chanu takes action by kissing Ihyeon on the forehead, dramatically, in the school corridor, much to the latter’s dismay, who is left flustered and as red as a tomato. The rumor mill goes off: Are they going out together? And in a minute, it is done: an agreement to fake-date until graduation. Rules? No skinship. No slip-ups. And address him as sunbae. Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 10 ends with the ultimate performance, just getting started.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 11: Public Performances & Private Reactions
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 11 begins with Ihyeon and Chanu officially debuting their fake relationship in front of the film club. One of the inquisitive members raises the apparent question: Was she not avoiding Chanu not so long ago? Chanu easily increases his hold on her shoulder and jokes, “She just did not want to make it obvious.” Improvisation, A+.
The show goes on later in the classroom—Chanu nonchalantly takes Ihyeon by the hand, and this sends shivers throughout her entire body. One of those who were clearly shaken? Her former boyfriend, Taehyeok, whose gaze is fixed on their interlaced hands, with developing distrust.
Chanu escorts Ihyeon home after school, under the pretense of wanting to avoid suspicion, but he is definitely enjoying every moment of it. On their way, they hear some mean rumors about Ihyeon—the rumors that her sloppy reputation is gaining ground once more. Chanu quickly changes the subject by inviting her to dinner. He turns towards the gossipers. He kicks the guy in the foot and barks at him to shut up and not make noise.
Unperturbed as ever, he looks at Ihyeon and tells her not to listen to these rumors and pay much attention. She must speak up and confront them. There is nothing to be afraid of. Ihyeon is taken by surprise by his sudden honesty and wonders perhaps it is time to stop running. But as she is digesting everything, twist! Later, Taehyeok appears in the same car as her and poses a bombshell question to her: Are you really dating Chanu?”
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 11 ends with rising tension, mixed signals, and one fake romance that’s feeling a little too real.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 12: Old Scars, New Shields
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 12 begins with an awkward car ride where Taehyeok, ever the emotionally unavailable ex, accuses Ihyeon of dating Chanu just to get back at him. But Ihyeon, cool and finished with his mind games, puts him out. “I like him, so I am dating him.” Besides, it’s none of his business.” At that, she tells him to pull over and tells him plain and simple, “Stop waiting on her like nothing happened yesterday.” Taehyeok? As usual, cool as ever. Get home safely. See you tomorrow.”
Ihyeon walks away, still digesting his cool nerve, and runs into Chanu. He nonchalantly questions, “Did you get here in his car?” and her guard goes up. Her thoughts drift to the past when Taehyeok could not stand waiting even one second for her. But Chanu? When she questions him about whether he is irritated at the wait, he merely smiles and proposes dinner.
The following day, Chanu is attached to her side, the entire boyfriend routine in play. However, when he nonchalantly suggests the idea of not going to tutor, Ihyeon switches to her strict student mode and declines the offer emphatically—finals are near! Chanu cannot argue with that.
Then, when they are walking along, the situation unexpectedly changes as someone familiar to them shows up; it is Jihyuk, the younger brother of Ihyeon. She is completely surprised at him being there, completely unexpected and out of place. What is he doing here, and what new mayhem is going to happen?
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 12 ends with a surprise sibling encounter that could throw Ihyeon’s entire double life into disarray.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 13:Surprise Guests & Sleeping Arrangements
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 13 begins with an unexpected quartet dinner table moment—Chanu, Ihyeon, Jihyuk (her younger brother), and yes… Taehyeok. Jihyuk says that he is in Seoul on a project and could not find Ihyeon and just bumped into Taehyeok-hyung. However, no one is able to rest yet, as Chanu nonchalantly identifies himself as Ihyeon’s boyfriend, which causes Jihyuk to have his jaw and a suspicious look in his eyes.
It is getting late in the evening, and Taehyeok, the gentleman that he is, offers Jihyuk to crash at his place. But Chanu leaps into action as any rom-com protagonist would and declares that Jihyuk is more than welcome to crash at their place as well. Ihyeon hastily scurries to give Jihyuk an explanation of how she is not staying at the dorm and pleads with him not to mention it to their mom. Naturally, Jihyuk instantly interrogates them: Chanu and her elder sister live in the same house? Little brother suspicion mode: online.
Taehyeok eventually walks away, however, not before delivering a loaded line to Ihyeon as she thanks him: “Then buy me a meal next time.” Chanu is obviously not very pleased.
Back at the apartment later, the three find themselves in the classic sitcom-level predicament, namely, where is Jihyuk going to sleep? Chanu and Jihyuk engage in a heated debate concerning room privileges and who will sleep where. In the confusion, Ihyeon finds herself, again, sleeping in Chanu’s room. There is less of a tense moment and more of a comfortable moment this time.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 13 ends with one bed, two hearts, and a very confused younger brother in the next room.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 14: Sofa Wars and Stolen Hugs
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 14 begins with a dorm-style negotiation that feels more intense than diplomatic talks. The plan? The younger brother, Jihyuk, is always suspicious, and he demands to sleep in Ihyeon’s room; thus, Ihyeon is back to sharing the room with Chanu. Jihyuk begins to protest predictably, but then Chanu nonchalantly offers to sleep on the sofa, and Jihyuk retreats quickly and goes to bed like a beaten general. On the way out, he adds an extremely older-brother energy line: “If anything happens while sleeping, call for me immediately”. Yeah, right.
Afterwards, Ihyeon looks over and sees an awkwardly curled-up Chanu on the bed later that night. He reminds her that he cannot sleep on the sofa—obviously to draw sympathy. She gives up and resigns herself to fate and begins to make a move towards the couch herself, but Chanu prevents her. He says it is too cold, and then he drags her back onto the bed and hugs her to him as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world to do. He mumbles, “I am cold”, and cuddles in.
Ihyeon, in the meantime, is burning up. Her cheeks are burning, her heart is racing insanely, and she is obviously not ready to deal with such closeness. Their faces end up being inches apart, the air electric with unspoken feelings—and then… stomp stomp stomp. There is a loud, recognizable stomp down the hall—thanks to said little brother, who is probably onto them or is not.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 14 ends with snuggles, suspicion, and an accidental near-kiss thwarted by sibling interference.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 15: Secrets, Swoons, and a Surprise Girlfriend?!
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 15 begins with the most awkward sibling moment ever. Jihyuk finds Ihyeon and Chanu in bed again and gives them the look. You know, the “I have an eye on you” look. He silently retreats, but the damage is done. Chanu mumbles, “Is he gone?” and Ihyeon panics, “Yes.” Big sister mode the next day—she tells Jihyuk to come home safe and begs him not to tell anyone about her little apartment secret…well, secret. Jihyuk agrees, but he gives Chanu a sidelong glance that could be translated as, “I am on to you, pal.” Chanu, ever the optimist, sees the funny side and wonders, “How are these two even brother and sister?”
As soon as Jihyuk disappears, Chanu drags her into an emotive embrace as though they had just come out of a hostage situation. Si-eun enters the scene in the middle of a hug and instantly tells them off about being too couple-y in the street. Classic. Ihyeon later draws a line and reminds Chanu that she should not touch her without her consent. His reply? A highly smug, “I can touch you as much as I want if I ask permission?” Cue blush attack.
Unexpected Girlfriend
Two weeks later, and the fake relationship is sailing smoothly—except for the small bump that is Taehyeok, who continues to stay in her life like an unskippable advertisement. At the same time, Ihyeon begins to see the cute aspects of Chanu, such as the way he becomes strangely enthusiastic about snacks or his cute emojis while texting. But when it seems to be a little too normal, Ihyeon runs into a girl who drops a nuclear bomb on him: “I’m Nam Chanu’s girlfriend.” Wait, what?
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 15 ends with rising jealousy, growing confusion, and the fake romance about to face a real test.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 16: The Pretend Game Hurts More Than Expected
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 16 opens with Ihyeon working her shift at the cafe, trying to focus, but her mind’s a total mess. Only a few days before, she had found a girl who said she was the real girlfriend of Chanu. Yuri, that girl is back in the picture, and she obviously suspects there is something happening between Ihyeon and Chanu. When Chanu arrives, Yuri quickly queries him why he has been avoiding her calls. He nonchalantly tells him they had called off the relationship some time back. However, the situation becomes a little bit embarrassing when she tells him that he must attend a reunion of sorts among old friends, and even makes the point of inquiring whether Ihyeon had anything to do with him not calling her.
Ihyeon is taken by surprise and says no, although her heart is saying the opposite. Chanu can see how uncomfortable she is and offers not to go, but she assures him that she is fine, even telling him to go. But when she is walking home alone, she is not fine. She asks herself why she is jealous, or why she always ends up looking the fool, and what it all means to her. When Chanu comes back that night, she nearly mentions it, then sees a message on his phone: Yuri. She tells him to sleep and slowly moves away, ending Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 16.
The Pain of Pretending
At night, in bed, she is in a whirlpool of thoughts. This “fake” relationship is blurring lines she thought she could manage. She despises feeling weak and uncertain. She despises herself for looking this way. Then, when she believes that this day could not become any worse, the final train is canceled…and Taehyeok is already waiting, just for her.
Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 16 ends with unresolved feelings, missed chances, and the storm of emotions only getting heavier. What do you think of Rules for Dating Trash Chapter 8-16? Subscribe to AnimeMangaToon to know what happens next!
