Jonas

My Boo is a Korean webcomic. It's about the evolving relationship between a human and a ghost, about distance and acceptance.

I can't speak or write Korean, but as far as I can gather from online sources, the author's name is 정서, also transliterated as Jeong Seo, Jung Seoa, Jungsuh, Jung Seo... Originally published  as 투명한 동거 on naver.com around 2016, the title of the comic has also been translated as "Transparent Cohabitation" or "Invisible Roommate". It appears there are some English translations online, but the one looking most official to me appears to be My Boo published in late 2017 on webtoons.com. The English feels clunky in some places, but overall it's a fluent read. I've noticed that at least one other translation missed a few panels that were present on Webtoons. On the other hand Webtoons lacks the afterword (see links at the bottom).

I'll stick with the title "My Boo" and refer to the author as Jeongseo (the form used on webtoons) and "they", since I don't know their gender.

The main characters are Yuri So (So Yeori), a young woman working as a translator. She can see and hear ghosts, but since events in her childhood she does her best to ignore them. She did not expect that a young man, Jun Ko (Go Joon) died in the house she just moved into, and that his ghost still "lives" there, since ghosts cannot stray far from the place of their death.

I love the slow intimacy of this story. My Boo shows us the hurt both as it is inflicted and as it is hold on to, and we get to sit with it. The characters reflect on their behavior and feelings and attempt to talk about that. In my impression too many mainstream media show relationships (usually following standardized models) but never really explore and question them. Instead they too often just display them as either good or bad, and then leave the topic. The relationship(s) we get to see in My Boo are problematic, but the comic accepts that, and watches, prods and nudges to get a better feel for what's up.

The story is told in 47 episodes, each many screen pages long with several dozen panels. Jeongseo uses varying panel sizes and positioning, and is not afraid to extend the gutters into large, blank spaces stretching out. It is one of the means they employ to turn the volume down. It's not a silent comic, but it's certainly quiet. The choice to often just focus on the characters and forego the background when zooming it adds to that quietude. Similarly, the coloring feels minimalist for many sequences.
The comic is told almost completely from the point of view of Yuri So. Her thoughts are presented in first person narration, in sparse words, as captions between panels. While the main story of the unfolding relationship between Yuri and Jun is told chronologically, Jeongseo uses flashbacks (and a few flashforwards) to explore the characters' backgrounds. Sometimes, these are very short, often just a line or panel quoted from another part of the comic in which the context is told in greater depth. Many episodes start with such a hook, hinting at something larger, before the title and episode number signal the beginning of this episode's main narrative.

The calm melancholy echoing through this story, it's reflections and self-quotes, is enhanced by the repertoire of characters, scene types and locations: Most scenes show Yuri and Jun in their house, and you'll be familiar with the hallway, living room, garden, stairs etc. soon enough. We get a few conversations between Yuri and her friends Max and Sam, and a couple of scenes with Dana, Dana's mother, or both of them.

That makes the other scenes stand out so much more. The locations and persons we're only shown once.

Yuri So starts in a place of isolation, a conscious choice made years ago and turned into a lifestyle, to protect herself from the expectations of dead and living who might demand her time and labor, to use Yuri's ability for their own comfort. She ran away from this conflict after an attempt to befriend the ghost of a young girl killed in a traffic accident. The girl became clingy, and Yuri struggled to reconcile her two worlds, without success.

Jun Ko starts isolated, too. After the death of his parents he tried to drown his loneliness in social activity, yet was unable to form meaningful connections. After his own death he stayed alone in the house for three years until Yuri moves in.

Jun is desperate for company and does his best to accommodate Yuri's needs. Yuri needs more time to overcome her reservations. To her own confusion she not only agrees to become housemates but feels a growing bond. Still, foundation for their arrangement is the choice to keep it temporary: After a year, Yuri want to go abroad for studies.
They settle into their shared existence, find routines, watch each other reservedly. They fight, he hides, she relents. They feed the cats. They become romantically attracted, struggling with their differences.

I'll skip over some major parts of the comic, most importantly the involvement of Dana Song and the revelations of the shaman about the inevitable end. Bit by bit Yuri opens up and steps out of her isolation. She starts to accept herself, making peace with her ability to see the deceased. This must be a frightening process, but as her focus is on her housemate, so the comic stays focused on the two.

On webtoons, readers can leave comments, and fans of My Boo repeatedly expressed their wish for a satisfying romance, usually asking the author to give Jun a body. I'm glad Jun remains incorporeal until the end. Thus their relationship stays special and fraught, and they have to face how different they are.

From the beginning, their relationship has an end date. While the details change, they still have to come to terms with the approaching moment of parting. And while what they feel may be love, and loss, what they express is gratitude.

I loved that.

Thank you, Jeongseo.

~~~

Links:
Review by Heather on nerdloveshop.com: Manga Monday #17: Invisible Roommate
Goodreads page
Author's note (update #48) on mangarock and on mangakalot
Author's blog on naver.com (I believe)
https://twitter.com/jungseoa