Unbalance x Unbalance

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Unbalance x Unbalance

언밸런스x2.
(Unbalance x 2)

Genre

Comedy, Drama, Ecchi, Romance

Manhwa

Author

Dall-Young Lim

Artist

Soo-Hyon Lee

Publisher

Daiwon C.I.

English publisher

Infinity Studios

Other publishers:
Tokebi Asia Comics Kill Time Communication

Serialized in

Young Champ

Original run

2005 – Ongoing

Volumes

Unbalance x Unbalance (언밸런스x2) is a romance manhwa (South Korean manga) by Dal-Young Lim (author) and Soo-Hyon Lee (artist).

The original Korean serialization has been going on since May 30, 2005.^[1]

1 Plot
2 Characters
- 2.1 Main
- 2.2 Support
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Jin-Ho returns a wallet and cell phone to a beautiful young woman (Hae-Young Na) in a book shop, little realising that she would find out that he has already (rather presumptuously) taken 7000 won to buy a book he really wanted. The woman in question is understandably rather upset but decides to consider the money as a loan, which she expects to be paid back.

On the first day of the new school year he learns, to his horror, that the very same woman is to be his new homeroom teacher.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main

Jin-Ho Myung: He is in the final (senior) year of High School and finds himself a student in Hae-Young's class, seemingly caring little for schoolwork. He has been known to go to the nurse’s office to sleep, watch erotic movies in school, and complete mathematics tests (generally unsuccessfully) using pure guesswork. In middle school, it appears he was something of a delinquent who got into fights, and he has become quite skilled in them. This has been a source of concern to his family, at the very least for his aunt. However, he can also become focused if something interests him, like film, which causes him to be the co-founder and eventually the president of the Film Studies Club.

He lives with his Aunt and father and there are suggestions in the story that he is estranged or separated from his mother, a possible cause for some of his behavior^[2].

His sometimes rather cavalier attitude leads him into a number of compromising situations with his teacher. These instances have led Jin-Ho to fall in love with her.

Hae-Young Nah: A young, beautiful woman in her mid-20's, who teaches mathematics and also acts as the homeroom teacher for class 3-2. She lives with her sister and niece in an apartment block quite close to Jin-Ho's. Her father’s unexpected departure from her life when she was young has had a huge impact on her. Even though she is extremely attractive and was apparently popular throughout her school life, she has become very guarded around men, feeling unable to trust or form relationships with them. Consequently she is still a virgin and even has her first kiss during the course of the story ^[3]. She also seems to be following her mother's career path, who was also a teacher and became the district superintendent before retirement. Despite Hae-Young being strict and meticulous, she has found herself in increasingly compromising and desperate situations with her student, Jin-Ho. Much to her own initial displeasure and discomfort, she finds herself beginning to have romantic feelings for him.

[edit] Support

Caroline: She is a Eurasian (half Korean/half British) woman, recently arrived in Korea. She has lived in the United States for a while, learning the French martial art of savate. She has come to Korea because she is curious about her father's homeland and her siblings, who turn out to be Hae-Young and Hae-Jung. When she first arrives she lives temporarily motel while her father arranges for her to stay with her half-sisters for about a month. She has been employed as a language teacher and an assistant homeroom teacher under Hae-Young.

Her first encounter with Jin-Ho, like her half-sister's, is not entirely without its troubles, ending in a fight and injury for her. Her opinion of Jin-ho changes however when he escorts her back to her motel room and shows concern for her well-being. As she has no full siblings she appears to harbour a strong desire for a warm relationship with her half-sisters, though this is complicated somewhat by their rather cold and distant relationship with their father. She expresses great romantic interest in Jin-Ho and has challenged Hae-Young Nah to see who can first win his heart.

Young-Gi Cha: He is also a senior, who is Jin-Ho's friend and classmate. They have been in placed together in the same class for the previous five years. Like his friend, he is skilled at fighting. It has been implied that he likes Ji-Soo; he is very protective of her and careful of how she perceives him. Young-Gi also has a strong sense of justice and, despite his tall athletic build, prefers to find the most peaceful resolutions to otherwise violent confrontations. In fact his first encounter with Jin-Ho was when Young-Gi was back in middle school when Jin-Ho, whom was a notable delinquent at the time, was harassing another student; the two fought and soon afterwards became close friends.

Ji-Soo Ha: She is the senior class president as well as now being the president of the student council. She is hardworking, studious, performs well and is also popular. She appears to have liked Jin-Ho ever since the freshmen year of high school, when he helped her make origami flowers. He does not feel the same way towards her, though at one point he does suddenly notice that she is attractive.

Ami Eun: She is a senior and friend of Ji-Soo. She is shy and quiet at school, where she often reads yaoi manhwa. She is one of the first to find out about Hae-Young and Jin-Ho's complicated out-of-school relationship. When Jin-Ho learns that she is the one who told Ji-Soo about his situation with Hae-Young, he attempts to confront her. During this face-off she threatens to publicly reveal the relationships, which would be likely get Jin-Ho suspended and, worse for Jin-ho, ruin Hae-Young’s career. She even forces Jin-ho to kneel in front of her. It transpires that this was an empty threat, since Ami herself is also in love with Hae-Young, she even goes as far as trying to force herself on Hae-Young.

Jae-Kyung Park: She is a college freshman and a friend of Jin-Ho's. She was the co-founder and former president of the film studies club as well as the former president of the student council. Even though she flirts with him, Jin-Ho feels comfortable enough with her to confide his girl problems to her. There are also hints that Jin-Ho may have had rather deeper feelings for her ^[4] while she was in high school. It seems that Jin-Ho has been rather more distant with girls since she left ^[5].

Hae-Jung: She is Hae-Young's older full sister and roommate. She is also, therefore, Caroline's half-sister. Like Hae-Young, she has not forgiven her father for abandoning them as children. She is the mother of a four year old girl, Mina Choi.

Ji-Sun Myung: She is Jin-Ho's screen writer aunt who lives with him and his father. She often talks to and looks out for her nephew and is not afraid of hitting him when she thinks he has gone out of line. She also acts to diffuse tension between Jin-Ho and his rather authoritarian and distant father.

Sung-Chul Nah: He is a documentary film maker, as well as being the father of Hae-Young and Hae-Jung. He left his family to go to United Kingdom, though there is some question as to whether he or his first wife initiated the separation. In the UK he fathered his third daughter, Carrie, with a British woman named Grace Pendleton ^[6]. Even though his eldest daughters will not forgive his leaving them, he has asked them not to take out their frustrations on their half-sister Carrie.