Don’t have a home? Find a Friend in the Roommate You Hate!

 Krysantha Flores

Don’t have a home? Find a Friend in the Roommate You Hate!

No home is a webtoon by Wanan. It’s about two boys who, under unfortunate circumstances, find themselves having to live in a haunted dormitory building. It has six main characters in total who have their own deep stories. Go Haejoon has lived with his mother, a very paranormal woman, all his life. Living in a house with so many ghosts was torture for him, he even got bullied for it. In an attempt to escape his unruly house he applies to a high school that has dormitories. He soon after left home with his life savings stored in his wallet, $370. Unexpectedly a blonde haired boy pickpockets him, stealing his hard earned $370. Obviously Haejoon is pissed, so he finds the boy, Baek Eunyung, who lives in a tent with his friends, and picks a fight with him. The fight ends up with Haejoon in the hospital after being stabbed in the side by Eunyung. He awakes only to realize he missed the date for dorm applications and his only option is an abandoned dorm house. Deciding he would never want to go back to his old home he heads over to the dorm house, only to find Baek Eunyung is also living there. 

This webtoon is listed as a comedy which in my opinion is correct, but also slightly misleading. When I first read this webtoon I expected a light hearted story about students living in a dorm together, instead I read an absolutely heart-wrenching story. It’s also rated all ages, which I don’t agree with because the contents of the webtoon can get violent and there are themes of abuse/neglect that probably aren’t suitable for children. One problem I had was when two of the main characters had an argument there was a random dude in the middle of it for comedic effect, and while it was funny it kind of pulled away from this argument that was very crucial to both of the characters' relationships. Another thing is that the characters go back and forth a lot. This isn’t a writing problem but I found myself frequently frustrated with the lack of communication between them.

 All six characters have their own arcs that deal with conflicts in their home life. I think the characters are very well written because they exhibit behaviors that seem strange to people that haven’t gone through the same trauma as them. The most interesting character to me is Eunyung. He’s a character that gets in fights with Haejoon a lot due to his pride and unwillingness to communicate. There are a few moments that illustrate the push and pull relationship between Haejoon and Eunyung. One in particular is when Eunyung starts working a part time job, he has to room with an upperclassman who steals Eunyungs money. Eunyung is angry but despite confronting the upperclassman he only denies it. Searching throughout the dorm house, he doesn’t find it anywhere. This upsets him to no avail. Haejoon ruminates on the similarities between Eunyung stealing his money and Eunyung money getting stolen; Eunyung finally knows what it feels like. Of course Haejoon is much more forgiving to Eunyung but Eunyung isn’t the same way towards the upperclassman. Eunyung is so angry about the money that he and Haejoon get into arguments. He’s a hypocrite at best and downright manipulative at worst.

Later on a teacher asks how much money was stolen from Eunyung, in which another kid responds $370. Haejoon and the readers have a point of realization. Eunyung was going to pay Haejoon back, for what reason? Guilt? So Haejoon would stop bringing it up? Later Haejoon talks to him about it and says he would have been fine with even Eunyung acknowledging his wrongs and apologizing for it. Eunyung is confused, he just doesn’t understand the forgiving way Haejoon operates. Eunyung is a very complex character in that we see him developing and getting better when suddenly a small thing sets him back. While it can be frustrating to read while knowing communication could fix everything, that's the whole point. He knows communication is what he needs but he can’t find enough trust to depend on or be vulnerable with anyone. Throughout the story the can see him develop, and while not completely open up. His bad habits destroy him but maybe with the help of his friends he’ll be okay.

Cited works

Wanan, “집이 없어,” Naver.com, https://comic.naver.com/webtoon/list?titleId=721433, February 2, 2025.