RegisterLogin
Theme
Search
Series Group
Pretending To Have A Girlfriend?
Type
Web Novel (KR)
Genre
Tags[ ]
Loading...
Tags List | Request Tag
Rating(3.6 / 5.0, 101 votes)
5    50% (50 votes)
4    13% (13 votes)
3    8% (8 votes)
2    11% (11 votes)
1    19% (19 votes)
Language
Support Book (#ad)
Author(s)
One entry per line
Artist(s)
One entry per line
N/A
Year
Example: 2012
2022
Status in COO
Status in Country of Origin. One entry per line
138 Chapters (completed):
-main story: 131 Chapters (Completed)
-extra: 7 Chapters (Completed)
Licensed
No
Completely Translated
No
Original Publisher
One entry per line
English Publisher
One entry per line
N/A
Release Frequency
Every 24.4 Day(s)
Activity Stats
[Graph]
Weekly Rank: #7256
Monthly Rank: #3631
All Time Rank: #4324
Reading List
[Graph]
On 1143 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #2445
All Time Rank: #6753

Description

Links are NOT allowed. Format your description nicely so people can easily read them. Please use proper spacing and paragraphs.

My three beautiful party members always annoy me for this and that.
When I asked my brother for advice, he said: “Just tell them you have a girlfriend.”

Associated Names
One entry per line
여친 생긴척 하라고?
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
N/A
Recommendation Lists
  1. Peak Yanderes
  2. Not masterpieces, but enjoyable enough.
  3. Following and waiting
  4. The Absolute Master List
  5. novels read/reading

Latest Release

Date Group Release
09/08/23 AsuraTls c45
09/06/23 AsuraTls c44
09/06/23 AsuraTls c43
09/06/23 AsuraTls c42
06/25/23 ReadingPia c41
06/17/23 ReadingPia c40
06/15/23 ReadingPia c39
06/10/23 ReadingPia c38
06/09/23 ReadingPia c37
06/03/23 ReadingPia c36
05/29/23 ReadingPia c35
05/13/23 ReadingPia c34
05/08/23 ReadingPia c33
05/04/23 ReadingPia c32
04/30/23 ReadingPia c31
1234
Go to Page...
Go to Page...
Write a Review
13 Reviews sorted by


Sirusblue
New Sirusblue rated it
April 4, 2024
Status: --
Have to write a short review. Reading this after reading all the review of both positive and negative give me a bit of whiplash. This is a peculiar case for me as to me it is not the character that become the deal breaker. No, it is the writing. I can't believe this is written by the same author of my beloved series Incompatible Interspecies Wives. It was like heaven and earth. I can't believe even author can have character development. This has bland narration and useless POV jump at... more>> the beginning. The hook come a bit too late as people already turn away before even reaching that point. The introduction of the character doesn't give the reader any point to root for. The author took a bit too much realistic reasoning without making a compelling characters or even engaging narration!.

The characters are not even that bad. Compared to really manipulative harems in Japanese like Do you think you can run away, Nii-san? or Toxic harem in series like Regressor Instruction Manual, the girls in here is pretty bland or even tame. They are low tier yandere. The author just trying too hard to emphasize their worst part and it work but doesn't give the reader enough motivation to read further. <<less
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Dante7555
Dante7555 rated it
February 23, 2023
Status: --
The entire plot of this novel is very childish and poorly structured. The prologue introduces an interesting enough concept and makes you wonder about the protagonist's teammates and what will happen if the advice of his brother is followed.

But going into chapter one, we see a very badly written misunderstanding romance plot, with very one dimension characters without any redeeming qualities.

  1. Female Leads: All the female characters fits a particular fetish and since they're introduced all at once the author is so lazy he gives them the same hair color and eye color along with a cliche archetype (kuudere, onee-san, etc.) just so your h**ny brain can memorize it and I say that because the only reason I can see someone reading this is for h**ny or self-insert even though from the tags I doubt there's s*x in this novel so good luck (lol).
  2. Protagonist: Any possible likeability in the protagonist is also immediately erased due to him being a literal doormat that does everything the girls say despite constantly complaining about them. You can make an argument that he is active saying that he confessed to them before the story started and was rejected but that just makes it even more pathetic, even after being rejected he still acts like he's their little bit*h doing everything they say when the girls even shows a hint of dissatisfaction. All of my sympathy for him in the prologue was replace with contempt and annoyance since I was bamboozled into reading a story with a simp protagonist.
  3. Plot: literal kindergarten romance plot, they all like him so they make a pact to share him but the dude gets nothing while the girls get quiet satisfaction despite slowly killing him from exhaustion. The girls are self centered psychopaths that the author constantly try to portray as likeable or cute but at the same time make the protagonist complain about them, maybe to make you pity them? (Lol how funni) either way it's tr*sh with a very obvious development.
TLDR: Save your braincells and read something else.
26 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Raaz
Raaz rated it
February 18, 2023
Status: c131
First of all, thank you so much translator sama for picking up this novel.

Review: If you're not sure whether to read it as the author might not have a story structure and might make a blunder later in the story, you need not worry; This is the second work by the author of - why are you becoming a villain again? And as expected, author sama wrote another amazing character-driven novel. What he did differently this time though is make characters, even more, lifelike and conflicted.

My favorite one among them... more>> is mc; he is usually kind and generous, but when he makes up his mind about something, no one even tries to stop him because everyone knows it's futile. Basically, he is cool when needs to be.

Another thing I loved was that all heroines might seem selfish, b*tchy yandere initially. But when it comes to something serious like mc's dream, they are even willing to leave their selfishness for his happiness.

Like - a tiny tiny spoiler:
Spoiler

they don't even want to become A-class gatherers but just to complete his dream, they are risking their lives. And it's not like such a thing happened only once in the story, they are really great. Well, as great as a yandere can be.

[collapse]

But the thing I loved most was when mc's character development started; he began to question the fundamental ideas ingrained in his very being because of his past. It made me question a few things myself.

Unfortunately, I couldn't understand the context most of the times because of shitty mtl, but now that it's been picked up by a translator - and considering the quality of the translation of why are you becoming a villain again? - I can't help but have high hopes.

Again, thank you translator sama for picking it up. Please continue to translate it. I'll support you. <<less
13 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
AdmiralUnknown
AdmiralUnknown rated it
June 6, 2023
Status: c2
I'm sorry, but I really had to just give it one stars by chapter 2. I cant take it. The novel premise is basically about how the MC'S party members, which are all woman for some unknown reason, are all doing the tsun2 but no dere. The worst and most annoying kinda tsundere. And MC is sooooooooooooo dumb, it's no longer dense, but already in the territory of fking brainless.

A bit of spoilers below, but it's only from the first two chapters so you're not really missing anything.

Sure, he isnt... more>> sure if they like him or not, he stated this. Followed by how each of them kept saying they dont want to date the MC, and he also stated how he wont even date them even if they do since they have this kind of tr*shy personality.

Now imagine this, you do all you can to accommodate your teammates, but they wont even give you time for yourself, not a day, not an hour, not even a minute. They kept bothering him even on his day off. And MC is too much of a pu*sy to just say no "Because they'll get mad and wont even follow orders when dungeon diving.". MC also mentioned how the places or things they forced him to do with them on his day off was just the things they like. Not what the MC likes. So he just thought they were using him as a gofer.

Now also imagine this, getting your room ransacked because they thought you brought a girl over last night, when you clearly stated you went out for a drink with your sibling. And although MC was mad at first, gave in as soon as they said it's to check his condition because he went drinking the night before and they would be dungeon diving today. W T F. They turned your room inside down! And MC just let it go.

The reason he said he couldn't just man up and expel them because then it would reflect badly on his image as an adventurer. His dream was to lead an A rank team like his big brother. So replacing all your teammates at once because they are incompatible just equals party leader, which is MC, being incompetent. What the hell. The reason is so fcking dumb.

Anyways, good luck to whoever still decides to read this novel after reading my dem comment. <<less
10 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Magodei
Magodei rated it
March 13, 2023
Status: Completed
the story itself is pretty interesting although first part of the novel there's no snu snu scenes. It's about MC tricking other girls in his party that he has a 'girlfriend' because he is tired of them. The most ironic part is that the 'girlfriend' that MC 'date' actually exist.

*fyi* You can read the novel in 'pandamtl. Com' although it is mtl translation but it has all chapters. Good luck
9 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
wickedswami
wickedswami rated it
February 26, 2023
Status: c40

Update up to chapter 40 and it's looking like it might be getting better. I'll change my score from 1 star to 2 for now and will probably come back to change it to 3 stars depending on how this current arc plays out and if the quality stays consistent with how it is currently.

It's been much more enjoyable to read because these past few chapters have been focusing on them adventuring and other characters besides the girls in his party being insufferable. I was fully interested when they... more>> went on a mission and I had some interest in the character dynamics and relationships outside of his party. Maybe the girls in his party will get better and if they actually do, then that's when I'll change my score to 3 stars. Honestly, if they lose to another girl, I might even rate it 4 stars.

----------------------------------------

This review is updated from chapter 7 to chapter 29 and I won't even bother making another section below.

The main update is that the idiotic women around MC are now suffering the consequences of their own actions and still haven't even attempted to apologize for how they treated him.

As of Chapter 7:

This sucks. The main character gets the advice to say he has a girlfriend in the prologue and while getting annoyed at the girls, somehow keeps talking himself out of saying it even though he thinks his brother gives great advice.

All the female characters are manipulative as hell and he gets nothing from it. They decided on their own that they can split all of his free time, even the middle of the night, between the three of them without letting him have a say. If he speaks against what they want, they get angry at him, ignore him, and sulk in the most obvious ways to make him feel bad.

Someone said they aren't that bad because they are risking their lives to help him achieve his goals but that is s*upid if he has to be berated, stressed, and gaslit everyday.

The worst part to me is, the three girls have a treaty, but get sulky and pissed at MC when one of the other girls does stuff with him that is within the rules of their treaty. What the hell is the point of the treaty if things within the rules still cause problems.

Here is the solution that these brain dead female characters haven't seemed to have thought about yet. Since they all already share him and go on dates and stuff, why not just all share him in a romantic relationship? As it is now, they get happiness and enjoyment whenever they want, but can't do any of the physical stuff and the MC only gets stress.

Honestly, if he actually gets another girl and moves away from these three, I might come back and give it a 4 or 5 star rating. <<less
6 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
NemCraft
NemCraft rated it
May 16, 2023
Status: c131
In a landscape filled with generic harem comedy tropes masquerading as web novels, Pretending to have a Girlfriend manages to stand above the rest as a surprisingly relatable and realistic take on what would happen if a normal guy actually went through several years of the same broken cliches with no romance development in sight. In fact I couldn't believe it when I read the first 25 chapters and realized this was supposed to be a 3.8/5 star web novel with less than 800 readers, people are seriously sleeping on... more>> this one.

Now the summary doesn't actually provide much detail, but basically the MC is the leader of an adventurer party who realizes how he let the three other girls in his party take his life from him and decides to use his brother's advice of pretending to have a girlfriend for his own sanity and well-being. Overall this is a very character focused novel so the characters will either make or break the novel for most people. While the setting is pretty generic, I really enjoyed the way both Starchis (MC) and Stion (MC's brother) were handled, they got a lot of depth and I liked seeing their growth over the course of the novel.

If you're like me and look at negative reviews to see what flaws this might have, keep in mind that most negative reviews are by people who clearly haven't read more than 20 chapters of the actual story.

One of the big criticisms comes from the fact that people say Starchis (MC) is a complete beta that just lets his party members do what they want with him. This misses the point of the first 15 chapters. He is clearly trying to fix the shitty situation he's ended up in, which is why he went to his brother to ask for help in the first place. Yes he starts out as a doormat, but he grows a backbone early on and the rest of the series is spent following the improved MC.

The other criticism is that people say the other party members are really bad and they don't get the karma they deserve. To this I'd say they aren't just bad, they're completely unlikable psychopaths. The key difference is that critics don't realize readers are supposed to despise them. It's because they are this bad that the payoff for the next 100 chapters is so satisfying. One thing I can guarantee about this webnovel is the party members get what they deserve.

All in all, if you've been as jaded as I have by trope filled stories that are not only generic, but refuse to treat any hard hitting topics with the seriousness they deserve, you'll enjoy reading this. It's not the best reading experience ever nor did it change my life, but it also didn't need to do that. I came here to get an enjoyable well written story, and that's what I got. <<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
TEJJY
TEJJY rated it
September 30, 2023
Status: c45
The story makes no sense, the characters make no sense, the romance makes no sense, and I don't know if it's the author's intention to make me weigh who I hate more between the MC and the female leads.

The story tries to be a romcom about misunderstandings but at the same time is super serious with the setting taking place in the trite Korean hunters with gates/dungeons/tower fantasy setting where there are stakes and tension. Where even the tiniest of mistakes can ultimately lead to death. Instead of the MC... more>> telling his party members that he's tired from being constantly ordered around (which almost leads to his death in future chapters), he decides to just keep it inside for reasons that make no sense at all. Leading to fatigue, stress, and exhaustion.

After the event where it's supposed to be some kind of character development leading to the gimmick and title of this novel, the MC decides to listen to his brother's s*upid advice of telling his party members that he has a girlfriend. Like that's somehow supposed to stop them from obsessively wanting to be near him instead of just telling the MC to man up and say no. To which the MC basically just decides to finally obtain a pair of balls and outright say no to them that you wonder if he even needed to pretend to have a girlfriend in the first place to do it

As for the main female leads, they're all equally as bad as the MC but that's combined and I can't really fault them for it. Because they're just cliches and caricatures given the bare minimum reason that's justifiable for them to lust over the MC for this setting to happen. I say combined because they're all just the same character with different names, backstories as to how they fell in love with the MC and personality (yes their personalities are somewhat different, like one of them is meek and a crybaby compared to the other two but theyre all still essentially same character) . While the MC being an obvious self-insert feels like he has actual thought put into his character despite him being this s*upid. If he didn't, then the female leads (each of them) are all worse and disgusting as human beings in comparison to the MC. They would go through any lengths to get the MC to pick them over the others (r*pe, gaslighting, manipulation, etc) except confess their feelings towards him because they fear that they'll get rejected. The author doesn't portray this or them as disgusting as it should be and just shows them as super desperate shy girls who can't live without him.

I'm caught up to the translation and there are some developments here and there that makes me hate them even more while also giving me a hard time of deciding which of the 2 I should hate most. For example

Mc

Spoiler

after almost dying twice already with him experiecing bleeding to death and seeing how much they care about him (selfishly), he still decides to keep the charade up so the author could still milk this rubbish in the excuse that he actually gets rest instead of coming clean and deepening their trust and bond, while at the same time saying that he only did that in the first place was because of them, thus setting boundaries and making them reflect on their actions and go about earning MCs love in an honest way.

[collapse]

Female leads

Spoiler

after MCs second near death experience they all decided that waiting for MC to breakup with his imaginary gf was no longer an option:

"They realized that the desire to wait for the next opportunity was as foolish as the Starchis' Pact.

He had never waited for them.

It was the same this time too.

'Give me just one last chance.'

That's what they desperately thought.

If he could just get up, they wouldn't wait anymore.

They couldn't help it if Starchis didn't like them. They would just push enough to not receive hatred. Because...

They had to act selfishly.

They shouldn't be ashamed.

They shouldn't leave any regrets.

'Be a little more honest, but be pretentious in certain aspects. Be a little more proactive, but be discreet in certain things. And be a little more lovable. Be able to receive a little more love.'

That's what they thought, that they would act that way from now on"

What did they do after this? Obviously they would confess their romantic feelings towards the MC and be done with it, whether they get rejected or not. Lol no, they still continue their gaslighting, seduction and manipulation tactics. Why the author wrote this scene then get back to square one? Idk.

[collapse]

What ultimately made me decide to hate the MC more is the moment where not only did he actually weigh which guilty conscious affects him more; him betraying his imaginary girlfriend's setting of her not wanting him to go out with other girls or him not listening to his 6 year friendship with his party member asking him to spend some time together, he actually picked the former as something he feels more guilty of doing. Lol <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Easykiln
Easykiln rated it
March 4, 2023
Status: c10
I intend to continue to read and update this review at some point, but at least for now I can't recommend reading it at all. At least wait a bit, right now it's all downer without payoff.

I can pretty much see what the author has been going for, but they're dealing with very sensitive emotions and at this point I can't say they've gotten the balance right. There's a good chance things will significantly improve once we're past the intro, but it's set up to be a pretty long intro.

Let... more>> me try to break down the intro so far based on what I think the author's intention was and how it actually comes off as. First arc: complaining to his bro about his troublesome situation over beer. Introduction to basic story elements probably meant to have a slapstick like ratio of 8 parts comedy to two parts sympathy. Reality: murky and depressing, emotionally burdensome. Second arc: dynamics of the three heroines together. Actually meant to be an emotional low, highlighting the unreasonableness from the protagonist's perspective. Does that fine. Third arc: partway through, some speculation. Each of the heroines gets a personal highlight, one part the story of them falling in love with the protagonist, the other part going on a date they won't admit is a date with him. At the end, the protagonist finally snaps a bit and tries to draw a line with them. The flashback is supposed to make us feel more sympathetic to the heroine and understand that she has actual feelings for the protagonist, but is making a mistake and being selfish in how she treats him because she's gotten too wrapped up in the messed up relationship between the heroines. Unfortunately it just makes you want to shake them with frustration and fails to act as a proper emotional release. The date part is what would pretty much seem like a decent date if the heroine's inconsideration didn't overburden and confuse the protagonist. Him drawing a line gives some catharsis, but not enough to counteract all the gloominess before it.

After that, although I'm not sure exactly what it will look like, the heroines will get on his nerves by continually ignoring the line he tried to draw. In frustration, he decides to pretend that he has a girlfriend to have a clear excuse to refuse their inappropriate and exhausting intimacy. The heroines have their brains blow up. Either immediately or within a few arcs, things basically go to sh*t and the relationships of all of them are basically ruined. The heroines all get a self reflection arc where they finally realize how terrible they've been, and want to take it back even knowing they can't. Prediction gets blurrier again here, but the protagonist ends up saving heroines as they get in trouble even though he can't forgive them. The heroine explains and apologizes and confesses her feelings, but the protagonist still has thorns in his heart and can't accept her. He decides to give her a bit of a chance as a party member again, though. Eventually, the party is basically back, but the positions of the protagonist and heroines are reversed: instead of constantly demanding things, they try to earn forgiveness by offering whatever they can unconditionally. At that point the intro can be considered over: the rest is how the relationship develops from there.

Unfortunately, it's all downers without a break until we get there. Just wait for there to be more chapters, so you don't need to carry the bad aftertaste so long. <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Yalne
Yalne rated it
February 11, 2024
Status: Completed
I quite enjoyed this novel cuz the drama and regret makes my heart strangely uncomfortable and painful, and who doesn't like that? Plus I read this without thinking too much, and am gonna talk about key points that can be deal breakers in the novel.

Welp, to begin with, the characters in this novels lack two fundamental things to make a relationship work, 1. Communication from the protagonist and 2. Empathy from his party members. The protagonist at the very beginning is just a doormat that can't even voice his own... more>> thoughts and emotions freely, he goes out of his way to comply with all of their demands, days off with no rest nor sleep made him way too exhausted and fatigued which almost caused his death. And his party members used every moment of his day to stay with him whether he likes or not (not that he complained out loud tho), without considering his likes, dislikes and his state of mind. Even when he goes out he has to be checked if he was with a woman besides them, like, is that something you need to be involved in? Is his life! But! It is justified and excused 'cause they're in love with him🥰. F*ck off. From what I remember he implied or told them outright to go out w him, but all of them refused cuz reasons OR that they liked him but because that peace treaty they dismissed his feelings several times; obviously, they treat him with care and love in a selfish way, but as I repeated, they don't consider his feelings AT ALL, and remembering this makes my blood boil. When the protagonist asks if they act in a certain way because they like him, they have a predetermined response that makes the MC feel like he is misunderstanding something and it will never be in a romantic way. The mage is the older sister archetype, and when he asked if she liked him she said, "Yes, I like you as a younger brother😊", and the other two answered not with the same answer, but WITH THE SAME IMPLICATION, that he has the misconception that they're doing this cuz he is their special person, but not THAT special as he thinks it is, this leaves him with a feeling of confusion and frustration. And even when he tries to make progress he is left on hold because of their s*upid treaty, only for them unknowingly damaging his psyche and their relationship.

After the incident in which he almost died, he tried to draw a line, so in steps of his brother's advice, he tells them that he has a girlfriend, leaving them speechless and thinking "when did he had time to go out and know other women?". He didn't, that was bullshit, and the worst is that they knew HE HADN'T TIME FOR THAT. Of course they didn't believe him but cause the previous incident and this alleged "girlfriend" they can't pressure him as much as before. Miraculously, the woman he told them about is real and everything about her matches the details and now they can't be with him cuz he is claimed. (Dk bout the next) The party members in desperate attempts try to seduce him, even knowing that from their point of view, his girlfriend is real and he is serious about her, and everything goes downhill with misunderstandings and more confusion to our protagonist about their feelings.

The next thing is, I don't like this regret tag as much as I previously said, is stressful that in every POV of the female characters they feel "so bad for everything they've done to the MC" or "he obviously is doing elicit acts with his girlfriend right now". When the MC ends up with a character that regrets things they've done to him like in The Main Heroines Are Trying To Kill Me, this love doesn't feel genuine, it's like they're with him to make amends. And this thought makes me feel pity for every character. A similar phenomenon happens here with them doing favors and things the MC didn't even asked for, this makes me think they are so nosy and that they need to mind their own business, thinking like that to characters I have affection to is so heartbreaking.

Of course this work has good things like character development and I enjoyed reading every second of it, even the frustrating and uncomfortable parts and the characters here hace some deep in them, some with goals, some following the back of a respected figure or some trying to figure out how to be free from their cage.

Even with all the criticism I wrote here, I think this novel deserves attention, and as one should expect from the same author as Why Are You Becoming a Villain Again? and Incompatible Interspecies Wives, this novel has a heavily focus on the relationship between the characters, their lack of communication, misunderstandings and regrets. Even if you can't like this work, at least give it a chance, because no one knows if this will be one of your favorites novels or the worst thing you've ever read. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
NoUps
NoUps rated it
April 25, 2023
Status: c28
The translator is fantastic, but the story is meh, with potential. If you enjoy, "The Reincarnated Villain Makes The Heroines Tearfully Beg for Forgiveness." You will probably like this story as well. It's just not my cup of tea but I'm holding out hoping it will better.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
TropicalHighland
TropicalHighland
April 20, 2023
Status: c28
I had a good time but how much enjoyment you are going to get from this will depend on your tolerance for a couple of things.

If you have tolerance with frustration from the protagonist suffering for being too nice early on. If you have tolerance for misunderstanding drama. If you have tolerance for people maintaining relationships with people who have hurt them because they still care about the other person.

If you are fine with those there's some amazing drama and comedy drawn from the dramatic irony.
Spoiler

One chapter you'll be fearing for his life and the next you'll be laughing about these terrible people self-destructing over the idea him doing something vaguely romantic with someone else.

[collapse]

The MC is really sympathetic, someone driven to near-ruin by the wants of people he cares about. It's heartening to see him start to reclaim his happiness and find a new vigor in life. And great catharsis watching those who hurt him have to watch as they cease to be the most important people in his life. It's interesting and horrifying seeing their perspective.
Spoiler

The mentality of someone who knows and acknowledges they are doing something terrible to the person they love but are too afraid to stop lest they lose him. You get to see how much they love MC, but also how utterly psychopathic they are by how they react to the threat of losing him.

[collapse]

I'm quite happy with what I've read so far at chapter 28. I don't know how it will go in the future, but I found myself invested more than I thought I would be so far.

Oh yes, the translation quality is very good. There was never a point I was taken out of the story by the translation, and each character's voice feels distinct.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
LongXi
LongXi rated it
April 23, 2023
Status: --
Okay, prologue shows you a window on how the story would unfold. The MC and the women around him are irritating and badly written. It’s a novel that is hard to read with little to no payoff. When you introduce a novel like you need to first make the reader like a particular FL to root for but also engage the readers with your MC. This novel can’t do any of that.
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Leave a Review (Guidelines)
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.

Novel Updates

User Tools

Latest Series

| Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Contact Us