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B*oty Wurk
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Web Novel (KR)
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Rating(3.3 / 5.0, 64 votes)
5    38% (24 votes)
4    9% (6 votes)
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1    20% (13 votes)
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2022
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Complete (10 Volumes)
- 84 Chapters
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Completely Translated
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Every 6.5 Day(s)
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Weekly Rank: #11009
Monthly Rank: #12910
All Time Rank: #15310
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On 377 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #26280
All Time Rank: #19172

Description

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Lee Shinwoo, a ballet dancer with an exceptional physique but only average in talent.

One day, he is abruptly notified of a transfer from the old dormitory to the new one.

“Lee Shinwoo. Dance department special student. Right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I had no idea you would have such a pleasant voice.”

At the new dormitory, he meets Kang Tae-eon, the third son of the Taerok High School owner’s family and a well-known figure on campus who is a role model admired for his looks, grades, and behavior.

“Where are you going?”

His eyes met Kang Tae-eon’s, who seemed to interpret his retreating steps as a feeble attempt at resistance

At that instant, a hand clamped around his throat. A burning sensation erupted across his face.

The sound of flesh being struck echoed in his ears.

In the silence that followed, all that remained were Lee Shinwoo’s muffled sobs.

“Open your eyes.”

“…….”

“You have two options.”

Their relationship, which began with one-sided violence, picks up again eleven years later after a chance encounter…

“Bad memories are usually the first to be forgotten, right?”

“…….”

“Not at all. You haven’t forgotten me.”

Associated Names
One entry per line
부티워크
Related Series
Full Bloom (Sequel)
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Recommendation Lists
  1. Complete Korean novels 2
  2. (BL) Dark and disturbing
  3. Top-tier Psychological/Dark BL
  4. want to read
  5. reading BL

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4 Reviews sorted by


sputnikan
sputnikan rated it
September 9, 2025
Status: Completed
Booty Wurk

8 volumes + 2 extras (40 chapters + 15 extra chapters) — The main story is approximately 400k words in English.

Translated into English: 20 chapters

... more>> Tags: Waste, Psychological, Dark Romance, Hardcore, Toxic Relationships, Obsession/Possessiveness, High School Setting, Time Lapse, Politics, Arts & Ballet, Chaebol, Hurt No Comfort, Open Ending.

Trigger Warnings: Explicit r*pe, Forced Prostitution, Manipulation, Blackmail, Violence & Brutality, Self-Harm & Suicidal Ideation, Verbal ab*se, Eating Disorder, Mental Breakdown, Confinement, Attempted mu*der & mu*der, Misogyny & h*mophobia, in*est & pe*ophilia mentions.

*

I don't even know what rating to give this novel. It's been 15 days since I read it, and I still think about it every day. God. Let's start with the important stuff: this novel is horrifying. It's absolutely insane. It's incredibly violent, explicit, and painful. Reading this novel is like subjecting yourself to impressive psychological terrorism.

I don't know what I expected, but I definitely didn't expect to be bitten, chewed, and swallowed by a story. It only took me reading the second chapter to know that this was no ordinary novel. The level of violence, pain, and abjection made me tremble and sweat and cry. That's the experience it offers you. Terror. That's what it wants you to feel: the worst possible despair. And it succeeds. It succeeds with flying colors.

If there's one thing I can applaud this novel for, it's how magnificent it is at inducing such real terror that it feels like you're suffering along with the protagonist.

Booty Wurk by author Gubu is not a BL novel in the strict sense. It fulfills all the tropes we know, with its narrative structure and character construction. However, my theory is that this is a novel in which the author has wanted to recreate those tropes of "dark romance" or "toxic BL" in such a realistic way that, of course, they are absolutely gruesome. Obsession, possessiveness, violent lust, incessant ab*se? In the novels we read, we suspend reality and accept that these things can exist in a relationship, but in Booty Wurk, these actions are real crimes, actions that break people and leave serious consequences in their lives.

Let me tell you something before I continue: I do not recommend reading this novel. Please. Don't read it.

And yet... I can't stop thinking about it. I can't stop talking about it.

*

The story

Without going into too much detail, this is basically the story of Lee Shinwoo, a ballet scholarship student at an art academy, and his unfortunate encounter with Kang Tae-on, the third son of the president of a conglomerate, who attends this school as a student and as its young master.

Eleven years pass after their first disastrous encounter, and the two meet again at the age of 30. Of course, things get worse.

The first two volumes of the novel (or the first 15 chapters) deal with their relationship at age 19, when they meet in their senior year of high school, and the beginning of the political/mystery plot that will unfold and be resolved in the rest of the volumes. The rest of the chapters deal with the relationship between the two protagonists, with different points of view and political intrigues that, although heavy, are very interesting. At the center of it all, the violence, the love, the mystery, there is always Lee Shinwoo.

*

The characters

Lee Shinwoo

A lone blade of grass in the middle of winter. A dying flower in an abandoned vase. A ray of moonlight shining through the window of an abandoned house. Lee Shinwoo is a walking tragedy, a ballet dancer who has nothing but his love (or rather, his obsession) for dance. Fatherless, rejected by his mother, Lee Shinwoo clings to dance (his only attachment to life) in order to survive. His only sin is that of being beautiful. That is what causes all the tragedies in his life: that his body is a work of art and his face a frozen jade, crying out to be destroyed.

Throughout the story, Shinwoo clings to the few things he has left. His mother, his ballet company, the distant and almost imperceptible love he senses in Kang Tae-on, to finally come to the conclusion that he wants to live for himself, for the dance that has given his life purpose, and for his dignity. He is an incredibly resilient character. Even his resilience borders on inhumanity. For most of the book, you wonder how he can survive everything that happens to him, but time and again, he comes out on top.

The most interesting part of his character, in my opinion, is his outright refusal to consider himself a victim. From his first violent encounter with Kang Tae-on, Shinwoo refuses to be the victim of r*pe (even though he is; even though, time and time again, he is) by fully accepting the ab*se he is subjected to and actively participating in it. It's his way of surviving, too. It's how he clings to a shred of agency. "I want this too, " "I said yes, " "I could have run away but I stayed."

He is an incredibly complex character, tinged with such heartbreaking sadness, such overwhelming loneliness that you can't help but watch his misery with fascination. His mask of indifference and submission is so thin that with a single caress you can find the other side, the true side: a boy who just wants to be loved. And in the end, his dignity, his determination to keep living and dancing, is what makes him rise above the horrendous sea of humiliation that has trapped him for so many years. In the end, despite everything, Lee Shinwoo is the only one who emerges blameless, not whole, but victorious. He is an endearing character, although I have to admit that for entire chapters I just wanted him to kill himself or be killed. Gulp. The other side of empathy.

Kang Tae-on

The truth is, I hate this guyH, even though is obvious the author loves him so much. His presence in this novel is so oppressive and all-encompassing that he seems more like a monster than a man. Kang Tae-on is the übermensch of hyper-capitalist Korean society. He is the epitome of the individualistic, cold, calculating, and violent man who is not afraid to pave his way to success, whether by deceiving everyone with his false charisma or trampling on the weak with unusual brutality. There is no one like him, no one who can defeat him. He is the tallest, the most handsome, the most intelligent, the richest. He is capable of transforming the atmosphere of a room with his presence. He is capable of seeing the deepest desires of your heart with a glance. He is like the dark god of his world. A black hole, perpetually hungry, unsatisfied, immensely cruel.

He is the active agent of the novel. Everything happens because of him. He is the first to approach Lee Shinwoo. He is the one who causes him all his pain and trauma. He is the one who abandons him. He is the one who, when they meet again, begins to obsess, little by little, over the reconstructed image of the boy he left in the sewer. He is the one who catches him, who kisses him, who touches him, who makes him talk, beg, cry, and scream. Kang Tae-on, of course, is the first to break down in the face of Lee Shinwoo's extreme resilience and beauty.

We could even say that all the terror we experience in Booty Wurk is the consequence of Kang Tae-on's stubborn denial of having been pierced in the heart by Lee Shinwoo. If Kang Tae-on were a normal person, he would have understood this and let go of his individuality to be romantically bonded with Lee Shinwoo. But Kang Tae-on is a monster, so what he does is devour Lee Shinwoo. He destroys him, breaks him, denies him, locks him up to put him back together, to get him back on his feet and start that cycle of excessive violence, born of a twisted idea of possession. And yet, his life built on control and victory is slowly destroyed by the dancer's pathetic existence.

And although he pays the consequences for his actions, I would have liked to see him suffer more, but, oh wow, isn't this an incredibly realistic story where justice is just as broken as in real life?

*

Their relationship

Can we discuss romance when we talk about Booty Wurk? I remain skeptical. Perhaps not. Even Lee Shinwoo mentions it: this is not love. This is something else. This is a story about hunger, about excretion, about the indignity that comes with survival, about the crookedness that persists when you refuse to break down in the face of love.

It is a macabre story, twisted, repulsive at times, utterly heartbreaking. And the "romantic" relationship that the characters may have is just as such.

I really like that the story makes it clear that Lee Shinwoo is capable of loving and being loved in a normal, healthy way if given the chance, or at least, he is capable of trying, despite all his traumas. However, this novel is not about that. This novel is about how much a person can endure the other side of desire. Therefore, it is Kang Tae-on who wields that blade. He is the one who is unable to allow himself to experience the love he feels, truly, when he meets Lee Shinwoo at age 19. He is the one who traps Lee Shinwoo in this relationship of almost curious annihilation. How much can he take away from Lee Shinwoo before he breaks forever? How can he take control of all his body's reactions? How quickly can he achieve satisfaction before throwing him away like tr*sh?

Unintentionally, Kang Tae-on's obsession permeates all his actions (taking revenge on his brother and father; taking over the family conglomerate; triumphing over the weak human heart) and Lee Shinwoo is at the center of all his plans. Kang Tae-on is the perfect example of a sadistic man who, by hurting others, also hurts himself.

On the other hand, Lee Shinwoo's tragedy is that he is completely consumed by this man and, therefore, has no choice but to cling to him. At the weakest moment of his life, Lee Shinwoo asks him to hug him, not because he feels love, but to feel alive, real, with limits that have not yet been broken. Lee Shinwoo's insistence on never seeing himself as a victim also extends to his feelings for Kang Tae-on: he decides not to hate him or resent him as a victim would. The most he can feel is disgust, but he continues to cling to him. Lee Shinwoo decides, in order to stay sane, that what he has to feel for Kang Tae-on is what a child feels when faced with a nightmare: terror, pain, and the certainty that when the night is over, the nightmare will be over.

It's not love. It can't be love.

It is obsession, possession, dependence, fear, security, pain, and pleasure, which combined may form something resembling love. But, at least at the end of this novel, when Lee Shinwoo and Kang Tae-on return to the ruins of their devastation, it never takes the form of romantic love. It is almost like a kind of inertia, like a gravitation caused by damage: "Only you understand my wounds, only you can hurt me. I am incapable of being normal now. Don't leave or I will be completely alone."

*

Side Characters

There are a couple of extra characters that I adore: Kang Yoon, Kang Tae-on's older brother, for example. Choi Hee-yeon, the director of the ballet company and Lee Shinwoo's friend. Song Wae-jae, Kang Tae-on's right-hand man. Go Yo-Han, Lee Shinwoo's star ballet partner. I think they are all very realistic characters with complex psychologies whose actions in the novel make sense, even though throughout the story they ended up hurting our protagonist in one way or another.

There are many more characters, but the rest are worse than Kang Tae-on... I don't even want to talk about Park Jeong-dae. God.

*

Overall Thoughts

The author is fantastic, and I want to make that very clear. Her style is cold, almost clinical, but capable of portraying an atmosphere with the perfection of an artist painting a still life. I was often surprised by the way she was able to intertwine a horrifying scene with a beautiful metaphor, or how she strung together a series of events to ultimately impact you in the most effective way.

The author and this novel are fully aware that what they want is to make you feel as desperate as possible. That is the experience you will have reading this story. Just as other stories make you feel excited, hopeful, or happy, this one tries to destroy you, blow by blow, until you end up gasping for air. Many times I felt like I was taking part in a crime. I couldn't help but feel that with every paragraph I read, my innocence was being shattered and I was becoming a different person as I progressed through the story.

That's what I experienced from chapter 2 onwards. A terror so real that my hands trembled, my legs went numb, my stomach sank, and my mouth went dry. When I got to chapter 9, I just couldn't stop crying. And that experience was so new to me, despairing to the point of panic attacks while reading, that I can't help but applaud this story. If your purpose was to destroy me, congratulations, you absolutely succeeded. Gubu, you m*therf*cker.

I haven't read many novels in this genre, so my final rating is a bit biased, but I must say that, despite the degradation and horror, it's a fantastic novel. It's a thousand times better than all those "black flag" manhwas that abound and much better at making you feel something than all those "dark romance" novels that flood the market.

Here is the real filth. Here is the absolute terror of human depravity, and also of its resilience.

Don't read this novel. But if you do read it, go through it with clarity and awareness, caught up, as readers, as victims, in the beauty of the vileness of love.

[P.S.

Also, what the hell is that title? God, I can't get over the fact that a novel titled "Booty Wurk" made me bawl my eyes out in terror. Ugh.] <<less
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somethvin
somethvin rated it
March 23, 2026
Status: Completed
Lee Shinwoo is one of the most tragic characters I've ever read Barging In and No Reason.

It's the kind of novel that stays with you, but for all the wrong reasons. It lingers in your mind in a deeply disturbing way. It's so psychologically heavy and devastating that you have to pause again and again, wondering what is wrong with the author. You'll find yourself crying, ahd overwhelmed with anger.

Lee Shinwoo is a ballet dancer blessed with an incredible body and a clean, neat face but cursed with only average... more>> talent. He is not driven by ambition or passion; he is driven by the need to survive through meaning. He knows he isn't a good dancer. He knows his body is failing him. He knows people look down on him. And yet, he keeps dancing... even when his ankles are broken, even when he's ab*sed.

This isn't determination in the usual sense — it's something much deeper and far more tragic.

For him, dance is not just a passion, it is his identity. Without it, he feels like he has no reason to exist. So he accepts everything. He doesn't resist, he endures. He would keep going until his ankles are completely shattered, until his body becomes nothing more than a rag.

Kang Taeeon is unforgivable — a deeply disturbing character. He is a terrifyingly well-crafted monster. He will do anything, absolutely anything, to get what he wants without hesitation.

He is the one who broke Shinwoo's ankles, the one who r*ped and ab*sed him, the one who ensured Park Jeongdae would r*pe him repeatedly for months. He destroyed Shinwoo piece by piece, until all that was left was pain and blood. He didn't hesitate even once when he made Shinwoo a prostitute in front of the world, and he didn't feel even an ounce of sympathy when he handed him back to Park Jeongdae again.

The novel ends with him saving Shinwoo, because, "watch until the end. What you created. Watch until the end as the me you created breaks."

The entire novel feels like an endless cycle of violence and suffering.

At its core, it shows the absolute worst of human behavior and obsession.

And do you want to know something funny... after the main novel ends, the extra volume is the complete opposite of it.

In that version, Lee Shinwoo isn't r*ped at the end, he isn't beaten, and ballet isn't his entire identity anymore. And Kang Taeon isn't dark and monstrous, black flag, he was like a yellow-orange instead.

That contrast honestly made me laugh.

I usually don't read BL novels where the main characters are involved with others, but this can hardly even be called a BL in the traditional sense. Still, after reading Barging In, I felt compelled to pick this up.

Also, in Chapters 18 and 33, it's Kang Taeyoon, please fix this translation mistake.

If you're using AI translation and putting chapters behind a paywall, at least put in some effort. There are pronoun errors, awkward sentences, and a few instances where it's unclear who is speaking, and then suddenly the scene shifts :[

Please support the author by purchasing the novel from Ridibooks.

Some readers are buying from AI translators, which honestly makes no sense. For around $22, you can get the whole book (10 volumes), and I plan to do that.

I did.

Spoiler

'Having no ill will might be the best revenge.'

He could not atone, and thus could not be forgiven.

That was the only thing Kang Tae-on couldn't take away: the heart to forgive and to resent. Because he had never truly hated Kang Tae-on even once. Knowing that he would forgive him too easily after resenting him. Lee Shin-woo had to be thrown into a raging furnace every moment. He couldn't give Kang Tae-on a chance to atone. Kang Tae-on had to remain an eternally cruel, cold-hearted, and merciless monster and beast.

Only then can I live. Only then can I be somewhat honorable to them.

-

The misfortune and pain that scraped him every moment were Lee Shin-woo's indulgence. An indulgence that allowed him to live despite committing all those wrongs. Permission for life. Kang Tae-on knew that too. Kang Tae-on's deception, which secretly kissed him and l**ked his wounds, only to send Lee Shin-woo out onto the street again barefoot, made that cowardly atonement possible.

'You turned all the good things in the world into the most painful things in the world.'

'Lee Shin-woo was ready to love. He was ready to accept everything as something good. If a single warm word, instead of a dagger, had been the first thing to pierce him, Lee Shin-woo would have only looked at you, no matter what rotten things you did. Just like he did with his mother. Lee Shin-woo was a child who had no resistance to the unconditional.'

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goodgirl20
goodgirl20 rated it
February 20, 2026
Status: --
Spoiler

MC loves dancing and will endure anything just to dance. Once he is informed that he is moving to another building in school and when he enters his new room on the first night, a psychotic ML who is not at all clear about being ml, attacks him and beats him and offers him to have s*x with him either willingly or by force (And it's not a s*xual relationship at all. There's no kissing or foreplay, just force and r*pe.) MC is forced to accept and after a month, he sends him to another room and tells him to have s*x with someone else🤦‍♂️. And MC accepts. It's really ridiculous. One day before the deadline, MC runs away beaten up and comes to ml's room. ML opens the door and allows ML 2 to come and take him back to his room and says MC broke his promise and he breaks both of his legs. There really is a limit to being a black flag. How can this story continue???wtf

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I made a mistake again and read this novel by this author. I can't connect with this novel or this author at all. It's really confusing and the story is full of holes. It's not clear who ML is. ML easily gives MC to someone else after a month of r*pe. I really don't know what the purpose of writing this story is. This is not even a toxic romance, it is not even an interesting story. There is a problem with the way the story is told. I really should not read another novel by this author. I can't blame the shortcomings of this novel on the translation. Because the problem is the novel itself and the way it is told. It is not good at all. The way the story is told is very important. There is no doubt that ML is a psychopath. His motives and goals for his actions are unclear. I really like Korean writers and I also like dark and romantic novels. But this is none of those. And since I have a bad habit of finishing things, I have to read it to the end, but it's really not worth the time. I hope the author respects the interests and desires of the readers more before writing another novel.🤦‍♂️
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Co_soup
Co_soup rated it
February 28, 2026
Status: --
What I read made me totally speechless. The amount of ab*ses he went through, I can't even imagine happen to a real person. I would rather say people to read the reviews below first which I didn't see it until I finished reading this, then jump on the story.

People also needs to know it's a Dark romance. And in Dark romance we see many things, but this one is on next level and like below review, yes it has every tropes that a Toxic BL or Dark romance story has.... more>> Plus I want to say more, but the time I spent reading this and the headache I got, I better gave take my medicine and sleep then read this again. <<less
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