Shirakawa Junko is a well-loved A-star employee and Kuroda Kayo is a smart and younger new transfer into the same department. The goal seem to be the same at first for both of them: to rise up in the company they work in.
A love-hate relationship blaze strong between these two strong-willed ladies determined in that path to success. But when an insidious conspiracy and unexpected support (and love) comes by, irrevocable changes are brought into both of their worlds.
| Relationship Context | Working couple |
| Couple Dynamic | Ambitious schemer (Shirakawa) x ex-Ambitious schemer (Kuroda) |
| Title | Black and White: Tough Love at the Office / Shiro to Kuro: Black and White |
| Author | Sal Jiang |
| Status | Completed, 2023 |
| Genre | Modern |
| Tags | Drama, Mature scenes, Toxic relationship, Violence, Angst |
Review
| Category | Rating (0-3) |
|---|---|
| Romance | 🌸 Few but heartwarming |
| Intimacy | 🔥🔥🔥 Lots of action |
| Story | 📝📝📝 You are in for a wild ride |
| Pacing | 🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️ Fast and hits you from nowhere |
| Emotional damage | 🥺🥺🥺 Hurts at the end |
| Fluff | Don’t expect any |
Read this if you are looking for:
– Ultra competitiveness between office colleagues, in the office and on the bed
– Further sinking into the abyss
– Personal growth into the light
– An ending that delivers an emotional punch to your gut
Personal Thoughts
This series share about a very twisted kind of possessive/competitive love in which both of the leads didn’t realised. Or maybe one did but still refused to accept it. It made the reader question whether life is really that black and white? How far will they go to be the winner? What does it even mean to be the winner?
This took me a long while to finish because I can’t quite stomach what I felt was senseless violence. And there’s really a lot of that. I get that angry bed action is a thing, but I can’t comprehend why in that place and setting. Probably just the realist in me trying to process it all.
I like how the main characters’ colour scheme were drawn to show Shirakawa in mostly white outfits and Kuroda in mostly dark or black outfits for a contrast. And then the last chapter gave us a colour reversal that only hit me at the very end. Talk about a punch to my gut.
REVEAL SPOILER HERE
The ending was beautifully poetic and tragic in the portrayal of these 2 ladies. Shirakawa has decided to stick to her path and is now stuck in the shadows by her decisions, while Kuroda has discovered there are other paths out there and went out to explore.
Love how Shirakawa (roughly translates into white field) is now wearing black and staying in the shadows while Kuroda (roughly translates into black river) is wearing white and walking under the bright sunlight. Who’s truly the white one, and who’s truly the black one now? My favourite scene right here.
Black & White: Tough Love at the Office was a tough read because of the unforgiving physical and emotional harshness within. Its focus on a super unhealthy and violent relationship is not that common topic even for the doomed yuri sub-genre.
This is not the average sweet romance read (yes, take the tough love in the title literally) and it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Felt that the violence at the beginning was too much, but I appreciate having a proper ending given. I did enjoy the plot and the ending, and giving this a 9/10 just because I’m not a fan of the violence.
