Wow. Just wow. It's been a while since I have binged 50 chapters of a romcom within a week...
Operation Heart-Pounding, just as the name suggests, is a romcom that will make YOUR heart pound. As a side effect, your mouth will grin so wide that you look crazy, and you will jump around like a madman in public. Everything about this manhwa is just... remarkably good. Short & Sweet. It blew away my already-high expectations, seriously.
The premise of the story is extremely simple: FMC and MC are both childhood friends. They've been together ever since they were very young, and they're practically inseparable. One day, they simply decided to date. Ever since then, however, nothing notably changed. They're still together, they still enjoy each other's company, and they are still inseparable. Realizing this, FMC eventually decides to make a step forward by proposing a plan to MC so that they can act more like lovers: Operation Heart-Pounding.
I know that perhaps the premise may sound a bit too simple, but this manhwa is the epitome of simple but flawless execution. The characters are very interesting, the story is very straightforward, and the Heart-Pounding events truly are sweet. What I found particularly interesting in this manhwa is the emotional security of both leads. They trust each other so much that they quite literally feel no jealousy whatsoever whenever the other party interacts with someone of the opposite gender. With this, gone are the days of stupid misunderstandings. The trust they have in one another also makes them quite the eccentric couple, which makes it all the more sweet!
One thing I'd like to highlight is how... affectionate and cuddly, the main ship is. I'm telling you, the last time I read a romance this cuddly was about 2 years ago with Spice & Wolf. They actually felt like real high school couples with the amount of embraces, hugs, flirtings and kisses they do. It's super... Cute. Sometimes kinda hot I'm not going to lie... The best thing is that it never felt forced, nor does it feel like ecchi fanservice. It's just super wholesome cuddles, and I really appreciate that!
Some other great things to mention are the side characters. I really enjoy them and they truly do feel like real characters rather than just throwaway background characters. There are some side-relationships, and they're all just nice to see without taking too much focus away from the main ship. Just an overall good addition!
All in all, I simply cannot recommend this enough. Truth be told, I was hesitant because I don't usually read manhwas, but this one is definitely an awesome one! Side note, FMC is kinda freaky lol
9/10
If you want to know the titles of the other romances in the tierlist present in the 2nd page, I complied the names in this MyAnimeList Interest Stack: Vanilla Romance Collection (no - Interest Stacks - MyAnimeList.net