HJ-Story is a long-running series of cute, simple illustrations by the artist Andrew Hou about the small moments of life with the person he loves. Most images start with the words “Love is…” and finish with a scene anyone in a relationship will recognise: brushing teeth in pyjamas, nursing a cold, sharing the last snack or getting through a storm together. The collection below brings together 26 of these drawings, with notes on what each one shows.
How HJ-Story began
According to a profile on Upworthy, Hou, who lives in Seoul, started doodling around 2010 while dating the woman who later became his wife. He found it hard to say what he felt, admitting, “I was never good with words,” so during the working day he drew tiny pictures and sent them to her by phone. Some articles describe him as South Korean and others give a different background, so we simply describe him as a Seoul-based artist.
The doodles were meant to stay private. Then a friend posted some on Twitter, people responded, and in 2011 the series went public under the name HJ-Story. “HJ” comes from the initials of his partner’s Korean name; Upworthy calls her Kate. The couple reportedly married in 2013, and the drawings carried on after the wedding, following them from dating into married life.
What began as a message for one person turned into a recognisable world, with recurring characters, running jokes and a style that grew more detailed over time. The early images are small and flat; later ones, such as the robot-building scene below, are full of cinematic light and texture. You can follow the series on HJ-Story.com, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter.
Love is… the small routines of everyday life
Doing the things we love, together
In the top panel she watches while he plays a video game; underneath, he sits beside her in a green face mask, looking slightly bewildered. The joke is that sharing hobbies runs both ways, even when one partner is clearly there under protest.
Beautiful doing the simplest things
He stands in the bathroom doorway, hearts floating above him, while she brushes her teeth in pink pyjamas. Hou often picks moments nobody would photograph, which is exactly why they feel true.
Saving the last for you
Two people sit side by side in cinema seats, one of them thinking about the last bite of a shared snack. In the second panel it goes to the partner. It is a tiny sacrifice, and that smallness is the point.
Talking about everything
Speech bubbles full of food, a puppy, a unicorn, a planet, a game controller and a suitcase float above the pair as they chatter. Being able to talk about anything, serious or silly, is one of the most common things couples say they value.
Cuddling is the best thing in the world
The couple sleep wrapped around each other inside a heart-shaped frame, little z’s drifting overhead. The soft blue palette makes it one of the calmest images in the series.
Taking care of me when I’m sick
She brings a tray to bed, where he lies with a flushed face and a cold cloth on his forehead. Care during illness is a classic test of a relationship, drawn here without any drama.
Loving any food you make
She stirs a bubbling green potion in a witch’s hat; next panel, he happily eats whatever it turned out to be. It is a good-natured jab at cooking experiments in every shared kitchen.
When your happiness comes first
Reading a menu together, she dreams of an ice-cream sundae and he of a burger. In the second panel the burger arrives and both are delighted, a gentle picture of putting a partner’s wishes ahead of your own.
Love is… accepting quirks and changes
Loving you no matter how you change
He hands a flower to a partner who has turned into a horned green monster, then hugs her anyway. Read literally it is silly; read as a metaphor for bad moods, illness or ageing, it is quite tender.
Accepting differences
An elegant elf and a short, bearded dwarf in armour walk hand in hand, a nod to fantasy stories where those races are traditional rivals. Hou often borrows game and fantasy imagery to make everyday points.
Picking up each other’s habits
Both partners kick off their clothes and toss them in the air with matching grins, a pile already forming on the floor. Couples who live together often notice they have absorbed each other’s quirks, good and bad.
Being silly when I’m with you
First he stands stiffly with friends in sunglasses; then, alone with her, he dances wildly with a bear-ear hat on. The contrast between public and private selves is one most readers recognise at once.
Never boring because I’m with you
The couple wander through an empty desert with nothing but cacti around them, yet look perfectly happy, and the second panel ends with a kiss. The message is that company, not scenery, makes the day.
Love is… facing the big and scary stuff together
Never having to suffer alone
Chained side by side in a dungeon while a hooded jailer cracks a whip, the couple still manage to smile at each other. It is the image chosen to open this page, and it sums up the series’ humour: even misery is better shared.
Not worrying about a thing when I’m with you
A mushroom cloud, a UFO beam and a rampaging monster fill the background as the pair stroll along arm in arm. The exaggerated chaos makes the calm in the foreground funnier.
Travelling the distance for you
She crosses a desert, rafts a river, climbs a mountain and finally flies a spaceship to meet him on another planet. The poster-style layout gives a long-distance relationship the scale of an adventure film.
Being with you on a stormy day
Wind tears at the curtains and lightning flickers outside, but the two curl up together by the window. Comfort, not grand gestures, is a running theme across HJ-Story.
Taking risks
In a temple full of blades and fire traps, one partner dangles from a rope while the other reaches for a treasure, in the style of a classic adventure film. Love, the caption suggests, sometimes means jumping without knowing how it will end.
Overcoming obstacles together
The couple battle a huge green monster that breathes fire; in the second panel it lies defeated while they walk off hand in hand. Like many of Hou’s images, it reads like a scene from a video game boss fight.
Building a future together
Working inside a giant robot under construction, the pair make the idea of a shared future literal. The detailed, cinematic lighting shows how far the style had developed from the early phone doodles.
Putting you first no matter what
Cute creatures stand on a winners’ podium, until he lifts her onto the top step and the former champion tumbles off. It is a cheerful exaggeration of being someone’s first priority.
Love is… growing old and keeping the fun
Growing old with you
An elderly couple with a cane and a walking stick shuffle along together, smiling. It pictures the long-term hope that sits behind all the jokes in the series.
Memories
Snapshots of the couple’s adventures swirl up out of an open box like a genie’s smoke. Keeping and revisiting shared memories is one of the quiet foundations of long relationships.
Never too old for surprises
A father figure and a toddler, a young couple with a surprise box, and an elderly man hiding a present behind his back show that surprises work at every age.
Playing games with you
Their fantasy game characters, a hooded archer and a warrior, meet in a glowing circle; below, the real couple sit at two computers facing each other. For many couples, gaming together is a genuine shared hobby.
Why these little drawings resonate
HJ-Story works for the same reason a good inside joke works: it is specific. Rather than declaring eternal devotion, each panel picks a concrete, slightly unglamorous moment, such as a face mask, a cold, a pile of clothes on the floor, and treats it as worth celebrating. Readers recognise their own relationships in those details.
The “Love is…” format also has a long history. Short captioned cartoons beginning with those words have appeared in newspapers for decades, and Hou’s series gives the idea a modern, gamer-friendly twist, with dungeons, monsters and giant robots standing in for everyday challenges.
If you want to borrow the idea, you do not need to be an illustrator. A two-line note, a stick-figure doodle or a photo with a caption about one small thing you appreciated today can do the same job. The value lies in noticing, not in the drawing skill.
For another artist who captures couple life in soft, everyday scenes, see Puuung’s illustrations of love in everyday moments.
Sources: Upworthy: This man spent years doodling the things he loves about his wife; HJ-Story.com. All illustrations © Andrew Hou / HJ-Story.
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