Sunlight streamed into the hospital room in the afternoon.
Kang-woo sat on the sofa with his legs crossed. The rimless glasses rested slightly on his prominent nose. He placed the tablet he had been holding on the table as he raised his index finger.
Even though it was already past 3 in the afternoon, fatigue overwhelmed him. After all, his body had been thoroughly examined for hours.
The test results would come out in two days, but the doctor said there was no need to go for a biopsy for now.
The mobile phone on the table vibrated. Secretary Choi’s face appeared on the home screen.
“Yes.”
[President, I heard you had a health checkup.]“Yes.”
[They said your stomach was in bad shape.]Kang-woo remained silent, and a dry gulp could be heard from Secretary Choi on the other side of the line.
[Leaving that aside, I called to check if you read the email I sent.]“Regarding the dinner with Manager Lee Min-young.”
[Yes.]Kang-woo leaned one shoulder, supporting the phone, and picked up the tablet with the other arm.
Min-young had proposed a dinner appointment for this week. Also, she requested his personal contact information in addition to the company’s direct line, wanting faster communication regarding work matters.
[Considering the president’s condition, would it be too much to have dinner? Shouldn’t you stick to a liquid diet for a while?]“Just go with it. It’s not like having one meal will make a significant difference.”
[Do as the doctor says. You’ve come this far.]Kang-woo merely pursed his lips in response. It was an uncharacteristic private request from Secretary Choi.
“I hear rumors about a certain tree.”
[Sorry. I didn’t mean to.]“Let me take care of the email to Director Lee. By the way, I listened to the recording file you gave me last time. It was recorded cleanly. Is there any new content since then?”
[It’s still quiet. Uh… Is Mrs. Cha doing well?]“So far.”
While giving a calm response, Kang-woo inadvertently glanced at the corner of the sofa. Something pink was wedged through the gap in the sheet.
Pulling it with his hand revealed a hairband with a ribbon design. Probably, it was wrapped around Se-ah’s hair when she came out after washing in the morning.
“She’s the type that I can’t help but care about.”
Secretary Choi silently waited for a moment of stillness.
“By the way, I’m thinking of buying a car. Please get a quote for me. Something comfortable for women to drive, spacious, and sturdy would be good.”
Although the car Se-ah currently had was fine, Kang-woo decided to change it to a safer one.
“Yes. I will contact the dealer.”
Coincidentally, exactly three knocks on the door sounded. Looking at the clock, it was the time the attending physician said he would come for a consultation.
“The doctor is here. Let’s talk again.”
[Yes, President. Take care of your health.]Kang-woo personally opened the door. As expected, the attending physician stood there holding a chart.
“Please have a seat on the sofa.”
After a while, they faced each other and took their seats.
The middle-aged man in front of him had been the family doctor for quite some time. If you could call it friendship, they did have some. Especially, he seemed to get along well with Kang-woo’s mother, Hyun-suk.
When the attending physician’s gaze focused on the tablet, Kang-woo pressed the home button to turn off the screen.
“Thank you for coming to the consultation despite your busy schedule. I apologize.”
With a blank expression, Kang-woo lightly pursed his lips and uttered the words. Even though it would take 2 or 3 days to get perfect results, he couldn’t help but find the consultation bothersome.
The doctor, sensing Kang-woo’s intention, showed a smile, but his eyes remained firm.
“No matter how busy, taking care of the health of the assigned patient is the doctor’s role, isn’t it?”
“Please go ahead.”
“It seems that the President is young and healthy, perhaps not fully aware of the seriousness of this incident.”
Kang-woo, leaning against the sofa backrest, relaxed his lips slightly. The doctor’s demeanor, softened by Kang-woo’s somewhat casual attitude, became even gentler.
“Did you receive a request from your mother? She’s worried.”
“It’s not just mild gastritis. It could have led to a perforation in the stomach. You must have felt discomfort in your daily life, such as vomiting, belching, acid reflux, and severe stomach pain.”
“The symptoms have worsened recently. I could bear it.”
“Moreover, your stress level is quite high. Although it only led to fainting this time, continuing like this could result in overexertion.”
Doctors are naturally prone to giving advice. Kang-woo nodded his head without much meaning.
“I understand.”
“Your expression doesn’t seem to understand at all.”
To prevent it from being easily dismissed, the doctor responded with a smooth tone. As someone responsible for several VIP patients, not just Kang-woo’s household, his expertise was extraordinary.
“Since you’re here, let me treat you to a cup of tea.”
As Kang-woo stood up, the doctor raised his hand in the air.
When male lead is the homewrecker
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
I’ve read the novel below twice already. Girls, I’m highly recommending it to you!
The female lead? Not a good person.
The second male lead? Not a good person.
The male lead? Willingly plays the third party, breaking up the female and second male lead’s relationship despite all the warnings from his friends—so yeah, he’s definitely not a good person either.
Basically, nobody in this novel is simple-minded or without scheming.
The female lead starts off as the male lead’s secretary, but don’t worry—later on, she takes over the company while the male lead steps back to support her. He won’t steal her spotlight, overshadow her, or dull her shine.
I love novels where men are out here snatching wigs, tearing each other down, and going to war just to win the female lead’s affection. And this is exactly that kind of novel. Most of Hai Dai Ran’s works have this dynamic. You’ll see the male characters’ emotions being pushed to the absolute extreme.
There’s even a scene where the second male lead exposes the male lead online for being a homewrecker. The brotherhood immediately gangs up on him, dragging him through the mud. I find it compelling —it completely flips reality on its head, where usually, women are the ones fighting over a man and getting torn apart by the sisterhood.
For me, female leads in the novels I read should only struggle in their careers, not in love. But if the brainless romantics in the story are all men? I have zero complaints.
I’ve pretty much read all of Hai Dai Ran’s novels and even translated all of them—her works are just my thing. I’ll slowly upload everything here. One day, when my website is official, I hope I can invite her to join as one of the star authors.
Here’s the story synopsis:
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Intro 1:
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
With blood trickling from his clenched fist, Rong Xiu gazed at the woman before him, his eyes clouded with anguish. Hidden in the wardrobe, he had witnessed Fan Xia – the woman he desperately loved – in an intimate embrace with her fiancé. Yet his heart still yearned for her, defying all reason.
Fan Xia, the elegant and composed assistant, carried something mysterious in her eyes whenever she looked at her fiancé, Wen Lan Sheng. Strange occurrences began to surface – secret meetings with the young Gu Jin Yi, an unexplained withdrawal of 5,000 yuan… Then suddenly, her fiancé’s sister, Wen Jing, violently attacked her.
In this matriarchal society, Rong Xiu had risen to become the chairman of a powerful healthcare conglomerate, breaking through gender prejudices. But for the first time, he willingly stepped into the shadows as the other man, disregarding his friends’ warnings to become her secret lover.
Because he had discovered the truth – Fan Xia wasn’t the pure angel everyone believed her to be. And perhaps, he was the only one capable of helping her execute her mysterious plan…
Intro 2:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
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Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
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