Kang-woo entered the hotel room. As he soaked the chiffon curtains, the dark night sea spread before his eyes.
He placed his jacket on the round table and took off his watch, leaving it beside him. From the wine cellar, he pulled out a bottle of red wine and uncorked it without pouring it into a glass, drinking it straight from the bottle.
“Ha.”
Wiping his lips, tinged with bitterness, he placed the bottle heavily on the table. Should he just gulp down the entire bottle, even though he knew it was crazy?
Getting drunk might make him emotionally vulnerable, and he might end up showing a pitiful side to Se-ah. Why regret a woman who deceived and left him?
His gaze at the night view was indifferent. He blinked slowly, his dry eyelids swollen with blood. Finally, his long, slender fingers, relaxed from tension, went to undo the buttons on his shirt.
Was it the first time he had seen her in two weeks, including the business trip? Automatically thinking of Se-ah, he tried to picture her with his fingers.
Her face had a surprised expression. When he opened the door and saw her standing there, her petite face had stiffened.
A sardonic laugh escaped him. Unlike the tangled feelings of hatred, this laughter was different.
Countless emotions filled her round eyes—shock, guilt, apology, pity. Unwanted emotions mixed together as she looked up at him.
While he pitied himself, thinking he had become miserable, he also wanted to ask her to bury the past and forget it all. If only he could start anew, his heart wavered.
Of course, even then,
“Until you surrender. This time, try enduring it once.”
A cold, mocking remark mixed with a smirk.
Living with the mood swinging up and down ten times a day was hell.
He had to secure a business deal equivalent to or even greater than the one he terminated with G Comms since he sent them a contract termination letter. That’s why he reluctantly went to LA.
Fortunately, things went smoothly with Double. Devil, but at a time when he needed to focus on business… His mind was filled with chaos named Se-ah.
How could he deceive himself so easily? Even the day before the business trip, she hugged him with such a lovely face. If she needed money, he would have given her as much as she wanted.
His reflection appeared blurry on the floor-to-ceiling window. A man with eyes that seemed lifeless and without a hint of color in his face. Even to himself, he looked bleak without a trace of humor.
He played with the long necklace flowing beneath his thick neck. Using his index finger, he flipped the pendant.
He scratched the surface deeply engraved with the initials of Se-ah and himself. As his fingers gently traced the smooth concavity, even his pounding heart gradually settled.
He didn’t need uncertain and irrational things like love. Yet, once emotions started, he became so immersed that he wished for eternity.
Gripping the long string, he forcefully snapped the necklace and threw it onto the bed. It made a faint sound of impact as it hit something.
He would torment her endlessly until she got sick of it and then ruthlessly let her go. Just like she did.
Twisting his lips, he headed for the bathroom with his lower lip caught between his teeth.
At that moment, Se-ah was sitting at her desk.
After Kang-woo left, Se-ah spent nearly two hours looking for a job and also updated her resume. It was her first time in Busan.
Starting a city life in an unfamiliar place felt a bit daunting. After submitting her manuscript for a fairy tale contest, it was already 10 PM. She closed the laptop cover and stood up from her seat.
Immediately, she went to the bathroom after taking off her clothes. It felt uncomfortable to wash in such a cramped space. Inside the glass partition, there was a shower facility.
It was a kind of shower booth, completely different from a honeymoon house. Outside the partition, there was a sink and a toilet just a step away.
A small drawer attached to the sink served as a storage space for toiletries. When filled with women’s items, body lotion, cosmetics, and a few towels, it was packed.
Still, she was satisfied because the hot water worked well. Without a bathtub, the bathing time was significantly shortened compared to when she lived in a honeymoon house.
After wiping off the water, she changed into pajamas. It was a loose-fitting set with a large bear character drawn on the shirt and pants. With a towel on her head, she came out and, after patting her face a few more times, immediately threw herself into the washing machine.
“I’m tired.”
She muttered to herself. It seemed like a habit formed from having no one to talk to all day.
She turned off the light and went to bed. No matter how she changed her position on the narrow bed like flipping a pancake, sleep wouldn’t come.
This time was particularly lonely and tormenting. Sleep wouldn’t come, thoughts in her head were relentless, and her heart… as if it were going to tear apart, she put her hand on her chest and rolled into a ball.
“Oh… Oh… Please…”
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
_____
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
