The Research Room.
Sori had resisted for a full ten minutes after receiving his text, but finally, when the second call came, she rushed here in haste.
And now, she stood in front of his desk, at the very center.
“You called for me.”
Sori managed to regulate her breathing internally, sounding composed despite her tumultuous emotions. She glanced briefly at his back, facing the window, and lightly clasped her hands behind her.
Preparing herself for the impending scolding, she realized too late the inconvenience of the bandages on her hand. She should have removed them earlier.
Her head, hung slightly low, was filled with trivial thoughts.
“Don’t my words sound like words anymore?”
She was instructed to wait in the research room, yet he had to come looking for her, ignoring texts and calls. For a resident, she considered his anger quite mild.
Hyun-woo, who had been staring out the window and seemingly brooding, slowly turned towards her.
She didn’t need to see his face to know his mood. It must be full of anger.
This was a hospital, and his words were almost law to a resident like her.
Her heart raced a little, but Sori felt brave today. She didn’t believe she had done anything wrong.
A prolonged silence ensued.
Hyun-woo, unintentionally imposing, and Sori, simply enduring the silence.
“Are you a doctor or a caretaker?”
“…….”
“Do you not know your duty?”
“…….”
“Is that how relaxed this hospital is?”
She didn’t mind being scolded by him.
What really upset her was why he recklessly shielded her from the flying vase.
Was he always like this, throwing himself in harm’s way for people he didn’t even like much?
She wanted to ask him.
Was that woman someone he knew? If not, how did she know him?
Eventually, the tail end of her question twisted with emotion.
But knowing she had no right to interrogate him here, she kept silent.
“You knew she was dangerous. She did the same thing yesterday.”
“…….”
“You didn’t mention it yesterday. You had plenty of chances, in the research room, at home.”
His tone, flat and unvarying, revealed his deep anger.
Finally, it seemed like a suppressed anger was about to burst forth.
“Haah…….”
If it were any other day, she would have repeatedly apologized. But today, for some reason, she didn’t feel like it.
Somehow, Sori found herself rebelling in silence.
This was a colorless defiance from a resident, enough to astound him.
“What’s with this attitude?”
His voice remained flat but had a sharp edge at the end.
She knew.
This was her inability to separate personal feelings from professional duties.
Or rather, it was impossible for her when it involved Seo Hyun-woo.
“Yoo Sori.”
At last, it seemed his anger had exploded, as he strode over to stand right in front of her.
“Speak up. Don’t just stay silent and make things difficult for others.”
Sori stood still, avoiding eye contact with Hyun-woo. This kind of defiance from a resident was probably new to him.
He leaned on the desk and turned away from her momentarily, his frustration evident in his heavy breathing.
Seated at the desk’s edge, Hyun-woo found himself at eye level with Sori, a good position to observe her expression.
He calmly asked, “Are your hands okay?”
“…….”
“Let me see.”
Sori, reluctant to show her bandaged hands, kept them hidden behind her back.
“Yoo Sori.”
“I’m fine.”
Finally, Sori spoke, meeting Hyun-woo’s gaze for the first time.
“Are you okay, Professor?”
“What?”
“Are you okay?”
She was concerned whether he was hurt physically or emotionally.
Though Sori harbored many questions, her primary concern was Hyun-woo’s well-being.
“You might have been hurt worse than me. I wish you’d get an X-ray.”
Surprised by her concern, Hyun-woo seemed speechless and realized he had been hit hard earlier, not feeling the pain amid his anger.
“Professor.”
Sori, with a firm look, called out to him and persistently followed his gaze.
Hyun-woo, regaining his composure, said coldly, “This is not the time to talk about that.”
“…….”
After a tense silence, Hyun-woo asked, “Why did you do that? Did Seo Se-hun tell you to?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
It wasn’t Se-hun’s influence; she had her reasons for stepping in.
To explain why she acted as a first-year resident, she would have to admit her affection for him.
While pondering, Sori glanced at Hyun-woo’s feet, her lips trembling with unspoken words.
With a long sigh, Hyun-woo glanced at his watch, pressed for time due to an upcoming surgery.
“I’m warning you.”
He intended to sternly make her realize her actions’ gravity.
“Understand your role.”
“…….”
“Don’t be mistaken about your duty as a doctor.”
Though Sori remained silent, Hyun-woo believed she understood his point.
Finally, he concluded, “You can leave now.”
After exhaling a short, heavy breath, Hyun-woo said tersely, “You can leave now.”
This was a dismissal to Sori, who hadn’t uttered a single word of defense. Yet, she remained motionless for a while.
Hyun-woo, briefly touching his forehead with a dry hand, then lowered his hand and opened his tired eyes.
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.
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