An Instinctive Proposal (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
“This is the first-half financial structure improvement plan you instructed. The list of partner companies and credit evaluation reports are also attached in the second file.”
Golden sunlight settled on his broad shoulders wrapped in a crisp shirt. Above the man buried in paperwork, tiny dust particles floated slowly in the air.
With the dazzling Seoul skyline behind him and sunlight pouring over his body stood Ki Tae Han, CEO of Tae Sung BioLogics.
He was the second grandson of the chairwoman of Tae Sung Group, one of South Korea’s most prestigious conglomerates, and a strong heir apparent.
“Additionally, SoEM Corporation contacted us this morning at 10 a.m., urging us to select more suppliers. Given their plan to produce four million tons of green hydrogen annually, they require more—”
He always felt as immovable as a mountain.
His sharply trimmed nape accentuated his masculinity, and his neatly combed black hair revealed a meticulous, disciplined nature.
His striking, sharply defined features and the powerful aura radiating from his entire being
made Ki Tae Han exude an overwhelming presence—transcending his role as a corporate leader—that would make anyone turn and look.
While Yeon Woo continued her report, unable to meet his gaze and instead fixing her eyes on his nameplate, a sudden snapping sound echoed.
Snap!
When she looked up, Tae Han, still buried in documents, had raised his hand into the air. Yeon Woo promptly slid the approval folder onto the spot he indicated.
Silence fell. Only the sharp scratching of a pen across paper resonated through the office.
“Who’s currently at the Vietnam site?”
“Team Leader Park Hyung Sik from the Production Management Team.”
“Instruct Team Leader Park to submit his research performance report. I left him to handle things independently, yet everything—from product lines to raw material costs—is in complete disarray. Have him investigate whether there are issues with the intermediary management firms and completely overhaul our partnerships based on quarterly corporate performance reports.”
“Understood.”
“What about the supplier sourcing?”
“I’m finalizing it now. We expect to make a selection as early as next week.”
“I’ll be personally attending the research meeting this quarter, so all department heads must attend without exception. Send formal notices to partner company CEOs, and submit the attendee list to me by tomorrow. Also, finalize the hub development report and send it to me by tomorrow.”
Despite the continuous stream of instructions, Yeon Woo showed no sign of fluster, swiftly unfolding her tablet to jot everything down.
Tae Sung BioLogics was planning to build the world’s largest renewable energy hub to support its future business initiatives.
Their goal was to construct, within as little as ten years, an ultra-large-capacity hub that converts wind, natural gas, and solar power into eco-friendly biofuel.
The investment amounted to a staggering 95 trillion won.
The site was located in Illinois, USA, and Tae Han had a scheduled business trip to the U.S. again today.
After issuing a few more instructions, Tae Han finally pushed aside the documents he’d been reviewing and pulled out the approval folder Yeon Woo had placed there.
Yeon Woo watched him review the documents with even more trepidation than usual.
Although he hadn’t once looked up since she entered, she still straightened her back as if he were watching her.
Noticing she remained standing instead of leaving as usual, her tablet tucked under her arm, he asked casually while finishing his signature,
“Do you have something to say?”
“Yes.”
Yet even so, she still couldn’t bring herself to raise her head.
After what felt like a long time, he closed the approval folder and shifted his gaze to his monitor before giving her permission.
“Go ahead.”
Yeon Woo bit her dry lips and pulled a long envelope tucked into her tablet cover.
When she carefully placed the neatly folded envelope on his desk, his eyes—previously fixed on the monitor—finally moved.
His neatly manicured fingers, painted a subtle nude, pushed the envelope slightly deeper onto the desk before withdrawing.
“What is this?”
For the first time, his face lifted.
It had been so long since their eyes last met that she couldn’t even recall when it had happened last.
His unblinking, piercing stare felt suffocating, and Yeon Woo finally spoke.
“It’s my resignation letter.”
“You’re quitting?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
A tightly restrained voice slipped out.
Hearing the genuine question in his tone made Yeon Woo’s chest swell and then sink.
It was understandable—he was puzzled.
Thanks to his recognition, Yeon Woo received the best treatment in the industry, and there had been no incidents or reasons for her to feel discontented with the company.
Faced with his probing question, Yeon Woo hesitated to reply.
She’d prepared a model answer anticipating this very question, but strangely, the words wouldn’t come.
Tae Han gave her a moment to respond.
But after glancing at the time, he put on his previously removed wristwatch and stood up. With his trip approaching, he needed to leave soon to stay on schedule.
“Secretary Seo.”
Even as he slid his arms into the blazer hanging on the coat rack, his eyes never met hers.
His voice when calling her name remained level—neither panicked nor angry.
“I thought you understood me better than anyone else. Seems I was mistaken.”
He walked around the desk and stood before her.
Instead of lifting her head, Yeon Woo stared down at her toes. Standing before her like a colossal mountain, Tae Han radiated an overpowering, suffocating pressure.
“It’s impossible for someone of mine to leave my company over something I can’t comprehend.”
“I’m just exhausted now.”
His furrowed brow instantly narrowed as he studied her.
His eyes, raw and honest like an untamed beast, concealed a sharp, extraordinary intensity that seemed capable of piercing straight into the depths of one’s soul.
“Five years might seem brief to you, sir, but it’s been overwhelming for me. So I want to rest now. I want to find my own life.”
“What do you even mean by ‘your life’?”
“Something I want to rediscover—”
“Are you joking?”
Yeon Woo held her breath for a moment, trying to steady her pounding heart.
“I don’t have time. Stop with the grand talk about ‘finding your life’ and get to the point.”
“I want to resign.”
Yeon Woo reaffirmed her intention and finally raised her head.
Tae Han stared directly at her, his gaze so blatant it felt as if he were scraping through her pupils to uncover her true feelings. Yeon Woo struggled not to wilt under his scrutiny.
After a brief pause, Tae Han ran a hand over his furrowed brow.
“Are you swamped with work? Is that why you’re pulling this stunt? Go talk to Section Chief Ko—I’ll have him redistribute your workload. Now get out.”
“It’s not simply about the workload.”
“Secretary Seo.”
“Nor am I joking.”
His expression shifted. Now he truly looked angry.
He pulled his hands from his pants pockets, placed them on his hips, and asked,
“Then what is it?”
“As I said—”
“Are you going insane because you just can’t forget that night?”
Her heart plummeted.
They’d never spoken about that night since it happened. She’d believed it was an unspoken agreement between them.
As Yeon Woo looked up at him, her eyes visibly trembling, Tae Han arrogantly lifted his chin and stepped closer.
“It did seem strange. Your eyes changed completely whenever you looked at me after that night.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Look me straight in the eyes and speak.”
Only then did Yeon Woo finally meet his gaze—and flinched the moment their eyes locked.
His eyes, staring straight into hers, were dark and relentless, as if drilling into the abyss of her soul.
“Yeon Woo.”
His gaze was utterly different from that warm, tender night.
As she recalled being held in his arms that night and clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white, Tae Han spoke again.
“I told you—what happened that night was just a mistake.”
“I know.”
“So you’re doing all this because you want to sleep with me again?”
“President Ki…!”
Humiliated, Yeon Woo cried out sharply—but Tae Han didn’t flinch.
Unmoved, and showing no sign of sympathy as her eyes welled up, he leaned in even closer until she could barely breathe.
“Seo Yeon Woo. Listen carefully.”
His rough breath spilled over her upper lip. His eyes, now fierce and wild as if ready to bite her lips at any moment, blazed intensely.
Ki Tae Han was the kind of man who could casually stab a dagger into someone’s heart anytime, anywhere. One always had to brace oneself before he even opened his mouth.
“Right now, you’re doing the one thing I despise most in this world—wasting my time with pointless nonsense when I’m busy. And that goes directly against my mood.”
“I—”
“Get a grip. I didn’t put you in my secretarial office so you could indulge in fantasy romances.”
The more cruelly he spoke, the more it felt as if her heart were being clawed apart. Yet Yeon Woo steeled her expression and spoke firmly.
“Say whatever you want—it doesn’t matter. I’m resigning. I’ve already arranged for a seamless handover within the secretarial team.”
Tae Han’s heated gaze bore into Yeon Woo, who refused to back down. He simply stared at her, unreadable, as if trying to decipher her thoughts.
Her heart pounded wildly. Just with his gaze alone, he could render her utterly immobile.
Knock knock.
Unable to endure his dagger-like stare any longer, Yeon Woo lowered her head just as a knock sounded—and Director Kim Sung Won, his executive secretary, entered.
“President, it’s time to—”
“Get out.”
At the cold command, sensing the tense atmosphere between them, Sung Won quickly bowed and disappeared.
Once again, they were alone.
Tae Han closed his eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and then spoke.
“Give me a reason I can accept. Don’t waste my time with flimsy excuses.”
The underlying tone was resolute—as if to say he wouldn’t tolerate any half-baked answers.
Yeon Woo slowly clenched her fists. Though nervous, she couldn’t back down now.
“Then I’ll be honest.”
She prayed silently to get through this moment intact.
“It’s the opposite.”
Tae Han’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“I feel uncomfortable seeing you, sir. I don’t want to share the same space with you anymore—it’s too distracting.”
“You… don’t want to?”
“Yes. It’s not about fantasy—it’s you, sir. I want to resign precisely to get away from you because you make me uncomfortable.”
A cold glint flickered through his dark eyes.
Ever since that night she never should have spent with him, Yeon Woo had regretted it every day—watching Tae Han act as if nothing had happened, while she couldn’t remain composed for even a moment.
And especially after she discovered there was now life growing inside her.
“Congratulations—you’re pregnant.”
Yeon Woo would never forget that moment when her vision seemed to flicker and blur.
Tae Han stared at her, his face unreadable as she endured the crushing pressure, her face drained of color.
The silence strangled her throat.
A few seconds stretched into an eternity.
“Fine.”
After a pause, his flat, emotionless voice cut through the air.
For a fleeting moment, Yeon Woo’s eyes wavered. She’d expected him to scold her fiercely in anger.
But in an instant, he returned to his usual composure and swept past the shaken Yeon Woo like a gust of wind.
“Director Kim—put the envelope on the desk into my drawer.”
Hearing his voice from outside the door, Yeon Woo finally let out the breath she’d been holding.
Her lashes trembled as she tightly shut her eyes.
She’d almost collapsed.
Again, this man managed to shake her to the core—every single minute, every single second.
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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Chapter Comments (1)
Inline Comments (1)
Indeed, she needed someone she could lean on emotionally. To get through this ha
This is a refreshing change from the fls with bad moms/no moms
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aah, serim really messed up.
claimed to know everything but in reality know nothing.
allergic reaction could be really dangerous.