Chairman Cha Dae-san was sitting at the same table as Chairman Yoon Moon-sik’s family.
Contrary to his ample physique, Chairman Yoon’s face was noticeably stern.
It was already irksome that Dohyuk had humiliated Sejeong at the last meeting, and not appearing at a gathering like this today only made him feel more disappointed.
“It seems like Mr. Dohyuk is very busy. Both I and our Sejeong were looking forward to it.”
“Oh, Father, really. What am I to him?”
Sejeong, gritting her teeth, intentionally smiled even brighter.
Since he had abruptly cut ties and left so coldly yesterday, she had already suspected that Dohyuk wouldn’t come.
However, seeing her father’s uncomfortable mood, she couldn’t help feeling that the whole family was being disregarded by Dohyuk.
“I apologize. I said he would come yesterday, but something urgent must have come up.”
Chairman Cha was infuriated to the core because of Dohyuk’s unexpected absence, but he deliberately smiled more affably and continued speaking.
“If that fellow gets involved in work, no one can stop him. Please understand generously, thinking of him as a born entrepreneur.”
“Even if he’s busy, shouldn’t he at least show his face at a situation where marriage talks are going on?”
“No problem. I’ll prepare a seat for him soon.”
Chairman Cha’s head throbbed because of Dohyuk’s refusal to follow his intentions.
He didn’t even touch the food, too preoccupied with figuring out how to seat Dohyuk at the marriage discussion with Sejeong.
At that moment, a well-groomed man in his forties approached Chairman Cha, greeting him warmly.
“Chairman Cha is here too. How have you been lately?”
“Oh, Dr. Jo! Thanks to you, I’m very healthy.”
“Fortunately. Oh, I spoke with Mr. Dohyuk a little while ago.”
When Dohyuk’s name unexpectedly came up from an unexpected figure, Chairman Cha’s eyebrows twitched.
“Oh, really? What did he say?”
“He was down in Gwangju just now.”
At the mention of ‘Gwangju,’ those sitting at the table were surprised, and they all turned to look at Chairman Cha.
Chairman Cha burst into laughter.
“I had some business, so I went down to Gwangju, and it seems I called Dr. Jo, the director, to say hello for the year-end. By the way, how’s the hospital these days?”
The gaze in Chairman Cha’s eyes turned cold as he turned the conversation.
‘Oh no. Did I make a mistake?’
Dr. Jo, who had just hinted that he would accommodate Dohyuk’s request, quickly went into recovery mode.
“Thanks to you, it’s doing well. Dohyuk said he would come for a health checkup with you next time. What a respectful young man. Haha.”
It was a moment when the expertise accumulated through experience between the two shone.
However, they couldn’t avoid Chairman Yoon Moon-sik’s sharp intuition.
“Going down so far on a day like today, it must be something very important, isn’t it?”
“I had an important meeting with a company there.”
“Even if you’re busy, you can spare some time to show your face, right? Since it’s almost the New Year, how about arranging a meeting early next month for New Year’s greetings?”
Chairman Yoon, with an unclear expression, seemed determined not to step back.
Chairman Cha, laughing heartily, said, “Alright. Of course, I’ll make time.”
“There’s a rumor that there will be an engagement between the two families soon. Congratulations in advance.”
Although he responded with a smile to Dr. Jo’s formal greeting, Chairman Cha’s inner thoughts were complicated.
When he had the phone call earlier, Sung-jun apologized, saying he didn’t know Dohyuk’s whereabouts.
‘Kim Director is definitely covering for Dohyuk. What on earth is that guy doing there?’
Frustrated, but he couldn’t question Dr. Jo with Chairman Yoon’s keen eyes watching.
Chairman Cha subtly signaled to Dr. Jo and said, “Director Jo, I’m thinking of increasing the donation amount to Hanse Hospital from DaeSan Foundation. Let’s discuss it separately later since you’re busy now.”
“Thank you, Chairman Cha! I’ll contact you later.”
Dr. Jo, with a flushed face, withdrew from his seat.
The next day, Christmas day.
Jaein and Dohyuk, who had spent the afternoon with the children at the orphanage, prepared to leave only when it was late.
Siha handed the small bag containing clothes to Jaein and said,
“Jaein, if you go up to Seoul, could you please pass this to Mom?”
Last night, it was the luggage that Director Kim had hastily left behind while hurrying to follow Hyuna, who was being moved to Hanse Hospital.
“Got it. I’ll stop by the hospital as soon as I go up.”
“Thank you, I’ll leave it to you.”
Sihwan looked at Jaein with a somewhat regretful expression.
“Jaein, the next time will be in Japan.”
“That’s right. Sihwan oppa, have a safe trip, and I’ll contact you then.”
Jaein shook hands with Sihwan and left, promising to see the kids at least one more time.
With only Sihwan and Dohyuk left, the two men faced each other.
Sihwan greeted Dohyuk with a gaze full of vigilance.
“Mr. Chadohyuk, thank you for helping Hyuna.”
“I just did what needed to be done.”
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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