Thump.
Jaein was on the verge of shouting, “Yes!”
However.
Seoul and Gwangju weren’t neighboring towns.
Jaein laughed softly as she received the call.
“Yes, yes, I do quite like that face. Still, since I’ll see him tomorrow, I’ll endure until then.”
“But can I wait until then? Should I take a helicopter and fly right away?”
“Enough.”
Mr. Cha Dohyuk, your jokes are quite grand in scale.
As Jaein was bewildered, her mother’s urgent voice reached her.
“Jaein, can you help at the counter for a moment?”
Mom was sweating, dealing with the incoming customers.
“Team Leader, I’m busy, I’ll call you back later!”
“Yeah, I’ll contact you later.”
“Yes.”
Jaein quickly hung up the phone and went into the store.
[This is a time separator.]“Oppa, did you sneak away during the meal and stay here?”
Yeongji was watching Dohyuk from behind, her fist clenched.
Dohyuk stood by the window, receiving the warm sunlight in the courtyard of Seojae.
“Oh. I had a place to make a call.”
“A girlfriend, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Dohyuk blushed even as he answered.
“Oh, look at your face turning red. Seems like Oppa has fallen deeply for Jaein unni.”
“Too loud.”
“But what about Jaein unni? Is she home alone now?”
“She went to her parents’ place.”
“Right, unni’s parents live in Gwangju. Our oppa’s house must feel terribly empty, huh?”
“Not empty at all. She’ll be back tomorrow.”
Suddenly, Yeongji stared at Dohyuk’s face intently.
“But Oppa, why does your face look brighter today? Did something good happen yesterday?”
Something significant did happen.
Under Yeongji’s scrutinizing gaze, Dohyuk cleared his throat uncomfortably.
“Well, nothing special. I don’t care about my work.”
“Treating a hero like this is disappointing. If it weren’t for me, Jaein unni would still be between Team Leader and Assistant Manager.”
Dohyuk nodded without realizing it.
The probability was 99 percent.
Seeing that, Yeongji clapped and laughed.
“Wow, is this really the Cha Dohyuk I know?”
“Cha Dohyuk? You’re crawling out in the open now, Yeongji?”
“This is the power of love. Amazing, incredible!”
Blushing even to his ears, Dohyuk asked, trying to stay calm, “What do you want to say?”
“Buy me food. I’m not asking for something big, just treat Jaein unni and me to something delicious when she’s back.”
“No. You’ll bring up weird stories about my past again.”
“What past, Oppa?”
As Yeongji pondered, she rolled her eyes as if deep in thought and began speaking.
“The middle school syndrome when you ran away? Or crying secretly at the movies and getting caught by me? Oh, there was a time when you fell while jumping over a fence to avoid the girls waiting in front of the school. And…”
“Ah, I get it! But don’t ever talk about those old stories to Seo Jaein.”
Dohyuk, startled, tried to stop her, and Yeongji smiled slyly.
“That’s Oppa’s past. But… don’t tell Seo Jaein about those stories.”
Dohyuk freaked out, and Yeongji laughed cheekily.
“That’s your business, Oppa. Think about what to eat with Jaein unni when you go to work.”
“Do you work this hard even when you’re working?”
“But how are you going to handle Grandfather’s opposition? It seems like he still wants to marry Sejeong unni.”
“Don’t worry. I will definitely protect Ms. Seojaein.”
“Of course you should. I’ll support you too.”
“Yeongji.”
Dohyuk chuckled briefly and said, “Thanks.”
Seeing Dohyuk, who had always seemed lonely, covered in happiness, Yeongji’s heart swelled.
Our oppa, I’m so glad you’re happy.
“Oppa, let’s go inside. Everyone must be looking for us.”
Wiping her tears, Yeongji took Dohyuk’s arm and led him inside.
As the two disappeared completely, Seojae’s door opened as if waiting.
Revealing himself from inside Seojae was Dohyuk’s cousin, Jinhyuk.
A little earlier, while he was in the restroom, Jinhyuk had seen Dohyuk walking and hurriedly hid in Seojae when he heard he was talking on the phone.
“Dohyuk lives with a woman?”
The man known for his clean private life, Cha Dohyuk?
This was indeed an extraordinary news.
Jinhyuk pondered slowly over Dohyuk and Yeongji’s conversation.
“In summary, Dohyuk’s brother is secretly dating someone from work, even living together. Her name was Seojaein?”
It was certain that he went to the orphanage with her, as mentioned by Grandfather.
Why did Dohyuk, who never did such things in his lifetime, do this? The mystery was finally solved.
“Indeed, Sejeong was right. There was a woman. Grandfather already knows since he opposed it. Yet, he still breaks the news so nonchalantly…”
Thinking of the moment when Dohyuk said he had a woman yesterday afternoon and Cha Chairman jumped up, Jinhyuk felt betrayed.
“Is he trying to protect Dohyuk from something? Trying to somehow get Sejeong married?”
Remembering Sejeong, who seemed sad when Dohyuk mentioned he had a woman, Jinhyuk felt sorry for her.
With a stern face, Jinhyuk dialed somewhere.
“I need to find out about this.”
[This is a time separator.]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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