Hyeju felt spaced out all morning.
Whenever she had a moment of free time, she would think of Juwon’s prominent Adam’s apple and the taut tendons on the back of his hand. Her heart kept pounding, and she could feel the warmth rising, as if she were touching a feverish temperature.
“Maybe I’m so hungry lately that’s why….”
What is dating anyway? Is it about eating?
Throughout her three years in high school, she had only experienced two relationships in college, as she had harbored a onesided crush on Seungwon. And even those relationships didn’t last more than a few months, as her boyfriends one by one went off to the military. So it was safe to say that she had never had a proper relationship.
So, even the slightest stimulation could make her heart flutter.
But the fact that the person making her heart flutter was none other than Kang Juwon filled Hyeju with selfreproach.
“Hyeju, let’s have lunch together.”
Lost in her thoughts, Dahui tapped the partition. Hyeju stopped what she was doing and looked up.
“What about Seungwon?”
“He left for an external assignment in the morning. We don’t have separate lunch plans, do we?”
“No.”
Since parting ways at the karaoke last night, they hadn’t been in contact. Hyeju was concerned about Dahui leaving while crying, but she refrained from speaking hastily, fearing it would have the opposite effect. Instead, she absentmindedly fiddled with her phone.
But when Dahui initiated the conversation, Hyeju was just grateful.
“I can’t go too far for lunch because I need to buy something. Can we go to the department store?”
“You can eat at the company cafeteria. Where are you going?”
“I need to buy something, so I thought of stopping by the department store briefly. Let’s go out for now.”
The two of them found a seat in the company cafeteria.
Since the building was packed with various companies, the cafeteria was bustling with office workers wearing different name tags around their necks. The two of them managed to find a less crowded spot in the center.
“Today’s menu is amazing. They have tteokgalbi and spicy stirfried vegetables. Did something good happen to the lady at the restaurant today?”
“I guess there are a lot of people.”
While exchanging a few words, Dahui didn’t seem any different from usual.
Hyeju felt relieved inwardly. She had been worried that she would feel emotionally hurt because Seungwon was the one to ask her out first yesterday, but thankfully it didn’t happen.
“What are you going to buy at the department store later? Should I go with you?”
Dahui asked, hesitating with the spicy stirfried vegetables. Hyeju shook her head.
“I’m going to buy a sweater. I’ll be back soon, so I can go by myself.”
“Suddenly, a sweater? Don’t you usually not wear sweaters much?”
“Yeah, it’s not for me. I’m going to buy a men’s sweater.”
“A men’s sweaeater?”
Hyeju told Dahui about what happened with Juwon. She explained that while having a meal together, some soup splashed on her clothes, and to cover it up, she borrowed Juwon’s clothes.
And as luck would have it, Seocheol accidentally shrank the clothes in the dryer, so she showed Dahui the “baby sweater” in her shopping bag, saying it got shrunk.
“Wow, this is Kang Juwon’s sweater? It would fit me if I wore it, right?”
“These days, dryers work really well.”
“It’s obviously not the size that Mr. Kang, the CEO, would wear. But the CEO is quite something. Did you really ask him for it?”
“He has a temper.”
“Hahaha, if it were Seungwon, he would have forgotten that he lent you the clothes. Despite being siblings, their personalities are completely opposite.”
Dahui covered her mouth and laughed.
Sparkle.
At that moment, a sparkling ring caught Hyeju’s eye. The simple ring on her ring finger was clearly a couple ring to anyone who saw it.
Hyeju had a strange feeling, as if her heart was pounding.
“Oh, this?”
(Note: The gender of the characters and their names were not provided in the given text, so I couldn’t accurately determine the gender and names of the characters in English.)
Dahee blushed as she felt the gaze, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“We got couple rings. It hasn’t been long since we started dating, so I thought it might be too early, but Seungwon kept insisting… We promised not to wear them at work, but I forgot.”
Dahee quickly took off the ring from her hand and put it in her pocket.
How should I describe this feeling? I already knew it, but it felt like receiving an official declaration.
Seungwon now belongs to Dahee, completely. She had to throw away even the slightest hint of attachment.
“It’s beautiful, Dahee. It suits you well.”
Hyeju forced a smile. It pained her heart, but at the same time, she felt a sense of relief.
It was time to truly let go of her first love, who had gone far away.
“It’s 1.27 million won.”
“One… two… how much?”
“It’s 1.27 million won, ma’am.”
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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