Date Me! - Chapter 27
Ina was extremely nervous as the phone rang.
It was just a phone call, but why was she so nervous about it…….
She swallowed her saliva and focused all her attention on the ringing tone, and then it stopped.
And she heard Juwon’s voice.
“Hello?”
At the sound of his voice, Ina’s heart started pounding like crazy.
Soon, fireworks went off in her head and a ding-dong sound of the correct answer rang out.
“H-hello?”
“Oh. Ina. Hold on.”
Juwon spoke in a gentle voice, and Ina heard him walking somewhere.
Then his voice was heard again soon after.
“Hello?”
“Oh. H-hello?”
“What’s up? You called me first for once?”
Juwon asked in a playful, amused voice.
“I-I’ve never called you first before?”
“No. You haven’t.”
“R-really? I’m sorry.”
“Hahaha. Why are you apologizing right away for something you don’t need to be sorry about?”
Juwon laughed on the other end of the phone, as if something was really funny.
“R-really? It’s not something to be sorry about?”
Hyunju poked Ina’s side as she kept stammering, gesturing for her to get a grip.
Ina nodded her head to indicate she understood, and Juwon said with a laugh:
“Then it’s not something to be sorry about. Because it’s okay for someone who wants to hear your voice to call.”
The resolve to get a grip that Ina had just nodded to was immediately unsealed by Juwon’s words.
Thump thump, thump thump.
Her pounding heart now started trembling.
“What are you doing right now?”
Ina quickly asked something else to change the subject.
“Me? I’m at my father’s house right now.”
“Your father’s house?”
“Yeah. We made plans to have dinner at my father’s house.”
“Ah. I see.”
“What are you doing on the weekend?”
“Me? I’m…”
Ina was about to answer when suddenly a woman’s voice was heard on the other end of the phone.
“Oppa.”
Oppa?
At the word ‘oppa,’ Ina’s eyes wavered.
“Ina. One second.”
Juwon’s voice grew distant, and Ina heard the two of them having some kind of conversation.
In that brief moment, Ina felt her heart pounding with anxiety and impatience at the same time.
When she unconsciously started biting her nails, Hyunju mouthed ‘why?’
Ina was about to shake her head when Juwon’s voice was heard again right away.
“Ina. I’m sorry but I think I have to go now since we have a guest over.”
“Oh, really? Then you should go. Let’s talk later.”
Contrary to her response, Ina felt like her mood was sinking to the depths of the abyss.
With an inexplicably gloomy feeling, she was about to hang up when Juwon said:
“Do you have any plans for dinner?”
“Huh?”
“If you don’t have plans, I’ll come by your place later. Want to have a cup of coffee?”
Ina’s sinking mood started to slowly float back to the surface, fluttering its wings.
“Yeah. Sure. Let’s do that.”
Ina answered with a shy smile.
“Okay. Then I’ll call you when I head out. See you later.”
“Yeah.”
Ina hung up and smiled faintly.
And Hyunju looked at Ina with narrowed eyes as her expression rapidly changed from being tense to surprised to blushing with a smile in a short period of time.
“What? Why did your expression change so much in just a few minutes?”
“Huh? Oh. That’s…”
Ina touched her reddened cheeks and answered sheepishly.
“Juwon said he’ll come over later in the evening. To have a cup of coffee.”
Hyunju’s eyes widened and she exclaimed:
“What? You were totally struck by lightning, weren’t you? Right?”
“Yeah. As soon as I heard his voice… my heart started pounding.”
Ina said honestly, her face flushed.
“Wow! Jackpot!”
Hyunju hugged Ina tightly with a big smile.
“My friend has finally found the answer! Good for you! Good for you!”
Hyunju clapped Ina’s hands and rejoiced as if she was going to dance.
Ina smiled shyly and thanked her.
“But why were you surprised earlier?”
Hyunju stopped clapping and asked.
At Hyunju’s words, Ina remembered the woman’s voice she had heard a little while ago.
“That’s… because some woman called Juwon ‘oppa’ earlier.”
“Oppa?”
The impact of the word ‘oppa’ to women must have been greater than expected, as even Hyunju’s eyes widened.
“Wait, didn’t you say Juwon is at his father’s house right now?”
“Right.”
“But why oppa? Does Juwon have a younger sister?”
“No.”
“Then who is that woman?”
“I don’t know either.”
Ina’s expression turned gloomy.
Hyunju looked at Ina’s expression that had turned sour in an instant and laughed.
“Oh my, Seo Ina, are you getting jealous already?”
Ina couldn’t deny it and pouted her lips.
Seeing that, Hyunju patted Ina’s shoulder and said:
“Hey. What is there to be jealous about? Didn’t Juwon say he’s coming to see you later? That means that woman is a nobody, right? So when you meet Juwon later, just think about what you’re going to say to him.”
Now that Juwon was actually coming, Ina’s mind became complicated again.
“Hey. There’s no need to overthink it. It goes without saying that Juwon is into you, and now you’ve clearly realized your feelings too. When your feelings for each other have become the same, is there any need to hesitate further? With a handsome and wonderful man like Juwon, girls everywhere must be going crazy over him. If you space out, he might get snatched away by women like the one who called him ‘oppa’ earlier.”
At the mention of him being snatched away, Ina’s senses were awakened.
* * *
At that moment in Seongbuk-dong,
Soobin looked at Juwon, who had just hung up the phone, with an awkward expression.
“Let’s go down.”
At Juwon’s words, Soobin quickly followed, answering “yes.”
As she followed him down the stairs, Soobin stared at Juwon’s back as if entranced.
Even his back view was stunning enough to make one’s jaw drop, just like his front.
His tall height, broad shoulders, and the solid shape of his arm muscles hidden under his sweater were more than enough to sway Soobin’s heart.
2 hours ago,
Juwon visited his father’s house in Seongbuk-dong.
12 years ago, his father had put in his full effort to save the paper company that was on the brink of bankruptcy, and with the help of several acquaintances, the company had barely managed to survive.
Using the bitter failure as nourishment, his father ran the business even more carefully and shrewdly, and after 3 years, the company began to find stability and its sales started increasing.
The following year, they expanded into the printing machine manufacturing business, and soon achieved the feat of exporting to China and Japan, solidifying their position as a trading company.
Around that time, Juwon graduated from the Department of Business Administration, and at his father’s recommendation, he joined his father’s company.
Then, when his father remarried Ae-ran, Juwon moved to an apartment in Jamsil.
Ae-ran had a sophisticated yet gentle personality, and Juwon had no reason to be against his father’s remarriage, so he had maintained a warm relationship with Ae-ran until now.
After remarrying, his father suggested having a meal together once a month unless there was a special occasion, and today was that day.
From Wednesday to Saturday yesterday, he had worked late at the company, so he said he would visit next time, but for some reason, his father insisted that he must come.
So he had no choice but to arrive at his father’s house, where unfamiliar guests were present.
“Oh my, Juwon. You’re here?”
Ae-ran greeted Juwon with a smile, unusually welcoming him more than usual.
And behind Ae-ran, a middle-aged couple and a young lady who seemed to be their daughter were sitting on the living room sofa.
“Greet them. This is President Han and his wife from your father’s business partner.”
At his father’s words, Juwon politely bowed to greet them for now.
“Hello. I’m Lee Juwon.”
President Han looked at Juwon with a delighted expression as he greeted them, while his wife and daughter looked at him with an enraptured expression.
“Oh my, oh my, my goodness… How can your son be so handsome like a sculpture? He looks much better in person than in photos.”
The wife spoke with an admiring expression, and the daughter sitting next to her blushed.
Her heart started pounding at the sight of Juwon, who was unrealistically handsome.
“Right? Our Juwon looks cool in photos, but he’s much cooler in person, isn’t he?”
Ae-ran seemed to be in a good mood as she chuckled and responded to the wife’s words.
Juwon, who had no idea what was going on, glanced at his father, and his father fake-coughed once before speaking.
“I made plans to have a meal with President Han sometime, and he said he had time today, so I took the opportunity to arrange this gathering.”
It went without saying that the ‘opportunity’ included the daughter over there who was now staring at Juwon with a flushed face.
“Soobin. Why aren’t you greeting him too?”
At her mother’s words, Soobin was startled and slowly stood up, then shyly greeted Juwon.
“Hello. Juwon oppa. I’m Han Soobin.”
At Soobin’s greeting, the wife laughed ho ho ho.
“Oh my, look at her? How can she call him Juwon oppa right away when she just saw him?”
The wife laughed as if something was really funny, and Soobin’s face turned even redder.
“Ho ho ho. Isn’t that blushing face Soobin’s charm? Oh my. Look at those reddened cheeks.”
Ae-ran responded and laughed along with her, while Juwon’s father and President Han smiled.
At this moment, the only person not laughing was Juwon.
He was contemplating what expression to make on this stage that was unfolding regardless of his will, when the housekeeper came out from the kitchen.
“Madam. The meal is ready.”
“Yes. I understand. Shall we go eat?”
Ae-ran smiled at the Han couple and spoke.
On the elegant table, all kinds of delicacies were harmoniously laid out, emitting a delicious aroma.
“Oh my, why did you prepare so much? You went to too much trouble.”
At the wife’s words, Ae-ran smiled.
“Of course I have to put in effort when distinguished guests are coming. Ho ho.”
At Ae-ran’s words, the Han couple smiled with satisfaction.
In the warm atmosphere, the four of them focused solely on Juwon and Soobin during the meal, as if they had planned it.
Juwon felt uncomfortable with the blatant setup, but it was the first time his father had arranged such a meeting, so he responded to the conversation as politely as possible.
And Soobin stared at Juwon as if intoxicated by his pleasant low voice, perking up her ears whenever he spoke.
Her heart was pounding so much that it made her queasy, and her cheeks turned even redder.
By the time they had finished eating, Juwon’s cell phone rang.
Juwon took his phone out of his jacket pocket and looked at the screen.
And Soobin saw it.
She saw a smile slowly blooming on Juwon’s face, which had been expressionless throughout the meal.
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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