Ji Yeon, who couldn’t comprehend the situation for a moment, stared blankly at the IV line plugged into her hand, then opened her parched mouth.
“Deputy… where is this?”
As her strangely exhausted voice flowed out, Ji Yeon scrunched up her face.
“You suddenly collapsed during the meeting, so we rushed to the nearest hospital. The head of the department was here until a while ago, but he had to return to the office due to an important meeting.”
She couldn’t remember anything after hearing the beeping sound during the meeting.
“I must have caused everyone trouble. I’m sorry, Deputy.”
“No, Manager. Everyone was so startled that they didn’t know what to do, and the head of the department personally drove you to the hospital. I came in the same car. How are you feeling? Is there anything wrong?”
“I’m fine. I think I can get up now…”
As she tried to force herself to sit up, her body, heavy as a ton, wouldn’t move properly and she felt dizzy, so she lay back down.
“What are you talking about? You have to finish this IV and then move. The head of the department also said the same thing, that you should rest today.”
“But I can’t…”
“Tell me if there’s anything urgent. Don’t worry about anything and get enough rest today.”
A while later, Deputy Ju Yeon apologized for needing to return to the office for work and left the hospital room.
The ward was eerily quiet after she left.
Ji Yeon, left behind, closed her eyes for a moment, and soon her head started to ache from the guilt washing over her.
‘What a mess. Why let personal matters interfere with work.’
Even though she wanted to get up right away and go back to the office to work as if nothing had happened, she felt as if her body wouldn’t obey her, and she was still dizzy.
After closing her eyes for a few more minutes, the events of the morning suddenly filled her mind again.
The person she could confide in at times like this was her friend Ha Young, so she searched for her phone to contact her, even for a moment, and discovered a message.
[I’ll come to pick you up around 6 o’clock. Don’t move and stay in bed.]
It was a message from Kang Hyun.
“How can I face the director when I feel so sorry?”
She felt terribly sorry because while he took care of various things for her, being on the same team and living in the same villa neighborhood, she felt like she kept causing trouble.
Rrrr Rrrr
“Ha Young”
You called me this morning, didn’t you? Sorry, I didn’t even know you called because I’m on a business trip out of town and have been in continuous meetings.
“Can you talk now?”
Yes, I’m fine now. But why does your voice sound like that? What’s going on? What happened?
“Ha Young….”
When she talked about the things that had happened, Ha Young yelled out loud.
Is Cha Min Woo really crazy? It makes no sense! How can a person do that? Oh, shit… If that jerk was in front of me right now, I’d love to beat the dust off him, really.
“Haah…”
So you’re in the hospital now? How’s your body? Are you okay? That jerk really isn’t helpful in your life, not even once.
Over the phone, Ha Young’s angry and harsh words, along with her rough breathing, could be heard by Ji Yeon.
I’m currently out of town so I can’t go to you right away. You need someone by your side right now. Can’t you stay with your parents just for today?
“No, if I do that, my parents might notice that something’s wrong with me. I might even make a mistake and say something wrong. I think it would be better to rest at home today and soothe my mind.”
Don’t say that? You, I’m worried about you…….
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. If my heart gets too heavy, I’ll call you again like now.”
Ji Yeon.
“……Yes.”
Let’s really sort this out. I know your heart is still directed towards that guy, and another part of you wants to repay those people, but this isn’t it. No, really not! The longer you stay by that jerk’s side, the more you get hurt. Cha Min Woo and that woman, they are not worth it. And neither is your stepmother!
“…….”
Our life is so short, and these are moments we should spend as beautifully as flowers. Why waste your life on such worthless things? You said you wanted to be happy now. That’s why you started working again and standing on your own. Let’s focus on your happiness, not someone else’s, okay? There are times when people… need to give up bravely. Especially the bad things, the wrong things, you have to give up and cut them off as soon as possible. Only then will your true happiness come.
The moisture in Ha Young’s voice was palpable even through the phone call.
Touched by the earnest words of a friend who cared for her like family, a warmth surged in Ji Yeon’s chest.
“Thank you, Ha Young. For thinking more about me than I do. You’re better than my exhusband.”
Hey! Don’t compare me with that crazy guy, that’s an insult!
“You’re right, sorry. Thanks, Ha Young. I’ll consider what you’ve said.”
Consider what! Just do as I said!
“Okay, I will. Let’s meet as soon as I get to Seoul.”
Okay. I’ll finish my work quickly and come up. We’ll sort everything out then, okay? Wait a little, my lovely friend.
Knock Knock
Ji Yeon’s eyes fluttered open at the knock, having fallen asleep momentarily.
An hour had already passed since she spoke with Ha Young.
“Yes, come in.”
The one who entered after opening the door was Kang Hyun.
He said he would come at 6 o’clock, but it wasn’t even 5 o’clock yet and he was there.
“Director.”
“I came a little early. I thought you might have to stagger out early if I’m late because of your condition.”
Ji Yeon, who disliked causing inconvenience to others, might have just done as Kang Hyun suggested.
Kang Hyun approached closer.
“How’s your body feeling?”
Seeing Ji Yeon forcing a smile on her pale face tugged at his heartstrings.
“I’m all better now.”
“Really? You do look a bit better now. But earlier, you were so pale that I was quite surprised. Are you sure you’re okay to be discharged? If you’re not feeling well, how about staying in the hospital for another day or two?”
“No, I’m much better. I think I’ll return to my usual state if I rest at home for the remaining time.”
“Okay, I trust you. You’ve already prepared for discharge, so we can just go in my car.”
In the car on the way home, an awkward silence lingered between the two.
“Today… your physical condition must have been bad, but I’m worried if there was any other problem.”
“No, there’s nothing like that. I guess I’ve been a bit tired from moving and sorting things out recently. Thank you for your concern.”
“….”
“I’m really sorry if my personal issues have affected the work.”
“I didn’t ask because of that. I just wanted to say that I hope things get better if there had been any problems. I’m glad there weren’t any.”
Kang Hyun gave a gentle smile as he patted Ji Yeon’s shoulder.
“Thank you for being the one to take me to the hospital, Director. And I’m really sorry for causing such a problem during work. You’ve had to worry about this and that because of me… I owe you a lot. I’ll be more careful in the future so this doesn’t happen again.”
“You seem to worry about a lot of things even when you’re sick. Really, don’t worry about it. I can certainly help with something like this. Both as a teammate and a fellow villager.”
“Thank you so much, Director.”
“And also…”
“…?”
“As a man who is interested in Ms. Ji Yeon.”
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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