“No, let me go!”
Yeongwoo, almost held in Gun’s arms, quickly pushed his chest away.
But Gun, who firmly grasped Yeongwoo’s shoulder, had no intention of letting go.
Unable to move, Yeongwoo’s face turned even paler than when she saw the wild boar.
Anyone would think it was not the boar but Gun who had caught her.
“If I let go, you’ll fall.”
Gun, still fixated on the wild boar, replied bluntly.
As he said, the rock they climbed was narrow and steep.
Flailing even a little would surely lead to falling, so staying still was the best option.
Still uneasy, Yeongwoo asked.
“Is this rock safe?”
“If you don’t struggle.”
It was essentially a command to stay still.
Gun, with his straight and sharp profile, continued without taking his eyes off the boar.
“The wild boar has a thick neck. It can’t look up here, so we’re safe.”
Gun’s prominent Adam’s apple moved, and his deep, pleasant voice flowed.
“We’ll stay here until the wild boar leaves.”
As soon as Gun finished speaking, Yeongwoo quickly shut her small lips, uttering a gasp.
Was she startled because they had to stay until the boar left?
Or because she had to stay on the rock alone with Gun?
Then a sweet smell reached Gun’s nose.
It was Yeongwoo’s sweat.
Had he ever smelled such a pleasant scent from a man? Definitely not.
Gun, used to the soldiers’ sweat in the barracks, had never encountered such a sweet, subtle fragrance.
Why did only this trainee smell so good?
The scent, almost like a flower, made Gun turn his head and look down at Yeongwoo in his arms.
Her petite frame fit snugly in his arm, her shoulders small.
Her downturned eyelashes were long and lush.
Yeongwoo’s thin hair, damp with sweat from the standoff with the boar, clung to her tiny face.
This mix of sight and scent felt strangely sultry.
Gun, who had never been close to a woman, felt as if a woman was right in front of him.
Wondering why he felt this towards a man, Gun, holding Yeongwoo quietly, heard her speak.
“How did you know to come here?”
Gun, as if caught feeling strange emotions towards someone he thought was a man, hastily averted his gaze from Yeongwoo.
“No need to know.”
“…….”
His voice sounded brusque, almost startled.
Gun, recently injured, couldn’t trust his body to any other doctor.
So, he had ventured deep into the mountains to see his longtime physician, Shin Woong.
On his way back, he found Yeongwoo, a trainee, surrounded by wild boars.
Unable to leave her to be crushed by the boars, Gun rescued her.
But there was no need to explain all this to a mere trainee.
At his cold response, Yeongwoo pouted.
Then, smelling a familiar scent, Yeongwoo sniffed.
“Did you apply some herbal medicine?”
“!”
Gun didn’t show it, but he was startled by Yeongwoo’s remark.
While receiving treatment from Shin Woong, I had just applied medicinal herbs good for bruises.
“How did you know?”
“I can smell the herbs from your embrace.”
Yeongwoo nestled close to Gun’s chest, sniffing.
Her warm breath, while she sniffed, touched Gun’s abdomen.
Feeling a ticklish ache, Gun twitched.
After fully inhaling the scent, Yeongwoo lifted her head to look at Gun.
“Now that I smell it again, it’s like the scent of centella.”
“Your nose is like a dog’s.”
“Ah, I used to frequent a herbal shop in the past. I don’t have professional knowledge, though.”
Yeongwoo, who sold herbs, had smelled them countless times.
Thus, she could differentiate most herbs by their scent.
Gun’s gaze, which was on Yeongwoo, shifted to the wild boar lying on the ground.
The arrow lodged in the boar’s forehead seemed to belong to the trainee in his arms.
“Did you catch that wild boar?”
“Yes? Ah, yes, I did.”
It was unexpected.
Hitting a moving animal’s vital spot in one shot is usually difficult.
Especially in a standoff, a misstep could provoke the excited boar.
Where did someone with such a slight and delicate frame muster the courage to hunt a boar?
Pondering, Gun was interrupted by Yeongwoo, who carefully spoke.
“I… apologize for that time.”
“That time?”
“When I spoke ill of you during the face-revealing ceremony…”
Yeongwoo trailed off, scared.
Since discovering the subject of her gossip was a prince and a military commander, her days were uneasy.
Worried about punishment if they ever met, she had been anxious.
Better to confess in front of the concerned party, she thought, to rid herself of anxiety sooner.
Yet, Gun, dismissing her worry, replied indifferently.
“Forget it.”
Of course, hearing gossip about himself was outrageous.
But Gun, who had heard worse rumors – about being a patricidal maniac or killing innocents for fun – wasn’t bothered.
One more gossiper like Yeongwoo made no difference in a sea of such people.
Yeongwoo, baffled by Gun’s unexpected response, cautiously asked.
“……You’re not angry?”
If he changed his mind later to punish her, it would be troublesome.
She needed assurance that she wouldn’t be questioned for her guilt.
Observing Yeongwoo intently, Gun said.
“You seem to wish I were angry.”
“No, not at all! I never… Eek!”
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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