In front of the restaurant. The seductive smell of meat vibrated whenever I passed by.
“I’m hungry. Why don’t we go in?”
I stood still, staring only at the entrance of the barbecue restaurant. The team leader, who followed behind me, tapped my shoulder.
“Why aren’t you going in?”
“Oh? Right, we should go in. Haha.”
Following the team leader inside, I found the HR team and our team members already creating a lively atmosphere.
“Oh? Manager Moon! Why are you coming in so late?”
Actually, I didn’t want to come, so I told Baek In-ha to go first, saying I had something to do. She, who had arrived earlier, greeted me warmly when she noticed me coming in late.
It was nice to be greeted warmly, but it was too loud… Even the unknown employee who was diligently grilling meat turned their gaze toward me. The exhausting life of a minor celebrity.
“Hello. Hello.”
After greeting the people sitting with a flat expression, I found a spot in the corner of the entrance.
“Well then, since Team Leader of the Travel Team and Manager Moon are here again, shall we raise our glasses once more?”
Yoon-a suggested a toast to everyone after looking at me. The youngest employee in the HR team next to me poured me a shot.
“Well then, shall our Manager Moon give the toast?”
Yoon-a smiled with charming eyes, seeking agreement from the people.
Geez.
At Yoon-a’s words, everyone’s attention focused on me. I forced a smile and awkwardly stood up from my seat.
“Uh… I didn’t know I would be giving a toast. First, I’d like to thank the HR team leader for inviting our Travel team.”
As I spoke, the HR team leader sitting next to our team leader slightly raised and lowered his glass.
“We’ve entered the latter half of this year. I don’t know if everyone had a good time.”
Responses were heard here and there in response to my words.
“As we approach the remaining days of this year, I hope everyone achieves what they desire. Long-lasting relationships are trending these days, right? Let’s all go long and last! Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Everyone responded to my toast, and soju and beer glasses clashed in the air.
I sat down and sipped my soju. Glancing around, I gauged the atmosphere. It wasn’t as bad as I had thought.
I just started fearfully picking up the grilled meat. Today, I decided to drink only a little. It wasn’t just a team dinner; I was worried about making a mistake, especially since there was a woman in this team watching me closely.
As the atmosphere at the dinner matured,
I carefully observed the timing to stand up, glancing around. However, my eyes met Yoon-a’s.
“Shall we play a truth game?”
Holding an empty soju bottle, she shook it and suggested a truth game. Someone around praised it as a good idea.
“Hmm, who is this truth game for?”
Our team leader, resting his chin on his hand, spoke to Yoon-a. She smiled brightly in response.
“It’s fun. Fun. Team leader. Come on! Shall we try it?”
Her intentions were quite suspicious, but it was a situation I couldn’t avoid alone. I just clenched my fists and observed the situation.
The soju bottle spun around.
Uninspiring questions and answers went back and forth. Sometimes laughter erupted at amusing questions, and the atmosphere gradually warmed up.
Swirling.
The soju bottle, which had been spinning vigorously, stopped, pointing at me. Perhaps it was an over-conscious feeling, but people’s eyes glittered as they looked at me. The scene resembled a predator in front of its prey.
Saliva involuntarily swallowed.
One question. If I can just handle this one well, it will be enough. I promised myself. Well, if there’s a difficult question, I’ll just take a sip of alcohol.
“Ask a question!”
I confidently said as I poured soju into my glass. People who were just exchanging glances. The first to speak was, of course, Yoon-a.
“Chanhyung senior denied that you two are dating. Does Manager Moon really have no interest at all?”
She made a cute expression, emphasizing the smallness with a gesture of her thumb and index finger. The question wasn’t cute at all, though.
“Yes. Right! I have no interest at all.”
I imitated her and answered. Then her expression quickly stiffened.
“Oh? So, was that rumor fake?”
Here again, there was an oblivious junior. The youngest HR team member next to me, with an innocent expression, asked me.
“The truth game question is over.”
As I laughed while pouring soju into the glass for the youngest, he finally seemed to notice and awkwardly took a one-shot.
After my boring response, the atmosphere became less enjoyable. Amidst the calls for a second round from the people around, I slipped away from the awkward atmosphere and went to say goodbye to the team leader.
“Team leader, I’ll go in early today.”
“Sure! See you tomorrow.”
Since he wasn’t someone who pressured for team dinners, I spoke comfortably. However, the HR team leader next to me grabbed me.
“Leaving already? It won’t be fun without Manager Moon.”
“Why, are you managing our team members, too? Manager Moon, don’t worry about it. Go ahead.”
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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