‘H-How could that…’
When the words “contract killing” came out of Ji-han’s mouth, Serin’s mind went blank.
Facing his icy gaze, Serin meekly dropped to her knees.
Her eyes, which Ji-han hadn’t expected to learn the truth so quickly, shook violently.
Her heart, pounding rapidly, felt like it could burst at any moment.
What exactly did he know?
Was he simply referring to hiring Mr. Jung for a contract killing?
Or could it be…
Perhaps he hadn’t found out about the false pregnancy?
In anxiety, Serin bit her lips.
Her unstable heartbeat echoed through the silent parking lot as if it would shatter the calm.
As Serin busily searched for a solution in her mind, she eventually burst into tears, realizing there was no clear way.
“Sob. Oppa. I… I really didn’t mean to go that far.”
Unexpectedly, tears welled up, and Ji-han’s eyes furrowed.
Serin hesitated for a moment before crawling towards Ji-han, grabbing the edge of his jacket.
“I was so scared. I just wanted to scare you… Oppa, I didn’t know Mr. Jung Dae-ho was such a wicked person.”
“…”
“Maybe because he urgently needed money, he deliberately sabotaged the brakes and tried to pin it on me… Huh. I and Ho-jin were too scared to say anything. Sobs.”
Watching Serin wail in anxiety, Ji-han, feeling suffocated, loosened his tie.
People who were getting out of their cars in the restaurant parking lot glanced at them.
“He said that if he tells Oppa about this, he won’t leave me and Ho-jin alone. Sob.”
“Get up.”
“O-Oppa… I…”
A scene where a woman knelt in front of a man, crying, attracted the attention of passersby.
Ji-han roughly swept his hair back and forcibly lifted Serin.
Before people recognized them, he pushed Serin into the passenger seat.
As the car left, the sound of crying echoed, and Ji-han felt like he was losing his mind.
“Enough!”
Ji-han shouted loudly.
“Sobs.”
“Stop crying. Ha… I understand what you’re trying to say.”
Ji-han felt a mix of emotions.
Although he was angry at Serin’s reckless actions, he saw a reflection of himself in her.
The anxiety that what he possessed might not be entirely his.
The fear that money and honor could disappear at any time had haunted Ji-han throughout his life.
‘Ha…’
Ji-han sighed.
Why did she create this trouble by doing something that could be exposed at any moment?
Whether it was Serin’s plan or something Mr. Jung did to grab money, the incident had already occurred.
Instead of blaming whose fault it was, Ji-han realized that he had to cut off the tail before it was too late.
‘If only Mr. Jung wasn’t involved.’
In reality, Mr. Jung was deeply involved in Ji-han’s business and personal life.
Ji-han remained silent for a while.
It was a moment when Serin anxiously fidgeted with her hands beside the silent Ji-han.
Ji-han’s voice, cutting through the heavy silence, echoed inside the car.
“Are there any other secrets I need to know?”
“S-Secrets?”
As Ji-han’s cool gaze met hers, Serin flinched.
Sigh.
Surprised by his gaze, Serin started sobbing.
Feeling like his gaze could penetrate her inner thoughts, Serin raised her hands as if pledging to the empty air.
“I don’t have any! I swear, I don’t… hic.”
“Then, let’s call it quits. I’ve given you my final chance.”
“…”
“My patience has its limits. Since I have a child with you, treating you with pity and care is my last offer. Understood?”
Serin vigorously nodded her head.
His words about the last chance lingered in Serin’s mind for a long time.
“From now on, focus on the prenatal education for our child. What I expect from you is not the role of my wife but the role of my child’s mother.”
“…”
“Be the mother of my child.”
Serin’s breath caught in her throat.
‘Mother’s role.’
She couldn’t say a word and tightly gripped her handbag.
In fact, there was one more secret that she couldn’t tell him.
’In the first place, there is no child…’
Everything was a lie to keep Ji-han tied.
But how could she honestly say that the pregnancy was a lie?
In the atmosphere as fragile as walking on thin ice, Serin couldn’t bring herself to speak.
As the weekend approached, she met the attending physician for the first time in a while and heard shocking news.
“When can we expect her discharge?”
“If hospitalization is unavoidable, there’s nothing we can do. It would be better for her to remain hospitalized for a while. She needs both pain and rehabilitation treatments.”
Already feeling confined in the hospital, Ji-ha couldn’t believe that he was asking about discharge…?
“What? Rehabilitation treatment?”
“Ah… Didn’t you know? The patient’s pain has worsened recently. We are currently combining pain treatment and rehabilitation therapy.”
After finishing the meeting with the doctor, they arrived at Ji-ha’s hospital room.
The words the doctor mentioned kept replaying in Ji-ha’s mind.
Rehabilitation therapy…
Ji-ha had never shown any signs of pain until now.
So he didn’t even know that the pain in his wrist had worsened. It felt like a sudden blow to the back of his head.
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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