Eventually, Seol Won ended up staying in the vice president’s office until quitting time.
It was because she couldn’t bear to wake up Woo Ju, who was soundly asleep, as if it was his own house.
Moreover, the view from the window-side chair, brought in by Secretary Jung, was surprisingly pleasant.
Actually, seated in that chair, what Seol Won really sneaked glances at was Chae Ha, engrossed in his work.
After strenuously resisting his endless attempts to kiss her and finally getting him seated, he was now deeply focused as if nothing had ever happened.
She had seen him working at home a few times, but the feeling now was different.
She couldn’t take her eyes off his profile, carefully reviewing the documents.
Following his low voice reading the documents, her eyes were drawn to his neck, accentuated by the tie she had tied for him earlier.
Each time, her heart seemed to flutter with him.
His already impressive profile seemed even more accentuated by the five years that had passed, casting deeper shadows on his face.
From his straight forehead, sharp nose, strong jawline, and then….
“Don’t sneak peeks, just look openly.”
“……!”
“Why so surprised? You’ve been caught. Min Seol Won, you were stealing glances at me.”
“Stealing glances? Who, me?”
Seol Won’s chair wobbled awkwardly as she belatedly tried to turn towards the window in a vain attempt.
Then, Chae Ha let out a relaxed laugh.
“It seems you’re more interested in my face than the view outside.”
“No, absolutely not!”
“Hmm. Then are you interested in my lips? Still not satisfied?”
“That’s even less true!”
Embarrassed by his bold statement, Seol Won finally stood up from her seat.
It was unfair, having just barely stopped him earlier, only to be falsely accused now.
Honestly, she had been closely observing his lips too.
“Uhmm~.”
Just then, Woo Ju stirred and woke up on the sofa.
Apparently awakened by Seol Won’s unusually raised voice.
He was truly a little lifesaver.
“Woo Ju, did you wake up?”
“Mommy~ Did Woo Ju sleep well?”
“Yes, you slept very well. Did our Woo Ju have a nice dream?”
Woo Ju, his chubby cheeks glowing, smiled broadly at Seol Won’s question.
Then, with a very bright face, he looked back and forth at both of them and answered.
“Yes! I dreamed about living forever with Daddy and Mommy~ In the dream, Mommy was a princess, and Daddy was our daddy!”
“…….”
Taken aback by his unexpected response, Seol Won was momentarily speechless.
Chae Ha, replacing the flustered her, wittily responded.
“If Mommy is a princess, then Daddy is a prince.”
“Uh? Is that how it is?”
“Yes. And…….”
Chae Ha, who had kneeled beside Woo Ju, looked deeply into the child’s eyes.
Seol Won sensed what he wanted to say.
But not yet. It wasn’t time yet.
Someday, in the most appropriate way, they intended to tell Woo Ju the truth in a way he could understand.
Chae Ha, understanding this, compromised by gently stroking Woo Ju’s round head.
His consideration, not to put her in a difficult position, warmed Seol Won’s heart as much as the sunset visible through the window.
“Alright, now that our little one is up, shall we go home?”
“Going home? Did Daddy finish his work?”
“Yes. Our little guy has earned enough for his candy.”
“Candy! Woo Ju wants candy!”
“Okay. Let’s buy lots on our way home.”
“Yes!”
Woo Ju’s joyful laughter filled the car, and Seol Won found herself unable to say no to buying candy again today.
The three of them, who had come to work together, now set off for home side by side.
Chae Ha always drove himself, so Seol Won had grown accustomed to the passenger seat of his sedan.
Woo Ju was the same.
As soon as he got into the car, Woo Ju glued himself to the backseat window, fascinated by the bustling rush hour traffic.
Having seen boats more often than cars on the island, this multitude of cars was always a wonder to him.
Then, the sound of a siren blared.
“Wow! Mommy, look at that!”
Woo Ju, his face pressed against the window, exclaimed in amazement.
“Wow, Mommy! Look at that!”
Woo Ju, his face pressed against the window, exclaimed in awe.
A line of massive fire trucks was passing by on the road.
“Yes. You saw them in your book, right? What are those?”
“Fire trucks!”
“Right. Woo Ju, you remember well.”
As Seol Won praised him, Woo Ju beamed with pride and nodded his little head.
Chae Ha, watching through the rearview mirror, gently asked Woo Ju.
“Has our little one never seen a fire truck before?”
“Ah… The island was so small, we never really had one there. We never had a fire big enough for one.”
“That’s fortunate.”
There was a palpable sense of relief in his voice.
Being a mother with a child on the island, it had been fortunate that there were no dangerous incidents.
“Woo Ju sees a big fire truck for the first time. They’re so, so big and cool~.”
“There are smaller ones too. These are for bigger fires.”
“Big fire….”
Woo Ju’s face, initially filled with admiration, suddenly clouded with concern.
Soon, Woo Ju asked with his tiny lips trembling.
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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