Charcoal barbecue restaurant.
Eun Jo took Seon Woo to a popular Samgyeopsal (pork belly) restaurant.
Given it was dinner time and a popular place, all the tables were already full.
However, thanks to Eun Jo taking his call and making a reservation right away, they were able to secure a seat immediately.
While the neat side dishes were being served, the two exchanged stories about how each had changed.
Things like, her hair had gotten longer and looked prettier, or how he easily passed his specialist exam.
Common, yet therefore comfortable topics.
Eun Jo pushed the freshly made steamed eggs towards Seon Woo, who had just taken a sip of his cold cider.
“I think this is my fifth time eating this.”
“What? Steamed eggs? Samgyeopsal?”
“Both.”
“So, you don’t like it? Then even now……”
Eun Jo, who had put down her chopsticks and seemed to be picking up her handbag, was met with surprised Seon Woo waving his hand.
“No, no! That’s not it! I mean, I love it. Please sit, stop joking.”
Grinning, Eun Jo sat back down and candidly confessed.
“Sorry, but I have a craving for Soju, so I’m using you, Seon Woo ssi.”
“Is that so? I thought you weren’t a fan of alcohol. Has that changed?”
“The last time we saw each other was 3 years ago. In that time, things can change. Wow, it feels like it was just yesterday, but it’s already been that long.”
Eun Jo poured Soju into her glass, and then filled Seon Woo’s as well.
“Time really flies, doesn’t it? So, it’s not just me!”
“By the way, when are you going back? No, when did you come? Why did you suddenly appear this time without any contact? Are your parents, and your grandmother, okay?”
“Uh… Wow, it’s hot. I didn’t hear anything. Please, go slower. I have plenty of time.”
While saying it was hot, he scooped up a big spoonful of steamed eggs. Seon Woo looked every bit the Korean man.
“Mr. Sunwoo, eat slowly. You’ll burn your mouth.”
Here, this. It’s really delicious here Eun Jo kept placing wellcooked meat in front of Sunwoo. All the while, she was gulping down the bitter soju.
“Da On has grown a lot, hasn’t he? Children grow up quickly.”
“Let’s definitely meet him before you go. He’s a completely different child from three years ago.”
Eun Jo, who had just taken her first bite of meat, laughed. Sunwoo, who had been nodding his head, snatched the soju bottle from her hand.
“I’ll pour. But drink a little slower.”
“Okay.”
When Sunwoo had filled about half of Eun Jo’s cup and his own cup with soju, the kimchi stew came out. Eun Jo clapped and laughed like a girl.
Except for when the staff came to grill the meat, they were both engrossed in conversation.
Every time Eun Jo playfully called Sunwoo ‘Dr. Choi’, he would blush slightly.
The reason why she was tempted by soju was that she wanted to forget everything for a moment. At some point, the alcohol sweetened.
With a slight drunkenness, Eun Jo leaned her chin on her palm and asked a sudden question.
“Dr. Choi, you’re rich, right?”
“Me? I’m not, but our parents? Even the parents actually received it from their parents. But why do you ask that suddenly?”
“Just, I’m curious about what kind of thoughts the rich live with.”
“I’m not rich, so I don’t know, but aren’t people all similar?”
“Ah! The pleasure of tormenting others! How can we bother others, isn’t that what the rich do? Right?”
“Who is it? The rich person who torments Miss Eun Jo.”
The movement of Eun Jo, who was dipping the wellcooked meat into the oil sauce, suddenly stopped. She looked at Sunwoo blankly.
She felt pathetic realizing she didn’t really have many friends.
She felt frustrated at herself, incapable of asking others to lend her money.
Talking such nonsense to a friend from America, was truly, the most embarrassing and awkward thing.
“There’s nothing like that. I think I just said whatever came to mind because I was drunk. It’s nonsense. Don’t mind it.”
“But it seems right, my parents, my grandmother, they all keep bothering me, a lot.”
“Still about marriage?”
“Yes!”
This time, Sunwoo was the first to fill his glass with soju.
“Mr. Sunwoo, aren’t your standards too high?”
“Me? How did you know? That’s exactly it!”
The small glasses clinked together violently again. Their laughter followed after.
.
.
“Still, how could I leave a woman.”
“I’m not a woman.”
Eun Jo insisted on putting Sunwoo, who offered to take her home, into a taxi.
“Why are you not a woman, you’re a woman drunk on alcohol.”
“I’m not drunk. The driver will be annoyed. Close the door quickly. Call me again tomorrow.”
“Uh, Miss Eun Jo.”
As she pushed the heavy taxi door with all her strength, the car took off as if it had been waiting.
He disappeared from her sight immediately.
“Whew…”
Suddenly, her energy drained out. Feeling empty, Eun Jo looked around for somewhere to sit.
A bakery that had closed early caught her eye.
“……”
In front of the dimly lit shop. She crouched on the small steps, resting her heavy head on her knees.
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
