Two days later, in the morning.
“Ugh. So sleepy!”
Isu barely opened his eyes at the early morning alarm.
Having returned to Seoul just two days ago, he still hadn’t properly adjusted to the time difference.
His condition was not great, but if he slept in any longer, he might be late for the volunteer activity departure time.
Isu lifted his heavy body from the bed and walked out groggily.
After washing up and drying his hair, he walked to the refrigerator, took out the sandwich he bought yesterday, and unwrapped it.
Sitting on a chair, taking a big bite and chewing, his phone rang.
A welcome name appeared on the screen.
“Oh, Jiho.”
“Yeah.”
Through the receiver, Jiho’s sweet voice was heard.
[I’m in front of your house now. Did I come too early?]He had said he would take him early in the morning because he was sorry they wouldn’t see each other for three days.
“Oh, already? I should have told you in advance when I was going to leave. I’ll eat quickly and come down.”
Jiho arrived 20 minutes earlier than the originally agreed-upon time.
Isu, who was leisurely, suddenly felt rushed.
[It’s okay. Don’t rush for no reason. Eat slowly and come down.]“Did you have breakfast?”
Isu put the phone he had been holding against his ear on the table and pressed the speaker button.
While earnestly eating the remaining sandwich, he took a sip of juice.
[Yes. I ate.]“You’re diligent. You didn’t wake up this early every morning in Paris.”
Jiho’s laughter was heard through the phone.
[Because you’re not at my house.]Isu’s lips involuntarily curled upward.
“I’ve almost finished eating. I’ll be down soon.”
Smiling, he put the remaining sandwich into his mouth.
Thinking that Jiho was waiting, he couldn’t afford to delay for a moment.
**
The volunteer activity was scheduled to start with everyone gathering at the school.
Jiho’s car entered the school parking lot.
He said it was okay to just drop him off on the side of the road, but Jiho never listened to such words.
“Are we going with students from other medical schools?”
“Yeah.”
Isu unbuckled his seatbelt.
There was still some time until the agreed-upon meeting time.
“There will be a lot of guys we’ve never seen before.”
“What are you saying so formally?”
“Even though I can’t see you for three nights and four days, I get a little jealous thinking there are guys I don’t know with you.”
Jiho said honestly.
Although he didn’t want to say it and there was no way to stop it, just thinking that he would be spending three days and nights doing volunteer work or whatever with unfamiliar guys made his chest feel tight.
“What? That’s ridiculous.”
Isu glanced at Jiho and burst into laughter.
Seeing Jiho talking without a smile on his face, it seemed really sincere, cute, and strangely made him feel good.
“I’m not going on vacation; I’m going to volunteer.”
“It’s not like only girls are going. It’s not like we’re going in the morning and coming back in the evening.”
He intended to say a pleasant farewell and leave, but his true feelings inadvertently popped out.
‘Was I this narrow-minded?’
Even while feeling absurd himself, Isu hoped that Jiho would understand his feelings even a little.
Isu reached out and gently stroked Jiho’s face.
With a puzzled smile, he asked, “Should I go?”
“It would be nice if you did.”
“Really?”
Isu locked eyes with Jiho, feeling like he was looking at a large child.
With a smiling face, he stared at Jiho for a while, waiting for his response.
“No. …Take care.”
He knew he had to go even if he didn’t feel like it.
If Jiho acknowledged even a little how Isu felt about the send-off, that would be enough.
Since he didn’t want Isu to feel uncomfortable, he decided to stop.
“Jiho, something I’ve been thinking about occasionally, you seem a bit foolish.”
“What?”
Jiho furrowed his eyebrows and asked with a puzzled expression.
“It seems like you don’t know how cool you are. With you around, how could another guy catch my eye? It doesn’t make sense.”
Where did Jiho, who always seemed confident, laid-back, and sometimes even arrogant, go?
“Was I that unimpressive? Just thinking about being far away from you makes my heart feel empty.”
“No. There has never been a moment when you were unimpressive. You’re always the best for me.”
“You just called me a fool a moment ago.”
Jiho said with a smirk.
Although he played a petty trick because he didn’t want to send Isu away, seeing him speaking without a smile made him unable to help but laugh again.
Click.
The sound of the seatbelt being released was heard.
Jiho reached out and grabbed Isu’s cheek.
Bending over more than half of his body, Jiho pressed his lips against Isu’s.
Feeling Isu’s body stiffening a bit from the sudden kiss, Jiho gently pulled his lips away and said, “Farewell.”
His lips curled up again.
Softly, Jiho engulfed Isu’s lips greedily.
Pulling Isu’s waist tightly, Jiho raised Isu’s hand, wrapping it around his neck.
Jiho kissed Isu more, longer, and sweeter than before, holding Isu’s cheek.
**
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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