Suddenly, with an expressionless face, Kalí approached me menacingly.
Her incredulous look was evident as she gripped my chin.
“Kalí, what are you doing! Let go of her now!”
“Dan, are your eyes mere buttonholes? Can’t you see ‘that’ state of hers?”
“I see it, I do. But I don’t understand what you’re doing. Stop harassing a civilian!”
“Look properly if your eyesight is fine. Park Ha-young, what’s your real identity?”
Her burning golden eyes shone fiercely like an animal’s. The blatant pressure aimed at me made it hard to breathe.
My spine tingled, yet my mind settled calmly.
“I can’t answer what you’re asking about my identity…”
“Don’t lie! What’s your real identity? If you don’t speak the truth, I’ll crush your throat right here.”
“Choke, cough!”
As Dan tried to intervene, Kalí grabbed my throat. The strength was incomparable to her previous grip on my chin.
“Kalí, you! Have you forgotten the instructions?”
“Shut up, does she look like a ‘normal person’ to you?”
Dan approached again. With just a stomp from Kalí, the cement floor caved in. The sensation of being choked was chillingly eerie.
“What are you saying, she’s not normal! Our investigation confirmed she was a civilian…”
“Ha, haha. A non-awakened and not even an Awakener undoing ‘brainwashing’? And that too done with an S-rank item?”
“What?”
“She’s just pretending to be a normal person.”
I was at my limit. My consciousness began to fade due to the choking sensation. Desperately, I tried to remove Kalí’s hand from my neck, but it was futile.
I felt like I was truly about to die. Unable to breathe, just like this…
When everything was about to turn white, the hand released. The sunset-red hair and the deep golden eyes of Kalí glared at me fiercely.
“Huh, ugh. Huh, ugh. Ehh.”
Desperately gasping for air, tears streamed down my face without stopping.
Dan seemed panicked yet he pressed Kalí. What was she doing, why couldn’t she see I was telling the truth, it’s too much for someone who can’t even resist. My mind was too scattered to fully grasp their words.
Words spilled from my mouth involuntarily.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please, save me. Please save me. Please save me…”
All I could utter were such feeble and powerless pleas.
“I’m tired of your tricks. Without an S-rank mental barrier, it’s impossible to resist the Red Meteor. Are you trying to evoke sympathy in this situation?”
“I, I really don’t know anything. I’m truly a non-awakened. I’ve never awakened, really…”
With the lingering sensation of being choked, my words came out stuttered and unclear. Despite my unclear speech, Kalí just looked disbelieving.
“You’re lying now? A non-awakened, you?”
“Kalí, she’s crying like that, maybe you should…”
“I’m, telling the truth. I’m a non-awakened returnee, I may not know about other things, but really. I’ve never seen a system window…”
Whether it was speech or a sob, I wasn’t sure. My head was ringing, my mouth tasted bitter, and tears blurred my vision.
And at the same time, I was angry.
Why? Why should I, of all people, endure this?
Because I’m a non-awakened? Because I’m weaker than her? Or because I’m entangled with Cheon Sin-woo?
Each reason was beyond my control and not my choice.
Why?
“Still talking nonsense. Need to die to come to your senses?”
Two parts of my self were clashing, and again a harsh voice accosted me.
“Kalí! Enough already!”
Dan shouted loudly. Unknowingly, I flinched.
Kalí’s gaze shifted from me to Dan.
“I understand you’re angry because of the lies, but it’s true! In South Korea, in this country, there’s a unique case of a non-awakened returnee! You’ve been harassing an ordinary young woman. So please, stop!”
“……”
As the man’s rapid words flowed, tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. It was hard to breathe, not because of being choked, but just from the overwhelming situation.
“……Ha. So there really is such a unique case.”
“Yes. There were even rumors that she couldn’t awaken for some unknown reasons.”
“But our investigation didn’t show such information! Silence didn’t mention anything either. Damn it, what’s going on here!”
“It’s not about that right now. ……I’m sorry, kid. Are you okay?”
“……”
Do I look okay to you right now? Even though he was helping, I wasn’t grateful. Only a moist breeze escaped my lips, sore from being choked.
Dan untied the ropes binding my hands and feet.
“Dan!”
“She’s not going to do anything even if she’s untied. It’s right to untie her now.”
“You’ve forgotten? She showed no reaction to the Red Meteor. Even if she hasn’t awakened, she’s at least S-ranked!”
“So, did she attack us right now?”
“Have you lost your mind?!”
“Please calm down. We need to understand the situation.”
My hands and feet felt numb. It seemed like they were arguing among themselves, but I couldn’t make sense of it. Trembling, I grasped my phone. I should call someone, anyone, to let them know about my situation.
…But what difference would it make, revealing this to Kalí Bryan?
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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