After tossing and turning for a long time, Soo-jin got up from her bed, sat down, and deeply exhaled a heavy sigh.
The unending thirst that had never calmed down seemed to have flowed down her esophagus into her heart.
Soo-jin placed her palm on her chest and took a deep breath.
The sensation of burning seemed to intensify more and more.
Perhaps that was why.
She couldn’t seem to escape from the strange feeling that had swallowed her up a while ago.
Hye-kyung’s voice that she accidentally heard kept echoing in her ears.
“She probably won’t willingly agree to a divorce.”
“You have to resolve it quickly for Soo-jin’s marriage. And you don’t have time to spare, do you? Isn’t the construction project investment urgent?”
Why was she determined to divorce Su-yeon?
Why was she so intent on proceeding with my marriage to that extent?
She knew the reason.
Even knowing, she desperately wanted to marry Dong-hoon.
Nam Dong-hoon had been her first and last love in her life so far.
However, after hearing Hye-kyung’s story, she started feeling a strange aversion.
It wasn’t that she disliked marrying Dong-hoon.
It was a fear of not knowing how to express it, and the aversion derived from it.
Soo-jin, captivated by unfamiliar feelings, couldn’t fall asleep until late at night.
In the meantime, Su-yeon, who had come home and faced divorce, created a disturbance as she was dragged to the attic by Dae-ho, but she didn’t reach Soo-jin’s room on the far end of the second floor.
Perhaps she was too captivated by the complex emotions she felt for the first time to hear.
It wasn’t until the next day that she found out something terrible had happened to Su-yeon while she was lost in thought.
“I’ve been feeling bad continuously. I don’t know the reason. It just was.”
Recalling the events of the past few days, Soo-jin murmured in a weak voice.
Unable to understand the meaning of the words, In-ho slightly furrowed his brow.
Even though he didn’t know, he was convinced that Soo-jin hadn’t come to him through Hye-kyung or Dae-ho’s errands.
“…I don’t know how this will sound.”
“…”
“I… Unni, I hope you don’t divorce Dong-hoon.”
Soo-jin lifted her head at the end of that statement.
Her sister’s eyes, which had expanded as if not believing, were uncomfortably large, but she didn’t correct her words.
It was sincere.
This time, she hoped not to surrender and wanted to hold the desired result in her hands.
She wished at least for some relief from her own uneasy feelings.
It was a change in emotions that she couldn’t understand even when thinking about it herself.
She had never disliked Su-yeon as family until now.
There had never been a time when she didn’t envy Su-yeon, who always easily obtained what Dae-ho and Hye-kyung wanted, and she felt jealous of Su-yeon, who effortlessly won Dong-hoon’s heart, which she couldn’t obtain no matter how hard she tried.
But separate from that, whenever Su-yeon was taken to the attic, Soo-jin always trembled in fear.
It was instinct.
As Su-yeon’s horrific situations became more and more severe, she relentlessly fell into fear.
Even though she knew that Dae-ho and Hye-kyung didn’t think of her the same way as they did of Su-yeon, she couldn’t escape it.
So, Soo-jin hated Su-yeon even more.
It seemed like Su-yeon kept disturbing Dae-ho and Hye-kyung’s minds, clouding the atmosphere in the house.
Beneath it, there was a vague thought that maybe, just maybe, her sister shouldn’t get scolded.
Anyway, in this house, Dae-ho and Hye-kyung were the strong ones.
Every moment she had to shiver in extreme fear seemed too painful, so she turned a blind eye to the irrational violence towards Su-yeon.
And to avoid becoming like that, she tried to become the pretty daughter of Dae-ho and Hye-kyung.
However, the moment the word “divorce” came out of Hye-kyung’s mouth, Soo-jin felt a sudden surge of clarity.
Though she despised Su-yeon, she didn’t think it was okay to ruin her life without a care.
That thought overlaid itself on her instinct, and she fell into fear once again.
Soo-jin let out a deep sigh.
After a long silence, In-ho cautiously spoke up.
“…Is it sincere?”
“What is?”
“The wish for you not to divorce.”
In-ho looked at Soo-jin with a mix of suspicion and uncertainty.
The answer didn’t come easily.
During the moment of worry that perhaps she had said something unnecessary, Soo-jin nodded her head with a heavy sigh.
“…Yes.”
In-ho’s pupils widened significantly.
Though the doubt didn’t completely disappear, he still wanted to believe.
It was a desperate moment for any help.
Even if it was Soo-jin, who had been quite disagreeable, he was willing to believe if the feelings conveyed to him were genuine.
After hesitating for a moment, In-ho conveyed the words he had kept to himself.
“Then, can you do me a favor?”
After the brief conversation with Soo-jin, In-ho confidently ate his meal.
Then he handed the empty tray to Soo-jin.
Soo-jin, who had left her seat for a while, returned after quite some time.
“Mom is in the living room. She might come up.”
Soo-jin extended her phone with an anxious expression.
In-ho took the phone urgently, fearing that Soo-jin might change her mind.
“I’ll be at the front door. If you hear someone knocking on the door, hang up and hide your phone. It means someone has come.”
In response to Soo-jin’s words, In-ho nodded.
Soon, Soo-jin made way for him, leaving In-ho alone in the room.
In-ho nervously pressed his phone number with his fingertips. Then, he brought the phone to his ear with a trembling heart.
The ringtone he had set with his own hands seemed to go on for a long time.
In-ho couldn’t help but bring his fingertips to his lips, biting his nails.
How many times did he repeat this action?
After a long time, the ringing stopped, and the long-awaited voice echoed.
“Hello?”
For a moment, In-ho forgot that he needed to respond and took a deep breath.
The voice, full of caution, was severely locked up.
Just hearing that, he could guess what kind of time she had spent alone, and In-ho couldn’t say anything.
His chest became heavy, and the tip of his nose tingled.
Unexplainable emotions surged over him.
His hand holding the phone lightly trembled, and his fingertips felt numb.
As he took a deep breath, he felt his mouth dry up.
His will had nothing to do with it; the desire to see her was preparing to emerge at any moment.
That’s why.
Without even giving a short answer, In-ho had no choice but to forcefully close his lips.
Now was not the time to throw a tantrum.
Throughout, In-ho had to comfort Su-yeon’s anxious heart and somehow make her feel relieved.
In order to calm his own mind, In-ho took a deep breath.
Then, once again, a voice came through the phone.
“Hello.”
The tone still filled with caution hinted at impatience.
Calling Soo-jin’s number without saying anything might have been an unsettling situation from Su-yeon’s perspective.
Realizing this belatedly, In-ho took a couple of deep breaths and quickly moved his lips.
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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