“……”
Why is he suddenly asking me that?
Her mind went blank for a moment. Could it be that he remembered what happened that day? Or had senior Seok Ju spilled the beans about her being with him that night?
Various speculations swirled around in her head. Thump, thump, it seemed like her heart was the only sound in the quiet room.
Se Kyung calmed her trembling heart by drinking some water. Then, with her throat parched, she opened her mouth.
“If you mean that dawn…… Are you referring to when we ran into each other at the entrance of the S hotel?”
“Yeah.”
Tae Jo belatedly picked up the salmon, which was served as an appetizer. He kept his gaze on Se Kyung while he slowly chewed the food he had put in his mouth.
“No. I don’t think I saw you.”
Se Kyung cautiously studied Tae Jo’s expression. Was it because she was lying? For some reason, her mouth felt dry.
If Seok Ju had spilled the beans about that day, he would have called me in advance and given me a heads up, like last time. However, if Tae Jo had regained his memory…..
He shouldn’t have just asked if he had seen me at dawn, but why he had spent the night with me.
“You didn’t see me?”
At his repeated question, Se Kyung slowly nodded her head.
“……”
Did I guess wrong? Not knowing what he would say, her heart pounded wildly.
“Yes. But why are you asking……”
Se Kyung clenched her sweaty palms tightly.
“Oh. I was just wondering.”
Just wondering, really. What on earth was he curious about?
Although she wanted to dig deeper, she clenched her mouth shut. If she asked clumsily, she might reveal what she was trying to hide.
“Did you want to ask me that over the phone? Was that why you called me?”
“No, no, that’s not it.”
“Then what?”
Just as Se Kyung asked, the soup, with finely shredded crab meat, was served.
Se Kyung picked up a spoon and stirred the slightly bitter liquid in the soup bowl.
She mechanically took a spoonful and put it in her mouth, but because of what Tae Jo had said earlier, she felt a little nauseous.
“It was just an excuse to have a meal.”
“……”
After making me panic just a while ago!
Annoyed, she gripped her spoon a little too hard. Tae Jo looked down at her bulging wrist bone and smirked.
“Why? Are you going to hit me?”
“No. I never intended to do that.”
Se Kyung, who slightly released her grip, put the soup in her mouth. He, with a smile on his face, leaned back in his chair and looked at Se Kyung.
“Just kidding. More importantly, you know Director Ji Je Hyeok, right? The one who made the movie . He’s going into drama production this time.”
“What kind of drama?”
“It’s tentative, but it’s called Hunting. It’s a story about avenging a dead younger brother. It was originally a movie scenario, but they decided to make it into a 10episode drama with the investment they received this time.”
“A 10episode series? What about the scheduling? The number of episodes seems a bit odd.”
“It’s going to be exclusively on OTT. From an American company, M.”
“Oh……”
Se Kyung, who sighed lightly, tilted her head as if she found something strange.
“But why are you telling me this?”
“Why would it be so? Director Ji had Se Kyung in mind as the top choice,”
“Me?”
Se Kyung opened her eyes wide in surprise. She couldn’t understand why Director Ji had chosen her. They had neither worked together before nor had they met in private.
“Well, maybe he watched a movie and thought you fit the image perfectly.”
“What movie?”
“I don’t know. Director Ji didn’t tell me that.”
What movie was he talking about? As Se Kyung recalled the movies she had appeared in, Tae Jo spoke up.
“Does the director see something different? That character, quite dark but also cool. The Se Kyung in my memory is the exact opposite.”
“What’s my image in your memory, representative?”
“Well…. maybe a gentle lamb shivering in the cold?”
“Lamb….?”
Somehow, that didn’t seem right.
“Yes. Our first meeting was quite intense, wasn’t it? You were shivering in the cold, your nose even dripping.”
“Do you remember that?”
“Of course. How could I forget that? I cursed inwardly at that damn agency that left a celebrity alone on the set…”
“….”
“When I asked for a handkerchief, you took it and said you’d give it to me next time.”
“It was stained with blood….”
That day, Tae Jo stayed on the set until the shooting with Seok Ju was over.
And when Se Kyung’s manager arrived, he said that they should take good care of their own celebrities and then approached her.
The bleeding had stopped, so could she give him the handkerchief?
But Se Kyung hid his handkerchief in her pocket and promised to wash it and give it to him when they meet again.
She foolishly thought they could meet again.
“Did you throw it away?”
“No. But I don’t know where it is.”
She had a chance to return it, but for some reason, she didn’t want to give that back. Se Kyung, stealing a glance, asked Tae Jo.
“Does it have any meaning? Like it’s a gift….”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Then, can I buy you a new one?”
“I didn’t ask for that. I already have one I’m using.”
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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