After enjoying some grilled pork belly and a glass of soju, Director Ma made a phone call somewhere. Then, he unilaterally made plans.
“P.D. Wi, not too busy, right? Come with me somewhere.”
If Young-hyun knew that it was a meeting with Seo Taeseok, he might not have followed, but it was too late for regrets. Entering the club like being sucked in, Young-hyun walked through the maze-like corridors, chuckling to himself.
He didn’t really want to meet Seo Taeseok.
What could there be for a PD from a culture channel to discuss with a top star? It was a field where the chances of encountering Seo Taeseok in person were very low, even if one lived a lifetime, and yet, ironically, it happened at this moment.
“Stay hidden in the director’s shadow and come out when necessary,” he thought.
PD Wi, hiding his awkward expression, followed Director Ma into the VIP room.
Even if he didn’t want to see, it was impossible to avoid the visual. Seo Taeseok was such a man.
His presence was so compelling, as if forcibly pulling the gaze with a rope. It was an extraordinary aura. He stood out significantly even among nearly ten actors.
“Hello. I’m Wi Young-hyun from CBC Broadcasting Station.”
When he introduced himself, Taeseok paused. Looking at Young-hyun with a tense and bewildered expression, he soon filled his eyes with flames.
It was incomprehensible why he looked at him like that. If one of them had to view the other with hostility, it would surely be from Taeseok’s side.
“You know our Summer, right?”
The man asked about his first love.
A chilling wind blew in his chest.
It was said that his homeroom teacher’s daughter attended the same middle school right next to him. She was said to be the prettiest in the third year of middle school. She had a soft, flour-like appearance. He still remembered the day he first met her.
It was a fall day when leaves from the Platanus tree fell thickly. Running towards his dad, talking to the homeroom teacher, laughing, and then running back to his friends.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her butterfly-like steps. Whether she felt his gaze or not, she turned around for a moment, and that gaze that momentarily turned back struck his heart. For a few seconds, their entwined gazes soon fell, and she moved away.
“A bit, yes. She was Mrs. Eun’s daughter.”
The man seemed to pause momentarily as if understanding the intention behind the question, then answered in a juvenile manner and drank his beer.
“Young-hyun. Our daughter gave you a letter, right? Sorry if she made you uncomfortable because she’s still immature. But can you return it to the teacher?”
He had courageously refused once. For the first time to his homeroom teacher, he said, “No, thanks.”
“The two of you, who are at an age to focus on studying, meeting privately is something I disapprove of. As a father and as a teacher. I hope you understand and cooperate. Eventually, you’ll come to understand the teacher’s words.”
In the end, without understanding the teacher’s words, the innocent love came to an end. No, he thought it had ended.
When the name of the drama writer Choi Yeoreum began to gradually rise in the world, and her face started appearing here and there on various portal sites, Young-hyun’s heart raced again.
He became a teenage boy standing on the road where Platanus leaves were rustling.
He couldn’t guarantee that she would remember him, but nonetheless, he had to see her again. Working in a similar field, they might have a lot of empathy. It was time to start the innocent love again.
At that timing, Seo Taeseok announced his marriage.
Young-hyun drank until the film of his life was cut for the first time. It was a day when even laughter he couldn’t understand burst out like a waterfall.
Therefore, he felt entitled to the title of her first love. Despite Taeseok’s unreasonable jealousy attacks, he tried to pass them off indifferently.
“I won’t even give you a wedding invitation for the first time. It’s rude.”
Even though he threw a childish comment that wouldn’t even suit an elementary school student, Young-hyun just said, “Yes.”
“How should I see your wedding dress?”
A love that hadn’t even started didn’t qualify to tear his heart apart. He just bowed his head.
“Be happy, Choi Yeoreum.”
There was an arm gently waking up the soundly sleeping Yeoreum. Yeoreum came like a doll, clinging to his side.
“Umm…”
As he embraced her, he could feel her heart beating. She was like a small bird. Taeseok kissed Yeoreum’s forehead, gently brushed her hair, and spoke.
“Yeoreum… wake up. Do you remember Wi Yeonhyun?”
“Wi Yeon… what… Oppa, you smell like alcohol.”
“Wake up. It’s serious, Oppa.”
“Why did you come in so late? What time is it now? I want to sleep more.”
Yeoreum laid back on the bed. Taeseok quickly turned on the dim light and wrapped his arms around Yeoreum’s waist. Then, he froze for a moment.
Darn. What is this…
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
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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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