Yeoreum neither responded to the message nor revealed herself on the set. Taeseok approached the shoot with a somewhat subdued heart.
Being a thorough professional, he managed his schedule without showing any signs, but it was inevitable that occasional deep sighs escaped him. The long shoot that extended into the late night felt particularly grueling today.
“I haven’t seen Cheon Jihyeok since earlier.”
“He’s done with today’s scenes.”
In response to Hong Manager’s answer, Taeseok nodded his head as if to confirm.
Normally, Taeseok wouldn’t care whether Cheon Jihyeok was on the set or not. However, today, he felt a bit uneasy due to the questions the guy had thrown at him during the day.
Moreover, it felt quite uncomfortable because Jihyeok had been staring at him all day long. As if it wasn’t annoying enough, having those piercing eyes on him made it even more inconvenient.
It’s a relief that he’s gone.
During the break, Taeseok received a call from K, so he got into the van. Leaning back in his chair, planning to take a nap for about an hour, he made the call.
“Hello.”
[I found out.]“What happened? You rushed this time.”
Taeseok teased, and K shouted loudly.
[Yeah. Last time, I said that tracing the account took up all the time! How complicated do you think the route was? First, to China…]“Okay. Get to the point.”
Taeseok interrupted K’s talk.
[The ID reported to the National Tax Service and the phone, both belong to Ji Hyeonjeong.]Even though he had told him to get straight to the point, K came in with everything about tracing, half about returning, and roughly understood, bursting out his frustration as if it were his own business.
“Why Ji Hyeonjeong?”
Taeseok cut K off while he was still ranting.
“…Ji Hyeonjeong?”
Taeseok slowly stood up, pushing his chair back.
“Ji Hyeonjeong.”
[Yeah, this woman is something else. Taeseok.]Having heard half about the returning process and half about tracking, K, who had mixed the two properly, vented his frustration as if it were his own business.
“Why would the CEO of the company report you? You haven’t committed tax evasion. Moreover, blaming it all on Choi Yeoreum, isn’t that too malicious? You two tried every means to separate. This woman.”
A single autumn leaf fell outside the window, dancing in a slow descent. Taeseok gazed at its movement for a long time. There was nowhere he was staring particularly. His gaze followed the fluttering autumn leaf, swinging here and there, eventually falling to the ground.
As his gaze focused on the ground, his heart plummeted.
“So, it was Ji Hyeonjeong.”
“Let’s break up. My feelings have cooled.”
“All of a sudden, Yeoreum.”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but only now did I muster the courage.”
When she suggested breaking up just a day ago, after passionately sharing love, laughter, and whispers in bed, he should have pressed her more than just holding her impulsively. Expressions, intentions, surrounding circumstances, and such.
Now, he regrets it immensely.
At that moment, Taeseok was halfway out of his mind. He had poured all his earnestness into Yeoreum’s arms, which he had cautiously held.
“I’ll do well. Yeoreum. Don’t do this.”
“Let go of me. Selfish Seo Taeseok, I’m fed up with you now.”
As she tried to push him away and leave, he approached her, even kneeling.
[What are you doing? Get up! My feelings won’t change just because you do that!] [I’m sorry.] Not knowing what he had to apologize for, the night when he repeatedly apologized remained vivid even as time passed.Taeseok couldn’t let go of Yeoreum, and Yeoreum couldn’t just pass by Taeseok, who was kneeling there without a word.
In that way, he held onto her for a whole day.
He threatened and persuaded her, got angry, and even made her escape. He told her to go if she wanted to, and vowed to chase her to the ends of the earth to find her. Then he begged and apologized again.
That night, somewhere, Yeoreum informed the National Tax Service through an app that she had completed the tax evasion report. Even though they were in the same space, since Yeoreum wasn’t physically restrained, there was no way to know if she reported it through her phone or not.
The next day, reporters who gradually caught wind of the situation contacted the agency. Surprised, Jihyeonjeong rushed to Taeseok’s house.
“Did you catch Yeoreum all night? Seo Taeseok. Are you crazy? It’s a crime if this gets out!”
That was the end.
When they left hand in hand, there was no trace of any lingering regret. Only the faint scent of lemons lingered sweetly in the living room.
“Yeoreum. What on earth…”
If the 5 billion, leaving the country, and tax evasion report were lies, then our breakup is also a lie.
Countless question marks floating around in Taeseok’s mind gathered into one name: Jihyeonjeong.
Originally, everything she said was false, as if she weren’t the person he knew. Feeling unjust for letting Yeoreum leave unfairly due to blind trust, his heart fell endlessly.
Taeseok wiped his face with a pained expression.
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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