“Are you telling me to marry the son of President Park now?”
Could there be any worse absurdity?
Kyungae was trying to sell her youngest daughter, Hae Joo, to a debtor. This disaster happened when she hastily started a franchise cafe.
President Park was known to provide smallscale financing to market traders.
“If you just register for marriage with his son, mom can have her debt written off.”
Kyungae divorced her husband 15 years ago due to a discord. At that time, she left her daughter, Hae Joo, who looked exactly like her exhusband, and only took her older daughter, Yura, when she left the house. However, she had to take Hae Joo as well after her exhusband died of a heart attack a year later.
Hae Joo, who reminded her of her exhusband, was a sore point for Kyungae. She only showed affection to Yura, and Hae Joo had to suffer from Kyungae’s terrible favoritism.
“Does it make sense to get married because of debt?”
“What’s the problem if President Park’s son is about to die? What’s the big deal about just registering a marriage!”
“Is marriage a joke to you, mom? Then what about my life!”
“Do you want to see your mother die? If that’s the case, get out of this house right now!”
Kyungae ranted on and on.
After several days, Hae Joo, who couldn’t withstand her mother’s coercion, finally visited President Park’s office.
She felt trapped in unbearable darkness. As her resentment surged and her hands began to shake, President Park finally explained.
“I didn’t request the marriage.”
“Then what?”
“Your mother said she would send you to marry our son and asked me to write off the debt.”
Despair spread over Hae Joo’s pale face. There was no sign of hope, as if even her soul had died.
“Our son is sick. He’s got a serious disease.”
“…….”
“We thought about having a posthumous wedding ceremony after our son passes away, but it seems your mother heard about this.”
Even though Kyungae was making Hae Joo work all day at the cafe, she never paid her a proper salary. She always kept a tight grip on Hae Joo’s money, fearing that she might leave the house.
To become independent, she needed at least some capital, so for now, she had to buy time.
Even if she refused the marriage and returned home, Kyungae wouldn’t let her be.
There was nothing she could do right now, even in this desperate situation.
To Hae Joo, hope seemed like a mirage she couldn’t grasp.
“My mother said she would marry me off to your son?”
“…….”
“To pay off her debt?”
President Park stroked his hollow chest with his hand.
It didn’t make sense for Hae Joo to get married because of money, no matter how much he thought about it. He had lived shamelessly so far, but when money was involved, all sorts of things happened.
“As an adult, I apologize on her behalf. This old man is sorry.”
“I’ll do it.”
“What?”
“I’ll marry your son.”
For Hae Joo, who had just become an adult, this was what family was. It was no different from poisonous trash that was worse than nothing.
Even if she had suffered great hardships over time, she endured them because they were family. The fact that she would become an orphan if she lost her mother too, was one of the reasons why Hae Joo endured.
In reality, she confirmed that she was no better than a bug sold into debt.
Would Kyung Ae really be scared if Hae Joo refused this marriage?
That was unlikely. That devil was a brute who would do anything, even the worst, to survive alone, regardless of how Hae Joo felt.
“This has become troublesome.”
It was simply regrettable for President Park.
Kyung Ae wanted to use Hae Joo out of selfishness, and his son hoped to dedicate the rest of his life to saving Hae Joo.
When Kyung Ae first brought up the marriage, President Park was furious, saying it was nonsense.
But when the situation he feared finally occurred, the request of his son who wanted to save Hae Joo shook him.
President Park asked Hae Joo’s opinion once more after much deliberation and appeared with his sick son the next day.
The son, who was diagnosed with latestage leukemia, met Hae Joo sitting in a wheelchair with his hat pulled down.
“He’s the older son I told you about yesterday.”
Hae Joo didn’t say a word to him. After writing the marriage registration together at the government office, she also handed it to the man.
In the back, President Park was busy on the phone. After taking a quick glance at him, she filled in the remaining space on the marriage registration and stamped it.
The moment the documents were handed to the responsible employee, Hae Joo burst into tears.
“I’m sorry.”
It was the man’s first words.
The man who handed a handkerchief to Hae Joo returned to the hospital with President Park.
Two weeks later, the man who had become her husband passed away.
Hae Joo suddenly became a married woman with a marriage that happened all of a sudden and became a widow in just two weeks.
.
.
.
One night, President Park, who had held his son’s funeral, came to see Hae Joo.
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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