As Ha Joon’s name came up, Ji An bit her lip, looking uneasy.
Dan Woo lightly tapped her cheek with his fingertip and opened his mouth.
“Why are you being cautious about such a thing? How can we talk about you without mentioning Ha Joon? From the daycare playground, to field trips at school, to studying for exams, even the seaweed soup we ate every birthday. You’re going to keep all that to yourself? I’m fine with it, so feel free to talk. We’re friends, right?”
“We are friends. …Come to think of it, it’s been really a long time since I’ve met Ha Joon. I had to postpone our meeting twice. Ha Joon must be really busy.”
“…….”
“Should we not meet?”
Ji An, reassured by Dan Woo that it was okay, asked again if it was okay to meet Ha Joon. Even with the clear premise of friendship, she was nervous about even one promise.
“Meet him. If at any point it becomes too much, I promise I’ll tell you.”
“……Okay.”
Dan Woo returned the same smile and reassured Ji An.
After finishing their noodles, the two left the restaurant and walked towards the lake tower.
Pulling the hand in hand, Ji An stopped in front of a building with a flower shop.
“Here it is. Munchi’s hideout.”
“Shall we take a look at the face of the guy our Ji An rejected?”
She stretched her neck and started making ‘meow’ sounds. Munchi didn’t come out, so the ‘meow’ got louder and louder.
Dan Woo burst out laughing inadvertently because of her plaintive meowing, prompting Ji An to hit his arm.
“Why are you laughing? You try meowing.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Looking up earnestly at Dan Woo, he cleared his throat awkwardly and let out a ‘meow’.
He intended to sound plaintive, but the ‘meow’ came out quite melodiously, leaving Ji An with a stunned expression.
Unable to hold back, Ji An laughed out loud, and Dan Woo’s ‘meow’ stopped.
“Why?”
“It seems you’re really smitten. You still look cool even when you meow like that.”
“……Should I do it more? Meow, meeeooow.”
Ji An shook her head vigorously, stopping Dan Woo.
“No. It’s better for the CEO to maintain his dignity.”
Only then did Dan Woo cover his lips with the back of his hand and chuckle awkwardly. If someone else had asked, he would have refused, but he couldn’t say no to Ji An.
As Ji An meowed again, Dan Woo looked at her pleadingly with desperate eyes.
“How am I doing as a butler? I can serve you with all my might.”
“A butler this time? Last time, you wanted to live together. You’re so persistent in your temptations that it makes me want to pretend to give in.”
“When will that be?”
“I’m playing hard to get so I don’t seem too easy.”
“Hmmph!”
Finally, when Munchi didn’t show up, Ji An poured the snacks she had brought in her pocket into a disposable bowl.
Dan Woo smiled wryly, thinking that just like Munchi, Ji An was not easy to bring home.
“Go in. …I’ll call you.”
As they reached the front of the communal entrance to the lake tower, Dan Woo found it hard to let Ji An go and didn’t release her hand even after saying goodbye.
Ji An, also reluctant to part with Dan Woo, hesitated before speaking.
“Do you want to come in for tea?”
“…….”
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“If I go in, …I won’t be able to attend the meeting today. A meeting without the CEO is meaningless. And who’s the fool who goes into his girlfriend’s house just to have tea and leave?”
Understanding Dan Woo’s feelings all too well, Ji An pressed her lips together firmly and nodded. Then she grabbed his arm, tiptoed for a quick peck, and stepped back.
Dan Woo, with an expression of insatiable longing, cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her deeply, indifferent to the glances of passersby.
Taking a step back, Dan Woo ruffled the flustered Ji An’s hair and pointed towards the entrance.
It was a night when two hours felt as fleeting as two minutes.
On a Saturday afternoon, when the arrival of spring could be felt throughout the city,
Ha Joon drove to Play Round for his evening appointment with Ji An.
Stopped at a red light, he looked at the Play Round sign and reminisced about the night of its inauguration.
The night of Play Round’s inauguration, he had encountered CEO Woo Dan Woo in front of Lake Tower, where Ji An lived.
‘I met him in Jeju… Due to a double booking, we ended up living together.’
Ji An’s words felt too surreal to believe, and wanting to know what had happened in Jeju, he had suggested they meet for dinner.
‘Can you make some time? I want to hear all about it over dinner.’
Ji An grumbled whether it was really necessary to talk about it but eventually agreed to the appointment.
However, overwhelmed by his feelings for Ji An, Ha Joon needed time and had no choice but to postpone their meeting.
On the third Saturday, having postponed twice,
Ha Joon parked his car in the Play Round parking lot and walked towards the attic library.
Having decided to remain just friends, his emotions were settled enough that he could look at Ji An calmly.
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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