The moment she saw Ha Joon’s eyes, Ji An knew. He was trying to understand this unclear situation.
Being old friends, she could read his heart just from his expression.
When Ji An stared intently, Ha Joon nodded his head.
“I’ll go home. You should go inside too.”
Ha Joon was in a state where his surprising excitement, even to himself, had subsided.
If Ji An had turned her back to him saying not to worry, he wouldn’t have been able to control his anger.
But his heart softened at her attempt to make sense of the situation. Moreover, it was heartbreaking to see Ji An struggling.
He couldn’t gauge what was the extent of the relationship between Representative Woo Dan Woo and Ji An.
But Ji An hadn’t completely excluded him from her life. That alone was reassuring.
He wanted to trust the power of time.
Ha Joon belatedly recalled what had happened at the banquet hall.
If this had happened a month ago, Ji An would have followed him around complaining and complaining. Now even that felt like a story from a distant country.
Ha Joon looked back at Ji An before stepping down from the paved block. His voice, with diminished emotion, was much calmer.
“Today’s event, it’s nothing. Don’t have bad thoughts and sleep well.”
“I’ve already forgotten about it.”
Ji An waved at Ha Joon with a face telling him not to worry.
She had been tense, thinking lasers might come out of the eyes of the two men. She thought that was what the atmosphere felt like when she couldn’t rashly interfere.
Wasn’t this a full episode of drama?
A threeway faceoff with a male friend of 27 years and a man she met at a travel destination.
How fierce the two men were in front of her.
From now on, she wanted to think deeply about making secrets from Ha Joon.
A moment later, the two men climbed into the driver’s seats like decalcomanias, then disappeared in sedans of different colors.
Only then could Ji An return home.
She felt as if all her energy had drained out through her limbs, and she seemed likely to fall into a deep sleep.
Inside the car returning to Happy Officetel.
Ha Joon didn’t hesitate to take out a cigarette. He leaned his elbow on the frame of the driver’s seat window and exhaled, mixing his breath with the cigarette smoke.
Thinking about the irreversible event felt like bearing the weight of a thousand layers.
He remembered unconsciously looking back at Dan Woo when Ji An was about to lie down on the street. He had acted as if he had accepted him unknowingly.
Otherwise, he couldn’t explain the reason for his behavior. That’s why he felt disgusted.
“My mood, it’s like shit.”
As a lawyer, he had met many clients, and some of them were hard to read.
It was also difficult to make those who hid their inner thoughts on his side. Representative Woo Dan Woo was one of them.
Ha Joon muttered, stubbing out his shortened cigarette.
“If Ji An is in the middle, we can’t be on the same side.”
He extinguished the cigarette and rubbed his dry face. Trying to put the cigarette butt in the ashtray, he found a business card.
The words printed in the center were [Attorney Park Hoon]. The card was simple, with only an address and a mobile phone number below.
It was a business card he had received when he went to find Yoo Jin because of the incident when Ji An disappeared last time.
Ha Joon mulled over the conversation he had with Yoo Jin, handing over the card.
“Go find senior Park Hoon.”
When he asked what it meant, Yoo Jin spouted words that pointed out facts.
“You don’t do public interest litigation now because you have a position, right? If you go to senior Hoon, there are people who need a lawyer and don’t have money. They mostly just receive a retainer agreement and do the work.”
‘So why do I have to do this?’
‘To be honest, the Daesung Electronics case you’re handling, it’s like shit. It’s dirty and annoying. …Isn’t it?’
As it happened, when Ji An disappeared, Ha Joon was handling the case where Daesung Electronics vicepresident Jung Won Do drove his wife to death.
Yoo Jin, too, had heard the rumors that had quietly spread and spoke of them.
The case of Vicepresident Jung was close to murder. He didn’t feel good about arguing such a case and making it not guilty.
Pretending to inquire about senior Park Hoon’s wellbeing, Ha Joon received the business card. He had heard the rumor that he quit being a prosecutor, but he was curious about how he was doing.
‘Is the senior doing well?’
‘Senior Hoon? Since quitting being a prosecutor, he looks much better. If you’re curious, why don’t you go and see for yourself?’
‘I’ll just keep the card.’
Yoo Jin’s words were ones that she could offer to Ha Joon, who was more just than anyone during his law school days.
He always won in ethically ambiguous cases. However, there was never a time when someone was jealous of such a Ha Joon.
She wanted Ha Joon to remember that there are people who need the protection of the law, not just those who want to use it.
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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