As So Yeon entered the master room, Seo Jun moved with her towards the minibar and sat on a standing chair.
“Drinking whiskey?” she inquired.
“Just a bit,” he responded.
“May I have some?”
“Think you can handle it without getting drunk?”
“So what if I do? It’s fine to enjoy ourselves once in a while.”
“Alright then.”
Pouring whiskey into a new glass, Seo Jun slightly curled his lips upwards.
So Yeon took the offered glass and gulped down the strong alcohol in one go.
“Trying to get really drunk?”
“Is this too much?”
Drinking a few glasses won’t change anything. The throat might burn, and the stomach may warm up, but it won’t erase the memories engraved in the mind and heart. At most, it’s just a temporary sensation, insignificant compared to the deep-seated emotions inside.
Right now, what So Yeon needed was alcohol to briefly forget her complex thoughts.
“Give me another glass,” she requested, lightly shaking her empty glass.
Observing So Yeon for a moment, Seo Jun noted her small face and finely chiseled features seemed especially determined today.
“I won’t stop you.”
He tilted the crystal bottle into the glass, producing a clear sound as the liquid poured. After filling her glass, So Yeon took another sip and began the conversation she had been contemplating.
“This mansion… It’s a frequent retreat for your family, isn’t it? If a Korean owns such a vast property and grand mansion in Spain, your parents must be incredibly wealthy.”
“How did you come to know? I too have the means to own a place like this.”
His unexpected reply surprised her, but not entirely. Ultimately, involving his father’s mansion meant he had no intention of hiding his background.
“I noticed from the portrait on the staircase. It’s a younger you, with this place in the background. I knew you were related to Chairman Gu Won-ho, but I had no idea you were from such a distinguished family.”
Since arriving at the Malaga mansion, So Yeon had learned a bit more about the enigmatic Tae Seo Jun. Not only self-sufficient, he was backed by an enormous family fortune.
She had easily deduced the owner of the mansion from the family portrait on the central staircase. If Seo Jun had frequented this place since his childhood, it meant his parents were extremely wealthy, placing him in a rarefied class of conglomerates.
However, she didn’t realize that Seo Jun’s family was among the top echelons of conglomerates.
Chairman Tae Seok-ho, a towering figure in the economy, often appeared on TV. It wasn’t surprising that So Yeon, who occasionally watched economic news, recognized him. But the portrait, over 25 years old, had changed enough in appearance that she couldn’t recognize it as Chairman Tae Seok-ho.
But the disparity in backgrounds made her directly ask, “Are your parents by any chance from a conglomerate family?”
“Well, more or less. Why do you ask?”
However, feeling the significant disparity between her family background and that of Tae Seo Jun, So Yeon directly asked, “By any chance, are your parents conglomerates?”
“Kind of, more or less. So?”
It was true. Although she had vaguely anticipated it, hearing it confirmed that Seo Jun seemed even further out of reach. Another reason for the impossibility of their connection added to her already troubled mind.
“Just that fact alone makes things difficult for us,” she admitted.
“We haven’t even started yet.”
“Isn’t starting impossible?”
“What exactly is impossible? Because I am Tae Seo Jun? Because my parents are conglomerates?”
“Both.”
Truly a unique woman. Most would rush to get close to a conglomerate. That’s why he had thoroughly concealed his background and family.
Yet, So Yeon showed excessive wariness about his being a conglomerate. Excessiveness usually has a reason. What could it be?
Seo Jun felt a growing suspicion.
“It shouldn’t be bad for you, so why?”
“There’s nothing good in it either.”
“So, that’s why it’s difficult to continue our relationship?”
“It seems so.”
“Then, you’ll see me only in a professional light?”
“……I suppose I should.”
“Huh…….”
As if anyone could decide that.
Seo Jun laughed with a low voice, determined not to let her distance herself.
“What should I do? I can’t see Eom So Yeon just professionally.”
“Do you mean, even if a scandal involving us breaks out, it doesn’t matter?”
“What if it does?”
“Huh…….”
She found it strange that he would say such things, not being a reckless person. Unbeknownst to her, So Yeon’s eyes widened, turning red.
“Why are you acting like this, unlike the fearless So Yeon who even confessed about her child?”
“I’m very scared. Sometimes, I scream at the sight of a leaf rolling on the ground or even at my own shadow.”
“Really…….”
Is that so?
Seo Jun gazed at her flustered expression with a slowly opening and closing gaze.
What are these alternating feelings of cold and warmth that I feel whenever I see Eom So Yeon? When I thought of her from afar, my heart was strangely calm. But since reuniting, the throbbing heart has been quite uncomfortable.
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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