“Even though such a beautiful thing has already been revealed… I don’t want it anymore. There’s no need to increase competitors unnecessarily.”
“Well, first of all, she’s not even pretty. And you know that, right? Jiho chose her to appear.”
Hyeyoon gently stroked Jiho’s arm, which extended under her head. However, her eyes were fixed on the TV. On the screen, Jongsu and Heesoo had finally moved beyond their awkward stage. Of course, they still stood a step apart, and the conversation was choppy, but…
It was Heesoo who mainly initiated the conversation. The person who is less shy can get closer.
“Well, you know. But I have no regrets. To play this role with someone else…”
Jiho felt a small hand stroking his arm. Gentle fingers like puppy grass. The sudden appearance in his life, the one that changed everything, was not much different from the current touch. Silently, softly.
Things that no one has done until now, so easily.
His firm and solid conviction sank his voice.
“Yeah. It doesn’t mean anything to me, no matter how much I think about it.”
“It’s nice that you’re so firm.”
“…Was that the answer you were waiting for?”
“Wow, Jiho, you’re really good at jokes. Others don’t know this.”
Hyeyoon’s hand, which had been softly laughing, tightened its grip. Instead of showing a pouting expression, she pressed Jiho’s arm hard. When Jiho laughed at her cute and kind tantrum, she also smiled similarly.
Then slowly, Hyeyoon’s laughter subsided. After a while, even the hand play stopped. In the space where emotions subsided, a slender voice hinted at sadness.
“By any chance, Jiho… do you… not think of becoming an actor?”
“…”
“Nothing more?”
Jiho could hear the long hesitation in the slowly continuing words. Chewing on his soft emotions, his eyes focused on Jongsu in “23 Centimeters.”
On this evening, the sun hadn’t set yet, and Jongsu was on his way home. It always seemed to be a late-night when he went home. If there was someone waiting, he wanted to go back.
It was a change caused by Heesoo. It was still awkward.
“Well… probably not. Eventually, it’ll happen.”
The speed of the question and his answer flowed slowly. He still looked at Jongsu on TV. Then he laughed subtly. Standing in front of his wife’s front door, his head lightly caressing her for no reason.
Before entering the house, the shyness of brushing off the dust settled on the uniform jacket.
“Well, now that there’s someone who needs to look good, it’s better to do what you’re good at.”
With the following answer, his hand gently stroked the woman in his arms. Hyeyoon also moved her embarrassed fingers again. Despite the heavy question, he was the one who added happiness along with the answer.
“I thought Jiho was good at acting. He seemed to enjoy it…”
“That’s right. It’s kind of fun. It’s a good job.”
“…”
And then came the quiet. Jiho watched the drama, while Hyeyoon carefully piled up various thoughts. She replayed Jiho’s words over and over again from a little while ago. Trying to read the gaps between words.
Wondering what fun Jiho finds in speaking.
‘It seems I just needed to concentrate. Maybe he wanted to immerse himself in another world while acting. His own world… seemed to lack excitement.’
As thoughts continued to accumulate, Bonggi’s voice seeped in, and the drama was no longer visible. At least Jiho’s enjoyment didn’t seem purely pleasant. At that moment, Jiho suddenly tilted his head towards Hyeyoon.
“What are you thinking?”
In his voice, mixed with a hint of teasing, love was full. When she turned her slightly disdainful eyes, Jiho, who poured attention with a faint smile, appeared. Unlike herself, who tried to read his thoughts, Jiho seemed to see every moment of her.
1 second, 1 second. Even changing emotions at every moment.
So, oddly enough, in the momentarily whitened mind, only one sentence was vividly written.
‘I really like this person.’
Hyeyoon stretched her lips like a duck. I wonder if he can tell what I’m feeling now. Jiho, who had a bright smile, lowered his face and kissed her lips briskly.
[Dash]Under the spreading love, her toes involuntarily curled. The voice trying to hide a cool heart seemed even more shameless and bold.
“Uh, how did you know?”
“How could I not know when you stick your lips out like that?”
Even in the questioning voice, there was overflowing affection.
‘As expected, I really like this person.’
It was a sentence that added a thicker layer to Hyeyoon’s heart. So she decided to let go of her worries for a while. Even if it’s just a moment of lying down together watching the drama, she wanted to immerse herself in the love he gave.
“Right, the manager seems to really cherish Jiho. Like family.”
“Yeah. He even said he wants to marry me.”
But it wasn’t love; it ended up being submerged in cold water. Surprised, her widened eyes turned behind her.
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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