The fever seemed to have been going on for quite some time, so Eun-chae thought she should give him some water.
Even with both hands, it was difficult to lift his upper body, and she struggled to support him to pour water into his mouth.
Even supporting him became exhausting. Perhaps it was because of that. Eun-chae, who was about to take a short break, fell asleep with a muffled noise.
After a few hours passed.
Kwon Ki-joo lifted his eyes, which had been closed as if he were dead. He saw an unremarkable fluorescent light on the ceiling, where a yellowish mat had been roughly attached.
He frowned his red eyebrows. He didn’t know where he was, but he felt good. His body felt light and refreshed.
In a situation where he had been kidnapped and imprisoned, whoever did this, the guy would never leave alive.
While having such cruel thoughts, Ki-joo calmly recollected the faint memories without moving.
Before losing consciousness, the events before that vaguely came to mind. He found Song Eun-chae, met her, exchanged frustrating words, and embarrassingly collapsed.
It’s ridiculous.
Ki-joo forcibly swallowed the curse that was about to burst out. He guessed that he had entered one of the houses that were all the same among the uniformly built houses.
Then, Song Eun-chae…
At the moment when that thought passed sharply through his mind. Since a while ago, as if there were bugs crawling on him, Ki-joo turned his head, wriggling his itchy ears.
The afternoon sunlight fell on Song Eun-chae’s sleeping face. Already, her small stature seemed like a beetle because she was crouched down. Wrinkles appeared on her forehead, nose, and cheekbones.
Even in a dream, I appear.
Ki-joo reached out his arm. He pressed the center of the gathered wrinkles with his index finger. Still, they wouldn’t smooth out. Whether in reality or in a dream, Song Eun-chae is stubborn.
He smiled bitterly and stood up. The blanket that covered him fell. He felt a little empty. As expected, there was no upper body clothing. The coat he wore was hung on the wall, stuck on a hanger.
I didn’t come for this.
Ki-joo lifted the blanket and covered Eun-chae’s body, then sat down, blocking the sunlight coming through the door. When the light was blocked, her wrinkled face seemed to relax a bit.
He propped up one knee, rested his elbow on it, and rested his chin on his hand. Day and night, he looked at the missed Song Eun-chae as if he missed her.
About thirty minutes later.
The delicate breathing subtly changed, and Song Eun-chae’s eyelashes trembled. The eyelids, which seemed like they wouldn’t rise, went up, revealing clear pupils.
As soon as she got up, she felt her bed. She looked at the empty space with a shocked face. Ki-joo twitched the corners of his mouth, pretending to cover his surprise and opened his mouth.
“Did you find me?”
At the sound, Eun-chae raised her head. Either because she felt a lack of reality, she blinked her eyes several times, and soon her eyes showed surprise.
“Are you okay? Can you sit up?”
Eun-chae approached with light steps and placed her hand on his forehead. It wasn’t a burning fever like before, but there was still a lingering warmth. Still, the urgent fever had subsided.
Ki-joo stared intently at her, who exhaled a sigh of relief.
“Just lie down. I’ll bring some food, so just stay there.”
He said, grabbing Eun-chae’s wrist as she tried to sit up.
“Just stay. You don’t know how to do it anyway.”
At those words, Eun-chae felt a subtle blow to her pride. When she thought about it, Ki-joo had treated her as if she were an ignorant fool. So, whenever something happened, he quietly took charge and resolved it from behind.
In the sudden surge of bitterness, Eun-chae’s voice became sharp.
“Do you know how to do it? I learned.”
It’s natural to be clumsy at first. But Ki-joo, with a face that seemed to know nothing at all, didn’t let go of the wrist he had grabbed.
At the moment Eun-chae’s eyes seemed to tear up, he, in a low and gentle voice, whispered.
“I’m curious. Eun-chae, did you make this porridge?”
After saying that, the forced strength around the wrist seemed to fade away. Eun-chae responded with a softened voice, caressing her empty wrist.
“…It’s really delicious.”
She confidently said that but seemed worried. Instead of getting up right away, she decided to sit and have a conversation. However, just then, she noticed a wound on his cheek.
“What have you been doing to end up like this?”
“Why did you disappear?”
“If I’m not around, where do you go and get beaten?”
Ki-joo laughed as if he found it absurd.
“Don’t laugh. What’s so absurd right now…”
“I felt like I was going to die.”
He said dully.
“I wanted to bring you back right away. I endured a lot.”
Eun-chae also found it questionable. He had found the person even before searching, but he remained silent. That he knew how to endure was something she had not realized.
“What if I reject you and push you away?”
“I came to see even such Eun-chae.”
“…Even though you haven’t seen anything.”
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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