“Autumn!”
Getting ready for work and about to leave the house, she heard a voice calling from outside the front door.
Autumn hesitated.
An unwelcome figure had come.
Once, it was pleasant, but not now.
It seems that today, punctual attendance is out of the question.
The person who came at this hour must have meant to meet me without fail.
With a rotten face, the boss’s scolding for being late was clearly visible.
Autumn hurriedly crossed the yard.
Just three steps, and there is the front door.
Even with a yard as wide as three steps, everything is there.
The flower bed grandma carefully tended, the vegetable garden supplying ingredients, and even the bicycle, Autumn’s means of commuting, are in the yard.
“Hello, ajumma?”
Autumn opened the gate and greeted cheerfully.
In front of the gate stands Woojin’s mom, who has a dying face.
“Sorry. Is it too early? But I had to see you… It’s not easy to see your face… even though we live in the same neighborhood, it’s hard to see your face running two or three jobs. Besides, our homes are different, so we rarely cross paths. Even though the neighborhood names are the same, there is a considerable distance between the apartment complex where Woojin’s mom lives and the old, densely populated area where Autumn lives.”
“Come in.”
Autumn guided Woojin’s mom into the house.
“Who’s here?”
Sensing someone, Grandma came out of the room.
The face of Grandma, who saw Woojin’s mom standing in front of the entrance, quickly darkened.
“Hello, Grandma Autumn. I came too early, didn’t I?”
“Oh, Woojin’s mom, it’s been a while. What brings you here?”
“I have something to tell her. I’ll talk to her in my room. Grandma doesn’t have to come out.”
Autumn pushed Grandma, who hesitated, out of the way.
She knows what Woojin’s mom is going to say. It’s okay if it’s difficult for me alone; there’s no need to burden Grandma.
But Grandma resisted going in. She didn’t want her granddaughter to hear difficult stories alone.
“Grandma, it’ll only take a moment. Autumn won’t hold you for long, so don’t worry and go inside.”
Only after being urged by Woojin’s mom did Grandma finally go into the room.
Even when going in, she turned around several times, as if reluctant to leave Autumn and Woojin’s mom alone.
Closing the door after Grandma went into the room, Autumn opened her bedroom door.
Though it is a narrow room where light doesn’t penetrate well, it is neatly organized.
Autumn raised the light switch and stepped aside as Woojin’s mom came in.
“Autumn!”
As soon as Woojin’s mom entered the room, she firmly grabbed Autumn’s hand.
This is the beginning. Autumn steeled her heart.
“Please, I beg you. Let go of our Woojin a bit. That’s the way you and Woojin can live.”
Autumn couldn’t answer. Her heart felt heavy.
If I don’t let go of Woojin, both Woojin and I will die.
“Anyway, you both know it’s not working out, right? There’s no future for you two. But what’s the meaning of having a boyfriend or girlfriend? I hate saying this to you. However, it’s just too sad that you two, whose future is uncertain, can’t sort out the toxic relationship between you.”
“Ahjumma, Woojin and I broke up. I told you several times. I sent emails and made calls to Woojin. I’ve sorted out my feelings for you to do the same.”
Autumn spoke with difficulty. It’s hard to tell how many times she has heard and said the same words.
Woojin’s mom kept calling and coming over, asking Woojin to break up.
She has known Woojin since her early childhood, so young that she can’t even remember.
They lived in the same neighborhood, went to the same kindergarten and school.
As they naturally became aware of each other’s gender, Woojin confessed on the day of university entrance. Since that day, Woojin became Autumn’s boyfriend.
“Did you tell him clearly? That you have no lingering feelings for Woojin?”
“Yes, I told him clearly. I even told him that I have someone I like now.”
“But why is Woojin doing this? He says he’ll come back to Korea. He says he’ll come because you can’t come to the U.S. He says he’ll give up building a career in the U.S. Do you know how much that professor likes Woojin? That professor is a Nobel laureate. A person like that is pushing Woojin, but he says he’ll give it all up and come back to Korea.”
Tears welled up in Woojin’s mom’s eyes. How heartbreaking it must be.
Autumn empathized with Woojin’s mom.
I also think it’s unreasonable for Woojin to give up a bright future.
Moreover, it’s because of me.
“I’ll ask you again. Autumn, do you really not want to go to the U.S.? Throw away everything and study with Woojin. Won’t you live together?”
Woojin’s mom asked with earnest eyes.
It was a tempting gaze and proposal for Autumn.
As if the impulse to give in might suddenly arise.
To resist that temptation, Autumn gritted her teeth.
It wasn’t the first time she received such a proposal, and she already knows the answer she will give.
“Grandma and Winter can’t go. You know that. Winter has to go to university. Grandma might not be able to work forever, considering her age.”
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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