Whispers of Autumn Wind (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
“Ga Eul!”
Ga Eul was getting ready for work and about to leave the house when she heard someone calling from outside the gate.
Ga Vil stopped in her tracks.
An unwelcome visitor had come.
Someone who used to be welcome, but no longer was.
It seemed being on time for work today was out of the question again.
Coming at this hour meant they were determined to see her no matter what.
She could already picture the president’s rotten face snapping at her for being late again.
Ga Eul hurriedly crossed the yard.
It was only three steps from the front door to the gate.
Even though the yard was just three steps wide, it had everything it needed.
There was the flowerbed Grandmother tended with care, and the vegetable patch that supplied their ingredients.
Ga Eul’s means of commuting, her bicycle, was also in the yard.
“Hello, aunty?”
Ga Eul opened the gate and greeted cheerfully.
Standing in front of the gate was Woo Jin’s Mother, her face looking half-dead.
“I’m sorry. Is it too early? But I really had to see you… It’s not easy to even catch a glimpse of your face…”
That was true. Running two, even three jobs, even living in the same neighborhood, it was hard for anyone to see her face.
And that wasn’t all. They lived in completely different areas, so they never ran into each other.
Even though the neighborhood had the same name, there was a great distance between the apartment complex where Woo Jin’s Mother lived and the old, densely packed housing area where Ga Eul lived.
“Come in.”
Ga Eul led Woo Jin’s Mother inside the house.
“Who’s here?”
Grandmother must have sensed someone, because she came out of her room.
The moment she saw Woo Jin’s Mother standing at the entrance, Grandmother’s face instantly darkened.
“Hello, Ga Eul’s Grandmother? Did I come too early?”
“Oh, Woo Jin’s mom, it’s been a while. What brings you here…?”
“She says she has something to tell me. We’ll talk in my room. Grandmother, you don’t need to come out.”
Ga Eul gently pushed the hesitant Grandmother back.
She already knew what Woo Jin’s Mother wanted to say. As long as she suffered alone, there was no need for Grandmother to suffer too.
But Grandmother refused to go back inside. She didn’t want her granddaughter to face difficult words alone.
“Grandmother, it’ll just take a moment. She won’t keep me long, so don’t worry and go back inside.”
Only after Woo Jin’s Mother urged her did Grandmother finally return to her room.
Even as she went, she kept looking back at Woo Jin’s Mother and Ga Eul, clearly reluctant.
After making sure Grandmother had gone inside and closed the door, Ga Eul opened the door to her own room.
It was a narrow room with little natural light, but it was kept neatly organized.
Ga Eul turned on the light switch and stepped aside, and Woo Jin’s Mother entered.
“Ga Eul!”
The moment she stepped inside, Woo Jin’s Mother grabbed Ga Eul’s hands tightly.
Here it comes. Ga Eul steeled herself.
“Please, I beg you. Let our Woo Jin go. That’s the only way both you and Woo Jin can live.”
Ga Eul couldn’t answer. Her chest felt tight and heavy.
If she didn’t let Woo Jin go, both Woo Jin and she would die?
“You know it too, don’t you? The two of you can never work. There’s no future for you together. So what’s the point of being boyfriend and girlfriend? I hate myself for saying this to you. But it breaks my heart that two young people with bright futures ahead are poisoning each other and can’t let go.”
“Aunty, Woo Jin and I broke up. I’ve told you so many times. I emailed him, I called him. I told him I’ve moved on, so he should too.”
Ga Eul forced the words out with difficulty. She had lost count of how many times she had heard and said the same thing.
Every time the memory began to fade, Woo Jin’s Mother would call or show up asking her to break up with Woo Jin.
She had known Woo Jin since they were little children, too young to even remember.
They lived in the same neighborhood, went to the same kindergarten, the same schools.
Naturally, they became aware of each other as the opposite sex. On the day of their university entrance ceremony, Woo Jin confessed. From that day, he became Ga Eul’s boyfriend.
“Did you make it absolutely clear? That you have no lingering feelings for Woo Jin at all?”
“Yes, I made it very clear. I even told him I’ve met someone I like.”
“Then why is Woo Jin still acting like this? He says he’s coming back to Korea. Since you won’t come to America, he says he has to come here. He’s giving up his career in the States. You know how much his advisor loves him, right? That professor is a Nobel Prize winner. He’s pushing Woo Jin forward, and yet Woo Jin says he’s throwing it all away to come back to Korea.”
Tears welled up in Woo Jin’s Mother’s eyes. How heartbreaking it must be.
Ga Eul sympathized with her.
She also thought it made no sense for Woo Jin to give up his rosy future.
And especially because of her.
“Let me ask one more time. Ga Eul, are you really not going to America? Won’t you throw everything away and live with Woo Jin, studying together?”
Woo Jin’s Mother asked with desperate eyes.
It was a tempting gaze and offer for Ga Eul.
So tempting that the urge to give in surged within her again and again.
Ga Eul clenched her teeth to resist the temptation.
It wasn’t the first time she had received this offer, so she already knew the answer she would give.
“You know I can’t leave Grandmother and Gyeo Wool behind. Gyeo Wool still has to go to college. And Grandmother is getting old—she may not be able to work much longer.”
So Ga Eul had to take responsibility for them. She was now the head of this household.
Woo Jin’s Mother knew that too. That’s why she was doing this.
This same conversation had already happened between them many times.
But today, something unexpected—even for Ga Eul—was added.
After hearing Ga Eul’s answer, Woo Jin’s Mother suddenly dropped to her knees.
In that moment, Ga Eul felt her breath catch in her throat.
“Aunty, why are you doing this? Please get up.”
“Ga Eul, let me live. Woo Jin is all I have. You know that, don’t you? He’s the only reason I live.”
Even on her knees, Woo Jin’s Mother did not let go of Ga Eul’s hands.
Ga Eul tried several times to pull her hands away, but each time, Woo Jin’s Mother held on tighter.
Ga Eul felt the urge to shake her off.
“What’s changed?”
Ga Eul asked in a suppressed voice. Woo Jin’s Mother’s eyes widened at the question.
“You used to be happy when Woo Jin and I were dating. Don’t you remember saying we should throw a party when we told you we were together? What’s different now, aunty? Is it because my family went bankrupt? Because my dad passed away? That’s all I can think of. And now suddenly I’ve become poison to Woo Jin.”
The tears that had been pooling in Woo Jin’s Mother’s eyes finally overflowed.
She let go of Ga Eul’s hands and wiped her tears.
Then she stood up from her knees.
“Yes, that’s what changed. Because of that, you’ve become a burden to Woo Jin now. No—if you were just a burden, that would be fine. You’ve become an obstacle. You’re the one holding our Woo Jin back. Even if I say I’ll open a path for him to grow together with you, you refuse. You won’t break up either. And you say you’re not holding Woo Jin’s ankle?”
Woo Jin’s Mother spat out harsh words, one after another.
It would have been easier for Ga Eul if she had just raised her voice.
But the words that drove nails into Ga Eul’s heart were spoken in a pleading tone.
Desperately, like someone standing at the edge of a cliff.
“I told you, I don’t want to stay together. I broke up with Woo Jin. We really have nothing between us anymore, aunty.”
Ga Eul said, pounding her chest.
She wanted to rip open her heart and show it.
“I’ve done everything I could. I emailed him, I called him. I even begged Woo Jin to let me go.”
“No, I know you. You haven’t moved on yet. Woo Jin knows it too—that’s why he’s coming back to Korea.”
Ga Eul stared blankly at the stubborn woman, then opened her mouth.
She wondered if this situation would hurt less if Woo Jin’s Mother were someone she felt less indebted to.
After her own mother passed away, Woo Jin’s Mother had been like a mother to her.
And now she was blocking the future of that woman’s son. Guilt washed over her.
She felt she had to somehow prove to Woo Jin’s Mother that she had truly ended things with Woo Jin.
“I’ll make Woo Jin give up. No matter what it takes, I’ll make him accept that it’s over between us.”
“So how? How exactly are you going to make him give up? Don’t just say you broke up—show him clearly. Send him a photo with the person you’re dating or something.”
Ga Eul was stunned. Had Woo Jin’s Mother always been this tenacious?
Relentlessly cruel and stubborn.
“Fine. I’ll send a photo with the person I’m dating.”
Ga Eul sighed. Whatever will be, will be.
She would have to ask the president one more time to pretend to date her.
So that rumors of her dating the president would reach Woo Jin’s Mother and Woo Jin.
Then those two would finally accept that it was completely over with Woo Jin.
“Aunty, I have to go to work now.”
It was her way of saying it was time to leave.
Only after pressing her a few more times did Woo Jin’s Mother finally let Ga Eul go.
After seeing Woo Jin’s Mother out to the gate, Ga Eul forced a bright voice and called into the house.
“Grandmother, I’m leaving.”
She thought she heard Grandmother reply to have a good day.
Grandmother didn’t come out. Ga Eul was relieved she didn’t have to face her right now.
She was sure Grandmother felt the same.
There was no need to look at each other’s pain with their own eyes.
Ga Eul got on her bicycle and started pedaling.
She was definitely late again today. Now all she could hope for, as always, was that the president would stroll into the office just before lunch, as he often did.
Very rarely, the president showed up early.
And it was always on the exact day Ga Eul was late.
Just like today.
That’s why Ga Eul pedaled like mad.
When sweat began to form on her back, she saw the red brick two-story building in the distance.
It was an extremely rundown building.
It might have been new forty years ago. Her workplace was on the first floor.
If not for the grand sign that read “Dae Woon Investment,” it was just an 8-pyeong office indistinguishable from any other real estate agency.
Ga Eul parked her bicycle in the small empty space beside the building.
That was the building’s official parking lot.
A car that didn’t suit the building at all was taking up the entire narrow parking space.
It was the president’s car. A supercar, supposedly one of only a few in the country.
So flashy. Ga Eul clicked her tongue as she parked her bicycle next to it.
Every time she saw that car, she clicked her tongue. He might be the president of “Dae Woon Investment,” but for a man who only owned a few convenience stores, it was far too extravagant a car.
Whether she disliked the car or not, Ga Eul became cautious around it.
If her old bicycle so much as left a tiny scratch on it, her future would truly go dark.
Unlike the president who parked a car worth hundreds of millions in a place that wasn’t even a proper garage, Ga Eul carefully chained her bicycle to the building’s fence.
Then she quietly pushed open the office door.
The door was unlocked.
Ga Eul’s heart sank. The president must already be here.
The moment she opened the door, a musty smell attacked her nose.
Ga Eul’s face naturally scrunched up.
Mixed in with the smell was the stench of alcohol.
“He must have been drinking all night again.”
Ga Eul muttered as she looked around the office.
The first thing she saw was the president sprawled out on the sofa.
He must have drunk so much he couldn’t even make it up to his living space on the second floor before passing out.
As if to prove it, empty soju bottles were scattered across the table and under the sofa.
Seeing the delivery food containers left open on the table, Ga Eul shook her head.
She thought it was lucky there was no vomit anywhere in the office.
There had actually been days like that.
‘What a pathetic human being.’
Ga Eul couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.
Instead, she shot a corresponding glare at the president, who was dead asleep.
‘What a waste of good looks, you idiot. At least you’ve got the height and build.’
He really was strikingly handsome. Ga Eul’s eyes scanned the long legs that the sofa couldn’t fully contain.
His legs stuck out far beyond the edge of the sofa.
Her gaze returned to the president’s face.
A high, straight forehead, a sharp nose, lips neither too thick nor too thin.
Realizing she was stealing glances at the president’s face, Ga Eul quickly turned her head.
What’s the point of being handsome? In the end, he’s just a spoiled playboy with a silver spoon.
Like iron drawn to a magnet, Ga Eul’s eyes returned to the president’s face.
Even if he was a playboy, he was a handsome one—that much was true.
At least he was nice to look at.
Especially since it was the face she had to see all day in this tiny office.
At that moment, the president shifted in his sleep and turned over.
His chest was now facing Ga Eul directly.
The front of his shirt was wide open.
Ga Eul’s eyes widened.
Through the open shirt, a firm, muscular chest was visible.
“What the— he’s actually built?”
Ga Eul muttered as she turned her head.
Fine, she admitted it. A jobless, muscular pretty boy.
That was exactly who her boss was. Gi Dae Woong, president of Dae Woon Investment.
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
_____
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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