Wishing for Salvation (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
The opulent chandelier illuminating the lofty arched ceiling shimmered before her eyes.
Having shown her invitation to the two men exchanging brief radio messages, Seo Yoon stepped into the vast convention hall and quietly fixed her narrowed gaze on the chandelier.
Did an engagement ceremony really need to be this chaotic?
The expansive hall, still hosting an after-party following the main ceremony, blazed with bright lighting so dazzling it hurt the eyes.
Standing near the relatively quiet entrance, Seo Yoon firmly pressed her throbbing temples.
Her eyes stung only because this place was too bright—
because she’d stared too long at a light unfamiliar to her.
“Congratulations on your engagement!”
“Congratulations!”
Amid the cheerful atmosphere, guests’ laughter rang off the walls as they raised their champagne glasses high.
Seated side by side on the prime spot of the massive L-shaped sofa, the engaged couple faithfully played their parts, continuously receiving well-wishes and gifts.
Seo Yoon, dragging legs as heavy as if weighted down by dozens of sandbags, slowly melted into the crowd.
“How about some heartfelt words instead of a toast!”
“Ohh!”
Kim So Ye shyly kissed her fiancé’s cheek right on cue, her bashful expression growing even clearer.
The few permitted journalists snapped their cameras relentlessly, determined not to miss that fleeting moment.
“This is your invitation to our engagement. You’ll only make up your mind once you see it with your own eyes.”
She hadn’t been wrong.
Seeing truly was believing.
Witnessing firsthand this dazzling world—an impenetrable realm from her isolated island—was, as expected, anything but easy.
Having forced herself to carry out this grueling task and thus driven a dagger into her own heart, Seo Yoon soon lowered her delicate eyelids and gazed at her feet.
Just until my birthday, which is less than a week away.
I’d be far too lonely celebrating it alone right after leaving, so just until that day—only that day.
As Seo Yoon lifted her head after repeating this final excuse to herself, her eyes met Kang Hyun’s, who happened to be staring straight at her.
Though her heart sank with a thud, Kang Hyun merely raised an eyebrow slightly, showing no trace of disturbance.
Keeping his arm wrapped around Kim So Ye as she nestled closer, he calmly crossed his long legs and raised his glass in a toast.
The moment their crystal glasses clinked with a clear chime, Seo Yoon fled the hall and found a familiar face waiting for her by the elevator.
“I’ll escort you.”
Do Seok Won, director and Kang Hyun’s devoted secretary.
Jang Yeon Ju—Kang Hyun’s acquaintance who treated Seo Yoon like a younger sister—had nicknamed him “Do the Seer.”
“I didn’t come here to cause trouble.”
“You already have. The managing director will head to a private room shortly.”
Seo Yoon nodded obediently.
If she tried to push past him, she’d likely be stopped by security downstairs—she had no real choice.
This was the price for recklessly showing up and catching Kang Hyun’s attention.
“Where did you get that invitation?”
As they walked down the long corridor, Kang Hyun sat on the sofa exactly as before.
Sorry, older sister—Seo Yoon silently apologized to someone who couldn’t hear, then parted her dry lips.
“Yeon Ju unnie. Please don’t say anything to her. I asked her to bring me.”
“Why?”
Apparently annoyed at having to leave an important event midway, irritation darkened his sharp eyes.
Feeling like nothing more than a burden to him, Seo Yoon’s chest ached.
“I thought seeing it with my own eyes might help me let go.”
“What exactly is it that you need to let go of?”
“If Oppa is getting married…”
“If I’m getting married.”
“…I’ll get ready and leave. It’s not a phrase that fits us, but… it means I want to break up.”
At this absurd declaration, an uncharacteristic chuckle escaped Kang Hyun’s lips.
“I suppose I’ll hear your reason.”
“If Oppa gets married, we can’t continue like this.”
“That’s ridiculous. This marriage is precisely so things can become easier than they are now.”
Kang Hyun loosened his main necktie decisively, then pulled Seo Yoon’s hand toward his knees.
He then rocked their linked arms gently, as if exchanging playful banter.
“I’m serious.”
When Seo Yoon reaffirmed her stance, Kang Hyun made no effort to hide his exhaustion as he rubbed his temples.
“Why throw such nonsense tantrums? Have you eaten dinner? If you’re hungry, order room service and wait. I’ll call a driver for you.”
He lifted her onto his thigh, encircling her slender waist, then patted her back as if soothing a child.
His touch was terrifyingly tender.
“If I love you, and you can’t live without me… do you really have to go through with this marriage?”
“The Flora Hotel isn’t a bad choice to keep my cousins in check. It’s more recognized internationally, so synergy with duty-free operations should be decent. And Father won’t pay you any attention—that’s why it’s necessary.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“And you should always contact me before going out. Acting like this causes problems, Yoon-ah. You hate people clinging to you, don’t you?”
Though softly spoken, it was a suffocating warning.
Yet even as he said it, his broad fingers kept tucking her unraveled strands behind her ears.
She’d never really expected to end it all in one go.
Leaning against Kang Hyun’s shoulder, Seo Yoon swallowed her rising tears and shifted to a different topic.
“Not yet?”
“What?”
“My twin. It’s been over three years since we started searching.”
“I’m still looking.”
“…You’re not deliberately hiding them after finding them, are you?”
Kang Hyun’s expression had long since turned unreadably dry, but he quietly studied Seo Yoon’s suspicious gaze.
“I don’t mean anything by it. It’s just… Oppa can’t stand anyone being near him, so I thought maybe… that’s all.”
He wasn’t the type to wound with a single word, but soft-hearted Seo Yoon quickly added an excuse.
“What if you are hiding them on purpose?”
“Oppa…”
“If they’d harm you, I wouldn’t show them to you—that’s true. Let’s talk about it once we actually find them.”
“Okay.”
With that quiet reply, Seo Yoon closed her mouth.
Seo Yoon’s bedroom held only a double-king-sized bed and a long leather stool.
On mornings when the thick blackout curtains blocked the sunlight, the spacious room felt slightly desolate upon waking.
After silencing the blaring alarm and opening her eyes, Seo Yoon picked up the robe draped over the stool and left the bedroom.
“It’s cold.”
Though the climate-control system should have maintained the usual comfortable temperature and humidity, the chill in the air made her shiver—likely the start of a fever.
Tick. Tick. The clock’s second hand pierced the long silence, drilling into her ears.
Had it been the spring before last? The clock had been found by chance in a small shop during a Jeju trip with Kang Hyun.
Its design—emerald waves crashing like the sea—had been so beautiful back then.
Now, it felt like useless clutter that only amplified loneliness.
Though she kept wishing the ticking would grow louder until she couldn’t bear it, she still couldn’t bring herself to take it down.
Nothing once touched by Tae Kang Hyun was ever easy to discard.
Filling a clear glass with milk, she sat on the sofa and picked up her tablet.
On the video-sharing site she habitually visited, the top trending video featured a face she’d seen just days ago—at the engagement.
Staring fixedly at the screen stamped with the words “marriage imminent,” Seo Yoon bit her lip with her white teeth.
Ignore it. Please, don’t watch.
But her mind and fingers chose different paths.
“The times change rapidly, yet some things never fade—namely, chaebol engagements. Recently, news broke of the marriage between Tae Kang Hyun, Managing Director of Seo Won Construction, and the second daughter of Kim Seok Hyun, CEO of Flora Hotel. A lavish engagement ceremony was held just three days ago.”
“Yes, that’s right. The bride has been revealed as Kim So Ye, formerly TBC’s star announcer, making the news even more sensational.”
“I heard she’d suddenly retired—so this was the reason. Regardless, they’re certainly a stunning couple. Even famous actors can’t hold a candle to Managing Director Tae Kang Hyun—such looks are wasted behind a desk.”
“Photos of them attending official events together have already surfaced right after the engagement. They almost look like lovers, don’t they?”
“Ah—lovers! You hit the nail on the head. No one—truly no one—has ever seen her, but the same rumor always clings to Managing Director Tae Kang Hyun: that he has a hidden lover.”
As a shadowy silhouette appeared beside the image of Tae Kang Hyun and his fiancée, Seo Yoon immediately closed the tablet.
The black female silhouette with a question mark—she wondered if her own reflection in the mirror right now would look just like that.
“I’m not even his lover.”
She felt neither anger nor tears—this had always been inevitable—but realizing she didn’t exist in his world was still utterly miserable.
Once again, the time to leave him loomed right before her eyes.
“Yoon-ah.”
“…When did you get here?”
Her shoulders flinched in surprise.
“Just before dawn.”
Kang Hyun emerged wearing a bathrobe identical to hers, casually took the milk from Seo Yoon’s hand, and approached without a word.
“Have it warm.”
“Are you insane? Reporters are swarming everywhere.”
Seo Yoon’s brow furrowed. After drawing so much attention with his engagement, how could he even consider coming here?
Despite his superior intellect, his thought process sometimes ran backward in ways she couldn’t fathom.
“I was tired.”
“Managing Director Tae Kang Hyun.”
“A title I’ve heard endlessly—but why does it sound fresh when you say it?”
After placing the glass in the microwave, Kang Hyun leaned against the island counter and silently opened his arms.
Though Seo Yoon shook her head, Kang Hyun predictably didn’t budge.
His hand brushing her hair carried a faint trace of irritation.
“Han Seo Yoon.”
His deep, low tone, paired with that cold, penetrating stare, came across as oppressively domineering.
She needed to pull away from him now.
Yet her feet moved forward on their own, as if pulled by a magnet seeking its opposite.
“I saw the marriage article.”
“It’s just ceremonial—don’t worry about it. It’ll quiet down with time.”
Seo Yoon buried her face without reply.
Kang Hyun, who referred to marriage with another woman as “ceremonial,” remained monotonous and calm.
To a man with any basic moral compass, his attention—focused solely on stroking the nape of her neck—would be neither laughable nor tearful, but simply chilling.
In the past, they’d been guardian and ward.
Now, she was merely the hidden… something of a third-generation chaebol heir.
Probably just an emotional box.
Han Seo Yoon without Tae Kang Hyun, and Han Seo Yoon with Tae Kang Hyun—both were pitifully insignificant.
Though adopted by Chairman Tae Seok Joong, she’d lived comfortably despite her orphan status, yet ultimately owned nothing.
She’d graduated from an enviable university but, because Kang Hyun willed it, had never formed deep bonds with anyone. Even her few friends were Kang Hyun’s acquaintances.
“Should I smile for you?”
“Yeah.”
Stepping out of his spacious embrace, Seo Yoon beamed brightly.
Kang Hyun, studying her intently, lifted the corner of his lips ever so slightly.
He’d practiced that smile—so subtle only Seo Yoon could notice—then quickly returned to his usual air of boredom.
“Anything you need.”
“…For Oppa not to get married.”
“Marriage benefits me in many ways. Anything else?”
“No.”
“Alright. Once things settle, let’s go to Jeju or somewhere.”
To Kang Hyun, their profoundly abnormal relationship was as natural as food, clothing, and shelter.
By the time she returned from the bathroom adjoining her bedroom, he was already gone.
He came without notice, and left without saying goodbye.
Winter, when white snow settled gently.
She loved him—the man who resembled that season, who resembled the dry autumn leaves shaped by that season.
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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