“Every morning when I wake up and face the CEO, I can’t help but wonder and hope that maybe he’ll call me Eunseo. And every time the CEO calls me Yoon Eunseo, I feel disappointed inside. Ah, it’s not the Seungju I loved.”
He’s a man with a strong sense of pride. He would usually respond coldly with an ‘I understand’ or ‘it’s over’ after hearing this much.
“That’s why I said I would try to erase that guy from your heart.”
However, he spoke to her as if trying to console her.
“You just need to give me a little more time. Is that so difficult?”
The arrogant man who used to say that even when confessing, she should look only at him, or it won’t work, was now, strangely, clinging to her, making Eunseo frustrated.
Why is he doing this? What did I say!
She realized that she had gradually changed Kwon Seungju into a different person, and not in a positive direction.
She had suspected before why he developed such a complex personality when he was eighteen, and meeting Jiyeon confirmed it. Ah, it’s because of the stepmother.
In front of Eunseo, he was acting like a pushover, but afterwards, he immediately revealed his existence to Woo Yejin. To survive under such a terrifying woman, he must have changed. He would have had to hide his feelings and numb his emotions.
That’s how Kwon Seungju had been tempering himself for a long time. Would it be desirable for me to make such a strong person weak?
Her certainty grew stronger. Being with this person would only bring harm.
“Because it seems like even as time goes by, it won’t happen!”
Eunseo shouted.
“For that girl, he’s her first love. Rather than completely disappearing like dying, she’s right in front of me, with the same face, the same voice. How can I forget her!”
Only then did the man clench his teeth and lower his head.
“……”
The man who, unlike when he was eighteen, didn’t smile broadly or talk brightly, still had an unchanged wounded face.
While spewing out words she didn’t mean, Eunseo was confirming once again. Within herself, the eighteen-year-old Seungju and the thirty-three-year-old Kwon Seungju were not different people.
So, her first love and the man she likes now are ultimately the same person in front of her.
The man who didn’t realize this fact was desperately trying to hold onto her.
“You also hesitated with me!”
He raised his voice.
“Being together with me, you also liked it a little. You fell asleep soundly leaning on my back. You got drunk and acted cute to me. But I wasn’t at all? Not even a bit?”
The voice, sounding like it might poke someone in anger, also seemed pleading in a way.
“That was just an effort. I tried to like you somehow, tried to think that you were the same person I liked, Seungju. If you mistake that for hesitation, it’ll be awkward.”
“But…!”
“There’s no ‘but.’ I’ve done what I could, and some things just don’t work out.”
Eunseo gathered even the strength she used to suckle and coldly concluded her words.
“It’s fine to return the deposit after the dates are completed. I’ll leave as soon as I find a place.”
She intended to turn and leave, but it didn’t go as planned because he held onto her wrist.
“Who said you can leave as you please?”
Kwon Seungju was genuinely showing his characteristic expression after a long time. His gaze was so chilling that even meeting eyes felt intimidating. An attitude filled with coldness to the extent that she couldn’t muster the courage to utter a word.
It made her oddly happy to realize how arrogant he had been to me all this time. Yes, this expression suits him. He shouldn’t weaken because of me.
“You promised to stay here for a month without asking about the responsibility for destroying the house in Yeonsadong. Have you already forgotten?”
“I don’t like you, CEO. It would be painful to be with you even if we force ourselves.”
She said it as if complaining, but he didn’t flinch at all.
“Do you think I would care if you’re in pain or not?”
A wounded beast bared its fangs.
“Stay by my side until I get tired and let go of you, sleeping if you must.”
Sun-ah returned the next day after nearly two weeks of hospitalization.
“I’m backkk!”
As soon as Eunseo saw Sun-ah’s face, tears welled up in her eyes.
“Sun-ah!”
She hugged her unexpectedly, and Sun-ah groaned.
“Be gentle, my rib still hasn’t fully healed.”
While giving a mask, Sun-ah held Eunseo’s hand and led her to a secluded place.
“Why are you crying, huh? Did the CEO harass you?”
She speaks as if she knows everything. Eunseo flinched, and Sun-ah sighed.
“I know everything about living together. It’s okay, so spill it.”
Eunseo was surprised. But thinking carefully, there was a straw to grasp.
For some reason, Sun-ah’s mother, who had been comfortable staying here like her own home, suddenly asked her to leave, and as soon as she did, Kwon Seungju came to pick her up like a ghost. Maybe there was a reason for all that.
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
