Eun-Ah had only mentioned a train. Using metaphorical language, she cleverly crafted a poignant question.
Of course, Jun wasn’t unaware of how to smoothly get past such a situation without hurting each other’s feelings. Probably the most appropriate model answer would be something like ‘Please watch the movie and decide for yourself.’
But Jun couldn’t do that. He couldn’t speak insincerely just to give a model answer.
‘Has that train, indeed, long since arrived at its final stop?’
Eun-Ah’s last comment transformed into a sharp thorn in Jun’s heart, pricking at his vulnerabilities.
‘Is that really the case? To me, Haru, our love, is not just an old train that has completed its role and is slowly rusting away…
No. It’s not like that. At least for me, I’m determined not to let that train remain stationary, no matter where the next station is.’
Meanwhile, Eun-Ah, sitting next to Jun, was certain. Jun would not play the safest card in this situation.
She didn’t know exactly why, but from her professional intuition after years of interviewing celebrities, she sensed he was hesitating, shaken. Not as a film director, but as a man standing in front of his first love, trying to reveal his true feelings.
“I can never hide my feelings towards a loved one; it’s the genuine emotion of a sincerely devoted man.”
“That time, I was at the final… station.”
Jun parted his heavy lips, which seemed forever sealed. The audience held their breath in anticipation, hoping his lips would not close again.
“Back then, it was like that. No matter how much I longed, I couldn’t see the next station, nor the railroad leading there. Eventually, the train stops. That place became my final station. The last stop inevitably led by first love.”
The audience, who had seen ‘the train’ multiple times, might have visualized the panoramic scene from the movie where a train starting from a beautiful seaside station in spring travels through a chilly winter mountain, overgrown with brambles, and stops at an abandoned station.
It was then that Jun’s eyes began to faintly shine.
“But, I overlooked something.”
Eun-Ah listened to Jun’s words attentively, nodding her head, making sure not to disrupt the emotion flowing between him and the audience.
“The key to that train wasn’t just one. My first love, she was another key to moving the train. So… when I met her, the snowstorm around the abandoned station I thought cleared, revealing the railroad.”
A murmur, like a whisper, began to spread among the tranquil audience.
“Of course, I’m not sure yet. Still now, I, that train, we are still at the station I long thought was the final stop. But something has changed.”
At that moment, Jun’s eyes curved softly, smoothly arching.
“It’s the faint hope that maybe this train hasn’t reached its final stop. Can this train head towards spring, greet the spring? That’s my current dilemma. I think this is the most honest answer I can give you right now.”
“Whether that train can leave the final station and reach a place where spring exists… I guess we’ll have to invite Director Kim Jun again once that movie starts shooting and is released, just out of sheer curiosity.”
Satisfaction spread across everyone’s faces – Eun-Ah, Jun, and all present – each for their different reasons.
Stars glittered around the Han River, visible through the car window, on the sea, above the roads, and between the towering buildings.
I left the broadcasting station around midnight. Finally, after a long day that began at 5 AM, a sense of relief started to seep in as I relaxed in the car seat, closing my eyes momentarily.
But closing my eyes was futile. Even during the shoot and as I left the set, the emotions I inadvertently revealed and the words carrying those feelings unsettled me.
“The train heading towards spring, that’s my current dilemma.”
The broadcast would be in a month or two. If Haru saw it, she would understand the meaning of my words.
By then, the shooting of our movie would have ended. By that time, both Haru and I, our past memories, our current feelings, all will be clear.
I glanced outside the window, suddenly remembering the message Haru sent me today. It was too late to reply. I loosened the grip on my phone, which I had hastily grabbed, and closed my eyes again.
Goodnight, Haru.
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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