The mention of her twentysecond autumn wrapped Woo Dan Woo’s heart with energy of desire and a different nature.
Perhaps your autumn that year was more exciting and happier than any other year.
Dan Woo entered the kitchen and, leaning on the island, watched Ji An as he put on his gloves.
His gaze following Ji An’s eyes was soft.
“So, how about vin chaud?”
“Making vin chaud yourself? Do you know how to?”
“Leave it to me.”
Dan Woo took out a tangerine and an apple from the refrigerator and put them in the sink bowl.
He then took out a package for vin chaud, including star anise, cloves, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and dried orange and lemon slices, and placed it on the kitchen island.
Driven by curiosity, Ji An moved closer to the island.
“Do they sell this as well?”
Nodding his head, Dan Woo let out a low chuckle.
His fleeting smile left a lingering impression on Ji An, causing her to think deeply.
Turning the vin chaud package over and over, she remembered Dan Woo’s clear smile.
It wasn’t about the owner’s leisure or arrogance.
She couldn’t know what was inside, but she felt a sense of stepping back when she was with him.
Dan Woo’s voice scattered low between the two.
“I suffer from a severe memory disease around this time. Drinking this makes it better.”
“Memory disease?”
Pointing to his head with his index finger, Dan Woo continued.
“It’s a disease where the body is fine, but the things stored here hurt.”
“It’s quite sad to be in pain when you’re alone. Isn’t it? I’d rather be in pain when I’m with someone.”
Ji An frowned slightly, feeling that her words might be misinterpreted, she added.
“What I mean is not that I wish to be in pain, but if I had to be, I’d rather be that way.”
“I understand. You don’t need to explain it long. I’ve received your feelings fully.”
“Huh?”
Dan Woo lightly beat his left chest with his clenched fist.
“This little guy tells me so.”
At the returned answer, Ji An’s cheeks flushed. Her heart was swayed by the simple words.
Dan Woo, who had flattened the tangerine and apple, sprinkled a few drops of sugar and lemon juice, then picked up the vin chaud package and looked at Ji An.
Then he pointed to the ginger tea stick and asked,
“Should we use just two?”
After pouring the ginger tea sticks into the pot, he naturally headed for the wine cellar.
His hand selecting the wine, not sweet and with a heavy body, was cautious.
Ji An, who saw the wine cellar over Dan Woo’s shoulder, asked.
“Did you have such a thing?”
“I didn’t know at first either, but after realizing it existed, I bought one bottle, then two, and before I knew it, I had gathered so many. But that’s not to say I’m interested in wine.”
He didn’t know at first.
The things filling the wine cellar were all expensive wines that were hard to find.
Anyone who knows about wine would have immediately realized that his claim of having no interest in wine was false.
Woo Dan Woo was a man who finished his task by kicking out the woman on the night he was struck by lightning.
Even when asked why by himself, the answer was the same.
I don’t know.
Perhaps it explained why Woo Dan Woo, who lived with his mother, suddenly emerged while watching the purely innocent Ji An.
As the scent of the bubbling vin chaud became stronger, Ji An’s voice became more excited.
“The scent is so good. It already feels less cold.”
Dan Woo looked at the fireplace embedded in one side of the living room wall.
The instinct that had recognized the situation of being alone with Ji An was colliding in a different direction from reason.
Dan Woo moved away from her by taking a step to look at the wall fireplace.
When he pulled the handle of the square frame forward, the interior was revealed.
Ji An, who came without notice, covered her mouth with both hands and laughed like a child.
“It’s amazing! It’s my first time doing this. Have you done it before?”
Dan Woo, who understood the sentence with the subject omitted, shrugged his shoulders.
He wouldn’t have done it. He preferred the cold to the heat.
Dan Woo stacked a few logs to create space and pulled the torch lighter.
“Thanks to the heater, it doesn’t seem to be too cold at night.”
“I think so.”
Dan Woo turned his head to look down at Ji An.
The face with long eyelashes blinking and chin propped was cute.
He moved his steps to the side, pulling back the hand that was about to reach out instinctively.
A little later, Dan Woo offered Ji An a steaming cup of vin chaud.
“Thank you.”
“I’m not sure if it will suit your taste. But it will warm you up.”
The two sat side by side on the mattress that occupied the center of the living room.
Ji An, who had crossed her legs, and Dan Woo, who had put his feet on the cold floor, focused their gazes out the window.
Seeing that the snowflakes seemed to thin out, Dan Woo opened his mouth first.
“It looks like it will be clear tomorrow.”
“The snow curtain is gone.”
“Snow curtain?”
“When it snowed a lot, it looked like a curtain.”
Dan Woo recalled the words Ji An murmured while lying in the yard.
“Snow blanket, snow curtain. Pretty words.”
After a sip of vin chaud, Ji An raised her head on her knee.
She opened her mouth slowly, as if dreaming.
“This trip seems really special. The snowstorm warning, and being with you, Dan Woo, on this night that would have been lonely.”
Living alone, eating alone, let alone playing alone.
Ji An was not awkward with the word ‘alone’. Yet, there were times when she needed to be alone.
It was the day she arbitrarily got off the bus on her way to school when she became a high school student.
She wanted to be alone, not needing to say anything or smile, among people who knew nothing about her.
Whenever that happened, she would wander around unfamiliar places alone and only return home when it was evening.
When she did, he was always there.
“Did you get scolded by Ha Joon?”
“Pardon?”
“Ah! My true feelings slipped out.”
“A friend who’s like family but isn’t?”
“Yes. Ha Joon.”
Dan Woo warmed the inside of his mouth with the hot vin chaud and smiled lonesomely.
He had been with loneliness for a long time until he called Tae Yoon to the U.S.
At least you must not have been lonely because of that guy.
Ji An looked up at Dan Woo and asked.
“I’m thirtytwo. How old are you?”
Taken aback by the sudden question, Dan Woo gave a vague answer.
“Similar.”
“Ah! So we’re friends.”
“…….”
When Dan Woo didn’t respond, Ji An quickly corrected her words.
“Oh no. I went too far. Friends.”
Dan Woo, looking down at Ji An at an angle, followed her wavering eyes.
And he gently added to the conversation.
“Let’s be friends.”
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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