“Have you ever been in a relationship?”
The audition director, carefully examining the profile video, posed a blunt question as sharp as his gaze.
“Uh … no.”
Bashful So Yeon couldn’t hide her fluster as she drew out the end of her words.
“Then have you ever been in unrequited love…. No, you seem like you’ve never even held hands with someone of the opposite sex. Am I right?”
So Yeon, literally a born solo. Apart from her dad, she had never even had the slightest physical contact with a man. Despite being a young director, he had a piercing knack that was truly admirable. He was more of a shaman than a film director.
“……”
So Yeon, wrapped in the feeling of being stripped bare, blushed as red as a ripe rose, and it had not even been 5 minutes since she entered the room for the audition.
Perhaps his eyes were tired. The director, who hastily removed his goldframed glasses, massaged his temples with two fingers. He had a face more similar to a young boy than a man, but the aura he exuded was as tough and harsh as the rumors suggested.
“A university student?”
“Yes.”
When he asked with a gaze as sharp as a viper and a stern tone, the gaze of her large eyes, as if about to burst into tears, dropped weakly. However, her captivating lips and tender voice stubbornly moved otherwise. She was relentless in overcoming this bewildering moment.
“I’m a thirdyear student, twentytwo years old.”
“Twentytwo…. It’s a young age, so it’s understandable. But experience can certainly help with acting. Especially for someone like Miss Eom So Yeon who needs to make an effort to not be a bad actress.”
“……”
So Yeon quickly bit her lip that was about to smirk.
She had no dating experience, but she felt unfairly angry and frustrated that this alone could dismiss her acting skills.
She had consistently worked out to maintain her basic stamina, and wrestled with all kinds of books for delicate emotional expression. It was a given to study and practice the characters of various works every day. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she used all her time for acting, except for the time she spent sleeping.
When she didn’t even know me well…
She could confidently talk about what she had done to become a good actress.
But when it came to ‘dating,’ So Yeon could only look at her own fidgeting fingertips, speechless.
“The will to become an actress. How far do you think that alone can take you? The actress needed for this movie is a woman who knows all the bitter and sweet taste of life, even at a young age. Did you come prepared with that in mind? You’re dressed as a rebellious rich daughter. Apart from such a provocative outfit and makeup, did you understand that you need to melt into someone else’s life?”
“……”
What if I didn’t know? I’ve been waiting for this day, and I’ve prepared a lot for today.
She had a lot to say. But So Yeon couldn’t open her mouth.
It wasn’t just because she was intimidated from the start. She knew herself that her acting skills were not yet perfect enough to boast loudly, regardless of how hard she had worked. It was a reckless challenge to jump in with just a bit of enthusiasm, so she couldn’t argue with anything she was told.
“Looking at you, all I see is a wellbred princess. And we’re sick of it because of greenhorns like you who rush in for every audition.”
Director Yoon Ji Wan tore into her with a harsh tongue, and So Yeon just listened quietly. Princess, she almost cried out in a moment of indignation, but barely held it in. She pledged to grow up and make him regret it.
“Since it’s a waste to talk any longer and my mouth just hurts, if you understand, then just go out!”
Having run an audition nonstop for a whopping nine hours, signs of fatigue were clearly visible on Director Yoon Ji Wan’s face, and his angry voice cutting straight through didn’t contain any consideration or possibility for So Yeon.
“Tell the next person to come in.”
“Yes, director.”
At his command, the assistant director signaled to the staff waiting outside the room, and soon another actor participating in the audition entered the room.
“……”
So Yeon, ruthlessly cut out from the director’s view, had to leave the place without a sound.
Unrefined criticism, a heartstripping sense of shame, and to top it off, tears welling up in her clear, large eyes were just a bonus.
So Yeon, crushed at the movie audition, started walking aimlessly.
Ah… it’s so hard…
The slender ankles that kept on walking aimlessly swayed as if about to snap any moment, and her drained mental state had led not only to the loss of her sense of location, but even to the disappearance of her accurate sense of time. She had no idea where in Gangnam she was pacing at this very moment, let alone when the day had turned into night.
The life view, which was solid, had turned into a total mess due to So Yeon’s accident.
From her childhood, her dream had been to become an actress.
Someone who could contain sincere emotions in her acting.
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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