A strong aroma of espresso settled into the dim living room, lit solely by a single stand light.
Pouring a double shot into the mug, adding cold water, and stirring had become a mechanical action, like a longengrained habit.
The coffee, neither too hot nor too cold, had reached the perfect temperature for gulping down.
Kang swallowed it all in one breath.
It looked as if she were swallowing some sort of medicine.
Indeed, it was.
For her, coffee was just like medicine she drank to ward off sleep.
However, there was a limit to staving off drowsiness with caffeine.
Because after about three or four days of deep sleep, there was no way to stop the overwhelming sleepiness, even if she drank a bucketful of espresso.
So, the coffee she just drank was like,
“…….”
A comfort drink, if you compare it to alcohol.
More for psychological comfort than for physical effect.
The moment she set the cup down, the phone thrown carelessly on the table rang.
The caller was Sam Young, her manager, and the reason for his punctual calls was obvious.
“Yeah, brother.”
Kang, did you eat?
It was mealtime.
He, who filled up the fridge personally two or three times a week, couldn’t be fooled by lies.
So, the best answer at times like this was not ‘no, not yet’, but
“I’m about to eat.”
was appropriate.
Thanks to that, Sam Young’s nagging was cut in half.
After repeatedly promising to eat properly and sleep in response to his caring admonishment, she hung up.
A faint smile spread across her face, which had been expressionless all the while.
Kang, who had planned to skip dinner, changed her mind and turned back.
In the fridge, there was a meal box neatly divided by Sam Young.
Most of it was readytoeat salads or sliced vegetables, but it was a balanced meal considering carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
She opened one of them, picked up a carrot stick lying in a row.
And then, without hesitation, she closed the refrigerator door as she put it in her mouth.
She wanted to eat more out of respect for Sam Young’s sincerity, but this was the best she could do today.
Because on days when accumulated fatigue was at its peak, her stomach always felt bad.
So, she finished her small dinner and headed towards the bed. Then she stopped for a moment in front of the bed and gazed down at it.
A few months ago, there was a bold kidnapping case involving a famous actress in South Korea.
The victim of that unprecedented event was Kang herself.
Unintentionally, she had been forced to stay at home and rest because of that.
On the one hand, she wanted to sleep a lot, wondering when such a day would come again…….
“It’s unbelievable.”
For Kang, who was tormented by nightmares every day, a good sleep was indeed impossible.
Resigned, she lay in bed, reading a book for several hours, and only fell into a shallow sleep after two in the morning. The cycle of waking and falling asleep repeated itself.
Her eyes, desperately clinging to her eyelids to avoid falling into deep sleep, were bloodshot red.
The hand holding the book had unknowingly dropped it powerlessly outside the bed.
Thump.
The sound of the book falling on the carpet was like a flare, and her consciousness began to sink deeply.
She could see a thick fog beyond the dim field of view.
Squeak– squeeeak
An unpleasant noise from a rusty playground.
The laughing and chattering people were gone without a trace, and the once glittering amusement park seemed to have been closed down long ago.
It was dark everywhere.
Sitting alone on the chipped carousel, Kang, who had shrunk, opened her mouth.
“……Mom.”
Mom. Where are you?
Despite having an adult’s appearance, her voice and tone flowed out like a scared child.
It was like going back to that time long ago, when she was left alone in the amusement park.
That was when the fear began to swell.
“Kang. I’m here.”
From the distance, in the darkness, someone gestured towards her.
“Mom?”
“Come here.”
“Is it really you, Mom?”
The figure, which looked like a lump of black fog, kept waving at her, urging her to come here.
Kang cautiously got off the carousel and began to move.
“Come on, my daughter.”
As if she had been waiting, her mom, with open arms, came out of the darkness.
At the sight of her mother finally revealed, Kang stopped dead.
Because her twisted face and broken arms and legs were no longer in human shape.
“Aaaaah!”
Kang screamed and started running away right away.
But unlike her mind, her feet did not move as she wanted.
“Don’t stand there!”
Behind her, the sound of footsteps following her at a terrifying speed could be heard, and she felt as if she were being dragged into a deep abyss with a heavy weight attached to her.
‘Please, someone……!’
Save me.
Get me out of here.
It was when she was writhing, squeezing out a voice that couldn’t even come out.
“Need help?”
The clear voice that came from the darkness woke up her blurred consciousness.
Her big eyes, filled with fear, naturally turned towards where the sound was coming from.
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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