Date Me! (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 2
At the man’s words, Lee I Na’s eyes widened.
“Huh? How do you… know my name?”
Seeing Lee I Na’s expression as if she’d just seen a ghost, the man chuckled once again.
Lee I Na stared blankly at his smiling face, then suddenly furrowed her brow and fixed her gaze intently on him.
After staring at the man for a while, her eyes abruptly grew round and wide.
“Huh? Could it… possibly be?”
Lee I Na gaped in disbelief, staring at the man with her mouth agape.
“Could it be… Joo… Joo Won?”
Hearing Lee I Na ask in a startled voice, the man merely shrugged his shoulders.
If it really was Joo Won, he was Joo Hee’s twin brother—Lee I Na’s close friend back in her third year of middle school.
“Whoa.”
Startled, Lee I Na brought her hand to her mouth, accidentally touched her split lip, yelped “Ow!”, and quickly lowered her hand.
At the same time, Joo Won reached out, gently grasped her chin, and tilted her face upward slightly.
Startled by the sudden touch, Lee I Na looked up at him with wide eyes, and Joo Won frowned.
“Let’s go to the pharmacy first.”
Before Lee I Na could even respond, Joo Won grabbed her hand and swiftly started walking.
“Huh? Hey! Wait a sec!”
Lee I Na called out, but Joo Won kept striding ahead with long, steady steps, forcing her to practically be dragged along.
As she trailed behind, she realized his back was so tall she had to crane her neck way up to see him, and his shoulders were incredibly broad.
More than anything, his hand—firmly pulling hers—was both large and warm.
‘Wow. When did he get this huge? He’s turned into a total top-tier guy?’
Even as she was being pulled along, Lee I Na couldn’t help but marvel at Joo Won’s back.
Soon, they arrived at the pharmacy, and Joo Won pushed open the door and strode right in.
“Give me some ointment for this wound here.”
Joo Won pointed to Lee I Na’s lip as he spoke to the pharmacist.
The middle-aged male pharmacist looked back and forth between Lee I Na’s lip injury and Joo Won over his glasses.
Seemingly assuming Joo Won was the one who caused the injury, the pharmacist’s eyes hardened, and noticing this, Lee I Na panicked and waved her hands frantically.
“No! He didn’t hit me!”
Both the pharmacist and Joo Won turned to stare at Lee I Na, who had nearly shouted.
“I didn’t say anything, though?”
The pharmacist replied nonchalantly as he handed over the ointment and cotton swabs.
Lee I Na, embarrassed, reached for her wallet, but Joo Won had already pulled out money and paid first.
“Huh? I should’ve paid for it.”
At Lee I Na’s words, Joo Won silently picked up the ointment and cotton swabs, then gestured with his head for her to follow him out.
Lee I Na bowed briefly to the pharmacist and quickly followed Joo Won out of the pharmacy.
“Here… take this. I should pay for the medicine.”
Lee I Na held out a 10,000-won note, but Joo Won looked down at her with an expressionless face.
“Buy me a drink instead.”
“Huh?”
Lee I Na blinked in confusion and repeated the question.
“I said, buy me a drink.”
“A drink?”
“Yeah. I already had plans to drink. At that bar just now.”
She remembered seeing Joo Won right in front of the bar where she’d been with Jung Hoon earlier.
“Really? I feel so bad—go ahead quickly.”
Before Lee I Na could urge him to leave, Joo Won’s phone rang.
“Hold on a sec.”
Joo Won raised a hand to signal her to wait, then answered the call.
“Hello? Oh, no. Something urgent just came up. Yeah, so I probably can’t make it.”
Lee I Na, alarmed, was about to tell him to go ahead, but Joo Won cut her off.
“Yeah, it’s important. I’ll talk to you later. Could you please explain things to the others? Yeah, alright. I’m hanging up.”
As soon as he ended the call, Lee I Na exclaimed in surprise.
“No way! Why wouldn’t you go? Hurry up and go. I’m fine, really—just go!”
“Would you really just leave if you were in my place?”
Stunned into silence by Joo Won’s question, Lee I Na stood dazed for a moment before speaking again.
“Alright, Joo Won. We haven’t seen each other in ages, and showing you this side of me is honestly embarrassing and I feel really bad. I do appreciate you worrying about me, but it’s not worth breaking your plans over. So please, just go.”
Joo Won, who had been silently staring at Lee I Na, let out a short sigh and spoke.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of or sorry for. It’s not your fault—you couldn’t have known he was that kind of person when you met him.”
“Still…”
Lee I Na bit her lip tightly, eyes fixed on the floor.
“It wasn’t that important a plan anyway. They’re friends I see often—we can always have drinks another time. So don’t beat yourself up over it.”
But seeing Lee I Na still look so mortified, Joo Won gave a small chuckle.
“I said stop feeling bad already. Let’s not just stand here—let’s go. How about a shot of soju?”
Grabbing Lee I Na’s arm, Joo Won started walking toward the bar.
“Do you drink well?”
After they entered a nearby bar and sat down, Joo Won opened the menu and asked.
“Drinking? Well… I guess I drink moderately.”
“You were coming out of that bar earlier—did you not drink much there?”
She recalled making eye contact with Joo Won right in front of that bar just moments ago.
“No… I just matched the mood a bit, but didn’t actually drink much.”
“Really? Then let’s just have a quick one and head home.”
Joo Won raised his hand and ordered a bottle of soju and some oden soup.
A moment later, he took out a cotton swab, applied some ointment, and beckoned Lee I Na to come closer.
Startled, Lee I Na quickly reached out her hand.
“No, give it here—I’ll do it myself.”
But Joo Won didn’t move an inch and just kept staring at her.
“Should I move beside you, or will you come closer?”
With a slight huff, Lee I Na reluctantly leaned her face toward him.
Joo Won gently dabbed the ointment onto the corner of her left lip with the cotton swab.
The stinging pain made Lee I Na grimace unconsciously, and seeing this, Joo Won let out a brief sigh before carefully applying more ointment.
Lee I Na suddenly felt deeply embarrassed, thinking, ‘What kind of humiliating disaster is this?’
Of all people, she had to show her twin brother—the friend she hadn’t seen in thirteen years—the exact moment she was fighting her drunk, awful boyfriend. There couldn’t be a more mortifying situation.
“Don’t overthink it. He was just trash.”
As if reading her mind, Joo Won’s blunt words made Lee I Na look at him in surprise.
Joo Won tossed the cotton swab into the trash and handed her the ointment and fresh swabs.
“It shouldn’t scar, but keep applying the ointment properly until it heals.”
Feeling both embarrassed and grateful, Lee I Na watched as Joo Won poured her a glass of water and handed it over.
As she took the glass, she glanced shyly at him.
Did he always have this gentle side?
She tried faintly recalling memories from thirteen years ago when Joo Won continued speaking.
“When I made eye contact with you in front of the bar earlier, you somehow didn’t feel like a stranger. Then I saw that guy dragging you away… I should’ve realized it was you right away.”
Lee I Na looked at Joo Won with surprise at his self-reproachful tone just as the staff arrived with their soju and oden soup.
Without a word, Joo Won popped the bottle cap, poured a shot into Lee I Na’s glass, then filled his own.
He raised his glass and looked at her, so Lee I Na lifted hers too.
Joo Won downed his shot, and Lee I Na followed, gulping hers down in one go.
The taste of soju felt unusually bitter—just like her mood right now.
“If I asked why you got involved with a guy like that, it’d just make you feel worse, so I’ll ask this instead: you won’t see him again, right?”
Meeting Joo Won’s steady gaze, Lee I Na nodded firmly.
“Yeah. Of course not.”
Joo Won refilled her soju glass and added,
“But that guy didn’t exactly look like the type who’d let go easily.”
Lee I Na silently stared at her glass, drank it in one go, and set it down.
“We’re already done. If he calls or shows up, I’ll really call the police.”
Watching her quietly, Joo Won held out his phone to her.
Confused, Lee I Na looked at him, and he simply said, “Your number.”
“Oh. Right, your number.”
She quickly typed in her number and handed the phone back. Joo Won pressed call, and Lee I Na’s phone rang instantly.
After Joo Won saved her number, she hurriedly saved his as well.
“Where’s your office? What time do you usually finish work?”
“Me? It’s near Yeoksam Station—around 6:30. Why?”
“I’m at Samsung Station.”
“Huh? Seriously?”
Lee I Na stared at Joo Won in astonishment.
“Good grief… we’ve been living so close all this time, how come we never ran into each other once?”
“He knows your address, right?”
“Huh? Well, yeah. He’s never actually come inside, though.”
At Lee I Na’s words, Joo Won looked at her with genuine surprise.
“Why?”
“When I saw him just now, he seemed dangerously obsessed—I was actually surprised you hadn’t let him into your place.”
Joo Won’s words triggered a flood of memories in Lee I Na.
A month after they started dating, Jung Hoon had wanted to visit her apartment, but she’d politely refused, saying she’d invite him in only after marriage.
Jung Hoon kept insisting marriage was a given, but eventually gave up due to Lee I Na’s firm stance.
However, that had marked the beginning of his obsessive behavior—he started suspiciously questioning whether she might be letting other men into her home.
“Blocking his calls is easy enough, but he’ll definitely show up waiting outside your office or home—crying, making threats, causing a scene.”
Hearing Joo Won’s words, Lee I Na’s expression darkened again as she looked down at her drink.
Truthfully, she’d been worried about how Jung Hoon might act tomorrow but had been trying not to show it in front of Joo Won.
But as Joo Won said, Park Jung Hoon was absolutely capable of doing exactly that.
Today, he’d left in shock after her breakup declaration, but tomorrow—being the weekend—he’d almost certainly start calling early in the morning and show up at her doorstep.
If she refused to meet him, he’d undoubtedly come to her office.
Just imagining the kind of scene he might cause there—even though it hadn’t happened yet—already gave her a headache.
“For one week—exactly one week—I’ll drive you home. Wait for me in front of your office. Send me your office address over KakaoTalk.”
“Huh?”
Not understanding what he meant, Lee I Na blinked and looked at him.
“I’ll drive you home for just one week. Where do you live?”
“Wha… what?”
Lee I Na unintentionally repeated his question in a loud voice, causing people at nearby tables to glance over at her.
She quickly covered her mouth and bowed her head apologetically.
Watching her, Joo Won refilled his soju glass again.
“Joo Won-ah…”
Lee I Na called his name softly, head still bowed.
Joo Won looked at her as he brought the glass to his lips, and she shook her head slightly.
“Why are you offering to drive me home? I’m already dying of embarrassment just from you seeing me like that earlier.”
“I already told you—you have nothing to be embarrassed about. That guy who raised a hand to a woman is the one who should feel ashamed.”
“But still… how can I drag you into this mess too?”
“My feet are already in. This isn’t something you can handle alone. If I hadn’t shown up earlier, he would’ve kept dragging you away.”
At those words, Lee I Na bit the soft flesh inside her mouth and lowered her head.
“It’s not complicated. He might wait for you after work and try to hurt you, so I’ll drive you home for about a week. If nothing happens during that time, we’ll consider ourselves lucky.”
Lee I Na lifted her head and looked at Joo Won.
Still, accepting his offer felt awkward and made her feel guilty.
“If Joo Hee were going through this kind of thing… wouldn’t you do the same for her as I’m doing for you now?”
Stunned by Joo Won’s serious, heartfelt question, Lee I Na’s eyes widened.
Joo Hee? Going through the same thing as me?
No way! That could never happen!
If anyone ever laid a hand on Joo Hee—her closest friend, like a sister to her—Lee I Na would chase them to the ends of the earth and make them pay.
Moved by Joo Won’s perfectly apt analogy, Lee I Na fell into brief thought.
Then, as if making up her mind, she looked up at him.
“Joo Won-ah, thank you for offering to help right away. Then… shamelessly as it may be, I’ll accept your kindness. Really, thank you.”
In response, Joo Won simply smiled.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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