Date Me! (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
When Joo Won filled his empty glass with soju, Lee I Na scooped some fish cake soup onto a small plate and handed it to him.
“Eat some of this too.”
“Okay. You should eat too.”
“Mm.”
Lee I Na picked up her spoon, then stared blankly at Joo Won.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just… it feels so unreal.”
“What does?”
“I was wondering how likely it is to run into a middle school friend on the street after thirteen years.”
Instead of answering, Joo Won let out a soft chuckle.
“Isn’t it really unbelievable? I mean, the circumstances of our meeting weren’t exactly great… but the last time we saw each other was winter of our third year in middle school. So much time has passed, right?”
“That’s true. Thirteen years is quite a long time.”
Lee I Na quietly gazed at Joo Won for a moment, then smiled and said,
“But how come you’ve gotten even more handsome and good-looking? Even when I first saw you, you were so handsome you looked just like an idol… You really grew up beautifully.”
“Are we suddenly in compliment mode?”
Joo Won laughed, and Lee I Na, flustered, touched her cheek.
“No, I just… told the truth. Actually, I already thought you looked incredibly handsome the moment you took off your hat earlier.”
“Really?”
Joo Won laughed again, clearly amused.
“Yeah… Isn’t that silly? Even in that situation, I still noticed how handsome you were.”
“No, I’m honored. That you’d still think I was handsome in that moment.”
Lee I Na’s cheeks turned red at Joo Won’s words, spoken with a smile that left her unsure if he was joking or serious.
Feeling suddenly embarrassed, Lee I Na quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, how tall are you? You weren’t short back then, but now you seem really tall.”
“185.”
“…Whoa.”
Lee I Na’s mouth dropped open.
“I’m seriously jealous… I stopped at 162 and haven’t grown even a single centimeter since.”
At Lee I Na’s dejected tone, Joo Won rested his right hand on his chin and fixed his gaze steadily on her.
“Why? I always thought petite girls were cute.”
“…”
Caught off guard by Joo Won’s unexpected comment, Lee I Na blinked rapidly.
“And you, Lee I Na—you’ve grown up really pretty too, you know?”
“…Huh?”
“Even back then you had fair, pretty skin, but now you’re even more beautiful. You’re still so fair.”
“…”
Lee I Na’s eyes widened at Joo Won’s continued words.
For a moment, she wondered if she’d heard him wrong.
Is this man in front of me really Joo Won?
These were words the prickly Joo Won from thirteen years ago would never have said, and though she felt dazed, something in her chest tingled strangely.
Seeing Lee I Na’s flushed cheeks, one corner of Joo Won’s mouth lifted slightly.
To calm her fluttering heart, Lee I Na took a sip of soju, and Joo Won picked up the soju bottle.
Glancing sideways at Joo Won as he refilled her glass, she suddenly remembered the first time she’d seen him.
She’d already been impressed by Joo Hee’s tall stature, slender figure, and doll-like features—but when she’d met Joo Hee’s twin brother Joo Won, she’d been twice as shocked, feeling as if a celebrity had appeared before her eyes.
She recalled thinking how superior this family’s genes truly were.
But unlike his stunning appearance, Joo Won back then had been prickly, aloof, and hard to approach.
She now vividly remembered just how hard she’d tried to become friends with him.
And yet here he was—handsome, refined, and fully grown into a mature man…
Overwhelmed by mixed emotions and a wave of nostalgia, Joo Hee suddenly flashed into Lee I Na’s mind.
Swallowing hard, Lee I Na asked Joo Won urgently,
“What about Joo He! Is she doing well? Where does she live now? Is she in Seoul?”
Joo Won stayed silent for a moment, then lifted the soju bottle and poured some into his own glass.
After quietly downing the soju, he slowly began to speak.
“After you left for Yeosu, our family went through some changes too. Our parents divorced in the winter of my first year of high school.”
Seeing Lee I Na’s startled expression, Joo Won continued in a calm tone.
“After I entered high school, my dad’s business got really tough. Creditors kept calling, and my parents fought every night. Their words grew harsher and harsher until one day, they announced they were getting divorced. I… was shocked too, of course, but Lee Joo Hee cried a lot.”
Lee I Na couldn’t utter a word at Joo Won’s detached tone.
Back in the winter of her third year of middle school, Lee I Na’s father had died in an accident. Her mother, unable to recover from the shock, moved them to her maternal grandmother’s home in Yeosu, South Jeolla, the following February.
Lee I Na herself fell into depression from the changed environment and grief over never seeing her father again, and by her first year of high school, her condition worsened to the point where getting through each day felt exhausting.
Trapped in her own depression, she gradually forgot to contact Joo Hee, and Joo Hee’s messages slowly dwindled until, by that winter, all contact had ceased completely.
Yet all this time, Joo Hee had been going through such hardships… Lee I Na was filled with guilt.
Her heart ached with remorse for having been so wrapped up in her own pain that she’d failed to notice Joo Hee’s suffering.
Seeing Lee I Na’s expression darken abruptly, Joo Won spoke softly.
“You don’t need to look like that. It’s all in the past, and we were just kids back then. And though it’s not right to compare pain… your situation was definitely harder and more painful than ours.”
At Joo Won’s words, Lee I Na’s chest tightened suddenly.
Memories of those days she never wanted to recall again throbbed painfully in her heart.
“Right after our parents’ divorce that winter, Lee Joo Hee moved to Japan with our mom. I stayed in Korea with my dad.”
Surprised by Joo Won’s attempt to lighten the mood, Lee I Na’s eyes widened.
She’d known Joo Hee’s mother was a Korean-born resident of Japan, and remembered how fluent both Joo Hee and Joo Won had been in Japanese because of it.
“Honestly, Lee Joo Hee always got along better with Mom. As for me… it wasn’t so much that I preferred Dad, as I just didn’t want to go to Japan. Joo Hee went back there, studied, got into university, found a job, and even married a Japanese man two years ago. She’s pregnant now.”
Hearing this panoramic summary of Joo Hee’s life over the past thirteen years they’d been apart left Lee I Na stunned.
Mixed with the realization of how much Joo Hee had accomplished during their separation came a deep lump in her throat.
Her eyes slightly misty at the thought of Joo Hee, Lee I Na smiled and looked at Joo Won.
“She’s pregnant? That’s wonderful! When’s the baby due?”
“She’s due in early April next spring.”
“Wow, even the date is perfect. Can you give me Joo Hee’s number? I really want to hear her voice.”
Joo Won stared at Lee I Na for a moment, then took her phone and typed in the number.
“She’d probably give it to you, but maybe call tomorrow instead. You’re feeling pretty down right now, and it’s already late—she’s probably asleep.”
“Oh, right. It is pretty late. I’ll call her tomorrow.”
“Yeah, do that. She might burst into tears from happiness when she hears your voice. Ever since she got pregnant, she’s been crying a lot more.”
“I think I’ll burst into tears too when I hear Joo Hee’s voice.”
At her words, Joo Won gazed quietly at Lee I Na.
“You’ll get puffy eyes when you cry, remember? And your nose turns red.”
Lee I Na’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Huh? How do you remember that?”
Joo Won softly smiled, fiddling with his soju glass.
“How could I forget? You looked like a crying Rudolph with swollen eyes.”
Embarrassed, Lee I Na scratched her cheek.
“Haha… Was I really like that?”
“Do you still turn into Rudolph when you cry now?”
“Well… if I cry a lot, yeah, I guess. But since becoming an adult, I try really hard not to cry.”
At her words, Joo Won stared silently at Lee I Na.
“…Did you have a lot of reasons to cry?”
Taken aback by his heavy question, Lee I Na looked up at him.
In Joo Won’s earnest eyes, tenderness flickered.
She smiled faintly and shook her head slightly.
“Oh, I just say that—it’s like when you watch a sad movie and tears come out, right? So I try to avoid sad movies… I don’t want to turn into Rudolph.”
Hearing her laugh, Joo Won finally let out a quiet chuckle.
“By the way, where do you live?”
Lee I Na asked as she poured more soju into Joo Won’s glass.
“Jamsil.”
“Oh my gosh, really?”
Lee I Na looked at him in surprise.
“I live near Kondae Station. Wow… we’ve actually been living so close all this time. What are the odds?”
“Yeah, really close.”
“So you’ve been living in Seoul all along?”
“Yeah.”
“I came back to Seoul when I was twenty for university. How come we never bumped into each other even once?”
“Well, Seoul’s so crowded—it wasn’t that likely we’d run into each other.”
“True… Even if we had, I probably wouldn’t have recognized you like I did earlier. I’d have just thought, ‘Wow, what a handsome guy,’ and walked right past.”
Joo Won let out a short laugh.
“Why do you keep making me dizzy with compliments?”
“It’s not a compliment—it’s just the truth.”
Just then, Lee I Na’s phone rang.
It was a call from her best friend, Hyun Joo.
“Joo Won, I’ll take this call real quick.”
Joo Won nodded, and Lee I Na headed to the restroom with her phone.
As soon as Lee I Na left, Joo Won lifted his soju glass and downed it in one gulp.
Setting the glass down, he let out a long breath.
Sitting face-to-face with Lee I Na, talking like this—it all felt strangely unreal.
It was almost dreamlike, slightly hazy.
For several months after Lee I Na moved to Yeosu thirteen years ago, Joo Hee had kept in steady contact with her.
Though Joo Won had never asked directly, Joo Hee would occasionally tell him how Lee I Na was doing.
On nights after hearing about Lee I Na, Joo Won would lie in bed thinking of her until he fell asleep.
He remembered Lee I Na’s bold declaration the first time they met: “I’m going to be friends with you no matter what—you’re prickly, but even the sturdiest tree falls after ten strikes!”
Thinking back now on the things Lee I Na had said and done to fulfill that promise, he couldn’t help but smile.
But then his father’s business troubles began, talk of divorce started, and Joo Hee quickly grew somber.
Soon after, she stopped mentioning Lee I Na entirely, and right after their parents’ divorce, Joo Hee left for Japan with their mother.
In the thirteen years since then, Joo Won had often thought of Lee I Na.
Where was she? What was she doing?
Was she doing well?
Were those big, round, chestnut-colored eyes still the same?
Some indescribable emotion—longing, maybe—had lingered without fading, and today, completely unexpectedly, he’d run into her.
After thirteen years, just like in a drama.
When he’d been standing outside the bar on the phone, a woman walked out, and the moment their eyes met by chance, Joo Won’s pupils widened.
This face… those big, chestnut-colored eyes… could it be?
But the woman quickly looked away, seemingly embarrassed, and hurried off—yet Joo Won found himself unconsciously following her retreating figure.
Moments later, a drunk man stumbled out of the bar and started trailing her, muttering irritably.
Frowning, Joo Won quickly ended his call and followed the man.
When he saw the man grab the woman’s wrist and twist it, an unfamiliar rage surged through him.
After stopping the man and sending him away, Joo Won found himself alone with the woman—and as he looked down into her eyes staring up at him, he was certain.
Those big, round, shining chestnut-colored eyes…
Yes. Seo I Na.
A quiet excitement mingled with joy tugged at the corner of Joo Won’s lips.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Most Commented This Week
The Villain Has Gone Mad For Me (Completed Main Story)
I’m The Lowest-Ranking Daughter Of A Martial Arts Villain (2 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Became the Assassin Family’s Foster Daughter (Completed Main Story)
The Duke Only Needs My Child (Completed Main Story)
Men of the Harem (137 Chapters Left to Complete)
At the End of Ruin, There You Are (56 Chapters Left to Complete)
She’s a Villainess but her Husband is Handsome (Completed Main Story)
People Aren’t Meant to Be Fixed! (4 Chapters Left to Complete)
Summer Must Die (16 Chapters Left to Complete)
My Discarded Fiancé Returned (Completed Main Story)
I Received The First Time Of My Extraordinary Superior (9 Chapters Left to Complete)
Regret With All Your Might (Completed Main Story)