Once More, Wife (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 4
“Is this the place?”
Chae Ha glanced around indifferently at the desolate scenery.
Weathered, shabby houses—the kind he’d only seen on television—lined the alley, their roofs nearly touching.
His immaculate suit felt conspicuously out of place here.
Though the address James had given him was definitely correct, no answer came no matter how many times he called out.
After waiting a long while, Chae Ha gently pushed the rusted mailbox with his finger, its corroded corner crumbling slightly.
The presence of mail clearly indicated someone lived here, yet there was no sign of life whatsoever.
He briefly considered leaving the envelope inside the box, but instead slipped it back into his chest pocket.
Just then—
“Huh?”
A clear, melodic voice pierced through the otherwise mundane backdrop of everyday sounds, landing softly in Chae Ha’s ears.
Turning his head, he saw Min Seol Won approaching, supporting someone on her shoulder.
A frail middle-aged woman, leaning heavily on a cane.
Mother and daughter were so strikingly alike that no introduction was needed—anyone could tell they were related at a glance.
Pale skin, finely chiseled features, and sharp, determined eyes that remained vivid despite her obvious illness.
When Seol Won finally reached Chae Ha, she asked in bewildered confusion,
“What are you doing here…? Did you come looking for me?”
“I went to the shop, and they said you quit, so I came to your home.”
He answered calmly while carefully studying her.
At the wedding, she had been neatly dressed and wearing makeup, but now she wore no makeup at all and looked comfortably casual.
Her mother, who had also been appraising Chae Ha, now looked utterly shocked by his words.
“You quit your job? What on earth are you talking about, Seol Won?”
“Ah…”
Embarrassment quickly spread across Seol Won’s face at her mother’s question.
Clearly, her mother hadn’t known about this yet.
“Mom, let’s go inside first. I’ll explain once we’re in.”
Seol Won gently urged her mother forward toward the blue front gate, and Chae Ha naturally followed behind.
But just before he could cross the threshold, Seol Won suddenly turned around.
“…Are you really coming in?”
It wasn’t Chae Ha who answered her—it was her mother.
“Seol Won, we have a guest. Of course we should invite them inside.”
“But, Mom, this person isn’t exactly a guest…”
“In that case, I’ll take my leave.”
“…?”
Chae Ha strode confidently through the open gate and into the yard.
Seol Won’s mother smiled gently as she watched him approach,
completely unfazed even though he could clearly sense Min Seol Won’s discomfort behind him.
A short while later, despite Chae Ha’s attempts to dissuade her, her mother brought out a small tray of tea and snacks.
Though she looked too weak to stand for long, her stubbornness was unmistakable.
“…”
Though her mother had kindly excused herself to let them talk freely, an awkward silence settled between the two instead.
Unable to bear it any longer, Seol Won finally broke the silence as she watched Chae Ha sip his tea.
“Was the flower payment insufficient? I made sure to include as many silver bells as possible—they arrived in such excellent condition.”
“No. I came to return it.”
“What?”
Her already wide eyes fixed directly on Chae Ha, impossibly round.
Her gaze held a strange, magnetic pull.
Just like last time, he found himself not at all bothered by meeting her eyes.
“I dislike putting a price tag on my actions.”
“…What?”
For a brief moment, Seol Won looked confusedly between Chae Ha’s face and the envelope of money, but then firmly shook her head.
“I’m sorry, but I hate being indebted to anyone.”
The tension in the air wasn’t just about pride.
“Look, I truly appreciate your help. But surely you had to pay money to get those flowers, right? So if you accept this, it would only be fair and bring everything to a proper close.”
“Your father?”
“Yes?”
Startled by his sudden, seemingly random remark, Seol Won soon realized his gaze had landed on a photograph of her father hanging on the wall.
Her father, smiling brightly and heartily in his firefighter uniform—the man she loved most in the world.
…Whose youthful face had been frozen in time forever.
“Yes. He died in the line of duty long ago.”
“That must have been hard. And your mother seems to have difficulty moving—was that why you quit your job?”
“Ah… Yes. She’s been collapsing frequently lately, so I figured I’d need to stay by her side permanently.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
At his blunt question, Seol Won hesitated briefly before speaking.
“She suffers from a rare immune-related disorder. It wasn’t present at first, but after my father’s death, extreme stress caused her healthy cells to start attacking her own body.”
“Like cancer?”
“Similar, but different—it doesn’t respond to chemotherapy at all. We’ve managed until now only thanks to a new foreign drug. Lately, though, her episodes have become more frequent, and she collapses often. As you’ve seen, she can barely stand.”
Seol Won’s usually steady eyes shimmered with sorrow.
As James had mentioned, her situation truly was dire.
If it was a foreign drug, there probably weren’t many patients using it in Korea—meaning the cost must be extremely high.
Worried her mother might overhear from inside the room, Seol Won lowered her voice to a whisper.
“It’s a secret from Mom that I’ve quit my job. She already refuses hospitalization because of the cost—if she finds out I’ve stopped working too…”
“Just take this money.”
Chae Ha pushed the envelope toward her again.
Yet the very person who needed it most now pushed it back toward him with an almost angry expression.
“I won’t accept it. It might be spare change to you, but to me, it’s a matter of pride in my work.”
“Pride?”
At that word, Chae Ha tilted his head slightly.
He’d never heard anyone around him use that term before—it felt both unfamiliar and refreshing.
“Yes. The watch you’re wearing right now probably costs more than our entire house—more than any house in this neighborhood. In your world, maybe things like that are called ‘pride,’ but the pride my father taught me isn’t like that at all.”
Chae Ha glanced anew at his casually worn watch.
He’d never really considered its value, and besides, something so trivial could never be his source of pride.
Seol Won’s clear voice rose slightly, tinged with faint irritation.
“Even before he passed away, my father always prepared himself for the possibility of dying in the line of duty. He told me he was the kind of person whose job carried constant risk—and that if he ever died first, I shouldn’t see it as suffering, but as his pride.”
“He must have been an admirable man.”
“This incident happened solely due to my mistake, so naturally I should be the one to fix it. Returning this money would feel disrespectful to me.”
Since becoming an adult, Chae Ha—chairman of the massive Chae Woon Group and son of its formidable leader—had never once been scolded by anyone, not even his own father.
Yet somehow, her gentle reproof didn’t bother him at all, and he let out a slow, relaxed breath.
Just then, the bedroom door opened quietly, and her mother stepped into the living room.
“Mom! Are you not feeling well?”
“No, dear. It’s time for my medicine—I just came out to get some water. By the way, it’s almost dinner time—would you like to stay for a meal?”
Her mother offered the suggestion with the same warm smile as before.
Seeing Seol Won’s panic at the offer, Chae Ha quickly shook his head.
“No, thank you. I came unannounced—it wouldn’t be right to impose like that.”
“Don’t say that! It’s been so long since we’ve had a visitor; I’d be delighted. You must be quite close to our Seol Won if she even gave you our address.”
“Mom, that’s not what it is…”
Frowning in confusion over where to even begin explaining, Seol Won looked thoroughly flustered.
Her mother only smiled even more gently.
“Maybe it’s because I’m sick, but I’ve always worried that when I’m gone, my daughter will be left all alone. If she met a good person and built a family, I think I could finally rest easy.”
“Mom, really—why are you saying things like that to a complete stranger? We’re not even close!”
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. Must be my age—lately I keep blurting out nonsense.”
“Not at all. It’s perfectly fine.”
As Chae Ha gave a small upward quirk of his lips, her mother smiled warmly and returned to her room with the water.
The moment the door closed, Seol Won tried to usher him out.
“If you’re done drinking, please leave now. I think we’ve said enough.”
Instead of answering, Chae Ha downed the rest of his tea in one gulp and wiped the droplets from his lips with a long finger.
His judgment had been correct after all—Min Seol Won truly was the woman he’d been searching for.
“Miss Min Seol Won, you’re quite the devoted daughter. Don’t you want to put your mother’s mind at ease?”
“What?”
“Let me be direct. How about marrying me?”
“…!”
At the word “marry,” Seol Won’s eyes widened dramatically.
Seeing the obvious confusion in her expression, Chae Ha quickly clarified.
“To be precise, I’m proposing a contract. A contract marriage.”
“…A contract marriage?”
“Yes. For about three years—think of it as a time-limited marriage.”
Having confirmed what he’d wanted to confirm, he pulled out a business card and laid his true intent bare.
“It wasn’t intentional, but now that I know your circumstances, I’ll be honest in return. Six months ago, my older brother died—the original heir of the Chae Woon Group, and the son my mother cherished above all others.”
At the mention of “Chae Woon Group,” Seol Won, who had been looking at his business card, flinched slightly.
But Chae Ha didn’t give her a chance to interrupt.
“Because of that, my mother’s obsession has only grown worse—especially regarding marriage.”
“…”
“I have absolutely no intention of marrying any of those ubiquitous heiresses from wealthy families—the kind you described, who believe their pride lies in jewels, handbags, or expensive dresses.”
Feeling guilty for having lumped him in with such people, Seol Won lowered her gaze slightly.
Unseen by her, Chae Ha’s lips curved upward again as he continued,
“My mother is an extremely formidable woman—you’d need exceptional strength of will to deal with her. Min Seol Won, I admire your resolute gaze and your sense of pride. And you seem discreet enough that you won’t recklessly reveal the terms of our contract.”
Seol Won’s fingers tightened around the teacup handle.
After glancing briefly at her small hand, Chae Ha pressed his offer further.
“You’ve quit your job, so won’t you be in trouble without income? Even if you don’t need money yourself, your mother surely does—and I imagine she’d be overjoyed to have a son-in-law.”
Though partly feigned, his words held undeniable truth, and Seol Won’s eyes wavered.
Seizing the opening, Chae Ha played his trump card—the one she couldn’t possibly refuse.
“I can provide whatever you need. On the condition that you marry me, I’ll cover all your mother’s medical expenses. Regardless of the marriage term, she’ll receive the absolute best care available—any medicine, any surgery—until she’s fully recovered.”
“You’re…”
“Kwon Chae Ha.”
“Yes?”
At his firm tone, Seol Won’s gaze locked onto his face.
For some reason, Chae Ha felt an unfamiliar emotion stir in his chest—a wish that those eyes would stay on him just a little longer.
So without hesitation, he offered her a fake proposal.
“My name is Kwon Chae Ha. This seems like a mutually beneficial arrangement, don’t you think, Miss Min Seol Won? Let’s get married.”
When the male lead is punished by carrying the female lead’s child and having periods like a woman
“I’ve given birth to two children for you, yet you still think about him.
Was I nothing but his substitute to you from beginning to end?”
Synopsis:
Meng Huan, a scumbag who has dated countless girlfriends, transmigrates to a female-dominated country.
Day 1: Whether it’s female dominance or not doesn’t matter. The beauties here are passionate and amorous. Isn’t it easier to date them than in modern times?
Day 2: After a night, Meng Huan discovers the differences in the female-dominated world. Men here actually have chastity locks and menstrual cycles. This hinders his ability to perform, damn it!
Day 3: What’s wrong with sleeping around? I don’t want you to marry me. I’m meant to be a playboy. I don’t care about male virtues… What? You want to drown me in a pig cage? Marry, I’ll marry!
Day N: Meng Huan inexplicably vomits and receives the shocking news of his life… He’s pregnant.
_____
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