The Wife Who Ran Away (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 2
Early morning.
Yeon Joo visited a general hospital on the outskirts of Seoul. She walked with familiar steps toward the main building’s elevator and pressed the button for the 5th floor.
[Ding. 5th floor.]Stepping off on the 5th floor, she walked down a long corridor and stopped in front of a hospital room—the ICU for critical patients.
[Shin Mi Hyun]Yeon Joo silently stared at the patient’s name written on the door.
Just seeing those three characters made her chest ache—they were her mother’s name.
She reached her hand toward the door.
“Knock knock.”
Knowing there would be no answer from inside, she still knocked.
“…….”
Greeted by the familiar silence, Yeon Joo opened the door and entered. Inside the hushed room lay Mi Hyun, motionless on the bed.
Even though her daughter had come to visit after a long absence, Mi Hyun didn’t even blink. She lay utterly still.
Yeon Joo approached her side.
“Mom. I’m here.”
No reply came. Her mother, whom she hadn’t seen in so long, still looked frail and lonely. The oxygen mask covering her pale face caught Yeon Joo’s eye.
“I’m sorry. It’s been way too long since I last came.”
Before getting married, she’d come to this room every day—but after her marriage, even visiting her mother required her to watch her step carefully.
Yeon Joo dampened a towel with warm water and gently wiped Mi Hyun’s body. Seeing her mother’s skeletal legs sent a sharp pang through her chest.
Fourteen years earlier, Mi Hyun had married Yeon Joo’s stepfather, Dae Han. At the time, Dae Han was the CEO of a small-to-medium enterprise, and after their marriage, his business grew rapidly, expanding at an astonishing pace.
As the company’s reputation soared, Dae Han’s mother, Kyeong Ok, grew increasingly disdainful of Mi Hyun.
“Of all the nerve—to go after my son, even though she came with a child already! She’s no ordinary fox.”
“My Dae Han is just too kind—he fell for her. But don’t think you can fool me. Wake up from that dream.”
Kyeong Ok had opposed the marriage from the start, citing Mi Hyun’s unremarkable background and the fact that she already had a child. Despite fierce resistance, the two eventually married—and from that day on, Kyeong Ok spent their entire marriage belittling and mistreating Mi Hyun.
“Worthless woman.”
That’s what Kyeong Ok always called Mi Hyun and Yeon Joo.
“What good have you two ever done for Dae Han?”
“It’s only poor Dae Han who suffers—stuck with a wife who can’t even bear him a child and raising someone else’s kid too. Ugh!”
Yeon Joo always felt as though she herself was her mother’s flaw. She believed that if she hadn’t existed, her mother wouldn’t have been judged for remarrying or endured such contempt afterward.
So Yeon Joo tried her best to become someone who, even if not admirable, wouldn’t cause anyone trouble. She acted mature beyond her years and was always proper. She watched others carefully, figured out what they wanted, and chose her words and actions cautiously—never causing trouble or even whining once.
At the very least, she hoped her presence wouldn’t strain the relationship between Mi Hyun and Dae Han. She believed that as long as she kept trying, their family would find peace.
But that hope completely shattered the year Yeon Joo turned eighteen.
On a drizzly night, Mi Hyun was involved in a traffic accident and fell into a coma as a result.
“Ah… no. Mom.”
“Wake up, Mom.”
“Please… just open your eyes, even a little.”
Yeon Joo clung to her motionless mother and wailed.
It felt as if her entire world had collapsed. She felt utterly alone, abandoned in pitch-black darkness.
Mi Hyun remained in limbo—neither dead nor truly alive—spending each day in the ICU. The doctors saw little hope for recovery. Yeon Joo tearfully pleaded with Kyeong Ok and Dae Han not to give up on her mother.
“Father. Grandmother. Please, let’s save Mom.”
“Mom is still alive! I’ll do anything you ask—please, just let’s save her.”
Helpless and only eighteen, all Yeon Joo could do was kneel and beg.
Even though everyone said it was hopeless, she refused to give up. She believed Mi Hyun would wake up someday.
Seasons passed, years went by, but Mi Hyun never woke up. The people around them, who had once worried about Mi Hyun and encouraged Yeon Joo, gradually gave up one by one.
Everyone said she would never awaken. It even seemed Dae Han, her stepfather, had found another woman.
Mi Hyun faded from most people’s memories. Some even hoped she would pass away soon.
“Do you even know how much money we’ve spent on your mother’s hospital bills?”
“Your mother really never stops being a burden! I should’ve stopped their marriage no matter what back then!”
Kyeong Ok openly scolded and berated Yeon Joo. Each time, Yeon Joo begged her not to give up on her mother. At first, Dae Han tried to restrain Kyeong Ok, but as time passed, he stopped caring altogether.
The sole reason Yeon Joo endured that brutal period with such grit was this:
She alone believed Mi Hyun would eventually wake up.
Four years had passed since Mi Hyun fell into her coma without waking.
“There’s a blind date lined up for you.”
Kyeong Ok demanded that Yeon Joo attend a blind date. Yeon Joo was twenty-two at the time.
“I don’t want to get married yet. I haven’t even graduated from university, and after graduation, there’s still so much I want to do.”
She refused the blind date. But Kyeong Ok’s response was cold. Grabbing Yeon Joo by the hair, she shouted,
“What you want to do? Ever since you two came into this house, everything’s turned upside down—and now you think you can just live however you please?!”
“You heartless little wretch!”
Kyeong Ok had two reasons for pushing Yeon Joo into an early marriage: first, to leverage the union to merge with another company for Dae Han’s business; second, to get rid of Yeon Joo—the thorn in her side—as soon as possible.
“You promised you’d do anything we asked! Have you already forgotten who’s been paying for your mother’s hospital bills?”
“If you’re going to be this ungrateful, then we’ll stop supporting your mother altogether.”
At the mention of Mi Hyun, Yeon Joo’s expression clouded with anxiety. The hospital bills were far beyond what she could ever afford alone.
Remembering her mother’s face lying in the hospital bed, she couldn’t bring herself to say no.
In the end, it was Yeon Joo who lowered her head.
“Fine. I’ll go on the blind date.”
Until her mother woke up, she had to comply with everything they demanded. Once Mom woke up… she would finally be free from it all.
From that day on, Yeon Joo attended blind dates exactly as Kyeong Ok wished. Each time one failed, within days Kyeong Ok had already arranged another.
Every weekend, she dressed in overly flashy and mature clothes that didn’t suit her, sitting like a doll at blind date venues—this became her routine.
Whether fortunate or unfortunate, every suitor rejected her. The main reason was that marrying Yeon Joo seemed to offer little business advantage.
Whenever a blind date failed, Kyeong Ok flew into a rage, hurling personal insults and vulgarities without hesitation.
“What kind of charm do you have if every man you meet rejects you!”
“If you’re so worthless, you should at least flirt a little to hold a man’s interest! And remember—if you fail again, there’ll be no more money for your mother’s treatment!”
Yeon Joo’s face darkened as she recalled those painful memories.
The days she spent with Kyeong Ok after Mi Hyun’s accident were so full of suffering that she never wanted to remember them again.
Still, it was precisely because of those forced blind dates that she eventually met Jin Wook. Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, she couldn’t quite tell.
Yeon Joo looked out the window. Red, yellow… vibrant autumn leaves lined the streets, creating a breathtaking scene.
The day she first met Jin Wook had also been filled with such beautiful colors.
It was a Saturday afternoon, and the autumn sun was unusually warm.
That day, Yeon Joo sat in a hotel restaurant, dressed up for yet another blind date.
Her face, as she gazed out the window, was gloomy. Her eyes lacked vitality, and her expression showed no trace of liveliness. Her slumped shoulders looked as if weighed down by heavy boulders.
After so many blind dates, Yeon Joo had started thinking that if she had to marry according to Kyeong Ok’s wishes anyway, she might as well get it over with quickly. That way, she wouldn’t have to endure Kyeong Ok’s cruel insults any longer—and she’d finally have a place of her own, away from that household.
But even that small hope wasn’t working out, leaving Yeon Joo feeling frustrated and exhausted.
Moreover, today’s blind date prospect was someone who had no chance of marriage from the very beginning.
“You got lucky this time—a blind date spot opened up. But just sit there and come back. It’s not like anything will come of it anyway.”
Even Kyeong Ok seemed to hold zero expectations. And for good reason—today’s prospect was the grandson of the chairman of LM Group, one of the country’s top construction conglomerates, with global influence.
Given how vastly their family status and wealth differed, there was no way this man would be interested in a blind date with someone like Yeon Joo.
Yeon Joo glanced at her watch. It was exactly 1:00 p.m.—the agreed-upon time.
Just then, the café door opened, and a man stepped inside.
For a moment, Yeon Joo stared at him, utterly captivated.
The man wore a perfectly tailored black suit and carried himself with a tall, statuesque frame and chiseled features.
His broad, angular shoulders looked confident and strong, and his long strides carried the grace and elegance of a runway model.
Yeon Joo wasn’t the only one unable to look away—everyone in the café had their eyes fixed on him.
The man was flawless from head to toe. He couldn’t simply be described as “handsome.” A powerful yet refined charm radiated from him, accompanied by an aura of untouchable dignity.
And that man, who had stolen everyone’s attention, stopped right in front of Yeon Joo.
“Are you Ms. Kang Yeon Joo?”
Startled by his deep, resonant voice, Yeon Joo looked up.
“Yes, I’m Kang Yeon Joo. Are you…?”
“I’m Cha Jin Wook, the one you’re meeting today.”
Yeon Joo’s eyes widened. He was none other than her blind date for the day.
She stood up and bowed slightly toward him.
“Oh, hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“We’re not exactly strangers, though.”
Blinking in confusion at his softly spoken words, Yeon Joo tilted her head.
“…?”
As far as she knew, this was the first time she’d ever seen Jin Wook’s face up close. But before she could ask what he meant, he had already walked to the seat across from hers, taking away her chance to question him.
They sat facing each other across a rectangular table.
Up close, Jin Wook’s features were even more dazzling.
His thick eyebrows stretched elegantly, and his dark eyes were deep enough to drown in.
His high nose bridge and sharply defined jawline were as exquisite as a sculpture’s.
Looking at Jin Wook’s face, Yeon Joo realized this blind date’s success rate had just plummeted even further.
With such a vast gap in family status—and now, with his flawless looks too—the chances of this man being interested in her were practically zero.
Tea arrived at their table. A strong black Americano sat before Jin Wook, while an herbal tea was placed in front of Yeon Joo.
Though the outcome seemed predetermined, Yeon Joo felt she should at least introduce herself properly.
“I’m twenty-two and currently attending Korea University. My major is business administration, and I’m also minoring in art history since I’m quite interested in that field…”
“Your father must be in quite a hurry.”
Jin Wook raised his teacup to his lips as he spoke.
“Putting his daughter on a blind date before she’s even graduated from university.”
Yeon Joo’s eyes flickered slightly at his words.
His comment implied her father was pushing his young daughter into marriage for business gain. Sensing an odd chill and mockery in his tone, she replied,
“I don’t think I’m young. And I believe age isn’t important when it comes to marriage.”
Of course, she’d once thought she was too young to marry. But after countless blind dates, she’d realized that age had nothing to do with marriage in this world.
Marriage was merely an extension of business—a corporate merger. What truly mattered in blind dates was family background and financial worth, not the age of the other person.
Hearing her words, Jin Wook’s eyebrows lifted slightly. He set his coffee cup down after taking another sip.
“Then what is important?”
“Excuse me?”
He looked straight into her eyes as he set his cup down.
“I’m asking what’s most important to you, Ms. Kang Yeon Joo, when it comes to marriage.”
His penetrating gaze made her feel as if she were sitting in a job interview.
“…”
After a brief silence, Yeon Joo slowly spoke.
“The future.”
She met his gaze calmly and steadily.
“I believe what matters most is the kind of future my partner can promise and secure for me.”
His sharp eyes fixed on her.
“If someone guarantees that secure future, does it truly not matter who it is?”
“…”
“Could you really marry someone with whom you share no feelings?”
If she cared about love, she wouldn’t have come here at all. Yeon Joo replied firmly, without hesitation.
“If the conditions are clear, I don’t mind a marriage without love.”
Ordinary people might prioritize love and trust above all—but in their world, things were different. Every marriage was decided only after thoroughly calculating and comparing what one could gain from the other.
So this man wouldn’t choose her. Because there was nothing to gain from her.
With no hope at all, Yeon Joo simply looked at him.
But Jin Wook’s demeanor shifted slightly after hearing her words. His expression grew serious as he spoke.
“Now I think we might actually understand each other.”
“…”
“I don’t have much time, so let’s get straight to the point.”
He straightened his broad shoulders and faced her directly. His calm yet powerful voice rang out clearly.
“I can guarantee the future you desire. Until your mother wakes up, she’ll receive treatment from the best medical team and hospital in Korea—and my side will cover all related expenses in full.”
Yeon Joo’s eyes widened. He had just articulated her deepest wish perfectly. Though he hadn’t said a word about Mi Hyun directly, he clearly already knew everything.
“Additionally, LM Group will provide maximum support in any areas where your father’s company can collaborate with us. And if you have any other conditions, I’m willing to accommodate them.”
“…”
“There’s nothing you need to prepare for the marriage. No dowry, no bridal gifts—you won’t need any of that. Everything related to the wedding and married life will be fully arranged on my side.”
For a moment, Yeon Joo’s mind went blank. Everything he’d just said was completely unexpected.
Honestly, she’d assumed he’d either make some excuse to leave, like the other men she’d met on blind dates, or plainly state that the conditions didn’t match and marriage was impossible.
Yet here he was, offering to support her in every way if she married him—even saying she could come in with nothing but herself, no dowry required.
Confused, she asked,
“Then… what exactly would I…?”
“There’s only one condition I’ll ask of you for this marriage.”
His resolute eyes locked onto hers.
Meeting his direct gaze, tension crept into Yeon Joo’s expression. Jin Wook spoke.
“You must plan to conceive and have a child immediately after our marriage.”
His voice rang out firmly as he added,
“As soon as humanly possible.”
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.]
Oh wow… Atleast the ml doesn’t start off with being ruse or ignoring and such… But I guess this kind of treatment is far worse off
Haiihhh… Girl just man up and walk away… But haiihh on top of your head is your mother and bills…. 😓😓
His words.. God Damm.. His words would really cost him everything… 😱😱