A child who looks like me

The air in the conference room was warm and peaceful, unlike outside.

Jiheon’s large hand felt comforting and reassuring, making Jeongoo want to be petted for a long time, but she quickly kept her distance. It would be awkward if someone came in suddenly.

Jiheon, understanding Jeongoo’s feelings, didn’t insist on getting closer. But he couldn’t leave the room; he wanted to talk to her for a long time.

“Is it true that I was a good cook seven years ago?”

“Yes! Very much so! Your kitchen in my one-room apartment was all yours. You were in charge of cooking.”

Once Jiheon opened the topic, Jeongoo answered enthusiastically but then tilted her head and asked, “So you haven’t cooked at all for seven years?”

“Yes. I didn’t even realize it.”

Though she had never really believed the exaggerations about his hobby cooking, his blunt answer sounded so pitiful.

She wanted to give him hope. There must be a memory hidden somewhere in his unconscious that he hadn’t yet uncovered.

“Do you want to see this?”

Jeongoo pulled out her phone and opened her photo album. She had found a picture while organizing photos of Yeona and saved it on her phone.

Jiheon moved closer, focusing on the screen of Jeongoo’s phone. It was a photo of a small, cozy-looking room. The room felt somehow familiar, almost identical to the last room in the apartment he had decorated.

“This is my old room. The one you used to visit often.”

Ah…

Jiheon sighed softly.

Fragments of distant memories returned to their original places, stirring his head and heart.

So that’s why he felt so at ease when he entered that room? Because it was Jeongoo’s home?

“You used to say you liked my one-room apartment more than your own. Now I understand why…”

Before Jiheon could voice his question, Jeongoo started to say something but quickly fell silent. Jiheon furrowed his brows and asked, “What was that?”

“There’s a reason.”

“What is it? Why did you stop talking?”

“Just remember it.”

“No, you tell me.”

“Try to remember. Then it’ll come back to you.”

Jeongoo, aren’t you treating me too harshly?

Feeling like he wanted to be treated gently, Jiheon furrowed his brow and closed his eyes. He raised a hand to rub his forehead.

“Ah, my head suddenly hurts… It feels like it’s going to break.”

“Are you hurt?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it really painful?”

“Yes.”

“If you’re in my one-room, you can see everything I’m doing, that’s why you liked my one-room.”

Jiheon’s groaning caused Jeongoo to quickly spill the truth.

It was painful for her just to watch him, but Jiheon soon straightened up, raising his lips into a smile.

“Is that so? That’s so you, Jeong Jiheon.”

“What? Were you lying just now?”

“You should have figured that out.”

“Wow, Jeong Jiheon, really!”

Jeongoo’s voice rose in indignation, and Jiheon quickly placed his finger to his lips, saying “Shh.” Jeongoo had no choice but to suppress her irritation.

Without the luxury of catching her breath, she listened to Jiheon’s lament.

“Why did I forget the most important thing?”

“…”

“Even if I forget everything else, I shouldn’t have forgotten that.”

“Our time together wasn’t that long.”

His sunken gaze seeped into Jeongoo’s eyes. The man who had just annoyed her now made her heart ache.

“But gradually it’ll come back. I believe that.”

In the end, she found herself comforting him.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

Jiheon left the conference room and headed to the elevator. He caught a glimpse of Team Leader Park Young-gwang moving toward the elevator in the hallway.

“Oh… Director.”

Young-gwang stiffened when he spotted Jiheon, then nodded slightly. It felt as if he were stepping on a bed of thorns—no, a bed of needles. Just being alone with him was difficult and awkward, but having witnessed something he shouldn’t have made it even harder.

Jiheon was the first to break the silence, speaking to Young-gwang, who could barely manage to swallow his dry throat.

“The filming on Tuesday will go ahead as planned, right?”

“Yes. As long as there are no further issues, it should be perfectly fine.”

“Thanks to Team 2’s hard work, we can keep the schedule. I’m looking forward to the filming.”

“Yes. We’ll do our best.”

“I respect you a lot, Team Leader.”

Young-gwang, who couldn’t look Jiheon in the eye, slowly raised his head. He thought it was odd to hear such an unexpected compliment while discussing filming.

Jiheon’s expression was stiff, as if he were someone who had just confessed admiration.

Cold sweat trickled down Young-gwang’s forehead.

“Why… why do you respect me?”

“Because you get along well with your colleagues and always achieve great results. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

Jiheon’s gaze was sharp, as if the scene he had just witnessed with his own eyes was a lie.

This is… a message to not even smile at my colleagues and just focus on work, isn’t it?

A pressure disguised as respect. The quick-witted Young-gwang immediately grasped Jiheon’s intention.

“Yes. I will work hard.”

Young-gwang answered, hardly able to breathe.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

After working overtime and returning home, Jiheon connected the USB that Jeongoo had handed back to him to his PC. This time, it seemed that all the photos of Yeona were properly saved.

He was so immersed in viewing each photo as if he were reading that it felt impossible to finish them all in one night. Yet, Jiheon kept telling himself just one more, just one more, and ultimately ended up looking through all of them.

And then morning came.

“Gah!”

Jiheon had overslept for the first time in a long while. Well, he couldn’t even say he had slept.

After it passed 5 AM, he figured he might ruin his Monday and closed his eyes for a bit. He thought he’d struggle to wake up if he lay down in bed, so he dozed off while leaning back in a chair, only to wake up at 7:55 AM.

Jiheon jumped up in a panic, quickly washed up, got dressed, and rushed out the door. He was so absorbed in the photos of Yeona that he was at risk of missing the real Yeona.

Yeona’s bus was scheduled to depart at 8:20 AM. He had to get to Jeongoo’s house in 20 minutes. He had promised the child he would come every day, and he had to keep that promise, even if the child might dislike him or ignore him.

He finally made it to the area near Jeongoo’s house without being stuck in traffic, but as he got closer, the road became completely blocked. With just three minutes left, Jiheon, feeling anxious, parked in an alley and hurriedly got out of the car.

In the distance, he spotted the kindergarten bus where Yeona always boarded. And, far away, he saw two beautiful, cute, and lovely figures, Jeongoo and Yeona…

Heh-heh-heh.

“Yeona, I’m coming!”

He felt like he had never run with such urgency before. The wind hitting him felt sharp, stabbing him like needles in his throat.

Still, Dad runs!

Haaah!

Finally, he made it just in time.

Huff, huff, huff.

He was so out of breath he felt like he might throw up, his head spinning, as if the colors of the entire world had faded. Yet, there was one thing that stood out clearly: his little princess.

“Yeona, hello.”

His breath came out sounding monstrous due to his labored panting. Yeona climbed onto the bus with a frown, not even responding.

Ah, that cute little thing is my daughter.

Jiheon waved his hand vigorously until Yeona settled into her seat on the bus, just like sending off a train bound for enlistment. She glanced at him briefly, then turned her head away in a haughty manner.

“Why did you run here like that?”

After the bus departed, Jeongoo rubbed Jiheon’s back, looking sorry for him as he was ignored.

“There was nothing I could do; the road was blocked.”

Jiheon replied in a hoarse voice, still catching his breath.

“I fell asleep late after looking at Yeona’s pictures yesterday.”

“Oh no! I can’t believe it. Our Yeona is capturing her dad.”

But it was okay. He had greeted her. He had kept his promise.

“Yeona, even if I become a monster from running so hard and feel like I’m falling apart, I will come to see you every day.”

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

After spending a fairly good day with her friends at kindergarten and boarding the return bus, Yeona recalled Jiheon from that morning.

What was it about just seeing his face for a moment that made him run toward her so desperately? That man who had rushed over from afar.

Somehow, she felt like she shouldn’t turn away from him, so she climbed onto the bus slowly. No one knew, but she did.

The uncle who had run over while panting heavily had made such a monstrous sound that Yeona immediately turned her head away.

As usual, she didn’t greet him. If she didn’t say hello today, she wouldn’t talk to him tomorrow either. She devised a resolute plan.

Though her heart was tough, she couldn’t help but laugh the whole way to the kindergarten on the bus.

In the fairy tales that her mom read to her, there were occasionally monsters, but her mom could only describe pretty monsters. She felt that this uncle might be able to play the part of a fierce monster. She had found a use for the uncle.

Thinking of how she could use him made her feel a bit guilty for not greeting him. But it was just a fleeting sense of guilt, and she knew that when tomorrow came, she wouldn’t be able to move her lips again.

“Yeona, we’ve arrived. It’s time to get off.”

Before she knew it, they had reached the academy, and the bus came to a stop. The teacher got off the bus with Yeona. Since the academy teacher hadn’t come out to greet them yet, Yeona and the teacher had to wait on the street.

“It seems the teacher is running a little late today. I’ll call the academy.”

While the kindergarten teacher was on the phone, Yeona stood there absentmindedly. The area in front of the academy was a taxi stand, so there were times when people stood in the spot where the teacher was waiting.

Today was one of those days. Yeona noticed a well-dressed elderly gentleman in a suit standing by the road, glancing at her.

Everyone standing here had the same pose—raising their hands to signal for a taxi.

Was this grandfather waiting for a car other than a taxi? It seemed a bit odd that he was standing still without trying to catch a passing taxi.

‘This child…’

Jaegwang stole a glance at the girl.

It was a cool day, having barely escaped the influence of the typhoon, but the wind blew briskly. The wind tousled the girl’s bangs, revealing her round forehead. The pink salmon hair firmly anchored on her forehead gave him a peculiar heartwarming feeling.

The impulse to say something to her, to hold her hand, tormented his lips and fingertips, but Jaegwang managed to overcome it. Meanwhile, the driver and secretary, who had been watching the cars from afar, waved their arms energetically.

“Chairman, the schedule is tight. You must leave now. You can’t just stand there.”

If he delayed any longer, the secretary would probably rush over and shout “Chairman!” right in front of him. Slowly, Jaegwang began to move his feet. A sense of regret lingered at his toes. Yeona also stared for a long time at the direction the grandfather was leaving.

“Yeona!”

From the opposite side, Dobin came running. Only then did Yeona turn her head. Jinseo and the academy teacher also rushed over at the same time.

After the kindergarten teacher had left, the first to come running was Dobin, who greeted her warmly.

“Yeona, were you waiting for me?”

“Yes. I was waiting.”

Although it wasn’t true, Yeona answered that way. As she had guessed, Dobin’s face broke into a wide grin. She realized that sometimes, people could tell a lie just to make someone feel better. Somehow, she thought of the uncle again.

The uncle who comes to her house every morning. The uncle whose truthfulness she couldn’t discern.

Would the uncle come again tomorrow morning?

If he didn’t come, she felt like she would be curious about him. That thought lingered in her mind.