A child who looks like me

The car driven by Gi-hun arrived at the hospital around 7 PM. They were able to speed on the highway, but once they entered the city of Seoul, they faced heavy traffic. Due to rush hour, they encountered jams in various places. Still, they managed to arrive relatively quickly.

As Jeong-oh got out of the car in front of the hospital, she thanked Gi-hun.

“Gi-hun, thank you so much. You really worked hard today.”

“It’s nothing. Hurry and go see the baby.”

Gi-hun waved his hand. Jeong-oh waved back and turned to run.

She had reassured both Guk-soon and Ji-heon that everything was okay, but once she arrived at the hospital, her heart began to race again. Unable to wait for the elevator that descended so slowly, Jeong-oh dashed up the emergency stairs.

On the sixth floor, where the patient rooms were lined up, Jeong-oh reached the corridor out of breath and looked around to check the room numbers. It seemed that Yeona’s room was at the very end of the hallway.

Hurrying down the corridor, Jeong-oh spotted Guk-soon leaning against the wall outside the room.

“Mom.”

“You’re here?”

Before Jeong-oh could ask why she wasn’t entering the room, Guk-soon gestured with her chin toward the door. The hospital room door was slightly ajar. Guk-soon was peering through the small gap to see inside.

She could see Ji-heon holding Yeona in his arms. Yeona was nestled comfortably against him. She seemed to be asleep, but every now and then, faint hiccup sounds could be heard.

It appeared that after crying, Yeona’s breathing was uneven, and even in her sleep, she was still hitching a bit. Jeong-oh’s eyes welled up upon seeing the tranquil scene before her.

They accepted each other. The child and the father, the father and the child.

“They’re both so beautiful.”

Guk-soon whispered quietly, as if blending into the air.

......

After dropping Jeong-oh off at the hospital, Gi-hun returned to the office.

Mi-ran and Yeong-gwang were at the filming site, so Ko Eun-joo, who had been alone guarding the office all day, asked him a question.

“Where’s this assistant?”

“She’s at the hospital. The baby collapsed.”

“Oh, really?”

Eun-joo had witnessed Ji Ji-heon canceling all of his subsequent schedules and rushing out of the company a few hours earlier. She vaguely remembered hearing the word “hospital.”

She thought someone must have gotten hurt, but it turned out to be Jeong-oh’s child who had collapsed. Eun-joo guessed that Ji-heon would be at the hospital.

They must be quite close.

After observing Eun-joo’s reaction, Gi-hun tilted his head and asked.

“You don’t seem that surprised.”

“No, I was shocked.”

“Phew. My breath was caught on the road. If I felt this way, I wonder how this assistant must have felt.”

Gi-hun vented about the situation at that time.

“But it seems like Ji Ji-heon called and gave you some work to do. Knowing your personality, I thought you’d question why you had to deal with something when a child had collapsed. But you just listened quietly, saying, ‘Yes, Director, yes, Director.’”

“…”

“You were completely demoralized. I can’t imagine how heartbroken you must have been.”

Gi-hun, that’s not it…

Knowing the relationship between Jeong-oh and Ji-heon, Eun-joo felt sorry for Gi-hun but remained silent, unable to say anything.

“Um? Why do you look like that? Is there something on my face?”

“Not that, but you’ve turned a bit red.”

“Ah, haha…”

At Eun-joo’s words, Gi-hun touched his slightly flushed cheek.

What can I say? A pure young man who blushes just from talking about this assistant.

Eun-joo resolutely turned her head away.

I don’t know. I won’t say anything till the end.

Jeong-oh, you reap what you sow.

......

After laying the sleeping child back down on the bed, Ji-heon came out into the hallway in front of the hospital room and spoke to Jeong-oh and Guk-soon about the next steps.

“First, we need to do a paternity test.”

“Okay. Can we do it here? It would be great to do it since we’re at the hospital.”

“It’s not possible at this hospital.”

In response to Guk-soon’s question, Ji-heon answered.

“Why not?”

“Well…”

Ji-heon hesitated for a moment before speaking honestly.

“I have a friend named Chae Eun-yeop. As you might guess from his name, he’s the brother of Chae Eun-bi, and he’s been trying to marry me off to her for a long time. I confirmed that he visited the hospital today. I’m worried he might try to sabotage the paternity test.”

“Oh my, there are all sorts of people in the world.”

“Right? Blood really doesn’t lie. They’re not your average siblings.”

Guk-soon lamented, and Jeong-oh chimed in.

“But is it true that he’s going to get married alone? Isn’t it because Yeona’s dad and Chae Eun-bi had something going on that the brother is acting this way?”

“Oh, that’s not it; there’s a bit of a backstory…”

Ji-heon stammered, flustered. Guk-soon quickly cut him off, waving her hand.

“Okay, that’s possible. Seven years is quite a long time. If such a pretty girl is a friend’s sister, I’d want to marry her too.”

“No, mother, it’s not like that.”

“Only our Jeong-oh lived a good life, raising a child and working diligently.”

“Mother, I also lived a good life…”

“Alright, alright. Let’s put the past behind us; it’s fine.”

“No, really, I’ve never, I feel wronged…”

“Ugh, I need to go now. You two take good care of Yeona and make sure she gets discharged well tomorrow.”

Without listening to Ji-heon’s words until the end, Guk-soon stepped away, only expressing her own lament.

“If you need anything, just call.”

“Okay. Mom, thank you. Hurry and go in.”

Ji-heon felt extremely wronged, while Jeong-oh found his expression amusing and chuckled as she greeted him. Ji-heon immediately chased after Guk-soon.

“I’ll see you off.”

“Just stay here.”

“…”

“After such an emotional reunion, what would happen if you disappeared when the baby opened her eyes again? Wouldn’t she think, ‘Did Daddy lie again?’ Just focus on taking good care of her, and don’t worry about me.”

Guk-soon’s words were indeed wise. Ji-heon halted in his tracks, taking Guk-soon’s advice to heart. Guk-soon called out to him with a smile.

“Yeona’s daddy.”

“Yes?”

“You’ve worked hard. Thank you.”

After Guk-soon left, the hospital room was left with just Jeong-oh, Ji-heon, and the peacefully sleeping Yeona.

“Yeona’s friends at the academy said something to her about not having a dad.”

Jeong-oh shared what had happened to Yeona earlier that day, ending her sentence with a long sigh.

“I really messed up. I taught Yeona that not having a dad is nothing to be ashamed of.”

An inescapable sense of guilt followed her. The words she had instilled in her to help her survive and navigate this harsh world had instead hurt her child. The world was far too vast for a seven-year-old to bear.

“I thought I would live my whole life like this. I never imagined I would meet my brother again.”

Ji-heon gently stroked Jeong-oh’s head. His own heart ached for her.

He remembered what Jeong-oh had said during their pitch presentation for the Mi&Talk competition. She had mentioned that mothers often grieved over things they hadn’t given, even when they had already given so much.

Even during the times when he felt resentful towards her, he thought that was a beautiful sentiment. Yet it wasn’t just a simple, wonderful saying.

The guilt of mothers who believe they aren’t enough, even when they are doing their best at every moment. Ji-heon hadn’t been able to understand that back then.

“It’s not your fault. You were doing your best back then. You really did well.”

He spoke to comfort her. He could see just how hard she had worked by looking at her family, the child she had raised, and her career. Ji-heon had not achieved that.

Jeong-oh, you deserve more praise and comfort.

Drawn by his feelings, his shoulder leaned towards her, and his lips lingered over the tears clinging to her eyelashes. In that moment,

“Mommy!”

Yeona woke up, whining.

“Oh! Yeona.”

Startled, as if caught in the act of stealing, Jeong-oh rushed over, feeling as though she hadn’t done anything. In the children’s ward where they were, Ji-heon, sitting on the floor, was out of Yeona’s line of sight. As Jeong-oh ran over first, Yeona asked,

“Where’s Daddy?”

“Daddy is right here.”

Ji-heon quickly stepped closer to show his face to Yeona.

“I want water.”

“Okay. Our Yeona wants water, water.”

“No.”

As Jeong-oh flustered about bringing Yeona water, she pointed at Ji-heon.

“Okay. Daddy will get it for you.”

Named by Yeona, Ji-heon poured water from the cup Jeong-oh was holding and fed it to Yeona. Yeona didn’t move a finger until she finished the water. It was understandable, given that it was past 10 PM and she hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

After Yeona emptied the cup, Jeong-oh asked,

“Is our princess not hungry?”

“I’m hungry.”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Cup ramen.”

Ah, even at times like this, she’s still a chip off the old block.

Since she couldn’t have cup noodles at home, this adorable child seized the opportunity to demand them when her mother’s resolve weakened. Jeong-oh looked at Ji-heon with a resigned expression at Yeona’s opportunistic behavior.

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

The next morning.

Following the attending physician’s assessment of Yeona’s recovery, Jeong-oh began the discharge process. She decided to take a day off to monitor Yeona’s condition.

Ji-heon also planned to stay, but the situation was not exactly comfortable. Even as they were leaving the hospital with Yeona, his phone kept ringing with work-related calls.

Seeing her father working for the first time, Yeona looked a bit down.

“Mom, is Daddy always this busy?”

“Yes, he is busy, but he can be with us for a long time today.”

From the driver’s seat, Ji-heon heard their conversation and spoke to Yeona.

“Yeona, no matter how busy Daddy is, I’ll always answer your calls. So if you miss me, just call anytime.”

Hearing Ji-heon’s words lifted Yeona’s spirits, and she beamed with a smile. Ji-heon had set a speed dial for his number on Yeona’s phone yesterday. Mom was number 1, Grandma was number 2, so Ji-heon became number 0. Yeona had already memorized his phone number.

With no traffic, the car carrying the three of them quickly reached Jeong-oh’s house. After Ji-heon parked, he opened the back seat door, and Yeona spread her arms wide. He recalled what Dobin had said: that Daddy always lifts him up when going to the hospital.

Jeong-oh was taken aback by Yeona’s actions, but Ji-heon casually asked her,

“Do you want Daddy to carry you, or just hold you?”

“Carry me! Like a koala!”

Ji-heon turned his back to Yeona.

“Yeona, you need to walk on your own.”

“Ew, no! I don’t want to!”

Ignoring Jeong-oh’s admonitions, Yeona climbed onto Ji-heon’s back.

I’ll have to show Dobin that Daddy carries me when we come back from the hospital. Yeona’s heart swelled with excitement as she made this new memory in her seven-year-old life.

“Yeona, Daddy’s going to collapse. You need to think about your weight.”

“Mom said I’m as light as a feather.”

“That’s just the power of love! Where can you find a 20-kilogram feather?”

Jeong-oh wanted to protect Ji-heon, but Ji-heon effortlessly carried Yeona and led the way, saying,

“No, our Yeona is really as light as a feather.”

With Ji-heon acting like this, Jeong-oh had no choice but to go along. She sighed and followed the two of them up the stairs.

After climbing to the fourth floor and opening the front door, Yeona continued her demands. She clung to Ji-heon’s back and insisted,

“Shoe, shoe! You need to take off my shoes!”

“Oh, right. Shoes.”

As Ji-heon took off Yeona’s shoes, she pointed toward the bathroom.

“I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Okay, bathroom.”

It wasn’t until they reached the bathroom that Yeona released her grip on Ji-heon’s arms. After Yeona entered the bathroom, Ji-heon greeted Guk-soon.

“Mother, I’m back.”

“Oh dear! You worked hard, Yeona’s daddy. You’ve been through a lot.”

Just as Guk-soon was about to hand Ji-heon a drink, they heard Yeona calling from the bathroom.

“Daddy, my hands!”

“Hands? Oh, hands.”

Ji-heon, who had been blinking, immediately walked into the bathroom.

It was amusing to see a child who entrusted even washing her hands to her father, causing both Jeong-oh and Guk-soon to burst into laughter simultaneously.

A seven-year-old has turned into a three-year-old overnight. She’s really treating her dad like a servant.

“Whether it’s the child asking for something or the dad who grants every whim….”

“You wanted them to get close quickly, didn’t you?” Guk-soon pointed out Jeong-oh’s complaints.

Jeong-oh pouted in protest. “When did I say that? I just said it’s too bad for my brother.”

“Just too bad? You said it’s way too bad, way too.”

Jeong-oh huffed as if refusing to acknowledge it. Guk-soon teased her.

“Why? Are you jealous?”

“No, I’m not!”

Jeong-oh shook her head and smiled.

Mr. Jeong Ji-heon, it seems you’re struggling just the same whether Yeona accepts you or not.

Since you’re going to struggle anyway, it’s better to love her while you’re at it.

In truth, Ji-heon thought Yeona’s position was excellent.