A child who looks like me

Yeona sat on Ji-heon’s lap, eating her meal.

It was adorable to see the child, who had even learned how to use chopsticks, open her mouth like a baby bird whenever her father brought her food. Jeong-oh couldn’t bring herself to say anything. It was a happy mealtime.

After lunch, Ji-heon said to Yeona,

“Yeona, Daddy has something to tell you.”

“Okay.”

“We’re going back to the hospital.”

Today’s agenda was to conduct a paternity test.

Ji-heon had arranged everything, which was why he had been so busy in the morning.

“This time, we’re not going to the hospital because Yeona is sick; we’re going because we need to have a test. It’s a test to stamp that you’re Daddy’s daughter.”

“How do we do that?”

Yeona asked, her expression stiffening at Ji-heon’s explanation. The idea of a test to prove she was Daddy’s daughter made her nervous again.

“We’ll take a little blood from you and a little blood from Daddy to do the test.”

“How?”

Yeona turned her head to ask Jeong-oh, who was sitting beside her.

“Mom, how can they say I’m Daddy’s daughter by taking blood? All blood is red.”

The daughter who had been chatting with her father turned to her mother for an answer to this difficult question. Jeong-oh’s face flushed.

I don’t know. Mom doesn’t know. I’m a liberal arts major through and through…

The part of her brain that couldn’t explain a blood test was crying silently.

Meanwhile, Yeona changed her target.

“If they take my blood, can they stamp it?”

The daughter who had been bossing her father around like a wild pony suddenly seemed to regain her composure and asked Ji-heon politely. The child was still in a confused state, as mixed up as her use of formal and informal speech. She needed a step-by-step explanation.

Ji-heon showed Yeona his thumb and asked,

“Do you see the fingerprint on Daddy’s finger?”

“Yeah. I have a fingerprint too!”

“That’s right. Do you know that this fingerprint is different for everyone?”

“Yeah. I learned that in daycare.”

“Exactly. So even if you get lost and forget your address, if you register this fingerprint at the police station, they can help you find your home. The fingerprint acts like a map to your house.”

After explaining fingerprints, Ji-heon searched for a 1000x magnification video of blood cells on his phone and showed it to Yeona. It was a video where she could see red blood cells and white blood cells.

“We have something like this in our bodies. Look. This is blood magnified 1000 times under a microscope.”

Yeona scrunched her face in disgust and turned her head away.

“Ew. That’s gross.”

“Is it just gross?”

“It looks like frog eggs.”

“Exactly. What looks red to our eyes actually contains these frog-egg-like things. If you magnify it more, you can see a blueprint or map imprinted in our blood. There’s a map in our blood like a fingerprint.”

Ji-heon patiently explained without tiring. Yeona listened attentively, as if she truly understood everything.

“A blood test is a way to find that map. Daddy and Yeona have very similar maps because that’s what makes you Daddy’s daughter.”

“So our maps in the blood are similar?”

“Yeah, they are.”

Yeona’s eyes sparkled with Ji-heon’s confident answer. She gazed intently at the blood video that she had just found disgusting moments ago.

A map in my blood!

The fact that the map inside me, which I can’t see unless it’s magnified thousands of times, is similar to my dad’s is such an amazing story. Yeona’s heart swelled with pride.

“Mom, I want to go for the test right now!”

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

Jeong-oh gathered the necessary paperwork for the paternity test and went to the laboratory with Ji-heon. It was a research lab located within a fairly large health examination center.

Jeong-oh filled out Yeona’s consent form for the paternity test and followed the instructions to move on. Ji-heon was the first to have his blood drawn. As the dark red blood flowed from his arm, Yeona’s expression stiffened.

“Now it’s your turn, Yeona. You can do it, right? If you endure it well, Mommy will buy you ice cream later.”

Noticing that Yeona seemed very nervous, Jeong-oh coaxed her with the promise of ice cream and sat her on her lap. Yeona twisted her body, pale with fear. However, she did not firmly refuse.

It was impressive to see her endure the thin vaccination needle despite her serious demeanor.

Finally, the needle was inserted into the child’s arm. Ji-heon held Yeona’s other hand, and Jeong-oh hugged the child, who had tightly shut her eyes, comforting her. During the blood draw, Yeona groaned in distress.

“All done.”

The nurse said as she pulled out the needle.

“Mommy!”

As soon as the needle was removed, Yeona jumped into her mother’s arms, having not been able to breathe during the blood draw.

“You did well, our little one. You did great.”

Jeong-oh praised her daughter for overcoming the frightening moment.

Yeona was so tense that she fell fast asleep in the car on the way home. Ji-heon carried her to her room.

Carrying a child up to the fourth floor. Ji-heon had done it twice today without any struggle, which had become quite a burden for Jeong-oh over time.

After laying the child down, Ji-heon came out to the living room, where Jeong-oh thanked him.

“Thank you for carrying Yeona.”

“Not at all.”

“And thank you for explaining the blood test earlier.”

“Not at all.”

“Still, it’s better when the two of us combine our brains.”

“Jeong-oh, you need to speak accurately.”

Ji-heon, who had been casually responding with “not at all,” now replied sternly to Jeong-oh.

“It’s not that we combined our brains; it’s that I explained everything. Your brain had nothing to do with explaining the blood test; my brain did all the explaining.”

Hmm. That’s true, but it makes me feel a bit uneasy.

The warm feelings of gratitude Jeong-oh had just felt toward Ji-heon suddenly turned cold. Jeong-oh’s expression became sour as well.

“Some people are always trying to ride on others’ coattails.”

“What? Spoon? Or is it a Tuesday spoon?”

In response to Jiheon’s provocation, Jeong-o’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Unbelievable, just unbelievable! Who’s talking about spoons right now? Thank goodness I raised the kid myself. If you had raised our Yena, I wouldn’t even be able to say she’s my daughter anywhere.”

“Getting riled up, aren’t we?”

Jiheon, pleased with himself for teasing Jeong-o, laughed heartily. In the meantime, Yena woke up and opened the door. She had been awakened by Jeong-o’s raised voice.

“Mom, are you fighting with Dad?”

“No, we’re not fighting! Mom and Dad are just talking.”

Jeong-o hastily tried to smooth things over, but Yena’s sulky expression didn’t improve. Yena turned to Jiheon.

“Dad, don’t fight with Mom.”

Jiheon’s expression was relaxed and gentle.

“Dad isn’t fighting. Mom is just too pretty, so Dad isn’t angry at all.”

Jeong-o was even more astounded by his nonchalance.

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

Yesterday and today, Eun-yeob had been keeping an eye on Jiheon.

Both yesterday and this morning, Jiheon had not undergone a paternity test. Eun-yeob had assumed the test would be done since Yena was hospitalized, but it seemed that Eun-yeob’s thoughts had raced ahead of the situation. The hospital had not received any request for a paternity test either.

However, Eun-yeob couldn’t sit idly by. He continuously tracked Jiheon’s movements and communications. Fortunately, he managed to gather quite a bit of information. Jeong Jiheon was preparing to undergo a paternity test at a specialized institution. After much effort, Eun-yeob felt a thrill of joy.

‘So he’s planning to get the paternity test done somewhere else? He’s trying to use his head, at least.’

He felt amused, thinking he understood Jiheon’s anxious mindset, trying to hide something from him.

Eun-yeob identified a contact at the specialized institution where Jiheon had made the reservation and quickly reached out with a tempting proposal.

“Are you having trouble with your spouse holding something over your head, making divorce difficult? I can help you resolve this cleanly. If you check my credentials, you’ll see I’m trustworthy.”

Consultation that scratches at someone’s sore spot tends to work far better than mere cash. Eun-yeob targeted the other party’s weakness and delivered promises that soothed their anxieties. The staff member bit eagerly.

“All you need to do is block one paternity test. My nephew will be going to the research center. I’ve told him it’s just for a simple health checkup. Please switch my nephew’s blood with the client’s blood so that it absolutely cannot yield a positive result. The client’s name could be Jeong Jiheon, Lee Yena, or Lee Jeong-o. In any case, just make sure the blood for the test is swapped with Jiheon’s set.”

Eun-yeob displayed meticulousness, aiming to match the results of this genetic test with the previously manipulated one. If the DNA sequences matched the previous test results, Jiheon would have no choice but to believe it.

The staff member diligently fulfilled Eun-yeob’s request. They even took precautions to cover up any unforeseen issues as a result of other staff’s mistakes.

After being restless and busy over the past two days, Eun-yeob finally caught his breath.

When he first heard that the initial test was erroneous, one might consider it a mere fluke. Jang Young-mi would want to trust the test results, but at the same time, she would also try to believe Jiheon’s claims.

But what if the second test result also showed a discrepancy? And if the genetic values remained unchanged?

Once is a mistake, but twice is a certainty.

Then Lee Jeong-o would undeniably be a fraud.

Having completed his task without incident, Eun-yeob visited Eun-bi’s house.

Eun-bi, who had been living like a recluse for several days without stepping outside, did not welcome her brother. She had expected him to bring some positive outcome, but since he told her not to do anything, nothing had changed.

“Must be nice.”

“You told me not to do anything. Is there anything I can do?”

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to work.”

“When did you ever say I shouldn’t go? And do you know how hellish that place is for me right now?”

Eun-bi snapped at Eun-yeob.

“I’m going to change jobs. When you see Jeong Jiheon, just tell him you ruined my entire life.”

Eun-yeob smiled bitterly, then hardened his expression and said,

“Listen closely, Cha Eun-bi.”

“…….”

“Today, Jeong Jiheon is going to conduct a paternity test for Lee Yena, and the result will come back as ‘no possibility of paternity.’”

“No possibility? How do you know that?” Eun-bi asked.

Eun-yeob said nothing in response. However, with just his gaze, Eun-bi could guess her brother’s intentions. With a horrified expression, she asked, “Did you manipulate that?”

“You just need to go comfort Jiheon and Madam Jang. Approach them with the mindset that you understand everything. Got it?”

Eun-yeob spoke casually. In Eun-bi’s eyes, her brother seemed just as terrifying as Jiheon.

Eun-bi knew that the path her brother was on was a swamp. The deeper he sank, the harder it would be to escape.

“… Sometimes I feel like you’re even more obsessed with Jiheon than I am.”

“That’s because I’ve invested too much in you.”

“…….”

“I have to recoup what I’ve invested.”

Eun-yeob flashed a confident smile. He was looking forward to what would happen in a few hours.