A child who looks like me

Facing Jiheon’s fierce gaze, Suin’s mother trembled with both hands.

“Jaein, Suin, let’s go home.”

In the end, she didn’t say sorry.

“Teacher, we can’t send our kids to this academy anymore. Please refund the tuition.”

Instead, they completely withdrew from the academy.

“Teacher, you know our Jaein was preparing for a Go tournament, right? If he wins, it would be great for the academy’s promotion, but it’s a shame. If you continue running things like this, the academy might have to close.”

Suin’s mother, tightly holding onto both Jaein and Suin’s hands, continued to cast curses. It was not a graceful exit.

The principal didn’t bother trying to hold Suin’s mother back.

“I apologize for the inconvenience.”

After Suin’s mother left, Jiheon apologized to the principal.

“No, it’s alright.”

Later, it turned out that Suin’s mother had been threatening to transfer to a competing academy unless Jaein received special instruction for a long time. With their departure, the principal also showed a relieved expression.

Shortly afterward, Jinseo arrived at the academy. Upon recognizing Jiheon, she greeted him warmly.

“Today, Jiheon is here to pick up Yeona!”

“Yes. Hello.”

Jiheon politely replied to Jinseo, greeted the academy teachers, and left the academy with Yeona and Dobin.

As they descended the stairs, Dobin told Jinseo about the day’s events.

“Mom, today, Suin’s mom fought with the Go uncle. But the Go uncle said he was Yeona’s dad.”

“Dobin, the Go uncle really is Yeona’s dad.”

Jinseo informed Dobin. Blinking in confusion, Dobin asked, “Why?”

“There’s no why. He’s Yeona’s dad, so he is.”

“Why?”

Not knowing the backstory between Yeona and Jiheon, Dobin could only be confused. Hearing this, Yeona answered for him.

“He lost his dad but found him again.”

“Wow! Really?”

“Yeah. We have the same blood too. Right, Dad?”

“Why?”

While Yeona spoke to Jiheon, Dobin suddenly interjected again.

Stuck in the cycle of “why,” Dobin received the explanation that Yeona had heard at noon.

“Dobin, it’s just like how beans come from where beans are planted, and red beans come from where red beans are planted. That’s how our dad is our dad.”

“What does that mean? Are you saying the Go uncle was planted like a bean?”

Dobin asked again, failing to grasp the metaphor. It seemed that it would take a long time to convince Dobin.

– After today’s meeting about hair loss prevention shampoo, can you spare a moment? I have something urgent to discuss.

After receiving the text from Jeongoo, Team Leader Yang Sumi-ran and Deputy Park Yeong-gwang remained in the conference room. Soon, Deputy Ko Eun-joo also returned to the conference room and took her seat.

Although Jeongoo had called the meeting, he had rushed out immediately after and hadn’t shown up yet.

Sumi-ran asked Eun-joo, “Where’s Jeongoo?”

“He went to call Gi-hoon.”

“Jeongoo said he had something to say. What could it be?”

The team members’ expressions were very dark, so Sumi-ran intentionally brightened her voice while asking. Eun-joo answered with a pout.

“Don’t you already know? You’re the one with the best intuition, Team Leader.”

Ah, so Deputy Ko Eun-joo noticed too. Sumi-ran awkwardly smiled and replied.

“If I pretend not to know, the person speaking will feel more inclined to talk, right?”

“Do we have to make it comfortable for them? Gi-hoon is practically dying.”

“Still, we should celebrate what’s worth celebrating, right?”

“I really dislike that.”

Sumi-ran tried to lighten the mood, but it was useless. Eun-joo replied cynically.

“I dislike the atmosphere where couples stamp their approval and get recognized. I really dislike Director Jeong Ji-heon, and to be honest, I wish this Deputy wouldn’t cling to him. I think I’d feel better if our fresh Gi-hoon and this Deputy end up together.”

“That’s still not okay.”

Sumi-ran countered, looking at Eun-joo, who was getting heated.

“You can’t interfere with their relationship, even if all the couples in the world break up.”

“No, Team Leader, whose side are you on?”

Eun-joo expressed her passionate opinion. It was a new side of the usually unflappable Ko Eun-joo.

“How can the angelic Jeongoo fall for that psycho? How can you say that? Our smart and hardworking Song Gi-hoon is suffering like this, and you’re not even angry?”

Yet, we can’t obstruct fate.

Sumi-ran could only smile awkwardly without saying anything.

Before more harsh words could come from Eun-joo, the conference room door opened, and Jeongoo entered.

“I’m sorry for being late.”

“Where’s Gi-hoon?”

“He… left work early.”

In response to Sumi-ran’s question, Jeongoo answered with a sheepish expression. Eun-joo turned away and let out a frustrated sigh. There had never been a moment when she felt so resentful of Jeongoo as today.

Jeongoo opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry to take up your time when you’re all busy. The reason I called this urgent meeting is…”

“I already know, Deputy.”

Eun-joo couldn’t help but interrupt Jeongoo as he was about to speak. Jeongoo looked momentarily stunned at Eun-joo’s cold response.

“How do you know?”

“Everyone has a sense of it.”

“…So, do you know that my daughter is the biological daughter of Director Jeong Ji-heon?”

This time, Eun-joo’s eyes went blank. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Deputy Park Yeong-gwang stared at her, mouth agape like someone who had just seen a ghost.

“Oh, you didn’t know that. That’s what I was trying to tell you.”

“Wait, wait, wait. What, what, what did you just say?”

A chill ran down her spine. It felt as if she had frozen from her fingertips to her toes. What did you just say? That Lee Jeongoo’s daughter is whose daughter?

“Who’s daughter are you talking about?”

Eun-joo couldn’t trust what she had just heard.

At some point, Eun-joo had seen a photo of Yeona. A princess knows a princess. Eun-joo thought that Yeona, with her beauty and charm, had the same blood running through her veins as she did. Yeona had to be a noble being born from something noble.

But whose biological daughter? Not even an adopted daughter, but a biological one?

Despite Eun-joo and Yeong-gwang being stunned into silence by the shock, Sumi-ran’s expression remained calm. Feeling betrayed, Eun-joo turned to Sumi-ran and asked, “Was that what you meant earlier, Team Leader?”

“Did you know, Team Leader?”

Jeongoo, surprised by Sumi-ran’s reaction, asked. Sumi-ran awkwardly nodded.

“Didn’t this deputy mention it before? That she knew Director Jeong before his accident…”

In fact, the only person who had a clear understanding of the relationship between Jeong Ji-heon and Lee Jeongoo was Team Leader Seong Sumi-ran.

Sumi-ran had sensed their connection a long time ago. That’s why she had spent many days staring blankly at Jeongoo. She sensed it but couldn’t believe it, itching to ask but unable to.

“I thought it could be true since the accident happened seven years ago and the child is seven years old. I wasn’t completely sure, though.”

Still, she had been too hesitant to ask, feeling frustrated, but today she was honestly relieved to discover that secret.

While the excited Eun-joo fanned her flushed face, Yeong-gwang asked, “Did you tell Gi-hoon?”

“Yes.”

“What was his reaction?”

“…He blinked blankly and then left.”

“It was a game he could never win from the start. So, he must have left in shock.”

With news of their relationship, plus the child news, it was surely adding insult to injury.

“Deputy Park, go comfort Gi-hoon.”

“Sure, I will.”

At Sumi-ran’s request, Yeong-gwang stood up first. Eun-joo followed suit.

Sumi-ran comforted the tense Jeongoo.

“Don’t worry, Deputy. Gi-hoon is a bright person, so he’ll shake it off and come back to work tomorrow as if nothing happened. He’s just a bit dazed right now.”

“Yes, I believe so too.”

Eun-joo stuck close to Yeong-gwang and chatted.

“Didn’t you go on a business trip with the director and not know this?”

“Seriously, I had no idea. How could something so dramatic happen?”

“Ah! I was just badmouthing Director Jeong about this deputy!”

***

Eun-joo seized the opportunity to vent her frustration when no one else was around.

“Knowing the truth makes me hate the person I disliked even more.”

The deserving ones will always get what they want. This fact left her feeling very unsatisfied.

“It seems there are no kind gods in this world. How on earth did that guy, with such a temperament, manage to have a perfect Deputy Lee Jeongoo, and even get such a beautiful daughter?”

“…”

“Did he save the universe or something?”

Eun-joo felt that she would grow to dislike Jiheon even more.

The team members went to comfort Gi-hoon, leaving Jeongoo alone in the office for the first time in a while.

It had been quite a tumultuous day, and it seemed like the aftereffects would linger for a long time. However, after sharing everything with the team, Jeongoo also felt relieved. Though it was chaotic now, the kind-hearted team members would continue to support him.

‘Jeong Ji-heon will probably like that I spilled everything.’

Why should I clean up after the mess you made?

Though he felt a bit dissatisfied with that fact, seeing Jiheon looking at him from afar softened his heart. After dropping Yeona off at a restaurant, he returned to the company. Upon seeing Jiheon heading to his office, Jeongoo trailed behind him.

Noticing Jeongoo following, Jiheon left the door to his office open.

Inside the office, Jiheon was waiting by the door. As she stepped inside, he pulled her further in.

In Jiheon’s embrace, Jeongoo heard the door click shut behind them.

It was quite a strange feeling. During the day, she had been furious, but as she resolved one daily issue after another, her heart gradually calmed.

To coexist, two perfect strangers who had lived differently must first have many things in place. One of those is being able to resolve anger. Understanding you, who is different from me.

Going forward, we will have to resolve countless conflicts step by step and return to embrace each other.

I told the team everything. Are you satisfied now?

Just as she was about to express that sentiment, Jiheon spoke first.

“I love you.”

His softly resonant voice felt overwhelming, and Jeongoo froze. She held her breath. A clear tear quickly formed in her eyes.

Seeing her reaction, Jiheon took a half step back and lowered his head, asking, “What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Did something happen?”

“You just made me cry!”

Her heart raced painfully.

How could this be happening?

So suddenly, out of nowhere, without any time to prepare myself.

What am I supposed to do if you confess like this, as if it were a weekly report or a morning greeting to Yeona?

“What the heck? Out of nowhere!”

Why are you telling me this now?

“Why do you suddenly say something you’ve never said before?”

Why do you say that so casually? So easily.

Why have you never said it before if you could say it so easily?

“It just suddenly came to me.”

“…”

“I regretted not saying it before.”

He lowered his eyelids and replied, while her face was twisted in emotion.

“Why! You!”

Each word from Jeongoo struck him in the chest, a string of bitter complaints spilling out.

“Why did you hold back! For seven years! Seven years!”

Love, why did you come now?

Seven years ago, that one word could have made all the difference.

Because he hadn’t said it, she felt insecure.

Not hearing those words, she had let him go.

“Because you didn’t say that, I thought I was abandoned.”

Because you didn’t tell me you loved me, I couldn’t love myself.

The deep resentment surged within her, but soon she found herself clinging back to Jiheon, nestled in his embrace.

He too was breathing with a painful smile that couldn’t be brushed off. Eventually, Jeongoo’s palm, which had been hitting Jiheon, found its resting place on his broad back.

“From now on, say it more often. At least once a week, got it?”

“Once a week isn’t enough, is it?”

“Just make sure to say it at least once a week.”

For the first time, she heard Jiheon let out a playful laugh in response to her grumbling.

“I love you.”

***

Even after Dad came into the picture, Yeona’s daily routine didn’t change much.

After finishing her classes, she would return to her grandmother’s restaurant, watching people come and go, before heading home with her grandmother.

Although it seemed like there weren’t many customers at the restaurant that day, neither her grandmother nor Yeona worried too much. Guk-soon, who was having the happiest and most fulfilling days of the year, gratefully accepted this as well and wrapped up the day’s business early.

“Let’s go home, my puppy!”

At the mention of going home, Yeona joyfully scampered after her like a puppy. On the way home, she was excited to tell her grandmother how cool Dad had been at the academy today.

When they got home, she needed to style her doll’s hair, take out the jelly she had frozen the day before, and stick on the temporary tattoos Dobin had given her. Even as Guk-soon locked up the restaurant, she was bubbling with excitement, her feet dancing with anticipation.

“Grandma, hurry up! At this rate, it’ll be morning!”

“Oh, alright. Our little boss.”

While hearing her granddaughter’s nagging, Guk-soon wore a warm smile. Just like Yeona, she enjoyed this time of returning home after finishing her daily tasks.

However, the moment she turned to hold the child’s hand, Guk-soon’s smile vanished.

A woman and a man holding a small camera were standing there. They were taking pictures of the exterior of “Guk-soon Baekban” without her permission.

“Is this the restaurant that makes that, um, garbage stew?”