A child who looks like me

Jeong-oh. Lee Jeong-oh.

Ji-heon’s eyes, staring at the monitor, became glassy with tears. Red veins burst on the whites of his eyes.

It was as if he were about to cry blood.

“Are you okay, sir…?”

The man, who had been silently watching, asked with concern.

“…Can I take this photo with me?”

Ji-heon couldn’t hide the tremor in his voice as he made the request. The man readily agreed and sent him the file.

After collecting the photo, Ji-heon left the flower shop and immediately contacted Seung-kyu.

[Hey, friend.] “Are you off work?”

[Yeah. I’m on my way home. Why?] “Do you still have the information about Lee Jeong-oh that you investigated?”

[Uh… yeah.] Seung-kyu’s voice lowered, as if it were a difficult topic to discuss.

“Can you send that to my email?”

Ji-heon requested. He had never personally checked the information Seung-kyu had gathered about Lee Jeong-oh.

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

After enjoying a relaxing weekend, Monday arrived. It was time to start working late again.

Jeong-oh returned to his seat after a long meeting, leaning back lazily in his chair. Whenever someone appeared in the hallway leading to Ji-heon’s office, he unconsciously straightened his back.

Today, that person left work early.

At exactly noon, he received a text message saying he was busy with work. Although he had seen Ji-heon’s face from a distance a couple of times, it was just to check that he was doing okay.

Although they belonged to the same company and the same department, the distance between their offices and her desk made them feel far apart.

It wasn’t unusual for him not to see her often, but why did it feel so suffocating today?

It was probably because of the dream he had last night.

In the dream, Jeong-oh and Ye-na wore matching beautiful white dresses and walked through a park when they spotted Ji-heon. Ji-heon was also dressed in a sharp suit.

While Jeong-oh hesitated upon recognizing Ji-heon, Ye-na ran to him with open arms and jumped into his embrace.

Ji-heon sat down on a park bench, holding Ye-na on his lap while she smiled comfortably, as if her mother didn’t care at all.

The problem was Jeong-oh’s feelings. He wanted to take Ye-na away from Ji-heon, but his legs wouldn’t move. He awoke from the dream with a jolt, feeling his stiff legs struggle to bend.

Dreams are reflections of the unconscious. It seemed that the fear of someone taking Ye-na away manifested in his dream.

Meeting Chae Eun-byeol on Friday was probably one of the stressors too.

Anyway, since he had decided to wait for Ji-heon’s memories to return, he would try to endure for a while.

Jeong-oh made an effort to think positively about the stressors.

At least he had figured out who the suspicious person was, which was a relief.

He couldn’t tell from which direction the arrows would fly, but now he felt like he had a sense of direction. Furthermore, since Chae Eun-byeol approached him by impersonating another lawyer, he could use that as leverage.

What should he do?

While he was deep in thought, he heard the sound of clicking heels. It seemed that Chae Eun-bi, who had been frequently going out lately, was coming in from somewhere, preparing to start working late.

“That team never collaborates at all.”

He felt sorry for the leader of Team 1, Ahn Chan-seob, and returned his hands to the keyboard. It seemed better to think about this at home and finish work quickly so he could leave.

However, this time, his phone vibrated. The name “Mom Guk-soon” appeared on the screen. Jeong-oh immediately answered the call.

“Hello.”

[Mom.] “Princess Ye-na!”

The voice that came through the receiver was not Guk-soon’s but his daughter’s. Jeong-oh’s voice rose with excitement as he greeted Ye-na. After the fact that he was a single mother became widely known in the office, he no longer felt the need to worry about anyone’s gaze.

Park Young-gwang, who was sitting beside him, chuckled as he watched Jeong-oh run down the hallway with his phone to his ear.

At 8 PM, checking the time, Jeong-oh asked.

“Did you get home?”

[Yeah.] “Did you wash up? Have you washed?”

[Yeah. I took a bath by myself today.] “Good job. What’s Grandma doing?”

[She’s doing laundry in the bathroom.] Ye-na’s voice, which had answered matter-of-factly, suddenly dropped in tone.

[Mom, but Grandma cried today.] The smile that had filled Jeong-oh’s face faded at Ye-na’s urgent news.

“Why? Did something happen?”

[No. Someone just came to the restaurant. But Grandma cried, so she didn’t clean up and came home.] “Did a strange customer come?”

[I don’t know. They ordered food but didn’t eat any of it before leaving.] “A customer didn’t eat, and that made Grandma cry?”

[I’m not sure. But that customer is a friend of Mom’s.] “What?”

[They said their name was Chae Eun-bi twice. And they gave me 50,000 won too.] Jeong-oh turned his head to look at Chae Eun-bi’s desk. She was busy working, shaking her shoulders as if something delighted her. Come to think of it, she had recently been showing only a sour face, but now she had a strangely cheerful expression.

Chae Eun-bi. You’ve finally touched my family.

[But Grandma took the money away. She said it had to be returned.] “……”

[Mom, but Grandma secretly cried. What I told you is a secret.] Before Jeong-oh could respond, the call was abruptly disconnected. It seemed she had made the call in secret.

Seeing Eun-bi rise from her seat and head to the bathroom, Jeong-oh followed right behind her.

“Chae Eun-bi.”

Eun-bi, who was touching up her makeup in front of the sink, looked at Jeong-oh and smirked at him with one side of her mouth raised.

“Did you go to my mom’s restaurant?”

“Lee Jeong-oh, this is the office. We’re here for business.”

Eun-bi pointed out, but Jeong-oh wasn’t in the mood for business.

“Why did you give my daughter money?”

“She seemed really happy to get it.”

“……”

“I thought she was a beggar since she accepted it so eagerly.”

Slap!

Unable to contain his anger, Jeong-oh slapped Eun-bi across the face.

The impact left Jeong-oh’s palm stinging, and it was probably a shock for Eun-bi as well.

Eun-bi, who collapsed onto the sink, covered her cheek and glared at Jeong-oh. Though she had intended to use that incident to her advantage, it felt truly unpleasant now that it had actually happened.

“How dare you hit me?”

Eun-bi stood up, veins popping in her neck as she shouted.

“Is that why they say that food is as good as the family you come from?”

“……”

“Is being a single mother a point of pride in your family? Is being reckless with your body hereditary? But for the sake of your life, you should have had an abortion. You wouldn’t want to hear that you take after your mom, right?”

With Eun-bi’s ranting, Jeong-oh’s hand rose once again.

“Ahh!”

Eun-bi covered her cheek, which had been hit, with both arms and shouted. The sight was truly amusing.

“Enough. You’re just beyond saving.”

Jeong-oh, having withdrawn his hands, turned around in resignation.

“Don’t ever touch my family again. This is a warning.”

“What’s a warning? I’m going to sue you too! For assault!”

Eun-bi yelled after Jeong-oh, who was leaving first. At that moment, a ridiculous voice came from behind her.

[Is being a single mother a family legacy? Is it genetic to recklessly treat your body? You should have thought about your life and gotten rid of the child. I guess you didn’t want to hear that you take after your mom and use your body carelessly.]

It was her own voice just a moment ago.

Assistant Ko Eun-joo, who had just come out of the restroom stall, pressed the stop button on the recording file.

“Don’t misunderstand, manager. This isn’t illegal eavesdropping; I was just testing how well my voice carries in the restroom, and you ruined my data.”

Eun-joo coldly scoffed and left the restroom first.

“You pretended to be so refined, but you’re just pathetic.”

Her muttered words were clearly heard by Eun-bi as she left.

Eun-bi’s face twitched in anger.

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

When Ji-heon returned home, he immediately checked the email sent by Seung-kyu.

– My friend, I did this investigation at your request, but I feel a strong sense of guilt. Please keep it a secret that I conducted this investigation.

Attached to the email were several documents that Seung-kyu had received through a company, along with a heartfelt plea.

Ji-heon carefully examined the documents line by line. As he scrutinized the rigidly presented facts, his heart raced more than ever.

Lee Jeong-oh’s daughter, Lee Ye-na. 7 years old. Born on May 27, six years ago, at a hospital in Gunsan.

The child’s blood type is B.

Lee Jeong-oh is type O, yet the child is B.

The information, which began with a brief profile of Lee Jeong-oh’s family, delved deeper into Jeong-oh’s past.

When she was in college, she lived in a one-room apartment in the Haengdang-dong area. Ji-heon felt a strange sense of familiarity with the address and opened his roadmap. He quickly remembered the place.

It was where he had met Lee Jeong-oh during the tasting event for Daewon Liquor’s new product.

‘Was I drawn to that place by memories I couldn’t recall?’

Had he frequented that place a lot in the past? Was that why he instinctively sought it out?

Despite telling himself not to jump to conclusions, his thoughts kept drifting towards a predetermined conclusion.

And then there was the working holiday period seven years ago when Lee Jeong-oh left for Melbourne, Australia.

He had also been in Melbourne during that time. Was this a coincidence?

Am I forcing a ridiculous story to fit? Huh? Lee Jeong-oh.

Now, his whole body trembled as if it were a heart beating wildly.

With trembling fingers, Ji-heon clicked to turn the page again and let out a rough sigh.

A photo taken during her working holiday period was embedded in the document.

Long straight hair, a sky-blue T-shirt with characters printed on it.

Ji-heon pulled out his phone and opened a photo he had taken at the restaurant “The Crown” in Melbourne.

… Yes. That shirt.

It was her. It was Lee Jeong-oh.

His gaze on the monitor became vacant. With a long sigh, Ji-heon straightened up and spotted the words “THE CROWN” piled high in his inbox. There was an email from the owner of The Crown sent just a few hours ago.

Ji-heon clicked on the email.

Mr. Jeong,

I hope you are well. I’m reaching out because I remembered your request during your visit to our restaurant last week.

I had the opportunity to review the CCTV footage from the day you visited, and I noticed that about an hour before your arrival, an Asian woman touched one of the pictures on the wall.

It seemed she took your picture. Do you know this woman?

Ji-heon downloaded and opened the video attached to the email. The interior of The Crown restaurant came into view.

In a rather quiet restaurant, an Asian woman with a hat walked in.

It was Lee Jeong-oh. There was no mistaking it; it was her.

Jeong-oh, sitting in a corner of the restaurant, gazed at the wall covered in photos, then noticed something. After checking to see if anyone was watching, she removed a photo from the wall.

Tears welled up in his throat.

Lee Jeong-oh. Who on earth are you?

What on earth were you feeling as you watched me?

He felt an overwhelming urge to meet her immediately and hear her story.

Ji-heon left his house right away. The entire ride down in the elevator, he felt nauseous and dizzy. He recalled Lee Jeong-oh, who had tightly grasped the handrail in the elevator with him.

Finally reaching the underground parking lot, Ji-heon realized that he hadn’t even brought his car keys. He had to go back home, but his legs were trembling.

The world around him felt unbearably heavy.

He needed to get to her.

Ji-heon briefly sat down but then stood up again. At that moment.

Screech!

A car that had not noticed the person sitting down abruptly stopped, realizing Ji-heon’s presence too late, making tire-squealing sounds.

Flash. The headlights shone brightly on Ji-heon’s face.

A flash of light sparked in his mind.

Tears he couldn’t hold back fell.

I love you, Jeong-oh.

Why did I hold back those words?