A child who looks like me

Jeong-oh smiled warmly as Ji-heon carefully said, “But someday, we might have to do a paternity test for Ye-na.”

“I’m okay with it. I understand that it’s a legal procedure,” Jeong-oh nodded lightly. However, one thing weighed on her mind.

“But it’s not about me. It’s about Ye-na.”

As Jeong-oh pointed this out, Ji-heon’s shoulders visibly drooped.

“Ye-na is very perceptive. If she hears about the paternity test, it might hurt her feelings.”

“Right. Ye-na is important…”

Ye-na is important. Ye-na is important…

In his mouth, the phrase “Ye-na is important” felt like a prayer.

***

It was a busy morning before heading to work.

Despite everything that happened, Ji-heon went to work looking unfazed. As he reached his office, Secretary Yoon Ae-ra stood up to greet him.

“Director, you’re here.”

“Yes, hello.”

“Um, Director…”

Yoon cautiously called out to Ji-heon as he was about to enter his office. He turned to her.

“There’s something I forgot to mention yesterday…”

Actually, it wasn’t that she had forgotten; she had hesitated to speak up about it but finally mustered the courage to say it. It felt like she couldn’t delay any longer.

“Two nights ago, Mrs. Jang Young-mi requested a photo of our team member, Jeong-oh Lee. So… I had no choice but to send it.”

“……”

Ji-heon narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.

‘Yoon sent my mother a picture of Jeong-oh…’

If that were the case, then part of his mother’s explanation would indeed be true. The claim that Chae Eun-bi had revealed the name “Jeong-oh Lee,” leading his mother to inquire about her.

Does this mean that the attempted kidnapping incident regarding Ye-na really isn’t connected to his mother?

‘Then what about Chae Eun-yeob?’

How much does Chae Eun-yeob really know?

Although he had felt grateful for her help since the hit-and-run seven years ago, now he wondered if he had been used by her all this time.

Still, with Jeong-oh around, the truth would come out soon enough.

“I trusted you, Secretary Yoon. It’s unfortunate that this happened.”

Ji-heon set aside his worries for a moment to chide his secretary, who hung her head, unsure of how to respond.

“I’m sorry.”

“From now on, be careful. Never share information with outsiders.”

“Yes.”

“By ‘outsiders,’ I mean anyone from outside the company, including partner companies. If someone tries to dig for company information, come to me first.”

“Yes, understood.”

As Ji-heon turned to leave after giving a firm warning, he noticed someone peeking from the end of the hallway. It was Seung-kyu.

Curiosity about what he had promised to share made Seung-kyu rush in early that morning.

Ji-heon entered the office with Seung-kyu.

“What’s going on? Why is it so tense in the morning?”

“There’s something going on.”

Seung-kyu, who was looking at Ji-heon with a puzzled expression, quickly changed the subject.

“Hey! You said you’d tell me today. Spill it!”

Seung-kyu had been waiting eagerly for this news for a long time. He couldn’t sleep, anxious to hear what Ji-heon had to share.

Just a few months ago, Seung-kyu had seemed like a man who would remain distant from women, yet now he was not only helping with Jeong-oh but had even mentioned meeting her mother.

This definitely hinted at marriage, so what could be the reason for meeting Jeong-oh’s mother if they didn’t have a child together?

Ji-heon opened the door to this mystery.

“Don’t freak out.”

“Okay, I’m ready. Just tell me.”

“I lost my memory seven years ago. Three years of my life just vanished.”

“Right. But you said your memory is starting to come back.”

“Yeah. And that memory was about Jeong-oh.”

“……You were close with Jeong-oh back then?”

“Not just close.”

“……No way.”

His heart raced, and his vision blurred.

“No way, no way!”

No way!

Thinking back, Ji-heon and Jeong-oh’s first meeting had indeed been strange. Ji-heon had fixated on Jeong-oh’s looks, and she had even grabbed his wrist in front of the elevator.

Jeong-oh must have known. Her reaction was so natural because she had known Ji-heon!

Seung-kyu jumped up from his seat, waving his hands in disbelief.

“Ah! Don’t tell me! I feel like my heart might drop!”

Though it wasn’t his own life, he was so excited by the news that his face turned red.

“Is it real? Is it true?”

“Yeah. Ye-na is my biological daughter…”

“Whoa! No way!”

Oh my, oh my!

Seung-kyu, who was pacing back and forth in disbelief, pressed his hands to his cheeks like someone trapped in a Munch painting. He circled the office twice before hitting his head against the wall.

Incredible! How could this happen!

All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind.

‘Ji-heon was Jeong-oh’s boyfriend? The biological father of Ye-na is Ji-heon? The man whom Do-bin likes is Ye-na’s biological father, Ji-heon? What does this mean? I criticized Jeong-oh for being a single mother. I didn’t think I could wish them well, but thanks to Ji-heon, I managed to avoid censure? No, no, no. If that’s the case, Ye-na is the only granddaughter of a chaebol family. Will Ye-na continue to play with our Do-bin? Won’t she stop coming to our house? What? I was pushing them to be together, and now our Do-bin is the only one left out? Am I, as a father, blocking my son’s future?’

A tangled bundle of thoughts piled up in Seung-kyu’s mind, weighing down his feet. He turned around, looking like he aged several months in those few seconds.

“…Should I congratulate you?”

“Of course. It’s a good thing.”

“It really is, right?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“……”

“Even though I’ve missed a lot of time and my memory isn’t fully back, it’s still a good thing that I can return to how things used to be.”

Jiheon’s expression looked relaxed, but Seungkyu felt uncomfortable in many ways.

“There’s no one else I can talk to about this.”

“Right?”

“…”

“Our Dobin and Yeona will still be able to play together, right?”

Seungkyu asked Jiheon’s response with earnestness, feeling a pitiful sense of being in a subordinate position regarding their children as well.

Unexpectedly, Jiheon let out a sigh.

“Actually, I might need help from Dobin.”

“…”

“Yeona still can’t accept me.”

“Ah… she must be confused.”

“Is that how kids are?”

“It could be. She’s lived her whole life without a dad, so having one drop down like a bomb must be a shock.”

“…”

“Hey, but isn’t it interesting that there’s such a connection?”

“Right. There are fated encounters like this.”

“No, I’m talking about you and me. We’re truly fated. Right? If it weren’t for me, what would you have done? You might not have even been able to play Go with your daughter once.”

“…You’re talking like you’ll never be able to play Go again.”

“Anyway, you must never forget this connection. Right now, Yeona is closer to Dobin than you, so if you need to ask for something, be polite about it. Got it?”

Although he spoke firmly, his voice was infinitely gentle and soft. Seungkyu vowed never to fight with Jiheon again for the rest of his life.

After the storm had passed, Seungkyu, calming himself down, posed a practical question.

“So what will you do about Lee Jeong-oh?”

“Hmm? Why?”

“We should send her to another department. You’re responsible for personnel evaluations, and it’s easy for rumors to spread.”

“Nothing was said about Chae Eun-bi.”

“Chae Eun-bi is different. She had been here before you arrived, and you’re the one giving Lee Jeong-oh her first evaluation.”

“…”

“It’s better to transfer her to another department. For your sake, and for Lee Jeong-oh’s too.”

No.

Jiheon couldn’t accept Seungkyu’s argument.

He couldn’t send Jeong-oh to another department. He was already suppressing his desire to set up a desk for her in this office.

“Park Seungkyu. You know what I’m going to say, right?”

“…”

“Pretend you don’t know.”

He absolutely could not let Lee Jeong-oh be taken to another department.

......

“Hello, Attorney Hah Jin-cheol. This is Lee Jeong-oh. It’s been a few days since I contacted you.

There was a commotion at the company a little while ago. The C girl I mentioned insulted me in a public place. She screamed in the bathroom, and everyone outside could hear it.

I’ve attached the recording from that time, so please check it. I hope you’ll ensure the attached material doesn’t leak elsewhere. I trust you, and I’m sending it.

Now that I’ve gathered evidence, can we proceed with the lawsuit? Please let me know a convenient time, and I’ll come see you.”

[Is being a single mother a family legacy? Is recklessly living your life genetic? Still, you should have thought about your life and gotten rid of the baby. I’m sure you didn’t want to hear that you take after your mother in living recklessly.]

Eun-yeob roughly sighed after checking the email and attached file from Lee Jeong-oh.

The recording file unmistakably contained Chae Eun-bi’s voice, filled with nauseatingly harsh accusations. Even Eun-yeob thought it was a fitting response.

It was valid material for a lawsuit.

Lee Jeong-oh was a woman he had intended to meet just once. To judge what kind of person she was and what weaknesses she had. He had gained nothing from their previous meeting, and because he had impersonated a fellow lawyer, he had no intention of giving her additional consultations.

If it weren’t for his younger sister, Chae Eun-bi, he wouldn’t have even bothered.

“I can spare some time during work. Shall we meet at a café at 6 PM? I’ll send the address.”

Eun-yeob sent a brief reply to Jeong-oh with a heavy heart and waited for a response. Soon after, a confirmation came back.

Then, at 6:20 PM.

Eun-yeob arrived at the café, 20 minutes late for their appointment.

“Attorney.”

“I’m sorry for being late. I ended up finishing work later than I thought.”

“No, it’s fine. I appreciate you meeting with me.”

Jeong-oh looked a bit more relaxed than when they first met. She looked somewhat prettier with a healthy complexion.

But she was merely bait to win Jiheon over.

This woman had no idea that the child’s grandmother had already done a DNA test using the child’s hair.

Eun-yeob smirked slightly and got straight to the point.

“I’ve reviewed the materials you sent. However, I don’t think that C girl would have made such statements out of the blue. Considering the context, it seems there must have been some incident prior. Did you, Lee Jeong-oh, provide her with a trigger to become excited?”

“Rather than a trigger, that girl visited my mom’s restaurant with her friends. There, she met my daughter and gave her 50,000 won. I only told her that she shouldn’t give such a large sum to a child, but she reacted so violently.”

Eun-yeob’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

That can’t be right, can it? You must have struck first.

“Was there nothing else? For example, did Lee Jeong-oh strike you first?”

“She wouldn’t do that. Not at all.”

“…”

“Why would I do something like that at work? I would just clap my hands alone.”

Eun-yeob knew that her words were lies. It was frustrating to have to remain quiet and pretend not to know the obvious truth.

“…Understood. Let’s go ahead and write the complaint. We can do it here, right?”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s write it quickly and get up.”

Seeing her flushed face, Eun-yeob quietly sneered. He planned to write the complaint very roughly and tamper with the evidence.

“By the way, how many people heard it? Can those people be witnesses?”

“A lot of people heard it, but honestly, I’m not sure.”

“It would make things easier if we had witnesses. What a shame.”

“However, I do have a witness who can testify that C girl has slandered me in the past. It seems they just finished up nearby, so I’ll call them.”

Ah, no, that’s not necessary…

Before Eun-yeob could stop her, Jeong-oh quickly sent a text message and set her phone down.

Having the person come makes him feel uneasy…

“Um, Lee Jeong-oh, I think I should get up now since I suddenly have a call coming in.”

As Eun-yeob sensed the ominous energy and rose from her chair, the café entrance opened, and a person walked in.

“Director, over here!”

Jeong-oh waved her hand eagerly toward the entrance.

Eun-yeob’s face froze as she stood awkwardly at her seat.

In the midst of the café’s stillness, the sound of Jiheon’s footsteps echoed loudly.

Jeong-oh smiled brightly as if to show off, introducing Eun-yeob to Jiheon.

“Director, this is the one. The attorney I was talking about.”

“What? Chae Eun-yeob? The lawyer that Lee Jeong-oh mentioned is you?”

Jiheon sighed, looking at her with an expression of disbelief, as if looking at a mere bug, or something even less significant.

“What are you talking about, Director? This is Attorney Hah Jin-cheol.”

Jeong-oh, like an actor on a stage, loudly and dramatically glanced back and forth between Jiheon and Eun-yeob.

“That’s right, Attorney. Your name is Hah Jin-cheol, isn’t it? Why don’t you say something?”

Even with that clumsy performance, Eun-yeob found herself unable to say a word.