A child who looks like me

Eun-yeob fell beautifully into Lee Jeong-oh’s cunning trap. She faced an unprecedentedly embarrassing moment in her life.

“Attorney, why aren’t you speaking? Is your name really not Hah Jin-cheol?”

Jeong-oh pressed on as if she were shocked to finally discover Eun-yeob’s real name, pretending to know nothing.

“I’m very embarrassed right now. Why did you impersonate someone else? Are you really an attorney?”

Of course, Eun-yeob knew that Jeong-oh was pretending.

As Eun-yeob remained silent, Jeong-oh turned to Jiheon and asked, “Director, isn’t Chae Eun-yeob… the brother of Chae Eun-bi?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh my! The person I was going to sue was Chae Eun-bi!”

This ridiculous play continued.

“Then, did you approach me on purpose? To prevent me from suing Eun-bi?”

“…”

“Did Chae Eun-bi ask you to do that?”

“You have a vivid imagination, Lee Jeong-oh. This is sheer absurdity.”

Finally gathering her thoughts, Eun-yeob spoke up.

“When did I say I was Hah Jin-cheol? I’ve been saying from the start that I’m Chae Eun-yeob, but you misheard me, didn’t you?”

There’s no evidence. There shouldn’t be any.

She had only introduced herself as Hah Jin-cheol once at the company desk, and afterward, she never mentioned that name again. It should be easy to silence the desk staff, so if she could just get through this situation well, it would be fine.

“Right! In the lobby of the law firm!”

Jeong-oh exclaimed incredulously.

“I’m quite displeased. You miscalled me on purpose and now you’re trying to pin the blame on me.”

Eun-yeob spoke clearly.

“Moreover, I offered you free consultation, and even took the time out of my busy schedule to meet with you and write the complaint. To have my kindness result in this is just unbelievable.”

“…”

“I felt bitter seeing you repeatedly miscalling my name in emails, but you set this trap and tried to corner me. What exactly is your motive, Lee Jeong-oh?”

“Attorney, I have records of the emails I received, so if you say that…”

As Eun-yeob continued to argue, Jeong-oh picked up her phone. It was clear she was going to shove the email records in her face. Eun-yeob scoffed softly. The emails merely showed that Jeong-oh had called her Hah Jin-cheol, but there was no direct evidence that Eun-yeob had impersonated anyone.

Realizing this, Jeong-oh’s gaze wavered.

“Don’t just call someone’s name carelessly, Lee Jeong-oh.”

As Eun-yeob continued to reprimand her, Jiheon took Jeong-oh’s phone.

“To me, it seems you’re the one lying, Chae Eun-yeob.”

After reviewing all of Jeong-oh’s emails, Jiheon said, “If the emails came in this way, shouldn’t you correct it? An attorney should be truthful to their clients. If I’m not referred to by my name and am called something else without correction, isn’t that a problem? If there is actually someone named Hah Jin-cheol at your firm, you’d be causing harm to that person as well.”

As Jiheon pointed out Eun-yeob’s lack of sincerity, Eun-yeob clenched her fists.

“If you didn’t want it to be interpreted as impersonation, you should have corrected it long ago. Why didn’t you? This is damaging to your firm as well.”

“…”

“I can’t just let this slide now that I know. Convey this to the company: all contracts with Max Planning will be terminated. I cannot work with an untrustworthy attorney.”

“…”

“No. I’ll contact them directly. I don’t trust you to relay it correctly.”

“Jiheon, that’s not your decision to make. It’s the representative of the company who decides that. You’re not the representative of Max Planning.”

Eun-yeob barely managed to maintain her poker face as she mocked him. Given the situation, there was no need for her to hide her claws anymore.

It was also worth pointing out that a subordinate was stepping in for a director of the division.

“And Jiheon, are you and Lee Jeong-oh particularly close?”

Gathering her belongings and standing tall, Eun-yeob leaned close to Jiheon and whispered in his ear.

“Jiheon, I think you should be careful too. You should choose your friends wisely. What if your mother were to faint in shock?”

“…”

“I’ll be going ahead. I barely managed to carve out some time while on the move. Let’s meet separately later.”

After briefly advising Jiheon, Eun-yeob quickly left the table. Though she pretended to be calm, she was sweating profusely. She walked briskly as if trying not to get caught by them. By the last few steps, she might have even been nearly running.

Once she had moved away from the café and toward the parking lot, Eun-yeob quietly caught her breath and organized her thoughts about what she had seen and heard.

Lee Jeong-oh and Jeong Jiheon. The two were clearly colluding. Jiheon seemed to trust Jeong-oh quite a bit, but it was unclear whether they were in a romantic relationship or not.

When Jeong-oh visited the company last Friday, she likely had no relationship with Jiheon. If they were close, Jeong-oh wouldn’t have come to receive a free consultation.

Had their relationship changed over the week? Had Jeong-oh disclosed the existence of Lee Ye-na to Jiheon? If so, her efforts to swap Lee Ye-na’s hair would have been in vain. Of course, it could cause confusion for a moment.

“Ha, pests!”

Eun-yeob shouted into the air.

Why do they have to make it so complicated?

As soon as it was time to leave work, Seung-kyu jumped up like a bullet and took a taxi home for the first time in a while.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey!”

As he opened the front door, instead of saying “Dad’s home,” he called out “Hey” four times in a row, which felt like a long time since it had happened.

“What, what, what!”

Jin-seo, who was teaching Dobin about organizing his room, rushed into the living room, startled by her husband’s frantic calls.

“Dad!”

“Dad, Dad!”

Dobin and Doyun ran up to greet Seung-kyu.

“Oh. Right, right. Did our Dobin and Doyun listen to Mom?”

While Seung-kyu hugged each of the children, Jin-seo’s eyes widened as she pressed him for answers.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Hah… I have incredible news.”

Seung-kyu replied with eyes full of joy, barely able to contain his excitement.

“What is it? What is it?”

“Ha ha ha.”

Seung-kyu took the two children to the living room to play and pulled Jin-seo into the bedroom.

“Do you know who Ye-na’s biological father is?”

“Who is it? Is it someone I know? A celebrity?”

“Ha ha ha ha.”

“Who is it already?”

“It’s Jeong Jiheon.”

“……Is today April Fool’s Day?”

“No, I’m serious! I heard it directly from Jiheon. He had amnesia and couldn’t remember Lee Jeong-oh, who thought he was heartbroken and was raising Ye-na all by himself.”

“Really? That doesn’t make any sense!”

“I’m telling you, it’s true!”

“Oh my….”

Jin-seo couldn’t close her gaping mouth. Seung-kyu felt a sense of relief wash over him.

“Isn’t it amazing? I must have had some foresight. What would have happened if I hadn’t brought the two of them together?”

“Oh my, what a surprise, what a surprise….”

Jin-seo, with her hand on her startled heart, asked, “Then what happens to Jeong-oh? I heard Jiheon’s mother is a really scary person.”

“It’ll work out. They have a child together. She’s the first granddaughter in that family, after all.”

“Then Jiheon and Jeong-oh will move in together?”

“I haven’t heard that much yet.”

“Ugh… I really hope Jeong-oh has less trouble from now on.”

Jin-seo sighed with relief, praying for peace in Jeong-oh’s family. At that moment, a loud crash echoed from outside.

Jin-seo and Seung-kyu hurried into the living room at the same time.

The freezer door was open, and ice from the ice tray was scattered all over the floor.

“I’m sorry!”

Before Jin-seo could scold him, Dobin took the initiative.

Even though they hadn’t taught him to do that, his earnest hands clasped together in pleading melted Jin-seo’s heart, and she sighed, extending her arms.

As she reached out, Dobin flinched, thinking he was about to be scolded, which made him both pitiable and lovable.

“Son, if you want ice in the future, just tell Mom, okay?”

“……Okay.”

“I love you, my son.”

Jin-seo hugged Dobin tightly.

Thinking back, if Dobin hadn’t liked Ye-na so much, she might have followed Seung-kyu’s words and ended her relationship with Jeong-oh. It turned out the foresight was in her son.

“Love you, love you, love you, love you.”

“Mom, why are you like this? Did you accidentally throw away my toy again?”

Dobin, confused as to why he wasn’t being scolded after spilling the ice, asked Jin-seo.

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

After returning to the office to finish the tasks left undone, Jeong-oh left work with Jiheon.

She hadn’t pressed Eun-yeob any further at the café. As expected, Eun-yeob acted shrewdly and quickly escaped the trap.

“Well, at least Chae Eun-yeob won’t approach you anymore, so that’s settled. Mother is worried, though…”

“Mom will definitely be cautious. I showed her the black box footage of Chae Eun-yeob. She may have been stubborn in front of me, but as time passes, her suspicions will grow.”

“Yeah, I’m glad.”

“You did really well today.”

“Right? I think I’m a great actor.”

“Seriously. You could be a professional.”

Jiheon was sincere. To Jiheon, who tended to believe whatever Jeong-oh said, her performance today must have seemed exceptional. In the warm atmosphere, Jiheon revealed what had happened earlier that day.

“I told Seung-kyu everything about Ye-na.”

“Then soon, Dobin’s whole family will find out?”

“They probably already know. He must have been itching to tell Jin-seo.”

“Everyone will be really surprised.”

“If Seung-kyu is making a big fuss at work for no reason, let me know.”

Jiheon recalled that Seung-kyu had been quite surprised that morning in the office and mentioned it to Jeong-oh. Jeong-oh, lost in thought, tilted her head and asked, “You’ve been friends with Deputy Park Seung-kyu for a long time, right? Why didn’t you introduce me to him seven years ago?”

“…….”

“You said you didn’t introduce anyone, friend or otherwise.”

At Jeong-oh’s pointed question, Jiheon’s smile faded.

“Yeah, why was that?”

“…….”

“Were you worried I’d be taken away from you?”

“Huh? You must have been dating Jin-seo back then.”

“Oh, I guess so?”

“……”

“Were you still worried?”

Jiheon extended his right hand, brushing against Jeong-oh’s hair and earlobe, muttering to himself. After days of digging into the past and dealing with Ye-na’s situation, he had been close to Jeong-oh but hadn’t been able to hug her freely.

It was the same now. As he playfully tickled her, she quickly changed the subject to lighten the mood.

“What are you doing this weekend?”

“Nothing. No plans.”

Jiheon declared nonchalantly, knowing he could cancel any schedule if she wanted him to.

“Okay. Then let’s play with Ye-na. The more she sees your face, the sooner she’ll warm up to you.”

At Jeong-oh’s suggestion, Jiheon felt his strength leave his arms.

Would Ye-na really want to play if I asked her…?

To Jiheon, Ye-na was the most intimidating person in the world—more so than the chairman of the group or his mother-in-law. It was a desperate, unrequited love from a man who had always lived with pride.

The car Jiheon and Jeong-oh were in arrived at the market just in time. Jeong-oh opened the restaurant door first. The dining area of the restaurant, which had closed for the day, was dark.

“I’m back!”

“Mommy!”

Hearing Jeong-oh’s voice, Ye-na ran out and, spotting Jiheon who had followed her in, tightened her lips.

“Hi, Ye-na.”

Hmph.

Ye-na turned her head away, heading towards the kitchen.

“Oh, you’re here?”

In the kitchen, Guk-soon welcomed them as she peered through the entrance. Jiheon politely greeted her.

“Yes, hello.”

Jeong-oh poked Jiheon’s side awkwardly as he entered the kitchen, signaling him to talk to Ye-na.

Jiheon quickly understood and cautiously perched himself on the bench, addressing Ye-na.

“Ye-na, how about we… go bike riding on Saturday?”

“Go bike riding with Dad.”

At Jiheon’s question, Ye-na’s eyes widened as she looked at him, then left the bench to tug on Guk-soon’s pants.

“Grandma, can we go to Gunsan on Saturday?”

“Do you want to go to Gunsan, my dear?”

“Yes. I want to go. Grandma from the restaurant said she wants to see Ye-na, too.”

After successfully persuading her grandmother, Ye-na turned to Jeong-oh and said, “Mom, let’s go to Gunsan together.”

Jiheon had no place in this conversation.

He could only watch as Ye-na flashed a bright smile at her, unable to relax his own smile directed at her.

Right now, my smile doesn’t even feel like a smile.