A child who looks like me

Jeong-oh couldn’t help but smile. Yet at the same time, she felt a pang of sympathy for Jiheon, as she understood his longing.

The sight of Ye-na sleeping. That was irresistible.

“Phew.”

“If it’s too hard…”

“No, I totally understand you, Oppa.”

“…”

“I’ve seen Ye-na sleeping more than a thousand times, and I still can’t get enough of it. She’s truly an angel.”

The truth was, she had a hobby of teasing sleeping Ye-na—holding her hand, brushing her cheek, even giving her kisses—but she couldn’t say that out loud. She felt that Jiheon might secretly try the same and quickly get addicted.

“But are you sure? Once you see her, you’ll keep thinking about it. You’ll want to come over all the time.”

“Can I just take one picture?”

“That’s not allowed. I can’t turn on the light just to take a picture of the child while she’s sleeping. I can’t use the flash either.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

With the mother’s refusal, Jiheon’s worries deepened.

“I’ll ask Mom first.”

Jeong-oh immediately contacted Guk-soon. She knew Guk-soon would understand Jiheon. After clicking her tongue at how pitiful Jiheon was about twenty times, Guk-soon quickly told him to come in.

Once Guk-soon’s permission was granted, the car sped up, arriving in front of Jeong-oh’s house in no time. The two quietly climbed the stairs and opened the front door. Guk-soon was waiting in the living room.

Jiheon greeted her first.

“Hello, Mother. How have you been?”

“Yeah. We see each other often.”

“Sorry for coming so late.”

“It’s fine. Come on in.”

Jiheon cautiously took off his shoes and entered.

It was the first day he would meet sleeping Ye-na. He promised himself he would only take a brief look at her face as he entered the room. Jeong-oh opened the door for him.

Inside the dark room, some light filtered through the slightly open door, allowing him to see the child sleeping peacefully.

Her white cheeks, eyelashes neatly closed between her shut eyes, her plump lips gently closed, and the cute sound of her breath. Everything made Jiheon’s heart flutter.

She really is a baby angel.

Jiheon sighed quietly.

When he was seven, Jiheon often woke up from nightmares, sometimes dreaming of fighting monsters or falling off a cliff while being chased. His parents told him those were dreams about growing taller.

Even now, he occasionally has those “growing taller” dreams. His growth has already stopped.

Jiheon wished for the child’s dreams to be peaceful. He would protect her from all the storms of the world, but he couldn’t do anything in her dreams.

As he quietly watched, the child’s fingers twitched, and without realizing it, Jiheon placed his finger on her tiny palm.

Ye-na grabbed Jiheon’s finger tightly. A tingling sensation spread throughout his body. He wanted to stay connected to her little hand like that forever. It felt like he could spend the whole night like this.

It was a night that made leaving feel bittersweet.

Determined, Jiheon stood up. He earnestly hoped that one day checking on his daughter while she slept would become part of his routine.

As he quietly closed the door behind him, Guk-soon asked, “Would you like some fruit?”

“No, that’s okay.”

“Eat something before you go.”

The table was already filled with fruit. Unable to refuse any longer, Jiheon sat at the table. Jeong-oh, who had just washed her hands, went to the kitchen cheerfully.

“Hey, I just washed my hands! If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have washed them!”

“If you’ve washed them, then don’t eat.”

“Come on. How can I not eat when our lady prepared this for us?”

“She didn’t prepare it for you.”

“Come on. If I don’t eat, you’ll worry that I’m sick or something, asking why I can’t eat when there’s fruit right in front of me.”

“Why would I worry about you? You’d probably be the kind of kid who could catch and eat a cow if left alone in the countryside for a few days.”

Jeong-oh didn’t respond, as she knew the truth in Jiheon’s words.

Jiheon rolled his eyes quickly, quietly listening to the conversation between the mother and daughter.

So, this is what Lee Jeong-oh is like at home.

In front of her mother, Jeong-oh was much more charming and lively than Jiheon knew. It was a cozy scene that couldn’t even compare to Jiheon’s family, which was full of obsession and control. He felt small despite having so much, in this peaceful and warm night.

“Eat up. Eat a lot. You’ll need to drive back.”

Guk-soon brushed off Jeong-oh’s teasing affection and placed fruit on Jiheon’s plate. Jiheon accepted everything Guk-soon offered. Guk-soon watched Jiheon eat with satisfaction and said, “What are we going to do? Suddenly everything has happened. I already booked train tickets for tomorrow.”

“We should exclude Jeong-oh from…”

“She should go with me and Ye-na.”

Guk-soon’s worry was drowned out by Jeong-oh’s words. Jiheon wanted to exclude Jeong-oh from working on the weekend, but Jeong-oh’s will was steadfast. Guk-soon nodded as if she understood.

“Right. It can’t be helped. My friend who lives in Jeonju also said she wants to come see Ye-na, so I have to go.”

Jiheon felt his head naturally bow in humility. Guk-soon, noticing Jiheon’s demeanor, spoke casually.

“Hey, you don’t need to feel guilty like a sinner. This isn’t the first time this has happened.”

“Yes…”

“You two can spend some good time together while Ye-na is away.”

Surprised by Guk-soon’s open-mindedness, Jiheon shyly replied, “…No, that’s not true.”

With a voice that was unexpectedly small for his large frame, Guk-soon couldn’t help but chuckle secretly.

This kid. I can guess how you managed to win Jeong-oh over, but now you’re pretending to be innocent in front of me.

***

Early Morning.

Yena woke up before her mother and nudged her awake.

“Mom, mom, wake up! It’s morning!”

In her dream, Yena was celebrating Christmas. Just like her friends at daycare said, she shouted that Santa Claus was fake, but the Santa in her dream laughed heartily and said he was real, so she should touch him.

Yena tugged at Santa’s long beard. The beard didn’t come off. Realizing that Santa was truly real, Yena cheered and took his hand. His hand was big and warm, making her feel secure.

It was a really wonderful and happy dream. That’s why she felt good from the morning.

“Mom, hurry up and get ready! We have to go to Gunsan! Wake up!”

At Yena’s insistence, Jeong-o reluctantly got out of bed.

“Yena, I have something to tell you.”

“……”

“Mom can’t go to Gunsan with you today.”

Her previously excited voice quickly turned dark.

“Why?”

“I have work at the office and can’t go. But our princess will have fun enough for both of us, right?”

With tears brimming in her eyes, Yena pressed her mother.

“Why can’t you go? Did Uncle make you work again?”

“No, it’s not related to Dad. It’s because I have a lot of work.”

Jeong-o insisted on referring to him as “Uncle,” while she stubbornly called him “Dad.”

To Yena, everything felt sorrowful.

She had a happy dream about Santa Claus, but reality was despairing.

Yet Yena also knew she couldn’t make a big fuss on a normal weekend, not a holiday like Children’s Day, Christmas, or her birthday. She swallowed her sorrow with minimal complaints.

“Mom, don’t play with Uncle. Okay?”

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

As soon as Jeong-o left for work, Yena burst into tears again. Guksun, who had hidden some ice cream, took it out and managed to calm Yena down.

Would they be able to go to Gunsan today?

Jeong-o stepped out of the house with heavy steps. As expected, Jihun was waiting in front of her house. It had only been a few hours since they last met. Feeling both happy and sorry, Jeong-o frowned.

“Why are you here today?”

“I need to go to work with you.”

“It’s a job to come this way every day. It would be better if you just moved here.”

Thinking seriously about it, Jihun smiled brightly.

“Yena must be very disappointed that she can’t go.”

Jeong-o almost mentioned that Yena had cried earlier but held her tongue. She was concerned that Jihun might mix personal feelings into a professional setting.

The two arrived at the office without being late.

The competitive presentation was over, and they thought they could take a breather, but there was weekend work ahead.

At least the clients were giving prompt feedback.

Eunju and Gihun polished the package proposal and sent it to the client early in the morning, who seemed roughly satisfied. After exchanging detailed opinions, they wrapped up the fourth draft, allowing the production team to go home by 6 PM.

Seizing the opportunity, Jihun approached Jeong-o.

“Lee Jeong-o, you’re off work, right?”

“Yes, Director.”

“Shall we go to my place today?”

Ahhhh! You rascal, Director!

Jeong-o looked around anxiously, wondering if anyone nearby had heard that. Fortunately, no one was around, but she couldn’t let Jihun’s reckless statement slide.

“I’m not going! Absolutely not!”

Jeong-o glared and scolded in a small voice. To Jihun, it looked like an adorable tantrum.

He had pretended to make a suggestion, but in reality, it was a notification. Since his mother had also approved and said to have a good time, she couldn’t just ignore that valuable advice. She felt she couldn’t let him sleep alone.

Leaving behind the growling Jeong-o, Jihun turned and signaled with his eyes. He meant he would be waiting in front of the office.

Feeling pressured by Jihun’s assertiveness, Jeong-o quickly moved. She was frustrated that her slow actions could lead to someone outside the office spotting Jihun.

“Wow, Jeong Jihun, I swear!”

After finishing her work and rushing out, Jeong-o opened the door to Jihun’s parked car, huffing.

“Are you doing this on purpose? Wanting others to find out?”

This man was someone who could pull off such a thing.

Besides, no matter how much she roared, he wouldn’t reflect on his shamelessness.

Seeing him drive casually while pretending nothing was wrong, she felt an urge to slap him. But she couldn’t hit someone who was driving.

“Oppa, when we get to your house…”

Jeong-o came up with a clever idea and spoke softly.

“I was going to give you an amazing gift, but since you’re so careless, the thought has completely vanished.”

Indeed, she could see Jihun’s eyes widen in surprise.

“…Huh?”

“I’m not giving you anything.”

“What?”

“I said I’m not giving it to you, the gift.”

“You have to give it. You can’t just plan to give it and then not give it.”

But trying to hide his flustered feelings, he didn’t raise his voice. He chose to persuade her very gently. Yet Jeong-o would never bend her will.

“Here it is. I’m not giving it to you.”

“That won’t do.”

“Serves you right. I have to be in a good mood to give you a gift, but I’m not feeling it right now.”

“…I was wrong.”

He finally relented after a delay. Jeong-o raised her lips triumphantly and asked firmly.

“What did you do wrong?”

“Telling you to come to our house from the office.”

“Then what will you do in the future?”

“…I’ll be careful about acting friendly at the office.”

“Really? Can I trust you?”

“You can trust me.”

Haha! Jeong-o let out a hearty laugh that she had been holding back for a while. Easily tamed, Jihun let out a deep sigh.

When they arrived in front of Jihun’s house, it had already turned to dusk. The two parked the car in the underground parking lot and moved together.

Perhaps because it was a high place where the elevator had to go up a lot, just like the first time she visited, Jeong-o felt a bit nervous again.

Knowing how this man would change in a space where they were alone, her heart might be reacting to that memory.

It seemed like he was staring at her longer than usual, and his gaze felt about ten degrees warmer.

Since the silence felt somewhat uncomfortable, Jeong-o forced a smile and spoke.

“Should I give you the gift now? It’s in my bag.”

“You don’t need to prepare such things. We have plenty at our house.”

Jeong-o’s nostrils flared in annoyance.

“…Oppa, what do you think the gift is?”