A child who looks like me

– Mom, I have something to take care of, so I’ll be a few hours late. Please take good care of Yena for me. I’m sorry.

After sending the text message to Guk-soon, Jeong-oh hugged her newly issued laptop and headed to the conference room.

Ji-heon was sitting with his chin propped up, his laptop open in front of him. When Jeong-oh entered, he gestured to the seat next to him.

As Jeong-oh placed her laptop beside Ji-heon and plugged in the power cord, he spoke leisurely.

“We have a deadline, and it’s tomorrow. It’s basic to clear personal schedules the day before a deadline at an advertising company.”

“Yeah.”

Having already given up on leaving work on time, she didn’t want to hear any more of his criticisms. She coldly brushed off his nagging, but his voice continued.

“If you don’t finish your work, I can’t leave either. If you write the script, I need to review it carefully and give you feedback.”

“…….”

“Our goal is to finish by nine o’clock, so let’s hurry up. I’ll drop you off at home once we’re done.”

There was no way to see his intent to both give and take. Jeong-oh remained silent and placed her hands on the keyboard.

She knew his point about taking responsibility for her work was valid, but the harsh reality made her want to cry.

Once upon a time, he was the person who listened to everything she had to say.

Now, this man didn’t even flinch at her desperate requests.

Admit it.

Jeong-oh. It’s time to let go of your lingering feelings.

He is no longer that Jeong Ji-heon from seven years ago. He’s a completely different person now.

Jeong-oh bit her lip and held back her tears.

As she restrained herself, her nose began to tingle with the urge to sneeze. Jeong-oh sniffled quietly.

He turned his head and stared at her intently. Not wanting to show her face, Jeong-oh also turned away. Ji-heon’s gaze became more persistent.

“Are you crying right now?”

“No.”

“A professional copywriter shouldn’t be crying just because of a little overtime.”

“I’m not crying.”

In response to Ji-heon’s teasing, Jeong-oh’s fingers on the keyboard became more aggressive.

Ji-heon relaxedly watched Jeong-oh, who was immersed in her work without even glancing at him.

He had just received a call from Team Leader Seong Mi-ran. She had asked him to consider Jeong-oh’s situation, and he had replied that he would try to finish early so she could leave work.

Thanks to the unexpected problem, he found himself able to keep her nearby. Even without a laptop virus, he had every intention of holding on to her.

Earlier that morning, he had overheard her talking with Song Gi-hoon. Gi-hoon was trying to win her over by giving her a small gift.

“Leave all the hard work to me. I’ll make sure you can leave work on time today.”

Watching the two of them rely on each other was very annoying to Ji-heon.

And then, at exactly 6 PM, Ji-heon entered the conference room to receive a report and accidentally overheard Jeong-oh on the phone.

“I have a lot of work to do. But I’ll finish up soon and head home. I’ll call you on my way out. You know, I’ll be there quickly.”

A voice that sounded excited about something waiting for her. A cheerful, very friendly tone.

The fact that someone who had caused such serious problems was talking with such a bright voice and counting down the minutes until quitting time felt a little irritating.

And here she was, laughing and whispering as if sharing a secret. Now she was making excuses about home chores when asked to redo the proposal.

Did he really think she would naively fall for such excuses?

Ji-heon stifled a laugh, finding her justifications amusing.

In the meantime, she mentioned she would be away for two or three hours.

If that were the case, Ji-heon couldn’t let her go for those two or three hours.

She was still completely focused on her work, showing no signs of emotion.

Her attempts not to look at him were quite endearing.

Ji-heon felt a tingling sensation in his fingertips.

The heat radiating from her, sitting right next to him, was tormenting him.

He wanted to brush her hair aside to see her profile more clearly.

He wanted to inhale her scent and even lick her flushed cheeks.

Ji-heon was engulfed in such base desires that he could hardly believe how he had managed to live until now.

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

Eun-bi eventually stood up.

In the conference room were Jeong Ji-heon and Lee Jeong-oh, alone together…

If she had known this would happen, she would have agreed to Jeong-oh’s request. She would have said she would finish the proposal.

The realization that her refusal of Jeong-oh’s request had led to the two being alone together made her feel uneasy.

She cautiously walked toward the conference room.

Somehow, she felt she had to see the two of them together with her own eyes.

The door to the conference room was probably closed, but since it had small glass windows, she could peek inside.

There were five conference rooms lined up.

One of them must have the two of them in it…

Two of the conference rooms were empty, and two were in the midst of a competitive presentation meeting.

Before she knew it, Eun-bi had arrived at the door of the last conference room.

The smallest room.

Her legs trembled as she slowly approached.

Inside the conference room was quiet, so she had to tread as lightly as possible.

What was so wrong with peeking into a conference room through a glass window that she felt so anxious?

Eun-bi thought it was silly to feel this way and slowly brought her eyes to the glass.

And then, she saw the truth she didn’t want to know…

The two of them were sitting side by side.

And the look in Jeong Ji-heon’s eyes as he gazed at Lee Jeong-oh.

Without realizing it, Eun-bi raised a hand to cover her mouth.

…How can someone’s gaze change like that?

It was an obvious look, as if nothing else in his world mattered except her.

Despite a gentle smile lingering on his lips, there was a chilling hunger and craving that made her skin crawl.

Even from a distance, just watching through the glass window felt suffocating, as if she was peeking into someone’s private life, as if she was witnessing a secret act.

Her heart raced wildly, overwhelmed by a sense of bewildering defeat, her face flushed and tears welling up.

Jeong Ji-heon had never looked at her that way.

Not even once.

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

8:50 PM.

Although he sometimes worked late into the night, three hours of overtime didn’t feel like much today.

“If I take a taxi and go quickly… it might take about 20 minutes?”

Jeong-oh checked the time and sighed.

His goal was to arrive home by 9:30 PM.

While it was late for a child who usually went to bed early, the birthday celebration wasn’t over yet.

Yena, wait for me. Mommy will be there soon.

“I can assure you, there won’t be a better copy than this. This is the best that can come from my head.”

Jeong-oh presented the revised proposal to Ji-heon, incorporating as much of his feedback as possible.

After carefully reading through it, Ji-heon nodded.

“Alright. Good job.”

“Yes.”

As soon as Jeong-oh received Ji-heon’s confirmation, she hurriedly organized her things. Ji-heon stood up and left the conference room, saying,

“Pack your bag and come down. I’ll give you a ride home.”

Jeong-oh secretly snorted at the back of Ji-heon’s head.

Ji-heon returned to his office and put on his jacket.

He placed the newly received proposal on his desk but picked it up again and put it in his bag.

Although he said he would take her home, he felt that she might be hesitating for some reason.

Thinking that he needed to move together with her, he rushed outside and stood guard in front of the elevator.

However, Jeong-oh didn’t appear even after ten minutes had passed.

He stopped by her desk, but seeing that she was nowhere to be found, he decided to call her.

After a long wait, she finally answered the phone.

[Hello?] “Where are you?”

[I’m outside.] Her cold response furrowed his brow. He felt she was lying.

“You’re outside while I’m standing in front of the elevator?”

[I went down the stairs.] Ji-heon gritted his teeth and said.

“I told you I’d take you home.”

[I don’t want to.] “……”

[Do I have to stay next to you until I get home? It’s not even work.] “……”

[See you tomorrow.] The call abruptly ended.

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

Goal! 9:30 PM!

The sound of the front door opening made Yena rush over.

“Mom!”

“Princess!”

Jeong-oh lifted Yena into her arms. The child, who had greeted her mother cheerfully, soon contorted her face.

“Mom, why did you come home so late?!”

Waaah!

Her sorrow exploded.

“I’m sorry, Yena. I’m really sorry.”

Jeong-oh hugged Yena tightly, soothing her.

“I waited for you at the restaurant!”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Let’s have the party quickly! Party!”

“The party was at the restaurant!”

Guk-soon approached and said.

“Dobin, Doyun, and Dobin’s mom came, and we sang songs and ate cake at the restaurant.”

Guk-soon’s explanation made Yena cry even harder.

“I wanted to do it with Mom!”

“Then let’s do it again together! Doesn’t that sound good? Isn’t that okay?”

Jeong-oh quickly ran out to buy a cake. It wasn’t difficult since there was a bakery right in front of their house.

Yena ended up having her birthday party twice in one day.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Yena, happy birthday to you!”

As Jeong-oh sang, Yena smiled with tears in her eyes. Although Jeong-oh couldn’t come home early, Yena still got what she had wished for.

After opening the present that Gi-hun had given her and unwrapping a gift that she had bought a long time ago but hadn’t opened, she transformed back into her lively and cheerful self.

“Mom, I got a present from Dobin too. Isn’t it pretty?”