A child who looks like me

A day passed, and then another, and another, and another.

After Ye-na’s birthday, the weekend passed, and Monday came again.

Fortunately, the first proposal sent to Dawon Spirits last Friday returned with a positive response. They requested that a storyboard be prepared based on the first proposal and asked for product packaging samples.

On the previous day, Jeong-oh, who had worked hard, received comfort from Mi-ran. If Mi-ran hadn’t calmed her down on Friday, Jeong-oh might have seriously considered storming out of the company.

Jeong-oh’s laptop, which had been infected with a virus, was also returned. She had expected to get it back on Wednesday but received it on Monday instead. It seemed the employee rushed it back due to Ji-heon’s special request.

“It seems it wasn’t just bad luck; someone must have planted the virus,” the IT staff confessed.

Jeong-oh had suspected something similar. It was strange that a computer issued shortly after her hiring had become severely infected with a virus.

Regardless, she was relieved that the laptop was fixed since it contained not only materials for Dawon Spirits but also materials for the competing PT. The IT staff shook their head, saying it was a very difficult job and that they didn’t want to experience it again.

After working late on Thursday, Jeong-oh hadn’t had a chance to face Ji-heon. Even though she came to the office over the weekend, she couldn’t see him.

While it was comforting not to face him because she hated him so much, there was also a part of her that wanted to confront him and argue.

On the other hand, she was a bit worried about him. Was he okay? Did he have any problems?

While working late on Ye-na’s birthday, Jeong-oh muttered various curses under her breath because she hated him so much.

She hoped he would suffer for three days straight, starving until he finally got up out of hunger, only to find there wasn’t a drop of water in the house. She wanted him to be so exhausted from going out for water that he would have to call his friends, only to find they were all out having fun.

Since she had put a lot of sincerity into her curses, she wondered if they had truly worked.

But apparently, that wasn’t the case. He came to work this morning looking fine and seemed to be working quite diligently.

Several people from Division 1 were summoned to Ji-heon’s office to receive different tasks. Some left the office feeling good, while others trudged out like they had lost their souls.

One of those was Jeong-oh’s team member, Song Gi-hoon.

“Assistant, I want to die…”

Gi-hoon gazed blankly at the paper he had received from the office, letting out a deep sigh.

“Why? Why? Why?”

“What the hell is this?”

Gi-hoon handed Jeong-oh the paper he was holding.

“Director Jeong showed me that I should do it this way… but I have no idea what this is.”

It seemed to be a promotional webtoon for a home camera brand that Gi-hoon was in charge of.

What on earth did this man do to the paper…?

As Jeong-oh closely examined the drawing, her expression soured.

“What is this? Who drew this?”

“This isn’t just a bad drawing. It’s a horrible one.”

Jeong-oh candidly expressed her opinion, and Gi-hoon openly lamented his feelings.

Jeong-oh stared intently at the bizarre drawing.

Ji-heon, did you draw a dog or a bird…?

If you can’t draw, then don’t. Why do you have to mess things up and make the employees suffer…?

“I wondered why Ye-na drew such imaginary animals; it must run in the genes.”

Somehow, the thought of Ye-na’s art grades ten years from now made Jeong-oh even more frustrated and angry.

Team Leader Mi-ran, who approached to see what was wrong, couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You can’t laugh, Team Leader. I’m serious here.”

“Oh, Gi-hoon, I’m sorry. It seems the Director has insight, but his drawing skills are completely lacking.”

“So should I use this as a reference to draw a dog or a bird?” Gi-hoon asked, causing the team members who were laughing to fall silent.

After pondering for a moment, Jeong-oh stepped up.

“Leave it to me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to paint over it exactly the same.”

“… Paint over it?”

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If he drew a dog, then I’ll draw a dog.”

Just wait and see, Jeong Ji-heon.

She wanted to seize the opportunity for revenge.

Jeong-oh looked at Mi-ran, who sighed and nodded. It was a sign that she would trust Jeong-oh.

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

After a boring weekend, Monday arrived. After receiving the weekly work report at a team leader meeting presided over by the department head, Ji-heon called a few employees in for assignments.

Up until a month ago, both work and life had felt dull, but since being assigned to Max Planning, he felt like he was finding some enjoyment in his work.

However, his mood, which had been off since Thursday night, hadn’t improved.

After offering to give a ride to Jeong-oh, who had become irritable due to working late, Ji-heon had tried to find another opportunity to talk to her, but he had failed.

He still hadn’t managed to give Jeong-oh the things he bought on Friday to cheer her up.

Jeong-oh continued to be absent from her desk, and she was always with someone else. The most annoying of those was, of course, Song Gi-hoon.

After reviewing Gi-hoon’s work, Ji-heon called him to his office to assign him some tasks. Although Gi-hoon would be busy, the work itself was engaging enough that they would both want to take it on, so Ji-heon thought Gi-hoon would be satisfied.

However, despite having assigned work to Gi-hoon, when it was time for the evening report, Jeong-oh and Ko Eun-joo, both from Production Team 2, followed closely behind Gi-hoon as he entered.

It was bothersome that Jeong-oh was sticking so close to Gi-hoon, but at least he was glad to see her face again.

“I assigned work to Song Gi-hoon, didn’t I?”

“Yes. We came to help Gi-hoon with his concerns, so we wanted to explain together,” Jeong-oh said cheerfully.

Is she trying to protect Song Gi-hoon from getting in trouble?

Ji-heon looked at the three of them with suspicion.

Ko Eun-joo placed a tablet PC on Ji-heon’s desk.

The three of them were moving closely together, looking like they were in some sort of relay race, which was quite amusing.

“The Director’s insight was so groundbreaking that we decided to use it as is,” Jeong-oh opened the conversation.

“What insight are you referring to?” Ji-heon asked.

“This one,” Jeong-oh pointed at the character that appeared on the screen.

Curious about what it was, Ji-heon squinted and brought his face closer to the screen.

It was the dog Gi-hoon had drawn that morning.

They had copied and pasted the drawing and brought it as is.

“Since it’s unclear whether the character is a dog or a bird, I’ll call it ‘dogbird’ for now,” Jeong-oh declared.

At that moment, Ji-heon understood why the three had come together.

Jeong-oh had brought the other team members along to tease him.

As Jeong-oh explained about the promotional webtoon, Ko Eun-joo’s previously serious expression transformed several times, unable to suppress her laughter.

Gi-hoon was trembling at the corners of his lips, looking nervous as if he was afraid of Ji-heon’s reaction despite finding Jeong-oh’s explanation hilarious.

Jeong-oh was acting very shamelessly. She had looked so angry on Thursday, but now she was displaying a variety of expressions like a traditional Korean performer.

Ji-heon knew he was being teased, yet he found it quite amusing. Instead of focusing on the webtoon, he couldn’t help but watch Jeong-oh’s mouth as she spoke.

“The webtoon is well done, but is Jeong-oh trying to mess with me right now?”

After listening to the thorough explanation, he asked with a cold smile. Since they had initiated the teasing, he felt justified throwing a straight line back at them.

However, Jeong-oh was unfazed. She asked in a completely nonchalant tone, “Huh…? What do you mean, Director?”

She was being utterly shameless. Her expression of feigned confusion was excellent.

“You must have incited Gi-hoon to bring that drawing I made to me, right?” Ji-heon pressed.

“To be honest, I had no choice. I really couldn’t tell if it was a dog or a bird,” Jeong-oh continued shamelessly.

“Please let me know, Director. Then I’ll make corrections. Was it a dog or a bird?”

“…”

“Did you draw a dog or a bird?”

“…”

“Or is it just an imaginary animal?”

Puh.

Ko Eun-joo couldn’t hold back her laughter and burst out.

“Dog.”

Ji-heon glared at Jeong-oh and replied, “Ah, dog. Understood. Dog.”

Jeong-oh nodded vigorously, as if she had gained some profound insight.

Ji-heon turned to look at Eun-joo.

“Ko Eun-joo, are you done laughing?”

“Oops. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I should be the one apologizing for drawing poorly. But thanks to you, I had a really good time.”

The trio was surprised by Ji-heon’s unexpected reaction.

With an eerily soft smile, Ji-heon stood up from his seat.

“Song Gi-hoon, please modify the character and contact the artist, and Jeong-oh, stay here for a moment.”

The trio was once again taken aback.

Just before entering the office, Jeong-oh, Gi-hoon, and Eun-joo had formed an alliance to avoid being alone with Ji-heon.

If Gi-hoon was called, Jeong-oh and Eun-joo would follow; if Jeong-oh was called, Gi-hoon and Eun-joo would follow.

They had made that promise, but now, right after meeting Ji-heon, an unexpected situation had occurred.

Gi-hoon and Eun-joo couldn’t move from their seats.

Ji-heon had specifically chosen to keep Jeong-oh behind, putting them in an awkward position.

“But what about the assistant…?”

Gi-hoon looked at Ji-heon, unable to finish his sentence.

Reluctantly, Jeong-oh had to send the two away like a grown-up.

“You guys go ahead. Ko Eun-joo, Gi-hoon.”

Ji-heon watched with misty eyes as the three had a tearful farewell. After Eun-joo and Gi-hoon left, Ji-heon gestured for Jeong-oh to sit.

“Sit over there.”

Jeong-oh sulkily took her seat.

Ji-heon didn’t sit directly across from her; instead, he turned around and brought over a box that was sitting next to the desk.

Once again, it was something large.

Ji-heon opened the box in front of Jeong-oh.

What the heck is all this…?

Jeong-oh’s mouth slightly dropped open at the colorful assortment inside the box.

It was a bundle of beautifully packaged cookies and chocolates.

Jeong-oh’s expression soured as she was taken aback.

“If you’re going to throw away food, just call me,” she recalled a comment she had made off the cuff before.

“I told you to call me if you’re going to throw away something edible,” she had said to him once.

“…So are you saying you’re going to throw this away now?”

“Seems like it, so take it.”

Jeong-oh let out a shallow laugh.

It was amusing to see him lay out things he had clearly bought and then explain that he was “throwing them away.”

Is this how he apologizes?

Does he have even a little remorse?

She looked at him over the cookies, but she couldn’t read any expression of regret on his face.

Instead, he looked at her with an arrogant gaze as if to say, “I’m giving you this to cheer you up.”

Jeong-oh shot back, “No, thanks. My mind has changed. Since you were going to throw it away anyway, just do it.”

“Then you can throw it away. I’m just doing what you asked me to.”

“I don’t want that either. I’m getting up now.”

Jeong-oh stood up immediately.

Ji-heon crossed his arms and watched her.

This woman is still sulking.

He read the lingering resentment she had.

“Are you really that displeased about having to work late once?”

“Of course.”

“Everyone works late like that.”

“I specifically asked you for it. Very earnestly. I said I needed to go home that day. I even said I’d come back two hours later if it was absolutely impossible.”

Jeong-oh felt as if she had returned to that earnest moment.

Once again, she felt unjustly treated, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“So, what kind of family issue was it? I need to know that to understand your feelings better.”

It was your daughter’s birthday!

I couldn’t scream; it felt like I had swallowed a rock, and my insides were tight.

“If I talk about that, you’ll arbitrarily judge the importance of that family matter, right? Even if it’s incredibly important to me, you might think otherwise,” she retorted boldly.

Ji-heon also stood up from his seat.

The distance between them was closing. Jeong-oh flinched but didn’t step back.

“If you’re feeling uneasy about what’s happened so far, you need to apologize directly, not bombard me with cookies.”

“What should I apologize for?”

Had I unnecessarily brought up the word “apologize”? He seemed completely clueless.

But now that I had brought it up, there was no turning back. Jeong-oh honestly expressed her disappointment in him.

“Last Thursday, you pretended to be my dad in front of the convenience store. And the Thursday before that, you made me work late while sitting next to me.”

“Last Thursday was your fault for being deceived. The Thursday before that was just me doing what a superior is supposed to do. The agreement on overtime pay was already made when you signed the salary contract. So why should I apologize for that?”

“Because I was deceived. And I begged you earnestly, but you completely ignored me. You made me feel emotions I shouldn’t have had because of you.”

Someday, I might regret saying this.

But I need to say what I have to say. I have my dignity.

“Why would you mimic my deceased father? That’s not something you should joke about. And regarding working late, usually, I would too. It’s my responsibility, so of course, I would stay up all night to sort it out. But that time, I begged you desperately. It was something that could be done at home, and you could have received it via email. I even said I would come back two hours later if it was absolutely impossible.”

Of course, he was just doing his job as the department head. I know that.

But he didn’t make any effort to consider the position of his employee. He could have thought of alternatives together, but he only forced the answer he had provided.

That’s not acceptable.

“And, having you stand right next to me while working decreases my efficiency. If you hadn’t been there, I would have finished the work from last Thursday much faster.”

“…”

“So, if you apologize, I’ll accept it.”

“What if I can’t?”

He retorted coldly, shamelessly.

His expression didn’t falter at all.

A hollow laugh escaped Jeong-oh’s lips as she confronted his arrogant pride.

“If you can’t, then you simply don’t have to.”

In the end, Jeong-oh also decided to let go.

If he couldn’t understand what he needed to apologize for after I directly pointed it out, then she would have to give up.

On Ji-heon.

“You might regret this a little later, but I don’t think not apologizing now will affect you in any way.”

If I give up, I’ll feel better too.

A little lighter.

With newfound courage, Jeong-oh stepped closer to Ji-heon and spoke in a lower voice.

“Do you think what you have is incredibly great?”

“…”

“Even if you gave me everything you have, I wouldn’t trade it for my everything.”

My everything.

Thinking of Ye-na and my family made my nose tingle.

Because of you, I decided to continue working at this company, so if I give up on you, I don’t need to be here anymore.

If you’re that kind of person, I can’t let Ye-na see you.

I can’t let Ye-na get hurt by meeting you.

I want my daughter’s world to be warm.

“Let’s just quit.”

At her declaration, his eyes widened in surprise.

“I’ll throw everything away. This damned company.”

“…”

“The moment I walk out of this door, it’s over. Do you understand?”

Jeong-oh, speaking boldly, took a step back and grasped the doorknob.

The door opened.

At that moment,

Ji-heon quickly stepped forward and urgently covered her hand with his.

The door closed again.

Jeong-oh’s shoulder was trapped against his chest. His embrace was searing hot, almost boiling.

He was looking down at her with smoldering eyes.