A child who looks like me

Silence lingered in the wake of the truth that had swept through.

Jeong-o lowered his gaze and continued speaking. He didn’t have the courage to look at Ji-heon.

“I’m sorry for lying. I thought saying he resembled my ex-boyfriend would make me look like I was trying to get closer to you, so I lied to draw a line.”

Right. It was something that would eventually come to light.

Such humiliation. Such feelings.

Though he felt miserable now, it would all be over with just this one time.

“I won’t let anything like this happen again.”

Jeong-o bowed his head and left the office.

After Jeong-o departed, Eun-bi stared at the door as it opened and closed, taking slow breaths to calm herself.

Now, she had defeated Lee Jeong-o.

The lying Jeong-o had acknowledged he was a liar, so Ji-heon would surely come to realize something.

What the ultimate fate of a woman like her would be.

“Oppa almost got into big trouble. I told you, that kid stole my stuff once.”

Eun-bi, now somewhat relieved, spoke in a surprisingly calm voice.

“If I had trusted him without suspicion and he touched your precious things, what would have happened?”

“Get out.”

If he were shocked, it would make sense for him to ask more about Lee Jeong-o.

But his response left Eun-bi in shock, contrary to her expectations.

Eun-bi lifted her gaze to Ji-heon.

His eyes, dry and cold to the bone, stared at her intensely. It felt as if they were filled with disdain for all existence.

“Don’t ever interfere in my affairs again.”

His voice sent chills down her spine. Nothing could escape her open mouth.

It felt as if his large hands, tightly clenched below her waist, could rise up at any moment to choke her neck.

In that terrifying moment, the thought of wanting to regain his affection was overtaken by the need to leave this place as quickly as possible. Eun-bi hurriedly fled the office.

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

“Is there anything special you need to do today?”

As the end of the workday approached, Team Leader Seong Mi-ran asked Jeong-o.

“Nothing special. We have the PT meeting during overtime, of course.”

“No, you’re leaving early today.”

“Really? Aren’t we having a meeting?”

“You can skip it for a day. Just go.”

Mi-ran instructed him to leave on time.

She had noticed that Jeong-o’s expression had noticeably darkened after he was dragged to Ji-heon’s office by Eun-bi.

It was evident that something unusual had happened today.

“Go on. Go and rest.”

“…Alright. I’ll leave early then.”

With Mi-ran pushing him along, Jeong-o ended up leaving work early.

On his way to the restaurant, he bought ice cream that Ye-na liked.

“Mom, I’m here!”

“Mom!”

“Oh my, who is this? What brings you here so early today?”

As Jeong-o opened the door to the restaurant, Ye-na ran up to him, and Guk-soon looked shocked, as if the sun had risen in the west.

“I finished work early.”

“Mom, what’s this?”

“Dinner.”

“I haven’t eaten yet. I’m hungry. Give me food.”

“What’s this?”

During the conversation between Jeong-o and Guk-soon, Ye-na kept pointing at the ice cream bag Jeong-o was holding and asking. Her slyness in pretending not to know it was ice cream was definitely something she inherited from Jeong Ji-heon.

“I bought it for Ye-na. Did you eat dinner?”

“Yeah! Since I ate dinner, can I have ice cream?”

Ye-na almost snatched the bag from Jeong-o’s hands.

Guk-soon quickly set the table for dinner. Even though it was just one person’s serving, the side dishes were abundant.

Jeong-o took a big scoop of rice and brought it to his mouth.

Seeing this, Guk-soon asked,

“Did something bad happen?”

“How did you know?”

“Mom knows everything.”

Mom knows. She knows that whenever her daughter is going through tough times or feels bad, she always eats a lot. Eating much more rice than side dishes signifies that her daughter isn’t feeling well.

“Mom, back in my first year of high school, there was a kid I really hated. I ran into him at work today.”

“Why did you hate him? You could’ve just gotten along.”

“He’s just a bad person by nature. But he’s still the same.”

“……”

“I had a bit of a clash with him today, and it’s so frustrating.”

Jeong-o grabbed his spoon and slammed it on the table with a fist.

“I’ll give him a real piece of my mind.”

“……”

“I won’t forget this! I will definitely get my revenge!”

As Jeong-o burned with determination, Guk-soon clicked her tongue beside him.

“How can someone with a kid be so narrow-minded? Instead of clearing things up and getting along, they just hold onto grudges.”

“Mom, don’t you know? People don’t change. If I get close to him, I’ll lose my own integrity. Once an enemy, always an enemy.”

“Enemy? What has he done, sold the country? He’s not a child. Do you still think you’re in your first year of high school?”

From Guk-soon’s perspective, she was worried about Jeong-o, while Jeong-o couldn’t understand Guk-soon’s view.

“Mom. Even if you understand and let things go like you do, it’s hard to be recognized as a virtuous person in today’s world. Do you know what they call someone with your personality? Sweet potato. They call you sweet potato.”

“How delicious sweet potatoes are! The younger generation is so spoiled. In my day, there were no sweet potatoes available.”

“Oh, Mom, you’re showing your age again. Old-fashioned, old-fashioned.”

“I’m the only one in the whole world being called old-fashioned.”

“Maybe you only meet people your own age.”

“Sigh. You never give in. I wonder who you take after.”

It was the usual bickering.

Guk-soon sighed and turned her head.

I want to be on your side, but I worry it will make your work life harder.

She nearly spoke up again but held her tongue, believing her daughter would handle it herself.

Ye-na poked Guk-soon.

“Grandma! It’s Grandma!”

“Hmm?”

“Mom looks like Grandma.”

With ice cream smeared all over her mouth, Ye-na beamed a bright smile.

“Mom looks like Grandma. I look like Mom, right?”

“Because of our puppy, Grandma can’t say anything.”

Guk-soon found Ye-na adorable and couldn’t help but smile weakly.

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

After cleaning up the restaurant and putting the child to bed early, Jeong-o made an excuse about a promise and went outside.

He bought a bottle of soju and a bag of snacks and sat at a table in front of a convenience store.

It was a hard day to face his mom. He felt like crying.

“In my first year of high school, your mom went to our teacher and said, ‘Please look after my daughter. She was born without knowing who her dad is, but she’s never once been a burden to me.’”

The words Eun-bi had said earlier that day pierced through his heart like a nail.

It seemed that when his mom had to leave her job at the school cafeteria, she sought out the homeroom teacher, worried that her daughter would suffer because of it.

“There was no need for that. Why make me feel this way….”

Imagining his mom bowing her head because of him made his heart ache even though it was something from the past.

On top of that, he hadn’t expected to hear such a heartbreaking story in front of Jeong Ji-heon.

The shock was doubled.

He wished he could only feel sorry for his mom. That would be enough pain to deal with.

Why does my heart feel like this?

No matter how Ji-heon looked at him, whether with disdain or pity, it shouldn’t matter anymore.

It was unbearably humiliating to be in such a miserable state in front of Ji-heon.

Jeong-o downed some soju, wiping his tears away.

As he set the soju glass down and stared into the distance with blurry eyes, he noticed a man standing there, recognizing him.

Jeong-o also recognized the man.

They froze for a moment, each pointing at the other with their fingertips.

It was the kind-faced police officer who had escorted Ye-na when she had gotten lost on her way to the academy.

What was his name again? Kwon Bae-il, was it?

“Oh, hello, Officer. Are you on patrol?”

Jeong-o wiped his tears a bit more and greeted him.

“No, I’m on my way home after work.”

“It seems you live around here.”

“Yes.”

When the conversation paused, it seemed a bit awkward, and Bae-il was the first to ask a question.

“But, are you here alone?”

It was a question about whether she was drinking alone. Jeong-o wiped her nose and chuckled as she replied,

“Yes. It just turned out that way.”

Though she smiled, her eyes were still moist. Bae-il spoke seriously.

“If you ever need help, you can always contact the police…”

“Oh, yes. I understand. Thank you.”

At that moment, a tear dropped from Jeong-o’s large eyes. It touched her heart to receive concern from someone who knew nothing about her situation, just from looking at her face.

“Use this.”

Bae-il, flustered, quickly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Jeong-o.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s not a big problem; it’s just that something unpleasant happened at work.”

“……”

“It’s just that seeing my mom is really hard today. You know those days, right? Don’t you have them?”

“I don’t have them, but… I can understand…”

As expected from a police officer, he had good citizen consultation skills.

Bae-il’s kind appearance and the security that came with being a police officer mixed with Jeong-o’s turbulent emotions, causing more tears to fall.

Eventually, Bae-il sat down in front of Jeong-o.

“Oh, I’m really sorry. Police officers also have long-term unsolved cases, you know. I have my own long-term unsolved case…”

Jeong-o tried to stop her tears by tilting her head back and blinking at the sky.

The sky in Seoul, where no stars could be seen.

She felt so foolish.

I have my mom, and I have Ye-na.

This place, where my family is, should be paradise, and I should be happy.

Why am I leaning on alcohol like a loser, whining?

Did I meet a pillar of the people, someone so reassuring just by existing?

“Living seems to be filled with suffering.”

Words flowed out alongside her tears, as if she had turned on a faucet she had tightly shut.

“When suffering piles on top of suffering, everything will collapse, but occasionally someone’s world sparkles with stars, and flower petals fall.”

Still, not wanting to be a burden anymore, she wiped her tears and managed to smile softly.

“So I can’t give up.”

Holding on tightly to this blurry life while waiting for that day.

It’s not just me.

This painful world is filled with amazing people.

I respect those who wipe their tears now to see moments when flower petals fall.

So I will overcome this. I can do it.

One day, I will surely see my own star shining.

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

Even after separating Ji-heon from Jeong-o to avoid embarrassment, Eun-bi’s anxiety didn’t diminish.

She couldn’t forget the way Ji-heon had looked at her. That shocking moment lingered in her mind.

It was all Jeong-o’s fault. The thought that Jeong-o had ruined Ji-heon drove her to the brink of madness.

After work, Eun-bi headed straight to Ji-heon’s family home, Mrs. Jang Young-mi’s house.

She felt that if she did nothing, she would only drift further away from Ji-heon. She had to do something.

Though it was late at night, Young-mi welcomed Eun-bi like family.

“Eun-bi! Come on in!”

“Hello, Mother! How have you been?”

Young-mi took Eun-bi’s hands in hers and shook them warmly.

“I think you look younger!”

“Oh, come on, how can I look younger? You’re the one getting prettier every day, blossoming like a flower.”

Eun-bi really smiled like a flower at Young-mi’s compliment.

“How have you been?”

“I’m doing well. Just a lot of work.”

“Are you struggling because you keep taking on difficult tasks without finding an easier way? You and Ji-heon are in the same department; he should be helping you out.”

“I’m fine, Mother.”

When she had mentioned that she had taken on many important tasks in her team, Young-mi had responded positively. There was a sense of fulfillment in sharing information with her.

If only Ji-heon was at least half as kind as she was.

“How do you feel seeing Ji-heon’s face every day?”

“It’s nice. Just seeing him makes me happy. But, Mother, the truth is, we’re both so busy that we hardly run into each other. I thought we would see each other more often and have meals together since we work at the same company.”

Eun-bi said this with a slightly whiny voice, her tone softening.

“Plus, you know Ji-heon’s personality. I think he’s keeping his distance because we’re special to each other. He seems worried it might interfere with work. He’s really cold.”

“Ji-heon is the same with me. He never smiles, not at all. He’s just so wooden.”

“I should understand, I guess.”

“Right. But you have such a big heart. It’s because you’re there that he went to the advertising company. Of course, Seung-kyu is there too, but he moved to the department where you are because of you. So he relies on you to understand him.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Of course! What else could there be?”

Eun-bi felt her dark feelings wash away with Young-mi’s kind reassurance.

That’s right. Ji-heon came to our department thinking of me.

Thinking that way gave her a boost of energy.

“Eun-bi, how about I go on a date for you? I’ll take you out for delicious food and buy you some clothes. Let’s go shopping!”

“Then, Mother, how about this weekend? Sunday?”

“Sure! I think I had some plans, but I’ll clear my schedule for our Eun-bi.”

Eun-bi’s eyes sparkled with emotion, almost brimming with tears.

“You’re more like a mother to me.”

Feeling that she might burst into tears at any moment, Young-mi looked at her with admiration.

“If I had a daughter like our Eun-bi, I wouldn’t wish for anything more! Hurry up and get married. When a granddaughter who looks like you is born, I won’t have any more wishes left!”

“Wouldn’t you prefer a grandson who looks like my brother?”

“Oh, you say such lovely things. I like both, both!”

Hehehe.

Someday. Yes, someday.

Ji-heon and I will have a child. I need to gather strength thinking about that time.

It will be me who wins Ji-heon.