A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 24

24. It’s Mine, Don’t Touch It

Team Leader Mi-ran, seeing that Jeong-oh didn’t respond, awkwardly smoothed her hair back.

“No, you don’t have to say anything. You must have your reasons.”

“…….”

“I kind of sensed it from the beginning. Whenever we talked about Director Jeong Ji-heon, your expression changed a little.”

Last Tuesday, after a meeting, Mi-ran overheard Eun-bi and Si-nae talking in the restroom.

It was about Jeong-oh.

After working in a company for nearly a decade, you hear all sorts of bizarre rumors. So, Mi-ran doesn’t usually pay much attention to restroom gossip.

However, the fact that Department Head Chae Eun-bi was the source was a bit concerning.

Mi-ran also didn’t know that Jeong-oh and Eun-bi knew each other. Neither of them had shown it.

Mi-ran recalled everything that had happened since Jeong-oh joined the company.

The Lee Jeong-oh who met Ji-heon for the first time was definitely strange. Even Director Jeong Ji-heon noticed Jeong-oh’s unusual reaction and called her back to his office.

After that, it was strange that her wrist was grabbed in front of the elevator, and it was especially strange that Jeong-oh asked about Ji-heon’s accident seven years ago.

And yesterday, when Jeong-oh went to entertain the client, Director Jeong Ji-heon followed.

It seemed like there was something between them. It felt like they had become close so quickly, as if they had known each other before.

However, she wasn’t sure if she could ask about it, so she had to be careful with her words.

Still… she was worried that Jeong-oh’s company life would be ruined because of Director Jeong Ji-heon, and she would regret it later, so she decided to speak up.

“…I’m just worried. The director is getting married soon, and you two work at the same company.”

Jeong-oh hung her head low. It was half an affirmation.

Mi-ran felt sorry for bringing up something unnecessary.

“…Have you thought about talking to the director seriously?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Lee Jeong-oh, if you want to drink, let me know. I can’t solve your problems, but I can listen to your troubles.”

Jeong-oh’s eyes welled up with tears.

She was grateful that Mi-ran didn’t pry into things or criticize her for doing something wrong. Mi-ran would probably not show any reaction.

“And.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“You can’t quit. Got it?”

In fact, Mi-ran’s main concern was this.

For a team leader, losing a team member is critical. Mi-ran burned with the will to protect her team members.

Jeong-oh smiled and nodded.

* * * * * *

Ji-heon went with the members of Production Team 1 to check on Department Head Jo Si-nae’s work from the previous night.

With trembling hands, Department Head Jo Si-nae retrieved a file from the PC’s recycle bin.

“Is this it?”

“Yes. But the client didn’t like it this morning, so I had to redo it.”

Department Head Jo Si-nae’s face turned bright red. The atmosphere in the entire office turned cold, like before a storm. Everyone watched Ji-heon’s expressionless face and swallowed hard.

“That’s disappointing. You worked so hard, but there’s no result.”

“…….”

“You should have just gone to a company dinner.”

Si-nae couldn’t even lift her head at the quiet, mocking words.

“Anyway, I understand. It can’t be helped. It’s difficult to please the client.”

After a while, Ji-heon stepped back as if it couldn’t be helped.

It was fortunate that it ended like this. Si-nae secretly sighed in relief.

But before Ji-heon left the team, he added one more thing.

“From now on, Department Head Jo Si-nae will report her work every day at 6 PM.”

“…Yes?”

“You don’t have to come to me directly. Just send it to me by email.”

She thought she could finally breathe!

Even after Ji-heon left, the members of Team 1 looked at Si-nae with pity.

She had done it to help Eun-bi, but she had completely incurred Director Jeong Ji-heon’s wrath.

Si-nae desperately grabbed Eun-bi’s sleeve.

“Department Head… what should I do…?”

“Oh, I was also in a precarious situation yesterday. It’s okay. It’s okay. I’ll talk to my brother.”

Eun-bi comforted Si-nae and left for Ji-heon’s office.

Si-nae clenched her fists at her desk. She couldn’t forgive Lee Jeong-oh for snitching on her.

After Ji-heon entered his office, Eun-bi followed.

“Oppa [Older brother or familiar term for a male acquaintance used by a female].”

Ji-heon didn’t answer and sat down, flipping through the documents in front of him.

“Did something bad happen?”

“…….”

“Department Head Jo Si-nae was working hard too, but if you scold her for something like that, the employees will be scared.”

Since Ji-heon didn’t respond again, Eun-bi changed the question.

“Why couldn’t I reach you yesterday?”

“…….”

“Eun-yeop oppa also came and wanted to meet you. Did you contact my brother?”

After a long time, an answer came back.

“Yeah.”

“What did oppa say?”

“He didn’t say anything special.”

Eun-bi was upset by Ji-heon’s lukewarm reaction. It was even more so because she had been scolded by Eun-yeop yesterday.

Marriage.

She had been running towards a clear goal, and she thought she could see the finish line now. She thought that Jeong Ji-heon would naturally accept the marriage, but now she felt anxious.

A twitch appeared on her lips, making it difficult for Eun-bi to smile.

She barely opened her mouth and spoke.

“Mother talked about the wedding. What should I do?”

“You can handle it somehow.”

She had barely brought up the main point, but his answer seemed to have as little sincerity as the fingers flipping through the documents.

“How do I handle it?”

“Doesn’t your mother know you better than me?”

It wasn’t that she was used to his cold attitude. She was just holding back. For the sake of the marriage she would eventually seize, she was suppressing her pride and enduring.

Therefore, she had no choice but to be sharp about the marriage.

“Okay. Let’s say I roughly tell Mother. Then what about oppa?”

“…….”

“What do you want to do?”

“I’m not shameless enough to ask you for marriage.”

“…What if I want to? What if I ask you to do it?”

At her question, he slowly stopped what he was doing and looked at her. He just looked at her. Nevertheless, she couldn’t open her mouth again.

You? Someone like you?

It felt like words he had never uttered were being hammered into her head by an unknown force.

His expression contained both contempt and a smile that wasn’t a smile.

The arrogant and cold gaze looking down from above made Eun-bi shudder.

After staring at her, he slowly opened his mouth.

“Then we should break up.”

“…….”

“Of course, we never dated, but.”

Without changing his expression, he lowered his gaze and continued his work as if nothing had happened.

“Since there’s no history, one word is enough, right? Tell your mother we broke up.”

Eun-bi couldn’t speak and shook her head reluctantly.

She couldn’t do what Ji-heon said. It wasn’t something that could be ended with just one word anymore.

There were many things Ji-heon didn’t know.

Eun-bi had spread the word about Ji-heon and her relationship to many people in the company, and about 95% of it was lies.

If it wasn’t for the marriage, she wouldn’t be able to save face or walk around the company.

It would shock her whole family.

“Does that word come out of your mouth so easily?”

“I don’t understand you having a hard time with that.”

“…….”

“I’m busy, so can you leave now?”

The consistently emotionless voice tightened Eun-bi’s chest. She knew that if she bothered him any more, even the freedom to barge into his office like this would disappear. Eun-bi gritted her teeth and left the office.

On the way out, she met Seung-gyu.

Eun-bi, who was looking at Seung-gyu with a sullen expression as he appeared, humming annoyingly as if something good had happened, snorted.

“Oppa is busy right now.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Even though Ji-heon warned him that he was busy, Seung-gyu didn’t turn away. Eun-bi’s brow furrowed.

“Are you going in?”

“I’m going to check how hard my friend is working.”

“Huh!”

Eun-bi snorted once more and left, making a sharp sound with her heels.

Seung-gyu stared blankly at Eun-bi before turning his head.

Seung-gyu and Eun-bi had been on bad terms consistently since seven years ago. Seung-gyu disliked Eun-yeop, who was his high school classmate, and he also didn’t like his younger sister, Eun-bi.

He hated Eun-yeop’s cunningness and was displeased with Eun-bi’s pretense. He just didn’t force his standards on Ji-heon.

Seung-gyu, who opened the office door and entered, hesitated at Ji-heon’s fierce gaze.

Ji-heon’s gaze, which had been glaring in the assumption that it was Chae Eun-bi, calmed down after confirming it was his friend.

“Chae Eun-bi looked very angry. Did you fight?”

“No.”

“Well, you wouldn’t fight either.”

Seung-gyu said as he plopped down on the sofa.

“You’re especially polite to Chae Eun-bi.”

“I can’t treat her lightly.”

Ji-heon answered as he propped his chin and flipped through the documents.

He had no choice but to be polite to Eun-bi. Seven years ago, Eun-bi reported Ji-heon’s accident and helped catch the hit-and-run driver.

When Ji-heon was in a coma, she took great care of his mother, Jang Young-mi, so that she wouldn’t be discouraged. It seemed that she had been getting along well with his mother ever since.

Moreover, their families knew each other, and she was the younger sister of his friend Chae Eun-yeop.

Many things were intertwined, so he couldn’t just ignore her.

Seung-gyu also knew about those circumstances.

“Still, you have to sort things out. If there’s someone you really want to date.”

“There isn’t.”

Ji-heon denied without hesitation at Seung-gyu’s advice.

“Okay. It’s not that you want to date right now, but you want to share an umbrella, right?”

“…….”

“No, not an umbrella, but a coat. You were wearing a coat.”

“…….”

“I saw everything yesterday, Jeong Ji-heon. You were filming a movie out in the open.”

As Seung-gyu repeatedly teased him, Ji-heon became quite absorbed in thought.

“Do you want to deny it? That’s all romantic feelings.”

Nevertheless, it was difficult to accept the cheesy word ‘romantic feelings.’

The feelings Ji-heon felt were quite clear.

The reaction to Lee Jeong-oh’s appearance.

That was a feeling that couldn’t help but arise because she was a woman and he was a man.

Sexual desire like appetite.

He was about to nail it down that it wasn’t something like romantic feelings, but Seung-gyu interrogated him teasingly first.

“You’re worried about her getting rained on, but you don’t like her?”

“Yeah.”

“You want to be next to her, but you don’t like her?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re concerned about her being sick, but you don’t like her?”

“…….”

“Lee Jeong-oh was wearing the clothes I bought for you, a men’s cardigan, but you still don’t have those feelings?”

“…Was that what you gave me?”

“Heartless bastard.”

It was strange to attach a clear reason to a feeling that couldn’t be easily defined, a person that couldn’t be easily defined.

“…Her appearance is just my type.”

“…….”

“This has never happened before. Not once in 33 years. That’s why it’s annoying.”

“Okay, okay, okay, okay. That’s what they call pure love.”

A heartless friend had fallen in pure love. Seung-gyu’s lips stretched as far as they could go.

Ji-heon still found it hard to accept.

How could it be pure love when he had only seen her for the first time ten days ago?

“Anyway, do well. I won’t help you.”

“Who’s asking for help?”

“Still, there will come a day when you’ll come to me with a favor.”

Seung-gyu, who had made a bold statement, strolled around the office with a leisurely gait and stopped abruptly in a corner.

A yellow umbrella was leaning against the wall.

“What’s with this umbrella?”

It was what Ji-heon had left behind after briefly returning to the office after parting with Jeong-oh last night.

“You don’t seem to need something like this? Should I take it? I’ll give it to my daughter.”

“No.”

“…….”

“It’s mine, don’t touch it.”

Seung-gyu flared his nostrils at Ji-heon’s serious expression.

This guy, he’s become interested in women and even developed possessiveness.

Anyway, human greed was a good sign. Seung-gyu chuckled and left the office.

* * * * * *

Friday evening. Team members who had been freed from overtime were leaving one by one.

They were guaranteed freedom this weekend. There would be no peaceful weekends while they were going through the war-like competitive PT [Presentation Training or Pitching Training, a common business exercise].

So, they had to rest properly this weekend. And play a lot with Ye-na.

Jeong-oh, who had finished her work, packed her bag while thinking about how to spend the weekend.

Her hand went to the cardigan she had taken off last.

In the morning, when her muscle pain was severe, she had readily accepted it from Ji-heon, but after taking the medicine and regaining her senses, she regretted it.

She also hated Ji-heon for taking advantage of her weakened body and mind to put the clothes on her shoulders.

‘Still, I should wash it and return it.’

Jeong-oh put the cardigan in her bag.

As she left the office and headed to the central hallway, she met Ji-heon again. He seemed to be leaving work now as well.

Facing him, she felt her temperature rising again.

‘Don’t be intimidated.’

Jeong-oh stepped forward bravely. Of course, her body wasn’t as brave as her mind because she still had a cold.

The elevator wasn’t coming. The two of them stood side by side in front of it.

She felt him looking down at her. Jeong-oh stubbornly stared straight ahead and said.

“I’ll wash the cardigan and return it.”

“Just keep it.”

He showed his large hand, which seemed to be able to lift a basketball with one hand.

“It’s a precious thing my friend bought for me, so I have to entrust the washing to him myself.”

“Yes.”

Why did you lend me something so precious?

She couldn’t understand his inner thoughts, but Jeong-oh took the cardigan out of her bag and handed it to him without saying a word.

“I wore it well. Thank you.”

“Department Head!”

After handing over the cardigan, Gi-hoon called out to Jeong-oh from the office and rushed over.

“Director, are you leaving work?”

Gi-hoon, who saw Jeong-oh and Ji-heon standing side by side, bowed politely and then spoke to Jeong-oh again.

“Department Head. I brought my car today. Should I give you a ride?”

“It’s Friday evening, don’t you have plans?”

“I’m going to Hwayang-dong [Neighborhood in Seoul]. Do you want to go together?”

“Then should I?”

Jeong-oh gladly accepted Gi-hoon’s kindness. Gi-hoon was the most comfortable colleague in the company.

But Ji-heon called Gi-hoon.

“Song Gi-hoon. It sounds like the phone is ringing in the office, but no one is answering.”

Indeed, the sound of a phone ringing was coming from somewhere.

“Oh? Department Head, just a moment.”

Gi-hoon ran into the office.

Again, only the two of them were left in front of the elevator.

Ji-heon put the cardigan he was holding back on Jeong-oh’s shoulders.

“Just wear it.”

It happened so quickly that Jeong-oh had no time to stop him.

While Jeong-oh was frozen in embarrassment, Gi-hoon, who had run out of the office, said.

“Department Head, you’ll have to go first. I have to send an urgent email.”

“Okay. I understand. Good work.”

“Yes.”

After Gi-hoon left, he continued.

“It’s a precious thing my friend bought for me, so be sure to return it on Monday.”

“…….”

“You can give it to me on the weekend too.”

Was he joking? Was he serious?

The smile on his lips looked somehow wicked.

Jeong-oh couldn’t say anything because she was afraid he would tell her to come out on the weekend too.