A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 27

27. The Child’s Birthday (2)

Jeong-o was bewildered to receive Ye-na’s birthday present from Gi-hoon.

Just two days ago, she had revealed that she had a daughter while rejecting his confession.

“It’s a hairpin.”

Gi-hoon whispered again, noticing Jeong-o’s burdened expression. It was nothing special, he said.

Jeong-o fidgeted with the gift in her hand before cautiously smiling. She couldn’t refuse even this.

A gift given with good intentions should be received with good intentions. Because today is a good day.

“Thank you. She’ll be happy if I tell her it’s from a cool older brother.”

“What older brother? I’m an uncle.”

Jeong-o felt relieved at Gi-hoon’s expression, which seemed to hold no lingering feelings.

Jeong-o put the gift in her bag and sat down. Gi-hoon kept peeking over the partition.

“But, Deputy Manager, you still have to treat me to something delicious. You have to buy me dinner.”

“Of course. Absolutely. I’ll buy you something grand.”

Jeong-o nodded, raising a fist in determination.

“Let’s work. I have to leave early today. I already told the team leader I’m leaving on the dot today.”

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

“Okay. Thanks.”

Ji-heon, who had been watching these two from a few steps away, slowly clenched and unclenched his fist.

Shortly after, Jeong-o, who briefly made eye contact with Ji-heon, greeted him with a nod and turned away.

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

“Mom, Mom, Mom!”

Even though it was past 9 o’clock, Do-bin didn’t seem to want to go to daycare.

“Tie! Tie!”

Do-bin brought his only tie and waved it in front of Jin-seo’s eyes.

He must have thought his dad looked cool wearing a tie to work.

He had somehow managed to put on his shirt, but all the buttons were only halfway through the buttonholes.

Jin-seo straightened Do-bin’s clothes, properly buttoned his shirt, and finally put the tie on him.

It was his girlfriend’s birthday.

Do-bin, who had personally chosen the gift for Ye-na yesterday, wiped the ring case that his mom had neatly wrapped, over and over again with his palm.

“But son, do you really think Ye-na will like the ring?”

“Yes.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Because the ring is pretty.”

“…Well, whatever. The gift is from the giver’s heart. Is that all you’re giving her?”

“No! I have a letter too!”

“Show me. Where is it?”

Jin-seo took the note that Do-bin proudly held out.

Jin-seo’s mouth dropped open at the messily and bravely written message.

– Yena. Your eyes look like jewels. Marry me later♥

Her eyes look like jewels, so marry him?

She wanted to add just one more sentence between jewels and marriage, but she shouldn’t look at this pure confession from an adult’s perspective.

It seemed her son was planning to propose to Ye-na for her birthday.

Son, should Mom cheer you on? Shouldn’t we hear Ye-na’s side first?

“A ring and a letter… is there anything else?”

“Yes! Six talents!”

“Six talents?”

“Yes. Three magic tricks, a three-line poem for Lee Ye-na, a crab dance, and a tissue flower.”

This is a disaster.

It seemed her son was planning to put on a show for his crush’s birthday.

Do-bin, the reason Mom cheered for your clumsy magic show is because I’m your mom…….

The world is cold…….

Maybe the haughty Ye-na might not like it…….

Because she had coddled him, her son thought he was the funniest person in the world.

Raising a child with high self-esteem was a good thing, but she was a little worried.

“What’s the three-line poem for Lee Ye-na?”

“Mom, say Lee Ye-na.”

“Lee.”

“Lee Ye-na is.”

“Ye.”

“Pretty.”

“Na.”

“Marry me.”

……This is a disaster.

“Son. Just do the coin magic and the tissue flower. Just those two.”

“Why?”

“You should only show a little bit of your best talents.”

“Then what about the three-line poem? I practiced so hard?”

“…Okay. Then do the three-line poem and the tissue flower.”

“Can’t I do three things?”

“You have to save something for Ye-na’s birthday next year.”

“Ah, then…….”

Do-bin suddenly spread his fingers and started counting them one by one.

“Then I have to prepare thirteen more?”

“Why thirteen?”

“Because I’m going to do it for 13 years!”

“Why 13 years?”

“Because I’m going to marry her when I’m twenty!”

“……Our son is going to get married at twenty.”

“Yes!”

“But Do-bin, won’t you do any talents after you get married?”

“No. I can’t because I have to raise the baby. It’s too hard.”

Our son knows that raising a baby is hard.

If you know that, shouldn’t you listen to your mom, Do-bin?

Mom had a lot to say to her son, but she hid everything behind a quiet smile.

She just cheered him on.

May her son’s first love be beautiful.

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

Things were getting sorted out smoothly.

Jeong-o spent the morning in the conference room with Ahn Chan-seop, the team leader from the neighboring team, creating the Daewon Liquor production proposal materials.

Since the proposal was script-based, copywriter Jeong-o’s opinions were mostly reflected. It was the first proposal and the preparation period was short, but Jeong-o did her best.

After eating a quick lunch, she returned to the conference room to revise the materials when her phone vibrated. It was a call from Gwangjin Police Station.

Jeong-o came out of the conference room and answered the phone.

“Hello.”

[Hello. This is Kwon Bae-il from Gwangjin Police Station. Is this Lee Jeong-o?]

It was the voice she had heard a week ago. The police officer with a pale face and gentle impression. He called her directly. Jeong-o answered happily.

“Yes, it is.”

[I’m calling you regarding your daughter’s case. Is it a good time to talk?]

“Yes! Please go ahead.”

[We searched all the nearby CCTV footage and confirmed the woman walking quickly while holding your daughter’s hand. But the woman’s appearance isn’t clearly visible. The woman was wearing a hat. I’ll send you the best footage we have, would you like to check it?]

“Yes. Please do.”

[I’ll send the video to the phone number I called you from now.]

“Thank you.”

[Please contact us if you suspect anyone after watching it.]

Bae-il finished the call and immediately sent the video file.

Jeong-o carefully examined the video. She saw a woman passing by a convenience store and Ye-na walking quickly while holding the woman’s hand. The past fear was revived as if it were happening now. Goosebumps ran from her spine to the top of her head.

Seeing her daughter being dragged away by a stranger made her heart pound, even though the screen was blurry.

Calming herself, she replayed the video one more time.

The woman, wearing large, dark clothes and a hat pulled down low, had long hair tied to one side, and other than the hat being unique, there were no particular features. The screen itself was dark, so even the outline of her face was unclear, and she couldn’t make out her body shape.

‘At least it’s not someone I know.’

She could at least conclude that it wasn’t someone she knew. Also, it couldn’t be Jung Ji-heon’s mother.

‘But Jung Ji-heon’s mother could have hired someone to approach her.’

A precarious piece of evidence where nothing was clear. But it was so important to Jeong-o.

– I don’t think it’s someone I know. Please contact me if any new evidence is found.

Jeong-o sent a text message to the phone number Bae-il had given her and returned to her desk for a moment.

“Deputy Manager, did something happen? You don’t look good.”

Gi-hoon, who had a good eye, noticed Jeong-o’s face and asked.

“Gi-hoon, can I ask you something?”

Jeong-o, who had a sudden good idea, changed her expression and showed Gi-hoon several captured images from the video Bae-il had sent, cutting out only the woman’s hat.

“Have you ever seen a hat like this? It looks like a brand-name hat.”

Gi-hoon looked at the photos for a while, tilting his head.

“It’s hard to tell because the picture is blurry. It looks like a foreign soccer team hat. Just a moment.”

Gi-hoon went back to his seat and typed on the keyboard. Various baseball caps appeared on Gi-hoon’s PC monitor. After moving the mouse a few more times, Gi-hoon showed the search results to Jeong-o.

“It looks similar to this.”

A red brim with a navy blue back. The logo of a Spanish soccer team was embroidered on the front. Jeong-o’s complexion brightened as she carefully examined the captured photos and the monitor alternately.

“Oh, really! Gi-hoon, you’re a genius!”

Jeong-o’s voice rose in excitement.

“But I can’t guarantee it’s the same one. The picture is blurry. Hats like that can be easily made in the open market. Just consider it a similar design for reference.”

“Okay. I understand. Still, thank you so much, Gi-hoon.”

“You’re welcome. I can do even more difficult things for you.”

Jeong-o was able to smile, putting her worries aside, thanks to Gi-hoon’s reassuring answer.

There wasn’t much time left until quitting time.

She had to go and work hard again.

Once she got the proposal approved by Director Jung Ji-heon, she would be done for the day. Since she had already coordinated with Team Leader Ahn Chan-seop, it was almost finished.

In Production Team 1, everyone was in a frenzy because an existing advertiser had suddenly placed an unexpected order.

Ahn Chan-seop, the team leader of Production Team 1, also waved at Jeong-o. It was a signal that he was going to be busy, so she should take care of the finishing touches herself. Jeong-o nodded and headed to the conference room.

If she was going to work alone, there was no need to do it in the conference room. Jeong-o packed her laptop and returned to her seat.

In the meantime, Ahn Chan-seop, who had finished a loud phone call, said to Jeong-o.

“Deputy Lee, let’s finish our Daewon Liquor proposal first. Get the print layout that Deputy Jo Si-nae is sending, paste it in, and show it to the director.”

“Yes.”

Jeong-o turned on her laptop screen again and moved the mouse. But something was wrong.

The computer, which had been fine until she received the call from the police station… the computer was…….

“Deputy Lee, what’s wrong?”

“No, just a moment.”

Jeong-o swallowed hard and pressed the restart button on her laptop.

The laptop screen, which seemed to be turning on properly, was filled with unknown characters.

“…Why is it doing this……?”

With a pale face, Jeong-o stared at the laptop screen caught in an unknown loop, and kept moving the mouse.

“Deputy Manager Lee Jeong-o, what’s going on?”

Deputy Jo Si-nae, who was waiting to send the file to Jeong-o, rushed to Jeong-o’s seat.

“Isn’t this a virus?”

Si-nae’s voice drew the attention of those around Jeong-o.

Jeong-o’s fingertips trembled.

“Deputy Lee’s laptop seems to be infected with a virus. Did you make a backup file?”

“Yes. I have the file.”

It was a file saved in the middle, so she would have to put in some effort to finish it again, but it was fortunate that she had made a backup file. Jeong-o borrowed Gi-hoon’s computer and logged into the company cloud.

But the file she had clearly saved was nowhere to be found.

Si-nae, who was watching, pressed again.

“What is it? Didn’t you put it in the cloud?”

“I definitely put it here…….”

“It’s not there?”

“Deputy Lee, are you pretending you didn’t back it up from the beginning?”

Si-nae’s voice grew louder.

Chae Eun-bi, who was working, also got up from her seat and approached.

“What’s going on?”

“Deputy Manager Lee Jeong-o’s laptop has a virus, and it seems she didn’t even back up the data she’s created so far.”

Eun-bi, who heard Si-nae’s explanation, sighed deeply and reproached Jeong-o.

“Deputy Lee Jeong-o, didn’t you once tell me that you would send me the work details separately by email? But you never kept that promise even once. Only talking the talk, so this is what happens.”

The proposal work was done with Team Leader Ahn Chan-seop, and there was no need to seek Eun-bi’s permission for every detail, so she didn’t send a separate email. Jeong-o was dumbfounded that she was bringing up the argument from that time in a situation like this.

Even Team Leader Ahn Chan-seop lamented.

“Haa, I’m busy to death, and nothing is working out.”

Team Leader Seong Mi-ran was away, and Jeong-o was being ganged up on alone.

In the meantime, Ji-heon walked towards Production Team 2.

“What’s going on?”

Si-nae immediately reported.

“It seems Deputy Manager Lee Jeong-o accidentally deleted the final file of the Daewon Liquor proposal. All the team members have been working hard on it until now. Director.”