A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 44

Kuk-soon received the call and rushed to Do-bin’s house.

When she rang the doorbell, a man she didn’t recognize answered politely.

“Hello.”

“You’re not Do-bin’s father?”

“No. They went to the hospital together.”

“Oh, right, right.”

Kuk-soon clapped her hands in understanding and nodded.

Yena ran out of the house and hugged Kuk-soon.

“Grandma!”

Yena introduced Kuk-soon to Ji-heon as well.

“Mister, this is my grandma.”

“Hello. I’m Jung Ji-heon, a friend of Do-bin’s father. I was just visiting and ended up looking after the kids. I hope it wasn’t a problem.”

“Oh, no, not at all. How is Do-bin’s mother? I heard she wasn’t feeling well. Is she alright?”

“Yes, she seems to be doing much better now.”

“Oh, that’s a relief. It’s good of your friend to help out with the kids like this.”

*It’s not really like that…*

Ji-heon glanced at Yena, then kept quiet.

The child’s grandmother didn’t seem to know that Yena and he had planned to meet today. There was no need to reveal what the child hadn’t, but he couldn’t help but notice the child’s cleverness.

*Well, kids are all like that. I was the same.*

Kuk-soon looked at Ji-heon with a warm, motherly smile.

*Oh, he’s so handsome.*

*I always wished I had a son-in-law like that.*

*I’m happy with my life now, even without a son-in-law, but I can’t help but appreciate a handsome man.*

“Thank you so much for today. Please tell Do-bin’s mother I said thank you, and wish her a speedy recovery.”

“Yes, I will.”

“Mister, goodbye!”

“Okay, goodb…”

“Yena, goodbye! Let’s play again soon!”

Ji-heon was about to say goodbye to Yena, but Do-bin ran over and shouted. Ji-heon’s farewell was lost in the noise.

“Then goodbye.”

Ji-heon nodded to Kuk-soon.

On the way home, Yena recounted everything that had happened that day. She explained how she was playing Go [a strategic board game] with Ji-heon when Do-bin’s mother collapsed, which startled her, but she also enjoyed being hugged by Ji-heon.

“The mister is so tall, he lifts me up so high!”

“You had fun playing with the mister, my little one.”

“Yeah! And I won at Go too! But I know he let me win.”

Kuk-soon smiled, amused by Yena’s animated expressions as she told the story.

There was a slightly melancholic side to it. *It would have been nice if my granddaughter had a father too.*

“Oh? Mister!”

As they neared home, Yena spotted someone near the next building and shouted. Kuk-soon followed Yena’s gaze.

A tall, handsome man in a police uniform stood near the entrance of the adjacent building. The streetlights made his pale face appear even whiter.

*Another mister.*

The man, recognizing Yena, approached.

“Yena, who’s…”

“He’s a police officer. He’s the one who took me to the Go academy when I got lost.”

Yena introduced him proudly while Kuk-soon looked surprised.

“Hello. My name is Kwon Bae-il, and I work at the Hwayang Police Station.”

Bae-il bowed politely. Kuk-soon smiled back, pleased.

“Oh, really? Officer!”

“I’ve heard about you from Yena’s mother.”

“You know my daughter too?”

“Yes, I’ve seen her around a few times. This is where I live.”

“Oh, I see. It’s reassuring to have a police officer living nearby! It’s very nice to meet you.”

*Oh, he’s so handsome.*

Kuk-soon’s face lit up at meeting two handsome men in one day.

Bae-il smiled inwardly, noticing that Kuk-soon’s reaction was similar to Jung-oh’s.

* * * * * * *

The thought of going to work tomorrow weighed heavily on Eun-bi. She had taken a day off for sick leave, but she couldn’t extend it any further.

Eun-bi loathed Lee Jung-oh.

*If only I could separate Lee Jung-oh from oppa [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend].*

She couldn’t remain passive. Eun-bi decided to investigate Jung-oh’s weaknesses.

*If I ask Jung-oh’s former colleagues, I might find something?*

No one is perfect, so there must be at least one flaw. Since it’s an advertising company, there might have been a scandal, a financial issue, or a romantic entanglement.

However, Eun-bi didn’t know anyone at Jung-oh’s previous company. As she pondered, she remembered receiving a business card from a headhunter.

[Yes, this is Lee Dong-eun.]

“Are you the headhunter? Hello! This is Chae Eun-bi, a copywriter at Max Planning. Do you remember me?”

[Ah, yes! Hello!]

As expected, the headhunter greeted her warmly.

Eun-bi, eager to act, immediately got to the point.

“Actually, I’m interested in 2H Communications. Is it possible to connect with someone from that company?”

After adding a few more comments to suggest she was considering a job change, the headhunter readily offered information.

[I’m close to an account executive (AE) there. Would you like to meet up with us?]

“Yes! As soon as possible!”

* * * * * * *

Jung-oh summarized the results of the day’s meeting.

Additional overtime was required due to changes in the competitive presentation (PT) strategy. Nevertheless, the revisions were progressing. Jung-oh and Mi-ran agreed to finalize the details, and the others left.

“Team Leader, you haven’t had a break either, have you? I’ll finish everything and email it to you, so please go home and rest.”

“No, I need to review it.”

“You’ll have to work late again tomorrow. Please, go home.”

Mi-ran looked so exhausted that Jung-oh took over the final touches after sending Mi-ran home. It was tiring due to the weekend work followed by overtime, but it was manageable. It seemed easier to express opinions without Chae Eun-bi present.

“Ugh, I’m done!”

Around midnight, Jung-oh yawned and stretched.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Ugh, mommy!”

She nearly fell backward at the unexpected voice from nearby, while still sitting in her chair.

Ji-heon steadied the shaking chair.

He was only helping her, but his heart raced. As his hand reached out, Jung-oh waved her hands frantically, fearing he would take advantage of her again.

“N-No, why are you here, Director?”

Jung-oh, regaining her balance, asked. Her heart still pounded.

“I came to see if you were still working.”

“At this hour? No, you said you had plans today.”

“I came back after finishing them. Because of someone.”

“Because of someone?”

His smile seemed meaningful.

The incident in the office earlier that day flashed through her mind. He had apologized repeatedly, almost seductively. The subtle way he used his authority reminded her of seven years ago. She felt pathetic for entertaining expectations from his actions.

After Seung-gyu and Jin-seo returned from the hospital, Ji-heon immediately came back to the company.

He wanted to see Lee Jung-oh.

Because the child he met today resembled her. He imagined that this woman’s younger self would have been similar.

That’s why he had been more lenient with the child.

The child, who didn’t have a father, reminded him of Lee Jung-oh. The feeling he had briefly experienced when Eun-bi told him about Lee Jung-oh’s high school days resurfaced, warming his heart.

Affection.

“Because I saw a pretty girl.”

Because he was thinking of a pretty girl again.

“Pardon?”

Jung-oh tilted her head, unsure if she had heard correctly. She didn’t get a chance to ask again. The planning team leader, also working late on the proposal, spotted Ji-heon and rushed over.

“Director, I thought you had plans today, but you stayed behind.”

“I came back after finishing work. Is there something you need?”

“There’s a problem I’d like you to look at now.”

Ji-heon glanced between Jung-oh and the planning team leader, then left with the team leader. Jung-oh felt a strange sense of regret as she watched him go.

Jung-oh sensed that his gaze, which seemed to hold a hint of sweetness, would linger in her mind.

* * * * * * *

Jung-oh, who left work at midnight, learned that Jin-seo had collapsed that morning.

“It was lucky that Do-bin’s father’s friend was visiting, or it could have been a disaster. It’s difficult to take the kids to the hospital alone.”

Kuk-soon told Jung-oh about the previous day, clicking her tongue in sympathy for Jin-seo.

“I should contact Do-bin’s family later to see how she’s doing.”

Jung-oh was also concerned about Jin-seo.

“By the way, Yena really likes Do-bin’s father’s friend. She kept talking about him, calling him ‘mister.'”

“Yena likes him?”

“Of course, he’s very handsome. It seems my granddaughter takes after me.”

“Oh, Mom, you’re such a materialist.”

“You’re saying you don’t care about appearances?”

“I don’t care at all.”

“Don’t lie. Your daughter is so pretty.”

“Mom, I created my daughter’s beauty.”

Yena woke up groggily at the sound of the morning banter. As soon as she woke up, Yena whined, looking for Jung-oh.

“Mommy, why did you come home so late yesterday…”

“Oh, is our baby awake?”

Jung-oh stopped talking to Kuk-soon and went to Yena.

* * * * * * *

Jung-oh diligently prepared and arrived at work early, immediately starting preparations for the meeting.

Jung-oh, along with Deputy Go Eun-joo from the same team and the planning team’s AE, organized the updated information in the conference room. If the data prepared by the planning team conflicted with the production plan, it had to be revised.

Eun-bi finally arrived at work as well. She hadn’t been in since Saturday, so Jung-oh assumed that Ji-heon had hurt her feelings badly. Sure enough, she seemed to have lost a little weight.

When Eun-bi entered the conference room, the planning team’s AE asked worriedly.

“Deputy Chae, are you alright? I heard you were sick.”

“No, I’m just too worried about the PT. Ugh, this sense of responsibility.”

Deputy Go Eun-joo flared her nostrils at the display. Jung-oh quietly chuckled, amused by Eun-joo’s reaction.

Eun-bi, noticing this, glanced at Jung-oh and carefully spoke to the AE again.

“By the way, can I also offer my opinion?”

“Of course, of course.”

Jung-oh sighed inwardly, wondering how much she would interfere with the already finalized proposal.

“First of all, I think the main copy, ‘I miss you,’ is too obvious. What does the planning team think?”

Eun-bi’s opinion was, as expected, a criticism of the copy.

To complain about the production to the planning team’s AE, instead of the production team leader, on the day of finalizing the production direction was quite bold.

*Is she trying to influence the copy by leveraging the planning team? That’s not the way to do it, Chae Eun-bi.*

*And I didn’t even write that copy. It was Deputy Go Eun-joo’s suggestion. You guessed wrong.*

Jung-oh felt a little bitter, but she remained silent because Deputy Go Eun-joo didn’t say anything either. After all, Eun-bi’s opinion was unlikely to be accepted.

“I thought this kind of uninspired copy was a bit much. If I had been feeling better, I would have come up with a better idea, and I apologize for that. I also felt it was a bit disappointing to feature a mother and daughter as the main characters. Since the primary target is the 20-30 age group, I think a couple in a long-distance relationship would be more relatable.”

This time, Jung-oh immediately responded.

“Of course, we considered long-distance couples as well. But we felt that 15 seconds of advertising was too short to establish the context of a long-distance relationship. By using a mother and daughter, we can connect with consumers more directly. We believed that a mother’s love would be more effective and easily understood in a short time compared to a couple’s long-distance relationship.”

Eun-bi replied sourly.

“Well, I don’t find this ad very appealing, even when I try to imagine it.”

“Do you have no imagination…”

Eun-joo, unable to contain herself, muttered under her breath. Eun-joo was also annoyed that Chae Eun-bi, who hadn’t even attended the previous meetings, was trying to overturn the results of their hard work.

It was a soliloquy, but Eun-bi heard Deputy Go Eun-joo’s voice because the room was quiet. Chae Eun-bi wasn’t one to let that pass.

“Deputy Go Eun-joo, since you’re participating as a substitute for Deputy Jo Si-nae, shouldn’t you be taking over the work that Jo Si-nae was doing? Have you summarized this week’s trend issues?”

Eun-joo crossed her arms instead of answering.

“Deputy Team Leader, will you be attending today’s meeting?”

“Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”

“No, I was just worried that you might feel uncomfortable.”

Eun-bi tilted her head as if puzzled, saying those words with a face that showed no concern.

“I heard you broke up with Director Jung Ji-heon. I heard that news while receiving the handover from Deputy Jo Si-nae.”

Eun-bi, without any tact, fearlessly revealed the information she had.

Chae Eun-bi didn’t yet know that even a dignified princess can turn into a raging fire when her pride is wounded.

“Your heart must be very painful, since you were looking forward to getting married.”

The planning team’s AE’s mouth dropped open at the revelation.

Chae Eun-bi’s face turned red, no, dark red.

Jung-oh wondered who Jo Si-nae had heard that from.

*Maybe Jung Ji-heon?*

*Was it last Friday? I saw Jo Si-nae walking towards Ji-heon’s office.*

*It was the day after I confronted Ji-heon about the marriage.*

*Huh.*

*That’s a little creepy.*

*He gave Chae Eun-bi a week, but he had no intention of waiting quietly from the start.*

*He’s a bit of a scary person.*

*I feel sorry for Eun-bi’s situation, but it’s something I can’t get involved in.*

*That’s right, Chae Eun-bi.*

*Why did you mess with Go Eun-joo instead of me?*