A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 75

75. The Bitter Taste of Life

“You’re being completely fooled by Lee Jung-oh!”

Jiheon stared coldly at Youngmi, who was shouting in agitation.

“How did you find out, Mother? That Jung-oh and I are seeing each other.”

His voice was icy as he asked the question.

Youngmi closed her gaping mouth and furrowed her brow.

Jiheon continued his interrogation.

“Are you investigating me?”

“I… I heard it from Eunbi. Yes, from Eunbi.”

“Eunbi? What exactly did Eunbi say?”

“……”

“Are you saying Chae Eunbi investigated me?”

“That’s not the important thing here!”

“Yes, it is important to me.”

“……What?”

“Who told you that Yena is or isn’t my biological daughter?”

“I found out myself. I investigated it myself!”

Youngmi wanted to skip the story about Chae Eunbi and point out the vile behavior of that boy Lee Jung-oh, but her son wouldn’t focus on the core issue. She felt frustrated and wronged.

She took out a report labeled ‘Genetic Test Result’ from her bag and showed it to Jiheon.

“Here! Can’t you believe it even after seeing this?”

On the front page of the report, at the bottom, the result ‘Probability of Parentage (%) : N’ was printed in bold letters.

Jiheon took the report, calmly scanned it, and then gave a cold laugh.

So, Mother approached Yena. And then she didn’t say anything to me.

He couldn’t trust his mother at all anymore.

“How did you get the samples? How did you approach Yena?”

As Jiheon pressed her, Youngmi’s pupils shook wildly. She was expecting her son to be shocked and collapse at this point, to reflect on the past and regret it, but he wasn’t wavering at all, which flustered her.

Now, Jiheon looked at Youngmi with sharper eyes. Eyes focused on the truth rather than their mother-son relationship, with the resolve that if she had participated in harming Yena in any way, he would have no choice but to report her, even if she was his mother.

“Did you perhaps try to kidnap Yena?”

“Wh, what…!”

“Were you involved in Yena’s kidnapping?”

“Kidnapping! What nonsense are you talking about!”

Youngmi, feeling genuinely wronged, burst out in anger.

“How did you know about Yena and Jung-oh? Since when have you known?”

Jiheon persistently pressed. Unlike Youngmi, who was agitated and shouting, Jiheon remained calm and rational throughout. That made it all the more terrifying.

Startled by her son’s relentless questioning, Youngmi confessed honestly.

“It hasn’t been long! Just two days! It was when Eunbi came to me, complaining about Lee Jung-oh, Lee Jung-oh, that I found out!”

“As soon as Chae Eunbi mentioned the name Lee Jung-oh, you had Yena’s paternity test done.”

Jiheon let out a cold, mocking laugh.

Gradually, the picture was coming together.

“You knew that I met Jung-oh seven years ago.”

In the end, Youngmi had revealed everything.

Jiheon wasn’t greatly surprised, as he had already suspected it. His disappointment in his mother was now irreversible.

Jiheon looked at the report again.

“The paternity test was done yesterday, and you received the results yesterday as well. Did you take the samples to the lab yourself?”

“……”

“You must have had Driver Choi do it. Then, can we trust Driver Choi?”

Youngmi felt chills at Jiheon’s sharpness, as he approached the truth as if he had her in the palm of his hand.

Driver Choi parked the car in the underground parking lot of Jiheon’s house and waited for Youngmi.

Last night, Youngmi had suddenly called and said she planned to visit her son’s house at 6 a.m. He was very dissatisfied, but sensing an unusual atmosphere, he agreed without complaint.

Barely overcoming the sleepiness that was pouring in, Driver Choi got up, picked up Madam Jang Youngmi, and came to Jiheon’s house. He hoped Youngmi would come out very late.

He wanted to rest a little longer. But she came out earlier than expected. Moreover, her son, Jung Jiheon, was with her.

“Hello, Driver.”

“Yes, Director. How have you been?”

“Driver, I’m sorry, but I need to check the black box [car’s event data recorder] memory card.”

After a brief greeting, Jiheon got into the car and took out the memory card from the black box. It was a quick, efficient movement. Driver Choi stood there, clueless.

Jiheon connected the memory card to the tablet PC he had brought. Then, he played the video recorded on the memory card.

The video recording of the time yesterday around 4 p.m., when Driver Choi received the document envelope from Madam Jang Youngmi and moved to the research center. It was also the time when he met Attorney Chae Eunyeop.

After checking the video from that time, Jiheon let out a cold sigh, and Youngmi stammered as if she was dumbfounded.

“Oh, no, why is Eunyeop, why is he……”

Before Driver Choi could explain the situation, Jiheon asked first.

“Driver, you met Attorney Chae Eunyeop yesterday, right?”

“Ah, yes… The attorney said he would give me an electric car someday, and I received a ride yesterday.”

“How many times did that person call you yesterday?”

“About four or five times……”

Jiheon’s eyes narrowed. Youngmi’s mouth opened wide. It was the first time seeing the elegant Madam Jang Youngmi looking so dumbfounded.

Realizing that something was wrong, Driver Choi immediately apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Just don’t contact Attorney Chae Eunyeop anymore. Block his number completely.”

After confirming that Driver Choi had blocked Chae Eunyeop’s number, Jiheon immediately asked Youngmi.

“Mother, how much did you tell Chae Eunyeop about me?”

But Youngmi only shook her head.

“No. That can’t be. Look. Is this enough time to switch something?”

Even after rewinding the video several times, she couldn’t believe the truth. The black box didn’t have a device to show the inside of the car. It seemed like Eunyeop opened the car door and went inside, but it wasn’t recorded exactly what he did.

Youngmi raised her voice again.

“I believe the test results! You’re being fooled! You need to come to your senses!”

“There’s no need to get agitated, Mother. We can just do the test again.”

People tend to deny reality after experiencing something shocking. Jiheon knew that his mother was currently in that process.

“I’m 100% sure I’m right, but even if I’m not, my feelings won’t change.”

Jiheon spoke politely to the end, even though he despised his mother’s actions.

“Please stop now.”

“……”

“Because of you, that child has lived without a father for six years. How are you going to face her later?”

* * * * * * *

Early morning.

Kuksoon woke up with a start at the sound coming from the kitchen and came outside.

Jung-oh, who was standing in the kitchen, smiled when she saw Kuksoon coming out.

Living long enough to see her daughter doing kitchen work.

“Why are you here? Are you determined to ruin your mother’s cooking?”

“No, Mom. You did so much yesterday, and there’s a lot to eat at home. I can just heat it up.”

“That’s enough. Go get ready for work.”

Kuksoon snatched the frying pan from Jung-oh. Jung-oh rubbed her mother’s arm and acted cute.

“Mom, you had a hard time yesterday.”

“……”

“Jiheon said to tell you he’s very sorry for making you suffer so much.”

“What again? That’s enough.”

“……”

“Yena’s dad must have had it harder. And he even got told to leave by his own daughter.”

“Yeah… It’s rough, so rough.”

Jung-oh sighed deeply.

Kuksoon quietly cleared her throat, feeling like laughing at the thought of Jiheon’s flustered expression.

Why are her daughter and her daughter’s man so cute and causing such a fuss?

“Sigh… Thinking about it, I feel so bad for Jung Jiheon.”

“He needs to have those trials and errors. Did he think he could become a dad for free?”

“……”

“He must have grown up so sheltered. He needs to step on rough ground and taste the bitter things. That’s how he becomes a dad.”

“Sigh……”

“Don’t be disheartened. Before long, he’ll leave you out and they’ll play just the two of them, you’ll see.”

“No way.”

“Just you wait and see.”

Jung-oh just shrugged at Kuksoon’s confident words.

* * * * * * *

Yena’s way to kindergarten.

Jiheon was there in front of the house again today.

“Did you sleep well, Yena?”

Hmph.

Yena naturally snorted and walked ahead, holding Jung-oh’s hand tightly.

Should she be glad that she didn’t cry and shout like last night? Jung-oh felt that fate was cruel, as she understood both Yena’s and Jiheon’s feelings too well.

Jiheon followed the two of them closely, unable to say anything else. The biggest VIP in this soon-to-be family was the 7-year-old kid, Lee Yena.

Jiheon was constantly watching, worried that Yena would burst into tears at any moment, and that she wouldn’t be able to take the kindergarten bus this morning.

As Yena left.

Today, just like yesterday, Jiheon waved until the kindergarten bus was out of sight, and then told Jung-oh about what happened this morning.

“It seems like Yena met my mother yesterday.”

“Your mother?”

“On the way to Yena’s academy. My mother probably took Yena’s hair.”

Ah!

Jung-oh clapped her hands.

“That’s right, that’s right! Yena said it. She said an old lady’s bracelet got caught in her hair and messed it up.”

She couldn’t bring herself to tell Jiheon that the old lady gave Yena fifty thousand won [Korean currency, approximately $40 USD], fearing it would upset him.

How unfortunate, to ruin her first meeting with her granddaughter like that.

Jung-oh, who had been lost in thought for a moment, asked.

“So, did she do a paternity test with Yena’s hair?”

“She did, and it came back saying there was no possibility of parentage.”

Jiheon’s voice was small, fearing that Jung-oh would be upset. However, contrary to Jiheon’s expectations, Jung-oh burst into laughter.

“Pfft. What kind of test did she do? Did she use Dobin’s hair instead of Yena’s?”

Can you hide the sky with your palm? The test can be done again.

“What do you think, Oppa [term of endearment for older brother or boyfriend]?”

“About what?”

“What if Yena isn’t your biological daughter? Don’t you doubt it?”

“Chae Eunyeop must have manipulated everything. The driver met Chae Eunyeop on the way to the lab after receiving the data from my mother.”

“No.”

“……”

“Just tell me honestly. What if Yena really isn’t your daughter? Don’t you doubt it?”

Jung-oh blinked, repeatedly asking the question that Jiheon had rationally dismissed, with an expression that clearly tested his feelings. He wasn’t foolish enough to fall for it, but Jiheon had never doubted it from the beginning.

He would never leave her alone again. He wouldn’t make her feel insecure.

He wouldn’t tolerate anyone trying to interfere and cause trouble.

“I don’t.”

“……”

“Stay by my side.”

“……”

“Just stay by my side.”

With a short answer, Jiheon expressed his honest feelings and wrapped his arm around Jung-oh’s shoulder, pulling her close.

Jung-oh recalled what Yena had said to her in her sleep last night.

“So don’t leave me, Mom.”

How could this father and daughter be so alike?