A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 78

78. Will That Day Come?

Jeong-o and Ji-heon had dinner at Guksun’s restaurant.

Having already eaten, Yena sat next to Jeong-o and kept talking to her. The reason was simple: to prevent Jeong-o and Ji-heon from talking to each other.

Thanks to his merciless daughter, Ji-heon had no choice but to endure a lonely meal, steadfastly eating his rice.

Even when cleaning up the restaurant and heading home, Yena insisted on walking instead of riding in Ji-heon’s car. Eventually, Ji-heon said goodbye to everyone in front of the restaurant.

Thus ended a day with no gains.

However, Ji-heon couldn’t leave easily and drove to Jeong-o’s house.

He thought it might be better to look for a room nearby, since he would be coming and going every morning and evening anyway.

‘Or should I wait a little longer?’

Someday they would get married, so it would be good to find a house where they could all live together.

‘Should I buy a building and renovate it?’

Starting from the *gomin* [Korean word for ‘worry’ or ‘deliberation’] about whether to get a single room, Ji-heon’s thoughts had already progressed to buying a house and commissioning interior work.

With his mind racing ahead, his heart naturally followed. He felt excited and warm at the thought of living in a new house.

A beautiful wife, a caring mother, and a cute daughter who would be even happier in the new house.

A cute daughter…….

Yena, who had consistently ignored him, led him back into the forest of despair.

Will the day come when we live in the same house, laughing and talking together? Will it really come someday?

‘She takes after her mother, really making her father’s heart ache.’

Just like Jeong-o, Ji-heon thought that Jeong-o and Yena resembled each other.

Jeong-o contacted him after 10 p.m.

[Did you get home?]

“No. I’m in front of the villa here.”

[What? Oh, I can’t live like this.]

Saying she couldn’t live like that, Jeong-o ran out immediately. As soon as Ji-heon reunited with Jeong-o, he asked about Yena first.

“Is Yena asleep?”

“Yes. That’s why I came out.”

Hoo. Ji-heon sighed heavily and looked at Jeong-o.

Jeong-o asked, as if his gaze was pitiful.

“Why?”

“No, just because.”

“…….”

“I’m envious.”

Jeong-o chuckled.

“Because Yena only likes me?”

“Yes.”

“Someday, you and Yena will be partners. You two have similar tastes.”

Jeong-o encouraged him with kind words, as if understanding Ji-heon’s feelings. Ji-heon smiled bitterly.

Will that day come? Will it really come?

“I’ve never felt jealous of anyone in the world. But you have everything I could envy. Lee Jeong-o, Lee Yena, your mother.”

“You’re jealous of my mom too?”

“A good family, I mean.”

At Ji-heon’s answer, Jeong-o felt so affectionate towards him.

*I want to become your family soon.*

*I want to love this man who seems so sad at times, like someone who has everything but nothing.*

* * * * * * *

The next day.

Jeong-o went to work with Ji-heon as usual.

Seeing Ji-heon, who had come to see Yena from the morning and became gloomy because of Yena’s coldness, made her feel so sorry for him. She felt that if her daughter was cold, her mother should be warm to balance things out, so she agreed to his request to go to the company together.

Although she felt like he was deliberately acting more pathetic to lure her into the car.

“Here, here! Drop me off here.”

Still, she always had to be careful. Jeong-o stubbornly stopped the car near the company.

“This will look even stranger. Let’s just say we met nearby…….”

“Thank you. See you at the company later.”

Jeong-o didn’t even think about listening to Ji-heon’s persuasion and got out of the car, walking diligently.

The car, which had been guarding Jeong-o’s side slowly like a bodyguard, eventually left first at her stern look. Jeong-o sighed and looked around, front, back, and sides, in case there were any colleagues from the company.

And, sure enough, Go Eun-ju, the assistant manager, was seen from behind. She felt her hair stand on end.

‘Did she see me? What if she did?’

Go Eun-ju’s expression hardly changed. Even after discovering Jeong-o, she simply raised her hand as if she couldn’t be bothered to run over and walked gracefully.

Her every step exuded a sophisticated dignity. While waiting for Eun-ju, Jeong-o’s back was covered in a cold sweat.

“Good morning, Assistant Manager Go.”

“Not really.”

“Why, why?”

“I don’t want to go to work.”

She didn’t see me!

How grateful she was for Eun-ju’s usual cynical answer. She felt like scattering flower petals in Eun-ju’s path, but she couldn’t show it too much, so Jeong-o casually agreed and sighed in relief.

“Haha. That’s right. But it’s a relief that today is Friday. We can rest comfortably this week.”

“I don’t know. We’ll see.”

“…….”

“I have a feeling there will be weekend work.”

But Eun-ju’s reaction was cold until the end.

And Jeong-o realized an hour later that Go Eun-ju’s intuition was excellent. The AE [Account Executive] in charge of Dawon Liquor came running.

“Team Leader, did you see this?”

The AE, holding a tablet PC, showed the screen to Mi-ran. Park Young-gwang, the deputy manager, and Jeong-o also stood up and stood next to Mi-ran.

It was an advertisement for a new beer product. But the package design was very similar to the new product being prepared by Dawon Liquor.

The trademark image was different, but the design surrounding the trademark was similar, so it seemed like it could be mistaken at first glance. The advertiser did not trademark the package design. It could not be protected by law.

“It’s a product that will be released today and will be spread out in stores nationwide. The advertisement will air on all media at 10 p.m. tonight.”

Mi-ran covered her forehead with a look of dismay. The advertisement shooting had been delayed because the advertiser couldn’t decide on the package design, but this happened as soon as the design was decided.

“It’s a new product, so it’s even more of a problem. Does the advertiser know?”

“Of course, they know. They’re probably in a meeting right now.”

The AE answered Jeong-o’s question.

“Does Director know?”

The AE shook his head at Mi-ran’s question.

“Let’s go report together.”

Mi-ran took the lead, and the AE followed. The remaining team members looked at each other gloomily.

The package design had been revised more than ten times, and the advertisement draft had barely passed, but this unfortunate event occurred just before the shooting on Tuesday.

After 30 minutes, Team Leader Sung Mi-ran and the AE returned with Ji-heon.

“The package will be changed. They said we can remove everything except the trademark. However, they will send a reference color to the designer, so please refer to that color. We need to send the first draft by 6 p.m. tonight. Let’s try to get it approved in one go.”

Ji-heon said decisively. Sighs were heard from here and there. The weekend was gone like this.

Jeong-o was also upset. She wouldn’t be able to keep her promise to go to Gunsan with Yena. Ji-heon, realizing this, quietly spoke to Jeong-o, who was heading to the conference room.

“You go.”

“Yes? Where to?”

“Don’t work on the weekend and go to Gunsan. A copywriter isn’t really necessary for this work.”

“Oh, Director. Let’s keep work and personal life separate!”

The advertiser is picky, so they’ll want to modify the TV commercial every time they change the package. How can it not be necessary?

Jeong-o shook her head at Ji-heon’s favoritism and went into the meeting.

Production Team 1, which had stepped down from the project after the campaign concept and advertisement production draft were finalized, also attended the meeting.

“It’s easier said than done. How can we change it in a few hours?”

Team Leader Ahn Chan-seop complained. It wasn’t a complaint to the team members, but to the client. He was so frustrated.

Other team members felt the same way. They had already gone through countless production meetings, and ideas had run dry.

Silence continued for a long time, and Mi-ran spoke first.

“We have no choice but to put colors or patterns around the trademark. It’s so difficult. If we make it too noticeable, they’ll say it damages the identity, and if we don’t make it noticeable, they’ll say what did we even do.”

“Ah. Fake art!”

Jeong-o, who got an idea from Mi-ran’s opinion, said.

“How about fake art that looks like a brand logo from a distance and a message or other picture up close? I think it would go well with our advertisement.”

“Hmm, it would be good if we do it well.”

Deputy Manager Park Young-gwang supported Jeong-o’s opinion. Eun-ju and Gi-hoon also nodded as if it wasn’t bad.

“I’ll try to make one.”

“Okay. Let’s do it first, and then talk again. I’ll report to Director.”

Mi-ran instructed. Thanks to Mi-ran and Jeong-o, the meeting ended quickly. It was just the beginning for the designers.

After the meeting, Gi-hoon approached Jeong-o as she was about to organize the foam board with the previous product package drafts attached.

“Give it to me. I’ll organize it.”

“No, go and work quickly. Gi-hoon, you need to take care of yourself.”

“Hey, this is nothing.”

Gi-hoon easily took the stack of foam boards that Jeong-o was holding.

“Honestly, I was stunned when I first saw that advertisement, but thanks to you, Assistant Manager, a spark of light came on. I really respect you, Assistant Manager.”

He said respect, but his eyes contained more affection and admiration than respect.

“What. No.”

Jeong-o answered awkwardly.

Eun-ju silently watched the two. She felt a little sorry for Gi-hoon.

Every time he sees Assistant Manager Lee Jeong-o, his mouth hangs open and his eyes are full of candy stars.

Oh no, that’s love.

Mr. Song Gi-hoon. You’re going to get hurt.

“Assistant Manager Go, do you have something to say?”

Gi-hoon asked, suspicious of Eun-ju’s gaze. Eun-ju shook her head.

“No. Nothing.”

That’s it. It’s not my business.

She didn’t want to be someone who added another word to someone else’s complicated love life. You should only work at the company, but she almost made the mistake of thinking of her team members as family because of Assistant Manager Lee Jeong-o’s strange *masu* [Korean word for ‘magic’ or ‘charm’].

Oh, my. I’m too nosy these days. Individualism is comfortable.

Eun-ju shrugged and left first.

The draft sent at 6 p.m. received feedback relatively quickly. But it wasn’t approved in one go. The advertiser said they would see the second draft tomorrow morning. The designers were stuck working overtime.

Other team members created the justification for inserting fake art and discussed the advertisement production revisions due to the package change. Jeong-o was able to leave work after 10 p.m.

Ji-heon, who had disappeared for a while, was waiting for Jeong-o with his car parked in front of the company. Jeong-o quickly ran and got into the car, afraid someone would see her.

“Quickly, start quickly!”

Jeong-o shouted as soon as she got into the car, lowering the seat back. Ji-heon chuckled at Jeong-o’s actions and started the car.

Only after they were far away from the company did Jeong-o raise the backrest again.

“I got a call saying Yena is asleep. Why were you waiting when you can’t see her anyway.”

“Still, I have to take you home. And…….”

Ji-heon, who answered Jeong-o’s question naturally, cleared his throat. Jeong-o sensed that Ji-heon was about to bring up something cautious.

“Can I go in for a moment?”

“Huh? To my house?”

“Can I just see Yena sleeping for a moment and come out?”

The director, who had been showing a stern and reliable *moseup* [Korean word for ‘appearance’ or ‘image’] all day at the company. That director had become a soft animal, his eyes shining as he waited for her permission.