A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 86

“Yena!”

Director Won hurried out of the classroom, spotted Yena, and rushed over, clearly surprised.

“Yena! Yena!”

The two children standing nearby, watching, also paled.

“……Is she… dead?”

Sooin asked, her voice trembling.

Director Won checked Yena’s breathing and pupils, then gently patted her cheeks. Yena briefly opened her eyes, but they fluttered shut again. Director Won turned to the two children and asked urgently.

“What happened? How did she collapse?”

“We just asked if she really had a dad, but she kept lying about having one……”

Jaemin answered, his face etched with fear. Director Won’s expression hardened, but she didn’t have time to scold them. Scooping Yena into her arms, she said.

“I need to get her to the hospital. Can you tell the assistant director?”

Director Won instructed the children and hurried away.

Jinseo and Dobin saw Director Won leaving the academy.

“Yena!”

Jinseo was the first to spot Yena in Director Won’s arms and ran towards them.

“What’s going on! What’s wrong with Yena?”

“Teacher, what’s wrong with Yena? Is she sick? Is she…?” Dobin asked, his face mirroring Jinseo’s shock.

Director Won answered quickly.

“She collapsed. But her breathing seems normal.”

“Did you contact Yena’s mom? Should I call her?”

“Yes, please do.”

While Jinseo contacted Jeongo, Director Won quickly hailed a taxi. Director Won, Yena, Jinseo, and Dobin all piled into the taxi and headed to the hospital.

* * * * * * *

– Are you having fun?

– Enjoying yourself?

– You’re not even replying. Super busy?

Jeongo checked the three text messages Jiheon had sent in a row at noon and chuckled.

Jiheon was being playfully sulky because Jeongo was on an important work trip, which Jeongo found endearing.

“Deputy Manager, something good happen?”

“Huh? No, no.”

At Gihoon’s question, Jeongo quickly put her phone back in her bag.

She had been entrusted with the important task of picking up beer for a filming project from a factory near Seoul and transporting it to the filming location in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. [Gangwon Province is a region in South Korea known for its mountains and coast.]

Checking and loading each beer took a long time, and the drive was quite far, so she didn’t arrive at the filming location until after 2 PM. It was terribly hot, but the weather was otherwise perfect for filming.

After delivering the products to the staff, grabbing a late lunch, and admiring the scenery and the visuals of the model, it was already 4 PM. Jeongo and Gihoon said goodbye to Miran and Younggwang and left the filming location.

Even leaving at 4 PM, they wouldn’t arrive back in Seoul until around 7 PM.

‘If I go to the company and take care of the pending work, I’ll be leaving late again tonight.’

“Gihoon, you must be tired. I wish I could drive, but I have a dormant license.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you had a license, Deputy Manager.”

“I do. I just don’t have a car.”

She had thought she should get a driver’s license to raise a child, so she took the plunge and got one a few years ago, but without a car, the license was useless.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford to buy a car, but when she actually considered it, she kept doing a cost-benefit analysis.

She used public transportation for commuting, and when problems arose, she could take a taxi, so she didn’t feel the need for a car.

Only after buying a cell phone for her child yesterday did she suddenly feel a pang of regret. Jeongo didn’t feel the need and didn’t buy a car, but the child might have felt resentful about it.

If she had a car, they could have gone on trips to farther places more comfortably, but she hadn’t done that for her child’s entire seven years.

‘We’re planning to go camping in the fall, so should I get a car before then?’

‘No. Will Oppa [Oppa is a Korean term used by women to refer to older brothers or close male friends/partners] go with us then?’

Imagining going camping with her child, Jiheon, and Guksoon, and grilling meat made her feel good just thinking about it.

While Jeongo was secretly smiling, Gihoon asked.

“Since you have a license, would you like to try driving?”

“Are you very tired? If it’s too hard, I’ll call a designated driver.”

“No. It’s not because I’m tired, but I thought it would be good experience for you to get behind the wheel. For practice.”

“If you let me drive, I can’t guarantee your life.”

“I can entrust my life to you, Deputy Manager.”

Gihoon replied good-naturedly. While the two were laughing amicably, Jeongo’s phone vibrated. The caller was Jinseo.

“Yes. Dobin’s mother.”

[Jeongo. Are you at the company now? Don’t be alarmed, but listen. Yena collapsed at the academy and is on her way to the hospital.]

“Our Yena?”

Jinseo told her not to be alarmed, but Jeongo’s heart plummeted.

[Her breathing and pulse are normal, and the director said she saw Yena open her eyes briefly. But she closed them again. I’ll go to the hospital first and take care of things, so please come to the hospital.]

Jinseo gave her the hospital address and hung up immediately. Jeongo didn’t even get to say ‘yes’ properly in the meantime. The hand holding the disconnected phone trembled.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen to the child?”

“Yes. Gihoon…… I think I need to go to the hospital……”

“To the hospital?”

“The child…… collapsed……”

“Is she conscious?”

“Uh, uh…… I don’t know, I don’t know……”

“……”

“Gihoon, can you…… can you take me quickly?”

Jeongo spoke haltingly in a trembling voice. She felt like all her senses were paralyzed. Her head was also blank and not functioning properly.

The car was running on the highway. Even if they went quickly, it was still more than an hour away.

“Deputy Manager, I’ll get there as fast as possible. Don’t worry.”

Gihoon reassured Jeongo reliably and stepped hard on the accelerator.

* * * * * * *

The Max Planning hallway.

Jiheon, who had attended a meeting with the planning team due to a client’s visit, stared at his frozen phone and sighed bitterly.

‘She’s not even sending a reply, huh?’

He had sent Jeongo three text messages at 12 PM, but she hadn’t replied.

‘Is your name Lee Jeongo or Lee Ice Queen? How can you be so heartless?’

Anyway, she said she would return to the company in the evening, so he would definitely get revenge when he met her, he thought as he returned to his office. On the way, he saw Seunggyu running busily.

He assumed Seunggyu was busy and didn’t acknowledge him, but Seunggyu spotted Jiheon and ran over.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? Why?”

“I heard Yena collapsed?”

“……”

“I just got a call too. Dobin’s mom and the director of the Baduk [Baduk is a strategy board game popular in Korea, also known as Go] academy took her to the hospital, I heard.”

Jiheon also felt his heart sink.

* * * * * * *

The hospital emergency room, where only Jinseo and Dobin remained after the director had left after transferring Yena.

“Yenaaaaa. Yenaaaaa.”

Dobin cried incessantly in front of the lying Yena.

“Yenaaaaa, don’t dieeeee. I’ll be good to youuuuu.”

To the one I love, I couldn’t even say I love you.

Jinseo, finding it hard to listen, sighed and comforted Dobin.

“Dobin. Yena’s not dying. Please be quiet.”

“Yenaaaaa.”

Nevertheless, Dobin’s voice was loud. He was a kid who usually had to force out tears, so why was he wailing so much? Jinseo was increasingly embarrassed by his noisy outburst. She had to repeatedly bow her head apologetically to the people who made eye contact with her.

‘Did this kid cry so sorrowfully when I collapsed too? I don’t think so.’

The child was being too loud, so she couldn’t stay in the hospital any longer. Fortunately, Guksoon, who had been contacted by Jinseo, arrived at the hospital quickly. There was one advantage to this wailing.

Guksoon found Yena’s location faster than anyone else and rushed over. [In Korean culture, it is common to refer to someone by their relationship to another person, especially when speaking to someone older or of higher status. Here, Jinseo is referred to as “Dobin’s mom.”]

Jinseo, seeing Guksoon, got up from her seat.

“Oh my, our Yena, what’s wrong with our child? What’s wrong?”

Guksoon, who had always been polite to Jinseo, prioritized the child over greetings. Even as Guksoon asked Jinseo, who had rushed over in a panic, Dobin’s wailing continued.

“Yenaaaaa. Don’t dieeee. No wayyyyy.”

“What’s wrong with our Yena! Is she, is she dying? Wh, what disease does she have!”

Guksoon asked, startled by Dobin’s crying.

“Ah, no. Yena just collapsed from shock.”

Jinseo carefully conveyed the story she had heard from the director.

“It seems she was a bit stressed…… Kids around Yena’s age, they ganged up on her because she doesn’t have a dad.”

“Oh my goodness, oh my, oh my goodness! Who did that to our baby, who did that to our baby!”

Guksoon’s voice became agitated.

“So, she’s still unconscious? What should we do?”

“The doctor says she seems to be okay. They said to admit her today and monitor her condition.”

Only after checking the child’s condition and feeling reassured did Guksoon express her gratitude.

“Oh my, thank you. Dobin’s mom isn’t in good health either, but thank you so much and I’m sorry.”

“No. But we should get going now. It’s almost time for Doyoon to come home, and Dobin is being too outrageous……”

“Oh myyy, oh myyy……”

Dobin, hearing his name, copied even Guksoon’s voice from just now and shouted even louder. Now Dobin’s wailing seemed like a desperate struggle. Jinseo, reaching her limit, gritted her teeth and said.

“Park Dobin, let’s go now.”

“Why?”

“We have to go home. It’s almost time for Doyoon to come home.”

“Then Mom, you go.”

“What? You little rascal, come here quickly!”

Jinseo eventually used force to drag Dobin out. Dobin called out for Yena with all his might even as he was being dragged away, but Yena didn’t move.

Guksoon called an employee and quickly completed the admission procedures. After moving Yena to the hospital room, the doctor came again and reassured her that the child would be fine.

Hearing the doctor’s words directly, Guksoon felt like she could breathe again. After the shock subsided, a new worry suddenly arose.

Fortunately, Jiheon rushed over without being late.

“Mother.”

“Oh my, oh my, you came just in time. Yena’s dad!”

“How’s Yena? Is she okay?”

“Yes. She’ll be fine. They said to admit her today, monitor her, and discharge her tomorrow.”

“She’s still not awake?”

“They said to think of it as her being asleep, but we need to watch her a bit more.”

Jiheon looked at Yena, checked her condition, and knelt in front of the bed, letting out a rough sigh. It was obvious that he had rushed over as quickly as possible after hearing the news.

“You must have been very surprised too, Mother.”

“Oh my, yes. I ran out of the restaurant. I don’t remember if I closed the door properly or if I turned off the gas stove.”

“Don’t worry about here and go back quickly. Or should I go?”

“No. I’ll go.”

Guksoon said, waving her hand.

“Still, it’s a relief that our Yena’s dad is here. Thank you for rushing over.”

‘He’s her dad, it’s a natural thing to do.’

Jiheon felt awkward at Guksoon’s words.

Guksoon hurriedly left, and Jiheon was left alone with Yena in the hospital room.

This was the second time seeing the sleeping child. It was the first time in a non-darkened room. The child was as lovely as an angel even while sick.

A heavy aura brushed across that lovely face. The doctor said it wouldn’t be a big deal, but Jiheon couldn’t help but worry.

The child occasionally twitched her fingertips as if she had a spasm in her hand. Jiheon placed his finger on Yena’s palm. Yena gripped Jiheon’s hand tightly.