A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 92

92. We Wanted to Protect Mr. Kihoon

Even Jiheon’s heart fluttered at his mother’s tears, but he steeled himself.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Jiheon suppressed his wavering emotions and handed Youngmi a tissue before urging her, “Absolutely do not go looking for Yena or Jeong-o, or Jeong-o’s mother. If you go to any of them, I will never see you again.”

After giving this stern warning, Jiheon immediately opened his office door.

“It’s also inconvenient for you to suddenly visit during work hours like this. I have my own schedule. If you have something to say, please call first.”

“You… why have you become so heartless?”

Youngmi’s voice caused him to pause, the half-opened door closing again.

*Thud, thud.* The sound of her son approaching felt sharp, somehow. Youngmi’s eyes widened at the eerie feeling of facing a stranger, not her son. This was a side of him she didn’t know.

From a mother’s perspective, it seemed her son had changed after meeting the wrong woman. Youngmi wanted to blame everything on Lee Jeong-o.

“Not see your mother? You never used to be like this! Why? Why have you changed so much!”

“Changed? I’m doing this because I love you, Mother.”

Jiheon replied in a chillingly cold voice. It felt like confirming the terrifying underside of the word “love.”

“I’m telling you in advance because I love you. I want us to get along well without friction.”

Only then did Youngmi realize that the confessions of love she had received from her son, like gifts, had been empty boxes all along.

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

After sending Youngmi away, Jiheon went straight to Jeong-o, anxious that Youngmi might change direction and go to her after leaving the company. He had to protect Jeong-o.

Fortunately, Youngmi seemed to have left the company safely, and Jeong-o was alone in the conference room.

Jiheon approached Jeong-o, sat down next to her, and stared intently at her. Jeong-o asked, “Why?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

He was ashamed, too ashamed to speak.

*Your mother welcomed me so warmly, but I can’t reciprocate that warmth.* He felt sorry and ashamed.

“My mother might come looking for you.”

“I’ll be okay.”

Jeong-o nodded indifferently at his cautiously raised concern.

“If she harasses Yena, I won’t stand for it. Same with my mom. But I’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”

*Was that his worry?* Jeong-o was also concerned about him after seeing his heavy expression. Thinking hard about a topic that could restore his energy, Jeong-o came up with an idea.

“It would be nice if Yena had a dad and we could live together… but there’s no other way. That’s the only option.”

“What option?”

“I hope you’ll be careful, so that Yena doesn’t get too attached.”

“What?”

“We might live together, but we might not. You never know. So don’t get her hopes up too much.”

As expected, he reacted immediately to her seemingly cold-hearted remark. He frowned and glared at her fiercely.

“We’ve been doing well so far. Shouldn’t we be careful so that everyone can go back to normal without getting hurt in the worst-case scenario? I can’t tell Yena not to get attached to her dad. She’s just a kid, so you have to be careful.”

“So, I shouldn’t give Yena any affection?”

“I’m just saying be careful, so that Yena doesn’t call you ‘Dad, Dad’ too much.”

Jiheon’s eyes narrowed. He let out a short laugh, raised his lips crookedly, and asked Jeong-o, “Tell me honestly.”

“……”

“Honestly, you’re feeling insecure right now, aren’t you?”

“About what?”

“You’re insecure that I might become closer to Yena than you are.”

“Ha. That’s ridiculous. What are you talking about?”

“Are you jealous of me, jealous of Yena? Which one is it? Or both?”

“That’s absurd.”

“Look at you. Your expression looks really awkward right now, you know?”

“It’s because I’m so dumbfounded. So dumbfounded.”

Jeong-o snorted nonchalantly, but she couldn’t keep up the act and ended up laughing.

Only after seeing Jeong-o’s laughter did Jiheon realize it. His heart, which had been frozen like ice, had melted away.

*I came to protect you, but I feel comforted again.*

*You remind me that I can face the world’s countless worries with a smile. You show me where I should be.*

*How have I lived without you until now? I can’t go back to that time without you anymore.*

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

Eunjoo was wandering around, hoping to talk to Jeong-o, when she found Jiheon and Jeong-o sitting side by side in the conference room and turned away.

“You’re back so soon?”

Kihoon spoke to her, wondering why she had returned to her seat so quickly after saying she was going to find Jeong-o.

*Please understand,* Eunjoo thought as she replied to Kihoon. “Yeah. Director Jeong was in the conference room.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Director Jeong and Assistant Manager Lee, just the two of them.”

“Just the two of them?”

However, Kihoon didn’t understand Eunjoo’s intention. For some reason, only Deputy Manager Park Younggwang next to him flinched.

With a pure and innocent expression, Kihoon suddenly picked up his laptop and stood up from his seat.

“Where are you going?”

“To the conference room. You said Assistant Manager Lee is there.”

*I must protect Assistant Manager Lee Jeong-o from Director Jeong Jiheon.* Kihoon’s pure soul, burning with loyalty and chivalry, strode towards the conference room.

“No, no, no, Mr. Kihoon…”

Younggwang hurriedly reached out his hand to stop Kihoon, but it was no use. A young man in love couldn’t be stopped by anyone.

Eunjoo smiled bitterly.

*Well, it’s not bad if he realizes it now.*

*I don’t care if they fight over one woman. It’s not bad to see how it ends.*

*No matter how great Director Jeong is, he can’t easily win against the vigor of youth. Mr. Song Kihoon is a whole six years younger. If Mr. Song Kihoon rushes in, Director Jeong will be a little nervous.*

*Win this fight, Mr. Song Kihoon.*

“Haa.”

Eunjoo organized her thoughts with relief and resumed her work, but she kept hearing intermittent sighs from next to her. Eunjoo pushed her chair back and asked Younggwang, “Deputy Manager, what’s wrong?”

“Huh? It’s nothing.”

“……”

“Assistant Manager Go, I don’t have two lives, and I’m not brave. I just want to live a long and peaceful life, doing this job for a long, long time.”

Younggwang, who had answered that it was nothing, immediately added, “To do that, there are times when you have to pretend you didn’t see something, pretend you’re not there. It’s a little painful to be in that position.”

“……”

“I hope our Mr. Kihoon realizes that soon.”

*Ah, so Deputy Manager also knew,* about the relationship between Director Jeong and Assistant Manager Lee.

*Well, Director Jeong Jiheon is making it so obvious, and they even went on an overseas business trip together, so there’s no way he wouldn’t know.*

*I was cheering for Kihoon a little while ago, but now I belatedly feel a little sorry for Kihoon.* Eunjoo, who was about to resume her work, paused.

*Wait, what if Song Kihoon and Jeong Jiheon go all the way [meaning, what if things escalate dramatically]?*

*I’m cheering for Song Kihoon, but right now, Assistant Manager Lee Jeong-o is a set with Jeong Jiheon!*

*What if Song Kihoon quits the company? All this work will be mine!*

*Hua. I really didn’t want to do this!*

Eunjoo quickly pushed her chair away and stood up from her seat.

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

Conference room.

Kihoon opened the door and peeked his head in. “Assistant Manager.”

“Oh, Mr. Kihoon.”

Jeong-o smiled, and Jiheon’s smiling expression immediately hardened.

“Ah, Director was here too. Hello.”

Whether he didn’t know anything or was pretending not to know, Kihoon nonchalantly bowed and sat down in the conference room.

“Were you two talking?”

Jiheon answered Kihoon’s question relatively kindly. “We were talking about the Dawon Liquor commercial shoot. I was saying that Mr. Song Kihoon worked hard.”

*Personally, I wanted to snap, ‘Who are you to butt in?’ but I had to be benevolent as the head of the division.*

“No, it’s nothing. Assistant Manager told me a lot of interesting things whenever I was sleepy.”

“Still, it must have been hard to drive back and forth.”

“No, it’s nothing. Ah, I even took a nap in the middle. Where did we sleep, Assistant Manager?”

Jiheon’s eyes flashed at Kihoon’s words. In fact, Kihoon didn’t intend to provoke him; it was a truly innocent answer.

“Mr. Kihoon took a nap for about five minutes at the rest stop, and I drank coffee while getting some fresh air.”

Jeong-o hurriedly added an unnecessary explanation, feeling like she had to. Nevertheless, Jiheon’s expression didn’t soften. Jiheon suddenly asked a seemingly random question in a subtly sharp voice: “Mr. Song Kihoon, do you keep secrets well? Are you good at keeping your mouth shut?”

“Yes, I am.”

While wondering about Jiheon’s question, Kihoon answered easily without showing any other reaction. He didn’t dwell on the question for long. Kihoon’s job was to protect Jeong-o, so he bravely spoke to her. “Assistant Manager, I have something to ask you. Should I wait outside?”

“No. We’re done talking. Right, Director?”

Jiheon looked at the two of them and gestured with his hand, telling them to talk. Jeong-o was a little worried because Jiheon seemed to be sulking, but she couldn’t ignore Kihoon, who said he had something to ask. Jeong-o said to Kihoon, “Go ahead.”

“It’s about the hair loss prevention shampoo commercial. I don’t understand what the client wants. Helping existing hair grow well and sprouting hair where it doesn’t grow are different issues.”

“What did the client say?”

“Could you check the email that the AE [Account Executive] sent? But the wording is a bit harsh. You have to keep that in mind.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

While Kihoon was showing Jeong-o the laptop screen and talking about this and that, Jiheon sat still in his seat and watched the two of them quietly. Even though he was glaring at them, the two of them continued their conversation as if they were in their own world, not caring about him.

Jiheon’s fists clenched tightly.

*Is that bastard trying to keep me in check, or is he just clueless?* He began to feel a little suspicious.

*It feels like he’s challenging me.*

Jiheon tapped his fingers and counted the time. The two continued their conversation.

“By the way, the rumor that your hair grows faster if you think about lewd things a lot is a lie. If that were true, I would have been Rapunzel [a fairy tale character known for her long hair].”

“Pfft.”

“Sounds like a joke, right? It’s true.”

“Mr. Kihoon is a pure young man.”

“Well, I have to manage my image in front of Assistant Manager.”

*I can’t listen to this anymore!*

While Jiheon was clenching his fists in anger, Jeong-o’s phone vibrated.

“Hold on, it’s the head of the planning team calling. Yes, Head.”

Jeong-o answered the phone. The voice of the head of the planning team from Jeong-o’s phone was heard in the quiet conference room.

[Assistant Manager Lee Jeong-o, can you tell me one spelling?]

“Yes. Go ahead.”

Kihoon burst out laughing at the head’s voice. Jiheon, who had reached his limit, couldn’t even watch that and ended up speaking.

“Mr. Song Kihoon, be a little more careful.”

“……Yes?”

“Stop acting like a fox [trying to seduce someone].”

“……”

“Stop hitting on Assistant Manager Lee Jeong-o.”

“Director!”

Jeong-o, who had hung up the phone, was shocked and hurriedly called out to Jiheon. At the same time, the door burst open and Assistant Manager Go Eunjoo entered.

But the milk had already been spilled [the situation was already out of control].

Jeong-o, Kihoon, and Eunjoo’s complexions were as red as tomatoes from the same farm, but only the person who spilled the water had a face as calm as a lake. Jeong-o was dumbfounded by Jiheon’s shameless expression.

*Jeong Jiheon, you must be crazy.*