A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 124

124. To the Police Station

12 PM. Noon.

Except for when they were together, Jiheon always sent Jeong-o a text message around noon. It got to the point where Jeong-o would think, ‘Ah, it’s 12 o’clock,’ right as his phone vibrated.

It had been a while since he’d received a text from Jiheon, which was unusual.

Jeong-o was starting to worry about Yena and Jiheon.

‘Should I have gone with them?’

No. It would be too noticeable if both of us were gone. It’s just a baduk [Go, a strategy board game] tournament.

Jeong-o shook his head, thinking his judgment was correct, then sighed deeply.

‘When we announce our marriage in the future…….’

Jiheon wanted to have a wedding and go on a honeymoon. But wouldn’t it be too much of a blow for two people from the same division to be away for several days?

‘Should I move to another division?’

The worries that started with Yena’s baduk tournament drifted far away. Deputy Go Eun-ju asked Jeong-o, who was deep in thought.

“What are you doing? Shouldn’t you go to lunch?”

“I was just thinking about something.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“It’s okay to formalize our marriage.”

Eun-ju’s expression turned sour, thinking it was about work. Eun-ju let out a soulless exclamation.

“Oh. That’s going to be a mess.”

“That’s right. I just need to decide whether to drop the bomb all at once, or wait until everyone who needs to know knows, and then formalize it when the opportunity arises, but I can’t make a decision.”

“Why are you worrying about that?”

Eun-ju reacted as if there was no need to worry.

“If you have three men next to you, the director will announce it on his own.”

“…….”

“Just watch the director blow it up, and then you can scold him after it happens. I think you can milk that for about 20 years?”

Jeong-o laughed at Eun-ju’s calculating yet witty solution.

Go Eun-ju and Jeong Jiheon. They didn’t particularly like each other, but Jeong-o got along well with Eun-ju, perhaps because their personalities were similar. Go Eun-ju and Jeong Jiheon were quite similar in that they were sometimes impulsive and burst like cider [a Korean expression for being refreshing and straightforward].

‘I guess I get along well with people like this.’

Jeong-o said as he followed Eun-ju into the elevator.

“Deputy Go, did you know that you and Jeong Jiheon have similar personalities?”

“Deputy Lee, are you trying to start a fight with me right now?”

As expected, Eun-ju was furious at Jeong-o’s words.

“No. It’s a good thing. I’m saying that your quick judgment and rational side are similar. That’s why I like Deputy Go.”

“I’m not happy with that confession at all. And what do you mean the director is rational? How can someone be so emotional? Plus, she’s strong-willed and picky.”

Go Eun-ju, who had listed several undeniable flaws of Director Jeong Jiheon, stopped talking. After all, Jeong Jiheon and Lee Jeong-o were married, and it didn’t seem right for her to point out her husband’s flaws to his wife.

“But still. Just because you’re close to the director doesn’t mean I’ll hate her more, so don’t worry too much.”

Eun-ju quickly cleaned up the slander. Jeong-o secretly laughed, thinking they were similar.

As they got out of the elevator and walked, his phone vibrated. He thought it was Jiheon’s call and quickly checked, but it was unexpectedly Yena.

Jeong-o answered the phone with a bright expression.

“Princess Yena! Is the tournament over?”

However, Jeong-o’s expression darkened along with Yena’s voice.

[Mom. I saw that lady. The lady who took Yena to a strange place.]

The child was surprised, but she delivered the news quite smartly. Thanks to her, Jeong-o was able to quickly understand what Yena was talking about.

“Where?”

[Here at the tournament.]

“Inside the tournament venue?”

[Yes.]

“Lee Yena.”

[Yes.]

“You said it’s a tournament venue, right? There are many people around, right?”

[Yes.]

“Don’t be nervous. It’s okay.”

First, he reassured the child. He also felt his heart pounding, but he thought he should keep his mind straight.

The reason the child contacted him was probably because Jiheon was out of sight. Even though Jiheon would likely chase after her soon, they might lose the woman in the meantime. He had to protect the child and catch the woman.

“Take a picture. And shout!”

Take a picture. Shout. If she could do even one of those things properly, they could catch the culprit.

Yena, you even called your mom just now. So you can do it!

“Mom! Shout it out!”

A desperate plea. The call was cut off without a response.

Haa, haa, haa.

Jeong-o was as breathless as if he had sprinted a 100-meter race.

“What’s wrong?”

Eun-ju asked, surprised, seeing Jeong-o clutching his chest and breathing roughly as soon as he hung up the phone.

“Yena. Yena. Yena!”

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

“……”

“Let’s go quickly. Quickly!”

Eun-ju, guessing the situation from the repetition of ‘Yena,’ immediately hailed a taxi. The taxi stopped right in front of them. Eun-ju opened the door and said,

“Go quickly and sort it out.”

“Thank you, Assistant Manager Go. I’ll be back.”

Jeong-o was sincerely grateful for Eun-ju’s quick action and got into the car.

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

As soon as Yena raised her hand as if declaring her withdrawal [referring to ending her match], Jiheon quickly got up from his seat and ran towards the entrance of the main hall.

He had to go quite a way around to reach the unlocked entrance. When he finally found the open entrance and stepped inside, he bumped into someone with a thud. It was a woman wearing an ivory-colored outfit.

“I’m sorry……”

In the meantime, a child’s voice was heard from inside the hall.

“Mommy!”

It was definitely Yena’s voice. Jiheon apologized to the woman but rushed inside. A male supervisor quickly approached, trying to stop him as if he shouldn’t be in there, but Jiheon easily brushed him aside.

He could see Yena standing near the spot Jiheon had been watching from all along.

The other children also stopped their matches and stared at Yena.

“Yena!”

“Daddy!”

Jiheon quickly ran and picked up Yena.

“Yena, were you very scared?”

“Dad, over there!”

He tried to comfort the child, but as soon as she was in her father’s arms, she pointed towards the entrance.

“The lady who went out there is the lady who took me. The lady who took me to a strange place in front of the academy!”

Jiheon turned back, startled.

So, the woman he brushed shoulders with earlier was…?

“Wait here for a moment.”

Jiheon put Yena down and quickly ran outside. The woman was gone. He went outside the stadium, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Returning to Yena, Jiheon took her to the information desk.

“Hello. Could I get some information about the supervisor who just went out the entrance?”

The chief supervisor, who was nearby, approached.

“What’s this about?”

The chief supervisor seemed to think it was quite a fuss, given Yena’s loud voice and Jiheon’s actions of running in and out of the hall.

“How can I find out about the supervisors in charge of today’s event? There’s a suspicious person among the supervisors.”

“What kind of suspicious person are you talking about?”

“My daughter was almost kidnapped once. And the supervisor I saw today looks like the woman who tried to take her then.”

“You’re saying your child said that?”

The supervisor narrowed his eyes with a dubious expression and looked at Yena, asking,

“Daddy, Yena took a picture.”

Yena opened the photo album on her phone and showed the picture she had taken. The figure was very small, but it was a recognizable photo.

“This is the person who just left the hall. There are many cameras around, so it would be easier to identify her if you could let me see the CCTV [Closed-Circuit Television] recordings. Or at least a list of people who have left……”

“It’s difficult right now because the event is in progress. If you visit again after the competition, we can assist you.”

The chief supervisor cut off Jiheon’s words.

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

A taxi arrived in front of the competition venue. At noon, Jeong-o reunited with Jiheon, who was just leaving the venue.

“Mommy!”

“Yena!”

Yena ran over. Jeong-o hugged Yena tightly.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Yes. Mommy, but I couldn’t catch that lady.”

Jeong-o looked at Jiheon, who explained what had happened at the venue.

“According to Yena, it was a woman who was at the venue as a supervisor. I think I brushed past her too.”

“Brushed past?”

“She was the woman who was leaving the venue as I was entering.”

“……”

“The woman abandoned her supervising duties at the venue. I wanted to know at least the list of absentees, so I explained the situation to the supervisor, but he told me to come back after the competition. But I’m not sure if they’ll cooperate. I did get the contact information of the chief supervisor, though.”

“Mommy, Yena took a picture.”

Yena interjected as Jiheon’s explanation continued. Yena showed her mom the picture she had taken with quick wit.

Even though she had firmly told her to take a picture, her heart stung when she actually saw the picture the child had taken. Thinking about how scared the child must have been, she found it even more amazing that she had captured that moment.

“Let’s go to the police station with this first. If we tell the police, they’ll take charge of the investigation. Anyway, the woman in this picture looks similar to the video we received before.”

Jeong-o, Jiheon, and Yena headed to the police station together. Jeong-o called Bae-il as they went. She had exchanged text messages with Bae-il before, so she knew his personal phone number.

Bae-il answered the phone quickly.

“Detective, hello. This is Yena’s mom, Lee Jeong-o.”

“[Yes, hello.]”

A polite voice was heard from the other end of the receiver. His response was somewhat slow.

“Actually, it’s about the attempted kidnapping of Yena before.”

When Jeong-o brought up the topic, Bae-il’s reaction became even slower than before.

“[Yes, please speak.]”

“Today, Yena went to a Go [a strategic board game] competition and said she saw that woman. She even took a picture. I thought it would be easier to identify her with the help of the police, so I contacted you.”

“[Then, I would like you to come to the police station. Is that possible for you?]”

“Yes, I’m on my way now.”

“[Okay. Come to the Criminal Investigation Division, specifically the Living Crime Investigation Team. How long will it take you to get here?]”

“I’ve just left, so it will take about 20 minutes.”

“[Okay. I understand.]”

After Jeong-o hung up the phone, Jiheon asked.

“The police officer who gave you the Go board and the pain relief patch as a gift?”

“Yes.”

“What’s his name?”

“Kwon Bae-il. Detective Kwon Bae-il.”

The three arrived at the police station exactly 20 minutes later, as they had told Bae-il. Bae-il was standing in front of the police station building.

“Detective, you were waiting outside.”

Jeong-o, who got out of the car, greeted Bae-il.

At Jeong-o’s greeting, Jiheon also turned his gaze to Bae-il. He saw a well-built man walking over. He had imagined a burly man because he was a police officer, but instead, he was a very handsome and refined man.

It was surprising and unexpected, but Jiheon felt a strange sense of familiarity, which made his head feel heavy.

Soon, the four of them stood face to face.

“Hello, Yena.”

“Hello, Mister.”

Bae-il greeted Yena first.

After Yena greeted him, Jiheon also extended his hand to Bae-il.

“Hello. I’m Yena’s dad, Jeong Jiheon. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Bae-il stared silently at Jiheon’s outstretched hand before slowly taking it.

“……Kwon Bae-il.”