A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 167

The news of Yena’s victory at the Baduk [Go] tournament spread like wildfire in a single day. The source wasn’t a news article, though.

“Chairman Hwang, how are you? No, not about work. Just calling to check in. I heard your son got into K University? Congratulations. Yes, that’s right. Jiheon went there too. So, he’ll be Jiheon’s junior. Jiheon is doing well. Actually, yesterday, Jiheon’s daughter, my granddaughter, won first place in the national Baduk tournament. A seven-year-old beat all the first, second, and third graders to take first place.”

The door to Chairman Jeong Jae-gwang’s office at Saeryun Group, which was usually closed, was wide open. The employees in the secretary’s office chuckled and sighed at Jae-gwang’s booming voice carrying through the open door.

“Executive Director Choi, I heard you had a cough the other day. Are you feeling alright? Yes, always be careful. I couldn’t sleep well last night either. Oh, it’s nothing much, you know my granddaughter? My granddaughter won first place in the national Baduk tournament. A little seven-year-old beat all the older kids and won a gold medal. She’s so bright already that I’m worried she’ll become too famous.”

Jae-gwang rarely contacted acquaintances and executives first, maybe once or twice a year, but today he called twenty people. Whether he started with work, family, or health, the conversation invariably ended with his granddaughter.

Jiheon, who visited the group headquarters for regular business, peeked into the chairman’s office and was caught by Jae-gwang. Jae-gwang pulled Jiheon over, sat him down in front of him, and continued his call.

“Director Jo, did you see the *J Daily* this morning? Then you must have seen the article about my granddaughter winning first place in the Baduk tournament. Oh, congratulations are nothing. She’s so smart that I’m worried whether I should hand over the business or support her to become a Baduk player…”

Seeing his father smiling from ear to ear while saying he was worried, Jiheon couldn’t help but smile too.

After finishing the call, Jae-gwang looked at Jiheon and asked,

“Doesn’t our Yena need anything? Grandpa should give her a gift to commemorate her first-place win.”

“She’d probably like snacks or candy.”

“That’s right! I should make snacks in the shape of a gold medal!”

Jae-gwang’s eyes lit up as he grabbed a pen and paper. Thanks to his granddaughter, he felt inspired for the first time in a while. He felt as excited as he did 20 years ago when he was directly involved in snack development.

Jiheon cautiously said to the excited Jae-gwang,

“Father, you shouldn’t brag too much. And Yena being a genius is supposed to be a secret.”

“Why? Why is that?”

“Jeong-o says the child shouldn’t become arrogant, so she wants to keep it a secret.”

“But won’t Yena find out someday?”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

The executive secretary, who was nearby, had to bite his lip to avoid laughing at the serious and profound concerns of the father and son.

Although he lightly cautioned his father, Jiheon’s boasting about his daughter was no different.

The day before, Seung-gyu had visited Jiheon’s house to congratulate him with good intentions, but he was exhausted by his friend’s bragging. Today, he visited Jiheon’s office for work and got caught again.

Jiheon sat his friend next to him and, without mentioning any important business, immediately presented a video of Yena’s final match.

“Do you want to watch Yena play?”

“No.”

“Here. Watch.”

*I clearly said I didn’t want to.*

Seung-gyu stared at the video with blurry eyes.

“Look. She’s really good, right?”

“I can’t see well.”

“You can just look at her hands. Look at the decisive movement of her hands. Isn’t it amazing?”

*You’re more amazing in my eyes.*

*Why has my dignified friend changed so much?*

“Friend. Can I give you some advice as your precious friend?”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

“You can’t do this anywhere else. Especially not to other employees.”

“…….”

“It’s okay to show me this because I’m your friend and I know Yena well, but you can’t force employees to watch and demand their impressions.”

“I don’t do that. I know.”

“…….”

“I’m showing you because you’re my precious friend.”

*Ugh. He’s such a fox, isn’t he?*

Seung-gyu, who felt his heart flutter every time Jiheon used the expression ‘precious friend,’ let out a groan-like sigh and made a sad face. Regardless of Seung-gyu’s reaction, Jiheon repeatedly pushed the phone screen closer.

“Here, look at this. Didn’t you see it well? I’ll play it slowly at 0.5x speed. Watch it properly.”

*Watching it again at 1.5x speed is already tough, but making me watch it at 0.5x speed, friend…*

“I see. Looking at it properly, it really is a very decisive move…”

Even so, Seung-gyu generously tolerated Jiheon’s boasting about his daughter.

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

Jeong-o, who had been very excited yesterday, was now a little calmer. There was a good reason for that. Jeong-o had colleagues who rejoiced with her.

Even Deputy Go Eun-ju showed her joy and congratulated her.

“Yena really has everything. A brilliant mind, a pretty face, an angelic mother, and… just a rich dad.”

Eun-ju didn’t know what adjective to attach to Jiheon, so she thought for a long time before finally finishing her sentence. It was sincere, but she didn’t want to reveal that she liked Director Jeong Jiheon, so she quickly continued.

“Is Yena a perfect child? What can’t she do?”

Jeong-o answered Eun-ju’s question.

“She can’t draw.”

“You’re too greedy. That’s how all seven-year-olds are. How bad can she be at drawing?”

“She takes after her father.”

“Oh dear. What should we do? This is a real problem.”

If Jeong-o hadn’t been next to her, she would have grumbled and gossiped, saying, ‘Director Jeong Jiheon has nothing to pass on to his daughter, so he passes on something like that,’ but because of the situation, Eun-ju swallowed her slander.

“How can a seven-year-old win first place? The Baduk site bulletin board is buzzing,” said Deputy Park Young-gwang, who always kept an eye on the Baduk site bulletin board, with amazement. Gi-hoon also visited the Baduk site bulletin board that Young-gwang had mentioned and clicked on a few posts.

“Oh? But what should we do? It’s meaningless that the director blocked the interview photos. There seems to be personal filming footage. It’s a video of Yena’s match taken from afar.”

At those words, Jeong-o rushed to Gi-hoon’s seat. There really was a video when she clicked on a post on the bulletin board. Yena’s face was blurry because it was filmed from afar, but she could still be recognized.

While Jeong-o was looking at the bulletin board to see if there were any other videos, Deputy Go Eun-ju called her this time.

“Oh… Deputy. You should look at this too.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“An article has been posted saying that Yena’s father is Director Jeong Jiheon.”

Jeong-o went straight to her side. An article was displayed prominently on Go Eun-ju’s PC screen.

「

Jeong Yena (7), the winner of the lower grades division of the 30th National Children’s Baduk Tournament held at the Olympic Handball Stadium last Thursday, is a hot topic.

It is unprecedented for a six-year-old preschooler to win the National Children’s Baduk Tournament, which is held for elementary school students, and the Baduk world is buzzing.

Meanwhile, Jeong Yena’s father is Jeong Jiheon, the second son of Saeryun Group Chairman Jeong Jae-gwang, and it is known that he visited the stadium with his wife, Ms. Lee, to watch Jeong Yena’s match.

Jeong Jiheon and Ms. Lee registered their marriage this July but have not yet held a wedding ceremony.」

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

A leisurely evening.

Do-bin, who was playing at Yena’s house, slowly read the news article. It was an article about Yena’s Baduk tournament that Jiheon had printed out in large print this morning.

After reading it several times, Do-bin pointed to a line in the news article and said to Yena.

“But you did this a little wrong.”

“Why?”

“How can you say you promised to become a police officer with *a* friend? You should say you promised to become a police officer with your friend Park Do-bin.”

“Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. But you have to say my name next time. Okay?”

Yena nodded firmly at Do-bin’s request. Despite Yena’s firm promise, Do-bin tilted his head. There was still a question.

“But you might become a Baduk player instead of a police officer.”

“I don’t know yet. Mom said I don’t have to decide now.”

Do-bin rolled his eyes as if he was thinking hard, then nodded. It would be nice to become a police officer with Yena, but it didn’t seem necessary. Because what they are good at will be different.

Yena cautiously asked.

“Is it okay if I become a Baduk player instead of a police officer?”

“Yeah. It’s okay. Because I’ll become a police officer and protect you.”

Sitting quietly in the kitchen, Jeong-o listened to the children’s friendly conversation and smiled softly. Her nose tingled. Do-bin’s grateful words that he would protect Yena were overwhelming.

*Even that young child is talking so wonderfully about protecting my daughter.*

“Mom, I think I was only thinking about myself again.”

Jeong-o said to Guk-soon, who was sitting next to her.

“I was going to have a second child, recover from childbirth, lose weight, and then have a wedding. But in the meantime, our Yena will continue to grow.”

She hadn’t thought about Yena because she wanted to wear a wedding dress beautifully. She came to her senses only after checking the crude news article.

In order to raise Yena like an ordinary child, there are special things that should not be revealed: the family history of finding her father after 7 years and changing her last name, and the story of her parents belatedly registering their marriage.

The same goes for the wedding. There is no need for Yena, who will be an elementary school student next year, to receive questions from her newly made friends such as, ‘Why are your mom and dad having a wedding now?’

*I hope Yena is special just by being Yena. I hope the desperate stories of her mom and dad don’t cast a shadow on Yena’s life.*

“Mom. I think it would be good to have a wedding this year.”

Jeong-o, who had made up her mind, said to Guk-soon.

Jae-gwang wanted the two to have a wedding quickly, but Guk-soon opposed it. She had said the words that Jeong-o had difficulty saying to her parents-in-law on her behalf.

“My mom told my father and mother with difficulty, but I’m sorry for changing my mind like this.”

“Don’t worry about things like that. It’s not a difficult task.”

Guk-soon answered as if it were nothing, as always.

This time again, she quickly understood Jeong-o’s concerns. Guk-soon could understand her daughter’s desire to wear a wedding dress beautifully and her current feelings of giving up her desire for her child.

“I can say those words as much as you want. Even if you change your mind twelve times, Mom can speak for you.”

*Daughter, you protect your daughter.*

*I have to protect my daughter.*

*We can live like that, right?*

Guk-soon’s light answer lightened Jeong-o’s worries.

“Yeah. I have to tell Jiheon when he comes.”

Shortly after, Yena, who was playing with Do-bin, ran to Jeong-o.

“Mom, I want to go to art school.”

“Really? You want to go to Baduk school and art school?”

“Yes!”

“Why do you suddenly want to go to art school?”

“Because I want to draw well.”

“Do you want to draw better than you do now?”

“Yes. If I do well, I think Dad can do well too. Because Dad is like me!”

Jeong-o’s lips curved into a smile at Yena’s pure answer.

Changing minds help each other grow.