A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 105

105. Even a Child Has Secrets

After Jiheon left, Youngmi truly fell ill.

She never expected her son to do this—to abandon his mother for a woman.

It felt like the sky was falling.

You were my everything.

Youngmi had felt profoundly lonely throughout Jiheon’s upbringing. A husband who barely spoke a few words each year, a son who was just as taciturn, and even her husband’s son from his previous marriage, who regarded her with unkind eyes.

She felt she had lived her whole life without being able to stand tall, always trying to please the three men. She sacrificed, or at least, that’s how she perceived it.

She simply wanted her precious son to have a happy marriage. She envisioned him marrying a woman from a good family, someone decent, and living a life of luxury.

She had hoped for a simple future, living harmoniously with a daughter-in-law who was affectionate and friendly, like a friend or even a daughter. That was all. That was her wish.

That simple dream was completely shattered by Lee Jung-oh. Now, even her son, who was the treasure of her life, had turned his back on her. She was powerless to stop him as he nonchalantly declared he never wanted to see her again and left.

How did I raise you? How could you do this to me…….

Scenes from the past flashed through Youngmi’s mind: the difficult, sometimes rewarding moments of giving birth to and raising her child, the countless emotions she felt at those times. The memories of the past were piled up like mountains, but the empty future overwhelmed everything.

It felt like being abandoned in a pitch-black desert.

Jaekwang, who had rushed home as soon as he received a call from Jiheon and finished his meeting, cautiously opened the door and entered Youngmi’s bedroom.

He had scolded his son for being so harsh as to cut off his mother, but on the other hand, Jaekwang could understand his son’s perspective. His son needed to start a new family as soon as possible, and there should be no obstacles when his son starts a new family.

So, it seemed like a good idea for him to distance himself from his mother for a while. In the end, it was Jaekwang’s job to change Youngmi’s mind.

“Honey. Jiheon’s mother.”

“Don’t call me.”

“…….”

“Tell Jiheon. Tell him his mother doesn’t even want to live.”

“Is that how you should hurt your son’s heart?”

Jaekwang’s voice became cautious as his wife’s tone sharpened. They didn’t talk much, but the balance between the couple remained unbroken. It was the unspoken rule of these two who had lived as a couple for over 30 years.

“Jiheon will never truly leave you. He’ll come back someday, so don’t be too sick.”

“You didn’t see how harshly Jiheon lashed out.”

“Jiheon’s mother.”

Jaekwang gently comforted Youngmi again.

“Our granddaughter is really pretty. She looks a bit like our Jiheon, and because she looks like Jiheon, she looks like you too.”

“…….”

“I wish we could pick out clothes for you and our granddaughter, plant trees and flowers together in the garden, and put up a swing and push her all day long. I wish we could clap together as we watch her antics. Someday.”

“…….”

“Someday, let’s do that. Huh?”

Youngmi, who was lying with her back turned to Jaekwang, began to sob.

“I’m sorry for leaving you alone all this time.”

“…….”

“I was so focused on growing the company that I left you alone every day, and I didn’t care about housework. It’s all my fault.”

Huhuhu. Youngmi’s sobs grew louder.

No matter how much she cried, her son would not return.

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

Between meetings, Jung-oh was engrossed in internet searches about panic disorders, anxiety, and trauma.

It seemed like Jiheon needed psychological treatment right now.

The basis of all psychological treatment is to discover and express emotions. Jung-oh began to think about Jiheon’s emotional state.

Jiheon often seemed indifferent to everything in the world when he looked at others. Perhaps it was because he came from a family that ran a large business, so he was trained to maintain a poker face from a young age.

If it was the result of long training, there was nothing she could say, but if some part of his emotional expression was blocked because of it, she wanted to fix it.

Many memories and emotions might be dormant deep within him. Even if he couldn’t recall the memories of seven years ago, she wanted to bring out his emotions.

She wanted to teach him how to be the master of his emotions, so that he could become a person who could honestly express joy, sadness, anger, or pleasure.

While she was reading various materials, the phone rang.

“Yes. This is Lee Jung-oh from Production Team 2.”

[Assistant Manager Lee Jung-oh. Come to my office.]

It was Jiheon’s voice.

Jung-oh looked at the phone that had been abruptly disconnected after delivering only a short instruction and let out a hollow sigh.

Muttering to herself as she walked, Jung-oh entered the office, closed the door, and retorted in a sulky tone.

“If you keep summoning me like this, I might just change jobs, Director.”

“What?”

At Jung-oh’s shocking warning, one of Jiheon’s eyebrows arched sharply. His steps toward her were heavy. Jung-oh felt a chill. She could read his eyes to some extent. She had pressed some switch of his.

Jung-oh took a step back and said,

“Ah, no, just kidding.”

“Then you can’t. Who said you could?”

However, he came closer by as much as she retreated, no, twice the distance.

“I said it was a joke.”

“Why would you make such a joke? It makes my heart drop.”

No, isn’t my heart dropping more?

It didn’t take long for the gap between the two to disappear.

‘Jung Jiheon coming at her like this is so obvious.’

Although she resented the confined space, she couldn’t keep him anxious today, following yesterday.

Okay. If you’re going to do it, do it quickly.

Jung-oh’s eyelids drooped. Her lips also pouted a little. However…

Whack.

“Ugh! What are you doing!”

A headlock instead of a kiss.

As expected, Jung Jiheon was an unpredictable man. He grabbed her neck from behind and tickled her waist, causing her body to twist involuntarily.

“Ugh! Stop it! Stop it!”

She couldn’t break free no matter how much she twisted her body. It wasn’t home, but his office, so she couldn’t scream as much as she wanted. Jung-oh writhed in discomfort and ticklishness.

“Say you’re sorry. Quickly.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s no fun if you say it so easily.”

“I said it with difficulty. How hard do you think it is for me to say sorry?”

“No. You said it easily.”

“No, I didn’t. Trust me.”

“Then you can’t. You can’t do that to me.”

There seemed to be some resentment in his tone, so Jung-oh asked with suspicion.

“By any chance, are you still doing this because of what I said yesterday?”

“Yeah.”

Wow. Holding a grudge to the max.

She thought it was all resolved yesterday, but he was unexpectedly petty.

But that was also an expression of emotion. Jung-oh cooperated with Jung Jiheon’s wrestling with the heart of comforting a child.

“Swear you won’t go anywhere.”

“I swear. I won’t go anywhere.”

“What?”

“I won’t go. I said I won’t go anywhere.”

“Will you be by my side forever?”

“Yeah. Isn’t it enough if I stay?”

“Then sign here.”

“What?”

Jiheon, who was hugging Jung-oh, waddled and tapped a piece of paper on the table. It was a document whose contents were almost hidden. It seemed like he wanted her to sign in the blank space.

“Sign here. It’s a written oath that you won’t go anywhere.”

“Okay. Okay. Let go. I’ll do it.”

Only then was the restraint released. Jung-oh picked up the pen and flipped over the things covering the document.

Ah. A marriage registration form.

It was a marriage registration form with only Jiheon’s signature.

“You made such a fuss just to get me to sign this? Did you think I wouldn’t do it?”

Jiheon turned away as if avoiding answering. Jung-oh chuckled and signed the marriage registration form. Jung-oh wanted to look at it more, but Jiheon snatched it away as if he was afraid she would change her mind.

“I’m not submitting it yet.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to get witness signatures too.”

“You can get signatures from Team Leader Park Seung-gyu or our team members.”

Jung-oh argued, but again he didn’t answer. She wondered if there was another problem, and her head tilted to the side.

He said after a while.

“Let’s go together next week.”

“…….”

“Anyway, this. I wrote a draft of the complaint in advance. Read it and revise it if there’s anything to revise. Let’s get rid of this first.”

Jiheon handed over another document that was covering the marriage registration form. It was a defamation lawsuit against the BJ [Broadcast Jockey, an internet streamer]. This was also something necessary for Jung-oh, so she quietly received the document, but Jung-oh kept feeling suspicious as Jiheon seemed to have quickly changed the subject.

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

Friday, when work ended early, Jung-oh went to pick up Yena and Dobin.

“Mommy.”

“Princess Yena!”

Yena was the first to spot Jung-oh and ran over, followed by Dobin.

“Auntie. Hello!”

“Hello, Dobin. Dobin, let’s have dinner and play with Yena at Auntie’s house today. Is that okay?”

“Yes!”

She owed Jinseo a lot, and now she had a chance to repay her. Jung-oh took a taxi with the children.

Dobin, who was visiting Yena’s house for the first time, looked a little nervous. In the meantime, Yena kept touching her cell phone. Dobin stared at Yena and muttered.

“I want a cell phone too.”

“Ask your mom to buy you one.”

“I asked my mom to buy me one, but she said no.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t listen.”

“Why don’t you listen to your mom?”

“No, I do listen to my mom, but I just can’t do what she says.”

Jung-oh secretly laughed at Dobin’s excuse. Dobin continued to speak seriously.

“And you should get scolded by your mom every day. You wouldn’t be able to do what she says, like me.”

“Why do you get scolded every day?”

“My mom says it seems like I get scolded all day because of her. Because she raised me wrong.”

“If your mom raised you wrong, why do you get scolded instead of your mom?”

“I don’t know either.”

“…….”

“So, I’m forgiving my mom for what she did wrong all day long. My mom doesn’t forgive me, but I forgive my mom.”

Ah. You little cutie.

In the end, Jung-oh burst out laughing at Dobin’s serious story. She coughed out a “pooh” and tried to compose herself, but Dobin caught her. But Dobin didn’t seem to think Jung-oh was laughing.

“Auntie, this is a secret. You can’t tell my mom.”

“Okay. I understand, Dobin.”

Jung-oh held back her laughter and nodded seriously.

The taxi quickly reached the house because it wasn’t far. Yena was looking at her cell phone even as she got out of the taxi.

‘She seems to be texting her dad, but I wonder what kind of secret they’re talking about so urgently, always looking at her cell phone and grinning these days.’ But since she had warned her once, Jung-oh’s voice had no choice but to become stern.

“Lee Yena. I told you not to look at your cell phone while walking.”

Now it was punishment time. Jung-oh snatched the cell phone that Yena was holding.

“No! My cell phone.”

“I’ll give it back to you later. Not now.”

“I won’t touch it, I’ll just hang it around my neck.”

“Still no.”

At Jung-oh’s stern words, Yena pouted her lips and made a cute request.

“Mom, don’t look at my cell phone instead. Okay?”

Does she hate showing it to her mom that much?

The more you do that, the more I care.

The only numbers saved on the child’s cell phone are Jung-oh, Guksun, Jiheon, and Jinseo’s phone numbers. If the child saves other numbers, an alert will also appear to the mother.

‘She’s definitely texting with her dad.’

Jung-oh became quite absorbed in thought.

She began to wonder what kind of conversations the father and daughter were having.