A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 116

116. The Old Man Will Remember You

Jeong-o took Ji-heon’s hand and left the house.

The rough hand that had desperately clung to her in the hypnosis counseling room had been devoid of warmth, but now it had returned. Jeong-o was relieved by this, but she became worried again when he insisted on driving.

“Are you really okay to drive?”

“Of course.”

Ji-heon answered easily. He was quickly recovering his condition. Ji-heon knew very well that it was because Jeong-o was by his side.

“If I had more time, I could have recovered my energy more properly, but…”

Huh.

In the apartment parking lot, Jeong-o quickly covered Ji-heon’s mouth because there were people passing by. She had let her weakened heart run wild, and now his mouth was running off at the mouth.

“Ew!”

However, the hand quickly fell away. Ji-heon’s tongue, protruding between his lips, licked Jeong-o’s palm.

“Hey!”

Jeong-o shouted and pulled her hand away. Her face flushed red at the sticky feeling on her palm.

Ji-heon stuck out his tongue. His expression seemed more suggestive than playful. The look in his eyes as he lowered his eyelids faintly revealed a desire that could swell up again at any moment.

I wonder if I can take this man, whose mental state is rated R, directly to Yena.

Jeong-o glared at him with a resentful expression, and Ji-heon grabbed Jeong-o’s shoulder and pulled her right next to him. He was concerned about being separated from her even for a moment.

The feeling that he could be sure of his heart and have it confirmed on the bed felt as blurred as the distance that grew when he stepped off the bed. He had no idea when he would be able to overcome this anxiety. If he could, he wanted to be with her 24 hours a day.

“But I have a question.”

After getting in the car together, Jeong-o asked.

“When the doctor mentioned the pregnancy test, you said ‘no’.”

“I did?”

“Yes. The doctor described my old studio apartment in detail. He said there were various things in the studio, and if you opened the desk drawer, there was a pregnancy test. We looked at the pregnancy test together the day before your accident.”

Jeong-o repeated the situation from a few hours ago, word for word, as he didn’t seem to remember. Ji-heon’s brow furrowed as it had then.

“But you said ‘no’ while you were under hypnosis. Why is that?”

Ji-heon pondered the situation at that time. He thought he had seen something in his needle-sized field of vision, but the image did not come to mind again, as if someone had forcibly pushed the memory away.

“I don’t really know. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.”

Jeong-o waved her hand at Ji-heon’s apology.

“I’m sorry.”

She wanted to bring back his memories, but she couldn’t cause him pain because of her own desires. Now that they had met again, and he vaguely remembered her, she didn’t really need to try to remember the past anymore.

It’s okay. I can fill your empty spaces with a happy present.

“Let’s not do any more hypnosis therapy. You don’t have to.”

“…….”

“I just… I don’t want you to be anxious or have a hard time.”

He slightly raised the corners of his lips in a smile and started the car.

Arriving home, the two had dinner with Yena and Guk-soon.

The time they would spend in this house was running out. Whether it was because of the comfort the small house gave, or because of the bright energy of the members of this house, even Ji-heon, who had not visited this house many times, felt attached to it and regretted leaving.

Memories.

Memories were created.

He had been living a hollow life with nothing to remember and nothing to regret, but now he had a time that he had to remember. And thanks to that time, he came to the idea that he should live his future more properly.

He wanted to make more memories. He wanted to accumulate precious memories.

“Why is our Jeong Seo-bang [term for ‘son-in-law’ used affectionately] doing the dishes? Just leave it.”

As soon as Ji-heon rolled up his sleeves and started washing the dishes after the meal, Guk-soon rushed over. Ji-heon had taken over the sink while Guk-soon was in the bathroom.

“I’ll do it.”

“Still, how can a new groom do that?”

She still felt it was a waste to make her son-in-law work. Still, she was also impressed by Ji-heon’s actions, so Guk-soon watched quietly.

Ji-heon was trying to remove the water stains from the entrance of Yena’s water bottle. Watching him, Guk-soon eventually smiled and took the brush and water bottle that Ji-heon was holding.

Our son-in-law doesn’t know how to brush.

“You have to brush in the direction of the stain. The stain is on the horizontal lines, so brushing vertically a hundred times won’t do any good.”

Guk-soon skillfully scraped off the stain from the water bottle. Ji-heon stared blankly at the stain-free entrance of the water bottle.

After putting Yena to sleep, Jeong-o and Ji-heon went outside.

Jeong-o kept checking on Ji-heon’s condition. After coming home and spending time with Yena, Ji-heon’s face had completely recovered. He didn’t look like someone who had gone through such a difficult time a few hours ago.

But she was worried that he might be trying harder on purpose.

“Are you sure you can drive?”

As before, Ji-heon answered reliably and leisurely called out to Jeong-o.

“Jeong-o.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m going to keep getting hypnosis therapy.”

“…Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, I’ll try.”

Brush in the direction of the stain.

If there is a reaction, try in the direction where there is a reaction. Don’t avoid it. This was the life lesson Ji-heon learned while doing the dishes today.

Jeong-o’s eyes lit up at Ji-heon’s decision. It wasn’t because she was excited, but because she was touched. She was grateful that Ji-heon was making an effort to get better.

“Okay! Then I’ll contact the doctor again. Anyway, don’t overdo it. You don’t have to find your memories, and there might be other ways to treat you.”

“…….”

“You are precious, not your memories.”

“Are you telling me not to go home right now?”

A warm conversation was going on, but suddenly his eyes turned lecherous again.

Jeong-o was so dumbfounded that she flared her nostrils. Ji-heon hugged Jeong-o.

“Now, even goodbyes like this are goodbye.”

She was about to give him a word of nagging, but Jeong-o couldn’t say anything at his sweet voice.

Two days before the move. Now she would be able to live in the same house as him. Jeong-o was also as excited as a child about that fact.

* * * * * * *

After parting with Jeong-o, Ji-heon went to see the counselor while he was feeling energetic. Arriving at the meeting place, Ji-heon first asked the counselor about Kim Jin-gu.

“Have you visited the accident site?”

“Yes. The police treated it as an accidental death, so the site was quickly cleaned up.”

“Have the autopsy results come out? Was there anything strange about the body?”

“It seems there was nothing special other than a high blood alcohol level. However…”

“…….”

“They say his cell phone hasn’t been found yet.”

“He must have used that cell phone to film the video he sent me.”

Ji-heon showed the counselor the email Kim Jin-gu had sent again.

“I didn’t report this email to the police. Since the police aren’t looking for it either, there’s no need for me to step in and submit it.”

Ji-heon said to the counselor, who was carefully watching the video Kim Jin-gu had attached.

The counselor frowned as he examined the video several times.

“The vehicle number isn’t visible. It would be easy to find out if we could just see the license plate. We need to identify the vehicle by starting with the car model. The scenery in the background doesn’t seem special either, so it won’t be easy.”

“But you can still do it, right?”

“I have to try. It could take a very long time.”

“I’ll pay you any amount. Please.”

“Is there anything else that could be a hint? Anyone you can think of.”

At the counselor’s question, Ji-heon hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Kim Jin-gu threatened Chae Eun-bi, a witness to the accident seven years ago. I told you that Chae Eun-bi has an older brother.”

“Yes. Lawyer Chae Eun-yeop.”

The counselor answered immediately. The counselor was also aware of this through his investigation.

“Chae Eun-yeop is ambitious and doesn’t care about anything to achieve his goals. I can’t rashly suspect him, but the people who were tracking Kim Jin-gu may have been hired by Chae Eun-yeop.”

“I should look into that.”

The counselor nodded.

* * * * * * *

After a week of construction, wallpapering, move-in cleaning, and furniture delivery, finally Sunday arrived. It was the day Jeong-o’s family was moving.

Jeong-o woke up with a stiff body. She had been pushed off the pillow and had fallen asleep with her neck bent awkwardly. She could guess how much Yena had kicked during the night.

Yena, I think you’re going to be a soccer player instead of a Go player [board game similar to chess]. What should I do?

Jeong-o laid Yena down properly and left the room. Her neck was stiff, so she had to hold the back of her neck and drink water.

How will Yena sleep now? Will I keep sleeping with her?

‘I don’t think Jeong Ji-heon will let that happen.’

Jeong-o and Ji-heon had decorated Yena’s bedroom. They wanted to surprise her after the move, so they hadn’t shown Yena the room yet. Of course, they had never talked about sleeping arrangements with Yena.

Would they be able to persuade Yena to use the room alone? That would be today’s task.

“What’s wrong? Did you sleep wrong?”

Guk-soon, who had woken up earlier than Jeong-o, had already cleaned up the room and came out to the living room, asked. Guk-soon quickly checked her daughter’s condition.

“Yeah. Yena slept roughly.”

“You’re as violent as you were when you were little.”

“Mom, don’t tell Yena’s dad about that. Okay?”

Ji-heon was discovering Jeong-o’s weaknesses and was learning the fun of teasing her. Jeong-o was afraid that he would tease her a lot again if he found out about this secret, so she firmly instructed her mother.

Beep beep beep beep.

As soon as she gave the instructions, the front door opened and Ji-heon came in.

“Mother, did you sleep well? What’s wrong with Jeong-o?”

Ji-heon also noticed Jeong-o’s crooked head and asked immediately.

“I slept wrong…”

“Then rest in my car. Don’t try to help with the move.”

Ji-heon provided a solution to Jeong-o’s confession.

While the movers were moving the luggage, Jeong-o and Yena spent time in Ji-heon’s car, and Guk-soon and Ji-heon helped the workers with the remaining tasks. Jeong-o and Guk-soon had cleaned up neatly the day before, so the luggage was quickly removed.

While waiting for Guk-soon and Ji-heon, someone knocked on the car window.

“Oh? Mister!”

Yena shouted first. It was Kwon Bae-il.

Jeong-o and Yena opened the car door and went outside.

“Yena. Hello.”

“Hello, Mister.”

“You’re moving today. But are you uncomfortable somewhere?”

Bae-il asked kindly, seeing that Jeong-o’s movements looked uncomfortable.

“No. I just slept wrong.”

When Jeong-o answered, Yena laughed next to her. In the meantime, Bae-il went into the house and quickly came out. Bae-il was holding a paper bag.

Bae-il handed the paper bag to Jeong-o. Inside were a Go board, Go stones, and coin-sized pain relief patches.

“These are coin-sized pain relief patches. They’re effective when you have a stiff neck. You’ll be stiff later after the move, so it would be good for your family to put them on too.”

“Oh, no, you shouldn’t have…”

Jeong-o was flustered by the unexpected gift and couldn’t even give a proper thank you. Bae-il didn’t wait for Jeong-o’s reaction and said to Yena.

“Yena. This is a gift from the old man.”

“A Go board?”

“Yes. This isn’t an ordinary Go board, it’s a Go board signed by the professional Go player who has won the most championships in Korea.”

Jeong-o was even more surprised to hear Bae-il’s explanation.

“No, you shouldn’t give me such a precious thing. No. It’s okay.”

“I don’t play Go anymore. Yena likes Go, so I think it would be rewarding to give it to Yena.”

“No, but…”

“Have a good move. Stay healthy.”

While Jeong-o was fidgeting, Yena received the paper bag.

“Old man, but this is heavy.”

“Should the old man load it for you?”

“Yes!”

Bae-il put the paper bag inside the moving truck. Yena shouted loudly.

“Thank you!”

“Yena, you’ll be in elementary school next year, right?”

“Yes!”

“Okay. Go to school well, and stay healthy and strong.”

“Yes!”

Bae-il stroked Yena’s head. It was a warm touch.

“Lee Yena. Your name will change now.”

Bae-il said in a kind voice to Yena, who tilted her head, unable to understand Bae-il’s words.

“Even if your name changes, the old man will remember you for a long, long time.”