A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 117

117. A Complete Family

Eun-bi woke up late. Her mild fever wasn’t getting any better.

‘I should go to the pharmacy, change, and then head to the salon.’

She had a blind date scheduled for the evening. It was with the man she had briefly encountered at Eun-yeop’s office a while ago.

He was forty years old, a self-made man with assets worth hundreds of billions [of Korean won, roughly equivalent to hundreds of millions of US dollars]. Among the people Eun-yeop introduced, he was the youngest and had the best qualifications. Most importantly, it was his first marriage. Aside from the fleeting glimpse she had of his face, he seemed like a decent person.

She couldn’t just stubbornly refuse. He might be a good person. The people her brother introduced were, as he said, people she wouldn’t be able to meet again even if she wanted to.

It would be nice to meet a man who could love her completely, even if he was older, and live a life filled with love. If he was incredibly wealthy, it would help her family, and she could enjoy wealth for the rest of her life.

Eun-bi left the house, pondering what to wear today.

On her way to the pharmacy, she glanced at her reflection in the shiny glass windows of the shops she passed. She had felt like she was gaining weight for a while, but after Deputy Jo Yu-ri’s comment, she had lost a lot.

Since she hadn’t been eating much, she naturally lost weight. But her gaunt face looked ghastly.

‘I should eat something.’

Eun-bi decided to buy something to eat on her way back from the pharmacy. The large steamed dumplings at the dumpling shop next to the pharmacy looked appetizing. They even made her mouth water. It was a food she had never found appealing before, so Eun-bi was a little taken aback.

And this bewildering feeling touched upon a memory from the past. It had happened once before, seven years ago. A past she didn’t want to remember weighed heavily on her heart.

‘Could it be…’

Tears welled up even before she opened the pharmacy door, even before confirming the truth.

That day, which came without fail once a month, hadn’t come for some reason. Since her period wasn’t regular, she had thought it was just delayed due to stress, but when she thought about it, it had been almost two months.

Come to think of it, she had been feeling nauseous as if she had been drinking tea on an empty stomach, and she had been feeling sleepy.

“Welcome. What’s bothering you?” the pharmacist asked kindly. Eun-bi cautiously requested,

“One… no, two pregnancy tests, please. And some headache medicine too.”

The pharmacist handed over the pregnancy tests and headache medicine as Eun-bi requested, and accepted the card she handed over.

“Take the medicine after meals. On an empty stomach…”

“Thank you for your trouble.”

Before the pharmacist, who had finished calculating the payment with the card, could finish her words of advice, Eun-bi snatched the card and left the pharmacy.

That man. Kwon Bae-il.

The man had been meticulously careful with contraception every time. He was so obsessive about it that Eun-bi had even frowned.

So it couldn’t be pregnancy, she kept repeating. But somehow, a sudden sense of unease washed over her. Thinking back, it was the same feeling she had seven years ago.

Rushing back home, Eun-bi ran to the bathroom. With trembling hands, she tore open the packaging of the pregnancy test and tried it out. The waiting time felt like an eternity. And then…

Two red lines appeared. Two undeniable red lines.

With a face filled with panic, Eun-bi tore open the packaging of the remaining one. In case her testing method was wrong, she slowly read the instructions carefully before trying the test. And a few minutes later, she used the test again with great care.

Again, there were two clear lines.

“Huh.”

Tears welled up and nausea surged.

* * * * * *

After moving all the moving boxes, Ji-heon, who got in the car with Guk-soon, asked Jeong-oh. Jeong-oh’s head, which had been awkwardly tilted, was now straight.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah. I put on a patch. Should I give you one too?”

Jeong-oh answered and held out a coin-sized patch.

“It’s pretty effective. Put it on if you feel stiff.”

“Dad, the police officer gave it to us.”

Ye-na chimed in to Jeong-oh’s words.

“Police officer?”

Ji-heon’s eyes narrowed. Guk-soon clapped her hands as if she had just remembered.

“Oh, I didn’t say goodbye to that young police officer. I wanted to pack some side dishes for him before moving.”

“Young man?”

Ji-heon mumbled quietly at Guk-soon’s following words. The word ‘young man’ was stuck in his head.

Jeong-oh swallowed dryly.

‘Jeong Ji-heon, get a grip. Are you going to end up jealous in front of your mother-in-law? Over the police officer next door?’

“He’s just a police officer who lives next door. The police officer who took Ye-na to the academy the day she almost got kidnapped.”

Jeong-oh smoothed things over. At the words that he was a grateful police officer who found our Ye-na, Ji-heon no longer showed a jealous look and turned his head to grab the steering wheel.

The distance wasn’t far, so they arrived at the new house quickly.

“Wow! It’s the house! Hooray!”

Ye-na shouted as she entered the neatly organized house.

“I wonder where our Ye-na’s room is? Guess.”

“I know exactly. Should I tell you?”

Ye-na answered confidently to Jeong-oh’s question.

“This room! It’s here!”

Ye-na stood in front of the second room in the hallway and slapped the door.

“This door is pink. Pink that Ye-na likes. And do you see the heart here? A heart that Ye-na likes.”

Ye-na’s room was decorated to Ye-na’s taste from the door. It was a room that Ji-heon and Jeong-oh made by putting their heads together with the will to give Ye-na everything they wanted to give her.

“That’s right. It’s here. Shall we go in?”

Jeong-oh took Ye-na’s hand. Ye-na opened the door.

And the pink world unfolded.

A pretty desk and a princess bed, and the walls were filled with toys, dolls, and fairy tales.

“Wow.”

Ye-na couldn’t close her mouth after uttering an exclamation. The dazed tremor was evident in her wide eyes.

“Mom, is this Ye-na’s room?”

“Of course. It’s Ye-na’s room.”

At Jeong-oh’s firm answer, Ye-na jumped and went to the toy organizer. The toy that Ye-na had been eyeing after seeing it on TV commercials was also in it.

Ye-na hugged the toy and jumped again. It felt like she could hear her heart jumping in Ye-na’s chest.

Jeong-oh asked.

“Do you like it? Do you like it?”

“Yeah! I like it so much!”

Ye-na, who had stopped jumping, put down the toy and sat down at the desk. Ye-na, who was wiggling her butt on the chair with a swivel, turned around once and answered again.

“I like it more than Ye-na’s birthday!”

But gradually her face contorted. Ugh. Soon, thick tears fell from Ye-na’s clear eyes.

The child was crying, but she was so lovely that a smile hung on her lips. Jeong-oh approached Ye-na and hugged her.

“Why are you crying?”

“This is a real princess room.”

That’s because our Ye-na is a real princess.

“Isn’t our Ye-na a princess too?”

“I’m only a princess to Mom. Ugh.”

“No. Our Ye-na is a princess to everyone.”

She knew for the first time that tears come out even when she is happy.

Jeong-oh gently patted the child. Ji-heon smiled contentedly behind her.

Jeong-oh’s luggage and Ye-na’s luggage went into their respective rooms separately.

Of all the rooms in the house, Guk-soon’s room was the largest. The room with a bathroom had a desk, an ondol bed [a Korean heated floor system], a massage chair, and a wall-mounted TV that was raised high so that she could watch it while sitting in the massage chair.

Guk-soon sat quietly on the bed and groped the end of the bed. In the meantime, there was a knock and Ji-heon came in.

“Mother. Do you like the room?”

“Of course. I like it a lot.”

“…”

“I don’t know if I deserve this luxury. It’s so good that I feel burdened.”

Ji-heon knelt down on one knee in front of Guk-soon, who was sitting on the bed and smiling awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

“Mother, from now on, I will accept everything you do for me with a happy heart without any burden. Whether it’s food, gifts, or anything else. Because I like doing it.”

“…”

“So, Mother, don’t feel burdened by what I like to do.”

Now we are unburdened. Family.

Guk-soon raised her head and looked into the eyes of her son-in-law for the first time. She saw the same color as Ye-na.

Now a complete family. A son-in-law to be cherished like a son.

“Okay. I’ll think so, so if there’s anything our Jeong Seo-bang [term of endearment for son-in-law] wants or is upset about, tell me right away.”

“Yes. I will. Mother, you have to watch the kitchen now. Because the tableware and kitchen utensils will be coming in.”

“Oh, I have to. I know. I know.”

Guk-soon quickly got up from her seat. Ji-heon opened the door first and went outside. Guk-soon felt that her son-in-law’s back was reliable.

The moving boxes were being organized one by one. As the sun began to set, Seung-gyu’s family came to visit.

Today, as soon as Do-bin opened the front door, he shouted in a loud voice.

“Ye-naaaaaaaa!”

“Park Do-bin!”

Ye-na also ran.

“I got a room! Come quickly. Quickly!”

Ye-na took Do-bin’s hand and ran into her room. Do-yoon followed closely behind.

“Wow! Is this heaven?”

Do-bin exclaimed in an admiring voice as he entered the room.

While they were about to call a lighting technician because there was something wrong with one of the lights, Seung-gyu called. When Ji-heon told Seung-gyu about the lights, he said to leave it to him and came over. With all his family.

“Welcome.”

“Wow. It’s even prettier when it’s decorated. Nice house.”

“Excuse me. I’m sorry for coming to visit when you’re busy moving in today.”

Seung-gyu and Jin-seo also greeted Ji-heon’s welcome.

“No. You came at the right time. I was about to order jajangmyeon [black bean noodles], so please recommend a Chinese restaurant in this neighborhood.”

Jeong-oh also came out to the front door and welcomed Seung-gyu and Jin-seo. In Ye-na’s room, the children’s laughter could be heard. The three children were jumping on the bed with all their might. The bed looked like it was going to break as soon as they bought it.

“Oh, Park Do-bin! I told you not to jump on the bed!”

Jin-seo, who was in guest mode, quickly returned to mom mode and scolded Do-bin.

“That’s Mom’s bed. This is Ye-na’s bed?”

“It’s even worse to jump on Ye-na’s bed.”

“Ye-na said it’s okay to jump.”

“It’s okay to jump here.”

Ye-na seconded Do-bin’s words.

“Do-bin. Jump a lot in my room and go.”

“Okay!”

At Ye-na’s permission, Do-bin jumped even more vigorously. It seemed like he had reached a state of ecstasy, jumping to jump.

Jin-seo sighed deeply.

“It’s okay. The bed is sturdy. Just don’t get hurt.”

Jeong-oh said.

While Seung-gyu and Ji-heon were fixing the lights, and Jeong-oh and Guk-soon were finishing up the kitchen, Jin-seo supervised the children.

Soon, jajangmyeon arrived from the restaurant that Jin-seo recommended. Everyone gathered around the spacious dining table to eat jajangmyeon, and while the children were playing a little more, the world became completely dark.

“Let’s go now. Park Do-bin.”

Seung-gyu called Do-bin while putting on Do-yoon’s shoes. Do-bin lay down in Ye-na’s room as if he was sad.

“Ah. I want to live here!”

“Then Do-bin has to call the auntie mom?”

When Jeong-oh joked, Do-bin retorted.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“Our mom said. If the moms are the same, we can’t get married.”

Ji-heon’s eyes widened at Do-bin’s answer.

“Do-bin, Dad is calling you. You have to go home quickly.”

“But I want to play more.”

Do-bin mumbled, oblivious to Ji-heon’s advice.

Ji-heon gritted his teeth and smiled.

“Do-bin, you have to listen to your uncle?”

His lips were drawn into a long curve, but his eyes were ferocious.