A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 120

Don’t leave me.

“Honey.”

I have to make her hear these words.

His expression showed determination, but that wasn’t all. His eyes seemed ready to devour her if she just called him “honey” once.

With those eyes and that brazen, shameless smile, Jung-oh couldn’t decide whether to give him what he wanted or not.

“Why? Can’t you do it?”

“…I just don’t feel like it right now.”

“If you don’t, you can’t leave here, you know?”

Ji-heon, arms crossed, stood in front of the door. It felt like a declaration of war.

Secretary Yoon Ae-ra was outside, so she couldn’t raise her voice. Jung-oh couldn’t bring herself to attack him and just glared. Ji-heon coaxed Jung-oh with a wicked glint in his eyes and a gentle voice.

“Honey, you need to work.”

“……”

“Don’t want to leave? Then stay here…”

“Honey.”

“……”

“Happy now?”

Jung-oh finally threw him the words he wanted, like, ‘Here, take your honey.’

And as expected, he took the bait. Ji-heon stretched his lips into a long smile, clasped his hands tightly between Jung-oh’s, and leaned in close.

“Do it properly. I didn’t hear you well.”

“I think you did?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Honey.”

As soon as she coolly gave the answer again, hot breath rushed into her mouth. He tightened his grip on their clasped hands, anticipating her struggle. There was no escape.

Only when she relaxed her shoulders in resignation did one of the clasped hands loosen. The freed hand slid down her spine, reaching her lower back. Jung-oh flinched and took a step back.

And what she faced was a look that seemed ready to make Yena a sibling right then and there.

“Shall we leave work early?”

He asked triumphantly. He had barely been at work for a few minutes, and he was already talking about leaving early.

“Or shall we go out on business? Play hooky?”

Jung-oh’s panicked eyes darted around. It was her fault for bringing it up last night. She had aimed a fan at a flame that would blaze up with just a little fanning.

“Oppa, you really need to work hard. It’s not just about people criticizing you anymore. If you mess up, I, as your wife, will get criticized too. ‘Jung Ji-heon was always an idiot, but he’s become even more of an idiot since he got married.’ We can’t let that be known.”

She urged him sincerely. Ji-heon found her advice amusing and laughed.

Teasing Lee Jung-oh is the most fun thing in the world. He was filled with the thought that he would like to abandon work and spend all his time with her, but it was a Monday, and he couldn’t play hooky.

“When should we announce our marriage?”

Only after satisfying his desires to a certain extent did Ji-heon bring up the main topic. Jung-oh asked blankly at the sudden change of subject.

“Huh?”

“We need to let people know we’ve registered our marriage. There might even be an article about it.”

“If an article comes out… Yena might be mentioned too, right?”

“I’ll try to prevent that somehow.”

Jung-oh paused, lost in thought, then quietly nodded.

“I’ll talk to Yena first. I think we should announce it after she’s prepared.”

“Okay. Let’s do that. And one more thing.”

“Yeah.”

“Father wants to see Yena. I’d like us to go to the main house, or invite Father over.”

“I don’t mind how I see him. I’m fine with seeing him with your mother at the main house.”

Jung-oh answered casually to the carefully raised topic. Ji-heon was surprised and asked.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I said everything I wanted to say to your mother last time. Besides, the truth about the phone call seven years ago has been revealed, so she can’t say anything more to me.”

Ji-heon’s worries deepened at Jung-oh’s answer. Jung-oh seemed to know why Ji-heon was like that.

He didn’t want to face his mother again because they were estranged, but Jung-oh was showing a positive reaction, which must be distressing. Jung-oh resented Young-mi, but she didn’t think she should sever the mother-son relationship.

* * * * * * *

Time passed, and it was 6 PM.

Eun-bi went to her blind date. The man had arrived earlier and greeted Eun-bi.

“Ms. Chae Eun-bi. Good evening.”

“Yes, hello.”

“I’m Ham Dae-geun, CEO of Daekeun Corporation.”

The man smiled warmly and greeted her.

When she saw him in Eun-yeop’s office, he had quite a bit of gray hair, but he must have dyed it, as there was no sign of it now. Nevertheless, Eun-bi wasn’t particularly fond of him.

The man smiled even more broadly than when they met in Eun-yeop’s office. His gold teeth flashed every time he smiled.

“We met briefly at Attorney Chae’s office.”

“Yes.”

“I thought so then, but you’re really beautiful.”

“…Thank you.”

“I heard you’re a copywriter. Are there any ads that I know among the ones Ms. Chae Eun-bi created?”

Dae-geun had the knack for continuing to talk to Eun-bi, who was showing signs of boredom early on. Eun-bi reluctantly continued to answer.

“Perhaps it’s because you’re a copywriter, but you speak so beautifully.”

“But I’m currently taking a break from work. I’m preparing for a job change.”

“There’s no need for you to change jobs. You know that, right?”

“Pardon?”

“Once we get married, there’s no need for you to go out and work.”

“……”

“No, it’s most ideal to stay home, raise the children, and take care of the household.”

There were many times when she disliked and was tired of working for an advertising company, doing someone else’s errands. But as hard as it was, she felt incredibly proud when she achieved good results.

In fact, Eun-bi also thought that there was no need to work if she got married. But that was when Jung Ji-heon was her husband. Because Jung Ji-heon alone was enough to make her happy.

However, the man who came to Eun-bi’s mind now was not Jung Ji-heon.

Kwon Bae-il. Just an ordinary office worker. If she married that man, she would have to work for the rest of her life. So she should be thankful that she broke up with that man and is seeing Ham Dae-geun on a blind date.

She couldn’t understand why she felt like the world was collapsing.

* * * * * * *

Ji-heon, who left work early, went out to ride bikes with Yena as promised in the morning. Seung-gyu, who took a vacation for childcare because the daycare center was on summer vacation starting today, also followed along with Do-bin.

Long ago, Ji-heon bought Yena a bicycle and also gave Do-bin a bicycle as a gift. Do-bin had already learned how to ride a bicycle and became a child who could ride well on his own without his father’s help.

Watching Do-bin, who was freely roaming around the playground, Yena wore an envious expression.

But being envious and being able to do it were separate things. Yena, who got on the bicycle, firmly told Ji-heon.

“Dad, don’t let go.”

“Okay.”

“You mustn’t let go.”

“I know.”

Ji-heon followed behind Yena’s bicycle, holding on to the back, and answered firmly. Yena gradually moved forward with Ji-heon’s help.

The bicycle moving forward by balancing on its own was amazing, but she was also anxious that her dad might let go, so she occasionally looked back. Because her arm strength was weak, the handlebars wobbled every time she looked back.

“Yena, don’t look back, you have to look ahead and pedal.”

“Okay. Dad, are you holding on tight?”

“Of course. Dad’s holding on. Don’t worry and pedal.”

“Dad, you’re behind me, right?”

“Of course.”

“Dad, you have to hold on tight!”

Repeatedly confirming, Yena gained strength from her dad’s answer and gradually increased her speed. As her pedaling became faster, she was surprisingly able to balance well. Now Yena was able to move forward without wobbling. But she couldn’t relax.

“Dad, don’t let go!”

“I know.”

“Dad!”

“Yeah.”

“Dad.”

“……”

“Dad, you have to answer!”

“Our daughter is riding well?”

Unbelievable.

The dad she thought was holding on from behind was running alongside her. He was the dad she relied on so much, but as soon as she checked her dad’s face from the side, Yena froze. The two hands of her dad, who was running alongside her, were not holding on to anything.

“Aaaaaah!”

The moment she realized, her balance was disrupted. The handlebars moved wildly.

“Mommy!”

Yena, betrayed by her dad, screamed for her mom and fell. Of course, Ji-heon, who was running next to her, quickly intervened. Yena and the bicycle fell on top of Ji-heon.

Helmet, knee pads, and Dad cushion. With tremendous protection, Yena was not seriously injured, only her shin was slightly scraped. As soon as Ji-heon got up, he asked.

“Yena, are you okay?”

But Yena was huffing and puffing.

“Are you hurt? Dad is sor…”

“I hate Dad!”

As Dad lowered his head to check the child’s injury, Yena pulled her leg back and shouted. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“I told you not to let go! You said you knew!”

The feeling of betrayal was greater than the pain of the shin injury.

“I don’t believe Dad’s words anymore!”

Yena was so sulky that she couldn’t ride her bike anymore. It was no use even if Ji-heon tried to appease her. He wondered anew who she got that stubbornness from.

Yena distanced herself from her dad and sat on a bench in the playground until Do-bin got tired.

“Why aren’t you riding your bike?”

“Didn’t you see me fall?”

“You fell? I didn’t see.”

“I fell really hard. I got hurt here too.”

As Yena held out her wound, Do-bin sat in front of her and blew on it. The stinging didn’t get better just because her friend blew on her wound. But it felt like a warm warmth was building up in one corner of her heart.

“But why did you fall?”

“Dad lied to me. He said he was holding on tight from behind, but he wasn’t holding on at all.”

“My dad did that too.”

Do-bin said, recalling the day he first rode a bicycle. A strong sense of connection with Yena filled Do-bin’s heart.

“Why do dads teach us to lie first while teaching us how to ride a bicycle? They don’t let us lie.”

“……”

“Yena. I won’t become that kind of dad.”

Even in the midst of all this, Do-bin did not forget to appeal to his sincerity. Of course, Yena, who was sulking at her dad’s lie, didn’t hear it.

Yena’s mood didn’t improve until she returned home. Ji-heon watched Yena carefully and quietly followed behind, pulling the bicycle.

“Grandma, I’m home.”

“Is my puppy here?”

“Yeah.”

Yena, who answered Guk-soon, went straight into her room. Worried about Yena’s expression, Guk-soon asked Ji-heon.

“Did something happen between you two?”

“I was trying to teach her how to ride a bicycle… and I let go of her hand…”

Guk-soon, who heard a brief account of the situation from Ji-heon, burst into laughter.

“Oh dear. Our Yena takes a long time to get over being sulky, what should we do? Is our Yena’s dad not hurt anywhere?”

“I got a little scraped, Mom, do you know where you put the first aid kit?”

Ji-heon asked, showing his elbow. He was so busy watching Yena that he belatedly realized he was hurt. The laughter disappeared from Guk-soon’s face as she checked Ji-heon’s elbow.

“Oh my, what should we do? There’s a hole in your elbow. It’s still bleeding. Didn’t it hurt?”

“No. I’m okay.”

“Wait here. I’ll go get the medicine.”

Guk-soon quickly got up. Hearing the noise from the living room, Yena also opened the door. She was so angry at the betrayal of her dad that she didn’t even think that her dad might be hurt.

Yena secretly watched her dad getting treatment. She was amazed that her dad, who was hurt that much, wasn’t crying. As amazing as it was, she belatedly felt sorry.

Yena quietly went to her room, brought out the Go board and Go stones, and came to the living room. She was too embarrassed to say that she was sorry for not noticing that her dad was hurt, so she decided to reconcile with Go [a strategy board game].

If she put it on the table, her dad would quickly notice. That Yena’s anger had subsided.

As expected, Ji-heon chuckled when he saw the Go board and Go stones neatly placed on the table.

“Yena, shall we play Go, Dad?”

Yena, who had been wandering near the living room, approached quickly without answering. Ji-heon moved the Go stone container placed on the Go board to the side and unfolded the Go board. He wanted to praise the child’s clever actions, so he opened his mouth but soon closed it.

A large autograph of a professional Go player was engraved on the unfolded wooden Go board. It was the autograph of a Go player who was the world’s number one player more than 20 years ago, whom Ji-heon also knew well.

Ji-heon had also seen this Go player’s autograph at a friend’s house a long time ago. Vaguely remaining memories tickled his eyes. Ji-heon moved his fingertips numbly, caressing the autograph, and asked.

“Yena, where did you get this?”