A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 152

“If you can’t believe the truth, I can prove it. These days, you can do a paternity test with a pregnant woman’s blood.”

Bae Il read the few lines of the letter over and over again.

He had a child.

It couldn’t be.

No… come to think of it, he couldn’t be sure. He recalled a time when he might have made a mistake.

If so, the child would be quite a bit older already.

He submitted his resignation and handed over all the data he had collected to the police, bracing himself for the consequences. He accepted that he might not be forgiven.

But this was different. Chae Eun-bi was a clear perpetrator to Jung Ji-heon, but in her relationship with him, she was a victim.

Bae Il had used Chae Eun-bi to achieve his goal. He knew that Chae Eun-bi possessed the black box recording and approached her to find it.

As they grew closer and he frequented Chae Eun-bi’s house, Bae Il located the black box memory card, stole it, and immediately went into hiding.

Initially, he planned to dispose of the memory card, relocate to a rural province [a region outside of Seoul], and forget everything. But somehow, inexplicably, things had turned out this way.

He had wanted everything to fall into place, with everyone receiving only the punishment they deserved.

Instead, he ended up hurting an innocent person.

His breath hitched.

This was a greater pain than any punishment he had anticipated.

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

The intense heat subsided, and the sky gradually deepened in September.

The newlyweds, who finally had the same day off to celebrate the company’s anniversary, were able to pursue plans they had been postponing.

Ji-heon, having finished getting ready first, waited for his wife while holding Ye-na’s hand.

After a moment, the studio dressing room door opened, and Jung-oh emerged. Ji-heon’s eyes were so dazzled that he squinted. It was as if she had brought the light with her. He was speechless at Jung-oh’s appearance.

“Wow! Mommy looks like a princess!”

Ye-na exclaimed in admiration.

Jung-oh wore a mermaid dress that accentuated her figure. It was an unfamiliar outfit, so she felt self-conscious and awkward. Jung-oh glanced at Ji-heon, who remained silent, and asked Ye-na.

“Is Mommy pretty?”

“Yes! Like the Little Mermaid. Daddy, isn’t Mommy pretty!”

“Yes. Very pretty.”

Only then did Jung-oh’s expression relax.

“Mommy, you’re really, really pretty!”

“Thank you. Our Ye-na is like a princess too. You’re already a princess, though.”

Ye-na was also wearing a beautiful white dress. Princess, angel, fairy—any of those words perfectly described the pretty daughter.

The child had been looking forward to this day. She was at an age where she loved princess dresses. Jung-oh had decided to have a wedding photoshoot because she thought it would be a wonderful gift for her child.

They decided to take only one photo of just Ji-heon and Jung-oh, not wanting the child to get tired of waiting for her mom and dad.

As people who worked at an advertising company, they knew that good expressions made filming easier, so they actively cooperated with the photographer’s requests. Ji-heon felt like his lips were cramping, but he did his best.

The half-day of filming passed quickly.

The last shoot was to take place on a bench in the studio, which had been decorated to resemble an outdoor location. Ji-heon and Ye-na went first to take their seats, and Jung-oh fixed her hair and moved to join them.

“Mommy, come quickly.”

Ye-na, who was playing with her dad and giggling, called out to Jung-oh.

Jung-oh sighed inwardly as she watched them from afar.

She had seen this scene in a dream.

She had dreamed of dressing up like this with Ye-na and walking around the park before meeting Ji-heon. In the dream, Ye-na recognized Ji-heon and ran to hug him tightly. Ji-heon took Ye-na and sat on a park bench, and Ye-na smiled contentedly on Ji-heon’s lap.

Because the two didn’t know each other yet, Jung-oh couldn’t approach them, even in the dream.

The lingering memory remained in Jung-oh’s mind. She now realized that the dream was neither a nightmare nor a fear.

It was something she had been waiting for. She now knew that all she had to do was approach these two people and sit quietly beside them.

After finishing the wedding photoshoot and dropping Ye-na off at the baduk [Go] academy, Jung-oh and Ji-heon visited the OB/GYN [Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic].

Even though he had been there once before, Ji-heon became nervous again as he entered the examination room, just like the first time. He had wanted to rush to the hospital, but he had stubbornly waited because of Jung-oh, knowing the examination would be difficult for her.

“It’s 6mm. It’s growing well. The heartbeat is strong too.”

While Ji-heon’s lips were dry, the doctor calmly showed the baby’s image on the ultrasound. He felt like he could finally breathe when he heard the loud heartbeat. He had finally confirmed it.

The baby had grown rapidly in two weeks. Its shape had changed in the meantime. Before, it looked like a round ring, but now it was elongated like a roly-poly toy.

It was amazing and fascinating that something so small, only 0.6cm, had a powerful heart that beat 140 times a minute.

Jung-oh, who had been staring at the monitor, turned to look at Ji-heon. He couldn’t take his eyes off the monitor, as if he was trying to memorize the baby’s appearance. Jung-oh wanted to remember that image.

In fact, this was Jung-oh’s first time receiving such an examination. When she was pregnant with Ye-na, she had been too scared to go to the hospital for a long time, only going after telling her mother the truth.

Unlike then, she was amazed by the tiny child. The child’s loud heartbeat seemed to be saying, ‘Mom, it’s okay to be loved from now on. Love me a lot.’

Ji-heon and Jung-oh received the photos and video data and left the examination room. Even while waiting to pay, Ji-heon looked at the photos.

A baby being born meant that there would be more moments to record in life. Perhaps he vaguely knew this seven years ago. That’s why only the memory of November 2nd, seven years ago, remained.

Jung-oh, who was watching her husband, said,

“Shall we go to your father’s house this weekend?”

“Shall we?”

“Yeah. Give him a call.”

Ji-heon immediately called Jae-gwang. He was about to hang up after a long time of hearing the call signal, but Jae-gwang answered the phone.

[Hello.]

His father’s voice sounded somehow subdued.

“Father, is everything alright?”

[Yeah. Okay.]

“I’ll stop by this weekend.”

[No, no. I have work on the weekend.]

Jae-gwang seemed flustered. He thought he would welcome them with open arms if they said they were going to visit, but it seemed like it was too sudden of a notice.

“Then when should I stop by?”

[……I’m constantly busy. I’ll contact you when I have some free time.]

“……”

[Is Ye-na doing well?]

“Yes. She’s doing well.”

[Okay. Say hello to your mother-in-law for me. Let’s talk again.]

His father’s voice was gentle and calm, but it seemed like he was hiding something and trying to end the call quickly. After hanging up, Ji-heon tilted his head, puzzled.

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

The preparations for immigration were progressing smoothly. Packing was the biggest task. Since they were planning to sell their Seoul house and leave, they had to dispose of almost all of his father’s belongings.

Eun-bi comforted her mother, who was shedding tears over each of her father’s possessions, and cleaned up the house.

She often stared blankly at her cell phone, resenting it for not ringing, as if it had frozen over.

Last Monday, Eun-bi had asked Jung-oh to deliver a note to Kwon Bae-il. The note contained a short memo and her contact information.

That night, she received a call from Jung-oh confirming the delivery, but she had not received a single text message from Bae-il.

After a few days, she resigned herself to her fate. She felt foolish for waiting for a call from a man who had used her. A surge of anger rose up, and Eun-bi flipped her cell phone over.

However, as soon as she did, it vibrated as if it had been waiting. Eun-bi quickly picked it up. An unknown number was displayed on the screen. She instinctively knew it was the call she had been waiting for. Eun-bi pressed the call button.

“Hello.”

Her voice trembled. She couldn’t hear anything from the other side. Eun-bi couldn’t stand it and asked first.

“Mr. Kwon Bae-il?”

[……Yes.]

A dry answer came after a long pause. Eun-bi bit her lower lip tightly to hold back her tears.

“Are you okay?”

[……I’m sorry.]

“No, I asked if you’re okay! I didn’t tell you to apologize!”

Eun-bi burst into anger at his polite apology, which seemed to be building a wall between them.

With that one apology, she understood everything. She would not be able to meet him again. Perhaps it was something she had already accepted.

“I know that much too. I’m going to give birth to my child and raise it myself. Don’t worry. I’m not telling you to take responsibility.”

She couldn’t hold on to something that wasn’t love, so the next words came out smoothly.

She wanted to protect her pride. She vowed not to cry or beg him.

“I feel like I’m being punished now, but they say it could be a reward someday. Lee Jung-oh said that. So don’t worry about me.”

A woman she had never considered a lifelong friend. She had come to cling to the comfort Jung-oh had given her like a lifeline. At this moment, she was sincerely grateful to Jung-oh for giving her something to say calmly.

“I just wanted to let you know. Someday your child will be born, and someday that child may want to see their father.”

[…….]

“I was going to tell you to leave your contact information, but never mind. If that’s too much of a burden, don’t do it. I’m just going to live well on my own.”

Again, an answer came after a long pause.

[……I’ll leave my contact information.]

“……”

[I’m sorry.]

The call that started with ‘I’m sorry’ ended with ‘I’m sorry.’ Was it hope? Had she chipped away at the high wall between them? But she couldn’t live holding on to such a small hope. She had to end this relationship now.

“Okay. Hang up.”

Eun-bi said coldly.

Even though she told him to hang up, the phone on the other side remained connected for a long time. Eun-bi gritted her teeth and pressed the end call button first.

As soon as she put down her cell phone, her legs gave way, and she collapsed on the spot.

Haaaaaa.

The emotions she had been holding back burst out at once.

‘Good job. Good job.’

She wiped away her tears and repeated the words.

Everything is fine. She didn’t desperately cling to him, and she ended the call calmly.

Tears that started to fall one by one eventually soaked the floor.

She had stubbornly endured it so as not to regret it, but in the end, everything was gone, and only empty hands remained.

Hueeeeeee.

If they had met differently, would there have been another beginning?

No, then would there have been no beginning at all?

Still, I don’t want to erase the time I spent with you.

She couldn’t hate him, even though she wanted to. He was the only person who understood her shortcomings. Whether it was sincere or not, Eun-bi was clearly comforted every time.

A short conversation from a night she spent with him came to mind. It was a memory engraved in her heart that she couldn’t erase even if she tried.

“You’re so amazing. Why are you helping me even though you know I’m going after Jung Ji-heon?”

“Because I know too what it’s like not to be loved by the person you want to be loved by.”

“……”

“What it’s like to be lonely because you’re not loved.”