A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 183

183. [Side Story] What I Realized (End)

‘I’m out of shampoo.’

Jeong-o picked up the clothes she had taken off again.

It was annoying, but she had no choice. Ji-heon was on his way to the utility room to get a new shampoo. If he saw her walking around without clothes, there was no way this man would stay still. So, she couldn’t ask him to get her shampoo.

She opened the bathroom door and quickly bumped into Ji-heon. His eyes looked fierce, but Jeong-o ignored him and ran.

Fortunately, he didn’t grab her.

“Hoo.”

A sigh of relief escaped Jeong-o’s lips as she returned to the bathroom. She didn’t know why. They were a married couple, and she could tease him sometimes, but why was she still nervous around him, and why was she so relieved?

After washing up neatly, Jeong-o dried her hair, put on her clothes, and went to the living room.

“Isn’t Yejun awake yet?”

“Yeah.”

Ji-heon, who answered Jeong-o’s question, stared at her sharply with narrowed eyes. Jeong-o wondered what was wrong and spoke again.

“Why?”

Ji-heon poked his finger into the hole in Jeong-o’s shoulder with a displeased expression and said.

“Your clothes are too revealing.”

Jeong-o’s eyes also narrowed at Ji-heon’s remark.

It wasn’t an off-shoulder; it was just a hole in the shoulder as a design detail. At most, about 15cm in diameter.

“What’s so revealing about this? Did you just step out of the Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897]?”

“I can see skin that I couldn’t see before.”

“Whether you see it or not, no one looks at me except you, you idiot.”

Glare.

At that moment, Ji-heon’s eyes changed. Jeong-o belatedly tried to cover her lips, but it was no use. Ji-heon, who came closer with a faint, seductive smile, intertwined Jeong-o’s hands, which she was trying to push away, and covered her lips with his.

Jeong-o was flustered because she didn’t know at what point the switch had flipped, and warm breath washed over her.

Why did I bother picking up clothes in the bathroom? Jeong-o regretted it for a moment.

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

Ji-heon and Jeong-o visited the pediatrician with Yejun. It was Yejun’s vaccination day.

The pediatrician, who had seen many babies of the same age, admired Yejun’s extraordinary development.

“The baby is big. He’s in the top 10%.”

“Yes. He was big from the start. 4kg.”

“Oh my, the mother must have suffered a lot.”

Ji-heon became solemn at the doctor and Jeong-o’s conversation. While thinking that he should pay more attention to childcare, the injection needle approached. As if his reflexes took over, he squeezed the arm holding the baby even tighter and shrugged his shoulders.

“Anyone would think the father is getting the shot.”

Ji-heon straightened his shoulders when the doctor teased him. However, when the needle pierced the child, he flinched as if the injection needle had entered his own skin.

Euaaaaaa!

Yejun, who had been staring wide-eyed at the new environment, burst into tears and struggled.

“Who did he take after to have such a loud voice?”

The experienced doctor laughed and put a bandage on the baby’s arm.

“Take off the bandage after 30 minutes, and don’t bathe him today. He may have a slight fever, but if it’s severe, come back.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Jeong-o secretly smiled as she watched Ji-heon bowing to the nurse while soothing the baby, who was still crying loudly even after leaving the doctor’s office.

Anyone could tell that he was a novice father, but he had insisted that he had to take him to the hospital today.

Still, it was comfortable and reassuring to come with her husband. Her husband tended to do all the hard work when they were together, so Jeong-o didn’t have to lift a finger today.

Jeong-o said to Ji-heon, who had barely stopped Yejun’s crying, put Yejun in the car seat, and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he came to the driver’s seat.

“Was it two or three years ago? I went to get a flu shot with Yena.”

Ji-heon, who was about to start the engine, turned his head and looked at Jeong-o.

“Yena was naturally scared when she saw all the kids coming out of the clinic crying. Still, I told her that she had to get it, and that I would get it too, so I persuaded her to go to the clinic with me.”

It was a story about precious memories that Ji-heon didn’t know.

“Here’s the question. Should the mother get the shot first, or should the child get the shot first?”

“The mother should be an example, so the mother?”

“No. The child struggles a lot, but if the mother gets the shot first, she won’t have the strength to hold the child, so the child should get the shot first.”

But that was an answer from a mother’s point of view. If it were Ji-heon, he would have been able to hold the child even after getting the shot first.

She thought he would object to her answer, but her husband just nodded quietly.

“Anyway, Yena got it first. She was overwhelmed with fear and, of course, cried. I was trying to soothe Yena, saying, ‘Yena, you shouldn’t cry like that. Look at Mommy getting it. Mommy doesn’t hurt. Mommy doesn’t cry,’ to set an example. But do you know what Yena said while holding me?”

“……”

“Mommy! No, don’t get it! It really hurts! Mommy, don’t get the shot!”

I remember that touching feeling that day. A child who had learned to love without being taught that it was love. So, a child who made her mother happy.

She hadn’t told her husband all about this lovely child. She was telling him about her precious memories as they came to mind, but most of the memories with her child were so ordinary that they were bound to fade over time.

Ji-heon also had a sullen expression, his eyes shining throughout the story, as if he was sad about it.

“Why are you telling me this now? You should have told me such important things as soon as we met.”

“I’m telling you now because I remember it now.”

“Don’t you remember too much?”

“Jeong Ji-heon, if you get sulky about things like that, I won’t tell you these stories in the future.”

“We should have a celebration party because precious memories have returned, honey.”

Jeong-o swallowed a laugh at Ji-heon’s change of attitude as soon as Jeong-o became firm.

Time, memories, and we are constantly flowing, so the everyday memories that we inevitably let go of are really inevitable, but Ji-heon, now you will have your own special memories.

“Drop me off there. I’ll take the stroller and go slowly.”

“Why? I’ll take you home.”

“No. You have to go back to work quickly.”

“Do you want to kick me out of the company so quickly?”

“You have a lot of work to do.”

He doesn’t answer unfavorable points again.

He does flying yoga with Yena once a week and is also Guksun’s assistant. Her husband, who is so diligent and passionate when spending time with his family, still complains a lot when it comes to work.

It was even more so because Jeong-o was on leave. He didn’t want to go to work because he had nothing to protect at the company.

However, Ji-heon’s abilities and drive continue to receive good reviews. Recently, Ji-heon established a subsidiary specializing in content production for Max Planning. He hired video creators with potential for development to create creative content related to the client’s products.

In an era where TV ratings are falling and interactive media are gaining popularity, Ji-heon’s strategy worked well.

Storytelling content that broke away from the 15-second and 30-second limits was loved by the public. It has only been a month since he started a new business, but orders from clients who liked the company were pouring in.

In fact, this is due to the influence of Ms. Lee Guk-soon. Ji-heon got the inspiration for the business from Guk-soon, who is now a popular creator with 10,000 subscribers, so Jeong-o couldn’t push her husband too hard. The house is a place of rest, energy, and inspiration for her husband.

In the end, Jeong-o lost to her husband, who insisted that he had nothing to do until the afternoon meeting schedule.

However, while Jeong-o was changing clothes after returning home, Ji-heon, who was watching Yejun, urgently called Jeong-o.

“Honey! Honey!”

“Why! Why!”

Jeong-o ran over, half-dressed, thinking something big had happened.

“What’s wrong!”

“Yejun rolled over.”

“……”

“I’m serious?”

“Should I show you again?”

“I’ll change my clothes and come see.”

Jeong-o wasn’t very surprised because she had been thinking that Yejun would roll over soon for the past few days. Rather, Ji-heon’s reaction was interesting.

I was like that too. I didn’t know it then.

“It’s just the beginning, honey.”

“Huh?”

“Rolling over is just the beginning.”

“What’s starting?”

“You’ll know when you experience it.”

Jeong-o chuckled and turned around.

It wasn’t even an hour before Ji-heon realized what Jeong-o meant.

“Yejun, Yejun! Jeong Yejun!”

Jeong-o, who was dozing off on the sofa, ran over again at the sound of Ji-heon shouting.

“Why! What’s wrong! Why! Why!”

“Hey! You rascal! I told you to stay still!”

Jeong-o’s eyes widened at the sound of Ji-heon holding Yejun and scolding him. The salmon patch [birthmark] on the baby’s forehead was red as if it was burning. It was as if he was begging, ‘Dad, I look like Dad, so don’t get angry.’

“Are you disciplining a baby who isn’t even a year old?”

“No, I’m changing his dirty diaper, but he’s trying to roll over.”

Jeong-o chuckled and approached, grabbing Yejun’s arms. Yejun, who was flapping his arms and legs, burst into tears as if frustrated when his body was restrained. Jeong-o changed her facial expressions to attract Yejun’s attention. With Jeong-o’s help, Ji-heon was able to change the diaper safely.

“Was Yena like this too?”

“Everyone is like that.”

“……”

“Did you think there would only be happy things in raising a child to be human?”

“……”

“When he starts holding on and standing, you have to clean up any dangerous objects in the house right away, and you have to watch out for him so that he doesn’t put anything strange in his mouth.”

“Can’t you put him in a walker?”

“Putting him in a walker is only temporary. How clever are the kids? They quickly get out of the walker and try to fall upside down somewhere.”

Ji-heon’s expression went blank as he imagined Yejun getting out of the walker and falling upside down somewhere.

“Don’t worry. He’s still cute. You don’t know how pretty he is.”

Jeong-o comforted Ji-heon.

No. It wasn’t comfort.

Jeong-o knew that you would just be happy no matter what trouble the children caused. Just like the year or so she had been with him.

“It’s been almost a year since you regained your memory.”

Ji-heon also nodded, counting the days as his birthday was approaching.

“What did you realize during the 7 years you lost your memory?”

“Life without sexual desire is no fun.”

The answer came out without a second of hesitation.

The eyes that were so affectionate and tender towards the child momentarily sparkled with sensuality towards her, making her shiver.

……I can’t stop him.

But yes. That’s like Jeong Ji-heon.

It wasn’t the touching answer she expected, but Jeong-o could laugh.

I was so crazy about this consistent person.

This is the kind of person who would have found me again.

You, who always lived in my head even in unseen moments.

You, who will always be by my side in the future. You, who will live with me.

I was sure that he would find her even in the afterlife if there was one.

Jeong-o hugged her husband tightly.

Side story end.

by BaaRaam