A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 28

28. Please

Jung-oh was dumbfounded by Department Head Jo Si-nae’s fabricated tale.

From a short distance away, Eun-bi could be seen slightly lifting one corner of her lip.

She was angry, but she couldn’t just roll up her sleeves and fight in this situation. Resolving the issue was the priority.

Jung-oh gathered her laptop.

“I’ll go to the computer room and fix it quickly.”

“Together…”

“Let’s go together.”

Employee Song Ki-hoon rose from his seat, but Ji-heon cut in. Ki-hoon, who had intended to go to the computer room with Jung-oh, couldn’t even finish his sentence and sat back down.

Si-nae looked at Eun-bi when Ji-heon said he would move himself.

The corner of Eun-bi’s lip, which had been slightly raised, twitched minutely. Eun-bi clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her skin and returned to her seat.

Jung-oh hurried, Ji-heon followed behind with large strides, their speeds were roughly matched.

As Jung-oh and Ji-heon entered the computer management room, several employees who recognized Ji-heon rose from their seats.

“Director, hello.”

Ji-heon nodded and immediately got to the point.

“The computer isn’t working. I’d like you to fix it.”

The employee who received the laptop from Ji-heon turned it on to check its status.

“When did it start doing this?”

“Not long ago. It happened while I was away from my desk for about 30 minutes.”

The employee examined the laptop screen for a long time, pressing various buttons, and his expression gradually darkened.

“Is there any data that you absolutely need to recover?”

“Yes. There are essential files.”

Jung-oh replied.

“It looks like a virus. If you need to recover the files instead of wiping the laptop clean, it will take some time. I’ll have it recovered by next Wednesday.”

Jung-oh felt her heart sink at the employee’s response.

Ji-heon asked,

“The data is urgently needed. Can’t you do it any faster?”

“It will take at least a full day…”

“I’d like it resolved today.”

“…I’ll try.”

Under Ji-heon’s pressure, the employee nodded with a troubled expression.

Jung-oh, seeing the employee’s expression, felt despondent. She had a premonition that the work file would not be recovered today.

Leaving the computer room, Jung-oh said to Ji-heon,

“I’ll recreate it as I remember and report it.”

“That would be better. Is it possible by six o’clock?”

Ji-heon asked expressionlessly.

“Yes, it’s possible.”

“Then I’ll expect the report at six o’clock.”

Due to the unexpected incident, Jung-oh’s body became busy.

As soon as she returned to her seat after parting with Ji-heon, Team Leader Ahn Chan-seop came running.

“Department Head Lee Jung-oh. What did the computer team say? Can they recover it right away?”

“No. It seems like it will take time, so I’m going to recreate the data.”

“You’re going to recreate all of it?”

“I have a good idea of what was in there, so I think I can do it.”

Eun-bi said at Jung-oh’s confident reply.

“Copying is all about nuance; can you really capture the original feeling just by remembering it to some extent?”

It was a worried tone, but there was a barb in her words. She seemed certain that Jung-oh would fail.

Team Leader Ahn Chan-seop encouraged Jung-oh.

“Let’s try it anyway. It’s just the first draft proposal, so we’ll have to work on it again anyway. Let’s focus on submitting it today and take a closer look next time. You can do it, Department Head Lee, right?”

“Yes, I’ll try.”

“I have another issue to deal with right now, so I’ll be away for a bit. Call me if you get stuck!”

“Yes, I understand.”

The current time is 2 PM.

Four hours left until the 6 PM report.

She wouldn’t be able to leave work on time because of the 6 PM report, but she should be able to leave by 7 PM.

‘That’s enough.’

Jung-oh burned with determination.

The production team members were too busy, so Jung-oh couldn’t ask for help separately. Eun-bi was working hard on something, even bringing in a new copywriter from Production Team 1.

Jung-oh kept wondering if she was actually working or just pretending to work, but she didn’t bother to ask for help.

And so, at 5:30 PM, Jung-oh barely managed to complete the proposal.

It wasn’t exactly the same as the original proposal. She filled in the parts that she couldn’t remember well with alternatives. Jung-oh emailed the completed proposal to the team members.

After reviewing the proposal, Eun-bi sat with her chin resting on her hand and asked.

“Department Head Lee Jung-oh, this is completely different from the copy I wrote. Are you sure you remember it correctly?”

“Then would you like to correct the parts that are different from your memory and send them back to me by email?”

“I gave you those notes a long time ago. What did you do with them all?”

“They’re somewhere. But I don’t have time to find them now. Please review the data and correct it for now. I’ll find the notes later and check how accurate your memory is.”

Eun-bi flinched at Jung-oh’s mention of her memory and made an excuse.

“I don’t have time either, so it’s better for Department Head Lee to handle it. It would be meaningful for you to take responsibility and report it since it’s your fault. I’ll be cheering you on.”

Eun-bi ended the argument by shifting responsibility.

Later, Team Leader Ahn Chan-seop of Production Team 1, who was out, also called to confirm. Jung-oh had to report the proposal directly to Ji-heon.

Exactly at 6 PM.

Ji-heon said he would come to the conference room himself, so while the AE [Account Executive] and Jung-oh were preparing the room and waiting, Guk-soon called.

Jung-oh left the conference room to answer the phone.

“Hello.”

[Mommy!]

Yena’s cute voice was heard. Yena had called using Guk-soon’s cell phone. Despite being nervous about the proposal report, Jung-oh couldn’t help but smile.

[Mommy, are you off work? When are you coming home?]

“I haven’t left work yet.”

[Why? Why haven’t you left yet?]

Jung-oh’s heart ached at Yena’s sulky voice.

However, she couldn’t show it much because she was near the conference room. She was anxious that Ji-heon might come and acknowledge her.

“Because I have a lot of work. But I’ll finish soon and go home. I’ll call you when I leave work.”

[Okay. Mommy, come quickly! You remember our promise, right?]

“Of course, I remember. I’ll go quickly.”

As she carefully soothed Yena and hung up the phone, she saw Ji-heon in the distance.

Ji-heon seemed to be staring intently at her. Jung-oh bowed slightly and entered the conference room first.

After Jung-oh entered first, Ji-heon entered, followed by the members of Production Team 1. They seemed to think they had to make an appearance during the report.

The 담당 AE [in charge Account Executive] handed Ji-heon a pre-printed proposal.

“Shall we start the presentation?”

“I’ll just look at it myself.”

Ji-heon answered briefly to the AE’s question and turned the first page of the proposal.

The conference room quickly became quiet.

Occasionally, the intermittent noise of pages turning stopped, and when Ji-heon’s head tilted, the team members shrank their shoulders.

After checking the last page, Ji-heon put down the proposal.

“The planning part is concise and clean. The problem is the production part.”

The employees swallowed hard, looking very nervous.

“It would be impossible to come up with better ideas here, right? If the meeting gets longer, it will be even more difficult to gather opinions.”

Ji-heon asked a pointless question, and no one could say anything.

Since both team leaders of Production Team 1 and 2 were absent, there was no one to take the lead and argue with Ji-heon.

“Then, Department Head Lee Jung-oh.”

“Yes.”

“Please recreate it and show it to me today. The rest of you can go back to your work.”

Jung-oh’s face turned pale at the unexpected order.

“Director, what you’re saying now is…”

“I guess we have to redo everything.”

“…”

“We have to revise everything from the beginning.”

Ji-heon said as he rose from his seat.

The others secretly sighed in relief that they had not been reprimanded separately.

Ki-hoon, who had been held by Ji-heon a few days ago and worked in the director’s office, looked at Ji-heon with a bleak expression.

Jung-oh followed Ji-heon as he left the conference room.

“Director, could you tell me which parts need to be revised first?”

“The copy is strange. There’s no sincerity at all.”

“Which copy exactly seems insincere?”

“All of it.”

“…”

“I guess we have to redo all of it.”

No…

Jung-oh felt wronged and desperate at Ji-heon’s harsh words.

Jung-oh continued to follow Ji-heon. After reaching the office hallway and being left alone, Jung-oh called Ji-heon again.

“Director, can’t I go home and work today? I’ll revise the proposal as soon as possible and send it to you by email today.”

“Is there a big problem at home?”

“Yes. I have some family matters.”

“What kind of family matters?”

Jung-oh curled her lips to hide them.

She had heard how harshly Ji-heon had treated Department Head Jo Si-nae the day after Jo Si-nae had postponed a client reception to Jung-oh, saying she was busy.

She had a feeling that if she said it was her father’s death anniversary, he would ask her to bring a copy of his family registry, and if she said her mother was sick, he would ask her to bring a hospital diagnosis.

“…Just family matters.”

“Unspeakable family matters?”

“…”

“If you have such urgent family matters, how can you do your job properly? I know very well that you don’t even look at your phone when you go home, Department Head Lee.”

“No. This time, I’ll definitely…”

“Instead of begging like that, shouldn’t you start working quickly and finish it quickly?”

As Ji-heon was about to turn around, Jung-oh, feeling desperate, grabbed Ji-heon’s sleeve.

“Director, then can I go out for just three hours, no, just two hours? I’ll definitely be back in two hours. Please…”

“Are you telling me to wait here for two hours until your family matters are over?”

However, Ji-heon remained unmoved.

“You have to take responsibility for what you volunteered to do. Don’t you think so?”

Jung-oh had no choice but to close her mouth again at Ji-heon’s words.

“I’m giving you these instructions because I think Department Head Lee Jung-oh is responsible for this. If it’s really not possible, call Team Leader Ahn Chan-seop. I can work with Team Leader Ahn.”

Ji-heon pulled out the sleeve that Jung-oh was holding onto with her fingertips and entered his office.

Jung-oh urgently contacted Team Leader Ahn Chan-seop. Team Leader Ahn Chan-seop did not answer the phone.

Returning to her seat, she saw Eun-bi staring intently at her. But she couldn’t afford to be picky. Jung-oh ran to Eun-bi.

“Department Head, I’m sorry, but can I ask you for a favor? I have some work to do today. Could you just take over revising the proposal today? Please, I’m begging you.”

A favor she would never ask under normal circumstances. A favor she might regret someday. But Jung-oh threw away her pride. She was that desperate.

She vowed to herself that if Eun-bi helped her this one time, she would never again be hostile to Eun-bi.

“What? Huh. That’s unbelievable.”

But the answer that came back was cold.

Eun-bi raised her voice as if she had been wronged beyond belief. People around them stared.

“Why should I clean up all the mistakes that Department Head Lee made? Don’t you think you’re being too much?”

Jung-oh quickly realized the reality.

That’s right. I was foolish.

Choi Eun-bi wasn’t the kind of person who would grant such a favor. I was so desperate that I reached out to a rotten rope.

Jung-oh quickly gave up and returned to her seat.

Ki-hoon, who knew all about Jung-oh’s situation, was reporting this fact to Mi-ran, who was out, and asking for help.

“I think the problem will be solved faster if the team leader comes back…”

Jung-oh’s eyes welled up at the sight of him trying so hard to get her off work.

Ki-hoon, who had finished talking with Mi-ran, said to Jung-oh.

“Department Head, I’m so sorry I can’t be of help. I wish I was a copywriter.”

“No, it’s okay. Thank you for worrying about me.”

At that moment, Ji-heon’s voice was heard in the hallway.

“Department Head Lee Jung-oh.”

“Yes.”

Jung-oh rose from her seat.

“Bring your work laptop and come to the conference room. Let’s work together while looking at it.”

Eun-bi’s eyes widened at Ji-heon’s instruction.

…He’s going to be alone with Lee Jung-oh in the conference room?