A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 29

29. You Will Cry

“Mom, something came up at work, so I’ll be a few hours late. Please take care of Yena. Sorry.”

After texting Guksun, Jungo carried her new company laptop to the conference room.

Jiheon was already there, chin in hand, a laptop open in front of him. He gestured to the seat beside him as Jungo entered.

As Jungo set down her laptop and plugged it in, Jiheon said casually, “We have a deadline tomorrow. It’s standard for advertising companies to clear their schedules the day before a deadline.”

“Yes.”

Having already resigned herself to working late, she didn’t want to hear his lecture. She tried to brush him off, but he continued, “If Assistant Manager Lee doesn’t finish the script, I can’t leave either. I have to review it carefully and give her feedback.”

“…….”

“Let’s aim to finish by nine. I’ll drive you home when we’re done.”

Jungo couldn’t see his offer of a ride as anything other than a thinly veiled attempt to soften the blow. She said nothing and put her hands on the keyboard.

She knew his argument about taking responsibility for her work was valid, but the reality of the situation still brought her close to tears.

There was a time when he used to listen to everything she said.

Now, this man wouldn’t even acknowledge her desperate pleas.

*Let’s admit it.*

*Lee Jungo, stop dwelling on the past.*

*He’s not the Jung Jiheon from seven years ago. He’s a completely different person.*

Jungo gritted her teeth, fighting back tears.

As she held them back, her nose began to itch.

He turned and stared at Jungo intently. Not wanting to show her face, Jungo also turned her head away. Jiheon’s gaze only intensified.

“Are you crying?”

“No.”

“A professional copywriter shouldn’t cry just because she has to work overtime.”

“I’m not crying.”

Jungo’s typing became more forceful under Jiheon’s teasing gaze.

Jiheon watched Jungo, who was focused on her work and refusing to look at him.

Earlier, he’d received a call from Team Leader Seong Miran. She’d asked him to be considerate of Jungo’s situation, and he’d replied that he would finish as early as possible and let her go home.

Thanks to the unexpected problem [the laptop virus], he was able to keep her by his side. Even if it hadn’t been a virus, he’d planned to keep her here.

In the morning, he’d overheard her talking to employee Song Gihun. Gihun was giving her a small gift and trying to win her favor.

“Leave all the difficult tasks to me. I’ll make sure you can leave work on time today.”

The fact that the two were relying on each other annoyed Jiheon.

Later, at exactly 6 p.m., Jiheon went to the conference room to get an update and overheard Jungo’s phone call.

“I have a lot of work, but I’ll finish it soon and go home. I’ll call you when I leave. You know what that means. I’ll be there soon.”

A tone of voice that sounded like she was looking forward to something exciting. A voice full of laughter, an affectionate voice.

The fact that someone who had caused a serious problem was talking on the phone in such a bright voice, counting down the minutes until she could leave, irritated him.

Smiling like that, whispering like they were planning a secret rendezvous. And then, when he told her to redo the proposal, she made excuses about family matters.

Did she think he was naive enough to fall for that?

Jiheon found it amusing that she had pleaded with him, and he covered his mouth to stifle a chuckle.

She’d said she would be away for two or three hours.

In that case, Jiheon couldn’t let her leave for two or three hours.

She still wasn’t showing her emotions, just focusing on her work.

The way she was trying so hard not to look at him was quite endearing.

Jiheon’s fingertips tingled.

Her body heat, so close to him, was a torment.

He wanted to brush her hair aside and get a better look at her profile.

He wanted to smell her fragrance and kiss her flushed cheeks.

Jiheon was consumed by base desires, so much so that he couldn’t believe how he had managed to live until now.

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

Eunbi finally got up from her seat.

Jung Jiheon and Lee Jungo, alone in the conference room….

If she had known this would happen, she would have agreed to finish the proposal herself. She wouldn’t have let Lee Jungo be alone with him.

The thought of them together made her feel sick.

She walked cautiously towards the conference room.

She felt she needed to see them together with her own eyes.

The conference room door wouldn’t be open, but all the conference room doors had small glass windows, so she could peek inside.

Five conference rooms in a row.

The two of them would be in one of them….

Two of the conference rooms were empty, and two were occupied by competitive presentation (PT) meetings.

Before she knew it, Eunbi had reached the last conference room.

The smallest room.

With trembling legs, she approached slowly.

The conference room was quiet, so she had to keep her footsteps as silent as possible.

Why was she so nervous about looking inside, as if it were a terrible thing to do?

Eunbi thought it was ridiculous and slowly brought her eyes to the glass window.

And she ended up seeing what she didn’t want to see….

The two of them sitting side by side.

And Jung Jiheon’s gaze towards Lee Jungo.

Eunbi instinctively raised a hand to cover her mouth.

…How could someone’s eyes change like that?

It was a blatant gaze, as if nothing else existed in his world except for her.

Even though he had a gentle smile on his lips, the raw hunger in his eyes sent chills down her spine.

Even though she was watching from afar, separated by a glass window, she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Her heart raced, as if she had glimpsed something forbidden, a secret act.

Her face flushed with bewildered defeat, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Jung Jiheon had never looked at her like that before.

Not even once.

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

8:50 p.m.

She often worked overtime until after midnight, so three hours of overtime wasn’t usually a big deal, but today was different.

*If I take a taxi and hurry… it’ll probably take about 20 minutes?*

Jungo checked the time and sighed.

Her goal was to be home by 9:30 p.m.

It was late for a child who went to bed early, but the birthday wasn’t over yet.

Yena, wait for me. Mommy will be there soon.

“I guarantee you, there’s no better copy than this. This is the best I can do,” Jungo said, handing the revised proposal to Jiheon.

Jiheon read it carefully and nodded.

“Okay. Good work.”

“Yes.”

As soon as he gave his approval, Jungo hurriedly packed her things. Jiheon stood up and said as he left the conference room, “Pack your bag and come downstairs. I’ll drive you home.”

Jungo scoffed silently at the back of Jiheon’s head.

Jiheon returned to his office and grabbed his jacket.

He placed the newly received proposal on his desk, then picked it up again and put it in his bag.

He said he would take her home, but he had a feeling she would refuse.

Thinking he should go with her, he hurried outside and stood guard in front of the elevator.

But Jungo didn’t appear, even after 10 minutes.

He stopped by Jungo’s desk, and when he didn’t see her, he called her.

She answered after a long delay.

[Hello.]

“Where are you?”

[Outside.]

His brow furrowed at her cold reply. It sounded like she was lying.

“I’m in front of the elevator, and you’re outside?”

[I went down the stairs.]

Jiheon gritted his teeth and said, “I said I would take you.”

[I don’t want to.]

“…….”

[Do I have to be next to the director until I get home? It’s not work, is it?]

“…….”

[I’ll see you tomorrow.]

The phone hung up with a click.

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

Goal! 9:30 p.m.!

Yena ran to the door as soon as she heard it open.

“Mom!”

“Princess!”

Jungo scooped Yena into her arms. The child, who had greeted her mother happily, soon frowned.

“Mom, why are you so late!”

Waaaaah!

A huge outburst of sadness.

“Yena, I’m sorry. Mommy is so sorry.”

Jungo hugged Yena tightly and patted her back.

“I kept waiting for Mom at the restaurant.”

“Aww, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Let’s have a party soon. Party!”

“We had the party at the restaurant!”

Guksun approached and said, “Dobin, Doyun, and Dobin’s mom came and sang songs and ate cake at the restaurant.”

Yena cried even harder at Guksun’s explanation.

“I wanted to do it with Mom!”

“Then let’s do it again with Mom! Okay? Is that okay?”

Jungo quickly ran to the bakery right in front of the house and bought a cake.

Yena had two birthday parties in one day.

“Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Yena.”

Yena smiled through her tears as Jungo sang. Jungo hadn’t been able to come early, but Yena had gotten what she wanted.

After unwrapping the gift from Gihun and the gift that Jungo had bought a long time ago but hadn’t been able to give, she returned to being the cheerful and bright Lee Yena.

“Mom, I got a gift from Dobin too. Isn’t this pretty!”

Feeling better, she held up her hand, showing off the ring she had received from Dobin.

A ring with a red heart-shaped cubic zirconia was on the index finger of her left hand.

“Dobin gave you a ring as a gift?”

“Yes. And he showed me magic tricks and did a crab dance too.”

“Hee. Yena must have had fun.”

“Yes. He said he prepared a three-line poem and a letter, but he’ll give it to me next year.”

Dobin had performed three magic tricks and a crab dance to comfort Yena when she burst into tears because her mother wasn’t coming.

After barely appeasing Yena, Dobin had also become tearful. He also made a strange remark about having nothing to do for the next four years.

Yena, who had excitedly recounted the day’s events, soon blinked sleepily. It was well past 10 o’clock.

“Mom, I’m sleepy. I want to sleep.”

“Okay. Let’s go. Let Mommy hug you.”

Soon, a blanket was spread out on the bed, and Yena and Jungo lay down side by side. Yena fell asleep almost immediately, probably exhausted.

Jungo gently patted Yena, and after she fell asleep, Jungo stared at her for a long time, kissing every inch of her soft skin.

The end of a meaningful day.

Guksun opened the door to check on her daughter, who must have been particularly tired, and smiled at the sight.

She was holding onto her sleeping child, showering her with kisses.

*Does she love her that much?*

“Can’t you let her go even when she’s sleeping?”

“Yeah.”

“Is she that pretty, even if you see her every day?”

“Of course. Of course.”

Guksun looked at her daughter with affection.

*I think you’re so pretty.*

*The prettiest thing I’ve ever made.*

*My child, more precious than me, even though I gave birth to you.*

*Just as you love your daughter, I love you.*

*To me, you’re like a young child, whether you’re thirty or forty years old, so I have to protect you and love you more, my child, my princess.*

*You’re the child I want to protect even if it costs me my life, but these days, I’m constantly worried because it seems like you’re having a hard time in a place where my hands can’t reach.*

*I can tell just by reading the one line of text message you sent in a hurry. You must have overdone it today while being very busy, to keep your promise with your daughter.*

The dark expression on my daughter’s face, which I glimpsed between celebrating Yena’s birthday, made my mother’s heart heavy.

“Lee Jungo.”

“Yeah?”

“If it’s hard, quit. Can’t your mother support you both?”

“It’s not just me. There’s our Yena too.”

Jungo replied lightly, as if joking.

*My thirty-year-old child, who is still like a child even after giving birth to a baby.*

*I hope your world is warm and safe.*

*I hope you don’t get hurt by the rough waves.*

*Your mother can only pray earnestly in her heart.*

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

Jiheon, who had finished showering, grabbed a can of beer and sat on the sofa.

The proposal he had brought from the company was spread out in front of him.

He was a little upset that Assistant Manager Lee had stood him up.

Jiheon glared at the proposal for no reason, then sighed and picked it up.

The phrase that Jungo had written as a copy candidate under the main script draft caught Jiheon’s attention.

– A rainbow-like boss.

There was a rainbow drawing next to it, and Jiheon understood the hidden meaning.

Jiheon chuckled at the brazen resistance.

*She keeps doing this, so I keep wanting to keep her by my side.*

He took a sip of beer and turned a few more pages.

Then, his hand stopped when he reached another sentence she had added.

Without knowing why, he stared at it blankly, then moved his hand and traced the letters.

Before he knew it, the smile had completely disappeared.

The neatly printed letters were somehow dizzying.

Jiheon left the beer and the proposal as they were and got up from his seat.

It felt like no matter what he poured into his empty heart, it wouldn’t be filled.

The night breeze came in through the half-open window, and the top page of the unfolded proposal fluttered like a dragonfly’s wing.

– You who have forgotten me.

You will cry, longing for what you have forgotten.

There is more meaning in the things that are not spoken.