A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 36

36. It’s You

Jiheon, who had been staring blankly at Jung-oh, reacted belatedly, like an old smartphone with severe buffering issues.

“…New product tasting event.”

“…”

“Didn’t Manager Lee come for that too?”

It felt like dreaming while wide awake, surreal somehow.

*Somehow*, I couldn’t admit I’d drifted here without even realizing it. I didn’t want to look like such a clueless guy to her.

Jiheon tried to ignore the déjà vu he felt in this unfamiliar neighborhood and faced her with an indifferent expression.

“That’s right, but why are *you* here?”

Jiheon had no way of knowing that Jung-oh harbored a ‘maybe’ kind of expectation.

“It’s close by, so I got off in the middle.”

“…Why? Why *here*?”

“I said I wanted to walk because I felt stuffy in the car, so the driver dropped me off around here.”

At his nonchalant answer, her eyes dimmed. It wasn’t the answer she’d been hoping for.

“What brings Manager Lee Jung-oh here? The tasting venue is quite far from here.”

“I used to go to university around here. I took a walk because it reminded me of the old days.”

Her eyes looked sad the whole time. Jiheon judged that she was still clinging to yesterday’s sorrow.

*I wanted to say that I don’t care about your lies. That it was like that from the beginning and still is.*

“Dinner?”

“Pardon?”

“Have you eaten?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Shall we eat together? I haven’t eaten either.”

“You said you were going to the tasting event.”

Jiheon blankly shut his mouth.

Since his goal from the start was Lee Jung-oh, as soon as he reunited with her, the tasting event was immediately erased from his mind.

Jung-oh glanced at him with a slightly awkward expression before taking out her phone. Jung-oh didn’t know the exact location of the tasting venue either. It seemed like it would be better to look at the map.

After checking the map, Jung-oh pointed to the right.

“You can go this way, Director.”

Jung-oh led the way, but Jiheon didn’t follow. He stood there blankly and took out his phone.

Jung-oh walked a few steps and stopped.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Just a moment. I have a lot of work, so I keep getting calls.”

Jiheon seemed to be sending a text message to someone.

Jung-oh had never seen anyone move their thumbs so fast. His rapid finger movements were noticeable even from a distance.

If you were to measure only the age of his thumbs, you might estimate this man to be in his teens.

But even so, the wait was long. He seemed very busy.

“If you’re busy, should I go first?”

“No.”

As she sighed and turned her head, Jung-oh’s phone vibrated. It was right after his dazzling thumbs had completed their mission.

Team Leader Sung Mi-ran’s name appeared on Jung-oh’s phone screen.

“Yes, Team Leader.”

[Manager Lee, have you arrived at the tasting event?]

“I’m on my way now.”

[Good. That’s good. It seems like we’ll be a little late, so don’t just wait there. Go eat something, drink some tea, or even go home. We’ll be about an hour and a half late. Got it?]

Mi-ran spoke urgently, as if something really busy had happened, and quickly hung up.

Jung-oh blinked, staring at the phone screen after the call ended.

Jiheon approached.

“Is that Team Leader Sung Mi-ran?”

“Yes.”

“What did she say?”

“She said that something came up and the team members will be late.”

“And?”

“Don’t go into the tasting event first.”

Was it just her imagination that Jung Jiheon’s lips momentarily curved slightly longer?

“Then we should go eat. Let’s go.”

He said, turning around. It was the opposite direction from the tasting venue.

Jung-oh suddenly turned her feet towards Jiheon, then stopped.

*Can I follow him?*

Yesterday’s events came to mind, and her heart stung. Chae Eun-bi’s face, who had been pressing her for the truth, also flickered before her eyes.

*Chae Eun-bi seems to think I’m flirting with that man, but is it okay to eat with him?*

It wasn’t something she intended, but she felt like she was committing a sin.

But she had a special mission: to find out about Jung Jiheon and those around him.

To thoroughly understand him, uncover the culprit of the attempted kidnapping of Yena and the secret of the call seven years ago, ensure safety, and *then* let Yena and Jiheon meet. That was Jung-oh’s mission.

That was also the first reason why she endured and worked hard, even though there were many moments when she wanted to change jobs.

There were times when she hesitated about showing Yena to him because she hated him so much, but still, she had to properly look after his surroundings.

*Yes. It could be a good opportunity.*

It might be an opportunity that won’t come again.

Jung-oh clenched her fist and followed Jiheon.

*Anyway, Jung Jiheon, you’ve changed.*

He didn’t used to be so obsessed with food. He used to give me all of his share of the rice.

Jung-oh quickly went next to Jiheon and asked.

“But what are you planning to eat?”

“I’m searching now, but is there anything you particularly want to eat?”

“Do you like tonkatsu [Japanese pork cutlet]? There’s a *mat-jib* [맛집, famous restaurant] nearby.”

The better, the better.

She recommended the tonkatsu restaurant she had gone to with him a long time ago. It was because she remembered him saying he didn’t really like tonkatsu, but he ate it deliciously.

“Anything is fine.”

At Jiheon’s answer, Jung-oh stepped forward cheerfully.

She entered the tonkatsu restaurant energetically, but Jung-oh became gloomy as soon as she opened the door.

The interior had been completely changed. The inside of the restaurant seemed to have nothing left from seven years ago.

“Welcome.”

A part-time worker greeted the two. She couldn’t turn around and leave, leaving the pretty part-time worker who was greeting them nicely.

Jung-oh stepped inside with a heavy heart.

“Director, please sit down.”

Jiheon also took a seat following Jung-oh’s guidance.

As soon as she sat down, Jung-oh grabbed the menu.

She thought that at least the menu wouldn’t have changed, but how could this be?

*Even the menu has changed!*

Everything had been remodeled except for the name of the restaurant.

It’s the same as Jung Jiheon. This man has changed in everything except his name.

She felt empty and sighed without realizing it.

Jiheon, who was watching Jung-oh, asked.

“Is there a problem? Shall we go somewhere else?”

Jung-oh hesitated for a moment. But as she rolled her eyes, she met the eyes of the bright part-time worker. She couldn’t leave the part-time worker, who was shining her eyes while waiting for the two to order.

“No… Let’s just try it…”

It felt like she was being punished for being greedy.

Perhaps because she didn’t have high expectations, the tonkatsu was much more delicious than Jiheon thought.

But what was even more satisfying was the sight of the woman clearing the tonkatsu neatly in front of him.

He didn’t know why it felt so good to watch her eat. Every time she moved her mouth, it felt as satisfying as if food was entering his own mouth. He felt full even without eating.

“Director, aren’t you eating? Doesn’t it suit your taste?”

Jung-oh said, noticing that his movements had slowed down because he was watching her.

“No. It’s delicious.”

It seemed like she had eaten roughly, so Jiheon brought up the matter he had been preparing for a long time.

“You don’t have to worry about what Manager Chae Eun-bi said yesterday. Because I don’t care either.”

Her hand, which had been holding the fork, went down as it was.

“You don’t care about my lies?”

“I understand because there was a reason.”

“…”

“I hope Manager Lee doesn’t get hurt by that.”

Jiheon had never comforted anyone before. Therefore, the current comfort and encouragement were the best he could do.

Jung-oh became depressed for another reason.

*This man is apologizing for what Eun-bi said…*

His kind comfort felt like it was representing Eun-bi, and her heart felt heavy again.

“It’s okay.”

Jung-oh answered, trying to smile.

“If you have calluses on your heart, you won’t get hurt easily. Even if you stab it with a needle, the needle will break now.”

“…”

“Talking about my dad doesn’t hurt me at all. Because my dad has been gone since I was born.”

She wanted to be imprinted on him as a strong person.

“Then what about your ex-boyfriend?”

She answered with energy on purpose, but he suddenly threw a random question.

And so her smile quickly disappeared.

A man who asks about her like this so indifferently.

*Let’s ignore it.*

Not knowing how to answer, Jung-oh lowered her head and put food in her mouth.

But he didn’t give up.

“Ex-boyfriend.”

“…”

“Is that bastard doing well?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Is he alive and breathing?”

Pfft.

This time, laughter burst out at his absurd question.

“Why are you asking that?”

“I’m just curious. Because they say he looks like me.”

*He doesn’t look like you, he *is* you.*

The guy you’re asking about is *you*, Jung Jiheon!

Her mouth was itching to tell everything. Jung-oh recalled Yena’s face and swallowed the impulse.

“Of course. He’s probably doing very well. He’s probably eating something very delicious right now.”

Jung-oh said lightly, but Jiheon was serious.

“I wish he wasn’t doing well, but it’s a pity.”

Puh-puh.

Jung-oh covered her mouth with her hand at his expression.

It was funny to see this man talking carelessly without even knowing it was his own slander.

So it was even more pitiful.

Jung-oh smiled like a Buddha and told him the truth.

“No. I hope he’s doing well. Sincerely.”

“…”

“I hope he’s doing well, but…”

“…”

“I hope he’s very hungry at night and there’s no kelp in the *Neoguri* [너굴, a brand of Korean instant ramen] ramen he boils alone, and I hope he waited in line for an hour at a *mat-jib* [맛집, famous restaurant] but got cut off right before it was his turn, and I hope he was happy that he won the lottery first prize but realized he had written the numbers wrong.”

All of this was her sincerity.

*I hope you, who have forgotten me, are doing moderately well and are a little empty.*

*Even if you don’t think of me, even if you can’t.*

“I hope you worked hard for three hours to create data, but it all disappeared because you didn’t press save.”

“…”

“…No, two hours.”

She spoke seriously, but from the perspective of an office worker, three hours seemed too much, so she slightly lowered the level of the curse.

At that moment, the corner of his eye drooped slightly.

Her expression hardened as she discovered him smiling in the same way as he did seven years ago.

Jiheon gave strength to his lips because it was hard to hold back his laughter. He never knew there would be a woman who would talk about serious things so cheerfully and adorably.

At that moment, one arm stretched out and moved.

A large hand that moved towards her without hesitation stroked her soft cheek. Even while his hand moved slowly as if checking the texture of her skin, he didn’t know what he was doing.

As if someone’s hand pulled his right hand and put it on her cheek. No, as if something unconscious was controlling his hand and heart.

He was so anxious to touch her that he finally broke the string of reason, and he couldn’t see anything around him. It was possible to have his heart stolen so easily.

It was possible that his body was not his own and he was helpless. In front of her.

But anyway, there was nothing to say.

It was his greed that he didn’t take his hand back right away even though he knew his mistake.