A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 64

64. You Remember Me, Right?

A small bed and a desk. A small refrigerator, a small wardrobe. A small chest of drawers…

These furniture pieces. This layout.

Though the kitchen facilities at the far end were missing, Jeong-o knew.

This room was unmistakably Jeong-o’s old studio apartment.

A shiver ran down her spine, and her eyes quickly welled up with tears.

She couldn’t believe it.

Why, how could such a space exist?

Seven years ago, Ji-heon had loved Jeong-o’s old place. So, the two of them spent more time in her studio than in his officetel [a Korean term for a multi-purpose building used for both residential and commercial purposes]. The reason he loved the house was clear and simple.

“I like this house. More than my own.”

“Why?”

“Because I can see you no matter where you are.”

He had said that once, seven years ago. Honest and straightforward. When she was changing clothes, when she made a funny mistake, or when she was feeling good for some reason, Ji-heon would watch from the side and pull her into a hug every time.

He said he felt at peace when he could see her. Conversely, when she wasn’t by his side, he felt a strange sense of unease and anxiety. That’s why he liked the studio—because he could see everything about her.

‘He even got a desk that’s quite similar.’

The more Jeong-o looked at the room Ji-heon had decorated, the more amazed she became. From the size and design of the furniture to the color of the bed sheets and curtains, everything was almost identical.

When did he set up this room? Is his memory gradually returning?

Wiping away the tears from her eyes, Jeong-o rushed to the kitchen, her heart full of emotion.

“Have you finished looking around?” Ji-heon asked, making pancake batter.

He said it was a hobby, but it seemed to be just talk. The cooking prodigy Jeong Ji-heon, who used the small kitchen neatly seven years ago, had become an amateur who used the large kitchen sloppily.

Jeong-o smiled slightly at the things Ji-heon had laid out and broached the subject.

“You know the room at the very end? That room feels different from the others. It doesn’t suit this house.”

“Ah. That one.”

Ji-heon acknowledged her point and nodded.

“I don’t remember well, but I think I went to a house like that a long time ago.”

“…When? Whose house?”

“I don’t remember anything. Whether it was around ten years old or over twenty, nothing.”

“…”

“I just vaguely had those furniture and layout in my head, so I tried to reconstruct it. I liked that memory for some reason.”

Jeong-o’s eyes welled up as she listened to his voice.

“I sometimes sleep in that room after actually setting it up, and it has some effect on my insomnia. I feel at ease when I go into that room.”

Ha… Should I laugh or cry?

“Seung-gyu says it’s just a typical studio apartment.”

How far has this person’s memory come?

Jeong-o’s worries returned to before she opened the door. And she thought of her mother, Lee Guk-soon, among the people whose lives would change because of the worries she had.

Her mother had never asked who Yena’s father was. She never cursed the child’s father.

She didn’t bring it up first if Jeong-o didn’t mention it. If the memory would hurt her daughter, she couldn’t bear to bring it up and dig into her daughter’s heart.

Only now did Jeong-o vaguely understand what her mother’s patience was like.

The Jeong Ji-heon in front of her was just focused on cooking, not even thinking about what kind of heartache she was standing here with. His eyes flickered from time to time, a look of bewilderment, forgetting the next step in the cooking.

This person is trying.

I believe in this person.

I believe you can remember me in your own way.

Of course, I’ll tell you first before it’s too late, but I believe I’ll get even a hint of it before that. So, I’ll wait.

I hope you regain your own memories. I hope you bring out those deep memories that no one has tainted with your own strength.

“Here. Look.”

While Jeong-o was letting out a few words from her heart, he was already grilling and flipping the pancakes by himself. It happened in an instant.

“Did you see it?”

“No. I didn’t see it.”

Jeong-o lied, wanting to see it properly one more time.

“…Watch properly. Okay?”

Ji-heon glanced at her and firmly grabbed the frying pan again.

Swish! Flip!

His pose was clumsier compared to seven years ago, but he flipped the pancake very skillfully.

“How is it? I’m better, right?”

The current Jeong Ji-heon, who had competed against the past Jeong Ji-heon, looked at her with a smug smile.

Jeong-o couldn’t help but smile. She couldn’t say more, afraid that her trembling voice would be heard.

It was just the heart of loving a child, the heart of wanting to protect a child, but before she knew it, Jeong Ji-heon had also entered Lee Jeong-o’s life. She also wanted him to be at peace and happy.

I was having a long first love.

The cold season in my heart is melting away.

Jeong-o calmed the anxiety in her heart. She resolved to become a stronger person.

Yes. Mr. Ji-heon. I’ll wait diligently. For spring to come.

Let’s cheer up together.

I believe you are coming to me now.

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

Eun-bi was running an errand for the first time in a while. She stopped by her parents’ house to pick up her brother’s clothes and side dishes and went to Eun-yeop’s house.

Her mother instructed Eun-bi to clean up her brother’s officetel while she was there, as it would be messy. She would usually be annoyed and complain, but today she volunteered willingly. There was something she needed to find in her brother’s house.

Perhaps because she trusted her mother’s tidiness, Eun-yeop’s house was always messy. Still, he was quite thorough, so he left almost no traces related to work. So, Eun-bi had to search for traces for a long time.

‘It’s here! As expected!’

And about an hour after digging through Eun-yeop’s house, she found the data. It was data about Lee Jeong-o. She thought that her brother would definitely investigate Lee Jeong-o separately.

But the investigation was nothing special. There was much more about Lee Jeong-o’s daughter than about Lee Jeong-o, so Eun-bi frowned throughout reading the data. Still, there was no information about the child’s father at all.

She scoffed at the poor level of data investigation, but Eun-bi didn’t despair. The data also included information about Lee Jeong-o’s mother, Lee Guk-soon.

Eun-bi took a picture of the restaurant address run by Guk-soon with her phone camera and saved it, then left Eun-yeop’s house.

The next meeting place was a hotel far from the company and home, so it took quite a while. She was 40 minutes late for the appointment because she was rummaging through Eun-yeop’s house. Eun-bi felt anxious for no reason.

She hurriedly parked her car in the hotel parking lot and entered the lobby. She was worried that the man might have left, but the man was still waiting for her.

Eun-bi’s eyes welled up at the sight of the man approaching her with his handsome appearance after discovering her.

Her voice came out sweetly, feeling a little guilty.

“Honey, did you wait long?”

“Yeah. I was about to go back.”

The man glared at her, then burst out laughing at Eun-bi’s smile.

“I’m putting up with it because you’re pretty.”

The man’s compliment was pleasing to hear.

Eun-bi locked her arm tightly around the man’s arm. He was a man who was compared to Jeong Ji-heon in every way. He listened to, accepted, comforted, and hugged her complaints and grievances. Above all, the man understood Eun-bi’s situation.

Eun-bi received the comfort she couldn’t get from Ji-heon from this man.

His heart was much kinder than Jeong Ji-heon’s, and he was as tall and handsome as Jeong Ji-heon, so she liked him even more.

‘I wouldn’t have been able to endure it without this man.’

In a hellish reality, the man was like a light to Eun-bi.

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

After a boring weekend without meeting Lee Jeong-o, it was Monday.

In the midst of being busy with the end of the month, Ji-heon contacted the credit card company about a credit card that was registered under Ji-heon’s name but was canceled seven years ago. He wanted to find out the usage history of that card.

November 2, seven years ago. The credit card he used to purchase the ring.

Since the information he got from the jewelry shop was all Ji-heon knew, Ji-heon couldn’t even properly tell the counselor the card number. But the counselor was quite kind.

[Sir, we are obligated to keep card usage history for up to 5 years, but it may or may not be possible to check the usage history of a card that was canceled 7 years ago. First, please send a copy of your ID by fax. Please verify your identity by mobile phone according to the instructions in the text message I will send you.]

“Yes. I understand. After verifying my identity, when can I receive the data?”

[If the card usage history is found, we can send the data to your email address today. If it cannot be found, we will contact you separately.]

“Yes. Thank you for your help.”

Ji-heon greeted politely and hung up the phone.

A text message arrived from the credit card company shortly after. Ji-heon sent a copy of his ID by fax and completed his identity verification according to the instructions in the text message.

Now it was time to wait.

His heart continued to be restless.

In the drawer he opened to put in a copy of his ID, there was the ring he bought on Friday. He wanted to see Lee Jeong-o smiling brightly with the ring on her finger.

Ji-heon decided to think that what he was doing now was ‘the past that must be cleared up to move further forward.’

Just as he had made up his mind, an email arrival alarm went off.

It was data from the credit card company.

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

Dinner time.

Guk-soon started the evening business.

While Guk-soon works, Yena spends time on a small platform next to the kitchen.

At an age when she should be running around and playing, she is stuck on the platform of a restaurant. She is a small child, so she could be fussy about being cramped, but perhaps because she has adapted to this routine, the child is calm.

While occasionally watching how busy her grandmother is, Yena enjoys her time by writing down the orders that came in today in a notebook and studying math, reading books, folding origami, playing Go [a strategic board game] by herself, and eavesdropping on the stories of the customers who visit the restaurant.

Guk-soon looks at such a granddaughter both admirably and sadly.

Such a peaceful daily life.

Today, a regular customer greeted her and spoke kindly to Guk-soon as he left.

“Madam, I enjoyed the meal.”

“Yes. Thank you. Come again.”

“If you sold alcohol here, your sales would double. What do I mean double, they would quintuple.”

Because it is a store that does not sell alcohol, there are not many evening customers. Guk-soon’s cooking skills are so good that regulars are sad that there are few evening customers, but Guk-soon is satisfied with this much.

Since she has a child, she has no choice but to be careful with the evening business.

After the regular customer left, the restaurant became quiet again. Perhaps because it was hot, there were no customers today.

“Shall we go in early today?”

“Yes!”

If she went home early, she could watch TV and do somersaults. Yena smiled brightly, welcoming her grandmother’s suggestion. But as soon as Yena got up from the platform, the restaurant door opened.

Yena lay back down on the platform with a disappointed expression, and Guk-soon got up from her seat and looked at the entrance, greeting her happily.

“Welcome.”

However, the corners of her lips that she had raised naturally quickly crumbled.

She could vaguely recognize the person who came in through the door.

“Oh my, who is this? Hello, ma’am!”

“…”

“You remember me, right? I’m Chae Eun-bi.”

Her face had changed quite a bit, but that subtly sharp voice was the same. Guk-soon’s complexion turned dark.