A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 7

7. My Princess

I don’t know how the day passed.

For Jeong-oh, it was a day so painful she felt nauseous.

Nevertheless, the reason the end can be happy is because she has a comfortable home and a precious family.

On days when she gets off work early, she goes to Guk-soon’s restaurant to help with the cleanup, but today, for some reason, Guk-soon closed the restaurant early as well.

As Jeong-oh opened the front door, her puppy-like daughter came running.

“Mommy!”

“Princess Yena!”

My princess who shatters the universe with loveliness and cuteness!

Jeong-oh’s energy, which had been completely drained, was fully recharged with her daughter. Jeong-oh easily picked up Yena, who had run to her.

“You didn’t work late?”

Guk-soon came out to the living room, wiping the water from her hands on her pants.

“Yeah. It’s my first day.”

Jeong-oh answered Guk-soon, giving Yena kisses on the cheek.

I’m happy as I am.

Jung Ji-heon, you can’t ruin this.

What was once a hellish life has now become heaven.

When I thought I had lost love, a greater love came to me. The love that my daughter Yena taught me became the strength to live on.

So, I can’t just vaguely resent and hate Jung Ji-heon.

I just hope this heaven doesn’t fall apart.

Around 9 PM. Jeong-oh spread out a mat and lay down next to Yena. It was time for the child to go to dreamland.

She turned off the light in the room and put her arm under Yena’s head, but the energetic seven-year-old was not likely to fall asleep easily. Yena kept playing pranks on Jeong-oh and giggled, but after being scolded a few times, she lay down properly.

Yena, who had been blinking sleepily, called her mother in a low voice.

“Mom, I met a seven-year-old at the academy [private tutoring center] today.”

“You made a friend!”

“Not yet a friend. He doesn’t know anything about Go [a strategy board game].”

“You can be friends even if you don’t know Go. Yena can teach him. Someday, your friend will be as good as Yena.”

“He cried, saying he didn’t want to learn Go.”

“He might like it someday.”

Jeong-oh’s voice rose with the joy of her daughter making a friend. But Yena pursed her lips as if she couldn’t believe her mother’s words.

“What’s your friend’s name?”

“Park Do-bin.”

“Is he a boy?”

“Yes.”

Yena’s voice slowed down.

“His mom came to pick him up today, and she came yesterday too.”

“…….”

“I think she’ll come tomorrow too.”

She was pretending to be sleepy, but Jeong-oh could sense the hidden meaning in her words.

“Were you jealous of Do-bin?”

“No.”

“…….”

“……I was a little jealous.”

Jeong-oh’s heart stung at her daughter’s hesitant confession.

My princess.

I love you and cherish you so much that I want to do anything for you, but I only have one body, so there are limits to what I can do.

It’s not that I haven’t thought it would be nice if she had a father.

Today, as always, I came to that thought and vaguely thought of Ji-heon.

‘But doesn’t he know that I gave birth to Yena? I thought he would ask somehow.’

As soon as I thought of Ji-heon, a big question mark appeared in my head.

‘Does he firmly believe that I would have given up the child?’

Anyway, even if he finds out the truth, I won’t let him get away with saying nonsense about taking my daughter now.

Jeong-oh clenched her fist as she thought of Ji-heon.

Then, after a while, she released her fist weakly and lamented.

What kind of cruel twist of fate is this?

To meet the father of my secretly raised child at work. As my superior, no less.

The man I met after 7 years still boasted handsome looks. His impression had become much colder, though.

‘Were there many women?’

Of course, there would be.

He was a person who liked women so much.

Until we started dating, no, until our first kiss, he seemed like a man with no sexual desire at all, so abstinent. That guy, his true nature was a beast.

Jung Ji-heon in a private space was a completely different person from Jung Ji-heon in a public place.

He tormented her to the point of obsession, and it seemed like he enjoyed it.

When they spent the weekend together, he wanted her as if he would stay up all night. There were times when she had to pretend to be asleep because she was exhausted.

No, it didn’t seem to matter whether it was night or day.

He was such a lustful person.

There must have been so many women that I couldn’t count them on my fingers.

‘He must have charmed this woman and that woman.’

And he must have quickly erased someone like me.

I felt sad that his time had flowed so leisurely, while I was restless.

In one corner of my heart, a season that I couldn’t leave was still stagnant.

‘Should I quit the company after all?’

I didn’t want to show myself being swayed by emotions.

But I didn’t want to be in a position to run away either.

It was a night of deep worries.

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

The next morning.

Ji-heon visited his parents’ house.

Actually, he was supposed to visit yesterday and stay overnight to have breakfast with his parents, but he wasn’t feeling well, so he stopped by in the morning.

But his mood wasn’t any better in the morning. He had a strange dream last night and had been in a daze ever since. As if possessed by a ghost.

“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

Jang Young-mi asked, noticing Ji-heon repeatedly rubbing his shoulder during the meal.

I can’t tell them that I’m thirty-three years old and fell off the sofa while sleeping.

“I must have slept wrong.”

Ji-heon answered vaguely.

“Be careful with your attitude in front of your employees. If you show too much discomfort, they might misunderstand.”

Father Jung Jae-gwang advised without missing the opportunity.

“Yes.”

Ji-heon answered briefly.

The meal with his parents was not comfortable. His father was a blunt man who only talked about work, and his mother was a person who had excessive interest in Ji-heon. Ji-heon remained silent, fearing that the meal would be prolonged if the topic of marriage came up.

“How’s the new job? Is the work manageable?”

“So-so. I’ve barely learned people’s faces.”

When Ji-heon answered his father’s question vaguely, Young-mi chimed in.

“Honey. It’s only been a week since Ji-heon changed companies. By the way, Eun-bi is also in that company…….”

“Father, what about my brother?”

Feeling the signs of a troublesome conversation, Ji-heon quickly spoke to Jae-gwang.

“He suddenly had a business trip.”

“It would have been nice if my brother had joined us for the meal. He must be very busy.”

Young-mi had a displeased expression, but Ji-heon didn’t care. Ji-heon, who had naturally overcome the crisis, gave Young-mi a refined smile when their eyes met.

The meal ended without incident.

Before going to work, Ji-heon went to his room and looked at the books he used to read when he was young.

Whenever he came to his parents’ house, he felt strange. The memories of his very early childhood were quite vivid, but this was a place where he realized that he had no memory of 7 years ago, when he was twenty-six years old.

What kind of person was I back then? What was I thinking?

Since I can’t remember, I tend to be more obsessed with it.

When he put the book he had opened back in its place, the door opened and Young-mi came in.

Young-mi, whose face brightened as soon as she found her son, came closer and asked.

“Do you have some time this morning?”

“I have to go to work now.”

Young-mi, who had been thinking of going on a date with her son after a long time, was disappointed.

Ji-heon called Young-mi.

“Mother.”

“Yes?”

“During those 3 years when I lost my memory.”

As Ji-heon started to speak, a cold shadow fell on Young-mi’s eyes.

The 3 years when her son lost his memory. It was the topic that Young-mi hated the most.

“What happened?”

“I went to the military…… Other than that, it was the same.”

Ji-heon said quietly, as if talking to himself, to the light answer that seemed like nothing.

“Is it the military after all?”

Young-mi smiled awkwardly and raised her hand to stroke her son’s hair.

“Not remembering at all must mean you shouldn’t be tied to it.”

“But I think something must have happened.”

“…….”

“I feel like I’ve forgotten something, but I don’t know what it is.”

“Do you remember that you used to have a red spot in this place?”

Just like her son did during breakfast, her mother avoided the burdensome topic and changed the subject.

Her son had a red, flame-shaped nevus, a salmon patch, on his forehead for a long time. They usually disappeared before the age of three, but her son’s salmon patch lasted quite a long time. It probably disappeared around the first year of middle school.

“I know. I used to cover my forehead with bangs because of it.”

Ji-heon answered as if it was a trivial story.

Young-mi continued, as if reminiscing, stroking the place where the salmon patch had disappeared.

“I could check even what wasn’t revealed in your expression. By looking here.”

“…….”

“It was like that back then.”

It was an unpleasant memory for Ji-heon. Being able to have your mind read even when you hide your expression was not a good thing for the person involved. He hated it because the salmon patch became redder when he was in a bad mood.

Young-mi, who didn’t know such inner feelings, smiled kindly and wrapped up the crude stories.

“Don’t worry too much about what happened 7 years ago.”

There’s no heart left now. As if I had used up all my heart back then.

Ji-heon still lives hiding his inner feelings.

“But if something difficult happens, talk to your mom. Okay?”

“Yes.”

“I love you, son. You’re all I have.”

Ji-heon, who reacted loosely to his mother’s hug, immediately said goodbye and left his parents’ house.

The eyes of Ji-heon, who had escaped from the theater of being a good son, quickly erased the warmth.

Ji-heon, who exhaled the stuffy breath, roughly stepped on the accelerator.

Even though it was a bright morning, his head was not clear. It felt like soot was stuck and wouldn’t come out.

I didn’t know if it was because I brought up what happened 7 years ago or because of the dream I had last night.

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

At the same time, the pantry of Max Planning.

Jeong-oh made coffee with tired eyes.

She fell asleep at dawn thinking about whether to continue working at the company or quit.

The conclusion she finally came to was that she had to go for now.

I have to work hard for now. That was the best I could do. As long as I have a mother who has sacrificed her whole life for her children and a daughter who is growing up, I must not collapse.

Jung Ji-heon is an executive, so I won’t run into him often. If I avoid him well, I can last for a few months. In the meantime, let’s prepare to change jobs again.

Once I set the direction, my mind became much lighter. The steps I took to get coffee and turn around were also quite light.

But that feeling didn’t last long. Jeong-oh stopped abruptly in her place.

Following yesterday’s Jung Ji-heon, another villain appeared today.

The other person greeted Jeong-oh with wide eyes.

“Oh my, who is this? You’re Lee Jeong-oh, right? Do you remember who I am?”

Of course, I can’t not remember.

It’s just that I don’t want to remember.

Why is that friend who brought me the most tears in my school days here…….

“I’m Chae Eun-bi. Don’t you know me?”

“……Oh, I know. ……Chae Eun-bi.”

“It’s so nice to see you, Jeong-oh! How have you been?”

We’re not that kind of relationship. Jeong-oh was even more embarrassed because the other person greeted her so happily.

“Oh, well, so-so. ……Did you work at this company?”

“Yes. I’m a copywriter.”

Eun-bi smiled and answered Jeong-oh’s pointless question.

Still, it’s been 10 years since I graduated from high school, and since we met at work, it would be meaningless to dig up the past.

Moreover, Chae Eun-bi couldn’t be tied to the past that she might have forgotten.

Shall we get along coolly now?

It’s a company that I won’t be in for long anyway.

When I was about to put a new resolution into my heart and open my lips to greet her, Eun-bi spoke first.

“Come to think of it, you were the assistant manager who came to our neighboring team? Production Team 2?”

Eun-bi’s lips pursed roundly. As if she was very curious about Jeong-oh.

“Yes.”

“How many years of assistant manager?”

“It’s my first year.”

“First year? What have you been doing?”

The moment I felt something was wrong, Eun-bi’s lips, which had been rounded, stretched out long. It was a twisted smile, with one side relatively longer.

It was the expression of a noblewoman dealing with a lowly subordinate, but a glimpse of joy flashed in her eyes.

“I’m a section chief.”