A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 97

97. Please Give Him Back

After Eun-yeop’s request on Wednesday, Eun-bi waited for his call, her heart fluttering with anticipation. Instead of going to work, she focused on grooming and self-care, trying to recover from neglecting herself. She also spent time thinking about how to comfort Ji-heon and Mrs. Jang Young-mi.

However, Eun-yeop didn’t call. Unable to bear the wait, Eun-bi called him the next day, but he didn’t answer. Finally, she decided to visit him at his law firm.

“Oppa.”

“Why are you here again?”

In just one day, Eun-yeop’s appearance had drastically deteriorated. He looked gaunt, and his voice was sharp and irritable.

“Why didn’t you call? What happened? Did it fail?”

Eun-bi pressed, but Eun-yeop only frowned, offering no explanation. It was clear: her brother had failed.

Eun-bi was stunned. *He treated me like a fool.* He acted like he could handle everything, making such grand promises. And after all my patient waiting, this is what I get.

Disappointed and angry, Eun-bi left the law firm and went straight to a friend—the same friend who had accompanied her to Guk-soon’s restaurant. While not a top-tier BJ [Broadcast Jockey, a live streamer], she ran internet broadcasting channels on various platforms.

Eun-bi recalled a prank she and her friend had pulled during their visit to Guk-soon’s restaurant. Eun-bi had secretly planted a piece of trash from her bag into the stew Guk-soon served.

Then, she feigned shock and outrage, acting as if she had caught Guk-soon putting it there. Her BJ friend had recorded the entire performance. Now, it was time to use that video footage, which she had previously shelved due to Eun-yeop’s disapproval.

Eun-bi asked her friend to include the Guk-soon Baekban visit at the end of her next food review video, making sure to mosaic Eun-bi’s face.

She felt a thrill of excitement as she imagined the edited video. But she also felt a pang of regret. *If I had acted sooner, Jung Ji-heon would have fallen out of love with Lee Jung-oh a long time ago. I should have told Mrs. Jang Young-mi sooner.*

More crucial than whether Lee Ye-na was Jung Ji-heon’s biological child was the reputation and dignity of Jung Ji-heon’s family. Jang Young-mi would never tolerate the presence of Lee Jung-oh, who brought shame upon them.

“Are we going to be okay? We’re not going to get sued for defamation, are we? We avoided the CCTV cameras pretty well, though.”

The BJ friend, feeling anxious while editing, voiced her concerns. Eun-bi reassured her.

“Of course, of course. There were no other customers, and I blocked the camera’s view. No one knows anything.”

“I still feel uneasy.”

“It’s fine, I’m telling you. Trust me. If she just loses some popularity, I’ll reward you handsomely.”

Eun-bi continued to coax her friend, who was still whining, until she finally uploaded the video. Then, Eun-bi watched the situation unfold with a mix of anticipation and anxiety.

However, an unforeseen problem arose. Around midnight, Jung-oh uploaded her own video, presenting her side of the story. The BJ friend, after seeing Jung-oh’s video, immediately contacted Eun-bi, furious.

“Hey, what is this! There was another CCTV camera? You said there was only one! You said you checked properly!”

“Ah, no… I checked everything?”

Eun-bi was in disbelief. She had thoroughly scanned the restaurant. There was only one camera, and she was sure she had blocked its view while planting the trash. She never imagined there would be another one directly across from her.

“How could this happen! You told me to trust you! How are you going to fix this!”

The BJ friend screamed at Eun-bi.

“First, delete the video you uploaded. And disable all the comment sections.”

Eun-bi, though shaken, tried to remain calm and advise her friend. Even if things went south, her face wasn’t visible in the video, so she wouldn’t be directly implicated. She thought she just needed to take down the video and comfort her friend.

However, the situation continued to escalate. Even after her friend deleted the video, people created and shared secondary edited versions, amplifying the damage.

The video circulated among various editors, portraying her friend as an even more malicious figure. Eventually, a few days later, one of Jung-oh’s channel subscribers shared shocking news in the comments.

– I went to the restaurant today, and they said they’re putting it up for sale. I asked the owner if she was transferring it, but she said she wouldn’t be running the restaurant anymore. The owner seemed very shaken by this incident. I couldn’t go often, but I always felt like I was eating a precious home-cooked meal once a month, and now the restaurant is closing for ridiculous reasons, which breaks my heart. If I feel this way, how must the owner feel?

* * * * * * *

Time flew by, and it was the last day of business for ‘Guk-soon Baekban.’

The number of customers visiting the restaurant had surged in the past few days. Some came because they were saddened by the news of the closure, while others were first-time visitors drawn in by Jung-oh’s channel.

Everyone praised Guk-soon’s cooking and expressed their sadness at the restaurant’s closing. Some customers even begged Guk-soon to reconsider.

It was primarily a lunch spot for nearby office workers on tight budgets, but today, customers kept pouring in. Jung-oh took the day off to help her mother, and Ji-heon rushed to the restaurant after work.

Guk-soon managed the kitchen, occasionally stepping out to greet departing customers. She handed each of them a piece of white rice cake, offering it with the same heartfelt sincerity she had on the restaurant’s opening day—a celebration of a new beginning.

Many loyal customers showed their support with gifts, which piled up on one side of the restaurant. Everyone cheered for Guk-soon’s future and wished her well. It wasn’t a lavish affair, but it was a warm and heartfelt farewell.

Before long, the white rice cakes were gone, and even the generous amount of food prepared in the kitchen had run out. After bidding farewell to the last customers and turning off the sign lights, Ji-heon presented Guk-soon with a large bouquet of flowers.

On a cleared table, a cake with flickering candles awaited.

“Grandma! Blow out the candles quickly!”

Ye-na ran over and tugged on Guk-soon’s arm. As Guk-soon stood before the cake, her family began to sing.

Lalalala lalala. Lalalala lalala. Dear Guk-soon. Congratulations.

A clumsy rendition of the birthday song, filled with ‘lalala’ lyrics. It was a celebration of something undefined, but Guk-soon was simply happy.

*I am truly happy. I have a family that I wouldn’t trade for anything.*

With a sense of fulfillment, she blew out the candles, and Ji-heon, Jung-oh, and Ye-na each offered their congratulations.

“Mother, thank you for your hard work all this time.”

“Mom! This is the real beginning. Life begins at 53!”

“Grandma! Congratulations on graduating from the restaurant!”

Clap, clap, clap. Ye-na clapped her hands and ran to the table laden with gifts. For Ye-na, who loved birthday parties, today, with its mountain of presents, was an especially exciting day.

“Grandma! Can I open the presents?”

Guk-soon’s eyes welled up as she gazed at the pile of gifts.

“Oh my. I don’t know if I should be receiving these. If I had just closed quietly, no one would have known, but I made it too noisy by letting the whole nation know, so I’m embarrassed.”

“Grandma, can I open the presents or not!”

Before Guk-soon could dwell on her embarrassment, Ye-na urgently pressed her.

“Okay. Let’s open them together, Grandma.”

Unable to resist her granddaughter’s enthusiasm, Guk-soon joined her at the table. Cosmetics, work clothes, shoes, magnifying glasses, books… a variety of gifts emerged. Gifts that Ye-na struggled to open were passed to Jung-oh.

“Mom. There’s a letter here too.”

In the flat box, there was a hand mirror and a letter. Jung-oh took out the letter and cleared her throat.

“I’ll read it. To the respected owner, Lee Guk-soon.”

The letter began with formal politeness.

“Hello, owner. I am the person who used to run an office in the alley across from the market entrance a few years ago. Do you remember when my friend, who was in business with me, went into debt and disappeared, and you took me to your restaurant and fed me when I was wiping away tears while cleaning up the store before closing it down?”

Guk-soon frowned, straining her forehead as if she didn’t remember well, and listened to Jung-oh’s voice.

“When I left the restaurant, you even packed me a generous amount of delicious side dishes and told me to come again if I needed more. That meal at that time was the best meal of my life… 으허어엉 [sound of sobbing].”

Jung-oh, her voice wavering, couldn’t hold back her tears.

Instead of tears, laughter filled Guk-soon’s eyes at her daughter’s dramatic crying.

“Oh my. That’s just how she is. If something happens to me, she pretends to be more hurt than I am, you know?”

“When did I ever do that?”

Jung-oh pouted, saying she hated her mother for teasing her.

“Mom. Stop it. Stop.”

Ye-na stroked Jung-oh’s back with a serious expression, mimicking Jung-oh’s comforting gestures. Ji-heon took the letter from Jung-oh and finished reading it.

“When I couldn’t trust anyone in this world, I was greatly comforted by the fact that there was someone who would share warmth with me, even with me who had lost everything. Thanks to you, owner, I didn’t give in to despair and lived each day diligently again.”

Guk-soon smiled contentedly at Ji-heon’s low and gentle voice.

“Thank you for the really delicious meal and the warm words at that time. I will support whatever you do. Stay healthy and happy.”

It was a warm and heartfelt letter. After Ji-heon finished reading and handed it to Guk-soon, Guk-soon touched her cheek, looking slightly embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t quite remember.”

She meant that she had performed so many acts of kindness that she couldn’t recall each one. Ji-heon and Jung-oh, understanding her heart, smiled knowingly.

Guk-soon took a deep, refreshing breath, as if truly relieved.

“Just like our Ye-na said, it feels like I’m really graduating.”

She had lived diligently. While raising her child, and while that child had another child and raised that child, the restaurant had become everything—a home, clothes, and even a fun toy.

Now, she was preparing for another new beginning, parting ways with that cherished restaurant.

“I didn’t graduate from school properly, but it feels like I’m graduating from the restaurant properly. I’m really proud.”

Guk-soon was happier than anyone else, surrounded by her family at this ending.

“Post something on the internet too. That I’m closing the restaurant not because of the conflict with that BJ, but because I’m preparing to try something new.”

“I honestly want to leave it so she gets more hate.”

Jung-oh complained at Guk-soon’s request. But she couldn’t defy her mother’s wishes, so she immediately picked up her phone.

“…Huh?”

But as soon as she logged into her account, wrinkles formed on her forehead. Dozens of messages had flooded Jung-oh’s inbox, filled with accusations from unknown senders.

“What’s wrong?”

Ji-heon approached and asked.

“…It looks like that BJ posted a new article?”

Jung-oh immediately navigated to the BJ’s channel and checked the recent news. A lengthy post was pinned to the top of the bulletin board.

– Hello. I would like to explain the circumstances of the recent unfortunate incident. The restaurant in question is actually run by the family of my acquaintance’s lover’s mistress. My acquaintance, who was about to get married, was abandoned by her lover of four years and is in danger of being kicked out of the company she was working at because of the mistress’s slander. I didn’t want to do this, but after hearing about my acquaintance’s sad situation, I couldn’t stand it and uploaded the video out of anger.

*Me, becoming a mistress.*

Jung-oh’s hands trembled as she read the BJ’s accusation.

– You can say whatever you want to me. But I don’t think I’m the only one at fault. Mistress, please come to your senses even now and give my acquaintance’s lover back. No matter what you did with him or how much you insulted my acquaintance, my acquaintance says it doesn’t matter. So please, give him back.