A child who looks like me

In a quiet office.

Ji-heon watched Jung-oh as if he were observing her.

In a space with walls all around, he wanted to watch her a little more comfortably, without any interruptions.

Though she always appeared tense, she still showed subtle differences each time.

Initially, she was like a dragonfly trapped in a net, flapping desperately; then she appeared like a detective, grabbing his wrist; at one point, she cried like a sorrowful widow; and now, she looked like an enthusiastic rookie employee.

However, while he enjoyed watching her, he did not want to get involved. Ji-heon shot her a cold glare, just as he did with everyone else.

“Have you shot a commercial famous enough for your name to be known?”

Under Ji-heon’s cold reception, her expression seemed to shift.

After a moment, she forced herself to speak.

“…I have something to say, Director.”

Her dry lips quivered a few times, and as if she had made a decision, she raised her voice.

Drrrrr. Drrrrr.

A vibrating sound interrupted her words.

“Isn’t that a phone call?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Jung-oh covered her pocket with her hand, as if she didn’t want to be interrupted.

The vibration persisted stubbornly.

“Just answer it. It might be an urgent call.”

Ji-heon gestured with his chin as if to be kind.

He was curious about who was calling her.

She reluctantly took out her phone from her pocket. After checking the caller ID, she tilted her head and stood up, bowing slightly.

“Well then, I’ll step outside to take this call.”

Ji-heon’s eyes widened.

No, that’s not what he meant!

Before Ji-heon could stop her, Jung-oh swiftly left the office.

Ha…

He didn’t mean for her to leave. He wanted her to take the call here, in the office.

“Yes, Teacher.”

Outside the office, her voice was audible. It seemed that someone referred to as “Teacher” had called her.

Ji-heon was left waiting helplessly for her to finish her call and come back.

10 minutes, 20 minutes…

As the silence left by her departure dragged on, Ji-heon stared at the clock.

What kind of call takes 30 minutes?

‘Could it be that the person called “Teacher” is a client?’

Around the time 30 minutes passed, Ji-heon could no longer hold back and opened the door. The secretary stood up.

“Is Jung-oh still out?”

“Yes? Jung-oh left a while ago.”

…What a ridiculous situation.

“Tell her to come back.”

At Ji-heon’s sharp voice, the secretary hurriedly picked up the phone.

A moment later, news came back to the office.

“Director, Jung-oh has left.”

What in the world happened? No explanation, no indication of where she was going, and she had said she had something to say.

Ha.

It was so absurd that all he could do was sigh.

He had tried hard not to be tossed around, but it felt like he had been hit hard.

***

[Jung-oh’s phone call, which interrupted the conversation, led to unexpected events and heightened tensions.]

***

Jung-oh ran out of the company, as if struck by a thunderbolt, leaving without properly organizing her desk.

She only realized she should have mentioned she was stepping out after she had gotten into a taxi. Team Leader Sung Mi-ran had generously understood without needing all the details.

Since it was around the time people were getting off work, the taxi crawled through traffic.

In the car, one minute felt like an hour, or even a year. Jung-oh pleaded.

“Please, driver, faster, faster…”

“I can’t go any faster from here.”

“Our child is missing… She got off the bus, but since it arrived early… she is missing from the academy…”

Jung-oh spoke in a jumble, just letting her thoughts flow out. The congested road felt like it was choking her.

Though her words were disjointed, the anguish in Jung-oh’s heart was conveyed properly. The driver understood her situation well and quickened his pace, taking the fastest route he knew.

The car rushed to a stop in front of the Go academy.

“Teacher!”

Jung-oh jumped out of the taxi and ran toward the principal of the Go academy.

There were people gathered in front of the academy building: the principal, an assistant teacher, a boy, a girl, and a woman about Jung-oh’s age.

“Ye-na’s mother.”

“Where’s our Ye-na? Did you find her?”

“We found her. We just received a call.”

“Where is she?”

“They said the police are protecting her. They’re bringing her this way.”

Ha…

Thank you, God.

As the principal relayed the news, the tension in Jung-oh’s body melted away, and she placed a hand on her chest, almost collapsing.

The principal and the woman standing next to him supported Jung-oh on either side.

“You must have been very worried… I’m so sorry.”

At the principal’s apology, Jung-oh shook her head. Tears had started to stream down her cheeks. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and lifted her face.

As their eyes met, the unfamiliar woman who had supported Jung-oh greeted her.

“Hello. I’m the mother of Do-bin, Ye-na’s friend from the academy. Do-bin likes Ye-na… He said he came to see her.”

“Oh, hello.”

Jung-oh greeted Jin-seo, Do-bin’s mother.

The boy, who seemed to be around Ye-na’s age, standing next to Jin-seo, bowed shyly and hid behind his mother.

So, you’re Do-bin.

Though it was a chaotic time, seeing Ye-na’s peers brought Jung-oh both relief and gratitude.

As she regained her composure, she spotted two people approaching from a distance: a tall man in a turquoise police uniform and Ye-na.

“Ye-na!”

The moment Jung-oh saw her, she ran toward her.

“Mom!”

Ye-na rushed into her arms.

Jung-oh hugged Ye-na tightly. Though she had thought about scolding her for worrying everyone, her voice was mixed with tears.

“Let me see. Are you hurt anywhere? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“Where did you go? How could you wander off alone like that?”

“I didn’t go alone. A strange lady said she was my academy teacher and took my hand and walked off.”

Ye-na spoke clearly.

“She said she was your academy teacher?”

A chill ran down Jung-oh’s spine.

“Yeah. She took me away, and then later she said, ‘Who are you?’ and let go of my hand.”

Her heart sank. This was not a problem to take lightly. Looking at the accompanying police officer, he spoke up.

“We suspect it was a suspicious person, and we plan to investigate. We’ll secure the nearby CCTV footage and get back to you.”

The police officer briefly shared his plan before introducing himself.

“I’m Kwon Bae-il, working at the Hwayang Police Station.”

He was a handsome man with a tall stature. With his fair complexion and gentle demeanor, it was hard to imagine him interrogating a criminal.

“Yes. Hello. Thank you so much.”

Jung-oh deeply bowed to express her gratitude. Bae-il, who smiled warmly, explained the situation.

“My colleague saw this girl while on patrol. The boyfriend here has such a loud voice.”

As Bae-il pointed to Do-bin, the boy’s cheeks turned bright red.

“Thanks to that, we quickly learned someone had reported a missing child and began searching. Ye-na ran away from my colleague when she saw him. She probably thought he looked like a scary man since he wasn’t in uniform.”

“Scary man…”

Feeling embarrassed by Bae-il’s description, Ye-na pouted. It seemed that the two had become close in the meantime.

Bae-il continued.

“Eventually, I went to bring her back. She had gone all the way to the fire station.”

“You couldn’t see the police station from there. That’s why I was searching.”

Ye-na replied firmly.

Jung-oh tightly held Ye-na’s hand.

I’m so relieved it turned out like this.

Thank you, God…

Once again, Jung-oh realized that her daughter was her everything, a truth that pierced her to the bone.

***

Ji-heon, forgetting his plans to leave work, propped his chin on his hand and stared at the clock.

It had been over an hour since Jung-oh disappeared without a word, and he hadn’t heard from her.

It seemed he had forgotten that he was waiting.

Just after 7 PM, a knock finally sounded.

“Yes.”

However, the person who walked in wasn’t Jung-oh but his friend, Park Seung-kyu.

Ji-heon’s expression changed back to a scowl as he corrected his posture in the chair.

“Aren’t you clocking out?”

Seung-kyu asked leisurely, sitting down in the chair Jung-oh had occupied. Ji-heon’s side glance grew sharper. Seung-kyu, oblivious, opened his mouth to boast about his son.

“Want to hear something funny? My son has a crush on a girl.”

“Your son talks like he’s twenty.”

“Kids these days are like that. Even seven-year-olds seem mature.”

“…”

“He said he fell in love at first sight. He secretly told me without his mom knowing. Kids these days are really something.”

“You might find it amusing, but won’t that girl’s dad be shocked to hear that?”

Seung-kyu’s eyes went blank at Ji-heon’s sarcastic attitude.

Why is her dad being brought into this?

And what’s wrong with my son?

Is there really a dad out there who would be shocked by the notion of falling in love at first sight?

…Something must be bothering my friend.

Seung-kyu stood up and approached Ji-heon. When their eyes met, Ji-heon turned away dismissively.

“What’s going on?”

“What’s going on? Nothing’s wrong.”

“Of course there’s something. Come on.”

“There’s nothing. Just clock out.”

With his head turned and looking elsewhere, Ji-heon seemed like a petulant child. Seung-kyu chuckled and tossed out a joke.

“You don’t like me.”

“What are you talking about? I like you a lot.”

“You like me? You?”

The playful remark turned serious.

Since he had never received such a confession from his friend in 16 years, Seung-kyu’s face momentarily flushed.

“Of course. I like you.”

Ji-heon turned back to Seung-kyu and offered a faint smile.

But for some reason, that faint smile felt crooked.

“That’s why I keep you by my side, even though your mother sent you.”

Seung-kyu’s expression hardened in an instant.

He had thought that he had built a friendship with Ji-heon as a friend, rather than as a superior, and that pride crumbled in an instant.

Ji-heon continued callously.

“I’ll treat you well. I shouldn’t do anything to disappoint you.”

“…So you see me like that.”

Seung-kyu felt a lump in his throat at his friend’s indifferent tone despite the horrible story.

Though Ji-heon was known for his equal rudeness towards all employees, more than anyone, Seung-kyu always felt a sense of pity for him.

But now, for the first time, he felt resentment toward his friend.

“Do you think I’m a joke?”

“I never said I found you funny. I said I liked you.”

“No, you think I’m a joke. Deep down, you’ll always think that. Do you really think I don’t see your duplicity?”

Seung-kyu also spoke words he had held back for a long time about the person he had been watching for years, Jung Ji-heon.

“You’re like this in everything. You abandon the best option you could easily choose and opt for the second-best. You can always invest 100 or even 150, yet you only put in 80. You could be first, but you settle for second or third. That’s you. You don’t put effort into anything or any relationship. Your life is easy, isn’t it?”

Looking at Ji-heon reminded Seung-kyu of a battery that discharges automatically once it’s charged to 80%.

Without giving his all, he finds a compromise at a comfortable point and quietly holds his ground.

He purposely lowers the world’s expectations and lives life comfortably while merely going through the motions.

But was that really a comfortable life?

Is a life lived only in pretense truly comfortable?

That’s why he had given his affection. Because he felt so sorry for his friend.

Even on the day when he had lost all the memories accumulated over three years and woke up, Ji-heon had remained calm and silent.

“You have nothing valuable. Everyone who has passed you by is trivial to you.”

Despite Seung-kyu’s harsh assessment, Ji-heon’s expression didn’t change.

It was as if he was indifferent to losing a friend.

Seung-kyu felt a pang of sorrow as he uttered such harsh words.

Though he blamed Ji-heon, he couldn’t bring himself to hate him. Stupidly so.

***

“Still, I support you.”

“…”

“You may not believe it, but even in this moment of anger, I support you, you bastard. I can’t understand why you live like that, but I still think of you as my friend.”

You’ll never know how much I cherish you, how much I feel sorry for you. Forever.

“I’m not your mother; I’m on your side. You jerk.”

With that, Seung-kyu poured out his heart and left the office.

Bang.

He slammed the door intentionally.

Yet his steps felt heavy as he left.

He thought he had emptied his heart, but some feelings still clung to him like a lingering regret.

***

A few minutes later, the kindergarten teacher rushed in, looking flustered.

“I’m really sorry for leaving Ye-na behind. It was entirely my fault.”

The kindergarten teacher bowed repeatedly, tears streaming down her face.

While the mistake had indeed originated from the kindergarten, it was hard for Jung-oh to remain angry with the teacher given her heartfelt apology.

“It’s alright. But this can never happen again. It would be inconvenient, but could you please call the academy a few minutes before you arrive?”

“Yes. I will do that from now on.”

If a problem arose and was barely resolved, the focus now had to be on prevention.

She had received a promise from the police to work on prevention as well, so she should trust them and ease her worries.

With a relieved expression, Jung-oh picked up Ye-na’s kindergarten bag. It felt like something was inside, so she shook it.

“Mom, there’s a drawing in the bag. We made a zoo at kindergarten today.”

Inside the bag was a paper frame labeled “Zoo.”

“What kind of animal is this?”

“That’s a deer.”

…Ye-na, do you really think this is a deer?

Whether it looked like a deer, a lion, or even a mantis, the fact that she had to recognize this creature with a green body and carnivorous teeth as a deer was amusing, and Jung-oh couldn’t help but laugh.

Meanwhile, she noticed a note sticking out of the front pocket of the bag.

Without thinking, Jung-oh pulled out the note.

The handwriting inside read…

– She looks like her mom and has her dad’s personality. A child who resembles both equally.

And playfully drawn was the logo of the Seonhyun Group…

Jung-oh’s previously calm smile shattered. It felt like her heart dropped to her feet.

Someone knows.

Someone knows that I gave birth to Jung Ji-heon’s child.