A child who looks like me

In the office of the Head of Max Planning.

After finishing a business meeting and lunch, Ji-heon returned to the company and sat quietly until he dozed off. When Seung-kyu came in and noticed, he gently tried to wake him, but Ji-heon didn’t stir. This was the first time Seung-kyu had seen his friend like this.

Seeing Ji-heon’s hand sluggishly moving as if he were soothing a baby in his dream, Seung-kyu couldn’t help but chuckle. However, feeling a bit sorry for him, he decided to give up on waking him and sat down on the sofa.

The nap didn’t last long. Ji-heon, who had been resting his chin on his hand, suddenly snapped awake, his arm going limp.

“Are you awake?”

At Seung-kyu’s question, Ji-heon let out a long sigh, wearing a serious expression. The dream had felt like an extension of reality. In the dream, he was still comforting Ye-jun. And beside him was Yena, whining, “I like mom, not dad!”

Before Ye-jun was born, Ji-heon had received a lot of advice from others, but the reality of parenting was on a whole different level. Most of all, he could hardly get any sleep. The baby cried day and night, and he had to hold him all day long.

With a still-sleepy expression, Ji-heon spoke.

“Park Seung-kyu.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re really amazing.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Just because. You seem impressive. I really respect you.”

At Ji-heon’s resigned tone, Seung-kyu laughed again.

Now the two had become comrades who understood each other without needing to complain or share their burdens.

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

In the first-grade classroom.

As she was about to leave for home, Saebyeol noticed Yena crying and approached her. Do-bin tensed up.

“Yena, did you cry? Why are you crying?”

After being comforted by Do-bin, Yena calmed down enough to respond.

“It’s because of mom and the baby.”

“Why about mom and the baby?”

“Mom likes the baby more.”

“…”

“The second one is lucky. Mom is always by their side.”

Do-bin, another firstborn, agreed with Yena’s sentiment.

“Yeah, the second one is really lucky.”

“Guys, you know what? The second child also has a hard time.”

Saebyeol let out a deep sigh, as if she had lived a long life.

“I can’t argue with my sister. If I touch even a little of her stuff, she hits me with a Go stone.”

“Really? I don’t think Saebom would do that. She seems like an angel.”

“Angel? No way! She’s a monster!”

“Why is your sister a monster? How can you say that?”

As Saebyeol raised her voice about her sister being a monster, Yena also snapped back. She reacted as Ye-jun’s sister and as someone who liked Saebom.

“Right, you shouldn’t call your sister a monster!”

Seizing the moment, Do-bin joined in to back Yena up.

“Whoa, I didn’t mean she’s a real monster; I just meant she can be a monster sometimes. You wouldn’t know.”

Having lived with his sister for eight years, Saebyeol sighed again, implying that the firstborns didn’t understand the feelings of the younger ones.

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

After returning home from school, Do-bin greeted Jin-seo.

“I’m back!”

“Did you do well on the dictation?”

“Yeah! I did well!”

Do-bin showed Jin-seo his dictation notebook, which had a score of 50, half correct and half wrong.

“I didn’t even study, but I got half right, so that’s good, right, Mom?”

Having concluded that he had done well, Do-bin sought confirmation from his mother, leaving Jin-seo at a loss for words.

“Yeah… you can do better next time. You did well, son.”

“Thanks! And Mom! I did something good today.”

“What did you do?”

Jin-seo, who had been sulking about the dictation score, perked up at Do-bin’s words, wondering if he had received praise from the teacher for doing a good deed.

“I comforted Yena because she looked sad because of the baby.”

However, the key point was once again about Yena. Jin-seo managed a lifeless smile.

“It seems like Yena dislikes the baby. Isn’t it strange? I don’t feel that way.”

Son, you used to step all over your little brother.

Seeing Do-bin stepping over the arms of his younger brother, Doyun, who was lying on the floor flailing his limbs, had been quite a shocking experience. Thankfully, he was a lightweight; it could have led to a major accident.

“Anyway, I comforted Yena to get along with the baby. I did well, right?”

Jin-seo thought it was cute how her son had forgotten what it was like to be a tadpole and could only remember his childhood days. Compared to then, he had grown quite mature.

Yeah. Regardless of dictation or anything else, I’m grateful you’re growing up so responsibly.

“You did well.”

“Yeah. Mom, since I did something good, can I have ice cream?”

Her responsible son was quite bold.

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

Yena bravely opened the front door.

“I’m home!”

“Yena’s back?”

Jeong-o, who had come out to the living room after putting Ye-jun to sleep and was sitting on the sofa, stood up groggily. Even at Yena’s cheerful greeting, Jeong-o’s expression somehow lacked energy.

Having felt much lighter after being comforted by Do-bin, Yena’s spirits fell again as she returned home.

Her mom hadn’t called her Princess Yena.

Although she knew she couldn’t be a princess every day, it still hurt her feelings when she realized it.

Bit by bit, I’m drifting away from being a princess, and a new prince will take my place. The thought made her want to cry. Suddenly, she felt worried about the time that would come.

May is Yena’s month. The month of Yena’s birthday.

But now, even in this blessed May, Yena had begun to feel sorrow. Her younger sibling had been born even earlier than her birthday, which worried her.

With both Mom and Dad busy taking care of the baby, would they have time to celebrate my birthday?

Not knowing Yena’s complicated feelings, Jeong-o kindly spoke.

“Shall I cut you some watermelon? Do you want some watermelon?”

“Yeah.”

Yena weakly responded, then went into her room, set down her bag, and secretly slipped into her mom’s bedroom.

Ye-jun was sound asleep in the crib, breathing softly. Even when she poked his cheek, the baby didn’t wake up. Though she wanted to annoy him further, she remembered what Saebyeol had said and refrained from being too harsh. She thought it would be unpleasant to be called a monster by her little brother.

“Ye-jun, why do you make Mom and your sister suffer?”

Taking advantage of the moment when her mother was absent, Yena spilled her feelings.

“Why were you born in May and disrupt your sister’s birthday?”

Last year, she had been talking about her birthday for a whole week in advance. Perhaps because she was a year older or felt anxious about being ignored by Mom and Dad, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

But she couldn’t just give up her birthday…

Thinking it over, Yena came out of the bedroom holding her dictation notebook and went to Jeong-o.

“Mom, I got a perfect score on my dictation today! Look, it’s May 25!”

Yena pointed to the date above the circled ‘100’ in her notebook.

It wasn’t the score that mattered, but the date—it was a roundabout way of saying that if Mom realized what day it was today, she would quickly understand what was happening the day after tomorrow.

“Oh, really! Our Yena is great at dictation and has beautiful handwriting!”

However, Jeong-o only praised Yena’s dictation score and her handwriting. This was an unexpected obstacle for Yena.

Flustered, Yena threw out an easier hint.

“Mom, there’s another dictation the day after tomorrow, on May 27.”

“Is that so? Do you want me to help?”

“…No, it’s fine. I’ll do it myself.”

Having failed to engrave the date in her mind, Yena slumped her shoulders and entered her room.

But she couldn’t give up like this. Thinking hard again, Yena secretly called her grandfather.

As she heard the ringing, she swallowed nervously. Fortunately, her grandfather picked up quickly.

[Is this our Princess Yena?] As expected, Jae-gwang’s voice was loud and lively, as if Yena was the center of his universe. Her spirits lifted at his reaction.

Yena quickly got to the point.

“Grandpa! Do you know what day May 27 is?”

[May 27? Of course I know! It’s our Yena’s birthday. I’m just waiting for that day.] “Really?”

[Absolutely!] “But, Grandpa, our mom and dad might forget.”

[What? How could they forget that?] “Because Mom and Dad are too busy taking care of Ye-jun.”

Yena’s voice grew small.

“So, could you tell Mom and Dad that May 27 is Yena’s birthday?”

[Can’t Yena say it?] “No.”

She didn’t want to seem like she was begging for attention, but she still wanted to receive it.

She was grateful to have a grandfather she could confide in like this.

[Okay. I’ll tell them, but Yena,] “Yes?”

[Your mom and dad will remember everything. There’s no need for me to tell them; they know it all. I know everything.] Jae-gwang’s voice, which was gently persuading Yena, became even more intimate.

[And this is a secret, Yena.] “……”

[Grandpa thinks our Yena is the best.] Jae-gwang didn’t forget to make a little appeal while he sensed his granddaughter’s heart softening.

[Even if your little brother is born, and even if more of your cousins are born, to me, you will always be number one.] Yena’s heart raced at the unexpected confession.

“Really?”

[Of course. I really mean it.] “Then if I tell Grandpa not to hold Ye-jun, he won’t, right?”

[Of course! We have to listen to everything our Yena says.] Yena couldn’t help but smile at her grandfather’s confident answer.

In her mind, she pictured her grandfather not holding Ye-jun while her younger brother pouted, asking to be held. A fleeting thought crossed her mind: it was sad that her younger brother wouldn’t receive their grandfather’s love.

Finally, Yena was able to feel a bit more generous.

“Grandpa, you can hold Ye-jun. It’s okay because you think I’m number one.”

Just knowing that she was loved was enough to make her feel better.

Thanks to her grandfather, Yena felt good. However, as more time passed and her birthday approached, she felt her confidence wane again. Mom and Dad continued to be busy, and they seemed to have no time to listen to Yena.

Thus, on the morning of May 27…

“Princess Yena. Jeong Yena.”

Even though she vaguely sensed that it was past 8 o’clock, Yena didn’t open her eyes. Jeong-o approached and gently tried to wake her up, but Yena squeezed her eyes shut even tighter.

“Are you not getting up? You have to go to school.”

“I don’t want to. I’m not going.”

Yena stubbornly refused to get up. She didn’t want to face reality.

“Then we won’t have a birthday party?”

A birthday party?

At her mother’s voice, Yena’s eyes flew open.

“Happy birthday to our Yena!”

In front of Yena stood Jeong-o, Ji-heon, Guk-soon, and Young-mi, all wearing party hats, along with Ye-jun, who was also sporting a party hat. Tears welled up in Yena’s eyes.

“Didn’t you forget?”

“Why would I forget? It’s the most important day in the world.”

Jeong-o answered Yena’s question.

Really? Is it really the most important day in the world? Even to Mom and Dad?

Overcome with emotion, Yena threw her arms around her mother’s neck.

Next to her, Ji-heon placed a hand on Yena’s shoulder.

“Happy birthday, Yena!”

“Daddy!”

Yena immediately moved into her father’s embrace.

“Today, let’s play together with Mom and Dad. We’ll do everything our Yena wants.”

“Aren’t you going to work, Dad?”

“I don’t have to go today.”

“Wow!” A cheer of excitement erupted.