A child who looks like me

Jeong-o couldn’t hear Ji-heon’s voice as she was still coughing.

As Ji-heon stood up to check on her, she raised her hand to stop him and shouted, “Whoa! Don’t come over!”

“…”

“Don’t touch me.”

She warned him as if confronting a large beast, then ran off in the opposite direction.

Running aimlessly, she moved further away from the tasting venue.

But Jeong-o thought it would be better to take a different route.

Cheon Eun-bi would be at the tasting venue too; it wouldn’t do any good to create misunderstandings.

On the other hand, she was still feeling upset.

Her child’s father had such terrible habits.

If she had been just a few seconds later, he would have kissed her.

Now that she thought about it, he had also acted inappropriately during their meal. He had hesitated for a moment but had clearly brushed against her cheek, behaving as if something was on her face. She had remained quiet, but his attitude had definitely been strange.

‘He was definitely doing that on purpose during the last meeting too.’

She recalled the production meeting for the Daewon Spirits that had taken place two weeks ago. Ji-heon, who sat next to her at that time, had been unusually restless. After fidgeting, he dropped a pen on the floor and then covered her hand as she bent down to pick it up.

That too had been a part of his scheme.

‘I didn’t even realize he was this kind of man…’

She felt immensely grateful for Ye-na’s existence, which was entirely thanks to him, but she regretted having been so infatuated with him for a time.

If she had known his true nature earlier, it might have hurt a little less.

But there was no point in regretting it now. The past couldn’t be changed.

She had to be careful about the future.

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

Seung-kyu was anxious.

As June 7, Monday, drew closer, he still hadn’t managed to persuade his friend.

Moreover, since he had brought up Jeong-o’s name in Ji-heon’s office, it seemed like something was going wrong with Cheon Eun-bi as well.

He felt too embarrassed to ask again about Monday’s plans.

‘Jeong Ji-heon isn’t the type to come back to this house to play with someone else’s kids…’

His children and his wife firmly believed Ji-heon would visit their home again on Monday, which only increased Seung-kyu’s anxiety.

“Oh dear….”

As he played with the kids, he was lost in thought when Jin-seo groaned, leaning against the bed.

“Today, Do-yoon didn’t take a nap. After wrestling with him all day, my whole body aches.”

Seung-kyu hurried over to Jin-seo and began to massage his shoulders.

Just then, the children flew out of the room with paper airplanes.

“Stop it. Go watch the kids.”

“They’re playing well.”

Seung-kyu glanced toward the living room and then returned to the massage.

He needed to tell his wife that he hadn’t been able to convince Ji-heon, and that he probably wouldn’t come on Monday.

“Hey, Jin-seo…”

Drrr…

In the midst of all this, Seung-kyu’s phone vibrated.

But wait, who could it be? His beloved friend, Jeong Ji-heon.

Seung-kyu quickly withdrew his hands from the massage and answered the call.

“Hey! What’s up, buddy?”

[There’s something I want to ask you about.]

Ji-heon’s voice sounded unusually drawn out.

“Sure, ask me anything.”

[Have you heard any rumors at the company that I’m getting married?]

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

[I heard there’s a rumor about me and Cheon Eun-bi getting married.]

Seung-kyu tilted his head in confusion. In fact, he hadn’t even been at Max Planning for a full year after transferring from another subsidiary of the Selaen Group. As someone in HR, he had heard more rumors than Ji-heon, but there were still limitations.

“I’ve heard people say you two are dating, but I haven’t heard anything about marriage.”

[Got it. Thanks.]

Ji-heon seemed in a hurry as he immediately hung up.

Seung-kyu stared blankly at the disconnected call.

Oh, this heartless friend. He just abruptly hangs up after saying his piece. Seung-kyu felt a surge of resentment toward Ji-heon today.

Just then, Jin-seo, who had been groaning on the bed for a few minutes, sat up and asked Seung-kyu.

“Honey, doesn’t something feel off?”

“What’s strange?”

“It’s too quiet.”

Agreeing with Jin-seo’s observation, Seung-kyu held his breath. The house was silent, as if the kids had escaped.

It was actually more reassuring when they were noisily playing around. A quiet house felt genuinely scary.

Seung-kyu and Jin-seo quickly dashed into the living room.

“Aaaah!”

In one corner of the living room, Do-bin, who was supposed to be with his younger brother Do-yoon, had spilled honey everywhere and was running away with a scream. Seeing his brother flee, Do-yoon followed suit.

The jar of honey had tipped over.

Sticky honey covered the children’s hands and feet.

The kids were running around, spreading honey all over the floor.

“Hey! Don’t run!”

Seung-kyu shouted, but it was no use.

“Stop running!”

“You’re going to scold us!”

Do-bin shot back as he ran away.

“If you did something wrong, you should get scolded! I said, don’t run, you brat!”

Still, Seung-kyu caught his son quickly.

“You little rascal!”

He lifted Do-bin and took him to the bathroom to wash his hands and feet while scolding him.

“I told you not to take anything from the kitchen, didn’t I?”

“But I asked for honey, and you didn’t give me any!”

“That doesn’t mean you can sneak and eat it! And then walk around stepping in it? Huh?”

Jin-seo immediately sent Do-yoon to the bathroom too. Seung-kyu made sure to wash him up nicely as well.

Jin-seo sighed sadly and started to clean up the chaotic living room.

With every step she took on the sticky floor, she felt her energy drain away.

Lately, she had been feeling inexplicably down.

There wasn’t a single quiet day in this house.

She had loved the sweet gazes of her favorite actors, but why did it feel so tragic when honey spilled in real life?

It was her own son’s doing.

Jin-seo spoke to Do-bin, who had just finished washing up.

“You’re not allowed to invite Ye-na on Monday.”

At Jin-seo’s severe decree, Seung-kyu’s eyes sparkled. Inside, he shouted, “Right on!”

It was a punishment that felt like the sky was falling for Do-bin.

“Mom! No!”

Do-bin, startled, knelt on the floor and clasped his hands toward Jin-seo in desperation.

“Mom, please! Just this once!”

As Jin-seo turned her head away, Do-bin clung to Seung-kyu.

“Dad! Mom said I can’t invite Ye-na. Dad! Dad!”

“I don’t know about that…”

As Seung-kyu evaded the issue, Do-bin burst into tears.

Seung-kyu just wanted to let it all slide. However…

“If you want to invite Ye-na, don’t cause any trouble, okay?”

The mother’s heart softened by her son’s tears, granting him leniency. Do-bin wiped his tears and answered loudly, “Okay!”

Seung-kyu’s shoulders drooped in defeat.

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

Jeong-o finally made her way around the path to reach the tasting venue. Walking quickly in her anger, she didn’t end up being late. The pub was located on the first and second floors of a building that hadn’t been there when she was in college.

Assistant Manager Park Young-gwang greeted her at the entrance.

“Did you come, Assistant Jeong? Have you had dinner?”

“I have. What about everyone else?”

“They’ll be here soon. Shall we go in?”

Jeong-o entered the pub with Park Young-gwang.

The spacious hall was piled high with cans of beer. Although it was a tasting event, it felt more like a party. Before drinking, Jeong-o glanced around.

Had Ji-heon arrived already?

As she looked around, Park Young-gwang gestured past the tower of beer cans.

The people from Production Team 1 were surrounding a man in a red tie. Team Leader Ahn Chan-seop looked somewhat flustered.

“Do you see that person, Assistant Jeong? The one holding two cans in one hand?”

“Yes. You mean the guy in the red tie?”

“Be careful.”

“…”

“He’s a very… erratic person.”

“Erratic?”

“He’s gone beyond being eccentric; he’s actually crazy.”

“Ah, that’s an interesting way to put it. Erratic.”

“I’m not joking. I mean it. Be careful.”

If even the respectable Park Young-gwang was calling someone crazy, she could only imagine how fierce this person must be.

Although Young-gwang had warned her, there was no way to avoid running into that erratic advertiser.

Standing next to the advertiser with a bored expression was Eun-bi, who called out to Jeong-o as she walked by.

“Assistant Jeong.”

“Yes?”

“Are you not going to greet him? He’s our advertiser.”

Oh, she had planned to greet him once everyone from their team arrived.

Reluctantly, Jeong-o approached the erratic advertiser. Fortunately, Park Young-gwang followed her.

“Manager, this is our new copywriter, Assistant Jeong O.”

“He’s the same age as me, but he’s still an assistant.”

“Oh, really? What were you doing while Manager Chae was getting promoted?”

Eun-bi’s blunt introduction drew a sarcastic response from the erratic advertiser. Jeong-o emptied her mind and managed to smile faintly.

“Hello, I’m Jeong O, a copywriter at Max Planning.”

“Are you married yet?”

“No.”

“Hmm. Then you can work even harder.”

The erratic advertiser filled a transparent cup with beer from the can and handed it to Jeong-o. He seemed intent on watching her drink it all.

Downing it in one go wasn’t difficult, but…

“If you drink this, it means you’re dating me~”

Jeong-o froze at his words as she lifted the cup.

Was he telling her to drink it or not?

Assistant Manager Park Young-gwang jumped in.

“Haha. Manager, aren’t you married?”

“Hey, Assistant Park. I can have a wife and a girlfriend separately, you know? With such a beautiful woman in front of me, how could I think of my wife?”

Ugh.

Inside, Jeong-o felt her teeth clench, but she forced a bitter smile and took a sip of the beer.

“Oh my, Assistant Jeong drinks quickly! I guess the manager must be charming!”

Eun-bi clapped and cheered. At Eun-bi’s words, the erratic advertiser’s face lit up.

Park Young-gwang snatched the cup from Jeong-o and drank it all.

“Since I drank it too, I guess the manager has to date me now. Hehe.”

“Hey, why are you doing this? I’m not interested in men.”

As the erratic advertiser’s voice grew louder, Assistant Park waved at Jeong-o to signal her to leave quickly.

Jeong-o read the room and stepped away, heading toward the nearby restroom.

After taking care of business and washing her hands, Eun-bi walked in.

Standing at the sink next to Jeong-o, Eun-bi looked in the mirror and said, “You two look good together.”

“I find that kind of comment unpleasant. Don’t say that to anyone, not even me.”

“Why? Isn’t it fine since he’s a married man? I thought you liked stealing other people’s men.”

Though Eun-bi’s words made Jeong-o feel wronged, she couldn’t snap back immediately because of what had happened an hour earlier.

Fortunately, Eun-bi’s phone rang loudly, preventing the pointless conversation from continuing.

“Oh? Mom?” Eun-bi exclaimed in surprise before answering.

“Yes. Have you had dinner?”

In a slightly higher, respectful tone, Eun-bi greeted her mother.

As Jeong-o was about to leave, she suddenly froze in place.

The person Eun-bi could address so respectfully as “mother” was somehow certain to be Ji-heon’s mother.

Her heart raced.

“I came to work. I have a liquor company among my clients. There’s a tasting event for a new product today.”

Jeong-o opened her bag and took out some cosmetics.

“You know I can’t drink. But since it’s work, I’m just going to taste it and head home early. I thought Ji-heon had left work early to come to the tasting event, but I haven’t seen him.”

As Jeong-o pretended to fix her makeup, the conversation continued.

“Did you talk to him? When?”

It seemed Eun-bi got along quite well with Ji-heon’s mother.

That made sense.

“Ah… did he say something like that? That he would tell me soon?”

But then, Eun-bi’s voice, which had been so bright and proud, suddenly darkened and grew softer.

Of course, that tone didn’t last long.

“I think he’s going to mention marriage. He had briefly hinted at it to me before.”

Eun-bi stretched her lips into a smile as she continued her phone conversation.

Marriage.

Even though it was something she already knew, Jeong-o felt a hidden piece of sandpaper somewhere deep in her heart, making her insides ache.