Chapter 104
104. When the Child Runs to Me
2022.04.27.
Jeong-o's house, bathroom.
The bathroom didn't have a separate shower stall, and it took a long time for the hot water to come out. I turned on the shower and tried to wash, but my body ached all over. I must have gotten stiff from sleeping in a bed after being used to a mattress.
My body ached, but my heart was as warm as the hot water. Ji-heon carefully washed his body, making sure not to scrub off the Tattoo sticker on his wrist.
When he came out, the savory smell of seaweed soup filled the house.
"Come and eat quickly. Yena's dad."
Guk-soon called Ji-heon. Ji-heon answered and sat at the table, and Yena moved to sit next to Ji-heon.
Jeong-o, coming out of her room, scolded Yena sharply.
"Lee Yena. Eat on your own in the morning. You know Mom and Dad are both busy."
She was just about to ask her dad to feed her. Yena pouted, having her thoughts read by her mom.
But Ji-heon put a side dish on Yena's rice bowl.
"Yena can eat, and Dad can put the side dishes on. Right?"
Yena nodded vigorously at Ji-heon's kind suggestion.
Hmph. Father and daughter are so lovey-dovey from the morning, huh?
Jeong-o, feeling sulky, sat next to Guk-soon and said in a nasal voice.
"Mom, Jeong-o needs side dishes too."
Guk-soon, watching her thirty-year-old daughter act cute, put a meat dish on Jeong-o's rice bowl.
"Eat up. Eat a lot, my pig."
"Why am I a pig? Yena is a puppy, but why am I a pig? And why are you giving me pig side dishes while calling me a pig?"
Even while complaining, Jeong-o happily gobbled up the side dishes Guk-soon gave her.
Yena giggled and explained the situation to Ji-heon.
"Dad, we have nicknames in our family. Mom is a pig, and Yena is a puppy."
Even though his back ached from sleeping and he had to wait a long time for hot water, even though there was no elevator and only one bathroom, Ji-heon's first morning at Jeong-o's house was really nice.
A warm breakfast prepared by his mother, and the singing and chattering of a baby bird-like child.
Jeong-o's cuteness towards her mom, which was hard to see when they were alone, and her mother's charisma, which didn't change her expression even with such cuteness, as if she was used to it.
Everything was interesting, and Ji-heon's eyes wandered around the place. He hoped he could adapt to this environment as soon as possible.
Yena was even more excited than Ji-heon. After the meal, she ran around the house asking if she was going to live with her dad now, and Jeong-o scolded her a few times. Ji-heon told Yena that they would live together soon.
Yena didn't let go of Ji-heon's hand until she got on the daycare bus.
"Dad, are you coming back tonight?"
"Of course. I have to come see Yena tonight."
"Okay. See you later."
Yena waved her hand and pulled Ji-heon's arm. Ji-heon bent down, and Yena brought her hands to her mouth. She meant to whisper. Ji-heon bent his legs and sat in front of Yena.
"If I text you, you have to text me back. Okay?"
It wasn't much of a secret. Ji-heon's toes curled up from the ticklish feeling of the child's voice.
"What kind of secret talks are you having every day?"
After sending Yena off, Jeong-o, who had been watching the father and daughter's antics the whole time, asked. She was worried about her daughter, who had been avoiding her mom more often these days, probably plotting something with her dad.
"It's a secret. Why? Are you curious?"
"No. Not curious at all?"
When Ji-heon asked teasingly, Jeong-o turned her head to the opposite side, holding her pride. Ji-heon wrapped his arm around Jeong-o's shoulder and pulled her closer.
Unlike the anxiety of yesterday, it was an endlessly ticklish and warm morning. So much so that he regretted having to go back to his own house.
Ji-heon went to work with Jeong-o. He let Jeong-o go first in front of the company, and he could feel the awkwardness of the employees he encountered as he passed through the company entrance alone.
He thought it would be like that for a while. He had no choice but to wait for time to pass.
But, when he was with Yena, he felt heartbroken that time was passing by. After all, the time he spent with Yena was more precious than his reputation at the company, so the awkwardness at the company didn't matter.
Rather, it seemed like the people around him were more concerned about his well-being. Seung-gyu rushed to Ji-heon as soon as he got to work and scanned him with sharp eyes.
"You're wearing the same clothes as yesterday?"
"Yeah. I'm going to change."
Ji-heon said, taking out a spare shirt from his drawer.
"Why are you wearing the same clothes?"
"I slept at Jeong-o's house."
"Oh. Is the day you live together getting closer?"
"I guess so."
Ji-heon easily steered the conversation in the direction Seung-gyu was curious about, making it easier to bring up the topic. Seung-gyu carefully asked with a pounding heart.
"What are your plans for the house? Are you going to get a new one, or are you going to move Lee Jung-o's belongings to your house?"
"I was thinking of looking for a house near where Jeong-o lives now, but now that her mother has quit her restaurant job, I don't think it matters where we live."
Oh!
"Then how about my neighborhood?"
"That's good too."
"Great! The apartments in our next complex are really nice too. I looked it up today, and there's a penthouse unit available. Those rooftop apartments are amazing. If you get one there, Do-bin and Yena can go to school together, go to the same baduk academy, hang out often, and we can go on trips together on the weekends. That would be really great!"
Sensing a positive sign, Seung-gyu excitedly presented a blueprint for the future. Ji-heon's brow slowly furrowed.
Yena and Do-bin going to the same school...
Until now, he had just been grateful to Do-bin, but now that he was being recognized as a father by Yena, his mindset had changed a little.
Do-bin likes Yena. He likes her too much. He might even say he loves her. Didn't he say he fell in love at first sight once?
He wouldn't stop Do-bin from liking Yena, but he felt like he would be sad if Yena said she liked Do-bin.
What is this feeling? A father's heart that doesn't want his child to be taken away by another boy?
"Yeah. I'll think about it."
Ji-heon answered vaguely.
He didn't think it would be good to set up a fixed relationship between friends of the opposite sex from a young age. He thought he should subtly warn both Yena and Do-bin.
Ji-heon put the moving story aside for a moment and changed the subject to continue the conversation.
"I have a question for you. You mentioned hypnotherapy to me last time, right? Do you know any doctors?"
"I don't know any doctors personally, but I can find out. I know quite a few psychiatrists."
"Yeah. Then find out for me. I'm asking you."
Seung-gyu nodded and asked with narrowed eyes.
"You had a cold reaction when I suggested it before, but have you changed your mind?"
"Jeong-o told me to."
"You listen to Lee Jung-o well, don't you?"
"......"
"Amazing. You've become a real person, Jeong Ji-heon."
Ji-heon agreed and responded with a smile. He didn't dislike Seung-gyu's teasing that much.
Seung-gyu looked at Ji-heon with a satisfied expression, as if he were looking at a cute younger brother who had just started to become a real person.
Seung-gyu's gaze followed Ji-heon's fingertips as he unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and landed on the strange drawing on his wrist. Jeong Ji-heon and a sticker. It was a completely mismatched combination.
"What's that on your wrist?"
"Ah, this is what Yena put on this morning..."
As if he had been waiting to be asked, Ji-heon showed Seung-gyu the Tattoo sticker on his wrist and approached him.
"Okay. Okay. Stop it!"
As soon as Ji-heon opened his mouth, Seung-gyu covered his ears as if he was fed up and left.
He asked first.
Ji-heon, feeling disappointed that he couldn't fulfill his desire to brag, changed his clothes.
After that, Ji-heon left the company right away.
The place he drove to alone was his parents' house. Ji-heon called Jaekwang in front of the house. After a while, Jaekwang's stern voice was heard.
[I have to go into a meeting now. Get to the point.]
"Did you talk to Mom about it yesterday?"
[No. Your mom is sick in bed.]
It seemed that he hadn't been able to bring up Jeong-o because she was sick in bed. Ji-heon sighed softly after hanging up the phone.
He didn't contact Youngmi separately. He didn't want to contact her. The moment he left the gate, a notification would arrive for Youngmi, so there was no need to contact her separately.
After checking the notification, Youngmi told the resident employee to send Ji-heon to her bedroom.
Yesterday, Youngmi had gone to break Lee Jeong-o's spirit, but she returned greatly angered by her different reaction than before. After that, she couldn't eat and groaned in pain. Recalling the words Jeong-o had said, she felt like her heart was breaking, so she pretended to be even more sick.
She wanted her husband to know that she was groaning in pain. And she wanted her husband to tell Ji-heon about this. If the two men worried about her, she thought her unfair feelings would subside. So she was also looking forward to the notification that Ji-heon had come.
She heard footsteps. Youngmi made a groaning sound.
"Mother."
Youngmi, who was lying with her back to the door, slowly got up only after hearing Ji-heon's voice.
"Yes. Hello. Son."
Still, she was proud that he showed a reaction to the news that his mother was sick.
"Why did you come when you're busy? You should be at work."
Youngmi said with difficulty, looking at Ji-heon with admiration.
"That's right."
However, unlike Youngmi's affectionate gaze, his gaze was extremely fierce.
"Did you go to see Jeong-o?"
"...Did that girl not have the patience to tell you everything?"
She couldn't help but feel choked up. She wanted to hear that he had come because he was worried after hearing about it from his father, but it was different from what she had expected.
The first thing that came out of her son's mouth was the story of Lee Jeong-o, as if it were natural. She was displeased that her son, who rarely granted her requests, had chased after her house at the word of the child's mother.
However, Ji-heon didn't react to his mother's distorted expression.
"I clearly told you. Never go to Jeong-o."
"……."
"I also told you that if you go to Jeong-o, you'll never see me again."
"……."
"I clearly told you, so why did you do that, Mother?"
How dare you interfere in my life?
His chillingly low voice was sharp enough to cut through Youngmi's skin.
Youngmi's hands trembled again, just like yesterday. Now, her son was looking down on her as if she were a mere subordinate.
"My child, who should have grown up most precious in the world, lived without a father for seven years, and my child's mother suffered so much, are you really okay with that? Do you really want to torment Jeong-o that much?"
"Torment! What nonsense are you talking about! I was the one who was wronged! I was wronged by that child yesterday..."
"Mother."
Ji-heon called out to Youngmi in a chilling tone.
That cold tone made her feel eerily as if he knew about the fact that she had hired Seong-woo a long time ago to intercept Lee Jung-oh's calls.
"Mother. Every time the child runs to me, I have to hold back my tears."
For a brief moment, a watery light welled up in her son's eyes.
"You can't understand that, can you? Because you've never lost a son."
But soon, her son's expression turned cold again. Her heart, which had dropped with a thud, seemed to be writhing at her feet like a fish out of water.
The mother was unaware.
The cruelty of her son, whom she had made unable to love anyone with her own hands, with her motherly power. The tenacity, the blindness, when he sprouted love in the barren land of his emotions.
Ji-heon was a son who could abandon his mother at any time.
"I don't want to see you anymore, Mother."
The thick tears clinging to Youngmi's eyes fell onto the blanket with a thud.
How could you! How could you do this to me!
