Chapter 106
106. Alienation
2022.05.04.
Do-bin was thrilled to visit his girlfriend's house for the first time.
Finding a Pororo doll in the corner of Yena's room, Do-bin said to Yena.
"I can do Pororo. Want me to show you?"
"Yeah."
"Hello, Yena. I'm Pororo! Just like him!"
"I can do Loopy. Pororo, don't stand there! Just like her!"
"I can do Crayon Shin-chan too. I'm Crayon Shiiiin-chan. Ulla Ulla! Just like him!"
"I can sing Elsa's song! Into the unknown! Just like her!"
Before they knew it, Jeong-o's house had become a voice imitation contest. The children competitively talked about the characters they knew and showed off their voices.
Children love voice imitations. If you ask them to do one, they readily do Pororo, Loopy, Crayon Shin-chan, and Elsa. The funny thing is that all those voices are surprisingly the same.
They all sound the same, but they seemed to think they were different. It must be because Pororo, Loopy, Crayon Shin-chan, and Elsa all live inside the child.
While Jeong-o was happily watching the children's voice competition, the children's play topic changed again without any break. Do-bin ran over with paper and colored pencils.
"Auntie, draw me a picture."
"A picture? What should I draw?"
"Sinbi. A goblin."
"Mom, I want Geumbi!"
Yena shouted next to him. Jeong-o took the colored pencils that Do-bin was holding.
"Do-bin spoke first, so let's draw for Do-bin first."
It wasn't difficult to draw because it was a character on the colored pencil case. Still, she naturally put her heart into it. While she was putting her heart and soul into drawing, the front door opened.
"Dad!"
Ji-heon came back after work.
"Dad, draw me a picture! Mom said she'd draw Sinbi, so Dad draw Geumbi."
Yena, who ran to the front door, pestered Ji-heon. Jeong-o flinched. She wondered if her dad could draw it properly.
"What's Geumbi?"
Ji-heon asked Jeong-o. Jeong-o tapped the character on the colored pencil case.
"Look at it and draw."
He can draw if he looks at it, right? He must be able to, so he picked up the colored pencils without complaining, right?
Jeong-o secretly rolled her eyes toward Ji-heon with both anxiety and anticipation.
"Wow! Go Uncle, you draw too?"
"Of course! There's nothing my dad can't do!"
Yena boasted at Do-bin's question. Jeong-o became more anxious at Yena's boast. For some reason, it seemed like the ups and downs of life were contained in the circle Ji-heon drew. In fact, it was difficult to even call it a circle.
As expected. Soon, Ji-heon put his heart and soul into coloring and handed the finished product to Yena, and Yena's eyes shook as if the earth had collapsed.
"What is this?"
Yena asked seriously. Do-bin looked at it, chuckled, and then closed his mouth again. Even a seven-year-old has eyes. Even a seven-year-old could tell exactly that this was not the character she was thinking of.
"What is thiiiis!"
She had learned the truth. Dad is the best, Dad is a genius, Dad is a magician. She was so sure that there was nothing Dad couldn't do, but that belief crumbled.
How could he ruin my Geumbi like this?
"I told you to draw Geumbi, Geumbi!"
"It is Geumbi..."
Ji-heon replied cautiously, as if embarrassed.
She asked him to draw Geumbi, but he drew a zombie. He can't even draw by looking at it. Our Yena's dad.
"Yena, I'm sorry. Should Dad read you a fairy tale?"
"I hate Dad. Dad has poop hands."
Ji-heon's eyes went blank at the child's fact bomb. He became a dad she hated because he couldn't draw. There were basic qualities that needed to be met in order to become a child's dad.
While Yena was upset, Do-bin was secretly laughing, and Ji-heon was shocked, the doorbell rang and the front door opened again. Jin-seo came in with Do-yoon.
"Excuse me."
"Mom!"
Do-bin, who recognized his mom, ran over first. Jin-seo saw that Ji-heon was there too and greeted him happily.
"Oh, Ji-heon is here too!"
"Mom, Go Uncle draws really badly."
Friendly greetings should have been exchanged, but because the tactless Do-bin shouted the truth, Jin-seo was embarrassed as soon as she visited someone else's house.
Yena, Do-bin, and Do-yoon played around for a while and then parted late at night. Ji-heon also put Yena to bed and left the house after 10 p.m. As always, Jeong-o followed him out.
Ji-heon had briefly mentioned visiting his parents' house during the day. Jeong-o was more concerned about his nonchalant expression, as if he wasn't someone who had cut ties and returned.
"Are you okay?"
"About what?"
"Your mother, I mean."
Cutting ties with his mother. Jeong-o could never even dream of doing that. She felt sorry just asking, wondering how he must feel inside after doing such a harsh thing.
Even if he lives as usual, he'll think of it from time to time. It must hurt like a corn on the foot somewhere inside his body.
"I'm okay."
"Still, it must hurt."
"But I really think I did the right thing."
He answered with a firm expression, as if he wouldn't look back on the past. However, he smoothly changed the subject as if it were difficult to continue the conversation.
"Seung-gyu was saying. To move to that area."
"Yeah. Jin-seo also talked about it today. That it would be nice to raise the kids together in the same neighborhood."
"What do you think?"
"I'd like it. Yena likes Do-bin too."
"Hmm."
"Why?"
"I don't like the part where Yena likes Do-bin."
"What's wrong with liking each other? It's good that they like each other and don't hate each other."
"Do-bin doesn't just like Yena. He loves her."
"Why. Are you worried that two little kids will make a fuss about getting married?"
"I feel like Do-bin would do that."
Pfft. Jeong-o laughed at his serious expression.
He even cut ties with his mother, who opposed his son's dating and marriage, but how should she deal with his psychology of not wanting to see his daughter make a boyfriend?
She was a little worried about the future, thinking about how this man would change again when Yena had a real boyfriend someday, Do-bin aside.
*
The next day. A happy Saturday.
However, Jeong-o suddenly had work to do. An advertiser urgently requested an internet advertisement.
Last week, she couldn't play because she was helping Guk-soon organize the restaurant, so she decided to have fun this week, but she felt so sorry for Yena because she had another urgent matter like this.
"What should I do? Yena. I think Mom has to go to work today."
"Okay."
For some reason, the child accepted it calmly with a smile. Jeong-o was rather puzzled.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm okay."
Her answer was even quite brave. Jeong-o repeatedly comforted Yena, thinking that she might be upset but was pretending to be brave on purpose so that her mom wouldn't worry.
"Mom will be back as soon as possible. I'm sorry."
"You can be late. It's okay."
"It's okay if I'm late?"
"Yeah. Because I'm going to play with Dad."
Ah. It's because she has her dad that Mom can work now.
"Mom, go quickly. Go to work quickly."
Rather, the child urged her to go to work quickly. Jeong-o was blankly pushed away.
She likes playing with her dad that much. Hmm.
She was proud and grateful that she wasn't sadly calling for her mom, but on the other hand, she felt a little sad.
Now the two of them seem to have become inseparable partners. They exchange secret messages every morning and evening, and sometimes they whisper.
She's never been obsessed with secrets that others wouldn't tell her, but since they're both the people Jeong-o loves most in the world, she felt a little alienated.
Jeong-o felt empty and went to work. The team members were also called out to the company urgently, so everyone's expression wasn't bright. Still, they don't slack off. Everyone worked diligently with the determination to finish quickly and go home.
While they were busy creating work, Jeong-o's cell phone rang. It was Yena's number.
"Princess Yena!"
[Mom, we came to play!]
Jeong-o also felt good at Yena's bright voice. It seemed like she went on a picnic with Ji-heon.
"Where? Where to?"
[It's a secret!]
"Another secret?"
Jeong-o felt sulky because her daughter was teasing her in a cheeky way. If she was going to go out, she should have gone when Jeong-o was around, instead of going out just with her friends.
[Curious? I'll tell you later.]
Jeong-o felt like she was being tortured. She wanted to finish her work quickly and follow them, and she was fidgeting in her seat. But her heartless daughter just stirred up her mother's feelings and hung up the phone.
While she was feeling dejected, she received a text message from Ji-heon. 12 PM. Inevitably, it meant it was Jeong-o time.
- We decided to go to our house today. We might be a little late, so go home first. See you later.
Jeong-o blinked a few times at the notification.
'So, he made plans with Yena first without even telling me.'
Anyway, Jeong-o had been wanting to show Ji-heon's house to Yena and Guk-soon, so she accepted it without complaint.
It was 6 PM when she finished all her work. She called Ji-heon, but he didn't answer. Neither did Yena and Guk-soon. While she was on her way, she received another text message from Ji-heon. It was the password to Ji-heon's front door. It meant she should enter the password and go inside.
'What are they doing that they can't even be reached...'
Feeling a bit dissatisfied, Jeong-o entered Ji-heon's apartment. Jeong-o entered the password she received from Ji-heon and was faced with pitch-black darkness.
This space had never been this dark before.
The entrance sensor light wasn't working either. Moreover, it smelled like they had poured air freshener into the house because they were inviting a child, and the scent of flowers was strong from the entrance. It wasn't a bad scent, but it was vaguely scary because she couldn't see anything.
She regretted coming in first, wishing she had waited outside for Yena and Ji-heon to come. Just as she was about to turn around and go outside, the lights in the hallway came on. The lights were turned on from below.
There were flowerbeds on both sides of the long hallway. Behind them, electric lights stretched out in a long line. Jeong-o blinked a few times, wondering what this was. Tears welled up in her eyes as she blinked.
Two photos were flashing and repeating on the TV screen. One was a photo of Jeong-o and Ji-heon taken at the 'The Crown' restaurant in Australia seven years ago, and the other was a photo of flowers filling the screen.
A pretty garland was hanging above the flower photo. A garland that read 'MARRY ME?' and a card with the name 'TO Jeong-o' placed on the right edge of the photo.
Ji-heon had mentioned it before. That he had prepared a proposal seven years ago, and that he had found the photo taken at that time after seven years, and that Jeong-o's name was written on it.
Jeong-o was overwhelmed by the photo that looked exactly as Ji-heon had described. Her hand unknowingly rose to her lips.
Then, in the distance, at the end of the hallway, a tall man in a neat suit appeared.
From some room, she heard a child's laughter.
Was this why the father and daughter were getting along so well, because they were preparing this?
Her lips curved into a happy smile, but her eyes kept getting wet.
