Chapter 14
- Someone Knows 2021.06.16.
A quiet office. Ji-heon watched Jeong-o as if observing her. In a place blocked on all sides, without being disturbed by anyone, he wanted to watch this woman in a somewhat comfortable manner. Her appearance was always the same, full of tension, but even in that, she showed a subtly different side each time. At first, she was like a dragonfly caught in a net, flailing about, then she appeared like a detective, grabbing his wrist, then she shed tears like a grieving widow, and now she looked like a rookie full of spirit. However, while watching was enjoyable, he didn't want to get involved. Ji-heon coldly snapped at her, as he did to everyone.
“Did you film an advertisement so famous that your name is left behind?”
Her eyes wavered at Ji-heon's coldness, as if a change of heart had occurred in her as well. After a moment, she opened her mouth with difficulty.
“...I have something to say. Director.”
She smacked her dry lips a few times, and the moment she made her voice with determination, as if she had made up her mind. Drrr. Drrr. A vibration rang, blocking her voice.
“Isn’t that a phone call?”
“No. It’s okay.”
Jeong-o covered her pocket with her hand. As if she didn't want to be disturbed. The vibration continued persistently.
“Take it first. It might be an urgent call.”
Ji-heon gestured with his chin as if doing her a favor. He wondered who had called, and was curious about the other party as well. She took her cell phone out of her pocket as if she couldn't help it. After checking the caller ID on her phone, she tilted her head and got up from her seat and bowed.
“Then I’ll go outside and take the call.”
Ji-heon's eyes widened. No, that's not it! Before Ji-heon could stop her, Jeong-o quickly left the office. Hah... That's not what he meant by telling her to go out. He meant for her to take the call here, in the office.
“Yes. Teacher.”
Her voice was heard from outside the office. It seemed that someone called 'Teacher' had called. Ji-heon was left with no choice but to wait for her to finish her call and return. 10 minutes, 20 minutes... In the silence she left behind, Ji-heon only looked at the clock. What kind of call takes 30 minutes?
‘Could it be that the person called Teacher is a client?’
After 30 minutes had passed, Ji-heon couldn't stand it any longer and opened the door. The secretary got up from her seat.
“Is Lee Jeong-o still…?”
“Pardon? Lee Jeong-o left a long time ago.”
...What an absurd situation.
“Tell her to come back.”
At Ji-heon's fierce voice, the secretary hurriedly picked up the phone. After a while, news was delivered to the office.
“Director, Lee Jeong-o is out.”
Without explaining what happened, without saying she was leaving, after saying she had something to say. Ha. He was so dumbfounded that he could only sigh. He tried not to be swayed, but he felt like he had been hit hard.
[Yena's mother, Yena... hasn't come... The teacher went to pick her up on time, but it seems the kindergarten bus arrived early and she got off early.]
At the shocking news, Jeong-o ran out of the company. Without even tidying up her seat properly. She didn't even say she was going out for a while until she was in the taxi. She couldn't tell the whole story, but Team Leader Seong Mi-ran understood with a generous heart. It was around quitting time, so the taxi was moving at a snail's pace. The one minute flowing in the car felt like an hour, no, a year. Jeong-o pleaded.
“Driver, faster, faster…”
“I can’t go any faster here.”
“My child is missing… They got off the bus, but it arrived early… The child, at the academy, disappeared…”
Jeong-o just babbled whatever came out. The congested road seemed to be tightening her breath. Although it was disorganized, Jeong-o's desperate heart was properly conveyed. The driver, who properly understood Jeong-o's situation, became busy. The driver sped along the fastest route he knew. The car, which had been driving urgently on the road, stopped in front of the Baduk academy.
“Teacher!”
Jeong-o got out of the taxi and ran to the director of the Baduk academy. People were gathered in front of the academy building. The director of the Baduk academy, the assistant teacher, a boy, a girl, and a woman of similar age to Jeong-o.
“Yena’s mother.”
“Where is my Yena? Did you find Yena?”
“We found her. We just got a call.”
“Where is she?”
“The police are protecting her. They said they would bring her here.”
Haaaaaa. God, thank you. Jeong-o, who was relieved by the news the director gave her, put her hand on her chest and sat down. The director and the woman standing next to her supported Jeong-o from both sides.
“You must have been very worried. …I’m sorry.”
Jeong-o shook her head at the director's apology. Tears were already flowing down her cheeks. She wiped away the tears with the back of her hand and lifted her face. When her eyes met, the strange woman who had been supporting Jeong-o greeted her.
“Hello. I’m Do-bin’s mother, a friend from Yena’s academy. Do-bin likes Yena… so he said he wanted to see Yena before going home.”
“Ah, yes. Hello.”
Jeong-o greeted Jin-seo, Do-bin’s mother. The boy of Yena's age standing next to Jin-seo bowed and hid behind his mother, looking embarrassed. So you're Do-bin. Even though she was out of her mind, she was happy and grateful to see Yena's peer. The moment she properly regained her balance and stood up, she saw two people walking hand in hand in the distance. A tall man in a teal police uniform and Yena.
“Yena.”
Jeong-o ran as soon as she saw Yena.
“Mom!”
Yena also ran towards her.
Jeong-o hugged Yena tightly. It wasn't that she didn't think she should scold Yena for worrying everyone, but a tearful voice came out.
“Let me see. Are you hurt anywhere? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m okay.”
“How far did you go? How can you go so far alone?”
“I didn’t go alone. A strange lady said she was a teacher at the academy and took my hand and went.”
Yena said clearly.
“She said she was a teacher at the academy?”
Jeong-o felt a chill.
“Yeah. She took me and then later said, ‘Oh, who are you?’ and let go of my hand.”
Her heart sank. It was an issue that could not be taken lightly. She looked at the police officer who came with her, and the police officer said.
“We plan to investigate because she seems suspicious. We will secure the CCTV in the neighborhood and contact you again.”
The police officer, who briefly explained the plan, introduced himself belatedly.
“I’m Kwon Bae-il, working at the Hwayang Police Station.”
He was a handsome man with a fair complexion. His face was fair and his impression was so gentle that it was hard to imagine him interrogating a criminal as a detective.
“Yes. Hello. Thank you so much.”
Jeong-o bowed deeply. Bae-il, who smiled comfortably, explained the situation in the meantime.
“A colleague of mine was patrolling in a car and saw this friend. This boyfriend here has a very good voice.”
Bae-il pointed to Do-bin, and Do-bin's cheeks turned red.
“We quickly found out that someone had lost someone, so my colleague went looking for her, but Yena ran away when she saw my colleague. I guess she thought he was a scary man because he wasn't in uniform.”
“Mister…”
Yena pouted her lips as if she was embarrassed by Bae-il's explanation of the situation. The two seemed to have become close in the meantime. Bae-il continued to speak.
“In the end, I had to go and get her. She went all the way to the fire station by herself.”
“I couldn’t see the police station. So I was looking for it.”
Yena said firmly. Jeong-o held Yena's hand tightly. It's a relief that it ended like this. God, thank you... She realized once again that her daughter was her whole life, a fact that was ingrained in her bones. Ji-heon forgot about going home and sat with his chin resting on his hand, just looking at the clock. More than an hour had passed since Lee Jeong-o disappeared without saying a word, and he hadn't heard from her. She probably forgot that he was waiting. It was just past 7 p.m. when he finally heard a knock.
“Yes.”
However, the person who opened the door and came in was not Lee Jeong-o, but his friend Park Seung-gyu. Ji-heon's expression, which had been sitting upright, changed back to a fierce one.
“Aren’t you going home?”
Seung-gyu asked casually and sat down in front of the reception table. It was the seat where Jeong-o had sat. Ji-heon's sidelong glance became sharp. Seung-gyu didn't notice this and opened his mouth to brag about his son.
“Shall I tell you a funny story? My son has a girl he's obsessed with.”
“You’re talking like your son is twenty years old.”
“That’s how kids are these days. Even seven-year-olds are precocious.”
“……”
“He said he fell in love at first sight. He told me without his mother knowing. Kids these days are really funny.”
“You might find it funny, but wouldn’t that girl’s father be shocked if he heard that?”
Seung-gyu's eyes glazed over at Ji-heon's sarcastic attitude. Why is that girl's father coming out of here? And what's wrong with my son? And, are there any fathers who would be shocked by the words 'fell in love at first sight'? ...It seems like something unpleasant has happened to my friend. Seung-gyu got up from his seat and approached Ji-heon. When their eyes met, Ji-heon turned his head away as if ignoring him.
“What’s wrong?”
“What work?”
“Something’s up, isn’t it?”
“Nothing like that. Just go home.”
Turning his head and looking elsewhere, Ji-heon looked like a sulky child. Seung-gyu chuckled and threw out a joke.
“You don’t like me, do you?”
“What are you talking about? You know how much I like you.”
“You like me? You?”
What was said as a joke became serious. Seung-gyu's face flushed for a moment, as if he had never heard such a confession from his friend of 16 years.
“Of course. I like you.”
Ji-heon turned his head back to Seung-gyu and gave a faint smile. But somehow, that faint smile felt crooked.
“That’s why I keep you by my side. Even though you’re someone my mother sent.”
Seung-gyu's expression quickly hardened. Seung-gyu's pride, who thought he had built a friendship with his friend as a friend, rather than as a superior, collapsed in an instant. Ji-heon continued mercilessly.
“I’ll treat you well. I shouldn’t do anything to disappoint you.”
“……So, that’s how you saw me.”
Seung-gyu was overwhelmed by his friend's attitude, who didn't even bat an eye at this terrible story. Ji-heon was a friend who ate more insults than rice because of his equal lack of kindness to all employees, but to Seung-gyu, Ji-heon was always a pitiful being. But for the first time, he resented his friend.
“Do you think I’m a joke?”
“I never said you were a joke. I said I liked you.”
“No. I must be a joke. You’ll keep thinking that way inside. Do you think I don’t know your duplicity?”
Seung-gyu also brought up words he hadn't been able to say all this time. About the human being Jeong Ji-heon that Park Seung-gyu had been watching for a long time.
“You’re like that in everything, you are. You abandon the best option that you can easily choose and pick the second best. You can always invest 100, 150, but you only put in 80. You can be number one, but you settle for second or third. That’s you. You don’t put in effort in anything, in any relationship. Your life is easy. Isn’t it?”
Looking at Ji-heon, Seung-gyu was reminded of a battery that automatically discharged when it was 80% charged. Not doing his best, finding a compromise at a reasonable point, and quietly keeping his place. A guy who deliberately lowered the world's expectations and lived his life comfortably by just 'pretending'. But, was that really an easy life? Is the life of a guy who only pretends really easy? That's why he gave him affection. Because he was such a pitiful friend. Because he was so calm and silent even on the day he woke up after losing all the memories he had built up for three years.
“You don’t have anything precious, do you? Everyone who has passed you by is insignificant to you.”
Ji-heon's expression did not change even with Seung-gyu's harsh evaluation. A blank expression as if it couldn't be helped even if he lost a friend because of this. It was Seung-gyu who felt sad at that expression, even though he had said harsh words. He couldn't hate him, even while resenting him. Foolishly.
“Even so, I support you.”
“……”
“You might not believe it, but even in moments like this when I’m angry, I support you, you bastard. I can’t understand why you live like that, but I still think of you as a friend.”
You don't know how much I care about you, how sorry I feel for you. Never.
“I’m on your side, not your mother’s. You bad guy.”
Seung-gyu poured out his pent-up feelings, prepared for the worst, and left the office. Bang. He deliberately slammed the door shut. But his steps as he left were heavy. He thought he had poured out all his feelings, but the remaining feelings still clung to his ankles like lingering attachments. * A few minutes later, the daycare teacher also came running in dismay.
“I’m so sorry for leaving Yena behind. It’s all my fault.”
The daycare teacher repeatedly bowed her head, shedding tears. It was true that the daycare had made a mistake, but Jeong-o found it difficult to get angry when the teacher apologized like this.
“It’s okay. But it’s something that should never happen again. Would it be too much trouble if you could contact the academy a few minutes before you arrive in front of the academy in the future?”
“Yes. I will do that from now on.”
If a problem has erupted and has barely been resolved, then efforts should be made to prevent it in the future. She had received a promise from the police that they would also focus on prevention, so she should trust and rely on them, and let go of her worries. Jeong-o received Yena's daycare bag with a much more relaxed face. She shook the bag, as if something was inside.
“Mom, there’s a picture in my bag. We made a zoo at daycare today.”
Inside the bag was a paper frame that said ‘Zoo’.
“What animal is this?”
“That’s a deer.”
……Yena, do you really think this is a deer? Whether it's a deer or a lion, or a mantis. Jeong-o laughed at the fact that she had to recognize this special animal with a green body and the teeth of a carnivore as a deer. Then, she saw a note sticking out of the front pocket of the bag. Jeong-o pulled out the note without thinking. The letters written in the note were……. - Looks like the mom, personality like the dad. A child who resembles both by half. And, the playfully drawn logo of Seguen Group……. The peaceful smile on Jeong-o's face crumbled. It felt like her heart dropped to her feet. Someone knows. That I gave birth to Jeong Ji-heon's child.
