Chapter 26
26. The Child's Birthday (1)2021.07.28.
After finishing an external task and returning to the company, Ji-heon scanned the conference room before heading to his office. He had heard that the AE had called a meeting to request the first proposal from Tawon Liquor. It seemed the meeting had just ended. Ji-heon received a briefing on the meeting's contents from the AE who came out of the conference room. After grasping the details, he wondered about Jeong-o's expression, as she had been saddled with the task. It seemed Jeong-o was still in the conference room. Taking a few steps closer, he heard the voices of a woman and a man. The woman was Jeong-o, and the man seemed to be Song Gi-hun, an employee from the same team. Jeong-o seemed quite close to Song Gi-hun. As he slowly approached the conference room, their friendly conversation grated on his nerves.
“Assistant Manager Lee, there's something I want to tell you.”
“Oh, go ahead.”
“I like you, Assistant Manager Lee.”
Soon after, Gi-hoon's sudden confession was heard. Ji-heon couldn't bear to listen to their conversation any longer and knocked on the conference room door. He banged loudly on the already open door, cutting off their conversation.
“Lee Jung-oh Assistant Manager.”
They both turned their heads simultaneously. Their expressions were so similar that Ji-heon's fist clenched tightly.
“Yes, Director.”
“Don't you have something to give me?”
“……”
“My clothes.”
Her lips parted, frozen, only her pupils trembling, she replied after a moment.
“...Ah... Yes, just a moment.”
Watching Jeong-o run out of the conference room, Ji-heon sighed softly. Ji-heon didn't follow Jeong-o but leaned against the door, his gaze fixed inside the conference room. Because Ji-heon was blocking the way, Gi-hoon was stuck inside the conference room, making meaningless gestures in the already tidied room. Gi-hoon was watching him carefully, and Ji-heon scrutinized Gi-hoon. A young male employee whose face clearly showed that he had lived a smooth and uneventful life. A relatively diligent employee who got along well with other staff and received quite good evaluations from the team leader. And, trusting only in that youth and impetuosity, he had confessed to Lee Jung-oh... Ji-heon stared at Gi-hoon for a long time with narrowed eyes. After a while, Jeong-o ran over and held out his cardigan to him.
“Thank you, Director.”
“I said you didn't have to wash it.”
“……”
“Is your cold better?”
“Yes. It's all better.”
“That's a relief.”
Jeong-o couldn't look Ji-heon straight in the eye. It was as if he would grill her for ignoring his texts even though her cold was gone. With her head down, Jeong-o slipped past Ji-heon and called out to Gi-hoon.
“Gi-hoon, if you're done cleaning up, come out.”
“Yes!”
At the command of his savior Jeong-o, Gi-hoon hurriedly left the conference room. The two of them passed Ji-heon and returned to their seats.
“Hmm.”
Just as Jeong-o was about to sit down, Gi-hoon, who had deliberately cleared his throat, tilted his head towards Jeong-o.
“That's the cardigan from that time, right? Last Friday.”
Gi-hoon asked in a low voice. Jeong-o couldn't answer.
“That cardigan was the Director's.”
“I was feeling so sick and looked cold, so the Director lent it to me.”
“The Director is surprisingly considerate, isn't he?”
Surprised, teasing. Jeong-o curled her lips, hiding them at Gi-hoon's comment, which seemed to carry some emotion. Just then, Ji-heon, who had appeared like a grim reaper beyond the partition of Production Team 2, called out to Gi-hoon.
“Song Gi-hoon?”
“Yes, Director.”
Gi-hoon stood up from his seat.
“I checked the outlet design, and it looks like it needs some direct revisions.”
An earthquake passed through Gi-hoon's pupils.
“Bring your tools to my office.”
Ji-heon, with an unreadable expression, shook Gi-hoon and left first. An earthquake also passed under Gi-hoon's feet. Staggering, Gi-hoon slumped into his chair and quickly gathered his tools with a look of utter defeat. Go Eun-ju Assistant Manager, feeling sorry for Gi-hoon, asked.
“Gi-hoon, should I go instead?”
“No... I worked on it, so I should go. Then, I'll be back.”
After Gi-hoon left with slumped shoulders, Eun-ju shook her head and muttered to herself.
“I still really don't like Director Jeong...”
Jeong Ji-heon. You're steadily accumulating hatred. Jeong-o gave a bitter smile and sat down at her desk. Two hours passed before Gi-hoon returned. He looked emaciated, as if he had endured some kind of labor for two hours. Chief Park Young-gwang was the first to comfort him.
“Gi-hoon. You worked hard.”
“Haa.”
“How was it?”
“How do you think it was? The Director and I were alone in his office...”
“……”
“I almost became a turtle. I thought I was going to die of discomfort...”
Jeong-o also reached out and patted Gi-hoon's shoulder. Before sitting down, Gi-hoon took out a large phone charger from his back pocket and placed it on the desk.
“My phone battery died, and when I said I was going back to my desk, the Director gave it to me. I couldn't refuse...”
“……”
“...The Director is surprisingly really considerate...”
Gi-hoon's grumbling continued intermittently after that.
* Gi-hoon's sudden confession was buried because Ji-heon appeared. Jeong-o was able to avoid an awkward situation by chance, but she didn't feel comfortable. Was it genuine, or just lighthearted camaraderie? Gi-hoon's attitude remained unchanged even after that. He was friendly and polite. He didn't bring up what he had said in the conference room again.
‘It's probably just camaraderie.’
The feeling of cautious speculation solidified into a judgment after a full day. However, not long after she had made that conclusion, Gi-hoon spoke to her.
“You haven't said anything.”
It was after another meeting had ended, and Jeong-o was left alone in the conference room to prepare the Tawon Liquor proposal. Jeong-o asked blankly.
“...Huh?”
“There's something I told you yesterday. In that conference room over there.”
“Oh... Oh...”
It was only after Gi-hoon spoke to her again, now that they were alone, that Jeong-o realized. There hadn't been a chance for Gi-hoon and her to be alone in the meantime. Jeong-o panicked and hesitated before giving a late reply.
“I like Gi-hoon too.”
“That's not what I meant, Assistant Manager Lee.”
“……”
“In a romantic way. As different genders.”
Gi-hoon changed his words precisely because he didn't like Jeong-o's nuance. Not trembling even while confessing, so confident and comfortable. That's how kids these days are. Gi-hoon's bright energy captivated Jeong-o's gaze. The situation became a little more difficult. To Jeong-o, Gi-hoon was just a comfortable and obedient junior colleague, nothing more.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course. Should I say it one more time? I like Assistant Manager Lee...”
“No! It's okay.”
Jeong-o hurriedly waved her hand. Whew. She breathed a sigh of relief only after Gi-hoon closed his lips again. That's how kids these days are... Actually, there's not much of an age difference. Maybe it's because I'm a mother, but a twenty-seven-year-old man seemed very young. I feel like I'm living in a different era from Song Gi-hoon.
“I just thought you were joking.”
“Who would joke with those words?”
What should I do? Would he be hurt if I rejected him with sharp words? Because Gi-hoon was such a good person, I wanted to reject him with kind words. But I was worried that rejecting him with kind words might leave room for hope.
“Since I'm in a profession that pursues beauty, it's true that I pay a lot of attention to people's appearances.”
“……”
“Assistant Manager Lee is really pretty, but I don't think she knows she's pretty. That's what makes her even more attractive.”
“No! I know! I know a lot! I'm pretty. I'm very pretty.”
“Pfft. That's right. You're pretty.”
“No, I'm not pretty. Look here. I even have wrinkles, you know?”
“You're being so funny, changing your mind like that.”
Is he wearing rose-colored glasses? I was amazed that Gi-hoon only saw the good in me. Gi-hoon's courtship continued.
“I just enjoy observing Assistant Manager Lee. The more I see, the more interesting she is, and there are so many cool aspects that I like her more and more.”
“Gi-hoon, are you perhaps a 'love at first sight' kind of person?”
Gi-hoon laughed at himself after talking about this and that. He found it funny how honest he became in front of her.
Jeong-o felt sorry for Gi-hoon, who was smiling. Right now, Gi-hoon might be trying to create a bright atmosphere while trembling, trying not to burden her. The situation was burdensome, but if the other person was serious, she had no choice but to give a serious answer as well.
Jeong-o, having steeled herself, opened her mouth.
At Jeong-o’s confession, Gi-hoon blinked repeatedly like someone with blurry vision. Jeong-o’s confession continued.
This time, he had a dumbfounded look on his face.
Jeong-o’s eyes became even sterner at Gi-hoon’s sulky expression.
Jeong-o took out her phone, found a photo, and showed it to him. It was a photo of Yena sitting on Jeong-o’s lap.
Gi-hoon, staring at the photo with a blank expression for a long time, muttered to himself.
Gi-hoon looked even more shocked than when Director Jeong Ji-heon had grabbed him yesterday. Jeong-o felt sorry for telling Gi-hoon this, but on the other hand, she felt relieved.
It seemed her confession had worked. \ The tasks she was assigned piled up one by one, eventually forming a mountain. The most difficult thing was having to do physical and mental work at the same time. If she could concentrate a little more, she could come up with better ideas; if she had a little more time, she could find more data and create better results. The time of regret also piled up. Overtime continued from Monday and Tuesday into Wednesday. Because Thursday was Yena’s birthday, Jeong-o was desperate. And then came the long-awaited Thursday morning!
Yena, who had woken up early for once, shook Jeong-o awake.
Jeong-o got up without even having time to wipe the sleep from her eyes and hugged Yena.
Guk-soon, who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, also came into the room and handed over a gift box. Yena waved her hands vigorously.
It seemed that the order of events for the birthday party was already organized in Yena’s head.
Guk-soon also smiled, letting her shoulders relax as if she couldn’t stop her. The savory smell of seaweed soup spread through the morning. Yena’s seventh birthday had arrived. Yena wore a pink princess dress. It was Yena’s favorite dress, but she hadn’t worn it for weeks to make today shine. A pink princess dress, a crown headband, and she asked for her hair to be curled into round rolls, so Jeong-o had to become a hairdresser.
Guk-soon, reminded of Jeong-o’s childhood by Yena’s beautiful appearance, smiled contentedly.
Yena said, holding Jeong-o’s hand tightly. It was a request she had made several times yesterday.
Jeong-o linked pinkies with Yena. Because she had overdone it and worked late yesterday, things would be easier today. Jeong-o waved to Yena, hoping that today would be perfect. \ Even the wind on the way to work was clear. A clear morning as if all the things in the world were celebrating Yena’s birthday. Jeong-o paused briefly when she saw Ji-heon standing like a guardian spirit in front of the company elevator, but she greeted him brightly.
Despite his dry answer, Jeong-o smiled. Jeong Ji-heon. Today is my child’s birthday. So I hope you are happy today too. Because an angel was born because of you. Jeong-o, who got off the elevator, went to her seat humming. Gi-hoon was the only one sitting in the team.
Gi-hoon, along with his greeting, slipped something over the partition. It was an object wrapped in pink paper, only half the size of a palm.
Gi-hoon leaned deeply towards Jeong-o and whispered.
Ji-heon quietly watched this scene from behind.
