Chapter 27
- The Child's Birthday (2) 2021.07.31.
Jeong-o was bewildered to receive Yena's birthday present from Gi-hoon. Just two days ago, he had confessed about having a daughter while rejecting his confession.
“It’s a hair pin.”
Gi-hoon whispered again, noticing Jeong-o's burdened expression. It was nothing much, he said. Jeong-o fidgeted with the hand holding the gift, then smiled cautiously. He couldn't refuse even this. A gift given with good intentions should be received with good intentions. Because today is a good day.
“Thank you. She’ll be happy if I tell her a cool Oppa gave it to her.”
“Oppa, please. I’m an old man.”
Jeong-o felt relieved at Gi-hoon's expression, which seemed to hold no lingering feelings. Jeong-o put the gift in his bag and sat down. Gi-hoon kept poking his head over the partition.
“But, Team Leader. You still have to treat me to something delicious. You have to buy me dinner.”
“Of course. Absolutely. I’ll buy you something grand.”
Jeong-o nodded, raising a fist in determination.
“Let’s work. I have to leave early today. I already told the director. I’m leaving on the dot today.”
“Leave all the hard work to me. I’ll make sure you can leave on the dot today.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Ji-heon, who had been watching the two from a few steps away, slowly clenched and unclenched his fist. A moment later, Jeong-o, who briefly met Ji-heon's eyes, greeted him with a nod and turned away. \
“Mom, Mom, Mom!”
Even though it was past 9 o'clock, Do-bin didn't seem to want to go to daycare.
“I want a tie! A tie!”
Do-bin brought his one and only tie and waved it in front of Jin-seo's eyes. He must have thought his dad looked cool wearing a tie to work. He had somehow managed to put on his shirt, but all the buttons were only halfway through the buttonholes. Jin-seo straightened Do-bin's clothes, properly buttoned his shirt, and finally put the tie on him. It was his girlfriend's birthday. Do-bin, who had even picked out a gift for Yena yesterday, polished the ring case that his mom had nicely wrapped, over and over again with his palm.
“But son, do you really think Yena will like the ring?”
“Yes.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Because the ring is pretty.”
“……Okay, well. A gift is from the giver’s heart. Is that all you’re giving her, just the ring?”
“No! I have a letter too!”
“Let me see. Where is it?”
Jin-seo took the note that Do-bin proudly held out. Jin-seo's mouth dropped open at the bravely written message. - Yena. Your eyes look like jewels. Marry me later♥ Her eyes look like jewels, so he wants to marry her? She wanted to add at least one more sentence between jewels and marriage, but she shouldn't look at this pure confession from an adult's perspective. It seemed her son was planning to propose to Yena for her birthday. Son, should your mom cheer you on? Shouldn't we hear Yena's side first?
“A ring and a letter… is there anything else?”
“Yes! Six personal talents!”
“Six personal talents?”
“Yes. Three magic tricks, a Lee Yena acrostic poem, a crab dance, and a tissue flower.”
This was a big problem. Her son seemed to be planning a performance for his crush's birthday. Do-bin, the reason your mom cheered for your clumsy magic show is because she's your mom... The world is cold... Maybe the haughty Yena might not like it... She had kept him wrapped up in her apron strings, and now her son thought he was the funniest person in the world. Raising a child with high self-esteem was a good thing, but she was a little worried.
“What’s the Lee Yena acrostic poem?”
“Mom, say Lee Yena.”
“Lee.”
“Lee Yena is.”
“Ye.”
“Pretty.”
“Na.”
“Marry me.”
……This is a big problem.
“Son. Let’s just do the coin magic and the tissue flower. Just those two.”
“Why?”
“You’re only supposed to show the best ones.”
“What about the acrostic poem? I practiced so hard?”
“……Okay. Then just the acrostic poem and the tissue flower.”
“Can’t I do three?”
“You have to save some for Yena’s birthday next year.”
“Ah, then……”
Do-bin suddenly started counting on his fingers, one by one.
“Then I have to prepare thirteen more?”
“Why thirteen?”
“Because I’m going to do it for 13 years.”
“Why 13 years?”
“Because I’m going to marry her when I’m twenty!”
“……Our son is going to get married when he’s twenty.”
“Yes!”
“But Do-bin, aren’t you going to do any personal talents after you get married?”
“No. Because I have to raise the baby. It’s too hard.”
Our son knows that raising a baby is hard. Someone who knows that is acting like this? If you know it's hard, you should listen to your mom, Do-bin. Jin-seo had a lot to say to her son, but she hid everything behind a quiet smile. She just cheered him on. May her son's first love be beautiful. \ Things were falling into place. Jeong-o had spent the morning in the conference room with An Chan-seop, the team leader from the neighboring team, creating the Tawon Liquor production proposal. Since the proposal was script-based, copywriter Jeong-o's opinions were most reflected. It was the first proposal and the preparation period was short, but Jeong-o did her best. She ate a quick lunch and returned to the conference room to revise the data when her cell phone vibrated. It was a call from the Gwangjin Police Station. Jeong-o left the conference room to answer the phone.
“Hello.”
[Hello. This is Kwon Bae-il from the Gwangjin Police Station. Is this Lee Jung-o?]
It was a voice she had heard a week ago. A policeman with a pale face and a gentle impression. He had called her directly. Jeong-o answered happily.
“Yes, it is.”
[I'm calling you regarding your daughter's case. Is it a good time to talk?]
“Yes! Please, go ahead.”
[We searched all the CCTV cameras in the area and confirmed the woman walking quickly while holding your daughter's hand. But there's no clear image of the woman. She was wearing a hat. I'll send you the clearest image we have, would you like to take a look?]
“Yes. Please do.”
[Then I'll send the video file to the phone number I called you from now.]
“Thank you.”
[Please contact us if you suspect anyone after watching it.]
Bae-il finished the call and immediately sent the video file. Jeong-o carefully examined the video. She saw a woman passing by a convenience store and Yena walking quickly, holding the woman's hand. The past terror was revived as if it were happening now. Goosebumps rose from her spine to the top of her head. Seeing her daughter being dragged away by a stranger, even in the blurry image, made her heart pound. She calmed herself and replayed the video. The woman, wearing loose, dark-colored clothes and a hat pulled down low, had long hair tied to one side, and the hat was unique, but there were no other distinguishing features. The image itself was dark, so even the contours of her face were not clear, and it was impossible to tell her body shape.
‘At least it’s not someone I know.’
Still, she could at least conclude that it wasn't someone she knew. Nor could it be Jeong Ji-heon's mother.
‘But Jeong Ji-heon's mother could have hired someone to approach her.’
A precarious piece of evidence, none of which was clear. But it was so important to Jeong-o.
- I don't think it's someone I know. Please contact me if any new evidence is found.
Jeong-o sent a text message to the phone number Bae-il had given her and returned to her desk for a moment.
“Team Leader, is something wrong? You don’t look good.”
Gi-hoon, who had a good eye, noticed Jeong-o's face and asked.
“Gi-hoon. I have something to ask you.”
Jeong-o, who had a sudden good idea, changed her expression and captured several images from the video Bae-il had sent her, cutting out only the woman's hat, and showed them to Gi-hoon.
“Have you ever seen a hat like this? It looks like a brand-name hat.”
Gi-hoon tilted his head, staring at the photo for a while.
“It’s hard to tell because the picture is blurry. It looks like a foreign soccer team hat. Just a moment.”
Gi-hoon went back to his desk and started typing on the keyboard. Various baseball caps popped up on Gi-hoon’s PC monitor. After moving the mouse a few more times, Gi-hoon showed the search results to Jeong-o.
“It looks similar to this one.”
It was a hat with a red brim and a navy blue back. The logo of a Spanish soccer team was embroidered on the front. Jeong-o's face brightened as she alternately examined the captured photo and the monitor.
“Oh, really! Gi-hoon, you’re a genius!”
Jeong-o's voice rose with excitement.
“But I can’t guarantee that it’s the same one. The picture is blurry, for one thing. And you can easily make hats like this at a wholesale level. Just consider it a similar design.”
“Okay. I understand. Still, thank you so much, Gi-hoon.”
“You’re welcome. I can do even more difficult things for you.”
Jeong-o was able to smile, setting aside her worries, thanks to Gi-hoon’s reassuring response. There wasn't much time left until quitting time. She had to hurry up and work hard again. Once she got the Tawon Liquor Proposal approved by Director Jeong Ji-heon, her work for the day would be done. She had already coordinated with Team Leader An Chan-seop, so it was practically finished. In Production Team 1, everyone was in a state of chaos because an existing advertiser had suddenly placed an unexpected order. An Chan-seop, the team leader of Production Team 1, also waved at Jeong-o. It was a signal that he was about to get busy, so she should take care of the finishing touches herself. Jeong-o nodded and headed to the conference room. If she was going to work alone, there was no need to do it in the conference room. Jeong-o grabbed her laptop and returned to her desk. In the meantime, Team Leader An Chan-seop, who had finished a loud phone call, said to Jeong-o.
“Assistant Manager Lee, let’s get our Tawon Liquor Proposal out of the way first. Get the print layout that Jo Si-nae is sending, paste it in, and show it to the director.”
“Yes.”
Jeong-o turned on her laptop screen again and moved the mouse. But something was wrong. The computer, which had been fine before she answered the phone from the police station… the computer…
“Assistant Manager Lee, what’s wrong?”
“No, just a moment.”
Jeong-o swallowed hard and pressed the restart button on her laptop. The laptop screen seemed to be turning on properly, but then a bunch of unknown characters appeared.
“……Why is it doing this……?”
With a pale face, Jeong-o stared at the laptop screen, trapped in an unknown loop, and kept moving the mouse.
“Assistant Manager Lee Jung-oh, what’s going on?”
Assistant Manager Jo Si-nae, who had been waiting to send the file to Jeong-o, rushed over to Jeong-o's desk.
“Isn’t this a virus?”
Si-nae’s voice drew the attention of those around Jeong-o. Jeong-o’s fingertips trembled.
“Assistant Manager Lee’s laptop seems to have a virus. Did you make a backup file?”
“Yes. I have the file.”
It was a file she had saved midway through, so she would have to put in some effort to finish it again, but it was fortunate that she had made a backup file. Jeong-o borrowed Gi-hoon’s computer and logged into the company cloud. But the file she had definitely saved was nowhere to be found. Si-nae, who had been watching, pressed her again.
“What is it? Didn’t you put it in the cloud?”
“I definitely put it here……”
“It’s not there?”
“Assistant Manager Lee, are you pretending you didn’t back it up from the beginning?”
Si-nae’s voice grew louder. Chae Eun-bi, who had been working, also got up from her seat and approached.
“What’s going on?”
“Assistant Manager Lee Jung-oh’s laptop got a virus, and it seems she didn’t back up the data she’s created so far.”
After hearing Si-nae’s explanation, Eun-bi sighed deeply and scolded Jeong-o.
“Assistant Manager Lee Jung-oh, didn’t you once tell me you’d send me the details of your work separately by email? But you’ve never kept that promise even once. You only talk, so this is what happens.”
She had worked on the proposal with Team Leader An Chan-seop, and there was no need to get Eun-bi’s permission for every detail, so she hadn’t sent her a separate email. Jeong-o was dumbfounded that she was bringing up that argument at a time like this. Even Team Leader An Chan-seop lamented.
“Ugh, I’m busy to death, and nothing is going right.”
Team Leader Seong Mi-ran was away from her seat, and Jeong-o was being ganged up on alone. In the midst of all this, Ji-heon walked towards Production Team 2.
“What’s going on?”
Si-nae immediately tattled.
“It seems Assistant Manager Lee Jung-oh accidentally deleted the final file for the Tawon Liquor Proposal. The team members have all been working hard on it. Director.”
