Chapter 52
52. Brace Yourself 2021.10.27.
The owner of the restaurant "The Crown" took a photo off the wall and approached Ji-heon.
"See this? This is you right here. And the woman next to you is the one you brought. Remember?"
Ji-heon frowned and examined the photo closely. The photo the owner showed was a photo within a photo. In other words, it was another photo taken with Ji-heon's photo as the background.
"Oh! It really looks like Director Jeong! That's amazing."
Chief Park Young-gwang said after checking the photo. Ji-heon's face was so small that it was barely recognizable. It was a photo of him with short hair, not long after being discharged from the military, smiling broadly. He was with an unknown woman. Ji-heon's face was clear, but the woman next to him was farther away, and relatively out of focus, making her blurry. His chest fluttered. His head throbbed as well. All that could be confirmed about the woman was a sky-blue t-shirt with a character on it, and long, straight hair. Ji-heon asked the owner for permission and saved the photo image to his phone. Even after seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it. Did I really have a girlfriend? Or maybe I just don't want to believe it. Is that why my body is refusing to regain its memories? Is it because I've already set my heart on Lee Jung-oh? Even in this situation, he thought of Jeong-o. Seeing Jeong-o made his solar plexus ache. It seemed to have started after he found out she had a child. If you have a child, and I had a girlfriend, does that make our situations a little similar? Do I not need to resent you either? This had become something that couldn't be delayed any longer.
* Jeong-o ended up not going into the restaurant and ate alone.
"It would have been fun if Assistant Manager Lee had come too. I confirmed our director's traces there. Director Jeong took a photo at that restaurant seven years ago. The restaurant owner remembered it. But they said the photo disappeared."
Young-gwang said, sharing his impressions of visiting the restaurant. Jeong-o was surprised and asked.
"The owner remembers? Something from seven years ago?"
"Yeah. Mr. Jeong. He even remembered the name. He said Director Jeong was so handsome that people loved it when he put the photo up. Our director's looks are internationally appealing."
"……."
"But the director doesn't remember anything. Is it amnesia or something? So he can't remember anything. It's a shame."
Jeong-o secretly sighed quietly. Just imagining what would have happened if she had gone into the restaurant with them made her dizzy. She saw Ji-heon over Young-gwang's shoulder. Jeong-o immediately turned her head. It was time to focus on work again. The advertisement was set with the main character working and doing dishes at a restaurant in Australia on a working holiday. It was a story developed from an idea Jeong-o had gotten from her own experience. Seven years ago, Jeong-o had lived in Melbourne on a working holiday, cleaning hotels. She had flown across the sea with big dreams of earning money and studying English, but she could only find work where she couldn't meet many people. Moreover, the pay wasn't great, so she was always struggling to make ends meet. She couldn't even think about going out on weekends, and it was difficult to join gatherings that required a participation fee. Then one day, a week of misfortunes came crashing down on her. The landlord raised the rent, so she used up all her savings to pay the rent and was waiting for her next paycheck. She ran out of food at home and starved all day. On the second day, Jeong-o shamelessly borrowed $10 from a friend she worked with. And on her way to the Korean market, she bumped into someone in front of a crosswalk. It hurt where she bumped, but she just wanted to buy something to eat at the market, so she brushed it off and ran. But when she got to the market and checked her pocket, the money was gone. She must have dropped it somewhere, so Jeong-o retraced her steps. But the $10 bill was nowhere to be seen. The sorrow she felt at that time. She sobbed sadly, wondering why nothing was working out for her, when someone called her from behind.
"Excuse me. Are you Korean?"
"……."
"I'm the person you bumped into earlier. I was wondering if you were hurt badly."
That person was Jeong Ji-heon. He had chased after her, thinking she was crying because she was hurt from the collision. Jeong-o forgot her pride and cried even louder. The welcome Korean words in this land of English, and the sorrow of being hungry, made her tears pour out. That was her first meeting with Ji-heon.
'He had such a boyish image back then.'
Jeong-o recalled Ji-heon from seven years ago, who still had a bit of boyish charm. Come to think of it, Jeong Ji-heon from that time, when he was a little younger, seemed a bit like Yena. Especially when he lowered his eyelids in a chic way. Sometimes Yena would put on a haughty expression as if she knew everything about the world, and at those times, it was funny because it was as if she had inherited even his personality. If she had to resemble her father, she hoped she would resemble her father from seven years ago. He was very kind and had a unique sense of consideration. He didn't talk much, but he knew how to make people laugh quietly. So it didn't take long for her to fall for Ji-heon. As various thoughts chased each other, her phone vibrated. She was startled and checked the screen. Guk-soon's phone number was displayed. Jeong-o briefly left the set and answered the phone.
[Hello. Mom!]
As soon as Jeong-o answered the phone, she heard a cute little girl's voice. Jeong-o smiled broadly and welcomed the call.
"Princess Yena!"
[Mom, did you buy me a present?]
"What do you want?"
[A kangaroo!]
"How are we going to take a kangaroo?"
[No, a kangaroo doll! Mom, I like kangaroos.]
"Why do you like kangaroos?"
[They have really big pockets. Mommy kangaroos put their babies in there and carry them around.]
Yena continued firmly.
[I want to be a kangaroo and go into Mommy's pocket!]
Ah. My princess, I want to gobble you up. Mommy too! Mommy too! Mommy too! Mommy too! I want to put you in my pocket and carry you around! Jeong-o barely suppressed the urge to run to Seoul right away and said goodbye.
"Our daughter, listen to Grandma and go to daycare. Okay? Mommy will go on Tuesday evening. Okay?"
[Okay! Come quickly!]
Smiling pleasantly, she tried to put her phone back in her pocket, but something was caught in her pocket. It was the photo she had put in her pocket during the day. Jeong-o took out the photo and looked at it again. After seeing Ji-heon's expression today, this smile from seven years ago felt even more distant. Guilt arose again. She felt that this memory was not theirs, but the restaurant's property.
'Should I secretly put it back?'
He probably won't visit the restaurant again. Jeong-o decided to quickly run to the restaurant while she was out. Coming to the other side of the world made her realize the difference in seasons. It was summer in Korea, but winter in Australia. It was winter on the calendar, but the weather was like a cool autumn. Still, it was quite cold in the mornings and evenings, so Jeong-o felt a chill. When I was living through a long winter, were you wandering somewhere in the deep summer? Thinking about that made her sad. Her body and mind were cold, so she kept walking faster. But in front of the crosswalk, Jeong-o couldn't take another step and stopped. Why are you here!
'Tsk…….'
Why does nothing ever work out? Jeong-o recognized Ji-heon in front of her and immediately turned around. As she was about to leave without saying a word, Ji-heon called out from behind.
"Are you going to keep avoiding me?"
Jeong-o's feet stopped again.
"How long are you going to avoid me?"
Like iron filings being realigned by a Jeong Ji-heon magnet, her body somehow wouldn't move. She felt pathetic that she couldn't even move. Before she knew it, he had walked up to her.
"Where did all that boldness go, calling me your man?"
He lowered his eyelids in a chic way and spoke to her. She couldn't tell if he was teasing her or genuinely asking where that boldness had gone.
"Lee Jeong-o, don't you have to apologize to me?"
"For what?"
"You said you live with your mother."
His voice became sharper. He was blaming her for lying. She wanted to shout. Did you think I wanted to hide Yena's existence that much? But no sound came out, only tears. This is. This is the crosswalk where we first met, you idiot.
"Why are you crying?"
Ji-heon, who didn't know anything, scolded Jeong-o. Jeong-o hated Ji-heon. She hated him even more for not showing up during lunch. She resented that she hadn't been honest with him, that Song Gi-hun, a colleague on the same team, already knew the truth and she had hidden it from him. At the same time, she kept looking for reasons. She tried to think that there was another reason why she hadn't told him the truth. Like wanting to look good to him, wanting to be close to him. She thought that would be nice. His heart had already crossed the point of no return. He thought she was scared, so even though he was angry, his voice softened.
"I'm the one who was wronged, why are you crying?"
"I can cry, can't I? What's wrong with me crying with my own eyes?"
"Then why are you crying? Are you sorry for lying to me?"
"No! It's because my heartless ex-boyfriend and what Director Jeong is doing are the same!"
"Do you want to talk about that bastard?"
He tried to hold back his anger, but her provocation made his emotions surge.
"You don't know how awful you're being right now."
"……."
"Why are you doing this in front of me, thinking about your ex-boyfriend? Go to that bastard."
He felt sorry for her, hated her, and was pained by her pitifulness. But despite all that, he couldn't give up. The anxiety of what would happen if she really went to that bastard brought forth the next words.
"Hiding your child means you wanted to look good to me that much, right? And now that it's all been revealed, you're talking about your ex-boyfriend to provoke me?"
"……."
"Is Lee Jeong-o's goal just to mess me up? What do you want, anyway?"
“……”
“You must have humored me because you wanted something from me. You even accepted my kisses.”
For a moment, she opened her eyes wide as if to say something, and moved her lips. It was a heartbreaking look, like a mermaid who had lost her voice, as if someone had stolen it. But he knew one thing. This woman was suppressing her feelings a lot. It could be because of the child, or because she was afraid of what the company would think.
“I won’t forgive you for talking about that bastard. Don’t even mention him, don’t even think about him.”
Then, he had no choice but to take another step.
“If you want to start over, don’t look back. Don’t dwell on the past, and think of your memories as being cleanly cut off, like me. It’s surprisingly easy that way.”
Actually, he was going to do this even if she didn't move.
“You said to only put cookies in a cookie box. It’s the same for you. When you come to me, don’t bring another guy with you.”
Now, he couldn't pretend that the time he had connected with her never happened. The reason he came all the way here after nearly 11 hours of flying was the same. To see you. To have you. To finally hold onto you, who keeps trying to slip away from me. Have I ever been so desperate to enter someone's life? Ji-heon handed her the hotel entrance card from his pocket.
“Come prepared. Don’t think you can just have a one-night stand and then wash your hands of it.”
“……”
“Once I grab on…”
“……”
“I won’t let go.”
