Chapter 77
77. Heart-fluttering Unrequited Love 2022.01.22.
Lee Jung-o's trickery worked beautifully. Chae Eun-yeop faced the most embarrassing moment of his life.
“Lawyer, why can't you speak? Really... isn't your name Ha Jin-cheol?”
Jeong-o questioned him as if she knew nothing, as if she was shocked to learn Eun-yeop's real name only now.
“I'm so embarrassed right now. Why did you impersonate someone? Are you even a lawyer?”
Of course, Eun-yeop knew. That Jeong-o was feigning ignorance. When Eun-yeop couldn't open his mouth, Jeong-o asked Ji-heon.
“Director. But by any chance, is Chae Eun-yeop... Chae Eun-bi's Oppa?”
“That's right.”
“Oh my! The person I was going to sue is Chae Eun-bi!”
This heinous play continued.
”So, did you approach me on purpose? To stop me from suing Eun-bi?”
“……”
“No, did Chae Eun-bi ask you to?”
“You have a vivid imagination, Lee Jung-o. And you're pushing it too far.”
Having barely managed to gather his thoughts, Eun-yeop belatedly opened his mouth.
“When did I ever say I was Ha Jin-cheol? I said I was Chae Eun-yeop from the beginning, but Lee Jung-o, you misunderstood.”
There was no evidence. There wouldn't be. He had introduced himself to Lee Jung-o as Ha Jin-cheol just once at the company desk, but he hadn't mentioned that name again since. Silencing the desk staff would be easy, so if he could just get through this situation, he would be fine.
“You did! In the lobby of the law firm!”
Jeong-o retorted as if she couldn't believe it.
“I'm very displeased. You deliberately called me the wrong name and now you're trying to put the blame on me.”
Eun-yeop said clearly.
“Besides, I even gave you a free consultation, and today I took time out of my busy schedule to meet with Lee Jung-o like this and even offered to write a complaint for you, but this is the result of my kindness.”
“……”
“Even in the emails, you kept calling me the wrong name, so I felt bitter, but you were setting a trap and planning to corner me. Why are you doing this, Lee Jung-o?”
“Lawyer, I have a record of the emails I received, so if you say that…”
As Eun-yeop continued to insist, Jeong-o picked up her phone. It was clear that she was planning to present the email records. Eun-yeop chuckled faintly. Even in the emails, Jeong-o had constantly called him Ha Jin-cheol, but there was no evidence that Eun-yeop had directly impersonated him. Jeong-o's eyes wavered as she realized this.
“Don't go around calling people the wrong name as you please, Lee Jung-o.”
While Eun-yeop's scolding continued, Ji-heon took Jeong-o's phone.
“It looks like you're lying to me, Chae Eun-yeop.”
Ji-heon, who had examined all of Jeong-o's emails, said.
“If the emails came like this, shouldn't you have corrected it? Shouldn't a lawyer be truthful to their client? If they're being called by a different name instead of their own, and they don't correct it, isn't that a problem? If a person named Ha Jin-cheol actually exists in your company, it would also harm that person.”
As Ji-heon pointed out Eun-yeop's insincere attitude, Eun-yeop clenched his fist tightly.
“To prevent it from being perceived as impersonation like now, you should have corrected it properly from the start. Why didn't you? This is also tarnishing your company's reputation.”
“……”
“The way that law firm works is very unpleasant. Now that I know, I can't just let it go. Tell your company. That all contracts with Max Planning are terminated. I can't work with an unreliable lawyer.”
“……”
“No. I'll contact them directly. I can't trust you to convey it properly, so I can't leave it to you.”
“Ji-heon, that's not something you can decide, but something the company's CEO should decide. You're not the CEO of Max Planning.”
Eun-yeop retorted, barely maintaining his poker face. Now that things had come to this, Eun-yeop didn't need to hide his claws completely either. It was also worth pointing out that a director from headquarters was stepping in as a colleague at the call of a mere employee.
“And Ji-heon, you're not particularly close to Lee Jung-o, are you?”
Eun-yeop, who had packed all his belongings and stood upright, passed by Ji-heon and whispered near Ji-heon's ear.
“Ji-heon, you should be careful too. You should be selective about who you associate with. What if your mother gets shocked and collapses?”
“……”
“I'll leave first today. I really barely made time while traveling. Let's meet separately later.”
After giving Ji-heon a brief warning, Eun-yeop immediately left the table. He pretended to be relaxed, but he was sweating profusely. He walked briskly so they wouldn't catch him. He might have even been running the last few steps. Only after leaving the cafe and moving towards the parking lot did Eun-yeop quietly take a breath and organize what he had seen and heard in the cafe. Lee Jung-o and Jeong Ji-heon. The two were being friendly with each other. Jeong Ji-heon seemed to trust Lee Jung-o quite a bit, but it wasn't clear whether the two were in a relationship. Last Friday, when Lee Jung-o came to the company, Jeong Ji-heon and Lee Jung-o were probably not together. If the two were close, Lee Jung-o wouldn't have come for a free consultation. Did the relationship between the two change in a week? Did Lee Jung-o tell Jeong Ji-heon everything, even about the existence of Lee Yena? If so, his efforts to switch Lee Yena's hair would be in vain. Of course, it might cause confusion for a short time.
“Ha, you bug-like things!”
Eun-yeop shouted into the air. Why are you making it so confusing!
* Seung-gyu kept fidgeting because he wanted to leave work early. No, his mouth was itching so much that he couldn't stand it. As soon as it was time to leave work, Seung-gyu shot up from his seat like a bullet and took a taxi home for the first time in a while.
“Honey, honey, honey, honey!”
It had been a long time since he opened the front door and called "Honey" four times in a row instead of "Daddy's home."
“Why, why, why!”
Jin-seo, who was teaching Do-bin about tidying up in his room, rushed out to the living room, startled by her husband's boisterous shouts.
“Daddy!”
“Daddy, Daddy!”
Do-bin and Do-yoon also ran to greet Seung-gyu.
“Oh. Yes, yes. Did our Do-bin and Do-yoon listen to their mother well?”
While Seung-gyu hugged Do-bin and Do-yoon once each, Jin-seo's eyes widened and she pressed him.
“What's wrong? What went wrong? What's the problem?”
“Ha… I have tremendous news.”
Seung-gyu replied with eyes full of joy, as if he couldn't control his excitement.
“What is it? What is it?”
“Hehehe.”
Seung-gyu took the two children to the living room so they could play together, and then dragged Jin-seo into the bedroom.
“Do you know who Yena's biological father is?”
“Who is it? Is it someone I know? Is it a celebrity?”
“Hehehehe.”
“Ah, who is it!”
“It's Jeong Ji-heon.”
“……Is today April Fool's Day?”
“No. I'm serious! I heard it directly from Ji-heon. Ji-heon had amnesia all this time and didn't remember Deputy Lee Jung-o. Deputy Lee Jung-o didn't know that and thought she had been dumped, so she raised Yena alone.”
“Reaally? No way!”
“Really, I'm telling you!”
“Oh my goodness……”
Jin-seo couldn't close her gaping mouth. Seung-gyu finally felt relieved.
“Isn't it amazing? You must have had foresight. What would have happened if you hadn't connected the two of them?”
“Oh my, what's going on, what's going on……”
Jin-seo, who was mumbling with her hand on her surprised chest, asked.
“Then what will happen to Jeong-o? Ji-heon's mother is a very scary person, right?”
“It'll be alright. They have a child. She's the first granddaughter in that family.”
“Then are Ji-heon and Jeong-o going to combine households?”
“I haven't heard that far yet.”
“Oh dear…… I hope Jeong-o can suffer less now.”
Jin-seo stroked her chest and prayed for the peace of Jeong-o's family. At that moment, they heard a crash from outside. Jin-seo and Seung-gyu went out to the living room at the same time. The freezer door was open and the ice from the ice container was all spilled on the floor.
“I'm sorry!”
Do-bin preemptively apologized before Jin-seo could scold him. Jin-seo sighed and stretched out her arm at her son's desperate appeal, even though she hadn't taught him to do this. Her son, who flinched as if he thought he was going to be hit, was both pitiful and lovable.
“Son, if you want ice from now on, tell Mom, okay?”
“……Okay.”
“I love you, son.”
Jin-seo hugged Do-bin tightly. Come to think of it, if Do-bin hadn't liked Yena so much, she might have ended her relationship with Jeong-o, as Seung-gyu had suggested. Her son had the foresight.
“I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.”
“Mom, what's wrong? Did you accidentally throw away my toy again?”
Do-bin, puzzled that he wasn't scolded even after spilling the ice container, asked Jin-seo.
*
Jeong-o returned to the office to finish the work she hadn't completed and left work with Ji-heon. She couldn't push Eun-yeop any further at the cafe. As expected, Eun-yeop acted meticulously and quickly escaped the trap.
“Anyway, it's done if Chae Eun-yeop doesn't approach Oppa anymore. I'm worried about Oppa's mother……”
“My mother will be cautious too. I showed her the black box footage of Chae Eun-yeop. She was stubborn in front of me, but as time passes, her suspicion will grow.”
“Yeah. That's a relief.”
“You did really well today.”
“Really? I think I acted too well.”
“I know. You could be an actress.”
Ji-heon was sincere. To Ji-heon, who believed everything Lee Jeong-o said, Jeong-o's acting today couldn't help but seem excellent. In the warm atmosphere, Ji-heon revealed what had happened during the day.
“I told Seung-gyu everything about Yena.”
“Then Do-bin's family will know soon?”
“He probably already told them. He must have been eager to tell Jin-seo.”
“Everyone will be very surprised.”
“If Seung-gyu makes a fuss at the office, tell me.”
Ji-heon told Jeong-o, remembering how surprised Seung-gyu had been in his office that morning. Jeong-o tilted her head, thinking of something else, and asked.
“You've been close to Park Seung-gyu for a long time, right? Why didn't you introduce him to me seven years ago?”
“……”
“Oppa never introduced me to any of his friends or anyone.”
At Jeong-o's remark, Ji-heon's smile disappeared.
“I wonder why I didn't.”
“……”
“Was I afraid of losing you?”
“Huh? You were dating Jin-seo back then, weren't you?”
“Ah, I guess so?”
“……”
“Was I still anxious?”
Ji-heon reached out his right hand and touched Jeong-o's hair and earlobe, muttering to himself. He had been digging into the past for days, and because of Yena's situation, he hadn't been able to hug Jeong-o as much as he wanted, even though he was close to her. It was the same now. As he quietly tickled her, she quickly changed the subject and asked another question.
“What are you doing this weekend?”
“Nothing. I have nothing planned.”
Ji-heon stated without hesitation. Because he could drop any schedule if she wanted him to.
“Okay. Then let's play with Yena. We need to show her our faces often so she'll change her mind quickly.”
At Jeong-o's suggestion, the strength drained from his arm. Would Yena even accept if he asked her to play……? To Ji-heon, Yena was the scariest person in the world, scarier than the group chairman, scarier than his mother-in-law. A man who had lived with pride was now in a desperate one-sided love.
Ji-heon and Jeong-o's car arrived at the market without delay. Jeong-o entered the restaurant first and opened the door. The hall of the closed restaurant was dark.
“I'm home.”
“Mommy!”
Yena, who ran to Jeong-o's voice, tightened her lips when she saw Ji-heon following behind.
“Hello, Yena.”
Hmph. Yena turned her head away sulkily and went to the kitchen.
“Oh, you're here?”
Guk-soon, who looked out from the kitchen, welcomed them. Ji-heon greeted politely.
“Yes. Hello.”
Jeong-o nudged Ji-heon's side as he awkwardly entered the kitchen. It was a signal to talk to Yena. Ji-heon quickly understood and carefully sat down on the wooden platform and spoke to Yena.
“Yena, on Saturday……”
Jeong Ji-heon, who was so proactive towards her, was helpless in front of Yena. Jeong-o felt sorry for and amused by Ji-heon, who was carefully choosing each word and speaking with difficulty.
“……Shall we, go biking with Dad?”
With Dad. At Ji-heon's question, Yena stared at Ji-heon with wide eyes before leaving the wooden platform and grabbing Guk-soon's pants.
“Grandma, let's go to Gunsan on Saturday!”
“Does our puppy want to go to Gunsan?”
“Yes. I want to go. The restaurant grandma said she missed Yena too.”
Yena, who had cleverly persuaded her grandmother, turned her head and said to Jeong-o as well.
“Mom, let's go to Gunsan together.”
There was no room for Ji-heon. Ji-heon stared blankly at the three of them, unable to let go of the beautiful smile he had made for Yena. The smile on my face isn't really a smile.
