Chapter 79
- I Won't Give You Anything 2022.01.29.
Jeong-o laughed. But at the same time, she felt a pang of sympathy, as she could understand Ji-heon's desire. Yena's sleeping face. He couldn't resist that.
“Hoo.”
“If it's really difficult……”
“No. I understand you so well, Oppa.”
“……”
“I've seen Yena sleeping over a thousand times, and I still can't get enough. She's a real angel.”
The truth was, she had a hobby of bothering the sleeping Yena, holding her hand, touching her cheek, and even kissing her, but she couldn't bring herself to say that. She was afraid this man might try it secretly too. Afraid he'd get addicted quickly.
“But are you sure? Once you see her, you'll keep thinking about her, you know? You'll want to come over every day, you know?”
“Can I just take one picture?”
“That won't do. I can't turn on the lights to take a picture while she's sleeping. And I can't use the flash.”
“Ah. I guess not.”
Ji-heon's worries deepened at the mother's refusal.
“I'll ask my mom first.”
Jeong-o immediately contacted Guk-soon. There was no way Guk-soon wouldn't understand Ji-heon. Guk-soon clicked her tongue about twenty times, saying how pitiful Ji-heon was, and then told her to come in quickly before hanging up. With Guk-soon's permission, the car sped up even more and soon arrived in front of Jeong-o's house. The two quietly climbed the stairs and opened the front door. Guk-soon was waiting in the living room. Ji-heon greeted her first.
“Mother, how have you been?”
“Good. I see you often.”
“I'm sorry for coming so late.”
“It's okay. Come on in.”
Ji-heon carefully took off his shoes and went inside. The first day he would meet the sleeping Yena. Ji-heon resolved to just take a quick look at her face and leave, and then entered the room. Jeong-o opened the door for him. Inside the dark room, the light from the open door allowed him to dimly see the sleeping child. White cheeks, neatly closed eyelashes between closed eyes, neatly closed plump lips, soft and cute breathing. Everything tickled Ji-heon's heart. She really is a baby angel. Ji-heon quietly sighed. Seven-year-old Ji-heon often woke up from dreams with convulsions. He dreamed of fighting monsters or being chased by someone and falling off a cliff, but his parents said it was a dream of growing taller. He still occasionally has 'dreams of growing taller.' Even though his growth has stopped. Ji-heon hoped that the child's dreams would be peaceful. He would protect her from all the storms of the world in the future, but he couldn't protect her in her dreams. As he quietly watched, the child's fingers wiggled, and Ji-heon unknowingly placed his finger on her palm. Yena tightly gripped Ji-heon's finger. A thrill ran through his entire body. He wanted to keep being held tightly in the child's small hand like that. He felt like he could do that all night.
And so, on a night when he was sad to leave, Ji-heon steeled his heart and got up. He earnestly hoped that one day, checking on his daughter's sleeping face would become a daily routine. As he quietly closed the door and came out, Guk-soon asked.
“Want some fruit?”
“It's okay.”
“Eat before you go.”
The table was already full of fruit. Unable to refuse any further, Ji-heon sat down at the table. Jeong-o, who had washed up, also went to the kitchen, bouncing around.
“Ugh, I brushed my teeth! If I had known, I wouldn't have brushed them.”
“If you brushed, don't eat.”
“Ugh. How can I not eat it, though? Our Madam has so kindly put it here for me.”
“I didn't put it there for you to eat.”
“Ugh. Still, if I don't eat it, you'll worry, won't you? You'll say, 'Are you sick? Why can't you eat the fruit in front of you?'”
Perhaps admitting it herself, Jeong-o didn't retort any further. Ji-heon quickly rolled his eyes and quietly listened to the mother and daughter's conversation. So this is what Lee Jeong-o is like at home. Lee Jeong-o in front of her mother was much more affectionate and energetic than the Lee Jeong-o that Ji-heon knew. It was a harmonious scene that couldn't even be compared to Ji-heon's family, which was full of obsession and control. A peaceful and warm night that made him, who had so much, feel pathetic.
“Eat up. Eat a lot. You have to drive again.”
Guk-soon nonchalantly brushed off Jeong-o's ticklish affection and placed fruit on Ji-heon's plate. Ji-heon ate everything Guk-soon gave him. Guk-soon watched Ji-heon eat with a pleased expression and said.
“What are we going to do if something suddenly comes up? I've already booked the train tickets for tomorrow.”
“Jeong-o should be excluded……”
“Mom and Yena will have to go by themselves.”
Ji-heon immediately spoke up at Guk-soon's worries, but his words were buried by Jeong-o's. Ji-heon wanted to exclude Jeong-o from weekend work, but Jeong-o's will was firm. Guk-soon nodded as if she understood.
“I guess so. There's no helping it. All my friends in Jeonju said they're coming to see Yena, so I have to go.”
Ji-heon's head naturally lowered in humility. Guk-soon recognized this and said coolly.
“Aigoo. There's no need to be so cautious like a criminal. It's not like this is the first time this has happened.”
“Yes……”
“You two can have a good time while Yena's gone.”
Ji-heon, startled by Guk-soon's open-minded thinking, replied with a shy expression like a new bride.
“……That's not true.”
Guk-soon secretly chuckled at the voice that was shrinking in a way that didn't suit his large frame. This guy. I can guess how you seduced our Jeong-o, but you're pretending to be pure in front of me. \ Early in the morning. Yena woke up before her mom and woke her up.
“Mom, Mom, wake up. It's morning!”
In her dream, Yena celebrated Christmas. Like her friends at daycare, she shouted that Santa Claus was fake, but the Santa Claus in her dream laughed and said he was real, so touch him. Yena pulled on Santa Claus's long beard. The beard didn't fall off. Having learned that Santa Claus was real, Yena cheered and took Santa Claus's hand. The old man's hand was big and warm, making her feel secure. It was a really, really amazing and happy dream. That's why she felt good from the morning.
“Mom, hurry up and get ready so Yena and you can go to Gunsan! Wake up quickly!”
At Yena's urging, Jeong-o also groggily woke up.
“Yena, Mom has something to tell you.”
“……”
“Mom can't go to Gunsan with Yena today.”
The voice that had been so excited quickly darkened.
“Why?”
“Mom has work at the company, so she can't go. But our princess will have fun for Mom's sake, right?”
Yena, with tears welling up in her eyes, demanded.
“Why can't you go? Did that Mister make you work again?”
“No, it has nothing to do with Dad. Mom has a lot of work to do.”
To Yena, who stubbornly called him "Mister," Jeong-o steadfastly emphasized "Dad." From Yena's perspective, everything was upsetting. She had a happy dream with Santa Claus, but reality was despairing. But Yena also knew that she couldn't be too stubborn on an ordinary weekend that wasn't Children's Day, Christmas, or her birthday. Yena swallowed her sadness with a minimal request.
“Mom, don't play with that Mister. Okay?”
\ Yena burst into tears again the moment Jeong-o left for work. Guk-soon took out the hidden ice cream and barely managed to calm Yena down. She wondered if they would even be able to go to Gunsan today. Jeong-o left the house with heavy steps. Ji-heon was waiting in front of the house as always. They were meeting again after only a few hours. Jeong-o's eyebrows drooped with a mixture of happiness and guilt.
“Why did you come today?”
“We have to go to work together.”
“It's a lot of work to come this way every day. It would be better if Oppa moved this way too.”
Ji-heon, who was actually thinking about doing that, smiled.
“Yena must be very upset. That you can't go together.”
Jeong-o was about to talk about how Yena had just cried, but she closed her mouth. She was worried that Ji-heon might bring personal feelings into official matters. The two arrived at the company without being late. The Competitive Presentation was over, and she thought she could finally take a breather, but then there was weekend work again. Fortunately, the client was giving feedback right away. Eun-ju and Gi-hoon refined the package drafts and sent them to the client early in the morning, and the client was roughly satisfied. Thus, after detailed exchanges of opinions, the production team was able to go home at 6 PM with the fourth draft. Not missing this opportunity, Ji-heon came to Jeong-o.
“Lee Jeong-o-ssi, you're going home, right?”
“Yes. Director.”
“Shall we go to my place today?”
Ughhhhh. Director, you rascal! Jeong-o quickly looked around, worried that someone nearby might have heard. Fortunately, no one was there, but Ji-heon's reckless statement could not be overlooked.
“I'm not going! Never!”
Jeong-o glared, her small voice stern. From Ji-heon's perspective, it seemed like a very cute struggle. "Shall we go home?" he asked, phrasing it as a suggestion but it was, in fact, a command. His mother had even acknowledged it, telling them to have a good time, and he couldn't just ignore those precious words. He couldn't leave her alone to sleep. Ji-heon turned away from the growling Jeong-o and signaled with his eyes, meaning he would wait in front of the company. Jeong-o, feeling defeated by Ji-heon's force, moved quickly, even though she felt wronged. It would be a disaster if someone saw Ji-heon outside the company because she was being slow.
“Jeong Ji-heon, I swear!”
Jeong-o, who had rushed out after finishing her work, opened the door of Ji-heon's parked car, panting.
“Are you doing this on purpose? Because you want to get caught by others.”
This man was capable of anything. Besides, no matter how much I growl at him like this, he won't reflect on his shamelessness. Seeing the man nonchalantly driving the car, pretending not to know anything, made her want to hit him. But she couldn't hit the driver.
“Oppa. At Oppa's house…”
Jeong-o, having come up with a clever idea, started speaking softly.
“I was going to give you a really good gift, but you're so careless that I don't feel like it anymore.”
Indeed, she could clearly see that his eyes had widened twice as much.
“……Huh?”
“I'm not giving you anything.”
“Huh?”
“I said, no gift.”
“You have to give it to me. You can't say you're going to give it and then not give it.”
But as if trying to hide his flustered feelings, he didn't raise his voice. He chose a very gentle way of persuading her. But Jeong-o would never change her mind.
“It's here. I'm not giving it to you.”
“That won't do.”
“It's your own fault. I have to be in a good mood to give you a gift, but I'm not in the mood.”
“……I was wrong.”
Only then did he lower his tail. Jeong-o tried hard to lower the corners of her lips, which were about to soar into the sky, and asked firmly.
“What did you do wrong?”
“Saying to come to our house from the company.”
“Then what are you going to do in the future?”
“……I'll be careful about acknowledging you at the company.”
“Really? Can I trust you?”
“You can trust me.”
Hahahahaha. Jeong-o burst into laughter that she had been holding back for a while. Ji-heon, who had been easily tamed, sighed deeply. By the time they arrived in front of Ji-heon's house, it was already Dusk. The two parked the car in the underground parking lot and moved together. Perhaps because it was a high place where the elevator had to go up for a long time, Jeong-o became a little nervous again, just like when she visited this place for the first time. She knew too well how this man changed in a space where only the two of them were, so perhaps her heart, remembering this, was reacting. It seemed like he was looking at her for longer, and the look in his eyes seemed to have become about 10 degrees hotter. Since silence was somehow more uncomfortable, Jeong-o smiled and spoke.
“Shall I give you the gift now? It's in my bag.”
“You don't have to prepare anything like that. I have plenty of those at my house.”
Jeong-o's nostrils flared.
“……Oppa, what do you think the gift is?”
