Chapter 83
- Dad Runs 2022.02.12.
The air inside the conference room was warm and peaceful, unlike outside. Ji-heon's large hand felt nice and reassuring, and Jeong-o wanted to be caressed for a long time, but she soon distanced herself. It would be troublesome if someone suddenly came in. Ji-heon understood Jeong-o's feelings and didn't insist. But he couldn't leave the conference room either. He wanted to talk to her for a long time.
“Is it true that I was good at cooking seven years ago?”
“Yes! Very, very much! My Studio apartment kitchen was all Oppa's. Cooking was Oppa's responsibility.”
Ji-heon opened the floodgates, and Jeong-o answered excitedly before tilting her head and asking.
“You haven't cooked at all for seven years?”
“Yeah. Because I didn't even know I had.”
She hadn't taken his boasting about hobby cooking seriously from the start, but his nonchalant answer somehow sounded too pitiful. She wanted to give him hope. The hope that there were still unrevealed memories hidden somewhere in his subconscious.
“Oppa, do you want to see this?”
Jeong-o took out her cell phone and opened the photo album. She had saved a photo she found while organizing Yena's photos separately on her phone. Ji-heon moved closer and looked at Jeong-o's phone screen. It was a photo of a small, cozy-looking room. The room felt somehow familiar. It was very similar to the room at the very end of the apartment he had decorated.
“It's my old room. My Studio apartment that Oppa used to visit often.”
Ah……. Ji-heon sighed softly. Isolated fragments of memory returned to their original place as if piecing together a puzzle. His head and heart tingled together. Was that why he felt so comfortable when he entered that room? Because it was Lee Jung-o's house?
“Oppa used to say he liked my Studio apartment more than his own house, and the reason was…….”
Jeong-o brought up the question Ji-heon had in mind first, then quickly closed her mouth. Ji-heon raised his eyebrows and asked.
“What's the reason?”
“There's a reason.”
“What is it? Why do you start to say something and then stop?”
“Try to remember it, Oppa.”
“No. You tell me.”
“Try to remember. Then you'll remember.”
Lee Jung-o. Aren't you treating me too harshly? Ji-heon, who wanted to be treated with care, frowned deeply, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his chair. Then he raised one hand and stroked his forehead.
“Ah. Suddenly my head hurts. ……It feels like it's going to break.”
“Ah, does it hurt?”
“It seems hard to remember.”
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“Yeah.”
“You said you liked my Studio apartment because you could see where I was and what I was doing when you were in the Studio apartment.”
Jeong-o, frightened by his exaggeration, confessed right away. She felt heartbroken just watching him like that, but Ji-heon soon perked up and stretched his lips out long as he raised his body.
“I see. That's like Jeong Ji-heon.”
“What? Were you lying just now?”
“You should have noticed that much.”
“Wow, Jeong Ji-heon, really!”
Growl. As Jeong-o's voice rose, Ji-heon quickly put his index finger to his lips and shushed her. Jeong-o had no choice but to suppress her resentment inside. She listened to Ji-heon's lament without any room to be upset.
“Why did I forget the most precious thing?”
“……”
“I should have never forgotten that, even if I forgot everything else.”
“We haven't known each other for that long.”
His sunken gaze seeped into Jeong-o's eyes. The man who had been annoying just a few seconds ago was now making her heart ache again.
“Still, it will gradually come back to you. I believe it.”
As expected, she ended up comforting him. \ Ji-heon left the conference room where Jeong-o was staying and went to the elevator. He caught a glimpse of Chief Park Young-gwang moving towards the elevator in the hallway.
“Oh…… Director.”
Young-gwang, who discovered Ji-heon, flinched and nodded. Young-gwang felt like he was walking on a bed of thorns, no, a floor of thorns. Just being alone with him was difficult and awkward, but it was even harder because he had just witnessed a scene he shouldn't have seen. Ji-heon spoke to Young-gwang, who was swallowing hard without saying a word.
“The filming on Tuesday is proceeding as planned, right?”
“Yes. If there are no more problems, it's definitely possible.”
“We were able to keep the schedule thanks to the hard work of Production Team 2. I'm looking forward to the filming.”
“Yes. We'll do our best to make it well.”
“I respect Chief Park Young-gwang a lot.”
Young-gwang, who couldn't look Ji-heon in the eye and only nodded, slowly raised his face. He wondered why he was suddenly being respected when they were talking about filming. Ji-heon's face, as he looked at him, was so stiff and expressionless that he didn't seem like someone who had just confessed his respect. Cold sweat formed on Young-gwang's forehead.
“No, why do you respect me, Director…….”
“Because you get along well with your colleagues and always have excellent results. I look forward to working with you in the future.”
Ji-heon's eyes were fierce, as if the scene he had just witnessed with his own eyes was a lie. This is…… a message to keep your mouth shut to your colleagues and work hard? Pressure disguised as respect. The quick-witted Young-gwang quickly realized Ji-heon's intention.
“Yes. I'll work hard.”
Young-gwang answered without being able to breathe properly. \ Ji-heon, who had worked late and returned home, connected the USB that Jeong-o had given him again to his PC. This time, it seemed that all of Yena's photos were properly saved. He was looking at each photo carefully as if he were reading a book, so it seemed impossible to see them all in one night. But Ji-heon showed himself mercy, saying, "Just one more, just one more," and ended up checking all the photos. And then morning.
“Gasp!”
Ji-heon overslept for the first time in a long time. No, he couldn't even say he had slept. It was past 5 a.m. when he thought he would ruin Monday if he kept going, so he closed his eyes. He thought it would be difficult to wake up on time if he lay down on the bed, so he leaned back in his chair and fell asleep, but when he woke up, it was 7:55 a.m. Ji-heon, who jumped up in a hurry, quickly washed up, got dressed, and left the house. He was so obsessed with Yena in the photos that he was in danger of missing the real Yena. Yena's time to take the shuttle bus was 8:20 a.m. He had to go to Jeong-o's house within 20 minutes. He had promised the child that he would come every day, so he had to keep his promise. Even if the child hated him or ignored him. He barely managed to get near Jeong-o's house on a road where there was no traffic, but the road was completely blocked when he got close. Now it was 3 minutes. Ji-heon, who was getting anxious, parked his car in an alley and immediately got out of the car and ran in a hurry. In the distance, he could see the daycare bus parked where Yena always took the bus. And, two women who were so beautiful, cute, and lovely even from afar, Jeong-o and Yena……. Haaaah. Yena, Dad is coming! He had never run so desperately in his life. The opposing wind dug into his throat and stabbed him like needles. Still, Dad runs!
Haaaah! And so, he barely made it safe. Huff huff huff. He was so out of breath that he felt like he was going to throw up, his head was dizzy, and it felt like all the colors of the world had evaporated. Nevertheless, to the princess who was the only one he could see clearly.
“Yena, hello.”
A monster's voice came out because of his rough breathing. Yena got on the bus with a scowl without answering. Ah, that cute and tiny thing is my daughter. Ji-heon waved his hand as hard as he could until Yena settled into her seat on the bus, as if he was sending off a conscripted soldier. Yena glanced at him for a moment and then haughtily turned her head.
“Why did you run so much?”
After the bus left, Jeong-o rubbed Ji-heon's back as if she felt sorry for Ji-heon, who had been ignored.
“I couldn't help it because the road was blocked.”
Ji-heon said in a hoarse voice as he tried to catch his breath.
“I went to bed late last night because I was looking at Yena's photos, so I was late.”
“Oh my. I can't live like this. Our Yena is catching her dad.”
But it's okay. Because he said hello. Because he kept his promise. Yena. Dad will come to see you every day, even if he becomes a monster from running so hard that he's about to die, even if his body is crushed. * Yena, who had a decent day with her friends at daycare, got on the school bus and thought about Ji-heon from the morning. Just seeing his face for a moment in the morning, what was so important about that, that the man was running from far away in a hurry. For some reason, she felt like she shouldn't ignore the man, so she slowly got on the bus. Although no one knew. The man who made a monster sound because he was so out of breath while running. His voice was so hideous that she immediately turned her head away. As always, she didn't say hello. If she didn't say hello and he didn't come out tomorrow, she shouldn't talk to the man anymore. She made a strong plan. Her heart was strong, but she kept smiling as she rode the bus to daycare. Monsters often appeared in the fairy tales her mom read to her, but her mom only knew how to make pretty monsters. The man seemed like he could make hideous monsters. She discovered the man's use. After thinking about the man's use, she felt a little sorry for not saying hello to the man. She just felt sorry, and she wouldn't be able to move her lips again tomorrow.
“Yena, we're here. You have to get off.”
Before she knew it, the bus arrived in front of the academy and stopped. The teacher got off the bus with Yena. The academy teacher hadn't come out to meet them yet, so Yena and the teacher were left waiting on the street.
“They must be a little late today. I'll call the academy.”
While the daycare teacher was calling the academy, Yena stood blankly. The front of the academy was a taxi stand, so sometimes people would be standing in the spot where the academy teacher was waiting. Today was one of those days. She saw a grandfather in a nice suit standing facing the road and glancing at her. The poses of the people standing here are all the same. They're raising their hands to hail a taxi. Is this grandfather waiting for a different car instead of a taxi? It was a little strange that he was standing still without hailing a passing taxi.
‘This is the child.’
Jaekwang glanced at the child surreptitiously. They had barely escaped the typhoon's influence, but it was a breezy, cool day. The wind ruffled the child's bangs, revealing a round forehead. The pink salmon patch firmly embedded on the forehead brought a strange pang to his heart. The urge to strike up a conversation, the urge to hold her hand, tormented his lips and fingertips, but Jaekwang resisted well. The driver and personal secretary, who had been watching from the car parked on the other side, waved their arms wildly. Chairman, your schedule is tight. You must go. You can't keep standing there. If he delayed any longer, the personal secretary would likely run up to him and shout, "Chairman!" Jaekwang slowly moved his feet. Regret clung to his toes. Yena also stared for a long time in the direction her grandfather was leaving.
“Yena!”
Do-bin ran towards her from the opposite direction. Only then did Yena turn her head. Jin-seo and the academy teacher also ran over at the same time. Do-bin, who arrived first after the daycare teacher left, asked with a happy face.
“Yena, were you waiting for me?”
“Yes. I was waiting.”
It wasn't true, but Yena answered that way. As expected, Do-bin's mouth stretched wide into a grin. She learned that she could lie with the intention of making someone feel good. For some reason, she thought of that man again. The man who came to her house every morning. The man whose lies she couldn't discern. Will the man come again tomorrow morning? If he doesn't come, she felt like she would be curious. That feeling bothered her a little.
