A child who looks like me

Ji-tae continued quietly.

“There was a time when I really relied on my stepmother after our mother passed away. She was my father’s secretary and came to this house often.”

“…….”

“When my father remarried after my stepmother got pregnant, I was actually happy to think I was getting a new mom. I only realized when I entered elementary school that my stepmother could never be my biological mother.”

Ji-hun listened silently to Ji-tae’s story. It was the first time his brother had spoken to him at such length.

“I didn’t even know what discrimination was until then.”

“…….”

“After that, I probably envied you all the time.”

It was the first time Ji-hun had heard his brother’s true feelings. Ji-tae, like Ji-hun, had lived without being able to fix the door of his heart, which had long been rusted shut on its hinges.

“I’m sorry. You must have had your own struggles.”

Ji-tae’s demeanor was solemn, as if he had heard about Ji-hun’s estrangement from their mother.

“……I didn’t know you felt that way.”

“It’s okay now. It doesn’t matter.”

Ji-tae, saying it was okay, seemed to feel a bit relieved.

“Anyway, congratulations on your marriage. It’s a bit late, but congratulations on having a daughter.”

Ji-tae’s understated words of congratulations were directed at Ji-hun, and he also greeted Jaegwang, Jeong-o, and Ye-na before leaving right away.

Perhaps Ji-tae had come to visit and clear away old grudges in honor of his brother’s new beginning. Thanks to Ji-tae, Ji-hun felt his heart lighten.

Even after Ji-tae left, the Go games between Jaegwang and Ye-na continued. Ye-na won both games, and Jaegwang laughed heartily despite losing.

There was no sign of the stern father who used to chastise Ji-hun for revealing his feelings while playing Go. The shoulders of the father, which had seemed so large in Ji-hun’s childhood, now appeared smaller than his own.

The gift-giving continued. Jaegwang presented Ye-na with a set of colored pencils he had bought on a recent business trip abroad. Upon receiving the gift, Ye-na jumped up and down with excitement and started drawing with the pencils.

On the paper, a character with a large head and thin body and limbs, resembling a two-thirds figure, was sketched. It looked like a cute anthropomorphized frog. Ye-na brought her carefully drawn picture to Jaegwang.

“Grandpa, this is a gift.”

“What is it?”

“It’s you, Grandpa.”

Oh my God.

Jeong-o immediately wanted to jump in and fix the drawing for Jaegwang and Ye-na, feeling that at least the frog grandfather should be wearing proper pants.

“Picasso must have been here!”

However, contrary to Jeong-o’s concerns, Jaegwang seemed to really like the drawing.

“Our granddaughter is going to be an artist!”

Jaegwang admired the drawing as if he were witnessing the reincarnation of Picasso. Now, that artwork was destined to be prominently displayed in the center of his office, surrounded by a gold-framed picture with the name of his company, Seoryun Group, emblazoned on it.

After making candy, playing Go with Grandpa, drawing with the colored pencils gifted by him, and exploring the house and garden while running around, it was now late afternoon.

Since he had told Guksun he would return before dinner, it was time to leave.

Jaegwang came to see them off. Having kept his eyes on Ye-na for half the day, he briefly turned his attention to his son and matched his pace with him.

“Did you know? Our lives are quite similar. There were days when I thought about teaching you how to ride a bicycle or giving you a piggyback ride, but I kept putting it off, saying I was busy and didn’t have time, and eventually lost all those opportunities,” he said.

“…….”

“Fathers always have regrets. Children never wait for you.”

Ji-hun silently nodded at his father’s words.

In some ways, he felt a strong resentment towards his father, yet in other ways, he understood his father’s life. He wondered if perhaps this was why grandfathers loved their grandchildren—wanting to compensate for all the things they couldn’t do for their own children back in the day.

Even though they lived close enough to see each other anytime, there was a bittersweet feeling about parting. Jaegwang waved goodbye to Ye-na with eyes full of hearts.

“Ye-na, come visit again. I’ll make plenty of candy for you, so come often, okay?”

“Okay!”

“If you eat a lot of candy, your teeth will rot.”

Ji-hun interjected jokingly.

“It’s fine if it’s from Grandpa. Ye-na, you know Grandpa’s phone number, right? Call often, okay?”

“Okay!”

“Thank you for coming with our new daughter.”

“Thank you for inviting me.”

Everyone greeted Jaegwang before getting into the car. Jaegwang waved until the car left through the gate. Ji-hun felt quite awkward, as it was the first time seeing his father like that.

Jeong-o reminded Ji-hun of a memory from seven years ago.

“Seven years ago, you mentioned that your father ran a snack factory. So, I thought he was the manager of the snack factory,” Jeong-o said.

“That’s not entirely wrong. The snack factory business has grown this big,” Ji-hun replied.

“Looking back, you were just as frustrating as I was back then. You never really told me about your family. I guess you were worried I’d feel burdened, but it’s surprising to finally learn about you after seven years,” Jeong-o said.

Listening to Jeong-o’s story, Ji-hun reflected on his own behavior.

If they had both taken just one step closer to each other, they could have easily grown closer, yet they had failed to realize it and missed out on many things. He decided that it shouldn’t be that way anymore.

“It was fun. I think I can come over often,” Jeong-o said, wearing a satisfied expression. Ji-hun smiled at her comment.

“Oh, and I didn’t know your brother was such a handsome guy. He looks a hundred times better in person. I wonder if there’s anyone else who looks so bad in photos.”

However, Jeong-o’s next comment made Ji-hun’s smile fade.

“He looks like you, but he has a very different vibe. He seems more mature.”

“That’s not maturity; that’s just age. He’s quite a bit older than me,” Ji-hun grumbled, clearly annoyed by Jeong-o’s praise of his brother’s looks.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

“Mom, Jeong-o is here!”

At Jeong-o’s loud call, Guksun, who was preparing dinner, rushed to the front door.

“Really? You worked hard. Did you have fun?”

“Yeah, it was fun, but home is nice,” Jeong-o replied.

Having been composed at her in-laws’ house, Lee Jeong-o returned home to become the playful daughter that Guksun knew. Guksun embraced her daughter, who was now leaning against her like a child.

“What’s all this, my little puppy? Did you get some gifts?”

Guksun, holding Jeong-o, extended her hand towards Ye-na. Ye-na showed Guksun what she had received from her grandfather.

“Grandma, Grandpa made candy for me! Look, my name is on it!”

“Oh my! That’s amazing! Grandpa must know magic!”

“No, Grandma, it’s not magic; it’s handmade candy,” Ye-na explained as she took some candy from the container and fed it to Guksun. Guksun accepted the candy and then asked Jeong-o.

“Was it okay? Nothing unusual happened?”

“Yeah, it was very peaceful. Everyone was really nice. Mom, do we have beer at home?”

“There should be a few in the fridge.”

Guksun went to the kitchen, pulled out some beers from the fridge, and placed them on the table before asking Ji-hun, “Our Jeong-seob must be tired too; should we pour him a drink?”

“No, I’m fine,” Ji-hun replied.

Jeong-o didn’t wait for everyone to gather at the table and gulped down the beer. Guksun looked at her daughter with concern. Although she said everything was peaceful, it seemed she had been quite tense, considering she was looking for beer as soon as they got home.

Jeong-o quickly emptied a small beer can and then pulled out soju, as if the beer alone wasn’t enough. It was a reward for herself after successfully completing her task, enjoying a drink in the warm weather.

Eventually, Guksun and Ji-hun also had a glass of soju to toast. Jeong-o kept filling her empty glass, claiming the alcohol was going down smoothly. Guksun watched as Jeong-o only picked at the melon, then said something.

“Stop eating just melon and try something else. She’s been through so much and still can’t control herself, eating all that.”

“Mom! I’m thirty now! Why are we talking about things I did when I was twelve?”

“Eating too much at night isn’t good for you. Eat in moderation.”

After giving her advice, Guksun turned her head and made eye contact with Ji-hun. Ji-hun felt a twinge of envy as he watched the mother-daughter duo. He felt sorry for his wife, who couldn’t meet her mother despite visiting her hometown.

“No, she’s our little pig; if I don’t stop her, she’ll eat too much. Your Ye-na’s dad can eat a lot.”

“Mom.”

“Yeah. Your Ye-na’s dad.”

With her intentionally warm response, Ji-hun suddenly felt a little sulky.

“Ye-na is our puppy, our princess, and Jeong-o is our little pig. But why am I just Ji-hun, Ye-na’s dad?”

“You’re not just Ji-hun. You’re our Ji-hun.”

“Still, there seems to be some favoritism.”

Thinking that Jeong-o might be tipsy after just one shot of soju, Guksun graciously accepted her son-in-law’s observation.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. What should we call our son-in-law then? What animal do you prefer?”

“Hmm… a chick?”

“…….”

“A rabbit? A squirrel? A deer?”

……She would never admit to calling him a fox.

Guksun couldn’t help but laugh at her son-in-law’s shamelessness as he continued to list only the names of small, cute animals.

As time passed, when Jeong-o went to put Ye-na to bed, Guksun cautiously asked Ji-hun about Mrs. Jang Young-mi.

“Are you still not in contact with your mother?”

“I won’t be the one to reach out first.”

Perhaps because they shared the same mother’s heart, Guksun felt a pang in her heart at Ji-hun’s indifferent response.

“There’s a saying that no parent can win against their child. It’s not that parents can’t win; they simply can’t because they love too much.”

“…….”

“They’re too precious to tear down. They’re too dear to hurt.”

“…….”

“Your mother must feel that way too, ultimately. She’ll end up coming back to our Ji-hun.”

For some reason, Guksun felt a sense of certainty. Today, Mrs. Jang Young-mi had left home not to guard the house, likely hoping that Ji-hun’s new family could at least have a comfortable time with her husband. It might have been a consideration she couldn’t express to anyone.

The hell that a mother is currently experiencing may still be unknown to her son.

Ji-hun, who had been hesitating over Guksun’s comments, quietly asked, “If my mother asks me for forgiveness, should I accept it?”

“You should.”

“…….”

“Accept it. With open arms. Like a child.”

Guksun, having offered her clear advice, got up from her seat just as Jeong-o came out of the room.

“I’ll head in now, so you two have a nice time. Just don’t drink too much.”

“Okay, Mom. Goodnight!”

“Goodnight, Mother.”

After Guksun waved and went into her room, Ji-hun also got up from his seat. Jeong-o looked tired, and he wanted her to rest quickly.

“Let’s go to bed too.”

“You go ahead. I’ll finish this first and then sleep.”

There were still a couple of glasses’ worth left in the bottle. Jeong-o smiled brightly as she filled her empty glass.

She already seemed tipsy.

But that flushed look was so lovely that Ji-hun couldn’t bring himself to stop her; instead, he rested his chin on his hand and quietly watched her.

As Jeong-o sipped from her glass, she looked back at Ji-hun in the same pose, as if responding to his feelings. She suddenly thought her husband was incredibly handsome.

Beautiful things often bring tears. The thought of keeping this lovely person all to himself made his heart swell, and tears began to roll down his cheeks.

He felt sorry for this man and for everything in the world.

“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

Ji-hun quickly wiped his tears and asked.

“I’m sorry… for not taking many pictures.”

“…….”

“I should have taken more pictures of Ye-na…”

Startled, Ji-hun pulled his chair closer to her and let out a deep sigh.

She was referring to the growth records of Ye-na he had shown her before. Even after seeing plenty of Ye-na’s photos, Ji-hun felt regret for the moments he hadn’t captured, and he realized that Jeong-o shared that sentiment.

This candid confession, even when tipsy, made his heart flutter for his beloved wife.

“Lee Jeong-o, please control yourself.”

There was nothing he could do about a tipsy person, but those gem-like tears kept shaking his heart.

“You’re so beautiful right now. Did you know that?”