The office was quiet.
Ji-Heon gazed at Jeong-o as if studying her.
Locked away in this confined space, free from any interference, he wanted to observe her in peace for a while.
Her palpable nervousness was always the same, yet each time, she managed to show him something faintly different.
First, she had been a woman trembling like a dragonfly caught in a net; then, she appeared like a detective grabbing his wrist; next, she shed tears like a widow full of deep resentment; and this time, she looked full of righteous indignation, like a naive rookie employee.
However, while watching her was interesting, he didn’t want to get involved. As he did with everyone, Ji-Heon fired back coldly.
“Did you film a commercial so famous that your name is still attached to it?”
At his cold rebuff, her eyes wavered, as if her own state of mind had shifted.
A moment later, she spoke with difficulty.
“……I have something to say, Director.”
Just as she parted her dry lips to speak with determination—
*Brrr. Brrr.*
A vibration interrupted her.
“Isn’t that a call?”
“No. I’m fine.”
Jeong-o covered her pocket with her hand, as if she didn’t want to be disturbed. But the vibration persisted, stubborn as ever.
“Just answer it. It might be urgent.”
Ji-Heon gestured with his chin as if doing her a favor. He was, after all, curious about who might be calling.
She had no choice but to take her phone out. Seeing the caller ID, she tilted her head, stood up, and gave a small bow.
“Then, I’ll go take this call outside.”
Ji-Heon’s eyes widened. *No, that’s not what I meant!*
Before he could stop her, Jeong-o swiftly exited the office.
*Ha…….*
He hadn’t meant for her to leave; he wanted her to take the call right there.
“Yes, teacher.”
Her voice drifted in from the hallway. It seemed this ‘teacher’ was the one calling.
Ji-Heon was left with no choice but to wait.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes…….
In the silence she had left behind, Ji-Heon could only stare at the clock. *What kind of phone call lasts thirty minutes? Could this ‘teacher’ be a client?*
When thirty minutes had passed, Ji-Heon couldn’t wait any longer and opened the door. His secretary stood up immediately.
“Is Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee still here?”
“Pardon? Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee left a long time ago.”
……This was absurd.
“Tell her to come back.”
At Ji-Heon’s sharp, icy voice, the secretary hurriedly picked up the receiver. A moment later, the news was relayed back.
“Director, they say Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee has left the building.”
She hadn’t explained herself, hadn’t said she was leaving; after claiming she had something to say, she just vanished.
*Ha.*
He was so dumbfounded he could only sigh. He had tried his best not to be swayed, but he felt like he’d been thoroughly played.
***
[Ms. Ye-Na’s mother, Ye-Na…… she didn’t show up……. I, the teacher, went to pick her up on time, but it seems the preschool bus arrived early and she got off.]
At the devastating news, Jeong-o bolted out of the company. She couldn’t even tidy her desk. She managed to blurt out that she was leaving once she was already in a taxi. She hadn’t been able to explain the whole situation, but Team Leader Mi-Ran Seong had understood.
Since it was nearing rush hour, the taxi moved at a snail’s pace. Each minute that ticked by felt like an hour—no, a year. Jeong-o begged.
“Driver, please, faster, faster…….”
“I can’t go any faster than this.”
“My child is missing……. They said she got off the bus, but because it arrived early…… and now, she’s missing from the academy…….”
Jeong-o rambled incoherently. The gridlocked road felt like it was strangling her. Understanding the gravity of the situation, the driver’s hands moved frantically, speeding off to take the fastest route he knew.
The car raced down the road and screeched to a halt in front of the Baduk academy.
“Teacher!”
Jeong-o jumped out and ran to the head of the academy. People were gathered in front of the building: the academy head, an assistant, two young students, and a woman around Jeong-o’s age.
“Ye-Na’s mother.”
“Where is my Ye-Na? Did you find her?”
“We found her. We just got word.”
“Where is she?”
“The police are protecting her. They said they’re bringing her here.”
*Haaaaa.* God, thank you.
Relieved, Jeong-o placed a hand over her heart and sank to the ground. The academy head and the woman next to him supported her.
“You must have been so worried. ……I am so sorry.”
Jeong-o shook her head. Tears were already streaming down her cheeks. She wiped them away and lifted her face.
As their eyes met, the stranger who had helped her up greeted her.
“Hello. I’m Do-Bin’s mother. Do-Bin is a friend of Ye-Na’s from the academy. He likes Ye-Na so much…… he insisted on waiting to see her.”
“Ah, yes. Hello.”
Jeong-o greeted Do-Bin’s mother, Jin-Seo. The young boy standing next to her bowed politely and hid behind his mother, looking shy.
*So you’re Do-Bin.*
Even in her disoriented state, seeing Ye-Na’s peer made her feel grateful. Just as she stood up, she saw two figures walking toward them, holding hands: a tall man in a police uniform and Ye-Na.
“Ye-Na!”
Jeong-o ran toward her.
“Mom!”
Ye-Na rushed into her arms. Jeong-o hugged her tightly, her voice thick with tears.
“Let me see. Are you hurt? Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m okay.”
“Where did you go? How could you wander off by yourself?”
“I didn’t go by myself. A strange lady said she was my academy teacher, grabbed my hand, and just took me.”
“She said she was your academy teacher?”
Jeong-o felt a chill run down her spine.
“Yes. She took me, and then later she said, ‘Oh, who are you?’ and let go of my hand.”
Her heart sank. This wasn’t a matter to be taken lightly. The police officer who had accompanied her stepped forward.
“She seems like a suspicious person, so we plan to investigate. We will secure the nearby CCTV footage and contact you again.”
After briefly explaining the plan, the officer introduced himself.
“I am Bae-il Gwon from the Hwayang Police Station.”
He was a tall man with a refined appearance. His skin was fair and his expression gentle—it was hard to imagine him as a detective interrogating criminals.
“Yes. Hello. Thank you so much.”
Bae-il smiled comfortably. “My colleague was on patrol and spotted this little friend here. This young man here has quite a powerful set of lungs, you see.”
When Bae-il pointed at Do-Bin, the boy’s cheeks turned red.
“We knew immediately who had been lost, so my colleague went looking. It seems Ye-Na saw my colleague and ran away. I suppose she didn’t think of him as a police officer because he wasn’t in uniform, but rather as a scary stranger.”
“A scary stranger…….”
Ye-Na pouted, embarrassed. The two of them seemed to have become friends in the meantime.
Bae-il continued, “In the end, I went to pick her up. She had walked all the way to the fire station by herself.”
“The police station wasn’t in sight, so I was looking for it,” Ye-Na said sensibly.
Jeong-o squeezed Ye-Na’s hand tightly. *I’m just glad she’s okay. God, thank you.*
She realized once again that her daughter was everything in her life.
***
Ji-Heon sat with his chin propped up, staring only at the clock, having forgotten to even think about going home.
It had been over an hour, and there hadn’t been a single word from Jeong-o Lee, who had vanished without a trace. She must have forgotten he was waiting for her.
It was just past 7:00 PM when, at last, a knock sounded.
“Come in.”
However, the person who walked in wasn’t Jeong-o Lee, but his friend, Park Seung-Gyu. Ji-Heon’s expression soured.
“Aren’t you leaving?” Park Seung-Gyu asked nonchalantly as he sat down in the very seat Jinseo had occupied. Ji-Heon’s side-glance grew sharp. Oblivious, Park Seung-Gyu continued, intent on showing off his son.
“Want to hear something funny? My kid’s got a crush on someone.”
“You talk like your son is twenty.”
“Kids these days are like that. Even seven-year-olds are precocious.”
“…….”
“He said it was love at first sight. Told me behind his mom’s back. Kids are really funny these days.”
“It might be funny to you, but wouldn’t that kid’s father be shocked to hear that?”
At Ji-Heon’s cynical tone, Park Seung-Gyu’s eyes went blank. *Why does the father come into this? And what’s wrong with my son? And is there any father out there who would be shocked by the words ‘love at first sight’?*
……It seemed something was bothering his friend.
Park Seung-Gyu stood up and approached Ji-Heon. When their eyes met, Ji-Heon turned his head away dismissively.
“Did something happen?”
“Nothing happened.”
“Something clearly happened.”
“There’s no such thing. Just go home.”
Ji-Heon, looking away, was acting like a petulant child. Park Seung-Gyu chuckled and threw out a joke.
“You don’t like me.”
“What are you talking about? I like you quite a lot.”
“You like me? You?” The remark, made in jest, suddenly felt real. Having never heard such a confession from his friend of sixteen years, Park Seung-Gyu’s face flushed.
“Of course. I like you.” Ji-Heon turned back to look at Park Seung-Gyu, a hairline smile tracing his lips. But for some reason, that faint smile felt crooked.
“That’s why I keep you by my side. Even though you’re someone sent by my mother.”
Park Seung-Gyu’s expression hardened instantly. The pride he felt, believing he had built a genuine friendship, crumbled.
Ji-Heon continued heartlessly. “I’ll treat you well. I shouldn’t give you any reason to be disappointed.”
“……So that’s how you’ve been seeing me.” Park Seung-Gyu felt a surge of resentment at his friend’s cold attitude. Though Ji-Heon was notorious for treating all staff with arrogance, to Park Seung-Gyu, he had always been a figure of pity. For the first time, that friend became a source of anger.
“Do you find me laughable?”
“I never said you were laughable. I said I like you.”
“No. You must. Deep down, that’s what you’ve been thinking. Do you think I don’t know about your duality?”
Park Seung-Gyu finally let out the words he had been holding back.
“You’re always like this, in everything. You abandon the best option you could easily choose and pick the second best. You could always invest 100 or 150, yet you only put in 80. You could take first place, yet you settle for second or third. You don’t put effort into anything, into any relationship. Life is easy for you, isn’t it?”
Looking at Ji-Heon reminded him of a battery that automatically discharged once it hit 80%. A guy who intentionally lowered the world’s expectations just by ‘going through the motions.’
“You don’t have anything precious. Everyone who passes you by is trivial to you.”
Despite the harsh evaluation, Ji-Heon’s expression did not change. It was an expressionless face that suggested he wouldn’t mind losing a friend over this. It was Park Seung-Gyu who suddenly felt pathetic. Even while resenting him, he couldn’t hate him. Foolishly enough.
“Even so, I support you.”
“…….”
“You won’t believe it, but even in a moment of anger like this, I support you, you jerk. I can’t understand for the life of me why you live the way you do, but I still think of you as my friend. I’m on your side, not your mother’s. You bad guy.”
Park Seung-Gyu dumped out his heart and walked out. *Bang.* He slammed the door on purpose. But his steps were heavy. He thought he had poured out all his feelings, but the remaining emotions clung to his ankles like regrets.
*
A few minutes later, the daycare teacher came running, looking pale.
“I am so sorry for leaving Ye-Na behind. It’s entirely my fault.” The teacher wept, bowing repeatedly.
It was clearly the daycare’s mistake, but because the teacher was apologizing so profusely, Jinseo found it hard to stay angry.
“It’s alright. But this must never happen again. Would you mind contacting the academy a few minutes before you arrive from now on?”
“Yes. I will.”
With a slightly more relaxed face, Jinseo took Ye-Na’s daycare bag. It felt like something was inside, so she shook it.
“Mommy, there’s a drawing in my bag. We made a zoo at daycare today.”
Inside was a paper frame with the word ‘Zoo’ written on it.
“What animal is this?”
“That’s a deer.”
……Ye-Na, do you really think this is a deer? Jinseo couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that she had to accept this green, carnivorous-toothed creature as a deer.
Just then, she noticed a note sticking out of the front pocket. She pulled it out.
The handwriting on the note was…….
*- The child takes after her mother in looks and her father in personality. A perfect mix.*
And, a playfully drawn logo of the Seryeon Group…….
The calm smile on Jinseo’s face shattered. Her heart felt as though it had plummeted to the floor.
*Someone knows.*
*That I gave birth to Ji-Heon Jeong’s child.*