Bangs covering her forehead, a fair face, round eyes, and plump lips that moved nimbly whenever she spoke.
She was so pretty that one might mistake her for a doll.
The little girl picked up a doll that belonged to Do-Bin’s younger brother, Do-Yun, and said to Do-Bin:
“It’s pretty.”
“You’re prettier.”
“I know.”
So this is how kids are these days.
Ji-Heon held his breath, trying not to disturb them.
He had begun to understand Seung-Gyu’s feelings, at least a little. He felt like he could understand Do-Bin’s heart, too.
For some reason, his gaze kept drifting toward the little girl.
He couldn’t provide a clear explanation, but her face strangely overlapped with the one that had been recurring in his mind these past few days.
Is this what it looks like to fall in love at first sight?
Is it simply that Jeong-o Lee happens to have a face easy to fall in love with at first sight?
Or perhaps, he had simply started thinking that anyone who was pretty resembled Jeong-o Lee?
As he stared, the little girl looked back at Ji-Heon.
Feeling that it might be rude to the child, Ji-Heon turned his head away.
Jin-Seo was flustered, repeatedly pressing the call button.
“Hello? Honey, where are you?”
It seemed the call connected after a few attempts.
“You said you left work early, so why are you still there? Ji-Heon is at the house right now.”
Jin-Seo headed quickly toward the master bedroom, phone in hand.
“I’m talking about Ji-Heon Jeong, Director Ji-Heon Jeong!”
Jin-Seo’s voice carried clearly even into the bedroom. Ji-Heon felt self-conscious at her voice, which climbed an octave with every comma.
I should probably head to the parking lot.
Ji-Heon, who had stepped into the living room, turned back. As he reached the foyer, Do-Bin grabbed him.
“Uncle, do you know how to play Go?”
“Uh… well, more or less…”
“Uncle, play Go with me.”
Before Ji-Heon could give a proper answer, Do-Bin grabbed his hand and led him away. Ji-Heon was pulled along in a daze.
Do-Bin, holding Ji-Heon’s hand tightly until they reached the Go board, whispered to him while Ye-Na wasn’t looking.
“I’d like it if you would let me win.”
A man’s desire to look cool in front of his girlfriend.
Ji-Heon, who had been about to head out, felt caught in a bind, but he had no choice. He was in a position where he needed to score points with his friend’s son.
“Do you even know how to play?”
“Yes. I learned at an academy.”
Do-Bin replied, confidently moving the Go board and the bowl of stones.
The board was placed on the living room table.
“Ye-Na, look. I’ll show you me playing Go.”
Ye-Na approached with curious eyes.
The two men sat facing each other at the table. Ye-Na sat down beside Do-Bin.
“Uncle, you go first.”
Do-Bin spoke with a nervous expression and signaled with his eyes. Ji-Heon lifted his gaze from the board to look at Do-Bin.
“No, that’s not right. Black goes first,” Ye-Na interjected as she watched.
“Oh, right, I knew that.”
At Ye-Na’s words, Do-Bin placed a black stone on the board.
Ji-Heon placed a white stone next to it.
Then, Do-Bin’s second move was a bit eccentric. Only then did Ji-Heon smile slightly.
So much for knowing how to play. It seemed he only knew how to place stones on the board.
No matter how he played, the children wouldn’t notice, so he just had to play vaguely like Gomoku and tell him he won.
However, before long, Ji-Heon found himself in an unexpected situation.
“No, no. You have to place it here. If you place it there, you can’t block the liberty.”
The little girl, frustrated, began to diligently offer advice from beside Do-Bin.
That probably wasn’t what Do-Bin had in mind…
“Hey, look. You place it right here. Then the mister will place it here. And then you place it here.”
The little girl actually knew how to read the board quite accurately.
…Can a seven-year-old be like this? Or wait, is she not seven?
Ji-Heon was also quite taken aback. The moves he had made carelessly, underestimating the children, had become blunders.
“Then what if I put it here?”
Ji-Heon asked the child, placing a white stone in an unexpected spot. The child thought deeply and then placed her piece at a distance.
A few turns later, it was a spot that Ji-Heon was forced to attack.
The child was not just smart; she was a prodigy. She seemed to be a gifted child.
Before long, the game became a contest between Ye-Na and Ji-Heon.
Ji-Heon even forgot he was waiting for his friend and became focused on the game.
When he played with his father, there were many restrictions.
His father used Go as a tool to suppress his emotions. He would even tell him not to let his moves be read through changes in his expression.
Because of that, he was always tense when playing…
But now, it was fun to observe the expression of the child sitting before him.
A child whose expression changed subtly while she thought about her moves. A child who didn’t feel nervous in front of an adult and focused solely on the game.
The things he hadn’t been able to enjoy as a child—she was enjoying that refreshing fun to the fullest.
Facing such a pure child, for the first time in a while, Ji-Heon enjoyed Go.
For the first time, Ji-Heon agonized over the outcome of the game.
Should he lose by a narrow margin, or win by one?
According to Do-Bin’s request, losing would be the right thing to do, but somehow, winning seemed like it might help this child’s growth as well.
Just as he was debating what to do, Jin-Seo approached and said with an excited voice:
“Our Ye-Na is really good, isn’t she! I’m so proud and she’s just so pretty.”
Jin-Seo’s eyes sparkled with fan-like adoration.
The corners of Ji-Heon’s lips curled up slightly.
“Mommy, poop.”
In the midst of that, four-year-old Do-Yun tugged at Jin-Seo’s leg and said.
After Jin-Seo and Do-Yun left, in the ensuing quiet, Ji-Heon spoke to Ye-Na.
“Is your name Ye-Na?”
“Yes.”
“Who taught you Go?”
“My teacher.”
“Not your dad, but a teacher?”
“…I don’t have a dad.”
Ye-Na hesitated for a moment before answering with a blank expression. Ji-Heon flinched. He had made a slip of the tongue. He felt a cold sweat running down his back.
Do-Bin asked Ye-Na brightly.
“Then, do you want my dad?”
“No. It’s okay.”
Ahem, ahem. While the cool conversation flowed between the children, Ji-Heon cleared his throat several times.
Just in time, his savior, Seung-Gyu, arrived.
Seung-Gyu still had a sullen expression, as if his anger hadn’t subsided.
“…What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you,” Ji-Heon replied, rising from his seat. He also asked the children for their understanding. “I have to stop, Mister has to go now. You two play.”
He wanted to leave quickly because he felt awkward, but Ye-Na tilted her head and looked at him.
“Mister, when are you coming back?”
“Why?”
“Because it was fun.”
It seemed she had long since forgotten about the dad conversation. Her expression was so earnest that Ji-Heon couldn’t answer for a long time.
“If I come back next Monday, can I see you then?”
“I have work that day.”
“What about the Monday after that?”
“I have work then, too.”
“Then what about the Monday after that?”
He felt that if he kept refusing, tears would eventually fall from those round eyes.
“We’ll play again. Go.”
The child kept pestering him, and Do-Bin and Seung-Gyu waited for Ji-Heon’s answer.
“Alright.”
And so, Ji-Heon made a reckless promise.
A Monday, three weeks from now. The child would probably forget soon enough.
***
Ji-Heon and Seung-Gyu went straight outside.
“I can’t stay long. My wife told me to clean the air conditioner.”
Seeing Ji-Heon, who had come over, said he came to see him, and now kept his lips tightly sealed, Seung-Gyu spoke petulantly.
It wasn’t that he was still angry at Ji-Heon. It was just that he felt if he didn’t urge him, Ji-Heon would never open up.
Seung-Gyu still cherished Ji-Heon. Even if things between them had been ruined even more severely, he wouldn’t have been able to hate Ji-Heon.
Seung-Gyu always felt sorry for Ji-Heon.
‘He was fine seven years ago.’
After he was discharged seven years ago, there was a time when the guy’s eyes used to sparkle. He had thought that maybe the guy had finally pulled himself together, but that thought hadn’t lasted long.
Because of the accident seven years ago, his dear friend had regressed once again.
Some said he was all better, that he was perfectly fine now, but Seung-Gyu thought otherwise.
Seven years ago. That winter, which had been so horrific for his friend, seemed as if it had never truly ended.
A friend who looked cool and perfectly fine on the outside, but whose inner self was severely twisted.
He needed to set him straight.
…he wanted to, but Park Seung-Gyu didn’t know how.
All he could do was listen to his story.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“For what I said to you—the harsh things.”
“Do you really think I’m on your mother’s side?”
“No. I don’t.”
“Hmph.”
“I mean it.”
“Fine. That still hurts!” Park Seung-Gyu flared his nostrils as he poured his heart out. “If I were on your mother’s side, I would have already snitched on you and Manager Eun-Bi Chae a long time ago.”
As Park Seung-Gyu released the deep-seated resentment in his chest, Ji-Heon nodded slowly, as if he finally understood.
“You think that for something to be certain, it has to be your everything? That’s not true. Even a small part can be ruined and cause enough pain. Just like how Do-Yun cries his eyes out when he chips a nail, even just a tiny bit.”
“…….”
“You are a part of my life. Not my everything, but a distinct part.”
Now, Park Seung-Gyu was on the verge of tears. From Thursday evening, when the conflict erupted, until an hour ago, he had felt miserable and heartbroken. It was because his friend was so precious to him.
“You really are. That’s why I want you to be genuinely happy.”
I hope your winter comes to an end.
Ji-Heon, who had been listening quietly, felt the corners of his lips curl up serenely.
“Thanks for coming to find me. I’m sorry for what I said, too.”
In truth, just the fact that Ji-Heon had been the one to come find him was enough for Park Seung-Gyu to wipe away all his lingering hurt.
“But how did you think to come all the way to my house?”
“…….”
“Because I’m precious to you?”
“Yeah.”
Ji-Heon just smiled.
He couldn’t bring himself to say it was because of the advice from someone he’d met in the elevator. He knew his friend would definitely tease him.
*
After finishing his overtime work, Jin-Seo hurried home.
Ye-Na, Jin-Seo, and Do-Bin were standing in front of the house.
Ye-Na called out loudly for Jin-Seo, ran over, and wrapped her arms around her waist.
“Mom!”
Do-Bin greeted her affectionately as well.
“Hello, Auntie!”
It was a relief to see everyone looking bright, but Jin-Seo still couldn’t shake the feeling of apology.
“I could have come to pick her up. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, it’s fine. Ye-Na played really well today. She ate all her food, too. Ever since Ye-Na came over, all the kids have been listening so well.”
Jin-Seo, who had been speaking with a satisfied expression, paused and cautiously changed her tone.
“Oh, and I have something to tell you. A friend from my husband’s company stopped by, so we were together for a bit. He came by and left quickly, but…”
Jin-Seo spoke cautiously, glancing at Jin-Seo’s reaction, but Jin-Seo didn’t mind much.
“I know you must have been worried, so I’m sorry that a guest arrived so suddenly.”
She had enough flexibility for that. Jin-Seo was grateful to Jin-Seo for telling her first, so as not to cause any misunderstandings.
“No, it’s fine. It’s okay. It must have been tiring having two groups of guests over.”
“It wasn’t tiring at all. Thank you for understanding.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you for watching Ye-Na. And thank you for reaching out first and sending me those photos today.”
Jin-Seo thanked her repeatedly. It felt like she had made a good connection thanks to Ye-Na.
On the way home, holding hands, Ye-Na had a beaming, happy expression on her face.
Jin-Seo asked affectionately, “Was it that fun?”
“Yeah.”
“What was so fun?”
“It’s a secret.”
“A secret from Mom?”
“Mom, I’m going to go again the week after next. On Monday.”
Ignoring the question, the precocious daughter announced it with confidence.
“I can go to Do-Bin’s house again, right?”
Decision first, permission later.
Jin-Seo let out a dry laugh, feeling as though she were looking at the Ji-Heon from seven years ago.