Jeong-o felt flustered as she received Yena’s birthday present from Gihun.
It had been only two days since she had turned down his confession by revealing that she had a daughter.
“It’s just a hairclip.”
Noticing the burden on Jeong-o’s face, Gihun whispered again. He insisted it was just a small, insignificant gift.
Jeong-o fidgeted with the hand holding the present and offered a cautious smile. She couldn’t bring herself to refuse even this.
*If someone gives a gift with a kind heart, I should receive it with a kind heart. It’s a good day, after all.*
“Thank you. Yena will be so happy when I tell her a cool *oppa* gave it to her.”
“*Oppa*? No, I’m an *ajusshi*.”
Gihun’s expression seemed free of any lingering attachment, which put Jeong-o at ease.
Jeong-o put the gift in her bag and sat down. Gihun kept poking his head over the partition.
“But, Deputy, you still owe me something delicious. You have to buy me dinner.”
“Of course. Naturally. I’ll buy you something grand.”
Jeong-o raised her fist in determination and nodded.
“Let’s get to work. I have to leave early today. I’ve already told the Team Leader. I’m leaving right on time.”
“Leave the hard work to me. I’ll make sure you can head out on time today.”
“Right. Thank you.”
***
Ji-Heon, who had been watching the two from a few paces away, slowly clenched and unclenched his fist.
A moment later, Jeong-o caught Ji-Heon’s gaze. She gave a light nod of greeting before turning away.
*
“Mom, Mom, Mom!”
It was past 9 o’clock, yet Do-Bin showed no signs of wanting to go to preschool.
“My tie! My tie!”
Do-Bin brought over his only tie and waved it in front of Jin-Seo’s face.
He must have thought his dad looked cool going to work in a tie.
He had managed to put on his shirt, but all the buttons were halfway out of their holes. Jin-Seo straightened out Do-Bin’s clothes, buttoned the shirt properly, and finally fastened the tie for him.
His girlfriend’s birthday.
Do-Bin, who had personally chosen the gift for Ye-Na yesterday, wiped the ring case—which his mom had beautifully wrapped—with his palm over and over again.
“But, son, do you really think Ye-Na will like the ring?”
“Yeah.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Because the ring is pretty, too.”
“…Sure. Well, a gift is all about the giver’s heart. Are you only giving her the ring?”
“No! There’s a letter, too!”
“Let me see. Where is it?”
Jin-Seo received the note that Do-Bin held out proudly.
Jin-Seo’s mouth dropped open at the crooked yet brave message:
*- Ye-Na. Your eyes are like jewels. Let’s get married later♥*
*Eyes like jewels, so let’s get married?*
She wanted to add at least one more sentence between the jewelry and the marriage proposal, but she couldn’t look at this pure confession through the cynical lens of an adult.
It seemed her son was planning to propose to Ye-Na for her birthday.
*Son, should Mom be rooting for you? Shouldn’t we at least hear Ye-Na’s perspective on this?*
“Besides the ring and the letter… is there anything else?”
“Yeah! Six special talents!”
“Six special talents?”
“Yeah. Three magic tricks, an acrostic poem for Lee Ye-Na, the crab leg dance, and a tissue flower.”
*We have a problem.*
Her son planned to put on a whole performance for his first love’s birthday.
*Do-Bin, the only reason Mom cheered for your clumsy magic show is because I’m your mom… The world is cold, kid… Ye-Na might be high-handed and not like it at all…*
She had kept him under her wing for too long; now he thought he was the funniest person in the world. While it was good to raise a child with high self-esteem, she was a bit worried.
“How does the Lee Ye-Na acrostic poem go?”
“Mom, say ‘Lee Ye-Na’.”
“Lee.”
“Lee Ye-Na is…”
“Ye.”
“Pretty.”
“Na.”
“Let’s get married.”
*…Oh dear.*
“Son. Let’s just stick to the coin magic and the tissue flower. Just those two.”
“Why?”
“You’re only supposed to show the best talents—just a few of them.”
“Then what about the acrostic poem? I worked really hard on it!”
“…Okay. Then just the acrostic poem and the tissue flower. Let’s do those two.”
“Can’t I do three?”
“You need to have something to perform for Ye-Na’s birthday next year, too.”
“Ah, then…”
Do-Bin suddenly held up his fingers and began to count.
“Then I have to prepare thirteen more?”
“Why thirteen?”
“Because I’m going to do it for thirteen years!”
“Why thirteen years?”
“Because we’re getting married at twenty!”
“…So my son is going to get married at twenty.”
“Yeah!”
“But Do-Bin, are you going to stop doing special talents after you get married?”
“Yeah. Because I have to raise the baby, so I can’t. It’s too hard.”
*My son knows that raising a baby is hard. If he knows that, then why? If you know it’s hard, then you should listen to your mother better, Do-Bin.*
Jin-Seo was full of things she wanted to say, but she hid everything behind a calm smile.
She simply rooted for him.
May her son’s first love be beautiful.
*
Work was falling into place.
Throughout the morning, Jeong-o worked with Team Leader Chanseon An from the neighboring team in the conference room to create the production storyboard for Dawon Liquor.
Since the storyboard centered on the script, the input of Jeong-o, the copywriter, was reflected the most. It was an initial proposal with a short preparation time, but Jeong-o had done her best.
She had a quick lunch, and while she was back in the conference room touching up the materials, her phone vibrated. It was a call from Gwangjin Police Station.
Jeong-o stepped out of the conference room to take the call.
“Hello?”
[Hello. This is Gae-il Gwon from Gwangjin Police Station. Is this Jeong-o Lee?]
It was the same voice she had heard a week ago. The police officer with the fair face and gentle impression. He had called her personally. Jeong-o answered warmly.
“Yes, that’s me.”
[I’m calling regarding your daughter’s case. Are you available to talk?]
“Yes! Please go ahead.”
[We checked all the nearby CCTV footage and confirmed a woman walking briskly while holding your daughter’s hand. However, there isn’t a clear shot of her. She was wearing a hat, too. We’re sending over the clearest footage we have; would you mind taking a look?]
“Yes, please.”
[I’ll send the video to this mobile number.]
“Thank you.”
[Let me know if anyone looks suspicious.]
After ending the call, Gae-il immediately sent the video file.
Jeong-o examined the video meticulously. She saw the woman passing by the convenience store and Yena walking with quick, small steps while holding the woman’s hand. The past terror came rushing back as if it were happening in the present. Shivers ran from her spine to the top of her head.
Seeing her daughter being led away like she was being dragged by a stranger—even on the blurry screen—made her chest heave.
Calming herself, she played the video again.
The woman, wearing loose, dark clothes and a hat pulled down low, had her long hair tied to one side. Aside from the unique hat, there were no distinct features. The screen itself was dark, so even the contours of her face weren’t clear, and it was impossible to tell her build.
*‘At least it’s not someone I know.’*
She could at least conclude that it wasn’t someone she knew. Also, it wouldn’t be Ji-Heon’s mother.
*‘But Ji-Heon’s mother could have hired someone to approach her.’*
The evidence was precarious; nothing was certain. But for Jeong-o, it was incredibly important.
– *I don’t think it’s someone I know. Please contact me if you find any new evidence.*
After sending the text to the number Gae-il provided, Jeong-o returned to her desk for a moment.
“Deputy, did something happen? You look upset.”
The sharp-eyed Gihun noticed the look on her face and asked.
“Gihun, I have something to ask you.”
A bright idea struck her, and she changed her expression. Jeong-o captured several stills from the video she received from Gae-il, cropped them to show only the hat, and showed them to Gihun.
“Have you ever seen a hat like this? It looks like a branded one.”
Gihun stared at the photo for a long time, tilting his head.
“The photo is too blurry, I’m not sure. It looks like a hat from an overseas soccer team. Just a second.”
Gihun went back to his seat and tapped on his keyboard. A variety of baseball caps appeared on Gihun’s PC monitor. After moving his mouse a few more times, Gihun showed the search results to Jeong-o.
“It looks similar to this one.”
It was a cap with a red brim and a navy blue back. A logo of a Spanish soccer team was embroidered on the front. Jeong-o’s complexion brightened as she intently compared the captured photo with her monitor.
“Oh, really! You’re a genius, Gihun!”
Jeong-o’s voice rose in excitement.
“But I can’t guarantee it’s the exact same one. For one thing, the photo is blurry. And non-brand shops can easily make things like this. Just take it as a reference, thinking it’s a similar design.”
“Yeah. I got it. Still, thank you so much, Gihun.”
“Don’t mention it. I can handle even tougher tasks for you.”
Gihun’s reliable response allowed Jeong-o to put her worries aside and smile.
There wasn’t much time left until she could leave work.
*I should hurry up and finish my work.*
Once Director Ji-Heon Jeong reviewed the proposal, her work for the day would be done. Since she had already coordinated with Team Leader Chanseon An, it was practically finished.
In Production Team 1, everyone was scrambling, saying their existing client had suddenly given an unexpected order.
Team Leader Chanseon An of Production Team 1 also waved at Jeong-o when he saw her. It was a signal that he was going to be busy, so she should handle the final touches herself. Jeong-o nodded and headed toward the meeting room.
There was no need to use the meeting room if she was working alone. Jeong-o grabbed her laptop and returned to her seat.
In the meantime, Team Leader Chanseon An, having finished a loud phone call, spoke to Jeong-o.
“Assistant Manager Lee, let’s finish the Dawon Liquor proposal first. Just take the print draft sent by Assistant Manager Jo Si-Nae, paste it in, and show it to the Director.”
“Yes.”
Jeong-o turned on her laptop screen again and moved the mouse. But something was wrong.
Her computer, which had been perfectly fine until she received that phone call from the police station… the computer…
“Assistant Manager Lee, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, hold on a second.”
Jeong-o swallowed hard and pressed the restart button on her laptop.
The screen, which had seemed to be booting up properly, was suddenly filled with unrecognizable characters.
“…Why is it doing this…?”
With a pale face, Jeong-o stared at the screen trapped in an endless loop and kept moving the mouse.
“Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee, what’s going on?”
Assistant Manager Jo Si-Nae, who had been waiting to send files to Jeong-o, hurried over to her desk.
“Is this a virus?”
At Si-Nae’s voice, the attention of those nearby turned toward Jeong-o.
Jeong-o’s fingertips began to tremble.
“Assistant Manager, your laptop seems to have caught a virus. Did you make a backup file?”
“Yes. I have the file.”
It was a file saved mid-way, so she would still need to put in some effort to finalize it, but she was grateful she had made a backup. Jeong-o borrowed Gihun’s computer to log into the company cloud.
But the file she had definitely saved was nowhere to be seen.
Si-Nae, who had been watching, pressed her again.
“What is this? Didn’t you put it in the cloud?”
“I definitely put it here…”
“It’s not there?”
“Assistant Manager, are you… are you playing dumb because you didn’t back it up from the beginning?”
Si-Nae’s voice grew louder.
Eun-Bi Chae, who had been working, also got up from her seat and approached them.
“What’s going on?”
“Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee’s laptop caught a virus, and it looks like she didn’t even back up the materials she’s been working on.”
After hearing Si-Nae’s explanation, Eun-Bi let out a deep sigh and rebuked Jeong-o.
“Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee, haven’t you told me before that you’d send me the work details via email? You’ve never actually kept your word even once. You’re all talk, and now this happens.”
Jeong-o had worked on the proposal with Team Leader Chanseon An, and since she didn’t need to ask for Eun-Bi’s permission for every little thing, she simply hadn’t sent a separate email. Jeong-o was dumbfounded that she would bring up that past argument at a time like this.
Even Team Leader Chanseon An lamented, “Hah, I’m already busy enough, and now nothing is going right.”
Team Leader Mi-Ran Seong was away from her desk, leaving Jeong-o to face the barrage of criticism alone.
In the midst of this, Ji-Heon walked toward Production Team 2.
“What is happening?”
Si-Nae immediately snitched.
“It seems Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee accidentally deleted the final file for the Dawon Liquor proposal. The whole team has been working hard on it, Director.”