A child who looks like me

Three hours ago.

After finishing shopping, Jeheon returned home with Yena and Guksun.

“Wow! Dad’s house is so big!”

Yena, visiting Jeheon’s house for the first time, shouted as she rushed inside.

“It’s bigger than the kindergarten gym!”

With wide eyes, she ran around the rooms, shouting.

“Dad! Let’s play hide and seek!”

“Your dad has a lot of things to do. Didn’t you promise to help him?”

Guksun replied to Yena instead of Jeheon.

“Oh right!”

Yena nodded enthusiastically, as if she had just remembered an important fact, but she continued to run around the house shouting.

Jeheon headed to the kitchen with Guksun. They had bought a lot of ingredients and cooking tools, but once they set everything down in the kitchen, Jeheon’s mind went blank.

Guksun, like a general on the battlefield, asked Jeheon, “So, what are you planning to do with these ingredients?”

“Please sit, Mother. I will prepare everything.”

Although his mind was blank, Jeheon answered confidently.

The mission for today was to cook for Jeong-o and entice her with his homemade dishes. It would be the grand finale of his proposal.

“Are you really going to do it all by yourself for three hours?”

“Yes.”

“That’s going to be tough.”

Guksun warned him, but Jeheon smiled back.

“Nowadays, there are great video tutorials that make cooking easier.”

“Still, it won’t be as easy as you think.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay. Do your best. So what should I do?”

“You can explore the house with Yena and relax.”

“Alright, got it.”

Since Jeheon insisted, Guksun didn’t press him further. However, after an hour had passed and there seemed to be no progress in the preparations, he began to worry.

With all the best equipment, but he’s not able to utilize it…

From what he had observed until now, Jeheon seemed to be embarrassed about accepting help. Guksun asked him again, “Is there nothing I can help you with?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“But you said they would arrive at six. That’s two and a half hours away.”

“It’ll take them some time to get here.”

Even while sweating nervously, Jeheon awkwardly smiled.

He was so eager to cook for his daughter that he couldn’t ignore this feeling. Whatever it took, he wanted to support him from the heart.

Guksun also cleared his mind and turned away.

However, another hour passed, and Jeheon was still making little progress. The video tutorials were too unfamiliar and difficult for a beginner like him. Jeheon finally recognized the reality.

“Mother.”

“Yeah?”

“Please help me…”

“Okay, okay.”

Guksun rolled up his sleeves and approached him.

“I’m trying to make…”

“I know. I can tell just by looking at the ingredients you laid out.”

With a single glance, Guksun quickly figured out what needed to be done first and confidently organized the ingredients.

“It’s not hard to ask for help, you know. But do you know something?”

“…”

“There are people in this world who want to help you and are waiting for you to ask.”

With Guksun’s assistance, the kitchen came alive. Lights were turned on one by one, and the pretty dishes they had bought today were all washed.

While they were busy preparing, the doorbell rang.

“What do we do? Are they already here?”

“No, it’s flowers.”

Jeheon opened the front door.

“Hello, Mr. Jeheon!”

It was Flower Dream, the owner of the flower shop that had helped Jeheon find memories from seven years ago, delivering the flowers personally.

“You came all this way. The flowers are over here.”

Though he felt like he was greeting an old friend, he couldn’t take too long. Jeheon guided the flowers inside.

The flowers were laid out along the straight corridor from the entrance. At the end of the beautiful flower path stood a vibrant floral pillar. The house, which felt somewhat empty with not much decor, had transformed into a lovely wedding venue.

Yena’s mouth dropped open in awe, having never seen so many flowers in her seven years of life.

“Well then, I hope you succeed today. Even if I can’t be here to see it, I’ll support you in spirit!”

The flower shop owner bowed politely, boosting their morale.

With the overwhelming scent of flowers, Guksun, who had come out of the kitchen, was also taken aback and said, “You could start a flower shop!”

Yena burst into laughter at Guksun’s comment.

“If you do that, it’ll take all day! And you’re trying to prepare food too?”

Jeheon chuckled awkwardly while setting up lights behind the flower path.

Watching Jeheon busily moving around, Yena shouted with excitement, “Dad, I’ll make congratulatory balloons for you!”

“Can You Make It by Yourself?”

“Yes! Yena has done all the research!”

Yena had also been looking forward to this day. She had searched for various videos, asked her dad questions, and today, they had gone to the store together to buy everything needed. Now, it was time to create a wonderful masterpiece according to her plan.

“Okay, then let’s do our best, Yena.”

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

Ding ding ding.

Everyone tensed at the sound of the door lock being pressed.

In the darkened house, with all the lights turned off, they held their breaths, waiting for Jeong-o to come in.

Finally, the front door opened, and Jeong-o stepped into the dark corridor.

Perhaps because she was nervous from the darkness, a sigh escaped her lips. Jeheon quickly turned on the lights behind the flower path. As Jeong-o stood at the end of the floral arrangement, she looked over to Jeheon.

While she stood there, surprised and frozen, the TV also turned on. As two photos began to rotate on the screen, Jeong-o’s eyes instantly filled with tears. Only then did she realize what was happening.

In the room, the child’s laughter rang out joyfully, adding to the mood. Jeheon stood nervously at the end of the flower path, holding a bouquet, and Jeong-o was left speechless.

“I thought I would never have a day like this.”

Instead of speaking, she slowly walked towards Jeheon.

With every step she took, Jeheon confessed, “I love you, Jeong-o.”

His gentle voice slipped out between his dry, nervous lips.

“Will you…”

Boom!

However, before Jeheon could finish his proposal, an accident occurred. A balloon hung beside the door suddenly popped. The congratulatory balloon that Yena had worked so hard to make had burst.

The balloon represented Yena’s pure heart, filled with her excitement to celebrate her dad’s proposal. She had stuffed the balloon with plenty of colored paper, even though a handful of paper flowers would have sufficed.

Following what she learned from the videos, she also added ribbon tape. In the end, the balloon couldn’t withstand the weight and vibration and burst.

A shower of colorful paper flowers poured out as if it were a concert for a popular singer.

Jeheon, standing right beneath the balloon, went from being the most handsome man in the world just three seconds ago to a decorated human cake covered in paper flowers and ribbon tape.

The sweat he had worked up preparing now stuck to his face with paper stuck all over.

Hehe. Jeong-o burst into laughter while Jeheon closed his eyes tightly.

A lovely act by his beloved child.

Waaah. Inside the room, the sound of the lovely child crying could be heard. It seemed the child was disappointed that things hadn’t gone as planned.

“It’s okay, it’s okay! Don’t worry about that and just finish what you were doing!”

Guksun’s voice could also be heard, trying to soothe the situation.

“Mommy, I’m sorry. Waaaah….”

After the heartfelt apology, the child’s crying stopped.

Through the doorway, Jeheon could see Guksun desperately holding the crying child. He also wanted to go into the room and comfort her.

There’s no reason to cry over this failure. It’s truly amazing that a seven-year-old designed a congratulatory balloon for her mom and dad and made it burst so spectacularly.

Putting off comforting the child for now, Jeheon focused on his role again, shaking off the paper stuck to his body. The room was a mess, and the mood was somewhat broken. However, he felt happier and more overwhelmed than ever.

He felt that he was the luckiest man in the world, with the help of her family to propose to the woman he loved.

It’s okay. Everything is fine.

Life doesn’t always go as planned.

“It’s an unpredictable life, but I can only be grateful.”

If at the end of this chaotic life is you, I will always accept my destiny with gratitude.

“Having you by my side makes me thankful for everything.”

Thank you for coming to me.

“I feel like I can do anything from now on.”

Thank you for bringing me back.

“Let’s keep living like this. Forever.”

The proposal seven years in the making. Words and love he had been saving for this moment.

Now he could express it freely.

“I love you, Jeong-o.”

Jeong-o’s eyes, which had been smiling, filled with tears once again.

Though nearly all memories of seven years ago were faded, his instinct toward Jeong-o remained unchanged. Just like he had waited seven years for this moment, his heart responded to her beautiful eyes, beating fiercely.

“Let’s get married.”

Jeheon took the ring he had pulled from his pocket and slipped it onto Jeong-o’s hand. He had reordered the design he had prepared seven years ago. The ring that had finally found its owner after seven years sparkled beautifully on her delicate hand.

With her voice trembling, Jeong-o managed to say, “Thank you.”

I’m grateful too, for coming back to me.

“I love you too.”

Hearing those words from Jeong-o was the first for Jeheon. He deeply realized that he had also been waiting for this moment.

Before long, Yena had stopped crying and peeked through the door at her mom and dad.

“Grandma, Mommy and Daddy are going to kiss.”

“Why are you watching that? Come here.”

The whispers between grandmother and granddaughter could be heard by Jeong-o and Jeheon, but the two did not let go of each other’s hands.

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

Eun-bi had slept for several days straight. With nothing to do, sleep was all that came. There were moments when she felt so angry about how her life had fallen so low that it felt like she might explode, but sleep kept coming.

Perhaps she wanted to avoid everything.

When she was lonely and in pain, a man had stayed by her side, but he hadn’t contacted her, seemingly exhausted by her complaints.

Buzz.

As she stared blankly at the ceiling, her phone vibrated.

She looked down at the phone screen. A local area code was displayed. She remembered receiving a call from the same area yesterday.

It seemed like a prank call. As she considered blocking the number, a desire to let out a stream of curses pushed her to press the answer button.

“Hello.”

On the other end, there was no voice, giving Eun-bi the courage she needed.

“Whatever happens, happens.”

“Don’t prank call me, you piece of trash…”

[Cha Eun-bi.]

But then, a male voice came from the other side of the line. The man knew her name. A chill ran down Eun-bi’s spine, and her voice lowered.

“…Who are you?”

[Don’t you remember me?] “…”

[You know my voice. You said you remember me.] “…”

[You’re the one who sent me to prison, Kim Jin-goo. Don’t you remember?]

Eek!

Eun-bi gasped, dropping her phone in shock. The sound of the phone grew louder as it hit the floor. Her hand slipped, and she accidentally pressed the speakerphone button.

[I insisted I wasn’t guilty, but you made up false evidence and got me locked up for a year.]

Eun-bi trembled, picking her phone back up.

[Listen well. I won’t let you off the hook.]

She had to hang up quickly.

Oh, no! The recording button!

[I’ll make you pay the same way.]

While a terrified Eun-bi frantically held her phone and fidgeted, Kim Jin-goo spat out a terrifying threat.

[I’ll kill you and Jeong Ji-hyun.]