A child who looks like me

The warmth of his body made her skin tingle everywhere he touched. Just hours ago, her eyes had sparkled with joy from his proposal, but now they were moist for a different reason. Shallow breaths came in quick succession.

His desires piled up against her body. It was certainly a favorable moment for Ji-heon. There was nothing she could do about it. No matter how he teased or tormented her, she couldn’t get angry, run away to another room, or scream.

Without any reservations, without the pressure of time, and free from anyone’s interruption, he held Jung-o tightly.

Still, it grew somewhat intense. Perhaps it was a lingering anxiety that she might leave him one day, or maybe it was odd to feel that way when he was the one who had departed.

Was perfect happiness always accompanied by anxiety? Was it like how the shadows deepen on a hot sunny day?

While the moment was clearly in Ji-heon’s favor, it was merely a physical victory, and as before, he felt overwhelmed by Jung-o.

The sight of her covering her mouth with the back of her hand, stifling her sounds, was maddeningly adorable. It felt like light was swallowing him whole. He was helplessly drawn into it, losing his reason and moving instinctively. He was captivated, going mad.

Still, he wanted to plunge deeper. He even had the foolish wish that this moment would last forever.

Ji-heon promised himself he would remember this feeling for a lifetime. He swore he would never forget it.

With every peak of intense pleasure, Jung-o pressed her lips together as if she had something to say.

But in the end, she couldn’t say it. The never-ending nature of their relationship kept her lips sealed. Overwhelmed by this persistence, Jung-o pouted, and he asked her, “Didn’t you have something to say?”

He asked quickly. Jung-o replied, her heart full of resentment, “I was going to say thank you for today, but now I feel like I can’t thank you at all.”

Her adorable sulking stirred Ji-heon’s heart again.

“This is serious, Jung-o.”

Everything about her served only to provoke him.

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

The next day.

A sliver of golden light seeped through the slightly parted blackout curtains. Checking the time, Jung-o sprang up but felt her body ache, so she flopped back down.

Ah, that pretentious Jeong Ji-heon.

In front of Guk-soon and Ye-na, he acted humble, as if he were at the very bottom of the family hierarchy, but whenever they were alone, he always took the lead.

I’ll get my revenge! I won’t forgive you!

Determined, she shuffled into the living room.

“Mom! Mom, you’re last!”

Ye-na, who had been putting together a puzzle, was the first to shout.

“Did you just wake up?”

Guksun lazily asked while sitting in the massage chair. Jihun, who had been sitting next to Yeona, had already gotten up and gone to the kitchen.

On the table, a neat breakfast for one was prepared. It was a soup made with eggs, which Jongoo loved, and sushi rolls.

“I heard you like this. Eat up.”

Squeak squeak. I was going to get my revenge.

Jongoo, with a frustrated expression, picked up a spoon. Everyone in the family knew well that her weakness was her soft heart when it came to food.

Before long, Jihun sat down in front of Jongoo, who had turned her pouty expression into one of joy as she gobbled down the food. With his chin resting on his hand, Jihun watched her lips moving with a satisfied expression and asked,

“Do you want me to make you some herbal medicine?”

“…….”

“You need to build up your strength.”

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

After lunch, Jihun took Jongoo, Yeona, and Guksun to Seungkyu’s neighborhood. First, they decided to explore Seungkyu’s recommendations.

Even if it wasn’t the apartment recommended by Seungkyu, it was still a good area to raise a child. In front of the real estate agency recommended by Seungkyu, Jihun met Seungkyu’s family.

“Yeonaaaa!”

As always, Dobin was the first to run over, shouting Yeona’s name loudly. Jinseo and Seungkyu also came over to greet Guksun and Jongoo.

Jihun raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Why are you here too?”

In response to Jihun’s grumpy question, Jongoo answered instead.

“I told them. I said it would be good to come together. You both know this neighborhood well, and Dobin’s mom is thorough.”

“Right. You have to check the house carefully.”

Seungkyu supported Jongoo’s opinion.

In the end, the big family of eight set off to look at houses together. Since Jihun had clear criteria, they ended up exploring Seungkyu’s neighboring area. However, all the houses needed interior repairs, so he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic.

The moment they checked out the property that Seungkyu had mentioned earlier was when their expectations had already dropped after seeing two not-so-great houses.

“Wow!”

As soon as Yeona stepped into the house, she exclaimed. Her reaction was definitely different from the previous houses they had seen. Jongoo and Guksun had similar expressions.

The spacious view, warm sunlight pouring in, and the clean, spacious interior made it a house that even the picky Jihun couldn’t find fault with.

“Isn’t the view nice? It’s not too high, just perfect.”

Jinseo spoke to Guksun.

Jihun felt a suspicious vibe. It seemed like Seungkyu and Jinseo were colluding with the realtor. They probably showed them several bad houses to make them choose this one.

It didn’t quite reach the level of a husband-and-wife scam, but there was a hint of a couple’s scheme. Still, having a friend who was this involved in his business was a good thing, so he couldn’t say anything.

“The owner had planned to live here for a long time and did a complete renovation. But suddenly, they got assigned overseas, so they couldn’t stay long and had to move to the U.S.”

The realtor explained about the house.

“It’s the top floor, but it’s only the seventh floor, so it’s not too high. There are plenty of rooms, and since it’s a duplex, the kids can run around without a problem. There’s also a terrace on the roof. Since it’s vacant, you can move in anytime. Especially, if you come see this veranda here, you can see the elementary school right in front.”

The realtor led Jongoo and Jihun to the kitchen veranda.

“You can even check when the kids go to school.”

The slight smile on Jongoo’s face changed. She was completely enchanted by the view of the elementary school.

The kids were already running around as if it was their own house. Fast-moving Yeona had already climbed the stairs to check out the rooftop terrace and returned to Jihun, hugging him tightly.

“Daddy!”

“Do you like it, Yeona?”

“Yeah! I like it! I love it.”

“What do you like the most?”

“That it’s close to Dobin’s house!”

“……Let’s think about it a bit more.”

Jihun’s lips, which had been pleasantly curled up at Yeona’s cheerful response, slowly turned down. Seungkyu jabbed Jihun in the side again.

“You need to make a decision soon. If it’s such a nice house, it wouldn’t be strange for it to sell by tomorrow.”

There was little disagreement about the fact that the house would sell soon. Jihun decided to change his mind.

“Shall we buy it for now? If we feel it’s not right later, we can always move again.”

A spacious house that was vacant. A house they could move into as soon as possible. In fact, that alone seemed to be enough to satisfy him.

At Jihun’s question, Jongoo smiled brightly.

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

Youngmi was still unable to get out of bed. Jaekwang, who had come into the room briefly to comfort her the other day, had not shown his face since then.

Youngmi was starting to feel a bit anxious. She worried that Jaekwang would get fed up with her and leave. Lying down without meeting anyone only deepened her gloom.

“Um, ma’am.”

In the midst of this, a staff member approached Youngmi.

“Attorney Chae Eun-yeob called my number…”

At the mention of Eun-yeob, Youngmi jumped up from her seat. After the paternity test, she had blocked Eun-yeob’s number. Realizing this, Eun-yeob had contacted a staff member he knew to reach out to Youngmi again.

“Why do you have that scumbag’s number? Delete it immediately!”

“Well, but… he said he absolutely needs to talk to you. It’s an important matter…”

“…….”

“Seven years ago, the hit-and-run driver said he would take revenge… What should we do?”

Upon hearing the employee’s awkward expression and story, Youngmi’s mind became clear. In the end, she picked up the phone and called Eun-yeob.

After a brief ringing, Eun-yeob’s voice came through.

[Finally able to get in touch, Mother.] Youngmi’s stomach turned at the sly voice of Eun-yeob, which she had never known before. She reacted quickly, intending to only hear the necessary details and hang up.

“Kim Jingu has been released from prison?”

[That’s right. He contacted Eunbi directly. Right after his release, he threatened to eliminate our Eunbi.] “…….”

[To think the reward for testifying as a witness would turn out like this. Poor Eunbi. She’s feeling very wronged too.] “If you expected my help, you shouldn’t have done such a thing in the first place.”

Youngmi shouted. Her voice didn’t come out as clearly as she wanted. Not having eaten anything made her feel like someone was pricking her stomach with needles.

Despite Youngmi’s scolding, Eun-yeob showed no sign of remorse.

[I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mother. As Jihun’s friend and your attorney, I was abandoned after trying to help.] “You don’t even realize your own mistakes. That’s enough. I don’t want to talk to you any longer.”

At that moment, her husband Jaekwang entered the room.

And at the same time, a chilling voice from Eun-yeob came through the receiver.

[Mother, you hired a voice actor seven years ago, right?] Her heart sank. The fingers holding the phone turned white. Jaekwang in front of her and the voice on the phone felt like harbingers of death.

[I happen to be good friends with that voice actor. What a small world.] Eun-yeob’s voice continued to fill the quiet room.

While Youngmi was frozen, shocked by two revelations, Jaekwang stepped forward and took Youngmi’s phone.

Having come to check on his wife’s condition, Jaekwang had overheard Youngmi’s voice from outside the door. Knowing she hadn’t eaten anything, he was concerned about her strength, and the serious tone he heard was troubling.

The content also seemed suspicious. He wondered if his wife was being threatened by someone.

Youngmi immediately reached out for the phone Jaekwang had taken, but he stepped back faster. Jaekwang switched the phone’s volume to speaker mode. Eun-yeob’s voice filled the still room.

[That voice actor friend received a very unusual request from you seven years ago. You asked him to imitate Jihun’s voice and call Jihun’s girlfriend, didn’t you?] Youngmi’s face, which had turned pale, now turned a sickly green.

[The woman you separated from Jihun back then was Jeongoo, right?] “…….”

[In the end, because of you, Jihun lived for seven years not even knowing about his own child.] In a panic, Youngmi quickly got up from the bed and snatched the phone from Jaekwang’s hand, turning it off.

The bedroom fell silent again.

But it was already too late. Jaekwang looked at Youngmi with eyes filled with rage.

“What the hell is going on?”