A child who looks like me

Chae Eun-yeob woke up…

Jung O’s steps grew heavy as she parted ways with the police and headed towards the convenience store. She thought she should quickly buy some juice and go back to the hospital room. However, while she was purchasing the juice and paying, the police officer she had just met hurried over and called out to her.

“Ma’am, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, detective.”

“You mentioned that your mother was hospitalized, right? Which room is she in?”

“Room 2040. What’s going on?”

“We received a report that Chae Eun-yeob is missing. I was wondering if she might have gone that way.”

In an instant, Jung O felt darkness close in around her.

Her mother, and…

‘Ye-na!’

Jung O dropped the juice she had just paid for and ran off with the police.

......

As soon as Ye-na fled the hospital room, Eun-yeob turned around. Jeong Ye-na was more important than Jang Young-mi. If he could cut off Ye-na’s breath, it would be a proper act of revenge.

He should have done this from the start. He should have gotten rid of the little brat.

It would have been much easier that way. That would have left the deepest wound on the Jeong family.

But just as Eun-yeob was about to follow Ye-na, he was suddenly stopped by Young-mi, who had somehow gotten out of bed and was gripping his ankle tightly.

“Let go! Are you crazy?!”

Eun-yeob kicked Young-mi with all his might, but it was useless. Young-mi clung to him as if she were made of stone. There was no way to understand where the frail, sick woman was finding such strength.

“Mommy!”

While Young-mi was holding on, a child’s sorrowful voice came from outside the hospital room. Eun-yeob grew anxious.

People would be arriving soon. He needed to accomplish something before there was no time left.

Eun-yeob shifted his focus again and bent down. It might be better to take care of Young-mi first. Facing her fear, Young-mi’s terrified eyes sent a jolt through him. Eun-yeob tightened his grip around her thin neck.

Young-mi struggled desperately to break free, but she couldn’t escape Eun-yeob’s grasp. Her breath was being cut off.

“Do you know? Even if I get rid of you now, I won’t die. I’ll just get a life sentence.”

Eun-yeob’s eyes sparkled with rage. This was the final struggle of someone who had hit rock bottom and had nothing left to lose.

......

The caregiver stepped out of the hospital room, thinking it was a good time to change the pillowcase. She went to find the housekeeping staff, who handed her a new pillowcase from the storeroom.

“Mommy!”

At that moment, the caregiver heard a child’s voice in the corridor. Startled, she rushed out.

In the room next to Young-mi’s.

“Mommy!”

A young couple perked up their ears at the sound echoing in the hallway.

“Who is looking for their mom like that?”

“Did they lose their mom?”

“Why don’t you go check? It sounds just like our kid, but that can’t be.”

A man emerged from the hospital room. Hearing Ye-na’s voice, another person from a different room also came outside.

“Why are you crying, little one? Did you lose your mom?”

“A bad person came into my grandmother’s room.”

Ye-na spoke clearly but with a voice full of tears.

Sounds were coming from the room she was pointing to. People rushed over, and a nurse who had been nearby followed them.

“Mommy!”

Ye-na continued to cry, looking for her mother. Like a magic spell, the elevator doors opened. As soon as Jung O appeared, Ye-na’s cries intensified.

“Mommy!”

“Ye-na!”

Jung O hugged Ye-na tightly.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“A bad person came into Grandma’s room!”

Ye-na said while crying.

As people rushed towards Young-mi’s hospital room, the police officer who had exited the elevator with Jung O immediately sprinted towards the room. Jung O lifted Ye-na in her arms and headed to the hospital room.

The resistance from Young-mi, who had been twisting her body, faded away. Eun-yeob, seeing Young-mi’s limbs sprawled out, took a deep breath and stood up. Now he had to find the little brat.

At that moment, people burst into the hospital room.

“What are you doing here, patient?!”

The nurse shouted. In the urgent moment, Eun-yeob came up with a plan.

“No… this person is unconscious…”

But the man from the adjacent room did not believe him.

“No, the child said there was a bad person!”

Eun-yeob’s eyes changed. He picked up the pole that Young-mi had thrown away and waved it menacingly at the people.

“Get back!”

“Patient! You can’t do this here! Get a hold of yourself!”

“Chae Eun-yeob!”

As the nurse shouted, the police entered the room.

Eun-yeob swung the pole with all his strength. However, the police pushed forward without regard for him. Eventually, the pole struck one of the officers in the head. Even while being hit, the officer reached out to grab the pole. In that moment, the crowd surrounded Eun-yeob.

“Move! Let go!”

Eun-yeob struggled violently, and everyone had to work together to hold him down. Finally, the police managed to get Eun-yeob onto the floor and cuffed his hands.

“Why is this guy so coherent?”

The police muttered in frustration. Seizing on this hint, the completely restrained Eun-yeob suddenly asked the police with a benign expression.

“Detective, where is this? Why am I here…?”

He was pretending to be mentally unstable, trying to create an excuse for leniency in court.

“Is this guy out of his mind?”

The police grimaced, as if they had seen every kind of lunatic imaginable.

While the police dragged Eun-yeob out, Jung O entered the room still holding Ye-na. There was no time to curse at Eun-yeob.

“Ma’am! Ma’am!”

The caregiver shouted.

In the chaotic and disheveled hospital room, Young-mi lay as if lifeless, sprawled out on the floor.

“Mother…!”

Jung O was in a state of shock.

The nurse quickly checked for breathing. Young-mi had no pulse. Her heart had stopped.

“Call the doctor immediately!”

The nurse shouted to the others as she began performing CPR.

“Mother, Mother.”

Jung O moved closer, calling out to Young-mi.

It was a desperate moment for everyone.

The nurse’s body became soaked with sweat. After one cycle of chest compressions and rescue breaths, Young-mi’s lips moved faintly. Jung O leaned down to listen to Young-mi’s chest.

The faint sound of a heartbeat could be heard.

“I can hear it. The heartbeat.”

One more cycle of CPR was performed. Jung O held Young-mi’s hand tightly, watching her condition closely. More rescue breaths were given, and soon a weak breath escaped from Young-mi.

Haaa, the people who had gathered gasped in relief.

“Mother, are you okay?”

Jung O shouted loudly, close to Young-mi. Stabilized in her breathing, Young-mi looked at Jung O and blinked.

Haaaah.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

After greeting the nurse, Jung O’s entire body relaxed, and she collapsed forward.

Thank you, oh God.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Ye-na burst into tears again.

For some reason, Young-mi found the sound of the child’s cries pleasant.

In front of Young-mi was a child whose bangs were soaked with sweat and tears. The center of the child’s forehead was bright red, as if on fire. It looked just like her son, with a flame-shaped birthmark.

Maybe I can let go now; maybe that will bring me some relief, she thought. At that moment, her son’s voice suddenly flashed in her mind.

“Hang in there. Get better and apologize to me again. I’ll keep waiting.”

She couldn’t let go of her son’s request. Perhaps that had held her onto life.

Tears also welled up in Young-mi’s eyes.

Listening to the sweet sound of the child’s cries, Young-mi closed her eyes again as if to fall asleep.

.......

Eun-yeob was immediately transferred to a detention center. Since it was confirmed that his body was fine, there was no need for him to stay in the hospital any longer.

Hearing the news, Ji-heon and Jae-gwang rushed over.

“Dad!”

Ye-na spotted Ji-heon from the other end of the hallway and ran over to him.

“Ye-na, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine! But Grandma almost died.”

Ye-na replied.

Young-mi, having fallen into a deep sleep and then waking up, was to undergo examinations. Thankfully, the CPR had been performed in time, but there were bruises appearing on various parts of her body once again. Young-mi’s cancer treatment was postponed by one day.

The doctor suggested that preparations be made for a stem cell transplant right after the chemotherapy. Based on the genetic testing records provided by the genetics lab to the hospital, Ji-heon was called in.

Ji-heon, along with Ye-na, who didn’t want to be separated from her father, found the doctor’s office.

“I’d like to retest Jeong Ji-heon’s genetic samples.”

The doctor said, and Ji-heon asked,

“Sure. I’m willing to take the test, but is there a problem?”

“The genetic types of the patient and your granddaughter match. So, I thought it would be good to have your son tested again just in case.”

“But I don’t match. Are you saying my daughter does?”

“Yes. It can happen. It might just be a coincidence that their genetics match.”

Ye-na, who had quietly been listening to Ji-heon and the doctor’s conversation, asked,

“Dad, is that what genes are? The map in the blood?”

“Is that granddaughter you?”

The doctor turned his head and looked at Ye-na with a bright expression.

“Yes. There are similarities in the map in your blood that could help save Grandma.”

The doctor added to Ye-na’s question with further explanation.

“Are you going to save Grandma with the map in your blood?”

Ye-na asked again, and this time Ji-heon answered.

“That could be possible, but Ye-na can’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re still too young.”

Although the stem cell transplant procedure is lighter for the donor compared to a bone marrow transplant, it’s still not something that could comfortably be suggested for a young child. From a few days before the transplant, Ye-na would have to receive injections, and a considerable amount of blood would need to be drawn on the donation day.

It was a process that would be hard for a young child to endure. From the perspective of a father, who couldn’t predict what long-term effects all the procedures would have on his child, he couldn’t agree to her donating.

“Why? Didn’t Nightingale say to help sick people?”

But Ye-na insisted on questioning.

The doctor smiled at the child’s determination and explained the facts.

“Donations from unrelated individuals are only possible for those over 18, but donations between family members can be done by children as well. There was a case in our hospital where an eight-year-old sibling donated stem cells to save their twelve-year-old brother.”

“Dad, they said I can do it!”

“No, still not allowed. Ye-na.”

“Why not?”

Ye-na asked again, clearly puzzled.

Ji-heon remained silent, his face stern. It was because he had a very smart child.

.......

Captivated by the fact that her blood could save her grandmother, Ye-na eventually sulked at her father’s objections. Even when they returned home, she insisted that she wouldn’t talk to him again. However, Ji-heon did not back down.

From Jung O’s perspective, Ji-heon’s decision was somewhat disappointing.

If the child wanted to, and if she took pride in the fact that she could save her grandmother…

Donating stem cells is not something that poses a significant threat to life. While there is some discomfort from having to receive injections and stay in the hospital for a few days, it’s a small sacrifice compared to other transplants.

“But… she could save her!”

“Still, we can’t put Ye-na in harm’s way.”

Jung O tried to persuade him, but it was futile.

Both Jeong Ji-heon and Jeong Ye-na had an unyielding stubbornness. As Jung O sulked, Ji-heon turned to leave but then came back to comfort her.

“Let’s talk again after my test results come back. If I can’t be the donor, we can look for someone else. There’s a one in twenty thousand chance that a stranger will have a matching genetic type. Your mother should be able to receive a transplant.”

One in twenty thousand. That number felt incredibly far-fetched to Jung O.

As she pouted, Guk-soon approached her.

“What’s going on? I heard there was a big issue at the hospital. Is that why you’re upset?”

“No, that’s all resolved…”

Jung O shared everything that had happened that day with Guk-soon. She explained the incident with Eun-yeob invading the hospital room, the serious situation Young-mi faced because of it, the matching tissue type between Ye-na and Young-mi, and that Ye-na wanted to donate her stem cells.

Guk-soon listened attentively to Jung O’s story and nodded thoughtfully.

“So, you’re saying that Ye-na’s donation is needed?”

“Stem cells.”

“Right. Stem cells.”

Nodding again, Guk-soon left the room, picked up her phone, and put on reading glasses. Jung O watched her intently. Guk-soon wore a serious expression as she searched for something on her phone.

After a moment, she took off her glasses and spoke with a brightened face.

“I found a way. Jung O.”

“…What?”

“There is a way. Everything will be okay. Our Ye-na won’t have to suffer.”

Her mother said there was a way.

Her mother’s words were never wrong.

Maybe that was why, even though Jung O didn’t know what the method was, her heart raced with anticipation.

“Everything will be fine. Your mother will be okay too.”

Trust your mother.

Guk-soon’s smile gave her a thrilling sense of certainty.