A child who looks like me

Young-mi’s jaw dropped in disbelief. A hoarse sound escaped from her loosely parted lips.

“…How…”

She had never even thought about it. Of course, she had never wished for it either.

Young-mi’s face turned red, and she struggled to catch her breath.

“…How could this happen…”

She understood well the hardship that stem cell donors endured. That’s why she felt an endless gratitude and guilt towards someone she had never met. Even if her son had donated, that guilt and gratitude would not vanish.

But it wasn’t just her son; it was her granddaughter who had saved her.

“Why… why did this happen?”

Why had she allowed it?

It felt as if the pain in her chest was starting again, tightening her heart. She resented her illness.

There was no way a seven-year-old child could have breezed through all the procedures. She must have endured pain that was incomparable to what adults experienced while undergoing tests, getting injections, and having blood drawn.

“What is Ye-na… doing now?”

Young-mi clutched her chest as she asked.

Why? Why on earth did this happen? Why hadn’t anyone stopped it?

“Ye-na didn’t suffer.”

To reassure her, Jae-gwang responded with a calm expression.

“What do you mean she didn’t suffer?”

“Your in-laws foresaw the future. When Ye-na was born, they applied to store her umbilical cord blood. You received that umbilical cord blood.”

While Jae-gwang explained, Young-mi’s mouth hung open in shock.

“We should be grateful not only to Ye-na but also to our daughter-in-law and your in-laws who stored Ye-na’s umbilical cord blood.”

Heavy tears, resembling guilt, filled Young-mi’s eyes.

She had done something unforgivable to her daughter-in-law. And to her son as well.

It would have also left a significant scar on her only granddaughter and her in-laws.

All she felt was remorse for them. There was no chance of recovery.

The nurse, unaware of the family situation, praised Young-mi for saving her granddaughter despite her illness, saying Ye-na would be grateful.

But Young-mi knew that wasn’t the case. If it hadn’t been for her long-standing mistakes, none of this would have happened in the first place. There wouldn’t have been an incident where Cha Eun-yeob invaded the hospital room.

From the beginning, it was all an event caused by her mistakes. It wasn’t her granddaughter who should be grateful; it was she who should feel sorry for her granddaughter.

Could she, who had denied her granddaughter’s existence just a few months ago, truly accept such a precious gift?

“In fact, if it weren’t for the umbilical cord blood, Ye-na might have insisted on donating herself. Despite everyone’s concerns, that little girl was determined to donate to you.”

Tears finally streamed down her cheeks at Jae-gwang’s continued words.

Sniffle. Sniffle.

Tears were suffocating her, making it difficult to swallow. As if he sensed her feelings, Jae-gwang gently rubbed her back and continued speaking softly.

“Get well soon. You need to recover quickly and show your precious granddaughter that you’re okay. She gave you such a valuable gift, so you must be healthy.”

Sniffle.

“Thank you, and I should say I’m sorry directly.”

Sniffle.

“I need to repay you by living a long and healthy life. Right?”

While Jae-gwang gently comforted her, Young-mi couldn’t say a word.

She felt ashamed of her past, where she had wronged others without knowing how to repent. Her once high pride felt embarrassing.

At nearly sixty years old, she hadn’t even possessed the grace of a six-year-old child.

She was ashamed of her wasted life.

She felt incredibly sorry.

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

At the same time, two cars set off for a seaside village.

An interesting point was that Dobin had decided to accompany Jihun’s family instead of taking his own family car.

“Dobin, why did you leave your car and come with us?” Jihun asked, as if it were obvious.

“I want to play with Ye-na!”

“Isn’t it because you want to play?”

“Actually, that works too!”

Dobin replied cheerfully.

It was likely a phrase he had just learned, but he used it so aptly that Jihun and Jeong-o burst into laughter.

Jeong-o recalled a snippet of a conversation she had with Ye-na just a few months ago.

“Mom, Dobin is going camping with you, Dad, and Doyoon.”

“Does our Ye-na want to go camping too?”

“No, I just mentioned it. You’re busy, right?”

“Even if I’m busy, I can go. Since summer is too hot, let’s go in the fall.”

Ye-na, who had hidden her true feelings, had been overjoyed by Jeong-o’s positive response and had boasted to Dobin. Now, that memory of watching her daughter with a bittersweet feeling was in the past.

As they drove away from the gray city, the car gradually moved toward the vibrant colors of the seaside. The season they welcomed each year felt new. Jeong-o smiled gently at the scenery she had never imagined last fall.

In the backseat, the sound of the children chattering never ceased. If Ye-na were alone, she would surely have whined about being bored and fallen asleep as soon as they got in the car, but with the two kids together, the conversation flowed continuously.

Sometimes the kids raised their voices, making it a bit chaotic, but it made for an entertaining drive.

After about three hours of driving, they arrived at the quiet seaside village. Jin-seo’s parents were waiting at the door to greet them.

“Grandma! Grandpa!”

Dobin jumped out of the car and ran over.

“Oh my! Our little prince has arrived!”

In Seoul, the mischievous troublemaker was treated like a prince here. Dobin laughed and hugged his grandfather. Seung-kyu unloaded the luggage and greeted them.

“Mother, Father. It’s nice to see you.”

“Right, right. It must have been hard to get here?”

Jihun, who had walked over, also bowed politely.

“Hello. I’m Jeong Jihun.”

“Nice to meet you. Come in.”

“Thank you for inviting us.”

“We’re grateful you came.”

Jihun’s greeting brought a warm smile to Jin-seo’s mother, who then walked over. A familiar face appeared.

It was a lady who, six years ago, had run a restaurant in the same market where she operated a flower shop in Seoul. She was known for her excellent cooking and virtuous character, quickly becoming well-known in the area for her home-style cooking.

Jin-seo’s mother approached Kook-soon and warmly took her hand.

“Lady! It’s so nice to see you!”

“Indeed. It’s amazing how our paths are connected like this.”

“I was so surprised when I heard from Jin-seo. My goodness! We’ve become in-laws like this!”

“Not quite yet.”

Jihun suddenly interjected into the warm greeting.

Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise, looking at Jihun as if cold water had been poured over them.

Jin-seo’s mother had merely made a traditional Korean comment about their connection. Just as one would call a restaurant lady “auntie” or refer to a friend’s father as “father-in-law,” she was jokingly saying that since Jihun and Jeong-o were connected, Seung-kyu’s family was now also related to Jeong-o.

However, Jihun misunderstood and frowned, thinking they were trying to arrange a match between Ye-na and Dobin.

Everyone blinked at Jihun. As he gradually realized his verbal blunder, a flush crept onto his face.

Oh, what to do now.

Jeong-o, who quickly caught on to Jihun’s intention, felt a cold sweat form on her forehead. She wanted to find a mouse hole to shove Jihun into. Jeong-o quickly stepped forward.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jeong-o. Ye-na, you should greet them too.”

“Hello.”

“So, you’re Ye-na! Oh, what a princess! Thank you for being friends with our Dobin.”

As Ye-na was called over to say hello, everyone’s attention swiftly shifted to her. Jeong-o let out a secret sigh of relief. She noticed Jihun, with his ears flushed, subtly stepping back.

“Jihun, you might want to kick yourself under the covers later.”

Jeong-o found Jihun amusing.

Jihun’s family received a warm welcome. After a satisfying lunch, Jihun and Seung-kyu set up their base in the yard. Being new to everything, Jihun followed Seung-kyu’s advice well.

Thanks to that, they managed to pitch the tent without much trouble. As soon as the large tent was completed, the kids rolled around inside, thrilled.

Jihun even set up a comfortable chair for Jeong-o. Sitting in the chair that Jihun had prepared, Jeong-o enjoyed a yogurt. Now three months pregnant, she still looked slim.

You could only see her slightly rounded belly when she wore fitted clothes. However, Jeong-o instinctively became cautious. Fearing rapid weight gain due to morning sickness, she ate small amounts frequently.

Jihun sat beside her, gazing at Jeong-o intently. For Jeong-o, the time to eat was a moment of healing, while for Jihun, watching Jeong-o was healing.

A spoonful of yogurt meant for Jeong-o slipped and fell onto her slightly protruding belly. Seeing her push her belly out a bit more to wipe away the yogurt stain with her fingertips made Jihun chuckle unconsciously.

At Jihun’s reaction, Jeong-o narrowed her eyes.

“Did you just laugh?”

“No, you just look pretty.”

“It sounds like you laughed because it was funny.”

“No, I laughed because you’re cute.”

“Either way, you did laugh.”

With Jeong-o’s pointed remark, Jihun’s laughter faded away.

“Do you know how frustrating it is to have a growing belly? If it gets bigger here, I won’t even be able to trim my toenails properly. Will you still laugh then?”

“I can help you trim your toenails.”

“It’s frustrating that I have to entrust something so important to you!”

From a distance, Jin-seo watched Jeong-o reprimanding Jihun with interest. Seung-kyu approached Jin-seo.

“What’s going on?”

“Jihun laughed when he saw yogurt fall on Jeong-o’s belly.”

“Oh my. How could he?”

Seung-kyu looked at Jihun as if he were a great criminal. Jihun felt wronged; he had only laughed because his wife was adorable.

This time, Seung-kyu egged Jihun on.

“Why don’t you apologize?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Jihun had no choice but to apologize to Jeong-o.

“Okay. I’ll forgive you just this once.”

Jeong-o replied, lowering her eyelids haughtily.

A long sigh of relief escaped from Jihun’s lips.

Seung-kyu secretly laughed.

Even the great Jeong Jihun can’t do anything against his wife.

This is the first time I’ve seen my friend like this.

Seung-kyu found it incredibly amusing and satisfying.

In the afternoon, they took the kids to the beach and dug for clams in the tidal flats. Dobin, who had experience digging in the mudflats, showed Ye-na how to dig for clams.

“Ye-na, look at this. There’s a hole in the ground here. That’s where the clams breathe. If we dig here with this hoe, we can find clams.”

“Wow! That’s amazing!”

Dobin, who was able to show off something he was good at, puffed up with pride. He worked harder than ever to dig for clams.

“Oh my! This little one is digging for clams like a worker!”

An adult passing by admired the pile of clams that Dobin had collected. Dobin had gathered far more clams than Jihun. While Ye-na was first in the Go academy, Dobin was the champion in the tidal flats.

After returning from the tidal flats with their clams, they lit a fire in the yard and grilled meat. On one side, the clams they had caught were cooking. The children opened their mouths wide as they watched the clam shells open.

Having eaten their fill, the kids stared blankly at the crackling fire, gradually becoming quieter. Dobin, who had burned with enthusiasm in the tidal flats today, fell asleep first. Ye-na also couldn’t fight her heavy eyelids and fell asleep in Jihun’s arms.

“Let’s take them inside and lay them down.”

Jeong-o said this because she felt sorry for Jihun, who was still holding the child.

“Okay, I got it.”

Even after agreeing, Jihun didn’t move for a long time. His eyes were filled with tenderness as he looked at the sleeping child.

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

“Dad! Daddd!”

Ye-na’s loud shouting woke Jihun from his slumber. But he was still half-asleep. He barely opened his eyes and checked the time on his phone.

It was 6 AM. Too early in the morning. No, it was still dawn.

It’s Sunday. Dad is still tired, Ye-na.

However, Ye-na, unaware of Jihun’s exhaustion, climbed up onto his waist.

Is this the fate of being a dad?

Jihun, now Ye-na’s toy, was shaken around like a powerless twig under her relentless demands. Yet, he still couldn’t fully wake up. Finally, Ye-na pinched his closed eyes open with her fingers.

“Haah. Ye-na…”

“Happy birthday, Dad!”

But he couldn’t complain. The bright sound of the child’s voice awakened him to the day.

It felt like a drop of dew swelling on a leaf, bursting with the morning sunlight.

“Today is Dad’s birthday, so Ye-na is the happiest!”