A child who looks like me

The news of Ye-na winning the Go tournament spread widely within just a day. The secret behind it wasn’t a news article.

“Director Hwang, how have you been? Oh, work? I just called to check in. I heard your son got accepted to K University? Congratulations! Right, Ji-heon is there, so he’ll be a junior to him. Our Ji-heon is doing well. By the way, just yesterday, my granddaughter—Ye-na—came in first in the national Go tournament! She beat all the first, second, and third graders at just seven years old!”

The door to Chairman Jeong Jae-gwang’s office, which was usually closed, was wide open. His loud voice echoed through the office, causing the staff to smile and sigh in response.

“Executive Choi, I heard you were coughing the other day. Is your health okay? Yes, always take care of yourself. I didn’t sleep well last night either. Oh, it’s nothing serious. You know my granddaughter, right? She won first place in the national Go tournament! The little one, only seven years old, beat all the older kids and won a gold medal! I was so worried she might get too much attention for being this brilliant at such a young age that I couldn’t sleep.”

It was rare for Jae-gwang to check in on friends and executives—maybe twice a year at most—but today he called twenty people first. No matter what topic he started with, whether it was work, family, or health, the conversation always ended with his granddaughter.

Ji-heon, who was visiting the headquarters for regular business, peeked into the chairman’s office, only to be pulled inside by Jae-gwang. Even while talking on the phone, Jae-gwang dragged Ji-heon to sit in front of him.

“Director Jo, did you read J Daily this morning? Then you must have seen the article about our granddaughter winning first in the Go tournament! Oh, congratulations are in order. Should I pass the business to her because she’s so smart, or should I support her to become a Go master? I’m really worried!”

Ji-heon couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his father, who was worried yet smiling broadly.

After finishing the call, Jae-gwang looked at Ji-heon and asked, “Does our Ye-na need anything? I need to get her a gift to celebrate her winning first place!”

“She’d probably love some snacks or candy.”

“Great! I’ll make the snacks in the shape of a gold medal!”

Jae-gwang’s eyes lit up as he picked up a pen and paper. Thanks to his granddaughter, inspiration flowed through him again. He felt excited, just like when he used to develop snacks over twenty years ago.

Seeing his father so thrilled, Ji-heon gently said, “Dad, you shouldn’t brag too much. And it’s a secret that Ye-na is a genius.”

“Why? Why is that?”

“If she gets too arrogant, Jeong-o wants it to be a secret.”

“But won’t Ye-na find out eventually?”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

The serious and intense concerns shared between father and son made Jae-gwang’s aide, who was nearby, suppress a smile by biting her lips.

Although Ji-heon lightly cautioned his father, his own pride in his daughter wasn’t much different.

Just the day before, Seung-kyu, who visited Ji-heon’s house to celebrate and was exhausted by his friend’s bragging, found himself caught again today while visiting Ji-heon’s office for work.

Ji-heon, with his friend sitting next to him, skipped the important topics and suddenly pulled out a video of Ye-na’s final match.

“Do you want to watch our Ye-na play?”

“No.”

“Come on. Just watch.”

“I clearly said I didn’t want to.”

Seung-kyu stared at the video with clouded eyes.

“Look! She’s so good, right?”

“I can’t really see it.”

“You can just look at her hands. Look at the decisive movements of her hands. Isn’t it amazing?”

In my eyes, you’re the one who’s amazing.

What happened to my once-composed friend?

“Hey, can I give you a piece of advice as your precious friend?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“You shouldn’t act like this in public. Especially not to other employees.”

“……”

“I can show you this because you’re my friend and I know Ye-na well, but you shouldn’t force other people to watch or demand their opinions.”

“I won’t do that. I know.”

“……”

“I’m showing it to you because you’re my precious friend.”

Ugh, is this guy a total fox?

Every time Ji-heon referred to him as a “precious friend,” the soft-hearted Seung-kyu’s heart raced, and he sighed with a sad expression. Unfazed by Seung-kyu’s reaction, Ji-heon continued to shove his phone screen in front of him.

“Come on, look at this. Didn’t see it properly? I’ll slow it down to 0.5x speed. Watch closely.”

Watching it again at 1.5x speed was already a struggle, but now to see it at 0.5x speed… buddy…

“Wow, now that I’m really watching it, her movements are incredibly decisive…”

Even so, Seung-kyu generously accepted Ji-heon’s bragging about his daughter.

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

Yesterday, Jeong-o, who was overly excited, had calmed down a bit. There was a good reason for that—he had colleagues to celebrate with.

Surprisingly, Deputy Ko Eun-joo openly expressed her joy and congratulated him.

“Ye-na really has it all: a brilliant mind, a beautiful face, and an angelic mother… and just a wealthy dad.”

Eun-joo seemed to struggle for a long time to find the right adjective for Ji-heon, and finally finished her sentence. Although it was sincere, she didn’t want it to be obvious that she didn’t like Executive Jeong Ji-heon, so she quickly continued.

“Isn’t Ye-na the perfect child? What can she not do?”

In response to Eun-joo’s question, Jeong-o replied.

“She can’t draw.”

“That’s quite greedy of her. Seven-year-olds are like that. How bad can she be at drawing?”

“She takes after her dad.”

“Oh no, that’s quite a problem.”

If Jeong-o hadn’t been there, Eun-joo would have muttered something like, “Does Executive Jeong Ji-heon have nothing to pass on to his daughter other than that?” But given the situation, she swallowed her gossip.

“A seven-year-old winning first place? The Go site’s forums are buzzing.”

Park Young-gwang, who usually kept an eye on the Go site’s forums, added his surprise. Gi-hoon also visited the Go site’s forums that Young-gwang had mentioned and clicked on a few posts.

“Oh? But what now? The meaning of the executive blocking interview photos is lost. I think there’s a personal video. It’s a video of Ye-na’s match from a distance.”

At those words, Jeong-o rushed to Gi-hoon’s desk. Indeed, upon clicking a certain post, he found a video. Although Ye-na’s face was blurry from the distance, it was still recognizable.

As Jeong-o browsed the forums to see if there were any other videos, Eun-joo called out to him.

“Um… you should see this too, Deputy.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“There’s an article saying Ye-na’s dad is Executive Jeong Ji-heon.”

Jeong-o immediately moved over to Eun-joo’s desk. The article was displayed prominently on her PC screen.

***

Article Title:

Ye-na Jeong (7), winner of the 30th National Children’s Go Tournament, becomes the center of attention.

In a national Go tournament aimed at elementary school students, it is unprecedented for a 6-year-old preschooler to win first place, stirring excitement in the Go community.

Meanwhile, Ye-na’s father is Jeong Ji-heon, the second son of the chairman of Seorun Group, Jeong Jae-gwang. It is reported that he attended the tournament with his wife, Lee Mo, to watch Ye-na’s match.

Ji-heon and Lee Mo completed their marriage registration in July of this year but have not yet held a wedding ceremony.

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

A leisurely evening.

As Dobin sat at Ye-na’s house, he stumbled over the words of the news article about Ye-na’s Go tournament victory that Ji-heon had printed out that morning.

After reading through it a few times, Dobin pointed to a line in the article and said to Ye-na, “But you made a mistake here.”

“Why?”

“You said you promised to become a police officer with a friend. You should say you promised with your friend Park Dobin.”

“Oh, right. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. But next time, make sure to say my name. Got it?”

“Yeah, I understand.”

Ye-na nodded firmly at Dobin’s request, but he still tilted his head, pondering.

“But you could also become a Go player instead of a police officer.”

“I’m not sure yet. Mom says I don’t have to decide right now.”

Dobin rolled his eyes in deep thought and then nodded. Becoming a police officer together with Ye-na sounded good, but it didn’t seem necessary. They each had their own strengths.

Ye-na tentatively asked, “Is it okay if I become a Go player instead of a police officer?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I can be a police officer and protect you.”

Sitting quietly in the kitchen, Jeong-o overheard the sweet conversation between the kids and smiled softly. Her heart felt a little choked up. Dobin’s kind words about wanting to protect Ye-na made her feel overwhelmed.

Even that little child is saying such wonderful things about wanting to protect my daughter.

“Mom, I think I’ve only been thinking about myself.”

Jeong-o spoke to Guk-soon, who was sitting next to her.

“I wanted to have a second child, recover, lose weight, and then have a wedding. Meanwhile, Ye-na will just keep growing.”

Caught up in the desire to wear a beautiful wedding dress, she hadn’t considered Ye-na at all. Only after checking that shabby news article did she snap back to reality.

To raise Ye-na like a normal child, there are special things that shouldn’t be too obvious. The family history of changing her last name after finding her dad after seven years, the circumstances behind her parents registering their marriage late.

The wedding was the same. By next year, Ye-na would be starting elementary school, and she wouldn’t need to face questions from her new friends like, “Why are your mom and dad only having a wedding now?”

Ye-na should just be special for being Ye-na. She shouldn’t have to bear the shadows of her parents’ heartfelt story in her life.

“Mom, I think we should have the wedding this year.”

With determination, Jeong-o said to Guk-soon.

Jae-gwang hoped the two would quickly have the wedding, but Guk-soon opposed it. Jeong-o was relaying the words he found difficult to say to his parents.

“I’m sorry that you went through the trouble to tell my father and mother, but it seems like there are all these complications.”

“What are you worried about? It’s not that difficult.”

Guk-soon replied as if it were nothing, as always.

This time, she quickly understood Jeong-o’s concerns. She could empathize with her daughter’s desire to wear a beautiful wedding dress and the current feelings of sacrificing that wish for the sake of the child.

“You can say anything like that. Even if you change your mind a dozen times, I can say it for you.”

Daughter, you should protect your daughter.

I need to protect my daughter.

We can live like that.

Guk-soon’s lighthearted response eased Jeong-o’s worries.

“Okay. I’ll have to tell him when he comes.”

A little while later, Ye-na came running from playing with Dobin.

“Mom, I want to go to an art academy.”

“Really? You want to go to both the Go academy and the art academy?”

“Yep!”

“Why do you suddenly want to go to art academy?”

“Because I want to draw well.”

“Do you want to draw better than you do now?”

“Yeah. If I get better, I think Dad will get better too. He takes after me!”

Ye-na’s innocent answer brought a smile to Jeong-o’s face.

Changing hearts help each other grow.