A child who looks like me

Even though his wife abruptly hung up, Ji-heon couldn’t give up. He put his thinking cap on and headed to the department store.

The department store was near the office, so it didn’t take long.

“Did you wait?”

“Ah, Director!”

The two interns, who had been comfortably chatting in the conference room, straightened their backs as Ji-heon returned. They couldn’t help but feel nervous in front of their boss.

They really didn’t need to work so hard while feeling so tense. On Christmas Eve, no less.

Ji-heon thought he should send them home quickly and placed what he had bought from the department store on the table.

“It’s a cake. I bought the most expensive one from the store. You both seem to have worked hard, so I thought I’d bring some Christmas cheer.”

“Wow… Thank you!”

“Thank you, Director.”

The interns were genuinely touched, just as Ji-heon had expected.

“Oh, but what should I do… I think I picked the wrong cake. It’s an ice cream cake.”

“…”

“I need to put it in the home freezer quickly before it melts.”

“Then let’s eat it here and keep working!”

However, it was not easy to dampen the interns’ enthusiasm. Ji-heon hesitated for a moment at their eager insistence but eventually replied.

“Take it home and eat it with your family. Think how proud your parents will be if you tell them you received a gift from the company.”

“Still, we have to work…”

“I understand your enthusiasm, but Christmas holidays should be spent with family. Your families will be waiting for you. Go home now.”

Young people, please listen to me.

If you go home, then I can go home too.

“I can finish up. It’s still just the first draft of the proposal, so there’s plenty of time later. Let’s review it and improve it afterwards.”

Despite Ji-heon’s continued persuasion, the interns seemed heavy-hearted and hesitated. Ji-heon approached them, tidied up their work area, and handed them the cake box himself.

“You both did well today. Thank you for the feedback.”

“… No, thank you, Director.”

“You interns are so thoughtful. I really appreciate it.”

The interns reluctantly got up from their seats, repeatedly expressing their gratitude for Ji-heon’s kindness.

After sending the interns home, Ji-heon hurriedly made his way home. The roads were congested, probably due to Christmas Eve. He felt anxious enough to want to abandon his car and run the rest of the way.

Finally arriving at the apartment parking lot after about 50 minutes, Ji-heon couldn’t wait for the elevator to arrive and hurriedly took the stairs. He thought seven floors would be easy, but his breathing quickened and sweat broke out.

At last, he arrived home safely.

“Ye-na!”

Ji-heon shouted loudly as he opened the front door.

“Are you back?”

But the voice welcoming him was none other than his mother, Jang Young-mi. Ji-heon moved forward with a dazed expression.

“Daddy!”

Ye-na called for Ji-heon a bit late. Wearing a Santa hat, she was giggling as she placed antlers on Jae-gwang, who had become Rudolf with his red nose.

“You’re back?”

Jae-gwang lifted his head and asked. His Rudolf nose sparkled like the bulbs on a Christmas tree. Ji-heon felt a mix of confusion and amusement at this silly sight, far from the dignity of a chairman.

“When did you arrive?”

“I came right after finishing my short shift. I heard you were polishing up your proposal on a day like today?”

“…”

“It’s always the ones who can’t work that make noise while others are having fun.”

“That’s right.”

Soon, Jeong-o, who had come closer, chimed in with Jae-gwang’s teasing, poking fun at Ji-heon. Ji-heon slowly blinked, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

So that’s why Ye-na was laughing so heartily.

So that’s why Jeong-o said it was okay. She must have had faith in him.

Ji-heon turned to his mother, Young-mi, and asked, “What are you doing?”

“I’m making a scarf.”

Young-mi replied, awkwardly moving her knitting needles.

Guk-soon is good at cooking, and Jae-gwang has a talent for playing with kids, but Young-mi is clumsy at everything, which is why she hurriedly learned to knit. She was knitting scarves for the dolls, while listening to her granddaughter’s nagging.

“Grandma, you said the koala is yellow.”

“Oh, right. What do I do? I’m almost done making it.”

“Redo it. Hurry up.”

“Okay. But Grandma can’t see well. I need to look at it for a long time.”

“Then just take your time.”

“But you told me to hurry.”

Young-mi and Ye-na had grown quite close. Seeing his mother struggling with his granddaughter made Ji-heon smile.

As a family gathered together to celebrate Christmas, they had a modest party with the cake Ji-heon had brought. Jae-gwang and Young-mi played with Ye-na for a long time before leaving late at night.

Finally, at 10 PM, Ye-na forced her heavy eyelids open and said to Ji-heon, “Daddy, I’m not going to sleep tonight.”

“You have to sleep. Why not?”

“I’ll sleep after I see Santa Claus.”

“…”

“The older kids at the Go academy keep saying Santa Claus doesn’t exist. But he really does!”

“How do you know Santa Claus is real?”

“Because I got presents on Christmas.”

Ji-heon could easily guess who had been playing Santa Claus all this time.

“Still, you need to sleep. Santa Claus will come only when Ye-na is asleep.”

“What about taking a picture?”

“Why do you want to take a picture?”

“We said we would take a picture with Santa Claus!”

“Santa Claus is really fast, so it’s hard to take a picture.”

“Why is he fast?”

“He has to visit every child’s house in the world, so he must be super busy.”

“So he can’t take a picture?”

“Right. He can’t take one.”

Ye-na’s eyes started to glisten with tears at Ji-heon’s answer. Seeing his daughter’s sulking expression made Ji-heon’s heart ache.

“… Instead, I’ll take a picture for you. Ye-na, hurry and sleep.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“Then it’s a promise!”

There was no way to protect his daughter’s innocence.

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

Jeong-o and Guk-soon hurriedly got Ji-heon dressed up.

“You have a Santa hat, and since we’re taking pictures focused on your upper body, let’s wrap this red cloth around you to make it look like a Santa suit. The pictures should be a bit blurry, like they were taken in a hurry.”

“Attach some cotton to your face, Jeong-seobang. You need to cover your face with the beard.”

The two of them were quite serious. Ji-heon couldn’t help but wonder if Jeong-o and Guk-soon were in cahoots with Ye-na to play a prank on him.

Anyway, he awkwardly took on the appearance of Santa Claus.

Jeong-o turned off all the lights in the room and handed Ji-heon the presents they had prepared.

“Just put these in front of the tree. I’ll take the picture.”

Ji-heon placed the gifts in front of the Christmas tree in the living room, following Jeong-o’s instructions.

Click, click, click!

“Good job! Well done!”

The photographer, Jeong-o, clapped and cheered.

Ji-heon sighed in relief and removed the beard.

The pictures turned out to be quite decent. Only his broad back and the cottony beard could be seen, so no one would recognize it was Ji-heon.

Even though he had been overwhelmed with work at the company, the ending turned out great. Merry Christmas!

However, the night was not over yet.

Drrr. Ji-heon’s phone rang. To his surprise, it was Seung-kyu.

Ji-heon quickly answered, wondering if something serious had happened.

“Hello?”

[Dear Santa?] Contrary to Ji-heon’s worries, Seung-kyu’s voice was cheerful. Ji-heon narrowed his eyes and glared at Jeong-o. Jeong-o, feeling guilty, stealthily shifted to the opposite side.

“Did you call to tease me?”

[No, can you come to my house for a bit?] “Why? Is something wrong?”

[Please come to our house and take just one commemorative photo, Santa!] “…… I’m hanging up.”

[Come on, buddy! I’ll respect you from now on!] “Hang up.”

Ji-heon hung up the phone without hesitation and turned to Jeong-o.

“Did you tell Seung-kyu I’m dressed as Santa?”

“No, I just sent him a picture because he was worried about Dobin. I’m sorry!”

Ji-heon couldn’t finish his sentence before grabbing Jeong-o, who was trying to run away.

“Where do you think you’re going? You’re coming with me.”

“…….”

“You go first.”

Ji-heon’s sternness finally led Jeong-o to set out with him.

Following Seung-kyu’s request, Ji-heon dressed up as Santa and placed gifts beside the sleeping Dobin and Doyun.

Click. A wonderfully realistic photo was taken. Seung-kyu and Jin-seo were very pleased.

After completing the mission, Ji-heon grumbled a bit.

“Make sure to tell the kids that there won’t be a Santa Claus next year. Why do I have to suffer while he gets all the credit?”

“Come on. You have to protect their innocence.”

Seung-kyu replied playfully.

“I’ll do it next year. Thank you so much, buddy.”

“Thank you very much, Ji-heon.”

Hearing the couple’s gratitude made Ji-heon feel a bit better.

Now, truly, Merry Christmas!

It was a happy Christmas for everyone.

On the way back home after parting with Seung-kyu and his wife, Jeong-o spotted a star in the sky and exclaimed, “Oh! You can see the stars tonight!”

Before Ji-heon could respond, his phone vibrated with a message. When he checked the screen and kept a neutral expression, Jeong-o asked, “Who is it at this hour?”

“Curious?”

“Of course I am.”

At her words, Ji-heon’s earlier resentment began to melt away.

He had felt hurt by his wife’s coldness.

Why is it that she smiles and talks sweetly to his mother and even to Go-eun-joo, but is so cold to him?

Why doesn’t Jeong-o show interest in him? He felt like he only had her.

Seeing his wife, who seemed to have no possessiveness unlike him, made Ji-heon’s heart twist with jealousy.

“I’m just an easy-going guy. Your words can cheer me up so quickly.”

“An intern is thanking me. I listen to her opinions well.”

“Oh. The intern sends you texts too?”

“Even though I look like this, I’m someone who is respected.”

Ji-heon lifted his chin proudly.

Glancing at the southern sky, he noticed several stars, just as Jeong-o had said. He pointed to the brightest one.

“That’s Sirius. It’s the brightest star you can see from here.”

Ji-heon explained, having studied stars in his spare time to answer any questions Ye-na might have about them.

“Sirius is about 8 light-years away from Earth.”

This meant that the light from Sirius takes about 8 years to reach Earth.

Jeong-o immediately asked, “So the star we’re seeing now is the view from around 8 years ago?”

“Exactly.”

“Then from that star, you can see Earth as it was 8 years ago?”

“Right.”

Ji-heon’s eyes sparkled as he answered. It felt like the stars had descended.

“Eight years ago was just before we met. So, from that star, you could witness our history.”

“Exactly. It would have been able to watch Ye-na grow up from the very beginning.”

Ah…

The calm tone of his voice felt strangely heavy.

The memory of something precious lost made his life feel tender. It seemed like the husband would carry that star in his heart for a lifetime.

Jeong-o replied cheerfully, lifting the subdued mood. “Then our husband could see the times when he was goofing off at work!”

“What good would it do to watch me goof off at work?”

Ji-heon said this as if he had nothing to show for his past, but Jeong-o had a different perspective.

It’s not just you who missed out on us.

I also lost you back then. I can’t see the you from that time, and I feel sad about it too.

I’m sorry too. I’m sorry as much as I love you.

Jeong-o took Ji-heon’s hand, gently comforting him.

As Ji-heon tried to put her hand into his pocket, his phone vibrated again.

Seung-kyu had just sent the photo they took. Ji-heon’s eyes lit up as he examined the photo and started shaking with laughter.

Jeong-o recognized the picture and couldn’t help but laugh.

“One day, Ye-na will realize that the person in this photo is her dad. And she’ll become an even happier person.”

Dear Ji-heon,

Time always feels fleeting, but as time passes, good things will surely come.