Episode 622:
After listening to the whole story.
“Do you understand?”
“…yes.”
“Then you can let me go, right?”
“….”
Park Da-young muttered.
“You really speak strangely.”
That was the end.
Seo-ah quietly hugged Lee Jae-heon.
* * *
“So what is the conclusion?”
Lee Jae-heon answered Hong Gyeong-jun’s question indifferently.
“This is the conclusion, is there anything left to do?”
“Are you adopting Seo-ah?”
“That’s because you’ve already been adopted.”
“To borrow Kwon Yeon-hee’s words, I asked if you would like to formally adopt her instead of going down that dark route.”
“If it were easy, I would have done it a long time ago.”
“Well, I thought that might be the case.”
Regardless of Seo-ah’s regret or the survivors’ complaints, it was difficult to formally adopt a child.
“Especially in a situation like Jaeheon Lee.”
“Yes, my sister won’t leave me alone.”
“Brother, you talk as if you will leave me alone.”
“I think I’ll even look after my older brother.”
“That’s surprising again.”
“Because my older sister and older brother have different opinions about me…”
“Aha.”
Hong Gyeong-jun nodded.
“Isn’t it like everyone’s perspective on raising pets is different?”
“I hate myself for not being able to refute it.”
“I think it would be good if you could give me a little bit of a rebuttal.”
“The reality is, so what can we do?”
Lee Yun-byeol’s face turned pale as he listened to the story, and Kim Ki-jeong next to him asked with a tired expression.
“Are you being treated like a dog at home?”
“If I had to compare it to a dog, it would be a dog that is fed three meals a day of homemade raw food, taken for walks whenever it wants, and given free access to pet clothes, grooming, and even a dog omakase, but anyway, I sometimes think that way.”
“No… well… well that’s a bit…”
“Don’t expect a conscience from our family, you people.”
“I knew about it… but it’s really serious.”
Kim Ki-jeong muttered as he looked at Seo-ah, who was hugged like a hot dog in Lee Jae-heon’s arms.
“What if I can’t adopt a child at will?”
“I keep saying this, but the only problem with adoption is your sister, so it’s a bit bad to criticize the whole family.”
“I remember the other day, the person who was supposed to be my older brother pulled out Lee Jae-heon’s fingernails…”
“That’s cute enough.”
“If you show off your cuteness twice, I’ll see Jaeheon Lee on the 9 o’clock news. “I think you’ll appear as a corpse.”
“We’re not a family that can’t cut a single topic that’s on the news, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Can you call this a word? Having a mouth isn’t everything. “It was a consolation that did not put my mind at ease at all.”
“Why do you think it’s comforting?”
Kim Yeon-woo joined in with an embarrassed look as he giggled and laughed frivolously.
“For domestic violence, call 112…”
“Oh no.”
“I’m saying this because I don’t think it’s true. “I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time, but wouldn’t it be hard to say that it’s a family member who tortures you by pulling out your fingernails?”
Jaeheon Lee nodded.
“Listen, Constable Kim.”
“Yes, I will listen.”
“They say there are many different forms of love in the world.”
“No form of love involves pulling out someone’s fingernails.”
“You seem to live in a slightly different world from me.”
“If you say that, I can’t refute it, but… perhaps not everyone in the world lives like this.”
“I’m living quite peacefully, so why are you doing this?”
“How can the word peace and the word torture come together?”
“Not one person gives up on me.”
“Even if I look like this, I am a decent police officer, but I have something else to lose.”
Minhong Choi intervened.
“Where did you put your missing fingernail?”
“Huh, why is that again?”
“Give it to me.”
“What should I do if I have it?”
“I want to make a doll.”
“….”
Lee Jae-heon quietly looked at President Choi Jeong-man.
“Your son knows how to make cursed dolls and has many talents?”
“…I’m sorry about my son….”
“No, I guess there’s something about not feeding his nails.”
“What kind of scary words are you saying?”
“Because there are such scary people in the world…”
Park Da-hoon, who had been quietly listening to the story, was surprised. Because it felt like he was talking about something he personally experienced.
“Have you tried it??”
“Roughly…”
“What kind of answer is that?”
“Something like that happens in life.”
At that, Munsan-gun’s face became as pale as a sheet of paper.
“…You have to report that… If you leave it alone, you’ll be in big trouble…”
“You’re talking as if you’ve experienced it yourself.”
“….”
“…ah.”
Jaeheon Lee nodded.
“Right.”
“What on earth is that?”
Kim Ki-jeong muttered as if he was fed up, but neither Lee Jae-heon nor Munsan-gun responded. Azalea clicked her tongue at the two people’s silence.
“The country is going crazy.”
No one could refute it.
Jeong In-ho, who was blinking, opened his mouth.
“…So…”
“Hmm.”
“In the end, will Seo-ah remain as Jang Seo-ah?”
Jaeheon Lee shrugged his shoulders.
“Is there anything else?”
“I guess that’s true too.”
“The moment you officially adopt, a record remains in public institutions.”
Lee Jae-heon waved his hand as if telling him not to wait.
“Actually, I could try to erase him from my family to that extent, but then not only would the reason for adopting him in the first place disappear… I don’t think the family would protect him from causing trouble around me.”
No matter how you think about it, it’s only a loss.
“I would be okay with it if it were just a hassle, but honestly, both Seo and the people I know are crazy, so it’s dangerous in many ways.”
“I don’t believe those crazy acquaintances are talking about us.”
“Isn’t this the tone of a believer? No, anyway, I’m talking about the industry. “I have a family history at stake, and Seo-ah is a child who was managed by the industry… so the moment a public record is made, it becomes a pain in various ways.”
Jaeheon Lee continued speaking with a tired face.
“The reason I can have Seo-ah now is because I purchased the entire custody rights from Seo-ah’s parents. The purchasing process and management are handled by the industry. In other words, Seo-ah’s status in the industry is still at stake…”
Jeong In-ho nodded.
“If a public record is made, there will be attacks from the industry as well.”
“I am a person who has many opportunities to be exposed to the media. If that person adopts a child, the media will focus on who that child is, right? The more we focus, the more difficult it will be for the industry to hide itself. In that case, the simplest way to cut off the line of sight is….”
“….”
“…Well, that’s roughly it.”
If the adopted Jang Seo-ah is killed, it becomes difficult to delve into the complex relationship between the child’s death and the sorrow or conspiracy theory.
There was no reason for an industry that sells killing people as a commercial product not to kill Seo-ah. The easiest and surest way to block information is to eliminate its source.
“At that point, no matter how much I pray, the house won’t stop me.”
“There are definitely a lot of problems.”
“So I decided to just hit it off.”
“yes?”
“It’s nothing special…”
Jeong In-ho looked at Seo-ah in Lee Jae-heon’s arms. I didn’t know because I couldn’t see his face as he was completely in my arms, but now that I look at him, his expression was quite bright. Recently, the baby’s plump cheeks started to turn red…
Lee Jae-heon continued.
“We just decided to take care of it ourselves.”
“That means…”
“You should call me Seo-ah Lee.”
“aha.”
Well, there was no need to leave a public record.
In the end, what Seo-ah wanted was for Lee Jae-heon and herself to be recognized as family.
“I see.”
It seemed that the shy 6-year-old kindergarten student had gotten a promise from Lee Jae-heon.
“Seo-ah is amazing, she was able to get a word of permission from that person’s mouth.”
“Hmph.”
“I’m glad you seem to be feeling well.”
Jeong In-ho glanced at Park Min-jun.
“….”
Although he didn’t want to make it obvious, I could sense that he was quite dissatisfied.
On the contrary, In-ho Jeong was satisfied.
‘No, rather… I feel relieved.’
This means that Lee Jae-heon has declared that he will take full responsibility for at least Seo-ah.
‘Dayoung and Dahun’s facial expressions aren’t that bad either.’
His face seemed slightly stiff, as if he had just heard something, but at the same time, he didn’t look that bad. In the worst case scenario, I even thought of a situation where I burst out crying after being told, ‘I have no intention of being with you.’
It seemed clear that Lee Jae-heon had received as much permission as he could afford.
“…Umm….”
Jeong In-ho, who was pretending to be worried, soon said with a refreshing smile.
“understand.”
“I’m so afraid that I don’t know what you understand.”
“That is exactly what happened.”
Lee Jae-heon said the whole time that he had no intention of abandoning us.
And now that I was able to confirm that it was true, I felt a little relieved.
“The manager is a tsundere.”
“…Please stop talking like such a piece of shit…”
“The outside and the inside are different?”
“What do you mean crispy on the outside and moist on the inside?”
“I don’t think it’s a bad metaphor at all.”
“Have you ever seen inside me? uh? “Do you have any?”
“Anyway, the intestines must be moist.”
“You are the worst, Assistant Manager Jeong.”
Han Do-yoon smiled warmly.
“What kind of conversation is this?”
Lee Yun-byeol was already blocking Choi Min-hong’s ears. President Choi Jeong-man, who came to his senses belatedly, was thanking Lee Yun-byeol.
Jeong In-ho turned his head and looked in the direction where Seo Jang-hwa was.
“….”
“….”
He was trying to put on a calm expression, but it seemed complicated on the inside.
In any case, it was a face I could show because I liked this situation where Seo-ah’s shelter was guaranteed, but I also knew that the situation for the survivors was going strangely recently. It’s not like she’s oblivious either.
“…Well, anyway.”
Jeong In-ho was able to be satisfied with this level.
“Shall we have dinner?”
“I come here and just eat all the time. Is this okay?”
“Then you can’t go to a karaoke bar in the middle of this mountain.”
“I guess I haven’t checked yet, but the karaoke room is in the basement.”
“Why is that there?”
I don’t know how far Lee Jae-heon will go.
I had no choice but to keep trying until the end.
“I always say this, but the worlds you and I live in are a bit different.”
“…That’s right.”
Because we have always been at odds.
* * *
11:20 PM, just before everyone falls asleep.
Lee Jae-heon, who was watching the back of Jeong In-ho disappear with his pitch-black eyes smiling, poked the side of Seo-ah, who was lying close to him and rolling around, and said.
“He thinks so much that it’s a shame.”
“Yes….”
“Seo-ah thinks so too.”
“That’s right.”
“Are you sure you are listening to me and answering?”
Lee Jae-heon rubbed his head against Seo-ah’s stomach, and the kindergartener made a crunching sound and flapped his hands and feet. The child laughed as if he couldn’t breathe, then flailed around and turned over and fell on his face.
“Hehehehe…!”
“Whose laugh is this loud?”
“Seoaa…!”
“Is our friend’s name Seo-ah?”
“Seoah!”
“That’s right, smart girl.”
After laughing uncontrollably, the child fell flat on the bed and began to wriggle.
“What is this?”
“To the caterpillar.”
“What kind of caterpillar is this plump?”
“I’m not chubby….”
“Yes, yes, I’m slim, Seo-ah.”
“that’s right.”
“The little one.”
Lee Jae-heon poked the cheek of the child who was wandering around him.
“I have to sleep quickly so I can go back to Seoul tomorrow.”
“….”
“huh?”
“…I don’t want to go.”
“Oh my.”
It was quite a 6-year-old complaint.
Lee Jae-heon cupped the child’s cheek and massaged it.
“You can come back again.”
“It’s hard to travel.”
“That’s for adults.”
Jaeheon Lee withdrew his hand as his pronunciation was so muffled.
“Next time… okay.”
“….”
“Let’s go to the amusement park.”
“really?”
“Actually, I can’t say for sure…”
“Ugh.”
“I will be able to go at least once before my son turns 7.”
Jaeheon Lee easily lifted the child like a teddy bear and gently placed him on his lap.
“Almost all the dye has come out.”
“…yes.”
“Seo-ah originally had black hair.”
“….”
“Same as me.”
Then Seo-ah raised her head and saw Lee Jae-heon.
The child pursed his lips and then asked.
“Is it the same?”
“I see.”
“…Then can’t I just stay like this? Without dyeing my hair…”
“No.”
“….”
A wry, honest smile spread across his small face.
“Hi.”
“What’s so funny?”
“Let me sleep.”
“Is that so?”
“Quickly.”
“Okay then.”
Jaeheon Lee thought to himself as he put the child under the blanket.
‘I’m going to have bad habits.’
just.
That kind of thinking.
(Continued in the next part)
