Jung Jae-yong lost touch with his ex-wife

Jung Jae-yong was seen working part-time jobs at a pension and a barbecue restaurant to earn childcare expenses for his daughter, Yeon-ji.

On the 21st episode of Channel A's 'Dad is a Flower Middle-Aged Man,' which aired on the 19th, Jung Jae-yong visited his hometown of Gangneung to commemorate his late mother's birthday. During his visit, he took on short-term jobs introduced by his older sister and spent a day reminiscing about his daughter through her belongings at his sister's house.

Jung Jae-yong's visit to his hometown was depicted on the show. He visited his mother's grave with his older sister to mark her birthday, who passed away last April. His sister had previously helped raise Yeon-ji after Jung's divorce but had to return her to her mother due to severe separation anxiety.

His sister tearfully recalled, "Mother was worried about Yeon-ji until she lost consciousness, asking me if we should take her in." She then asked Jung if he had been in contact with Yeon-ji's mother, to which he replied, "A few days ago, Yeon-ji's mother deleted her messenger account, and we lost all contact."

Jung explained, "Her messenger name shows as 'Unknown.' The messages we exchanged are still there, but I can't send any new ones. I wanted to meet her to give her the childcare expenses, but she didn't read my messages and then deleted her account."

His sister empathized, saying, "It's because her feelings have changed. When you came to Gangneung after the divorce, she probably hoped you would handle the childcare expenses. Women think that way. She must have felt disappointed due to the lack of contact and support."

Encouraging her struggling brother, she suggested he take on short-term jobs while in Gangneung. She promptly arranged for him to work at a pension and a barbecue restaurant.

Jung reluctantly started working at the pension, cleaning rooms with a senior colleague from Kyrgyzstan. Despite the senior's constant nagging to hurry up, Jung diligently cleaned the bathrooms and even the pool floor. While folding towels, the senior shared that he hadn't seen his five-year-old son for two years and sent 1.5 million won out of his 2.5 million won salary to his son, which deeply moved Jung. After finishing his shift, Jung rushed to the bank to send his entire appearance fee from 'Dad is a Flower Middle-Aged Man' to his ex-wife's account. He also contacted his former mother-in-law for the first time in two and a half years to confirm the transfer.

After the pension job, Jung headed to the barbecue restaurant, where he took on serving and grilling meat. When he saw a child around Yeon-ji's age, he said, "I'll grill it deliciously for you," and watched the child eat with a tender gaze. After finishing his shift, he received 100,000 won as his daily wage and vowed to save it for Yeon-ji, earning applause from the 'flower daddies.' Returning to his sister's house after a tiring day, Jung nostalgically handled Yeon-ji's clothes and toys, missing his daughter. Reflecting on his feelings, Jung said, "I always feel like a sinner as a father," and vowed to continue sending childcare expenses and making efforts for his daughter.

Reporter Taeyuna, TenAsia youyou@tenasia.co.kr