Chapter 08
Blink, blink.
“You seriously look exactly like him. Wow, Doha, are you sure you’re not lying? Isn’t she your daughter, not your niece?”
“Don’t talk nonsense in front of the kid.”
Blink, blink.
“No, it’s like she was born by real cloning or something. Otherwise, how could she look exactly the same?”
Blink, blink.
What is this noise…?
…It was just Ye-won’s eyes blinking, drained by the extreme extroverted reaction of an ultra-extroverted person.
“She’s a doll, okay? Kid, are you even human? Aren’t you a doll?”
The handsome young man, with piercings in his ears and a trickle of mischief in his eyes, poked Ye-won’s cheek with his finger.
“…I’m human.”
“Wow. The doll even talks~?”
“……”
Ye-won didn’t know how to react and just shut her mouth.
Of course, she already knew who this young man in front of her was.
Han Woo-yeon.
The main dancer and sub-rapper of Glit… though his skill level was equivalent to a main rapper in another group.
If Doha was the “gateway member” everyone agreed on, Woo-yeon was considered the “solidifying member” within the fandom.
It was obvious why just by looking at him.
His rough, teasing behavior was overflowing with kindness and affection.
“Kid, what’s your name~?”
That word—kid!
Goosebumps ran up Ye-won’s arm.
“…I’m Ye-won…”
“Oh, Ye-won~ Then can I call you ‘kid’?”
Even though he was already calling her that.
This person is enjoying this. He’s enjoying the fact that she absolutely hates being called “kid.”
Ye-won narrowed her eyes and glared at Woo-yeon—
Bonk.
Doha flicked Woo-yeon on the head.
“!!”
“Ah, what was that, Doha!?”
“Don’t bother the kid. Act your age.”
“What did I bother?! I was just saying hi to our kid normally?!”
“You know that expression you get when you bother someone? That’s exactly it right now.”
“Seriously, that’s so unfair. Totally unfair.”
“Don’t use that cheap tone in front of the kid.”
“……”
Woo-yeon fell silent, apparently unsure how to speak in a non-cheap tone.
…What a remarkable person…
Still…
The two didn’t seem to be getting along badly, after all…?
Ye-won tilted her head, observing Doha and Woo-yeon bickering yet getting along surprisingly well.
There was no bad vibe between them at all, so why had this “quest” been assigned?
“I heard a bit from Young-oh. So now you’re living together?”
At Woo-yeon’s question, Ye-won and Woo-yeon both looked at Doha.
Right. I want to know that too, Uncle.
Are we really living together now?
“…What about the other members?”
But Doha, seemingly not ready to answer, subtly changed the subject.
Woo-yeon looked at him strangely but spoke obediently.
“Un seems to still be in England. As for Hyunho… probably holed up at a gym somewhere, working out?”
“Everyone knows?”
Doha lightly skipped some details, but Ye-won knew it was her story.
Woo-yeon glanced at Ye-won and shook his head.
“Not yet. If everyone finds out, it’ll be chaos.”
“……”
At the mention of chaos, both Doha and Ye-won’s expressions darkened simultaneously.
But—
“Everyone’s going to go crazy trying to keep Ye-won for themselves, you know.”
Woo-yeon said something else.
“!”
“With such an adorable and cute niece, of course everyone would try to kidnap her and make her their own niece.”
At the unexpected comment, Doha and Ye-won’s expressions brightened at the same time.
Then Woo-yeon burst out laughing.
“Wow. Even though you’re not related by blood, you make the same face in the same way. I almost died laughing!”
“Do you really want to get hit?”
Doha subtly made a fist, and Woo-yeon openly sneered.
“Who’s gonna hit whom? Doha, you think you can fight me? Go build some muscles or something.”
At that moment, Ye-won, puffing out her cheeks while watching them, spoke up.
“Mr. Woo-yeon, you’re a bad person.”
“!!!”
Woo-yeon, who hadn’t even flinched at Doha’s words, seemed utterly struck by Ye-won’s remark. His mouth fell open.
“Ye-won!! That’s a misunderstanding! Uncle is a good person!! And you called him ‘Mister’? He’s the same age as Doha Uncle! Call him uncle too!!”
Even the demotion from “uncle” to “mister” seemed like a huge blow.
“Mister is a bad person.”
“Ugh.”
Ye-won continued her assault, and Woo-yeon clutched his chest in apparent heartbreak.
Hmph. Woo-yeon could do whatever, but Ye-won coldly turned her head.
I was so surprised earlier.
“Did Park Young-oh tell you today?”
“Yeah, this morning. He suddenly called and said, ‘Hey, Woo-yeon. You have to do something big…’ and explained it.”
“Big what? You?”
“He said I should play with Ye-won. Doha, you wouldn’t know how to play with a kid.”
“……”
Unable to deny it, Doha’s mouth tightened briefly.
But—
“What do you know?”
Doha mustered his courage to ask again.
“I only have three younger siblings. Two younger brothers and a late-born younger sister.”
“……”
“They all live in the U.S. now, but I changed their diapers, fed them, and raised them. So I know at least more than Doha, right?”
“……”
“Right, Ye-won? Uncle is right, isn’t he?”
Woo-yeon glanced at Ye-won, seeking agreement.
“Mister.”
“…Ughhh.”
Ye-won’s stubborn attitude inflicted yet another blow.
Woo-yeon didn’t care and Ye-won turned toward Doha.
“But why is Uncle Un in England?”
She’d been curious since earlier.
Was it a business trip? Some overseas schedule?
“……”
But it seemed a difficult question to answer; Doha and Woo-yeon exchanged glances and couldn’t speak easily.
What’s going on? Is there some reason?
“Well… um… Ye-won. So…”
“He ran away.”
“!”
While Woo-yeon stammered, Doha jumped in.
“Ran away…?”
Had he committed a crime?
Just as Ye-won’s expression grew serious, Woo-yeon poked Doha’s side sharply.
“Why do you always choose your words like that? How can you call it running away?”
“It is running away.”
“Call it avoidance! Say avoidance!! Leaving because you didn’t want to see Doha’s face isn’t running away!!”
Doha turned his head sharply in displeasure.
Then Ye-won’s expression softened slightly.
Ah, avoidance.
“Why didn’t Uncle Un want to see Doha Uncle’s face?”
“Because they fought.”
Woo-yeon answered innocently.
“Why?”
“They really don’t get along.”
“Why?”
“Um~ There’s a really bad person. Uncle Un thought he should tell everything that bad person did, but Doha Uncle thought it should stay a secret. So Uncle Un’s heart hurt and he went to his house.”
This time, Ye-won turned to Doha.
“Why did you keep it a secret??”
“…Because the truth can hurt people. It would hurt those who liked that bad person.”
Doha said, sighing deeply.
“Han Woo-yeon, you teach the kid good things. Why make him say stuff like this?”
“You know, 7-year-olds pick up everything? Don’t underestimate them. Kids notice everything. If you hide something recklessly, it’s a big problem. Kids are scarier. You don’t know that?”
“Right. We shouldn’t hide anything. We know everything.”
With Woo-yeon and Ye-won teaming up to corner Doha, he gave a helpless laugh.
“You two really work well together.”
“I knew from the first moment I saw Ye-won that you’d get along this well. Right, Ye-won~?”
“……”
“Why! Why won’t you answer!”
Our relationship isn’t there yet.
Ye-won left the despairing Woo-yeon and subtly approached Doha.
“Doha Uncle.”
“Hmm.”
“…You were hurt too, weren’t you?”
“!”
Doha’s eyes widened slightly at Ye-won’s words.
“Not just Uncle Un, you were hurt too.”
As if saying “I know everything,” Ye-won pressed her lips together and held Doha’s hand.
She still remembered.
The first time they met on the filming set, how lonely he had been sitting alone.
And even though it was far in the future, his phone’s wallpaper was the group photo of Glit.
Even though the group had already disbanded.
“…Yeah.”
Doha’s face, while smiling, carried a deep undercurrent of sorrow.
For some reason, Ye-won felt a strong urge to fill that sorrow with joy.
Almost desperately, as if this were what family felt like.
