TFIU 13

Chapter 13

“What if I don’t send her away?”

Doha shot back sharply.

“If I don’t send her and raise her myself, can you really handle all of this? You know very well that the media will pounce first thing and try to tear Yewon apart.”

“Of course they’ll try to tear her apart. But isn’t it the agency’s job to do everything it can to stop that?”

“……”

“There are always ways if you look for them. If they don’t exist, you make them. Pour money into it. Pour all the know-how we’ve built up into it. We’re not planning to just sit around sucking our thumbs while you’re under attack.”

CEO Park smiled faintly.

“So don’t worry about our capabilities. Just make your decision clear, Lee Doha. Don’t go losing your family while pretending you’re doing this for our sake.”

“……!”

“No matter what decision you make, we have the ability to clean it up.”

Think about it a little more. Whether you really want to send Yewon somewhere else.

After receiving the unexpected notice from CEO Park, all four of them returned to the dorm with bodies and minds completely worn out.

Doha, in particular, was the most exhausted of all.

“…Samchon… are you okay?”

Seeing Doha with his head clearly full of thoughts, Yewon felt her conscience prick and gently tugged at his sleeve.

“It’s not your fault. Don’t worry.”

“B-but…”

Just as Yewon was about to look like she might cry, Wooyeon slipped in between them.

“That’s right, Yewon. It’s not your fault at all. This is all the fault of useless Lee Doha—mmph!”

No matter how tactless Young-oh was, even he knew that Wooyeon’s mouth needed to be shut right now.

“Y-you two go rest! Wooyeon and I will make dinner!”

“I, I’ll help too…!”

At Young-oh’s urgent tone, Yewon raised her hand.

But for once, Young-oh put on a firm expression.

“What are you talking about, Yewon! A kid should act like a kid—roll around on the sofa and read a fairy tale with Uncle Doha!”

A fairy… tale?

With her uncle?

Yewon looked up at Doha with an awkward expression.

It might be a bit embarrassing… but if this helps me get closer to Uncle, I’ll adapt.

She steeled her resolve once more.

If I slowly increase the time we spend together like this… maybe I’ll sink a little deeper into his life, and he won’t be able to send me away.

Young-oh pulled a fairy-tale book out of Yewon’s luggage and shoved it into Doha’s hand.

“Alright, alright. Doha, go to Yewon’s room and read her a story!”

“……”

Meanwhile, Doha looked down at the fairy-tale book that had suddenly ended up in his hand.

The title caught his eye.

Finding the Aurora.

…He was absolutely not in the mood to read a fairy tale right now.

Just as Doha was about to put it off until later—

Squeeze.

“!”

Feeling a tug on his clothes, Doha turned his head.

There was Yewon, looking up at him with eyes full of anticipation.

“……”

In the end, Doha resigned himself to his fate.

“…Let’s go.”

Thinking that anyone who could refuse after seeing eyes like that would have to be a psychopath.

Before he knew it, Doha’s guest room had become Yewon’s room.

After tucking Yewon in with the blanket, Doha opened the book.

Once upon a time. Long, long ago.

Deep in a forest, in a small cabin, lived a woodcutter bear and a little bear together.

“……”

He was reading, but already Doha didn’t like the story.

Shouldn’t they make it clear what kind of relationship they have before starting? It’d make the reader feel more at ease.

Suppressing the urge to grab the nonexistent author by the collar, Doha continued reading.

The two cared for each other, but they were still awkward and clumsy.

The woodcutter bear would spill honey while gathering it, or leave holes when making their nest from fallen leaves.

Watching this, the little bear thought:

“I’m lonely by myself, but the woodcutter bear must be having a hard time too, being alone.”

“…How does that logic even work?”

Doha blurted out, frustrated by the incomprehensible leap.

Then Yewon replied in a firm little voice.

“Uncle, you’re not supposed to analyze the logic in fairy tales. It’s just a fairy tale.”

“……”

She was completely right, and Doha felt a bit embarrassed.

To hide it, he quietly went on reading.

One night, a dazzling aurora flowed across the sky above the forest.

Blue, purple, and golden lights danced in the heavens.

The animals whispered among themselves.

“If you go find the aurora, your heart’s wish will come true!”

A baby rabbit from the upper valley said.

“Eeh. Uncle. You can’t read it like that.”

“…Huh?”

Did I read it wrong? Just as Doha was wondering—

“You know. If you go find the aurora! Your heart’s wish will come true!”

“!”

At the clear, vivid voice—like the rabbit had jumped straight out of the book and was speaking—Doha startled and turned to Yewon.

“You have to read it with feeling.”

But the sparkling eyes of the baby rabbit were already gone, and Yewon had returned to her indifferent gaze.

Was it… just his imagination?

Come to think of it, they said she’d just started working as a child actress.

That was what he’d heard through Young-oh.

She’d appeared once as an extra in a drama.

From the sound of it, she seemed pretty interested in acting.

They said talent runs in the blood, and that she seemed to have a knack for it—just like him.

…Back then I thought, ‘She was only an extra once—why are they already talking about bloodlines?’

At first, it seemed obvious.

The Doha siblings had drawn attention from a young age because of their looks, and casting offers had poured in for both of them.

…Yewon looks just like the two of us, so it must’ve been the same for her.

It was obvious without seeing it—how many business cards she must have received.

The two siblings had been similar. The difference was that Doha didn’t dislike the attention—

…But noona really felt burdened by it.

So much so that she left him.

Doha let out a bitter sigh.

This wasn’t the time for pointless thoughts.

Shaking off the tangled memories, Doha started reading again.

Hearing the rumor, the little bear said with sparkling eyes:

“Mister Woodcutter, let’s go find the aurora too. So the two of us can become a real family!”

…So they weren’t family after all.

Just as Doha finished reading awkwardly—

“Again. That’s not it.”

Yewon complained once more, clearing her throat.

Then she looked straight up at Doha and broke into a bright smile.

“Mister Woodcutter, let’s go find the aurora too. So the two of us can become a real family!”

“……!”

Like a truly innocent baby bear in need of a family, Yewon’s eyes shone purely.

And in her little hands clasped together was the baby bear’s earnest wish.

Only then could Doha be sure.

That hadn’t been his imagination.

His niece was a genius.

It was hard to believe she’d only ever been an extra once.

“Yewon, you…”

“I’m good, right?”

As Yewon asked with a beaming smile, Doha found himself nodding without realizing it.

“Yeah. I heard you were a child actress, but… you’re really good. You might become a ten-million-viewer star someday.”

“I will!”

“!”

At her unexpected answer, surprise spread across Doha’s face.

“Is acting your dream?”

“Yes!”

After saying that, Yewon hesitated a little, then added,

“Like you, Uncle, I want to shine brightly on the screen!”

“……!”

“That’s why I want to stand next to you. You as an idol, and me as an actress!”

If you become a movie director, noona, I’ll be a singer! I’ll get more famous than you! Then I’ll stick by your side forever and annoy you.

Seeing his younger self overlap with her for an instant, Doha unconsciously turned his head away.

A tide of unbearable childhood memories was crashing over him.