TFIU 18

Chapter 18

So that was why.

Because Han Wooyeon… looked like family to him.
Because it felt like that family had returned.

Doha felt an indescribable emotion well up inside him, and he carefully adjusted his posture.
The suffocating uncertainty from earlier was settling down.

Now… he didn’t want to hesitate anymore.

Doha gathered Yewon’s hands in both of his, holding them as if to wrap them up warmly.

“Yewon, you’re family to Uncle too.”

“Yes.”

“…So, don’t go anywhere. Live with Uncle.”

“!”

“…Uncle might… m-maybe not be enough, but—”

The moment Doha, unusually, stumbled over his words—

“!”

Yewon didn’t even let him finish.
She threw her arms around his neck.

It was a happy enough thing to hear that she didn’t need to hear the rest.

* * *

Beep beep beep beep beep.

“!”

The door lock clicked open, and Wooyeon burst inside.

“Yewon! Uncle Wooyeon is ba—!”

“Quiet.”

Doha immediately covered Wooyeon’s mouth with his hand.

“?!”

“Yewon’s asleep.”

Wooyeon cursed him with his eyes, and Doha replied calmly.

“Mmph mmph mmph! Mmph mmph! (Fine, I got it, let go. I’ll be quiet.)”

“…”

Maybe it was because he’d known him for so long.

Doha hated that even with his mouth covered, he could still understand exactly what Wooyeon was saying.

He gently closed Yewon’s bedroom door, then turned back toward Wooyeon—who was holding an enormous teddy bear in one hand.

“…How did you even bring that huge thing here?”

“For our Yewon, this is nothing.”

“You’re not in your right mind. What if someone saw you?”

“If someone saw me, what’s the problem? The only place I brought it is your house.”

“……”

When he put it that way… he wasn’t wrong.

Even if rumors started, Lee Doha–Han Wooyeon wouldn’t exactly be a scandal for idols at their level.

“But why is Yewon already asleep? It’s only 9 p.m.”

“Babies sleep at this time. You and I are the abnormal ones.”

“Really? Babies normally sleep now? Then what’s wrong with my siblings? Around this time they’d start begging me to play like crazy. Is Yewon too weak? Do we need to train her stamina or something?”

“……”

It wasn’t even worth answering.

Doha was satisfied just taking the teddy bear out of Wooyeon’s hands.

Wooyeon handed it over without complaint, then walked back outside.

“……?”

As Doha stood there confused by the ridiculous behavior, the door lock beeped again and the door opened.

And what appeared was—

“…Suitcases?”

Huge bags and carriers, practically the size of moving luggage.

“Yup. This big bro has decided to live here.”

“You said you were just staying temporarily, you lunatic. Weren’t you leaving after a month or two?”

Doha, who rarely cursed, finally snapped.

“It’s up to the CEO, isn’t it? Didn’t you hear what he said earlier? That a bunch of half-baked uncles together might barely do the job of one parent? How are you supposed to raise a kid alone, you half-baked idiot? You need me too.”

“If I’m half-baked, then you’re not even a quarter-baked. Get out.”

“Nope~ Yewon said she wants to live with me~ I’m staying right here with my tiny baby bird, my baby angel Yewon~”

“I said no.”

Doha lowered his voice, glaring murderous curses at him.

“If you keep this up, I’ll tell Yewon. I’ll tell her Uncle Doha is kicking Uncle Wooyeon out. Then she’ll say ‘I don’t like you, Uncle,’ just like earlier. Hahaha!”

“……”

That was… disturbingly convincing.

Doha ground his teeth.

“You think I want to live with you? I’m only tolerating a half-baked idiot like you because of Yewon.”

“Like you have room to talk. Then stop tolerating—”

“And when Eon comes back…”

“…….”

“When Eon comes back, he’s going to try to kill you. So I’ll have to grab Yewon and run away, right~?”

Wooyeon patted Doha’s shoulder.

At the mention of Eon, Doha fell silent.

Because it was true.

Eon would definitely try to kill him—and Doha couldn’t let Yewon see something like that.

“Anyway, I’m using this room. Later~!”

Wooyeon laughed shamelessly and walked into one of the rooms.

Doha’s face went pale.

“Not that room.”

“Why?”

“That’s my studio.”

“You don’t even work. Why do you need a studio?”

“I need it. Get out. Use the room next door.”

“Tch. So picky. It’s so hard catering to a picky leader~”

Wooyeon shrugged like he was doing him a favor, and started toward the next room—

Then stopped.

“……?”

Because this room was—

“Isn’t this… your room?”

“It is.”

“Then how are you using it? Where are you sleeping?”

“I’ll sleep there too.”

“What nonsense is that? There are five rooms. Why would we share? Are you insane?”

“There are five rooms.”

“Exactly! One is Yewon’s room, one is your studio, one is your room. That still leaves two rooms, you psycho!!”

“One is a dressing room.”

“And the other one?”

“…That’s Eon’s room.”

“…….”

At the name Eon, Wooyeon froze completely.

He hadn’t thought about that.

“Right… This house… was where you and Eon lived together… damn…”

Doha looked at him like he was pathetic for only realizing it now.

This place had originally been Glitter’s dorm, but when the lease ended, Doha and Eon bought it together.

“Or you can share a room with Eon. I won’t stop you. I’d love that.”

“…….”

At the thought of sharing a room with Eon, Wooyeon’s face turned icy.

“…You’ll at least buy another bed, right, honey?”

“Buy it with your own money. You’ve got plenty.”

And so—

The kind of cramped one-room living they’d only done as rookies…

Began again.

* * *

Meanwhile, in CEO Park’s office.

After Doha left, CEO Park began moving in his own way.

“Good. Doha made a big decision, so we need to work just as hard. Let’s think of a plan.”

“Actually, sir… I’ve been thinking. That offer we got recently… the O-Tube proposal.”

“Hwang PD’s?”

“Yes.”

The proposal was from none other than Hwang Jio, the biggest star producer in the industry.

The kind of producer where just appearing on his show guaranteed attention.

“That’s a reality observation show. Their relationship is a disaster. How could that work? I was going to reject it.”

Rejecting Hwang PD’s offer made CEO Park sick with regret.

“But… this might be our chance, sir.”

“A chance?”

“Yes. We could take this opportunity to properly reveal Doha and Yewon to the world.”

“If we hide it halfway, rumors will just multiply. But what if we show everything honestly through a ‘parenting’ observation show?”

“!”

“Nothing improves public image like childcare variety shows, right? We can restore Glitter’s damaged reputation, and reveal Doha’s family situation positively. Two birds with one stone.”

“…….”

It… actually made sense.

And parenting observation was a topic Hwang PD had always been interested in.

The only problem was—

“Would they even agree? Absolutely not. Eon isn’t even in Korea. Even if we somehow persuade him, Doha… do you think that stubborn kid will ever agree?”

“Uh…”

Youngoh scratched his head awkwardly.

“Sigh… but rejecting Hwang PD’s offer really would be stupid.”

Everything lined up too perfectly.

CEO Park sighed deeply.

Then suddenly—

“…Wait.”

“Yes?”

“…I think I just had the most ridiculous idea, Youngoh.”

CEO Park’s eyes gleamed.

* * *

—…You succeeded in getting into that house?

That evening, Wooyeon received a call from CEO Park.

“Yes. I hate that bastard Lee Doha… but even though he’s paying off a 40-year mortgage in Cheongdam-dong at 5.8% interest… even though he pays extra because he’s a freelancer…”

“…Yewon is just too cute and adorable and lovable. So I’m staying for her.”

—Good choice. Hannam-dong is quieter than Cheongdam. Better to live there.

“…Sir, you live in Cheongdam too. I literally live upstairs from you. What are you talking about?”

—Quiet. I’m saying it for your sake. Anyway, how are Doha and Yewon? Are they close now?

“Oh, that idiot. He can’t live without Yewon but he’s deep in denial.”

—…Denial?

“Yes!! Listen…”

“He’s glaring like he’s terrified I’ll steal his niece! You should come see it yourself!”

—…Doha did that?

“Yes!”

“And then he pinched my thigh twice! Secretly! While Yewon wasn’t looking!”

—…Doha really did?

“Yes!”

—…This might go even better than I thought.

“Huh? What will?”

—Nothing. Just keep an eye on Doha.

“Ah… okay.”

I was going to anyway.

After hanging up, Wooyeon felt uneasy.

Something was off.

It felt like the CEO was plotting something…