TFIU 24

Chapter 24

The next morning.

Wooyeon woke with a start as a savory, nutty smell brushed his nose.
“?!”
He nearly jumped out of his skin when he opened his eyes and found two bright ones staring right at him.

“Uncle, you’re awake?”
“Gah!!!”
“Huh?”

With a look that clearly said why are you so startled?, Yewon stared at Wooyeon. Clutching his pounding heart, Wooyeon took a deep breath in and out.

“Hey—what is wrong with you first thing in the morning! You almost gave your uncle a heart attack!”
“Hurry up and get up so we can eat together.”
“Eat?”

At Yewon’s words, Wooyeon finally noticed a handsome face looking down at him like he was pathetic.

“It’s already broad daylight and you’re only waking up now.”
“Oh please, you’re so chatty for someone who doesn’t even sleep when the moon’s at its peak, jerk.”

Wooyeon snapped back reflexively at the sudden jab.

“Get up and eat. Yewon’s been waiting because of you.”
“She was waiting for me?”

Wooyeon looked back and forth between Yewon and Doha in disbelief.

“I’ve seriously been in a group with you for seven years. Have you—or any of the other members—ever waited for me because you wanted to eat together?!”
“…Have we?”
“Have we, my ass—!”

Just as Wooyeon’s long-suppressed resentment was about to explode—

“Uncle, the soup… it’s getting cold.”

Yewon tugged gently at Wooyeon’s clothes.

“…I’m letting this go just once because it’s Yewon. You should know you’ve got an amazing niece.”
“I already know.”
“If you weren’t good-looking, I swear—”

Even as he grumbled, Wooyeon found himself glancing at Doha’s back.

…But seriously.
Why does he look so… refreshed?
Annoyingly so?

Seeing how much calmer and more stable Doha looked compared to usual, Wooyeon snorted softly.

The three of them then sat down to breakfast: kimchi soybean sprout soup Doha had made, along with side dishes bought from a deli.

“You know how to make kimchi sprout soup? I thought cooking was Ian’s thing.”
“I learned it on a cooking show I went on.”
“Oh right. You were on ‘Single-Living Idol Clean-Out’. Didn’t you pretend to be all domestic there and then get beaten up by Ian afterward?”
“…Shut up. I couldn’t exactly just stand around doing nothing on a show like that.”

As Doha’s face reddened, Wooyeon chuckled.

“…So what’re you doing today? I’m going to the department store with Yewon.”
“Why? You hate shopping. Even when the sales staff push you hard, you always leave your casual outfits to the stylists.”

At Wooyeon’s offhand remark, Yewon’s shoulders drooped slightly.

Seeing that reaction, Wooyeon panicked internally.
Oh no—this wasn’t Doha’s shopping, it was Yewon’s!

“…But! It is about time you started buying your own clothes. You’re already twenty-five and outsourcing even your casual wear is just pathetic! You made a great decision! Fashion means Han Wooyeon, and Han Wooyeon means shopping! If you take me as your shopping buddy, I’m perfect! Yewon, this guy has no sense at all—your uncle will pick everything for you. No, I’ll buy it all for you. Yeah. This is when you use the rich-uncle card. When else would you use it?”

“……”

As Wooyeon desperately tried to smooth things over, Doha shot him a look full of disgust before turning to Yewon.

“Your uncle doesn’t hate shopping. He just hated shopping with Wooyeon.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. He went just fine with Uncle Eon.”

…What a liar?!

Wooyeon was dumbfounded watching Doha lie without blinking. As if Ian would ever go shopping with Doha.

Still, he didn’t show it on his face. He hated it when Yewon felt uncomfortable even more.

Exactly four hours later—

“……”
“……”
“…I’ve never seen sales staff this excited before.”

The three of them stumbled out of a luxury brand store, utterly exhausted, both hands full of shopping bags.

“…I can see why they’d be excited.”

They’d just blown through two months’ worth of royalties.

Doha looked at Wooyeon with utter disbelief. So this is how this guy lives—wearing clothes this expensive all the time. He’d always wondered where all his money went.

That was the reason.

Wooyeon, Eon, and Taeyoung often went shopping themselves, but Doha and Yeonho never did. So every salesperson enthusiastically pushed expensive items onto Doha.

Normally, Doha would’ve refused—but—

“Oh my~ this is your niece? She’s absolutely adorable! No wonder you’re so good-looking—it must run in the family. Honestly, she’s even prettier!”
“Wow, are you going to make her a celebrity too? If not, that’d be a national loss.”
“She’s not just pretty—she’s so well-behaved and sweet. You’re truly blessed as an uncle. She’s like a fairy from a storybook!”

Overwhelmed by the praise pouring in about Yewon, Doha ended up becoming a complete yes-man.

“……”

And yet, he didn’t regret it at all.

This was the first time he’d openly introduced Yewon as his niece since deciding to raise her himself. He was planning to reveal her through a parenting variety show anyway, and these were salespeople he already knew—there was no reason to hide it.

Watching Yewon laugh shyly in embarrassment at the compliments, Doha felt something stir in his chest.

Ever since coming to live with him, Yewon had always seemed a little subdued. This was the first time she looked genuinely proud.

For that expression alone, this amount of money didn’t matter at all.

“And it’s not like I was the only one buying stuff. You weren’t exactly holding back either.”
“……”

At Doha’s remark, Wooyeon quickly turned his head away.

That was true.

“I get that I got carried away, but why were you so into it? She’s my niece.”
“S-Shut up! She’s my niece too!!”
“Says who.”

Both Doha and Wooyeon had been grinning ear to ear at the praise directed at Yewon, swiping their cards like maniacs.

“Yewon was insanely popular today. The whole world’s going to know how pretty she is—this is bad.”
“!”

Still holding Doha’s hand tightly, Yewon looked up in surprise.

“Y-you’re more popular, Uncle…!”
“No. I was happy too—because Yewon got so much love.”
“Exactly. Lee Doha, you’re going to have a hard time protecting Yewon. Good luck.”
“……!”

Praise for himself didn’t move him much, but praise for Yewon made his wallet fly open without restraint.

…Even though everything they bought was technically for Doha.

Is this what being a parent feels like?

Though bewildered by these new emotions, Doha found that he liked the feeling quite a lot.

“Too bad this place doesn’t have a kids’ line. We couldn’t buy Yewon anything. Let’s go next door.”
“Here, we really need to buy Yewon clothes, Han Wooyeon.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?”
“I mean don’t interfere.”
“…There’s no one else in the world who crushes enthusiasm before it even starts like you do.”

Clicking his tongue in disbelief, Wooyeon headed straight into the kids’ clothing store.

“Hey!! Yewon!! Try this on!!”

Digging through the racks like he’d struck gold, Wooyeon held up a pink dress triumphantly.

At his shout, everyone in the store turned to look at him.

It wasn’t surprising—his voice carried clearly, and—

More than that, his appearance was impossible to ignore.

Well over 180 centimeters tall, with proportions that screamed I’m a celebrity. Even with masks on, Wooyeon and Doha couldn’t hide it.

…Maybe I should’ve told them to wear hats too.

He’d told them not to cover up too much because it would draw attention—but a mask alone clearly wasn’t enough.

Feeling awkward, Yewon headed toward Wooyeon.

And then—

“Oh? Well, look who this is. Isn’t this our niece?”

“!”

Someone suddenly grabbed Yewon’s arm.

Before Yewon could even look up in shock, Doha slapped the hand away—smack—and lifted Yewon into his arms protectively.

“Don’t touch a child without permission.”

Doha’s voice was icy cold, sharper than frost. It was the maximum anger he could show—him, who was usually unfailingly polite to others.

Only after being pulled into Doha’s arms did Yewon see who had grabbed her.

…Fake uncle…!

And behind him stood Jeyeon.

“!”