Chapter – 41
Yeonho narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Yewon.
An ordinary child would have burst into tears or gotten scared in the tense atmosphere of adults arguing. But Yewon merely fidgeted with the script in her hands, staring at the tightly shut door.
Then—
“!”
Yewon turned her head and met Yeonho’s eyes.
He was momentarily startled but accepted her gaze without showing it.
‘….’
No matter how many times he looked, she was the spitting image of Lee Doha.
Transparent brown eyes. Hair the exact same shade as her eyes. A mouth that looked mature for her age yet stubborn.
Everything—just like Lee Doha. Even that unreadable expression.
“…Aren’t you scared?”
Yeonho asked without thinking.
And the moment he said it, he regretted it. What kind of question was that to ask a kid? Of course she’d be scared.
“Nope.”
But the answer he got was beyond anything he had imagined.
“…Why?”
I’m scared.
Scared that Lee Eon and Lee Doha might really fight. That they might say something irreversible and become strangers forever.
That our team might completely fall apart. I’m still scared.
“Because Uncle Doha likes Uncle Eon.”
“!”
“Mom said when you love someone, you fight.”
At the unexpected answer, Yeonho was flustered.
“…Lee Doha? Likes Eon?”
“Nope.”
“Then how do you know?”
“When you breathe, you can’t see air, but if you say there’s no air, you’re dumb.”
“….”
Is she calling me dumb?
The explanation was very seven-year-old, which oddly irritated Yeonho—yet at the same time, oddly convinced him.
“Even if you love someone, you can still break up.”
There was unease in Yeonho’s voice.
Instead of answering, Yewon nodded.
“Doesn’t that scare you?”
“Nope.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ll glue them back together.”
“!”
With that, Yewon hopped down from the sofa.
She went to the corner of the living room and brought over a box labeled “Yewon’s Treasure Chest.”
Inside were glue, child-safe scissors, colored paper, crayons, and colored pencils.
“I’ve got glue. I’ll stick them back together.”
“……”
“Do you need glue too, Uncle? Is something torn?”
Looking at Yewon holding out glue to him so boldly, Yeonho found himself thinking—
If only Lee Doha resembled this kid even half, no—even a quarter of a quarter—
No one would ever get angry at him.
“I don’t need glue.”
“Mm.”
“But instead…”
Seeing Yewon look slightly dejected, Yeonho hurriedly added,
“Draw me a picture. You’ve got colored pencils there, right?”
…He had just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
After saying it, it sounded ridiculous.
Asking a seven-year-old to draw him a picture?
Just as regret was creeping in—
“What should I draw?”
Yewon answered with surprising excitement, and Yeonho felt relieved.
“…I don’t know. Draw me.”
Yeonho stared at Yewon.
It felt strange.
…Is this why
All the members are changing like this?
* * *
As Yewon drew what Yeonho had asked for, she discreetly checked the quest window.
[Sudden Quest Appeared!
Filming for <Glittering Baby House> has officially begun.
But no matter how perfect a house looks, without family, it feels empty.
By any means necessary, bring ‘Eon who left home’ back!
Quest Success: +10 Popularity
Quest Failure: <Glittering Baby House> Cancelled]**
‘…Sigh.’
The reason Yewon had stirred up so much attention toward Eon during filming today was because of this.
Of all times, why did this quest window have to pop up right when filming started?
Because of it, Yewon had been dying trying to manage her expressions.
‘If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have even mentioned it.’
She knew that why Eon wasn’t living with Doha was a very sensitive subject for him.
And from what she’d seen of Doha so far—
‘…Unless there’s some kind of trigger, he’d never bring it up first, right, Uncle?’
Uncle Doha was the best uncle in the world, but…
Well. As a member… he might be going through some issues.
She felt really sorry to Doha, but objectively speaking, that was the truth.
Still, she had no choice. The quest window was blatantly telling her to bring Eon back to the dorm.
At the very least, she hadn’t wanted to mention it on broadcast…
‘But I had no choice. The only thing Uncle Eon cares about is the fans’ opinions.’
If she or Wooyeon had simply said, “Come back home!” it wouldn’t have worked.
She knew that unless it was brought up on broadcast for the fans to see, he wouldn’t even consider it. Of course, Eon might object and it could be edited out—but she had a feeling PD Hwang would never cut this.
‘…I hope things went well.’
Even while coloring in Yeonho’s bulky muscles, Yewon kept glancing at the firmly shut door.
Then—
“!”
The sound of a password being entered rang out, and Eon walked in.
“I’m sorry. I feel better now. I tried to starve myself to look prettier for the fans, and I get dizzy easily. I’ll manage my condition better.”
…That lie is way too obvious!
Not only Yewon, but every staff member on site internally shook their heads at the shameless excuse.
And shortly after—
“…Sorry for being late.”
Doha returned home too.
With a frighteningly pale face.
Wooyeon and Yeonho looked back and forth between Doha’s pale face and Eon’s perfectly calm one and immediately came to a conclusion.
‘He got wrecked.’
‘Soul and all… completely wrecked. Poor guy….’
It was obvious to anyone that Eon had put Doha through the wringer like a threshing machine.
“Hey, Doha, you don’t look so good. Are you okay?”
“…Ah.”
Doha pressed his forehead briefly.
“Sorry. I’ve got a bit of a headache…”
At his words, everyone turned to look at Eon.
‘Just how badly did he chew him out…?!’
“Why is everyone looking at me when Lee Doha says he’s sick?”
Eon said with a bright smile.
Immediately, everyone averted their eyes.
‘…Best not to provoke him.’
* * *
“For now, let’s all eat while Doha rests.”
“I don’t need to rest.”
“Still, rest, idiot. You’ll collapse at this rate. Even getting scolded takes stamina. And we need a break too. We should eat.”
“……”
At PD Hwang’s words, flames briefly flickered in Eon’s eyes.
But PD Hwang simply wore a face that said, What? I didn’t mention any names. Why? Feeling guilty?
“Glitters, you all go eat with Yewon too. It’s about lunchtime anyway.”
As PD Hwang and the staff headed out—
“I want to eat with Uncle Eon!”
Yewon shouted quickly.
“!”
Her voice echoed across the house, and the members turned toward her.
“…Did I hear that wrong?! Not Doha or me… who? Who did you say, Yewon? Uncle must’ve misheard, right?”
Wooyeon even picked at his ear before asking again.
“I want to eat with Uncle Eon!”
But her answer didn’t change.
‘I don’t have a choice!!’
In this situation, just moments before total chaos, Yewon had to step in.
If they left it like this, Eon would definitely fly back to London again.
‘I have to talk to Uncle Eon somehow.’
Alone.
If Doha joined, it would just turn into another fight.
“……Oh! Sure! Let’s all eat together with Uncle Eon—”
“Just us!”
“…….”
This time, even Doha’s eyebrows lifted.
“Yewon, that’s not okay. We should all eat together. How can you exclude your uncle?”
“Why not?”
“!”
At Doha’s words, Eon asked mockingly.
Ignoring the stunned members, he strode over and lifted Yewon into his arms.
“She says she wants to eat alone with me. Why are you nitpicking a kid? Got a problem?”
“Lee Eon.”
“What? Are you that uneasy about leaving me alone with her?”
“……”
“You don’t trust me that much? If you can’t even trust me that much, how are we supposed to keep promoting together?”
At the cold anger laced in Eon’s voice, Doha’s lips pressed shut again.
But instead of speaking, Doha reached out toward Eon—
A clear gesture asking for Yewon back.
“What are you doing?”
“…Yewon’s scared.”
“Yewon, are you scared?”
“Nope.”
At her answer, Doha looked at her with unmistakable betrayal in his eyes.
Yewon desperately avoided his gaze.
Sorry, Uncle…!
But if I go to you now, I feel like you and Uncle Eon will never make up…!
“…She’s my niece. Give her back.”
But Doha insisted stubbornly.
“Your niece? Well. The moment she lives in this house, doesn’t she become my niece too?”
“Lee Eon.”
“I’ll feed her and bring her back. You guys can eat or starve for all I care.”
“Hey, Lee Eon…!”
Ignoring the members trying to stop him, Eon walked out and got into the elevator.
After leaving the building—
“…So what do you want to eat?”
He realized he had absolutely no idea what a seven-year-old liked to eat.
