Chapter 01
Where did it all go wrong?
Falling from the terrace, Ye-won asked herself this question.
The nation’s niece.
The nation’s little sister.
A child actor loved by the advertising world.
The youngest recipient of the Best Actress award.
Even with all these titles, Ye-won had never once felt happy.
“No… Actually, I was happy a few years ago.”
…That is, until her only family, her mother, suddenly died in a hit-and-run accident.
Before meeting her “relatives” — her uncle and his daughter, her cousin Je-yeon — whom she had never seen before.
Being only seven at the time, Ye-won, who needed a guardian, had no choice.
Yes.
It seemed her life began to go off track from that point.
“You want me to reduce your schedule? With all the debt your mother left behind, how do you plan to pay it off?”
Whenever she asked for a little rest due to her grueling schedule, her uncle would respond this way.
“Hateful comments? Why care about those? If you do well, all those comments will disappear. You just need to behave… properly.”
When she begged for protection from the cruel personal attacks and curses, Je-yeon said this.
“The director keeps harassing you? Just endure it. How can you make money if you’re that weak? That’s the entertainment industry. Just tolerate it.”
Even when a director old enough to be her grandfather harassed her, they both said the same thing.
Yes, she could somehow endure that.
But what she truly couldn’t bear was…
This:
“What did you say? You’re going to reveal everything now? Do you even have proof? That we’re fake?”
The truth that neither of them was her real family.
“Me? You think I’ll just give up? Do you know how much money that girl earns every month?!”
Both of them had deceived her in the name of “family” just for money.
“Well, there’s no reason to hide it now. Honestly, your real family exists elsewhere. You’ve been paying us child support faithfully as if we were your family.”
They were her only family, so she thought she just had to endure it.
She believed that this was how families were.
Everything she had misunderstood…
She realized it was all a lie.
“…But now it’s useless.”
Pushed by a fake cousin and a fake uncle, she was falling.
“Now that you know the truth, you’re completely useless. Goodbye, sister.”
Soon, her neck would snap, just like the last role she played.
Ye-won closed her eyes and calmly accepted death.
Yes, maybe it’s for the best.
If she died, she could finally rest and meet her mother again.
…But why is it taking so long?
When she sensed something was wrong and opened her eyes:
“Ah, a fresh case. A child actor. I haven’t raised actors before.”
Something she had never seen appeared before her eyes.
…A fluff… ball…?
White, soft fur — with an incongruously evil gaze.
Everything about it was bewildering.
And it could talk…?
“Still, I like this talent and this anger. Hmm. What should I do?”
The fluffball smiled, stretching its mouth into a wide grin.
“Hey, kid.”
Kid? I’m not a kid.
I’m fourteen years old, for crying out loud.
“Don’t you feel wronged?”
Yes, she did.
“Right. Of course you do. Maybe it would have been different if you’d been raised by your real family.”
What are you talking about?
Real family?
Could it be… the people she had been entrusted to?
They weren’t real family. Whoever they were, they were just the same.
“Ah. You think so?”
…Yeah, what’s the difference?
“Let me tell you the truth. Your real family didn’t abandon you. They just didn’t feel confident enough to be good guardians, so they entrusted you to someone they thought would be a better adult.”
…I understand that explanation.
But even later, they should have checked if I was okay.
Even if they had come to see me just once.
Then they would have known I wasn’t okay.
“Not wrong. That’s what adults should do.”
Right?
“But unfortunately, your real family died before they could even check on you.”
!
“They died due to a very complicated adult situation. Such a pity… they were my VVIP client. Tsk… died before I could fully benefit from them.”
They died?
So that’s why they couldn’t come to see me?
Wait… VVIP client?
“Anyway, enough explanation. Let’s get to the point.”
The point?
Ye-won frowned in confusion.
“Yes. Sign a contract with me, kid. Then I’ll give you a second chance.”
But…
Just the words “second chance” wiped away all doubts.
“Second… chance?”
“Yes. You’ll go back to the day your misfortune began: your mother’s funeral. I can’t bring her back, but you can live a different life.”
A different life…
If given a second chance, could I live a different life?
Ye-won reflected on her life so far.
Of course.
She could live a completely different life.
Most importantly…
She could take revenge on those people.
A spark ignited in her eyes.
“What are the terms of the contract?”
“Look at you. Not the type to bite blindly without checking the contract, huh?”
“…I’ve been deceived once already.”
By my uncle.
Ye-won smiled bitterly. After her mother’s death, she had signed the fraudulent contract her uncle handed her. Even if she wanted to escape him, she couldn’t.
“Only one condition: win a Best Actress award before you become an adult. There’s a penalty if you fail, so be careful.”
Win a Best Actress award before adulthood?
Not a child actor award?
How could this be so easy for them to say, when it’s such a difficult task?
“Do you want to do it?”
Ye-won smirked.
“Yes. I’ve done it once before — why not twice?”
“Great! Contract established. Now one last thing. For your revenge, if I give you a ‘benefit’… what would you want?”
A benefit?
Nothing seemed more out of place for Ye-won than that word.
She smiled bitterly.
But at that moment…
Something crossed her mind.
“I want to know my real family.”
“Why?”
The fluffball’s mouth twitched as if smiling.
Was it a trick of the eye?
Ye-won stared at the fluffball.
“I’m curious. If I had lived with my real family, how much would things have changed?”
“Excellent choice, Ye-won!”
With the fluffball’s cunning voice —
The world went dark as if extinguished.
“Your real family is… [-]!”
“…!”
What?
Ye-won was shocked.
It wasn’t someone she didn’t know.
In fact… it was someone she knew far too well.
“Do your best. With your ‘real family’!”
When she opened her eyes again, she was in the middle of a nightmare.
“Ah, such a pity for the little one…”
“…Who’s taking her? Didn’t she have no mother or family?”
No — she was exactly at the place that appeared in her nightmare every day.
Her mother’s funeral.
Ye-won looked down at her body.
A very small body in mourning clothes.
…It was real.
She had really gone back. To age seven…! Just debuting as a child actor, having appeared in only one work.
It wasn’t a dream.
The contract… was real.
As Ye-won stared at her small hands, realizing this wasn’t a dream:
“Who said she had no family?”
“!”
“I’m her uncle. Everyone, please step aside.”
A very familiar voice came from behind.
Ye-won turned her head sharply.
“…!”
A fake uncle…!
The “fake uncle,” looking much younger than before, approached with a gentle smile and reached out his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Ye-won. I’m your uncle. Your mother’s older brother. I lived abroad, so you’ve never seen me before, right?”
“….”
Ye-won looked at his hand coldly instead of shaking it.
Then she looked around, as if searching for something.
“Ye, Ye-won?”
“Unni…?”
While the fake uncle was confused, someone appeared behind him.
It was Je-yeon.
The fake cousin who had taken everything from her life.
“You should go with your uncle. Come here—”
“No.”
Ye-won shook her head as strongly as she could.
“!”
Her refusal froze everyone in the funeral hall.
“He’s a liar. He’s not our uncle.”
Hearing “liar,” people around murmured.
“What? A fraud? Trying to take the kid, maybe for the inheritance?”
“Exactly. The kid would recognize her uncle if he really were one.”
As the murmurs grew, the fake uncle began sweating profusely.
“L-Liar? Ye-won, you’re mistaken—”
“No. He’s not our uncle. Our uncle is—”
While the fake uncle panicked, Ye-won didn’t wait and got up.
“He’s over there.”
And pointing somewhere in the funeral hall, everyone’s gaze followed.
“Three seconds—!”
Ye-won ran.
To her real family.
“…!”
“Your real family is… Lee Do-ha of <Glit>!”
The leader of the top boy idol group in South Korea, <Glit>.
“Do-ha, three seconds. Take me…”
To Lee Do-ha.
“This life… I need you to raise me…!”
