TFIU 04

Chapter 04

“…Mom.”
Ye-won quickly came up with an answer.
“Mom told me once, a long time ago.”

“Your sister?”
Do-ha raised his eyebrows in surprise.

But Ye-won noticed that the emotion on his face was closer to joy than displeasure.
…So their relationship with Mom wasn’t bad…?

They hadn’t interacted much, and the fact that Mom had asked him to tell her uncle she was sorry—she probably wasn’t angry at him.
It didn’t seem that way.
Rather, it felt like there was some more complicated story behind it.

As the two of them silently reflected for their own reasons,
Young-oh called Do-ha with a serious expression.
“Do-ha.”
“Yeah?”
“We brought her here for now… but what are you really going to do?!”

Young-oh’s voice dropped, probably trying to prevent Ye-won from hearing, but her ears were sharper than he thought.
No, she was just perceptive. In this situation, it was obvious what the adults were worried about.

“For now, I requested the company to block the reporters, but if the child stays at home…”
“…I know.”
Do-ha furrowed his brows and wiped his dry hands on his pants.

“三초온… I’m scared… I don’t want to go to that man…”

They had brought her without thinking at the funeral hall, intending to protect her.
But a top active idol—the leader, who had a grueling schedule—raising a child?
Without any preparation? That was nearly impossible.

‘And more importantly…’
Do-ha glanced at Ye-won.
If he were to raise her, it would mean revealing her existence to the world…
He bit his lip. That couldn’t happen.

“Should we hire a nanny? I could ask the company to find someone quickly…”
“No. Not someone found in a rush.”
Do-ha cut her off decisively.
“They have to be someone I can trust. If it gets known that she’s my child… No, I can’t leave her with anyone. Right now… I can’t trust anyone.”

“….”
“…The atmosphere has been bad lately; rumors would spread again. I don’t want the child to get hurt.”

“Then what do we do? You have your schedule. It’s fine for a while, but you know it can’t stay like this forever.”
Young-oh looked at Do-ha with concern.
“I’d have to follow you around. You can’t leave a child alone in this huge house. What about food? What about sleep?”

Every concern Young-oh raised was valid.
Problems piled up from one thing to the next.
Do-ha stayed silent, seemingly without an answer.
A heavy silence pressed down on the living room.

‘…If this continues…’
Ye-won gripped the glass of water tightly.
She could be sent away again for “practical reasons.”
Even if it wasn’t to the fake uncle, there was a high chance she’d end up in a boarding school or educational institution.
Judging by Som’s comments, Do-ha’s personality would lead him to think that if he couldn’t handle it, sending her somewhere better would be the right choice.

‘Absolutely not.’
She had worked so hard for this opportunity. If she got pushed out now, she might never come back.
More than anything, she never wanted a life where she would again be “entrusted” to someone.
She didn’t want to be a “burden” to be protected—she wanted to become a “family” needed in this house.

Thud.
Ye-won set the glass down and jumped off the sofa.
“U-uncle…”

The sudden call drew both Do-ha and Young-oh’s eyes to her.
Ye-won stood firmly in front of the two adults.
“I-I can stay home alone!”

“What?”
Do-ha’s face darkened instantly.
Ye-won’s confidence wavered for a moment, but she forced a bright smile.
“I can eat by myself and wash myself. I won’t touch the gas, and I’ll make sure the doors are locked. I won’t get in the way of your work, uncle.”

She had always managed this way.
…She was confident she could do it well. Confident even beyond that.

“So….”
So.
“C-could I… live with you, uncle?”

So, please don’t abandon me.
She meant it. Ye-won didn’t want to be abandoned by Do-ha again.
She fought to hold back tears.
…She’d often tried to hold back tears, but acting like she wouldn’t cry was new.

“…What is she saying?”
But the despairing response she got made her lower her head.
Ah.
…So it really was impossible, she thought, closing her eyes tightly.

“Why do you have to be good at that?”
Do-ha’s voice echoed in her ears.
“Even if you can’t do those things, we’ll still live together.”

“!”
Ye-won quickly lifted her head.
Then she noticed Do-ha’s face twisted in frustration.
‘…I’ve seen this expression before…’
It was strangely comforting to see someone’s twisted face.
Oddly, she knew this expression.

It was the summer of her 12th year.

“Hey, stop eating so much. What if you gain weight?”
Thunk.
Her uncle quietly snatched the lunchbox from Ye-won’s hands.
Ye-won looked at it blankly.
This was the first “proper meal” she had in two days.

Her uncle had never given her a proper meal.
When she had an agency, the managers took care of her well, but after her uncle terminated the contract, she had no one to take care of her.
At school, at least, she could eat lunch, but her uncle often didn’t send her properly.
He would send her to school in the morning, then leave early before lunch citing schedules.

Today, there was an advertisement shoot, and her excited uncle dragged her along without asking.
And the one who gave her the lunchbox was—
“Hey.”
It was Do-ha, scheduled to film the same ad today.
“What are you doing taking the child’s lunch?”
Do-ha glared at the fake uncle.

“Are you saying you’ve treated the child like this all this time?”
“…No, it’s just for work, for diet, but what does it matter now… Ugh.”

Even with Do-ha’s angry tone, her uncle ignored him.
Do-ha’s face started to crack.

“…What do you mean it doesn’t matter? Now you say that—”
“Yes. After being late all this time, now you want to pretend to be family? Pathetic.”
“You—”
“Try if you want! Let’s see who loses out.”
“Do-ha!!”

At that moment, Ye-won glanced up at the voice calling Do-ha.
“Hey, Do-ha. Calm down. Violence isn’t allowed. Ah, sir, teacher… Yes, teacher, calm down too…”

Young-oh was sweating, trying to stop Do-ha and the uncle.
Ye-won thought while watching Do-ha glare at her uncle:
…This person. He really shines.
How wonderful it would have been if this person had been my uncle, she thought, even daring to dream a hopeless dream.

Of course, even then, she felt something strange about their conversation—but
at the time, the shoot was urgent, so she couldn’t dwell on it.
And not long after, news came that Do-ha had passed away.

“Then I’ll come tomorrow! You two… uh… take care…?”
At the front door, Young-oh awkwardly said goodbye to Do-ha and Ye-won.

“Don’t come.”
“!”
Both Ye-won and Young-oh looked at Do-ha.
Don’t come?

“Uh?! Why, why?!”
Young-oh asked in confusion.
Yes, why?
Ye-won also wanted to know. The space would feel empty without Young-oh too!

“Stay home and rest. You don’t have a schedule tomorrow. You need rest too.”
“That… that’s true, but…”
Young-oh scratched his head awkwardly.
“What if I’m not there? Do you even know how to take care of a seven-year-old?”
“….”

Exactly. Have you ever raised a child, uncle?
Ye-won looked at Do-ha with the same question in her eyes.
Do-ha didn’t answer Young-oh’s innocent question.

“Just watch tutorials online.”
“You’re learning how to raise a seven-year-old on YouTube?”
“Other parents… do they all go to school for parenting? If you don’t know something, just look it up.”

He wavered slightly. His voice faltered when he said “parent.”

“Even so, Do-ha, taking care of Ye-won by yourself is….”
I agree! If I stayed with Do-ha, I wouldn’t get proper meals. It’s purely a matter of survival skills.
Ye-won nodded, her face pale.

“What’s wrong with me?”
“You can’t even take care of yourself. How do you expect to take care of a girl by yourself…?”

Right, right.
Ye-won kept agreeing and then asked something she had been wondering about.
“But why are you alone?”
“Huh?”

At Ye-won’s question, the two men turned their heads toward her.
“Where are all the other Glit members, uncle?”
“!”

An awkward expression flashed on Young-oh’s face.
Do-ha remained calm, though.
Why was this question so awkward? Don’t idol groups usually live together?

“We don’t live together.”
“!”