Chapter 07
“Hehe, Uncle!”
“It’s not ‘hehe.’ Why are you climbing onto the chair so dangerously? What are you trying to get? Water? If you want water, you can just wake me up.”
“Not water, eggs!”
“Eggs?”
Doha looked utterly bewildered as he helped Ye-won sit on the chair.
“Why eggs? Did you want to play with them?”
Doha didn’t even consider that Ye-won might want to cook with the eggs. Well, a seven-year-old probably wouldn’t be cooking anyway.
“I wanted to make breakfast…!”
“…!”
Doha’s face hardened at Ye-won’s words.
“What are you talking about? You’re just a kid—why would you make food?”
Instead of replying, Ye-won just scratched her head. She wasn’t used to being treated as a child yet.
“Did your sister make you cook?”
“Absolutely not!”
Doha seemed to accept that his sister probably didn’t make her do it, but his eyebrows lifted again in thought.
“Then why would you think that?”
“Just…”
I’ve been cooking with Uncle and Je-yeon since I was ten. Seven or ten, it’s the same, right? Ye-won scratched her head.
“Uncle… I thought you might be hungry?”
“!”
“Yesterday, I ate before going to bed, but you didn’t, Uncle.”
That’s right. Last night, Ye-won had eaten the bread, lunchbox, and milk that Young-oh had prepared, but Doha hadn’t eaten anything.
‘I get why Young-oh called him someone who can’t even take care of himself…’
Doha naturally doesn’t eat much.
“So I wanted to give you eggs, Uncle.”
“…”
Doha stiffened awkwardly for a moment, then let out a sigh.
“Ye-won, I can take care of myself. I’m an adult, and you’re a child. What kind of child takes care of an adult? That’s not okay.”
“….”
A former fourteen-year-old feels the sting. She was a kid, but not a baby.
“And when something is on a high place, you don’t climb on a chair. What do you do?”
Doha pretended to scold her, but Ye-won could tell he wasn’t angry at all. A seven-year-old’s act of pretending to be mad? Uncle’s acting skills aren’t great.
“…Use a ladder?”
“……”
“……”
Silence fell between them for a moment.
“Call your uncle and have him do it.”
“Ehh?”
That was a bit… Ye-won preferred doing things herself, so Doha’s suggestion felt awkward. She didn’t like the fake uncle and Je-yeon making her do all the chores, but she also wasn’t used to someone insisting she make them do everything.
“Repeat after me: Call your uncle and have him do it.”
“…Call my uncle… to, to do it.”
She couldn’t quite say “have him do it,” so she slightly changed it. Doha nodded emphatically, clearly satisfied.
“Exactly. That’s right. Your uncle is here for you to help.”
Seeing Doha smile so warmly, Ye-won felt like tears might start flowing without her realizing it.
“Got it?”
“…Yes.”
Since yesterday, her tear ducts seemed broken. What’s going on?
Doha then stood by the pan, ready to cook, as Ye-won quickly wiped away her tears and grabbed his sleeve.
“Salt! You need to add salt!”
Tears aside, you’ve got to add salt, she thought.
“How much?”
“…A little sprinkle, like this.”
“….”
Doha gave her a look that clearly said What on earth are you talking about?, but he followed her instructions anyway.
“Turn down the heat, and now cover it for a moment.”
The eggs needed to finish cooking with residual heat. Ye-won deliberately simplified her words, since she hadn’t had time to prepare the seven-year-old vocabulary fully, and she was speaking based on instinct. Fortunately, Doha, the only audience, had no idea what a seven-year-old’s vocabulary level should be, so he was easily fooled.
“Now it’s ready to eat.”
“Okay, let’s eat.”
Ye-won quietly waited as Doha served the eggs onto a plate. But instead of just serving them—
“?!”
Doha suddenly lifted Ye-won and seated her in a dining chair.
“Princess, sit and wait. I’ll serve you.”
Ye-won’s jaw dropped. Princess?!
Hearing a title she had never heard before, she couldn’t close her mouth and watched as Doha prepared the table.
‘…They really have a lot of dishes at home.’
Not a single ingredient, but still plenty of tableware.
“The dishes are pretty!”
“Ah, these.”
Doha casually picked a plate from a stack that clearly looked expensive.
“…A friend of mine gave it to me.”
“You have friends too?”
“……”
Doha gave her a slightly hurt look.
“Uncle from the members?” Ye-won asked, pretending to be innocent, desperate to learn about the members to complete her quest.
“…Yes.”
“Which uncle gave it?”
“This one’s Uncle Ian… good taste, but otherwise not a great uncle.”
“?!!?”
Why describe a member like that?
“If he’s the one giving gifts, then he’s a good uncle, right?” Ye-won tried to spin it positively.
“Nope. I only forced him to give this because of the housewarming content. That’s what I call pretentious.”
“….”
No matter Ye-won’s awe, Doha placed the scrambled eggs on a plate. As he lifted the ketchup to drizzle, his hand froze.
“…?”
Why did he stop?
“Should I…draw something?”
“?”
Draw? What?
Ye-won tilted her head in confusion.
“Ketchup. What should I draw with the ketchup?”
“!”
Oh, that’s what it was! Ye-won was surprised—she had never thought of that. She had made scrambled eggs dozens or hundreds of times before, but never for herself with ketchup.
“Should I draw a rabbit like you? Or a heart?”
“You can draw a rabbit?”
“Of course I can.”
“Then…rabbit.”
Doha immediately drew a rabbit with ketchup on Ye-won’s scrambled eggs.
“Ta-da.”
“Wow!”
What can’t this uncle do? Ye-won admired the cute rabbit.
“Eat well.”
“Yes!”
Excited, she hesitated.
“Should I give you a drink first?”
“…Do you only eat that much?”
Ye-won pointed at Doha’s plate. He had added only about one egg’s worth to his plate, even though there were seven left.
“I’m full even without eating.”
“?”
Who says that? Ye-won frowned immediately.
“It hurts!”
“Uncle is strong.”
“If Uncle gets hurt, who will take care of Ye-won?”
“….”
“If Uncle gets hurt, Ye-won will be alone again?”
Ye-won whined.
“…I’ll eat. Eat, Uncle. I’ll be fine if you don’t get hurt.”
Her whining worked. Doha sighed and took a very small portion onto his plate.
“….”
Not satisfied, but she let it go. She could make him eat more at lunch.
Just as Doha was about to scoop,
“Wait!”
“Hm?”
“I want to draw too.”
“What? Oh…ketchup?”
Doha hesitated briefly, then nodded, understanding Ye-won’s intent. She grabbed the ketchup with both hands and drew a large heart.
“Uncle shouldn’t get hurt. I gave you a heart.”
Doha silently stared at the heart for a long moment, then nodded.
“…That’s right. I’ll never get hurt. Thanks.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“….”
While Ye-won felt proud, Doha couldn’t lift his spoon, staring at the ketchup heart. At first, Ye-won was just pleased, but soon she got curious.
“Is the heart too big?”
“Huh? No. It’s not that.”
“Then why aren’t you eating?”
“….”
Doha hesitated, then spoke.
“When I was little, Ye-won’s mom… your sister… drew me a huge heart like this.”
“!”
“Just like yours…”
Doha said this, took a bite of the scrambled eggs, and muttered:
“…I really can’t hide my bloodline…”
Ye-won ignored his words, scooped a big bite of scrambled eggs according to her recipe, and let it melt in her mouth. Soft, creamy eggs made with milk.
For the first time, she could savor each bite of egg—not just to fill her stomach, but sharing the meal while facing family.
Just as she was about to enjoy this peaceful morning,
“You little—! Lee Do-ha!”
“?!”
Suddenly, with the sound of the front door unlocking, a loud voice boomed, and a young man stormed into the kitchen.
“Your niece was born, right?!”
A young man dripping from head to toe. Ye-won immediately sensed:
It’s Han Woo-yeon!
He must be the protagonist of the first sub-quest.
[▶Sub-Quest (1)
…First, you must bring Lee Do-ha’s most friendly member, Han Woo-yeon, back into the family’s care. Bring Glitter member Han Woo-yeon back to this house.]
In other words, she needed to get this person to return to the house.
