TFIU 16

Chapter 16

The moment those utterly unexpected names came out, Yewon’s heart began pounding wildly.

“Anyway, I’m going to legally change Yewon’s name to Han Yewon, so just know that!!”
Wooyeon picked Yewon up and shook her around like vroom vroom.

“Stop talking nonsense and put Yewon down—”
“In this harsh, barren, messed-up world, I have just realized that the only hope is Yewon. In this brutal safari filled with Seo Yeonho, who only knows how to charge forward like a rhinoceros, and Lee Doha, who only knows how to run away like a gazelle, the only hope is Yewon. So I’m just going to take Yewon and go home with her and live all lovey-dovey—ack!”

The only way to shut Wooyeon up in the middle of one of his long speeches, Doha realized, was a bit of physical communication. He pinched Wooyeon’s side and snatched Yewon away.

“Nooo—! Don’t take Yewon away from me—! My Yewon—!”
“Since when is Yewon yours? Move.”

Holding Yewon tightly, Doha roughly kicked away the clingy Wooyeon.

“…You were scared, right? I’m sorry.”
“I wasn’t scared.”

She really wasn’t. He did look like a crazy person, though.

With a deep sigh, Doha headed to the kitchen, leaving the still-clingy Wooyeon behind.

“…But.”
“?”
“Why won’t Uncle do it for me?”

…Do what?

It felt like a lot had been left unsaid. Yewon tilted her head, puzzled.

“…Never mind.”

Doha didn’t seem able to bring himself to say it, just turning his head away.

Ah—wait.
“Ohhh.”

“!”

Yewon gently blew a soft hoo of breath onto Doha’s cheek.

Is this it?

“Shall I do it one more time?”
“……”

Instead of saying “No,” Doha stayed silent.

Does that mean do it, or don’t?

Yewon was confused, but she figured it wouldn’t hurt to try once more—

“Hoooo….”

She blew again, putting her heart into it.

“Don’t be sick.”

She whispered so quietly that her words came out a bit slurred, but Yewon decided not to worry about that.

Because—

“…Yeah. Uncle won’t be sick.”

A small smile spread across Doha’s face, which had been dark just moments ago.

Yewon looked up at him with complicated feelings.

“…So that’s why Grandma and Grandpa were never explained to me, Uncle.”

At first, she’d felt a little hurt, wondering why Mom and Uncle wouldn’t tell her.

But after seeing the truth with her own eyes, she understood Doha’s feelings all too well.

If it were her, she wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone either.

“…I guess there was no other choice.”

How could you possibly say that your mom was the country’s top actress and your dad the greatest director?

Especially when the two of them weren’t even married.

Wooyeon, humming cheerfully, finished his shower and sat down at the dining table.
Little giggles kept slipping out of his mouth—uhihit, uhhuhh.

‘Yewon did “hoo” for me.’
And before Lee Doha, too!
I got the first “hoo”!!

When Wooyeon first saw Yewon, his only thought had been, She’s cute~! She really looks exactly like Lee Doha. Those family genes must be crazy strong.

He liked kids to begin with, but somehow, with Yewon…

‘…She looks too much like Lee Doha, so I end up hesitating without realizing it…’

Every time he tried to think, How can she be this cute, adorable, pretty, and lovable?! Is she an angel, not a human?! I want to nibble her cheeks until they burst~!
Lee Doha—who looked exactly like her—would be glaring daggers from behind, making the association unavoidable.

‘…This is all Lee Doha’s fault.’

Yewon was innocent, of course, but while looking at Lee Doha, he absolutely did not want to think, How can he be this cute, adorable, pretty, and lovable?!

So until now, it had been hard to fully indulge in doting on Yewon.

But all that hesitation melted away the moment Yewon gave him that “hoo” after Wooyeon had been battered around between Lee Doha and Seo Yeonho.

How much had he suffered all this time?

Lee Doha—he wasn’t a bad person, but had zero flexibility, was subtly sensitive and picky, and incredibly hard to deal with.
Seo Yeonho—so blunt and curt he bordered on cold, with slightly lacking social skills (at least, to Wooyeon, it seemed more like he was just too lazy to try).

And then—

‘……’

As for that punk Eon—no need to even talk about his personality….

A feral little demon of a cat, Lee Eon, savage enough to make the other two look normal by comparison.

And that wasn’t all. There had also been Yoo Taeyoung, a walking inferiority complex and plain loser, who had since left.

Everyone at the company knew the truth: among them, Wooyeon—the only one whose personality was even relatively decent—had borne all the hardship.

Of course, that didn’t mean anyone actually helped him.
Instead, they just dumped all the cleanup on him, saying he was the only one who could handle them.

But then!

Into that hell!

An angel descended!

An angel named Lee Yewon!

And that wasn’t all.

[…When the angel Yewon said “hoo” to Wooyeon, whose heart had been utterly worn down from being battered by Seo Yeonho and Lee Doha, his heart was completely healed…]

If the Infinite Yewon Cult had scriptures, that scene would have been written just like that.

Yewon’s warm, soft-hearted kindness became a light for Wooyeon’s long-battered heart.

And that wasn’t the only thing.

‘…This is the first time I’ve ever seen Lee Doha stay soft like this for so long.’

The other members either hadn’t been trainees for very long or had joined later, so they hadn’t known Doha for that many years.

But Wooyeon had watched him for over a decade—long enough to know every facet of Lee Doha as a person.

Right now, Doha wasn’t prickly at all.

What had he been like before?

‘Disappear at the drop of a hat, extreme self-loathing at the drop of a hat, depression at the drop of a hat.’

In public, Doha was the perfect idol.
Maybe not overly bright, but always gentle, always warm to fans—kind and considerate.

But once schedules ended and they returned to the dorm, he would lock himself in his room or studio, never taking a single step out, trapped in his own emotions.

No one dared touch him.
It felt like he would explode if someone poked him even slightly.

Even Wooyeon, his closest friend, was no exception.
After all, Doha’s door was always tightly shut, never opening.

…That was the kind of ticking time bomb Lee Doha had been.

‘But ever since Yewon came, he’s turned into the softest human ever.’

These past few days, Wooyeon hadn’t shown it, but he’d been in a constant state of shock.

‘Lee Doha… eats his meals properly?!’
‘Lee Doha… comes out to the living room instead of staying in his room?!’
‘Lee Doha… lives with the lights on?!’
‘Lee Doha talks this much?! About personal stuff that isn’t work-related?! With no cameras around?!’

And the most shocking of all—

‘Lee Doha smiles?!?!?!?!’

Lee Doha, who would never show a genuine smile no matter what Han Wooyeon did (only fans ever got to see those), smiled naturally when he was next to Yewon.

It was a very small smile, but Wooyeon noticed immediately.

And more than once!

He couldn’t believe it, but reality was reality.

So anyway.

During his shower, Wooyeon reached a conclusion.

‘I have to secure Yewon at all costs.’

She absolutely had to stay in this house, with Lee Doha raising her himself.
They could never let Angel Yewon go outside. He would raise her right here, by his side—no matter what. For his future, and for Lee Doha’s future.

‘And honestly, it’ll be hugely beneficial for the other members’ futures too.’

As long as they were human, they’d want to work with a normal Lee Doha.

‘From now on, I really need to keep my brain switched on and live properly. If I want Yewon to live here, I’ve got to clean up my language too. Yeah. I can do it, Han Wooyeon. Yeah. I’m a genius prodigy.’

With that firm resolve, he sat down at the table.

“Get out.”
“What the hell, you bastard?”

Lee Doha ruined everything.