TFIU 45

Chapter – 45

Doha was wearing headphones and listening to music so loudly today that he didn’t seem to notice Yewon entering the studio at all.

Yewon tapped Doha’s arm.

“!!!!!”

Doha jumped in shock and lowered his headphones. Yewon grinned playfully.

“Hi-hi.”

“Y, Yewon…!”

“You broke your promise, Uncle, didn’t you?”

“…Well…”

Feeling flustered, Doha lifted Yewon up and sat her on his lap.

“…Uh, Yewon. Um. Should Uncle show you how far I’ve gotten with the song?”

“You’re changing the subject, Uncle.”

“…….”

Apparently feeling a twinge of guilt, Doha didn’t answer properly and instead played the song he had been working on.

The light that passed through you shatters into thousands of me

The me I see through you is like spectrum

I’m split in seven shades

but nothing feels complete

Oh nothing feels complete

As the soft synth-pop melody mixed with Doha’s recorded voice spread quietly through the room—

Yewon’s eyes filled with admiration.

“Is this the next song Uncle’s group is doing?”

“That’s right, but it’s not a stage performance song… it’s a B-side track. It’s for the album.”

“Oh… Then what about the dance song you perform on stage?”

At Yewon’s question, Doha hesitated without answering.

“That one… I haven’t made it yet.”

“Because the inspiration guy hasn’t come?”

“Huh?”

“Uncle Uyeon said that Uncle Doha needs the inspiration guy to come to our house to write songs.”

“!”

Hearing Yewon’s words, Doha laughed out loud — something rare for him.

Good. Uyeon Uncle’s dad joke seems to work.

Yewon seized the opportunity while Doha was feeling better and slipped in her question.

“But, Uncle. If the inspiration guy doesn’t come, can’t the other uncles help?”

“Hmm?”

Doha’s gaze wavered for a moment.

“If Uncle makes all the songs alone, it’ll be too tiring, and you won’t have time to play with me, and you won’t be able to sleep. So shouldn’t you make songs together with the other uncles? Like building the Lego castle today — everyone together!”

“…….”

At Yewon’s words, Doha seemed lost in thought and didn’t respond.

Now’s the chance. Let’s persuade him more.

“If I had built the Lego castle alone today, I couldn’t have finished it. But since the uncles all helped, it was completed. So Uncle should build a music castle with the other uncles too.”

“…Huh.”

Doha muttered in a troubled voice.

“Together, huh… I don’t know. It might be too much for them. They’re already struggling just fulfilling their own roles. I don’t want to add more burdens onto the members.”

“Eeeh.”

Yewon looked up at Doha in disgust.

“Then does Uncle feel like a burden if I ask you to build a Lego castle for me? Am I a burden to you?”

“Absolutely not. Yewon is never, under any circumstances, a burden.”

“Then what is it?”

“…If Yewon asks me for something, I feel really happy and grateful.”

“Why?”

“…….”

Doha couldn’t answer for a moment.

Then, gently stroking Yewon’s hair, he said,

“Well… I wonder why. Why do I like it when Yewon asks me for things?”

I’ve never felt like this before…

Doha muttered very softly.

“It’s because Uncle likes Yewon.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

Yewon nodded.

“Uncle, what if I never ask you for anything, never expect anything from you… not even ask you to make me food… or draw Shuni-ni?”

“…I’ve never thought about that.”

“Think about it. You’d feel really sad.”

At Yewon’s words, Doha was silent for a long, long time before nodding.

“…Maybe. Like Yewon said, I would feel really sad. Really.”

Feeling sleep slowly creeping in as Doha’s quiet voice reached her—

“So… the other uncles… also like Uncle… so… they probably want to help Uncle….”

She barely managed to say what she wanted to say before nodding off.

“Would that be so…? Really…?”

Even as deep sleep descended,

It felt like she heard Doha’s hesitation from beyond her dream.

* * *

“….”

“….”

“….”

What kind of silence was this?

It was the silence of the three people — Yewon, Doha, and Un.

Of course—

“Congratulatio~ns! Congratulatio~ns! Our Un who doesn’t love anyone~ Congratulations on coming home~!”

“…Get lost.”

Beside the three was one person who absolutely refused to stay quiet. Uyeon was singing enthusiastically.

Today was the day Un moved back into Doha’s sweet home.

If it were up to Yewon, she would have told him to come in immediately, but since she used the “interior design” excuse on the broadcast, Un couldn’t move in right away.

“…Well. Thanks to that, I was able to redo my once dreary room’s interior, so it’s not bad.”

Although it was neat, it had been inconvenient for a child to use.

Now it had truly become a seven-year-old girl’s room.

Since the furniture had been replaced with child-friendly designs, there would be no more trouble opening the wardrobe or lying down on the bed.

‘…Doha Uncle probably tried to make it a princess room somehow….’

But thanks to Un and Yewon’s strong rejection of “princess-style is absolutely forbidden,” the room ended up being bright but not overly flashy.

‘If Un Uncle wasn’t here, it would have been a real disaster.’

Yewon once again realized how important Un was to the group.

Anyway, back to the story.

After Uyeon offered Un a cake with lit candles and was coldly rejected,

He shared the cake with Yewon and said,

“If only Yeonho hyung moved in too, it would be like back then. When we lived in the dorm.”

“Seoyeonho will never move in here.”

At Uyeon’s words, Un snorted.

“Why can’t Yeonho Uncle come?”

“Because his personality is like that, there’s nothing we can do.”

Un replied indifferently.

What was wrong with Yeonho Uncle’s personality? He did seem a little lacking in social skills, but the people here weren’t exactly…

“Hyung has to live next to his regular gym.”

“!”

…It’s a reason that strangely makes sense but also doesn’t.

Yewon clicked her tongue inwardly.

Please don’t trigger the quest to bring Yeonho too…

That would mean bringing the gym owner in double too…

“Hey, Lee Doha.”

At Un’s call, Doha lifted his tired face.

Recently,

Doha had been staying up all night working on the music, accumulating fatigue.

After announcing on broadcast that the album would be released “within this year,” he had no choice but to push himself.

Doha really wanted to slap his own mouth for saying that, but he couldn’t take back what he had already said.

He also wondered belatedly whether this was all Yewon’s scheme…

But the idea that a 7-year-old child could scheme was ridiculous.

“Listen. The reason I moved in here is to monitor whether you’re working properly on the album. Got it?”

“…I actually wanted to discuss something about that.”

“What is it?”

“For the song work… I was thinking of letting everyone listen together. If there are opinions, they can give them… and whoever wants to participate can try contributing.”

“……?”

“?!?!!?”

At Doha’s words, Un and Uyeon looked at him in shock.

“You bastard, who are you.”

“You’re not Lee Doha, are you?!!?!”

The two shouted simultaneously.