Where had it all gone wrong?
As she plummeted from the terrace, Yewon asked herself that question.
Nation’s Niece.
Nation’s Little Sister.
The child actress adored by the advertising industry.
The youngest-ever winner of the Best Actress Award.
Even with all those titles, Lee Yewon had never once been truly happy.
‘No… that’s not true. I was happy until a few years ago.’
…Until her only family, her mother, died suddenly in a hit-and-run accident.
Until she met a so-called “uncle” she had never seen before, along with his daughter, her “cousin” Jeyeon, because she had no close relatives left.
At the time, Yewon had only been seven years old. She needed a guardian. There had been no other choice.
Yeah.
That was probably when her life first started going wrong.
“You want me to reduce your schedule? Your mother left behind this much debt. How exactly are we supposed to pay it back?”
Whenever Yewon begged for even a little rest from her murderous schedule, her uncle would say that.
“Hate comments? Unni, why do you even care about those? If you did better, they’d disappear on their own. Maybe you should’ve behaved more carefully.”
When Yewon pleaded for protection after enduring vicious insults and curses online, Jeyeon said that.
“The director keeps hitting on you? Just play along a little. How are you supposed to make money if you’re that weak? The entertainment industry is like that. Just endure it.”
Even when Yewon confessed that an old director—old enough to be her grandfather—was harassing her so badly she couldn’t work anymore, both of them responded the same way.
Honestly, she had managed to endure all of that somehow.
But the thing she truly couldn’t endure was—
That.
“What did you say? You’re going to expose everything now? Do you even have proof we’re fake?”
The fact that neither of them had actually been her real family.
“You think I’ll just give her up for free? Do you know how much money that brat brings in every month?!”
They had both deceived her under the name of “family” for money.
“Well, there’s no point hiding it anymore. I’ll tell you honestly. Your real family is someone else. They kept sending us child support regularly like complete suckers, asking us to take good care of you.”
Yewon had believed that her uncle and Jeyeon were her only family.
She had thought that if she just endured long enough, things would get better.
That this was simply what family was like.
But every single thing she believed in—
Had all been fake.
‘…But now it doesn’t matter anymore.’
Right now, she was falling because her fake cousin and fake uncle had pushed her off.
“Now that you know the truth, you’re completely useless. Goodbye, unni.”
Soon her neck would snap and she would die.
Just like the role she had played most recently.
Yewon quietly accepted death as she closed her eyes.
Yeah… maybe this was better.
If she died, she could finally rest.
Maybe she could see her mother again.
…But why was it taking so long?
Feeling something strange, Yewon opened her eyes.
—Now this is an interesting case. A child actress, huh? I’ve never raised an actor before.
Something she had never seen before appeared in front of her.
…A… fluffball…?
White, soft fur—
And eyes so wicked they didn’t match at all.
Everything about it was bewildering.
And it talked, too.
—Still, I really like this talent… and this anger. Hmm. What should I do?
The fluffy creature grinned so wide its mouth practically split apart.
—Hey, kid.
Kid?
I’m not a kid. I’m fourteen.
—Aren’t you resentful?
…I am.
—Right. Of course you are. If you’d been raised by your real family, things might have been different.
What are you talking about?
My real family?
You mean the people who supposedly entrusted me to them?
That’s not real family. Whoever they are, they’re just the same.
—Aha. So that’s what you think?
…Yeah. What difference would it make?
—Then let me tell you the truth. Your real family didn’t abandon you. They simply didn’t think they could be good guardians, so they entrusted you to people they believed were better adults.
…I understand there might’ve been circumstances.
But they should’ve checked whether I was okay later on. Even once. If they had come to see me just one time, they would’ve realized I wasn’t okay at all.
—You’re not wrong. Adults should have done that.
Right?
—But unfortunately, your real family died before they could come check on you.
…!
—Some very, very complicated adult circumstances happened, and they died. Such a shame. They were my VVIP customer too. Tsk… died before I could really make use of them.
They… died?
That’s why they never came for me?
No, wait—what did it mean by “VVIP customer”?
—Anyway, explanations end here. Let’s get to the main point.
“The main point?”
Yewon frowned in confusion.
—Make a contract with me, kid. And I’ll give you a second chance.
But—
The moment she heard the words second chance, every other question vanished from her mind.
“A second… chance?”
—That’s right. I’ll send you back to the day all your misfortune began. The day of your mother’s funeral. I can’t bring your mother back to life… but you can live a different life.
A different life…
If she were given a second chance—
Could she really live differently?
Yewon reflected on the life she had lived so far.
Of course she could.
She could live a completely different life.
Most importantly…
She could get revenge on those people.
A spark ignited in Yewon’s eyes.
“What’s the contract condition?”
—Oh? So you’re not stupid enough to sign without checking the terms first?
“…I’ve already been tricked once before.”
By her uncle.
Yewon smiled bitterly. After her mother died, she had signed the practically fraudulent contract her uncle handed her. Even when she wanted to escape afterward, she never could.
—There’s only one condition. Win the Best Actress Award before becoming an adult. But be careful—there’s also a penalty if you fail.
Win Best Actress before adulthood?
Not a child acting award—Best Actress?
Did this thing even realize how impossible that was?
—So? Will you do it?
But—
Yewon grinned.
“I will.”
She had already succeeded once before.
Why wouldn’t she be able to do it twice?
—Excellent! Contract established. Then one final thing. If I gave you one “benefit” to help with your revenge… what would you ask for?
A benefit.
There was probably no word less suited to Yewon’s life than that.
She gave a twisted smile.
Then suddenly—
Something crossed her mind.
“Tell me who my real family is.”
She wanted to know.
—Why?
The fluffy creature’s mouth curled upward strangely as it asked.
Was it smiling?
Yewon stared directly at it.
“I’m curious. If I had lived with my real family… would things really have turned out differently?”
—Excellent choice, Lee Yewon!
Along with the creature’s sinister voice—
The world faded into darkness.
—Your real family is… [—]!
“…!”
What?
Yewon froze in shock.
Because it wasn’t someone she didn’t know.
Rather—
It was someone she knew far too well.
—Good luck with your “real family”!
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing in the middle of a nightmare.
“Oh dear… how pitiful for such a young child…”
“…Who’s going to take that child? Didn’t they say her mother had no family at all?”
No—
More accurately, she was standing in the very place that appeared in her nightmares every night.
Her mother’s funeral.
Yewon looked down at herself.
A tiny body dressed in mourning clothes.
…It’s real.
I really came back.
To seven years old…!
Back to when she had just debuted as a child actress and was still an unknown who had only appeared in one project.
It hadn’t been a dream.
That contract…
It had been real.
As Yewon continued staring at her tiny hands, trying to process reality—
“Who says she has no family?”
“!”
“I’m her uncle. Everyone, please step aside.”
A painfully familiar voice came from behind her.
Yewon whipped around.
“…!”
The fake uncle…!
Far younger than the last time she’d seen him, the fake uncle approached with a fake gentle smile and held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Yewon. I’m your uncle. Your mother’s older brother. I lived overseas before, so we never met.”
“…”
Instead of taking his hand, Yewon stared at him coldly.
Then she looked around the funeral hall.
As though searching for something.
“Y-Yewon?”
“Unniii…?”
While the fake uncle panicked, someone appeared behind him.
Jeyeon.
The fake cousin who had stolen everything from her throughout her life.
“You need to come with Uncle now. Hurry and—”
“I don’t want to.”
Yewon shook her head as hard as she could.
“!”
At her words, everyone in the funeral hall froze.
“That man is a liar. He’s not my uncle.”
As soon as Yewon said “liar,” murmurs spread through the room.
“What? A scammer? Is he pretending to be family to steal the inheritance?”
“Exactly. There’s no way a child wouldn’t recognize her own uncle.”
The louder the whispers grew, the more sweat poured down the fake uncle’s face.
“L-Liar? Yewon, you’re just unfamiliar with me because—”
“No. You’re not my uncle. My uncle is—”
Before the fake uncle could finish stumbling over his words, Yewon stood up.
“He’s over there.”
And then—
She pointed somewhere inside the funeral hall.
The moment everyone turned to look—
“Uncleee—!”
Yewon ran.
Toward her real family.
“…!”
—Your real family is… Lee Doha of <Glit>!
The leader of Korea’s greatest male idol group in existence, <Glit>.
“Doha uncle… take me with you…”
To Lee Doha.
“You have to raise me…!”
This life—
For real this time.
You have to raise me.