“……”
“……”
Yeah. This was bad.
In her panic over possibly being dragged back by her fake uncle, Yewon had rushed in without thinking first.
But what was she supposed to do about this awkward silence now…?!
Sweating nervously, Yewon looked up at the man she had called “Uncle Doha.”
Though he hid his face beneath a deeply pulled-down baseball cap and black mask, his refined features still stood out.
Lee Doha.
Leader of the seven-year-old idol group <Glit>.
Was there even anyone in Korea who didn’t know this man?
In their first year, they won Rookie of the Year.
In their second year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.
And by their third year, they had already won a Daesang.
A group that swept not only Korea but overseas as well—
<Glit> had truly reached the peak of an entire generation.
And among Glit’s members, the most famous one was undeniably Lee Doha.
Why?
Because people constantly said that 80% of Glit’s meteoric rise to the top was thanks to their incredible songs.
And every single one of those songs had been created by Lee Doha himself.
Everything he made became a smash hit—no, a mega hit.
Calling him a genius wouldn’t even be an exaggeration.
‘…And he debuted at only nineteen…’
But was he only good at composing?
Of course not.
His singing skills were easily main-vocal level in most groups, his dancing was more than solid, and—
‘…He’s also the visual center of the team.’
An utterly unfair existence.
But… he was my uncle?
My real uncle?
She had blurted it out because she wanted to survive, but it still felt impossible to believe.
And look at him. He was staring at her completely expressionless.
If he were really my uncle, shouldn’t he be hugging me instead of glaring—
“…Okay.”
“!”
Huh?
“Let’s go.”
Huhhh?!
He was actually taking her with him this easily?
As Doha suddenly scooped her up into his arms, Yewon froze in surprise but instinctively clung to him.
“Wait!!”
At that moment—
Apparently Yewon wasn’t the only one panicking, because someone stepped in front of Doha.
“W-What do you think you’re doing? This isn’t what we agreed on!”
It was the fake uncle.
His face had gone pale, terrified that Doha might really take Yewon away from him.
…Well, of course he was panicking. He was about to lose two cash cows at once.
“……”
Yewon quietly glanced up at Doha’s face while still in his arms.
Even Yewon, who had become an expert at reading people’s expressions, couldn’t tell what Doha was thinking right now.
What was her uncle thinking?
‘…Come to think of it, there must’ve been a reason he entrusted me to someone else in the first place instead of raising me himself.’
She had completely ignored those reasons and suddenly demanded he raise her personally…
Of course he must feel overwhelmed.
‘Wait… what if he’s thinking it’d still be better to leave me with the fake uncle?!’
That couldn’t happen…!
She had to do something.
“U-Uncle… I’m scared… I don’t want to go with that man…”
Yewon buried her face into Doha’s shoulder without hesitation.
“!”
“!”
She couldn’t see their faces with her head buried there, but she clearly heard both men inhale sharply at the same time.
Can you still abandon me now?
Look how pitiful I am.
“L-Lee Doha-ssi. This isn’t what we contra— I mean, agreed on.”
Behind them, the fake uncle desperately clung to Doha again.
The more he tried to pull her away, the tighter Yewon gripped Doha’s clothes.
“……”
Sometimes actions were more persuasive than a hundred words.
“…The child is frightened. Let’s continue this discussion later.”
“!”
“Excuse me? What do you mean later? That’s not what you promised—”
“Please calm down.”
“Calm down?! How am I supposed to calm down right—!”
The fake uncle shouted at Doha again.
“You can’t back out now! Give me the kid!”
Apparently growing desperate, the fake uncle reached out to snatch Yewon directly from Doha’s arms.
“Please stop right there.”
At that moment, a timid but firm voice spoke from behind them.
“And who the hell are you?”
“We’ve met once before, haven’t we? I’m Park Youngoh, Lee Doha’s manager. And from what I can see…”
Youngoh smoothly redirected the fake uncle’s attention away from Doha and onto himself.
“The child is clearly refusing you, so attempting to forcefully take her could legally become a problem. Touching her like that could also lead to reports of assault and suspected child abuse. This situation could qualify as both physical and emotional abuse.”
“W-What? Child abuse?!”
The fake uncle’s face turned deathly white at the words child abuse.
‘…Makes sense.’
If Yewon remembered correctly, the fake uncle had always been especially terrified of the police.
He was probably shaking right now wondering if he’d actually get reported.
“So why don’t you speak with me first? Doha, take the child to the car.”
“N-No, but—!”
“Our company lawyer came with us too, so you should speak with the lawyer first.”
“E-Excuse me? A lawyer? No, I—”
At the mention of a lawyer, the fake uncle’s already shaky voice shrank even smaller.
Faced with Youngoh’s experienced intimidation, he immediately shut his mouth.
He continued glaring at Doha and Yewon for a little longer before finally cursing under his breath and backing away.
‘The uncle who was always so shameless… can actually become this powerless.’
A bitter taste filled Yewon’s mouth.
Once again, she realized the only reason her uncle had treated her so horribly was because he thought she was easy to control.
“Good choice. This way, please…”
“No, I—”
“Yes, yes, I understand. Of course…”
The voices of the manager and fake uncle gradually faded away.
And then—
The smell of incense.
The suffocating smell of pity.
All of it disappeared.
‘…We’re outside.’
Feeling the cold air fill her lungs, Yewon unconsciously clutched Doha’s clothes even tighter.
“…Let’s go.”
“!”
Before she could even ask where—
“…Let’s go home first.”
Doha whispered softly.
‘…Home…’
It was an unfamiliar word.
And yet strangely, it didn’t make her anxious.
Relief flooded her at finally escaping the fake uncle, making her eyelids grow heavy.
The memories of her hellish past life faded farther and farther away alongside the fake uncle’s retreating figure.
‘It worked…’
Yewon tightened her tiny fingers around Doha’s collar.
This is only the beginning.
In this life, I’ll never let anyone control me again—
But that determination slowly melted away beneath the warmth of Doha’s large hand.
[We begin today with shocking news that has shaken the music industry.]
She dreamed.
It was something from so long ago she barely remembered when it happened.
[…Lee Doha, leader of Korea’s top idol group <Glit>, has suddenly passed away. His agency has stated they will not reveal the exact cause of death. Fans and fellow artists alike are mourning deeply…]
Yewon still remembered the shock and sorrow she felt when she first heard that news.
It felt so unreal that she could only stare blankly at the television screen.
“...Why are you being so nice to me?”
She had once asked him that on the set of a commercial they filmed together.
“…I guess… it’s just a whim.”
At such an empty answer, Yewon had burst out laughing without meaning to.
Doha laughed too, asking why she was laughing, and the two of them ended up laughing together for no reason.
The Lee Doha Yewon remembered was an incredibly warm and gentle person.
When her reputation collapsed because of her uncle—
When everyone on set turned their backs on her—
He had been the only one who protected her.
That was why she couldn’t believe Doha had died.
Watching that news report, Yewon remembered thinking:
The world had already been cold and miserable enough.
But now it had become even more horrifying.
And when she opened her eyes again—
“…Yewon-ah.”
It was such a strange feeling.
“Yewon-ah, we’re here. Let’s get out.”
Not a fake family.
But her real family looking down at her.
[Today’s Tip!: Lee Doha was the leader and main vocalist of the five-member boy idol group <Glit>!]
[Today’s Tip!: However, Glit has now become a four-member group.]