At Doha’s gentle voice, Yewon slowly opened her sleepy eyes.
Doha carried the still-half-asleep Yewon in his arms as he walked forward.
Yewon obediently stayed in his arms while quietly looking around.
It was an underground parking garage filled with expensive cars.
‘…This must be the building where Uncle Doha lives.’
As if familiar with the place, Doha headed straight toward the elevator.
The elevator rose nonstop until it stopped at the penthouse floor. With the cheerful beep of the door lock releasing, the heavy door swung open.
“Come in.”
Doha awkwardly set Yewon down.
Without hesitating, Yewon confidently stepped inside. She was curious about the place where Doha lived.
Surely it would be decorated beautifully.
After all, he was a top idol… right?
But the sight that entered Yewon’s eyes was completely different from what she expected.
The living room was as wide as a playground, and beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows covering one wall, Seoul’s nightscape sparkled like jewels.
But that was all.
…Is this really a home?
The entire interior was colorless and monochrome. The furniture was arranged with almost frightening precision.
It felt like a giant block of ice, a place without even the slightest trace of human warmth.
‘It really looks like a model house.’
For the home of a successful top idol, it felt far too bleak and silent.
As if the state of the owner’s heart had been copied directly into the house itself.
“Come in. There’s not really… much here.”
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Doha switched on the living room lights.
As the bright lights filled the room, the cold emptiness of the house became even more obvious.
On the coffee table sat nothing but an unopened bottle of vitamins and a half-finished bottle of water.
“Wow….”
Pretending to be impressed, Yewon opened her mouth slightly. A seven-year-old would naturally be amazed by a huge luxurious house like this.
“Your house is like a playground, Uncle!”
“…Really?”
At Yewon’s innocent admiration, the stiffness around Doha’s mouth relaxed just a little.
Doha seated Yewon on the sofa before heading toward the kitchen.
“Do you want something to drink first? I think there should be… something here.”
Doha opened the refrigerator door, paused for a moment, then quietly shut it again.
‘…There was only alcohol in there just now, wasn’t there?’
In the brief glimpse she caught, the fridge contained nothing except water, alcohol, and sparkling water. There wasn’t a single thing suitable for a seven-year-old child.
…What kind of life has this person been living?
Yewon slowly began to feel uneasy.
Escaping the fake uncle was definitely a good thing, but…
‘Why does it feel like I walked straight into another tiger’s den?’
“W-Water! Can I drink water, Uncle?”
Unable to bear it anymore, Yewon asked first, and Doha turned back with a startled face.
“Huh? Ah… yeah. I’ll get some.”
Doha hurriedly took out a cup, filled it with water from the purifier, and handed it to Yewon.
Then, perhaps embarrassed by his own behavior, his face reddened slightly.
“…Sorry. Kids never come here, so I don’t have things like juice.”
“It’s okay. I like water.”
Yewon quietly sat on the sofa, holding the cup with both hands.
“……”
“……”
And then—
An awkward silence fell again.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Trying hard not to make things more awkward, Yewon broke out into a cold sweat.
…I seriously have no idea what I’m supposed to say…!
‘First of all… I still can’t believe this person is really my uncle.’
The Lee Doha was her uncle? Her actual family?
It felt like it would take a very long time before that truly sank in.
Just as she was panicking—
Beep beep beep beep.
“!”
With the sound of the door lock, a savior entered.
“Doha, I’m back…!”
It was the manager uncle from earlier…!
Yewon’s expression brightened immediately. Three people would definitely be less awkward than two…!
“You’re back?”
Apparently Doha had also felt lost about the situation, because he sighed in relief while greeting Youngoh.
Youngoh hurried inside while wiping away sweat.
“Haa, haa… It was hard shaking off the reporters who caught the scent. I already contacted the company’s PR team and blocked the articles for now. I told them to treat it as a simple incident.”
“…Sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for? This is obviously my job.”
As Youngoh stepped into the living room, he spotted Yewon quietly sitting there holding her water cup.
“Oh dear, Yewon-ah. Y-You must’ve been really shocked. Are you okay?”
“Yes, hello….”
Yewon smiled softly and politely bowed her head.
Seeing such a young child greet them so maturely without crying despite everything she’d gone through made Youngoh’s expression soften with sympathy.
“You’re amazing, Yewon-ah. You must’ve been so frightened…. Doha, you were shocked too, right?”
“……”
Doha seemed too exhausted to answer and simply rubbed his face with both hands.
Clicking his tongue, Youngoh glanced toward the refrigerator.
“But you only gave her water? Don’t you have anything to eat?”
“No. You know me.”
“Well… true. What would your fridge even have in it? You barely eat properly yourself.”
Youngoh let out a deep sigh as he removed his coat and draped it over a chair.
Silence once again filled the living room. Yewon carefully observed the strange atmosphere around her.
For the home of Korea’s greatest idol group leader, it was unbelievably quiet.
Normally he would either live in a dorm with the members or at least have them visiting often. But in this house, there was not even the slightest trace of another person.
‘…I know Uncle Doha is having a hard time right now because of “that incident” involving Glit.’
…Could it be that he isn’t on good terms with the other members?
Yewon already knew this was the worst period of Lee Doha’s life.
Probably not just Yewon—the entire nation knew.
TV, the internet, social media—everywhere people were talking about Doha. At this point in time, stones were being thrown at him from every direction.
…I should ask him later, if I get the chance. Ask where all the other members went.
But before that…
‘There’s something I absolutely need to ask.’
If she truly wanted to accept this person as her real family, there was one question she absolutely had to hear answered.
“Uncle.”
Clenching both hands nervously, Yewon called out to Doha.
Both Doha and Youngoh stopped talking and turned toward her.
“Uncle… y-you really are my uncle, right?”
“……”
As if he had expected the question to come eventually, Doha’s expression darkened.
But even if he expected it, it clearly wasn’t an easy question to answer.
He couldn’t bring himself to speak right away.
“M-My mom and you… really were family?”
But Yewon couldn’t just leave him alone like this.
I have to hear the answer to this question directly from him.
‘The fluffball that sent me back in time probably wasn’t lying. But… this is the first time I’ve ever heard that Lee Doha of Glit is my real uncle.’
Her mother had never once spoken about Lee Doha.
‘Only once.’
She had once briefly mentioned the existence of an “uncle.”
“Yewon-ah… if you ever meet your uncle someday…”
Yewon remembered it because her mother’s expression at the time had been unbearably sad.
“…Tell him that Mom is very sorry. Okay?”
That was what she had said.
Until now, Yewon had thought the apology referred to the enormous debt her mother had left behind.
That was why, when the fake uncle claimed her mother had accumulated huge debts and that Yewon needed to work to repay them, she had accepted it so easily.
…I thought I should repay Mom’s debts for her.
Yes. That was what she believed back then.
But now that she knew the uncle was fake, those debts were probably fake too.
Which meant her mother’s words had a completely different meaning.
That was why she wanted to hear it directly.
If her mother and her real family truly were related—
Why had they never contacted each other all this time?
“…Yeah.”
“!”
At Doha’s admission, Yewon’s heart trembled.
“I’m your mother’s… biological younger brother.”
After saying that, Doha added with difficulty,
“But I… haven’t seen your mother in a very long time. The reason is…”
He forced the words out before finally sighing deeply.
“I’ll explain it later.”
It wasn’t a complete explanation.
But Yewon had no choice but to accept that much for now.
She could practically feel how difficult it was for Doha to even speak about it at all.
“Anyway, because of that, I didn’t even know you existed, Yewon. I only found out you existed after learning your mother had… passed away.”
After saying that much, Doha fell silent.
At that moment—
“!”
As though it had been waiting for Doha to finish speaking, a strange message window suddenly appeared before Yewon’s eyes.
[Adjustment Complete!]
[Contractor Identity Confirmed: Lee Yewon (14 years old, child actress)]
[A guide customized to the contractor’s age and occupation will now be provided!]
[▶ Main Quest
: Locked
Tutorial currently in progress. The Main Quest will unlock after the tutorial ends!]
‘What is this…?’
While Yewon was still trying to process the message window—
“On the other hand, Yewon-ah. Sorry, but I… no, your uncle also has something to ask.”
Doha finally voiced the question he himself had been holding onto the entire time.
“How did you know I was your uncle in the first place?”
“!”
Yewon’s face instantly stiffened.