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Chapter 8
“Puhahahahaha!”
Yoon Tae-jin burst into laughter, clutching his protruding belly. The chair beneath him creaked and groaned.
He laughed so hard that he had to wipe away the tears leaking from his eyes several times with the back of his hand.
“Stop laughing already…….”
Ruha glared at Yoon Tae-jin through clenched teeth.
The murderous look in his eyes was completely at odds with the face of a five-year-old child.
Jin Do-hyeon. A man in his mid-thirties who had never dated anyone in his entire life.
And now, he had managed to confirm the misunderstanding that he had a hidden son—Ruha.
And he had done it with his own mouth.
He felt like biting his tongue off.
“Ah…… Sorry, sorry.”
Yoon Tae-jin waved his hand around, wearing an expression that showed absolutely no remorse.
“Phew~ So, how did you manage to getto cast them?”
A Few Days Earlier — Lumis Dormitory
“Uncleeee—”
Ruha gently tugged on Lee Gun-woo’s pant leg.
“Hahaha. So you’re Ruha?”
Lee Gun-woo bent down and met Ruha’s eyes.
“Wow…… You really don’t photograph well, do you? You’re definitely much better-looking in person.”
After seeing Ruha in person, Lee Gun-woo was genuinely impressed.
Can a five-year-old really be this handsome?
He looked as if he had stepped straight out of a comic book. He had the kind of face that made you look forward to his future!
Now he understood why writer Seo Yu-jin complained about him so much while still being unable to give up on him.
“Okay, what does our Ruha want? Want some jelly?”
He took out some jelly he had prepared beforehand.
He had bought it at a convenience store just before arriving at the Lumis dormitory.
Since this was their first meeting, he had prepared it as a precaution. He was worried that Ruha might cry after seeing an unfamiliar adult man, or that he might be so startled that it would interfere with filming.
But this little kid was more mature than he had expected.
No, to be precise, he was an old soul in a child’s body.
He crossed his legs while sitting, scratched his back with a back scratcher, and even complained that the filming was too long and suggested they take a break.
And that would have been fine if that was all he did.
But whenever things didn’t go his way, he could control older boys several times his size without breaking a sweat.
Fortunately, thanks to the child not being shy around strangers, filming wasn’t as difficult as it could have been.
Ah, of course, he still didn’t exactly fit the “healing” concept……
“That won’t dooo—”
Ruha waved his hand dismissively.
“JjinTube.”
“JjinTube?”
Lee Gun-woo tilted his head.
“Yeees— What kind of relationship do you have with Gun-woo Pictures? It’s not a subsidiary, is it?”
“Uh, huh?”
Lee Gun-woo’s eyes widened in surprise.
They said he was CEO Yoon’s nephew, but he even knows stuff like this?
He was a little surprised. He certainly hadn’t expected a five-year-old to use a word like “subsidiary.”
“Hahaha. How do you even know about that?”
Lee Gun-woo took out a piece of jelly and held it out.
“Well…… To be precise, we’re in a partnership. We’re friends!”
He patiently explained it in terms that a five-year-old could understand.
Ruha nodded and asked,
“Then, since you’re friends, you can ask them for favors too, right?”
“Huh? Are there any oppas or noonas you want to see, Ruha?”
Lee Gun-woo asked with a smile.
Even looking at surveys about elementary school students’ future aspirations, wasn’t it true that many of them dreamed of becoming celebrities?
Glittering stages, cool outfits, passionate fans. They were certainly objects of admiration for young children.
Lee Gun-woo assumed little Ruha wanted to see some handsome oppas or pretty noonas.
But what came out of Ruha’s mouth next was completely unexpected.
“You know right?”
“Uh, yeah? Of course I do.”
“Please tell Uncle’s friend to let our hyungs go on toooo— Unclllle.”
At that moment, Lee Gun-woo’s eyebrow twitched.
“What……?”
His voice was cute, but his expression absolutely wasn’t.
The corners of his mouth were drooping heavily, and his eyebrows had fallen into a sorrowful V-shape.
“…….”
Lee Gun-woo stood up and took a step back. Then he carefully examined Ruha again.
He was definitely a five-year-old child.
“Unclllle—”
But those twitching lips and eyebrows……
“R-Ruha?”
“Yes?”
“Are you…… being threatened?”
Lee Gun-woo whispered in a low voice.
“If you are, nod your head.”
Ruha tilted his head slightly.
“It’s not a threattt— Uncleee— You’ll do it, right?”
Ruha’s chin began jutting forward little by little.
Gulp.
Lee Gun-woo swallowed hard.
This is definitely a threat.
A threat from a five-year-old child directed at me!
“So? You asked them to cast the group while looking like a five-year-old?”
“Do you really think that would work?”
Ruha frowned as he casually tossed the profile he had been looking at onto the table.
“Then?”
Yoon Tae-jin asked with a puzzled expression.
“They contacted me about casting.”
“Huh? When?”
“During the planning stage. They asked me to be a judge.”
In fact, this was a program that had initially approached Jin Do-hyeon about becoming a judge.
“Why didn’t you do it? It would’ve been nice to get some camera time again after all this time.”
Yoon Tae-jin asked with a grin.
“If I’d done that, I wouldn’t have been able to work with Clef.”
“Oh?”
“Well, that’s one reason, but……”
There was another real reason why Jin Do-hyeon had turned down the offer to become a judge on RE:VIVAL.
Jin Do-hyeon.
The unofficial number-one choice for casting as a judge on idol audition programs.
He was notorious for his brutal criticism, regardless of time, place, or who he was speaking to.
He was practically the perfect character for boosting ratings.
Two years ago, when he had participated as a judge on an audition program, it had happened.
“Open your eyes properly.”
“Watch your attitude.”
“Have some manners.”
At the time, he had casually thrown those words at a contestant whose attitude irritated him.
But those remarks became a problem.
— And what about you? Open your own eyes properly first.
— I remember you weren’t exactly the most likable character during your active days either……
— I think he was right this time. (He got roasted LOL)
— Come on, he was right this time. Honestly, if someone comes on an audition program with that kind of attitude, wouldn’t a judge be annoyed?
└ Yeah, the attitude was kind of……
└ Honestly, wouldn’t anyone be upset if they worked hard and got evaluated like that? They’re human beings with emotions too. Are they not even allowed to express them?
└ Sure~ Try expressing your emotions at work and you’ll get fired immediately~
— J.D.H. Does he even speak nicely? I heard he even gave his seniors hell last time.
└ Ah LOL. That’s famous.
└ Who?
└ That veteran producer at Vista LOLLLLL
— J.D.H. is getting way too full of himself just because he’s doing well these days.
└ Agreed. This is why character matters.
Damn.
He could still see those comments clearly.
He prided himself on having an iron mentality after going through all sorts of hardships, but there was no such thing as developing immunity to malicious comments.
But then, something unexpected happened.
As the comment section exploded, the program’s ratings began skyrocketing along with it.
The program was already in its fourth season, but it had been struggling with disappointing results.
His harsh criticism ended up saving the show.
In any case, despite Jin Do-hyeon’s harsh words, that contestant made it to the final and debuted.
But less than a year later, he was kicked out.
— This is a little…… No defending him anymore. I’m leaving the fandom.
└ LOL where did all those fans who said “Our oppa did nothing wrong” go?
└ Even so, isn’t school violence + forced transfer too much?
└ He said it wasn’t him!
└ Yeah~ There’s even a record of a protective disposition.
└ And it wasn’t just once. No hope for rehabilitation.
└ What gave him the confidence to show his face like that? LOL
— Damn, the Korean entertainment industry is crazier than Hollywood LOL.
— They say you shouldn’t worry about celebrities LOL. What happened to all that sob-story nonsense about his unfortunate childhood? He was apparently living richer than anyone else.
└ Not with his own money. He extorted it from his friends.
└ LOL. What a lunatic.
└ Even my dad knows about it LOL. Enough said.
— He got an opportunity someone desperately wished for, only to throw it away so pointlessly.
└ It would’ve come out eventually anyway.
└ His excuse was even funnier. “I was only keeping watch for them” LOL.
It was because his history of school violence during his school years had been exposed.
A post uploaded to an online community spread like wildfire, and within just a few months, more than ten victims had come forward.
Later, he even announced that he would make a solo comeback, but before that could happen, he became embroiled in yet another controversy over abusing his power and completely fell from grace.
Thanks to that, Jin Do-hyeon was reevaluated as someone who had “a good eye for people.”
And the meme from that time—the one that had saved the program—continued circulating as a new meme under the title:
“The Idol Audition Judge’s Foresight!”
“Aren’t you worried people will say you pulled some strings?”
Yoon Tae-jin’s worried voice brought Jin Do-hyeon back to reality.
“Oh, please.”
Ruha shot him a sidelong glance.
“Do you think TV networks are that easy? Would they put a group of failed idols with no talent on the show just because I asked?”
“…….”
“They need at least one group they can use for their sob story. And I even asked Producer Lee Gun-woo separately, just in case people started talking. Don’t worry.”
Ruha waved his back scratcher around.
“Ah……”
Yoon Tae-jin couldn’t deny that what Ruha said made sense, but he was still hurt.
My kids are being used as material for a sob story…….
Ruha crossed his arms and said,
“Don’t even think about half-assing this. Han Jin-seo got that spot.”
“What?”
“You have to get at least half of the votes from the start. If Han Jin-seo tears Lumis apart, they’ll disband that very day!”
Ruha’s tightly shut eyelids trembled.
“Hyung, I’m going to be a judge~ Looks like they don’t call you anymore because you’re washed up?”
“……Ah, that was your spot? That’s ridiculous. But just wait. I’ll prove myself. There won’t be a place for you anymore.”
“Hey, Jin Do-hyeon. Answer my message……”
That mosquito-like bastard. Just thinking about him stresses me out.
Back-Scratcher Secret Technique! Chapter One—!
Angry Back Scratching—!
Ruha unleashed his angry back-scratching technique.
“Phew……”
After taking a deep breath and shaking off thoughts of that mosquito, Ruha picked up the profile he had thrown onto the table.
Baek Do-ha, Cha Eun-gyeol, Ryu Si-an, Kang Ian, and the youngest member, Ha Jin-woo.
The profile was packed with information about the five members of Lumis.
Judging only from the evaluations by the internal and external trainers, there didn’t seem to be any major problems.
But Ruha couldn’t trust this profile.
The sense of discomfort he had felt when he first encountered them while inhabiting Jin Do-hyeon’s body had nothing to do with what was written on the profile.
He would have to examine them more closely, but one thing was certain.
They needed improvement.
“Where should I even start……”
Ruha grunted as he tried to cross his legs.
Crossing his short, chubby legs was no easy task.
As a result, one leg, only half resting on his knee, bounced lightly in the air.
“You’re going to the dorm today, right?”
Yoon Tae-jin asked as he stood up and prepared to leave.
Ruha spent several days of the week at home and several days at the dorm.
Damn, I was planning to go home and rest today.
Ruha swallowed his disappointment.
Although he had been living at home for several days, he had been going to work at Clef Entertainment under the excuse of following his uncle Yoon Tae-jin around, so he hadn’t had any proper free time.
Today, he had planned to binge-watch Piano Fairy Doremi Season 5 with some yogurt ice cream.
He had heard that a new fairy appeared in Season 5.
A harp fairy!
That little punk. Despite the name, she looked pretty tough…….
“……Wait!”
Ruha suddenly raised his short hand.
“Ah! You startled me! What is it?”
Yoon Tae-jin frowned.
“Hyung, you’re not busy tomorrow, right? Let’s go somewhere together.”
