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Chapter 5
“Hmm…”
“Hmmm…”
“Huh…?”
One by one, the members of Lumis tilted their heads.
At the end of their gazes was a child.
Sitting on a tiny plastic chair that looked like something you might find in a public bathhouse, Luha had his short legs crossed and was lazily flicking a back-scratcher around.
‘What on earth is going on…?’
Baek Doha’s eyes trembled.
Since Lumis was a washed-up idol group that needed all the publicity it could get, he had boldly declared that he would do anything they asked of him—no, that he would risk his life to do it.
Whether it meant being dropped into a jungle and chewing on wild insects, rolling around in mud during an extreme survival challenge, or wearing a mask and singing.
Even if it was a game of luck where he had to distinguish an Americano from fermented anchovy sauce, he was prepared to drink the anchovy sauce if necessary.
But he never imagined that, among all those possibilities, the company’s idea of “anything” would be a childcare program.
And not even with an ordinary child, but with one who seemed to have developed a severe case of middle-school syndrome ten years ahead of schedule.
“What? What are you looking at?”
Luha raised his chin and spoke arrogantly.
“N-No, nothing!”
Baek Doha flinched and waved both hands frantically.
‘Ha! Easy.’
The corners of Luha’s mouth curled upward.
Humans were animals, too. In any group, once you subdued the leader, the game was over.
In just a few minutes, the hierarchy of this house had been decided.
Looking at Baek Doha, who had so obediently tucked his tail between his legs, Luha couldn’t hide his victorious smile.
However, that was merely Luha’s misunderstanding.
“Oh!”
“Wow~”
Ryu Sian, the second-highest-ranking member, and Kang Ian, fourth in the hierarchy, had already taken up positions on either side of Luha.
“He’s so soft!”
“I must’ve been like this once, too, right?”
They naturally claimed one of Luha’s cheeks each.
“W-What? Why are you doing this?! Take your hands off me, you rascals—!”
“Pfft! Ah~ He’s so cute!”
“Aww, aww, is the baby angry~?”
There was one fact Luha had overlooked.
Right now, he wasn’t the genius producer Jin Dohyeon, who radiated overwhelming charisma.
He was five-year-old Jin Luha.
No matter how coldly he spoke,
No matter how icy his glare was,
In the eyes of the Lumis members, all of whom were over twenty years old, it was nothing more than the adorable tantrum of a five-year-old child.
Establishing the hierarchy?
That had simply been Luha’s misunderstanding.
The reason Baek Doha had hesitated was simple.
He was merely being careful, worried that Luha might break if he touched him or fly away if he blew on him.
And so began Jin Dohyeon’s project to rescue the washed-up idol group Lumis.
No—
The cohabitation of five men and five-year-old Luha had officially begun.
Pitter-patter-patter— Whoosh!
Pitter-patter-patter— Whoosh!
The sound of tiny feet racing across the living room echoed noisily throughout the house from early morning.
“Luha! Don’t run! You’ll get hurt!”
“Uh, uh! The corner!”
“Hey, what are you doing?! Hurry up and catch him!”
Thirty-six…
No, five-year-old Luha was running around the entire house without a moment’s rest.
Every time he did, the cameras hurriedly panned from side to side, chasing after him.
Several cameras had already been installed throughout the dorm, and the lively chase that had broken out that morning was being captured in its entirety.
Since this wasn’t their first or second day, the production crew seemed to have already grown accustomed to the chaos inside the dorm.
“Lu-Luha! Please, let’s eat! Okay?”
The desperate voice of the youngest member, Ha Jinwoo, rang out.
The sight of him chasing the little boy while bent over with a gimbap in one hand was nothing short of comedic.
“Ah, I don’t wanna— I said I don’t waaant it! I hate cucumbeeeers!”
The genius producer who had once been universally recognized as one of the top talents in the country seemed to have become mentally younger along with his body after turning five.
He was running around screaming because he refused to eat the cucumber inside his gimbap.
His round cheeks were puffed up with anger, while his tiny hands desperately flailed through the air.
Whether they had become close over the past few days, or simply gotten more comfortable with one another—
Ever since the six men began living together, there hadn’t been a single quiet day in the Lumis dorm.
Crash!
A chair toppled over, and a clothes rack wobbled before collapsing.
“Got you!”
Ryu Sian quickly rushed forward, scooped Luha up, and slung him over his shoulder. Then he lightly patted the boy’s bottom.
“Luha, if you keep not listening, this scary uncle is gonna take you away~!”
“Put me down! Put me down, you brute—!”
Luha wildly swung his short arms and legs, resisting with all his might.
His face had turned bright red, and his tiny fists pounded furiously against Ryu Sian’s back.
But there was no way a five-year-old’s threats and punches could work. Ryu Sian merely laughed.
After their breakfast that felt like a war, it seemed as though peace might finally return.
“AAAAAAAH!”
Suddenly, a sharp scream came flying from the bathroom, and the entire dorm fell silent.
“W-What happened?!”
The production crew and members, who had finally been catching their breath, all rushed toward the bathroom.
They flung open the door.
Inside were Luha, staring with his mouth hanging open and looking on the verge of tears, and Cha Eungyeol, frozen in place with a flustered expression.
“Uuugh!”
Luha spat something out of his mouth.
Plop!
The thing that landed on the floor was a pale pink lump.
“B-Blood?!”
Kang Ian covered his mouth and shouted.
“N-No!”
Only then did Cha Eungyeol snap out of his daze and hurriedly wave his hands.
Normally expressionless and quiet, he looked unmistakably flustered at this very moment.
“Luha, are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
Baek Doha hurried over and carefully examined every corner of Luha’s mouth.
“Ugh! What is wrong with you?!”
Luha pushed Baek Doha’s hands away and continued spitting.
“Ptoo! Ptoo!”
The camera crew saw their chance and immediately zoomed in, capturing the whole scene.
Kang Ian cautiously poked the lump Luha had spat out with his finger and sniffed it.
“Sniff, sniff. What is this? It smells sweet.”
Then he cautiously brought it toward his mouth.
“Hey, Kang Ian! Why are you eating that?!”
Choi Eunbi, who had been watching, shrieked in horror.
Kang Ian smacked his lips a few times before slowly muttering,
“…Toothpaste?”
After rinsing his mouth several times with water, Luha suddenly yelled,
“Ugh! The soap is cucumber! The toothpaste is bamboo salt! Don’t you know?!”
“…”
Good grief…
There wasn’t a single child as prematurely old-fashioned as this one.
That was what everyone’s faces seemed to say.
Leaving the flustered group behind, the camera director, who wasn’t about to miss this scene, shoved the lens forward with more enthusiasm than anyone else.
“H-Hahaha… Director?”
Choi Eunbi put her hands together with an awkward smile. Then she quietly stepped in front of the camera and spoke in a small voice.
“Could you… maybe edit this part out…?”
“That’s all for today! Thank you for your hard work!”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
The filming that had begun early in the morning finally ended in the afternoon.
The camera director left the dorm first, and writer Seo Yujin gathered her belongings.
“Writer… I-I’m sorry.”
Choi Eunbi repeatedly bowed her head in apology. She had already lost count of how many times she had apologized that day.
“It’s okay! Kids all grow up like that, right? Ha, haha…”
Seo Yujin waved her hand with an awkward smile. But her face was visibly more exhausted than ever.
“Phew…”
Her reaction was understandable.
Our Family’s Youngest was absolutely not supposed to have this kind of wild(?) concept.
The heartwarming combination of an adorable, cute child and visual geniuses—even if they were washed-up idols.
A healing program that the whole family could gather around and watch.
That was exactly the image they had wanted.
But reality?
‘Ugh. Just thinking about it is exhausting.’
Seo Yujin shook her head, trying to clear her mind.
Choi Eunbi cautiously asked,
“Writer, do you think we’ll have enough footage today…?”
There was no need to ask.
Several cameras had been installed throughout the dorm and were running twenty-four hours a day. The filming crew had been coming and going for several days.
But in the Lumis dorm, where every day was like a battlefield, there was no way they could possibly get footage suitable for a “healing” program.
But what kind of people worked at a broadcasting station?
Weren’t they masters of editing who could create scenes that never happened and turn an “Huh?” into an “Oh!”?
‘Please, please…’
Choi Eunbi was clinging to that tiny possibility.
If the higher-ups found out that they hadn’t managed to produce a single usable scene again today, it wouldn’t end with a few words of nagging.
In the worst-case scenario, she could be kicked off the Lumis assignment she had wanted so badly overnight.
Ironically, Choi Eunbi had become Lumis’s dedicated staff member precisely because of Our Family’s Youngest.
There was already an official manager in charge of Lumis, but this was Yoon Taejin’s consideration for Luha, who might experience difficulties with his movements and daily life because his body had become smaller.
Of course, Choi Eunbi didn’t know that.
She simply thought it was additional staffing for a group preparing for a comeback.
Choi Eunbi abruptly turned her head and glared at the five-year-old child with middle-school syndrome.
‘That little brat is ruining my benefits (visual geniuses)!’
Whether or not he knew what she was thinking—
“Nunaaa~ I want Doremi!”
Luha came running over, wrapped both hands tightly around Choi Eunbi’s pant leg, and looked up at her with adorable eyes.
“Ghk…”
Choi Eunbi clutched her heart.
She had forgotten.
There was another visual genius here.
The anger-filled glare from moments ago disappeared without a trace, and before she knew it, her eyes had curved into crescent moons.
“Our Luha~ Do you want to watch Doremi?”
“Yes~”
“Then say, ‘I love you, big sis~.’”
“…Give it to me.”
“…Okay.”
She quickly lowered herself to Luha’s eye level, pulled out her tablet, and played the pre-saved episode of Piano Fairy Doremi.
“Yay!”
Luha snatched the tablet and immediately ran over to the sofa, plopping himself down.
He was the very definition of a five-year-old child.
“I like it!”
Luha smacked the large screen with his tiny hands and smacked his lips contentedly.
There was exactly one good thing about being five years old.
He didn’t have to take responsibility for anything.
When he had lived as Jin Dohyeon, he had always been the one who had to take the lead and bear responsibility.
But now, it was the exact opposite.
He didn’t need to step forward himself.
He didn’t need to solve anything himself.
All he had to do was say a single cute(?) word, and everything would be taken care of for him.
‘I’m Lucky Luha!’
Hehe!
Luha tapped away at the tablet with a devilish grin.
He was certainly a little demon who couldn’t produce even one of the scenes they wanted, but whenever he was absorbed in his animation, he looked like nothing more than an adorable little child.
Seo Yujin watched Luha fondly before turning to Choi Eunbi.
“Don’t worry too much. The teaser will start airing this week, and Episode 1 will be uploaded next week.”
“Oh! Really? The teaser is already out?”
Choi Eunbi let out a sigh of relief.
Thanks to that, she probably wouldn’t have to worry about her benefits(?) for the time being.
“Oh, he should have already arrived, right?”
“Huh? Who?”
Choi Eunbi tilted her head.
“The PD. He said he had a meeting at Clef today.”
