TRIU 3

Chapter 3

At Doha’s gentle voice, Yewon sleepily opened her eyes.

Doha picked her up, still half-asleep, and began walking.
Yewon obediently stayed in his arms, looking around as they moved.

They were in an underground parking garage filled with expensive cars.

…So this must be the building Uncle Doha lives in.

As if familiar with the place, Doha headed straight for the elevator.

The elevator rose nonstop and stopped at the penthouse floor. With a cheerful beep as the door lock disengaged, a heavy door swung open.

“Let’s go in.”

Doha awkwardly set Yewon down.

Without hesitation, Yewon stepped confidently inside. She was curious about what kind of place Doha lived in.

It must be nicely decorated, right?

He’s a top idol, after all—

But the sight that greeted her was nothing like what she expected.

A living room as wide as a sports field. Beyond a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass, Seoul’s nightscape sparkled like jewels.

And that was it.

…Is this really a home?

The entire interior was colorless. Furniture aligned with razor-sharp precision.

A space utterly devoid of warmth, like a massive sheet of ice.

It really looks like a model house.

For the home of a successful top idol, it was far too barren—and silent.

As if the emotional state of the person living here had been transplanted directly into the space.

“Come in. There’s… not much, but.”

Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Doha turned on the living room lights.

As the bright lights came on, the starkness of the house became even more obvious.

On the living room table sat only an unopened bottle of supplements and a half-finished bottle of water.

“Wow…”

Yewon deliberately opened her mouth in awe. A seven-year-old should act amazed in a place like this, after all.

“It’s as big as a playground, Uncle!”

“…Is it?”

At her innocent admiration, the stiffness around Doha’s mouth loosened just a little.

Doha sat Yewon down on the sofa and headed toward the kitchen.

“Do you want something to drink first? I think I have… something.”

He opened the refrigerator, paused for a moment, then quietly shut it again.

…That fridge was full of nothing but alcohol, wasn’t it?

From the brief glimpse she caught, there had been bottled water, alcohol, and sparkling water. Nothing a seven-year-old could drink.

…What kind of life is this man living…?

Yewon began to feel uneasy.

Escaping the fake uncle had been a huge relief, but—

Why does it feel like I walked straight into another tiger’s den?

“W-water! Is water okay, Uncle?”

Unable to watch any longer, Yewon spoke up first. Doha turned around, flustered.

“Oh—uh… yeah. I’ll get you some.”

He hurriedly grabbed a cup, filled it with purified water, and handed it to her.

Then, perhaps embarrassed even by his own behavior, his face reddened.

“…Sorry. I never have kids over, so I don’t have juice or anything.”

“It’s okay. I like water.”

Yewon sat neatly on the sofa, holding the cup with both hands.

“…”

“….”

And then—

An awkward silence settled over the room once again.

This is driving me crazy.

Trying hard not to make things even more uncomfortable, Yewon broke into a cold sweat.

…I honestly don’t know what to say…!

I still can’t believe it… that this person is really my uncle.

That top idol, Lee Doha—my uncle? My real family?

It would probably take a very long time to truly accept that.

Just then—

Beep-beep-beep-beep!

“!”

Like a savior arriving on cue, the door unlocked.

“Doha, I’m here—!”

That manager uncle from earlier…!

Yewon’s face brightened immediately. Three people would be less awkward than two, right?

“You’re here?”

Doha, clearly relieved himself, greeted Youngho with a sigh of relief.

Youngho rushed in, wiping sweat from his brow.

“Huff, huff. I had a hard time shaking off the reporters who caught the scent. I talked to the company’s PR team—everything’s blocked for now. Told them to treat it as a simple incident.”

“…Sorry.”

“Sorry for what? It’s my job.”

As Youngho entered the living room, he spotted Yewon sitting quietly on the sofa, clutching her water cup.

“Oh my, Yewon. Y-you must’ve been really scared. Are you okay?”

“Yes, hello…”

Yewon smiled shyly and bowed her head.

Seeing how the child, despite being frightened, hadn’t cried and was greeting him so politely, Youngho’s expression softened with pity.

“You’re amazing, Yewon. You must’ve been so scared…. Doha, you were shocked too, right?”

“……”

Doha, seemingly too drained to respond, just rubbed his face dryly.

Youngho clicked his tongue and glanced toward the fridge.

“But you only gave her water? Don’t you have anything to eat?”

“No. You know me.”

“Well, yeah…. What would you even have in your fridge? You barely eat proper meals.”

With a deep sigh, Youngho took off his jacket and hung it over a chair.

Silence returned to the living room. Yewon glanced around, carefully observing the strange atmosphere.

For the home of the leader of Korea’s top idol group, it was far too quiet.

Normally, he’d be living with his members, or at least having people come and go. But this house showed no trace of anyone else at all.

…I know Uncle Doha has been having a really hard time lately because of what happened to Glit.

…Could it be that he’s not on good terms with the other members?

She knew. Everyone knew.

That this was the worst period of Lee Doha’s life.

Not just Yewon—probably the entire country knew.

TV, the internet, social media—everywhere people were talking about Doha. At this moment, he was being pelted with stones from all directions.

…I’ll ask when I get the chance. Where the other members are.

But before that—

There’s something I have to ask.

A question she had to ask in order to accept this man as her “real family.”

“Uncle.”

Yewon clenched her hands tightly, nerves building, as she called out to Doha.

Both Doha and Youngho stopped talking and turned to look at her.

“Uncle… y-you really are my uncle, right?”

“….”

As if he’d expected the question to some extent, Doha’s expression darkened.

Even so, it was clearly not an easy question to answer.

He hesitated, unable to speak right away.

“O-our mom and you… you really are family, right?”

But Yewon couldn’t let him off the hook.

She had to hear the answer to this question directly from him.

That cottony thing that turned back time wouldn’t have lied… but still. 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.

Just once.

She had mentioned the existence of an “uncle” in passing.

“Yewon… if you ever meet your uncle someday…”

She remembered it because her mother’s expression at the time had been unbearably sad.

“…Tell him that Mom is very, very sorry. Okay?”

That was what she’d said.

Until now, Yewon had assumed that “sorry” meant her mother had accumulated too much debt.

That was why, when the fake uncle said her mother owed a lot of money and needed to work to pay it back, she had accepted it so quickly.

…I should help repay Mom’s debt, at least.

That was what she’d thought back then.

But now that she knew he was a fake uncle, the debt must have been fake too.

Which meant her mother’s words carried a different meaning.

That’s why she wanted to hear it directly.

If they really were family—

Why had there been no contact at all between her mother and him?

“…Yes.”

“!”

At Doha’s admission, Yewon’s heart dropped and wavered.

“I am Yewon… your mother’s younger brother.”

He added the rest with difficulty.

“But… I haven’t seen your mother for a very long time. The reason is…”

He struggled to continue, then let out a sigh.

“I’ll explain later.”

It wasn’t a complete explanation.

But Yewon had to be satisfied with just this much.

She could feel how hard it already was for him just to say that.

“Anyway… that’s why I didn’t even know you existed. I only found out about you after I learned that your mother had… gone to heaven.”

After saying that, Doha fell silent.

At that moment—

“!”

As if waiting for his words to end, a message window suddenly appeared before Yewon’s eyes.

[Adjustment complete!]

[Contractor identity confirmed: Lee Yewon (14 years old, child actor)]

[A guide will be provided according to the contractor’s age and profession!]

[ Main Quest
: Private
The tutorial is currently in progress. The main quest will be revealed after the tutorial ends!]

What… is this?

As Yewon struggled to process the existence of the message window—

“Then let me ask you something too, Yewon. Sorry, but… no. Uncle has to ask.”

Doha voiced the question he had been holding onto.

“How did you know that I was your uncle?”

“!”

Yewon’s face went completely rigid.