TRIU 4

Chapter 4

“…Mom.”

Yewon quickly made up an answer.

“She told me about it a long time ago.”

“My sister did?”

Doha raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised.

However, Yewon noticed that the emotion on his face was closer to joy than discomfort.

…So his relationship with Mom wasn’t bad?

They hardly kept in touch, and the fact that Mom had asked her to pass along an apology to Uncle had made Yewon think their relationship must have been strained.

But that didn’t seem to be the case.

Rather, it felt like there was something more complicated going on.

While the two of them sank into silence, each lost in their own thoughts, Young-oh called out to Doha with a serious expression.

“Doha.”

“Yeah.”

“We brought her here for now, but… what are you actually going to do?!”

Young-oh lowered his voice. He was trying not to let Yewon hear, but her ears were sharper than he thought.

No—she was just quick to read the situation. It was obvious what the adults were worried about.

“I asked the company to block the reporters for now, but still… if the kid stays here….”

“…I know.”

Doha scrubbed his face roughly, his brow deeply furrowed.

“Uncle… I’m scared…. I don’t want to go… to that man….”

They had brought her to the funeral hall without thinking things through, focused only on protecting the child.

But a top active idol—one with a brutal schedule—raising a child?

And without any preparation?

It was close to impossible.

‘And more than anything….’

Doha glanced sideways at Yewon.

If he were to raise her…

That would mean revealing her existence to the world.

Doha bit his lip. That couldn’t happen.

“Should we look for a nanny first? Ask the company to arrange one quickly….”

“No. Not someone we rush to hire.”

Doha cut him off firmly.

“It has to be someone we can trust. If people find out she’s my niece… no. I can’t leave her with anyone. Not right now. I can’t trust anyone.”

“……”

“…Things are already bad lately. More weird rumors will spread. I don’t want to hurt the kid.”

“Then what are you going to do? You still have schedules. Maybe it’s fine for a bit, but you know you can’t keep this up.”

Young-oh looked at Doha with deep concern.

“I have to follow you around. Are you going to leave her alone in this big house? What about meals? Sleeping?”

Every point Young-oh made was painfully accurate.

From start to finish, everything was a problem that needed solving.

Even Doha had no answer and pressed his lips together.

A heavy silence settled over the living room.

‘…At this rate.’

Yewon tightened her grip on the glass of water.

Because of “practical issues,” she might be sent somewhere else again.

If not back to the fake uncle, then probably to a boarding school or some institution.

Judging by Doha’s personality, if he couldn’t handle it himself, he’d think sending her to a better environment was the right choice.

‘Absolutely not.’

She had barely grasped this chance. If she was pushed away now, she’d never come back.

More than anything, she didn’t want to live a life of being “placed” with others ever again.

She didn’t want to be a burden that needed protection.

She wanted to be family—someone this house needed.

Clink.

Yewon set the glass down on the table and hopped off the sofa.

“U-Uncle….”

At her sudden call, both Doha and Young-oh turned to her at once.

Yewon stood tall in front of the two adults.

“I—I can stay home alone!”

“What?”

Doha’s expression darkened instantly.

Yewon shrank back a little but forced a bright smile.

“I can eat by myself, and I know how to wash up. I won’t touch the gas stove, and I’ll lock the doors properly. I won’t get in the way of your work.”

That was how she’d always lived.

…She was confident she could do all of that.

No—she was confident she could do even more.

“So….”

So—

“C-Can’t I… live together with you, Uncle?”

So please don’t abandon me.

She meant it with all her heart. Yewon didn’t want to be abandoned by Doha a second time.

She struggled not to cry.

…I’ve practiced crying before, but this is my first time practicing not crying.

“…What is this kid even saying.”

At the despairing reply, Yewon lowered her head.

Ah.

…So in the end, impossible really was impossible.

She squeezed her eyes shut—

“Why should you have to be good at any of that?”

Doha’s voice rang in her ears.

“Even if you can’t do any of it, we’re still going to live together.”

“!”

Yewon snapped her head up.

She saw Doha’s face, twisted with emotion.

‘…I’ve seen that expression before….’

She never thought someone’s anguished face could feel so welcome.

Strangely enough, Yewon recognized that expression all too well.

It was the summer when she was twelve.

“Hey, stop stuffing your face. What if you get fat?”

Thump.

Her uncle whispered so others wouldn’t hear and snatched the lunchbox from Yewon’s hands.

Yewon stared blankly at the lunchbox.

It was the first proper meal she’d had in two days.

Her uncle never made sure she ate properly.

When she had an agency, the managers took care of her, but after her uncle tore up the contract, no one looked after her anymore.

At least at school she could eat lunch, but her uncle barely let her attend.

He didn’t want to hear accusations of child abuse, so he’d send her in the morning—then pull her out right before lunch, using schedules as an excuse.

And today—

After landing a rare commercial shoot, her uncle had dragged her to the set without even asking.

And the person who gave her that lunchbox was—

“Hey.”

It was Lee Doha, who was scheduled to film the commercial with her that day.

“What do you think you’re doing to a child right now?”

At Doha’s fierce tone, her uncle flinched for a moment, then scowled.

“What’s your problem?”

“You just took the lunch I gave her. Can’t you see the kid’s hungry?”

Doha snapped at the fake uncle, sparks flying in his eyes.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been treating her like this all along…?”

“…Oh, come on. It’s for work. I’m just putting her on a diet. What’s it to you now?”

Despite Doha’s anger, her uncle merely picked at his ear.

Cracks began to form in Doha’s expression.

“‘What’s it to me’? Do you hear what you’re saying—”

“Oh please. You’re late to the party and now you want to play family? That’s a joke.”

“You little—”

“If you want to try something, go ahead! Let’s see who loses!”

“Doha!!”

At the shout calling his name, Yewon glanced up.

“Hey, Doha, calm down. Okay? Violence isn’t the answer. Uh—sir, you should calm down too….”

Young-oh stepped between them, drenched in sweat, trying to stop Doha and the uncle.

Ignoring everything else, Yewon stared at Doha, who continued to glare at her uncle.

…This person.

He really shines.

She’d even dared to dream—what if this person were my uncle?

Of course, even back then, she felt there was something strange about their conversation—

But the shoot was urgent, and she had no choice but to let it go.

Not long after, she heard the news that Doha had passed away.

“Then I’ll come tomorrow! You two… uh… take care…?”

At the front door, Young-oh gave an awkward farewell to Doha and Yewon.

“Don’t come.”

“!”

At Doha’s words, both Yewon and Young-oh turned to him at the same time.

D-Don’t come?

“Huh?! Why, why not?!”

Young-oh asked, flustered.

Yeah—why?

Yewon wanted to know too. Without Young-oh, this empty house would be unbearably awkward!

“Don’t come. Stay home and rest. I don’t have a schedule tomorrow anyway. You should rest too.”

“Well… that’s true, but….”

Young-oh scratched his head, clearly uneasy.

“What are you going to do without me? Doha, do you even know how to raise a seven-year-old?”

“…….”

Right. Ever raised a kid before?

Yewon looked at Doha with the same question in her eyes.

Faced with Young-oh’s innocent question, Doha fell silent.

“I’ll watch O-Tube.”

“You’re going to learn parenting for a seven-year-old from O-Tube?”

“Do other parents go to some kind of parenting school? If I don’t know something, I can just look it up.”

He hesitated. Just a little—when he said the word parents.

“Still, you taking care of Yewon alone is kind of….”

I agree! From a purely survival standpoint, staying next to Uncle Doha felt dangerous—she might not even get fed properly.

Yewon nodded vigorously, her face pale.

“What’s wrong with me?”

“You can’t even take care of yourself properly. And you’re going to take care of a girl on your own? I just can’t picture it….”

Exactly. Exactly.

Still nodding in agreement, Yewon asked what she’d been wondering for a while.

“Then why are you alone?”

“Huh?”

At her question, both men turned to her.

“Where are the other Glitter uncles?”

“!”

A flicker of awkwardness crossed Young-oh’s face.

Doha, on the other hand, remained calm.

I mean, why was that such an awkward question? Don’t idol groups usually live together?

“We don’t live together.”

“!”