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Chapter 6
Doha’s eyes widened, as if the question had caught him off guard.
“…Yewon, what do you want to do?”
After a moment, he asked back with a cautious look.
“I want to live with you, Uncle.”
“…Yewon, I might not be able to be a good family to you. I don’t really… know how.”
“It’s okay!”
Yewon said quickly, then hurried to add,
“I know. I—I can help you!”
“…!”
Perhaps the bold “I can help you” coming from a seven-year-old was quite a shock, because Doha’s expression was honestly something to behold.
When Yewon grinned and let out a little “hehe,” Doha let out a small chuckle as well.
“…You really are my sister’s daughter. Always saying you’ll help with everything.”
“…!”
Mom said things like that too?
At the mention of her mother coming from Doha’s mouth, Yewon’s eyes widened in surprise.
But she couldn’t ask more about her mom.
Because in an instant, Doha’s face darkened with sorrow.
“…Do you really want to live with me? Why?”
“Because Uncle is a good person.”
“!”
At her answer, surprise spread across Doha’s face.
“You think I’m a good person? Why… do you think that? We just met.”
“When that scary man tried to take me earlier, Uncle protected me. So that means you’re a good person.”
Still, Doha looked unconvinced.
“…It might be better to find you a better guardian than me. Not for my sake, but for yours, Yewon.”
“…….”
“I can look for one. Even a distant relative—if I ask them properly to take good care of you, they’d all—”
He’d probably offer them a huge amount of money.
Just like he had done with that “fake uncle.”
Yewon read the meaning hidden behind Doha’s words.
And she understood his hesitation.
For a male idol to raise a child alone… that would be incredibly hard.
She didn’t know the idol world well, but she knew the entertainment industry.
A top idol like Glit must be busy beyond imagination.
It was definitely not an ideal environment to raise a child.
“Uncle.”
Yewon fidgeted with her fingers as she looked up at him.
“Yeah?”
“Can I… ask you just one thing…?”
The question she was about to ask could hurt him, so she was extremely careful.
“Go ahead.”
There was something that had been bothering her since earlier.
“I have a mom… so why doesn’t my mom have a mom and dad?”
“!”
That was—
The reward she had seen earlier for the sub-quest.
[Quest Reward: Maternal Grandparents Revealed]
In truth, this was the biggest hurdle Yewon saw.
How would Doha, who had lived as if he had no family, explain the sudden appearance of a niece who seemed to have sprung out of nowhere?
Even if the issue of his busy schedule could somehow be solved with a nanny, this was not something easy to explain.
In her previous life, nothing about Doha’s family background had ever been made public.
People vaguely speculated that he had lost his parents early—that was all.
No one imagined he had a sister, let alone a niece.
And someone this hesitant about raising her couldn’t possibly not have tried to look for her mother’s other family.
He must have done everything he could.
I also assumed my maternal grandparents were dead and impossible to find…
But the reward was “revealing” them.
Then that meant they were alive?
If they were alive…
Why hadn’t Uncle thought about entrusting her to them?
“…….”
Doha looked at Yewon with a dark expression.
“Did your mom… never explain it to you?”
“No.”
That was the truth.
Her memories from when she was seven were hazy, but she was certain.
‘Mom, why don’t I have a grandma and grandpa?’
‘…Yewon, are you more curious about your grandparents than about who your dad is?’
‘You said Dad was someone we don’t need.’
Back then, she had wanted to seem mature and answered that way.
Because whenever Dad came up, her mom looked so sad.
‘Hmm~ Grandma and Grandpa are people we don’t need either.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah. As long as it’s just you and me, Yewon. Got it? We don’t need anyone else.’
‘I see.’
So it was just the two of us in this world.
She remembered feeling inexplicably lonely as a child.
Right—yes, that’s how it was.
Just as Yewon nodded to herself internally—
“…I’ll explain it when you’re older.”
Doha answered.
“Ugh.”
Adults really were all the same.
When Yewon looked at him with a disappointed expression, he quietly averted his gaze.
But she didn’t press him further.
It was probably something a child shouldn’t hear yet.
Just the fact that her mom never talked about it was enough to guess.
…Mom and Uncle must have had it hard.
Suddenly, she felt like she understood their pain a little.
So—
“!”
She simply wrapped her arms around Doha’s neck.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if it’s hard.”
“…!”
At her words, she felt his neck stiffen slightly.
But the more he stiffened, the tighter Yewon hugged him.
…Mom liked it when I hugged her like this too.
Uncle is Mom’s family—maybe it’s the same for him, she thought selfishly.
“…Is it really okay if I don’t tell you?”
“Mm-hm.”
Yewon answered, unintentionally annoyed by her childish pronunciation.
Then she felt Doha’s hand gently pat her back.
Pat, pat…
The sense of security from his large hand made her eyelids slowly close.
No.
She still had something important to say before she fell asleep.
“Then… please raise me until I become an adult.”
“Huh?”
Th-that’s how it works…?
She heard Doha mutter.
Yewon giggled softly at his voice.
But then, suddenly—
‘…Yewon.
“!”
What was that?
A new memory surfaced—one she had never recalled before.
‘…Yewon, you have to be really good to your uncle instead of Mom. Make up for what Mom couldn’t do, okay?’
At the time, she’d thought it was strange.
Why ask me when Mom could do it herself?
But now that she thought about it…
Had Mom sensed all of this, even back then?
‘Why?’
‘Because Mom is older than your uncle, but I should’ve taken better care of him. I was too young back then, and I couldn’t protect him properly.’
‘I seeee.’
‘So when you meet your uncle, be really good to him.’
‘You should be good to him too, Mom!’
‘You’re right. That would work. Mom’s such a fool, huh?’
Why were these memories resurfacing now?
…Because I met Uncle Doha?
She didn’t know the reason, but one thing was clear.
Mom loved Uncle very much.
…What kind of story lay behind the two of them growing up apart?
Could the answer lie in the identity of her maternal grandparents?
…Looks like the only way to find out is to clear the quest.
* * *
The next morning.
Yewon dragged herself out of bed and peeked into Doha’s room.
He was sleeping like the dead.
…Well, it was 6 a.m. Sleeping was normal.
Yawning, Yewon headed to the kitchen.
When she lived with Jeyeon, all the housework had been her responsibility, so she always woke up at 6 a.m. to make breakfast and clean.
Out of habit, she opened the fridge to prepare breakfast—
“….”
She realized her hands barely reached the middle shelf, let alone the top.
Oops.
Making breakfast was a lost cause.
She paused to think.
…If I bring a chair and climb up, I might manage somehow.
But the problem was—
There’s barely anything you could even call ingredients!
Even if she reached the top shelf, it would be pointless.
What does this person usually eat to survive…?! There’s literally nothing here.
The fridge contained nothing but energy drinks, alcohol, a few bottles of sparkling water, and some eggs.
“…….”
This really isn’t an environment to raise a child.
Looking at the neatly assorted bottles of alcohol, Yewon frowned slightly.
He must drink a lot. Living like this, even a healthy person would end up ruined. First thing—he needs to quit drinking.
For today, at least scrambled eggs would do.
With a sigh, Yewon dragged a chair over to the fridge.
She planned to climb up, grab a few eggs, and come down.
Just as she was about to step onto the chair—
“!”
She felt her body suddenly lifted into the air.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Yewon rolled her eyes upward—
And there stood Doha, glaring down at her with an angry face.
