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Chapter 7
“Hehe. Uncle!”
“That’s not ‘hehe.’ Why are you climbing onto a chair like that? It’s dangerous. What were you trying to get—water? If you wanted water, you should’ve woken me up.”
“Not water—eggs!”
“Eggs?”
Looking utterly dumbfounded, Doha set Yewon down onto the chair.
“Why eggs? Did you want to play with them?”
It seemed that the idea of Yewon trying to cook with eggs hadn’t even crossed his mind.
Well, to be fair, there really aren’t many seven-year-olds who cook.
“I wanted to make breakfast for you…!”
“……!”
At her words, Doha’s face hardened instantly.
“What are you talking about? You’re a kid. Why would you be making food?”
Instead of answering, Yewon scratched her head.
She still wasn’t used to being treated like a baby.
“Don’t tell me my sister made you prepare meals?”
“Absolutely not!”
Doha seemed to agree that his sister wouldn’t have done that—but then his brows rose again.
“Then why would you even think of doing that?”
“Just…”
I made meals for you and Jeyeon since I was ten. Ten or seven—it’s basically the same, right?
Yewon scratched her head again.
“I thought… you might be hungry, Uncle?”
“!”
“Yesterday I ate before going to bed, but Uncle didn’t eat anything.”
That was true.
Last night, Yewon had eaten the bread, boxed meal, and milk Youngo had bought beforehand—but Doha hadn’t touched anything.
Now I get why Uncle Youngo said you’re someone who can’t even take care of yourself…
Doha was just the type of person who didn’t really eat.
“So I wanted to give you eggs.”
“…….”
Doha froze awkwardly for a moment, then let out a sigh.
“Yewon, Uncle can take care of his own meals. Uncle is an adult. You’re a kid. What kind of kid takes care of an adult? No.”
“…….”
Former fourteen-year-old—direct hit.
She might be a kid now, but not a baby.
“And when something’s up high like that, you don’t climb onto a chair. What are you supposed to do instead, huh?”
Doha spoke as if he were angry, but Yewon could tell he wasn’t angry at all.
Even a seven-year-old wouldn’t be fooled by that acting.
Uncle really shouldn’t be an actor.
“…Climb a ladder?”
“…….”
“…….”
A brief silence passed between them.
“You call your uncle and ask him to do it.”
“Ehh?”
That was a bit much.
Yewon was used to handling everything on her own, so Doha’s words felt uncomfortable.
She hated how the fake uncle and Jeyeon had made her do all the chores—but that didn’t mean it was easy to adjust to someone telling her to ask for everything.
“Say it with me. Call your uncle and ask him.”
“…Call Uncle and… a-ask him.”
She couldn’t quite bring herself to say “make him do it,” so she softened the wording.
That seemed good enough for Doha, who nodded vigorously.
“Good. That’s how it should be. Uncle exists to help Yewon.”
The way Doha smiled, so satisfied—
“While you’re with Uncle, you let Uncle do everything for you, from one to ten. From now on.”
He looked so gentle that Yewon felt like she might cry without meaning to.
“Got it?”
“…Yeees.”
Had her tear ducts been broken since yesterday or something? What was wrong with her?
Next, Doha sat Yewon down at the table and began cooking in front of the fan.
Yewon quickly swallowed her tears and tugged on his clothes.
“Salt! You have to add salt!”
Crying is one thing, but salt is essential.
“How much?”
“…Tap tap, ta-tap.”
“…….”
Doha shot her a look that clearly said, What does that even mean?—but he followed her instructions anyway.
“Turn the heat down, and now cover it for a bit.”
You had to let the residual heat finish cooking it.
Yewon deliberately lowered her vocabulary.
She hadn’t had time to prepare for her role, so she was still unsure what a seven-year-old’s language level should be like and just spoke instinctively.
Luckily, the only audience—Doha—had no idea what a seven-year-old’s vocabulary should be either, so he was completely fooled.
“Now you can eat.”
“Okay, let’s eat.”
Yewon waited quietly for Doha to put the eggs on the plate.
But instead—
“?!”
He suddenly scooped her up and set her down on a dining chair.
“The princess waits while sitting. Uncle will bring it to you.”
For a moment, Yewon’s mouth fell open.
Princess?!
Hearing that title for the first time, she stared blankly as Doha set the table.
…There are a lot of dishes, though?
No ingredients at all, but tons of dishes. It’s not like he can eat plates.
“The dishes are pretty!”
“Ah, these?”
Doha rummaged through the clearly expensive-looking dishes and pulled one out casually.
“…A friend of mine gave them to me.”
“You have friends, Uncle?”
“…….”
Doha shot her a slightly wounded look.
“You mean member uncles?”
Yewon quickly asked again, pretending to be innocent.
She wanted to hear anything about the members to clear the quest.
“…Yeah.”
“Which uncle gave them to you?”
“This one was from Uncle Ian… He’s got good taste, but everything else about him is terrible.”
“?!!?”
Why is the member introduction like that?
“If he gave a present, doesn’t that make him a nice uncle?”
Yewon tried her best to spin it positively.
“No. He only brought it because of our housewarming content (self-produced content). That’s called being fake.”
“…….”
Teaching a child great things, really.
Ignoring Yewon’s solemn expression, Doha put the scrambled eggs onto one plate. Just as he lifted his hand to drizzle ketchup—
His hand stopped.
“……?”
Why did he stop?
“Do you… want me to draw something?”
“?”
Draw? What?
Yewon tilted her head in confusion.
“With ketchup. What should I draw for you?”
“!”
That?!
Completely unexpected, Yewon froze.
She’d made scrambled eggs dozens, hundreds of times on her own, but—
I never drew anything with ketchup for myself.
So she felt a little stunned.
“Should I draw a bunny that looks like you? Or a heart?”
“You can draw a bunny?”
“Of course I can.”
“Then a bunny… please.”
As if he’d accepted the request, Doha immediately drew a picture on her scrambled eggs with ketchup.
“Ta-da.”
“Wow!”
What can’t this uncle do?
Yewon exclaimed in admiration at the surprisingly cute bunny.
“Eat well.”
“Yes!”
She answered enthusiastically—then hesitated.
“What’s wrong? Want a drink first?”
“…Is that all you’re eating, Uncle?”
She pointed with her fork at Doha’s plate.
Even though all seven remaining eggs had been used, the portion on his plate was, at best, about one egg.
“Uncle’s full even without eating.”
“?”
What kind of person is full without eating?
Yewon immediately frowned.
“That’s not okay.”
“Uncle’s strong.”
“If Uncle gets hurt, who’s going to raise Yewon?”
“…….”
“If Uncle gets hurt, will Yewon be alone again?”
She said it in a sulky voice.
“…I’ll eat. I’ll eat. Uncle will eat and won’t get hurt.”
Sulking worked.
With a deep sigh, Doha took a small portion from Yewon’s plate.
“…….”
She wasn’t satisfied, but she let it slide for now.
She could just make him eat a lot at lunch later.
Just as Doha was about to lift his spoon—
“Wait!”
“Huh?”
“I want to draw too.”
“Draw what? Ah… ketchup?”
Doha looked confused for a moment, then caught on and nodded.
Taking the ketchup bottle with both hands, Yewon—
“!”
Drew a huge heart.
“So Uncle won’t get hurt. I gave you a heart.”
Doha stared silently at the heart for a long moment, then nodded.
“…You’re right. Uncle won’t ever get hurt. Thank you.”
“Mhm.”
“…….”
Even while Yewon was feeling proud, Doha remained frozen, staring at that ketchup heart, unable to pick up his utensils.
At first, Yewon was just pleased—but soon she grew puzzled.
“Is the heart too big?”
“Huh? No. No, that’s not it.”
“Then why aren’t you eating?”
“…….”
After hesitating for a moment, Doha spoke.
“When Uncle was little, Yewon’s mom—my sister—drew a really big heart like this for me.”
“!”
“Just like you did….”
After saying that, Doha took a bite of the scrambled eggs.
“…Guess you really can’t deny blood.”
He muttered softly.
Pretending not to hear, Yewon scooped up a big spoonful of scrambled eggs herself.
Fluffy.
The soft eggs, made with milk just as she liked them, melted in her mouth.
For the first time—
She could taste each bite slowly.
Not just eating to get through a meal, but sitting face to face with family.
Just as she was enjoying that peaceful morning—
“Hey—! Lee Do—ha!”
“?!”
Suddenly, the sound of the front door unlocking was followed by an earth-shaking shout.
“I heard you got a niece—!”
A young man burst into the kitchen with tremendous momentum.
“?!?!?”
More precisely, a young man whose entire body screamed celebrity from head to toe.
The moment Yewon saw him, she knew.
That’s Han Wooyeon!
That man—
The protagonist of the first sub-quest.
[ Sub Quest (1)
…
First, you must bring back to the family the Glit member most favorable toward Lee Doha—‘Han Wooyeon.’
Make Glit member Han Wooyeon return to this house.]
Which meant—
She had to make that man come back to this house.
