Uncle and I
Chapter 10 –
8:30 a.m.
The hospital room door opened, and the caregiver came in.
“Oh? Hello! You’re here early today.”
Hajin greeted her in surprise.
“Hehe. I went home early yesterday, so I came a bit earlier today.”
“You didn’t have to! From tomorrow, please come around nine.”
“I’ll handle that myself, don’t worry. How’s our Sejin? Did she sleep well?”
“Yes. Gwood mornin’!”
“Good! But what happened to your hair, Sejin? Haha!”
The caregiver burst out laughing when she saw Sejin.
Feeling awkward, Hajin scratched his head.
“Haha… I did it. It looks strange, right? I’m not very good with my hands…”
“Hahaha, that’s fine. I actually brought a little gift that might help with that.”
She sat on the sofa and placed a small shopping bag on the table.
“Oh? What’s this?” Hajin asked.
“I was heading home yesterday and saw an accessory shop, so I bought a few hair ties and clips for Sejin.”
She took out the items — a rubber hair tie with a cute apple charm, a yellow chick hair clip, a strawberry clip, and a soft cloth headband.
“Oh, you didn’t have to buy these… Thank you so much.”
“It wasn’t much. If Uncle can’t tie her hair properly, use these clips to hold her bangs or the headband to keep her hair neat. I almost bought a regular plastic headband, but I thought it might hurt her head, so I chose a cloth one instead.”
“Thank you. You’re very thoughtful.”
It was a small gift, but Hajin was truly touched.
“Now, Sejin, come here. Grandma will fix your hair nicely.”
“Yesh!”
Sejin hurried to sit in front of the caregiver — though she was still so small she had to climb up the sofa like a mountain.
“What should Grandma use, Sejin?”
“Umm…”
Sejin looked at the new accessories carefully, thinking hard. Then she pointed.
“This one! The chick!”
“You like this? Okay, I’ll use it.”
With quick, skilled hands, the caregiver neatly gathered Sejin’s hair and clipped the yellow chick pin in place.
“Oh my! How pretty you look.”
“Hehe! Thank you, Gwamma! Thank you for the pwesent too!”
Sejin hugged the caregiver tightly to show her gratitude.
Just then, there was a knock.
Knock knock knock.
A security guard came in.
“The next shift guard has arrived to introduce himself.”
“Ah, sure! Come in.”
A tall, well-built man entered.
“Hello! I’m Kim Jin-soo. Nice to meet you.”
“Hello, I’m Seo Hajin. This is my niece and her caregiver.”
“Hello~~!” Sejin greeted brightly.
“Oh my, you’re really strong-looking,” said the caregiver.
“Yes, ma’am. From now on, I’ll be on duty. Please let me know if you need anything.”
“Thank you very much.”
After exchanging greetings, the guards left.
Just then, Hajin’s phone rang. It was Jaewon, one of his group members.
“Hey, hyung.”
“Hajin, did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, I slept great. What’s up?”
“We’re coming by in a bit. Do you need anything?”
“You’re coming again today? Aren’t you tired?”
“The guys have been begging to see Sejin since morning.”
“Hahaha.”
“So, need anything?”
“Hmm, not really.”
Hearing the call, Sejin shouted,
“Uncle! I want stwawbewwy milk!”
“Huh? You want strawberry milk? Okay, Uncle will buy you some.”
Before Hajin could say more, Jaewon jumped in,
“Hajin, we’ll bring it. The hospital store will be crowded. If you show up, it’ll be chaos. I’ll have Minsu buy it. Ask Sejin if she wants anything else.”
Hajin laughed and asked Sejin again.
“Sejin, Jaewon Uncle will buy you strawberry milk. Anything else?”
“Umm… chokowate milk?”
“You want chocolate milk too?”
“Yeah!!”
“Oh dear, your teeth will rot! Okay, just strawberry and chocolate milk, one each, okay?”
“Wait!! Banana milk too?”
“What? You little— too many sweets aren’t good for you!”
“Heeeng…” Sejin pouted.
Feeling his heart melt, Hajin hurried to finish the call.
“Hyung, just bring one strawberry and one chocolate milk for today and tomorrow. That’s enough.”
“She also said banana milk though?”
“No, too much sugar’s bad. Just the two.”
“Alright, got it.”
When the call ended, Hajin comforted his sulky niece.
“Sejin, you’re not fully healthy yet, so too many sweet drinks aren’t good. You have to eat vegetables and meat too! If you only drink sweet milk, your teeth will hurt, and you’ll lose your appetite. Let’s just drink one milk a day, okay? Or plain milk is fine too.”
“Okaaaay…”
“Good. Want me to read you a fairy tale?”
“No. I wanna watch TV!”
“Okay. Here you go.”
He handed her the remote, and Sejin flipped through the channels.
‘Cartoons are fun, but morning dramas are the best!’
She stopped on a morning drama.
“Oh my! I haven’t seen this in ages. Sejin, you want to watch this?” asked the caregiver.
“Yes!”
“Hmm, this might not be for kids…”
“Sejin, wouldn’t a cartoon be better?” Hajin added.
But Sejin ignored them, eyes glued to the screen.
Morning dramas were easy to follow — even if you hadn’t seen the start, you could guess the whole story.
Before long, both Hajin and the caregiver were watching too.
The plot got intense.
“Oh, look at that awful woman! No wonder everyone hates her in-laws!” the caregiver shouted.
“They’re the in-laws?” Hajin asked.
“Yes! The cheating son’s family. They keep bullying the poor daughter-in-law because she can’t have kids! Can you believe it?”
“What? That’s so wrong. It’s not her fault!”
“Exactly! And I’m sure the mistress’s baby isn’t even his. That woman’s wicked.”
“Really?”
Hajin and the caregiver got completely sucked into the drama’s spicy story.
Sejin giggled to herself.
‘They told me not to watch, but now Uncle’s the one most into it. Once you start, you can’t stop, huh?’
Twenty minutes later, when the show ended, Hajin laughed awkwardly.
“Haha… That was surprisingly fun.”
“Right? It’s super popular with housewives these days!” said the caregiver.
“Must be. The writing’s actually good.”
“Yeah, it’s cliché but addictive!”
“Haha, I totally get that.”
“Uncle, was it fun?” Sejin asked.
“Huh? Oh… yeah, it was!” Hajin laughed.
“Then let’s watch again tomorrow!”
“What? Tomorrow too? This show isn’t for kids, Sejin.”
‘What? We already watched it together!’ Sejin thought, frowning.
“It’s fine!”
“I don’t think it is…”
“It’s fine!!”
“Okay, okay. You win.”
A while later, the members of BeOne burst into the room.
“Tada~~!! We’re here!”
“Sejin! Didn’t you miss us?”
Hwan and Roy shouted playfully.
“Hello, ma’am. Sorry if we’re too loud,” said leader Jaewon politely to the caregiver.
“Oh no, it’s lovely to have such cheerful boys here. I’ll be in the other room, call me if you need anything.”
“Thank you!”
Jumin handed Hajin a big bag.
“Here, we brought Sejin’s milk and some snacks.”
“Oh wow, thanks. But why so much?”
Inside were strawberry, chocolate, and banana milk, colorful juices, chips, bread, and sausages.
“It’s for everyone, not just Sejin,” Jaewon explained.
“It’s still too much. Especially all this sweet stuff!”
“The clerk recommended these! Just give her one at a time from the fridge.”
“If Sejin’s teeth rot, it’s your fault!” Hajin grumbled, putting everything away.
“Uncle! I want strawberry milk!” Sejin shouted.
“Oh? You want it now? Okay!”
Hwan quickly grabbed one, poked in a straw, and gave it to her.
Sejin sipped happily.
‘Ahh~ this sweet taste… how I missed you!’
Everyone smiled watching her enjoy it.
When Hajin finished tidying up, he sat down.
“Didn’t you guys come early? Aren’t you tired?”
“Nope! How could we be tired when we’re here to see Sejin?”
“Wow, for once you said something right,” Roy teased.
“Hey! I always say right things!”
They started bickering again.
Jumin sighed. “They’re not even the youngest ones, but still act like kids.”
Hajin laughed, then suddenly said,
“Oh, right. Guys, I’m planning to move out of the dorm soon.”
“What??”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you upset with us?”
“No! You guys are the best. It’s not that.”
“Then why?”
“Sejin’s recovery is going well, so she might be discharged sooner than we thought. I’ll have to take care of her, and living in the dorm wouldn’t be right. I want to find a place for the two of us.”
The room went quiet.
“That’s great news about Sejin,” Jaewon said after a pause.
“Yeah, really,” added Jumin.
Jaewon thought for a moment, then said,
“Hajin, if everyone’s fine with it, why not let Sejin stay with us at the dorm? It’ll be hard for you alone, but if she’s with us, we can help watch her.”
“That’s a great idea!” Roy said immediately.
“Yeah, we’ve got space. We can turn the first-floor guest room into Sejin’s room,” Jumin added.
“See? Perfect plan! Our leader’s a genius!” Hwan said, grinning.
“But guys, won’t it be uncomfortable having her there?” Hajin asked.
“No way!”
“Yeah, we’ll take turns helping when you’re busy with schedules. It’ll be fun.”
“Right. You can’t even cook, Hajin. How are you going to feed Sejin alone? Even with a helper, you’ll need backup.”
Jaewon’s practical words made Hajin pause — and start thinking seriously.
