UAI 46 🍒

 “Uncle and I”

Chapter — 46

While Jaewon went to take Jiwon home, the other members gathered in the studio.

After their aunt came to work and took care of Sejin, the members who had returned talked about Kang Seunghwan.

“I really didn’t expect everything to be connected like this,” Hwan said. “I was wondering how we should explain Kang Seunghwan to the company, but since we found out because of Jiwon, I think we can just say we started investigating because of that.”

Everyone nodded at Hwan’s words.

“Yeah, that sounds fine,” Jumin agreed. “Since there’s an investigation period anyway, I think it’d be best to inform the company about Kang Seunghwan sometime next week. What do you all think?”

Jumin asked the others.

“Yeah. Since Seongjun hyung also took about a week to investigate,” someone said. “Telling them next week sounds right.”

“Just in case, I’ll call Seongjun hyung and make sure our stories match,” Hajin added.

“Good. Hajin, you call and explain it to him,” Jumin said. “When we tell the company, we’ll need to mention that Seongjun hyung investigated things for us. The company might contact him directly, so it’s better to be on the same page.”

“Okay. Got it.”

“Hyung, are you going to look into Jiwon’s recording?” Roy asked.

Jumin nodded.

“Yeah. They said it can be checked with a program, so I’ll look into it first and then tell the company to cross-check it again. When we tell the trainees the truth, it’ll be better if we can show them results that the company verified objectively.”

“That’s true,” someone said. “If we say we did it ourselves, some people might say we’re lying because of personal connections.”

“For now, let’s tell the company that Jiwon will be taking a short break,” Jumin said. “Next week, we’ll bring the evidence and talk to the CEO and the related staff.”

“Okay.”

As they were wrapping things up, Jumin’s phone rang.

“Oh? It’s Cheolhwan hyung. I’ll take the call, so be quiet for a second.”

Jumin answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Jumin. Jaewon isn’t answering his phone, so I called you.”

“Ah. Jaewon went out to take Jiwon home. He’s probably driving, so he can’t answer right now.”

“I see. Is Jiwon doing okay?”

“She’s more stable than yesterday. I was actually about to contact the company… I think it’d be good for Jiwon to rest for a while.”

“I heard from Team Leader Two yesterday. He said her condition was pretty bad.”

“Yeah. We’ll explain everything properly after we confirm things, but she went through something bad. For now, it’s best to let her rest and talk things through slowly.”

“Something bad? What happened?”

“Well… I’ll tell you later. We still need to check things first.”

“What do you mean you’re checking things? You’re not doing anything dangerous, are you?”

Hearing Cheolhwan’s concern, Jumin smiled as he replied.

“Don’t worry. How would we even check things ourselves? Hajin met someone at the hospital where Sejin was admitted. That person seems to dote on Sejin like a real nephew. He runs a business and seems to know a lot about this kind of stuff. We’re going to ask him for help.”

“Hm. Is he someone you can trust?”

“Yeah. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Alright. I trust you guys to handle things properly, but if anything happens, tell me right away.”

“Got it. But why did you call?”

“Oh, right. I almost forgot. The childcare variety show production team I told you about wants to meet. I’m trying to set up a meeting, and they were hoping to see Sejin as well. When would be convenient for you guys?”

“Oh. So that deal is already confirmed?” Jumin asked.

“Yeah. I met them a few times, adjusted the details, and signed the contract.”

“Okay. We don’t really have any schedules right now, so anytime should be fine.”

“Really? They wanted to meet sometime this week, but isn’t that a bit tight?”

“Well, if we’re going to meet anyway, this week is fine. But you said the concept changed a bit, right?”

“Yeah. At first, they thought about installing cameras in your dorm and making it an observation-type show. But opening up your dorm felt like too much. As we talked, the production team said they wanted more variety in the scenes. So now they’re thinking of going to another region, staying somewhere there, and doing some sightseeing. Anyway, we’ll go over the exact details when we meet.”

“That makes sense. If it’s the dorm, we need to be comfortable there, but having cameras everywhere would be uncomfortable. And Auntie would feel pressured too.”

“Yeah. For now, they said they’ll film some opening footage when all of you meet together, including Sejin.”

“Ah, actually, we were planning to tidy things up while getting Sejin’s hair cut. I asked Minsu to make a salon appointment, so we should go before meeting the production team.”

“Oh, I already heard from Minsu. The appointment is tomorrow at 11 a.m., so I’ll send him over then.”

“Got it. Let me know once the meeting date with the production team is set.”

“Okay. And pass the details on to the others.”

“Yeah. Also, please tell the company that Jiwon will be resting for a while. She left yesterday saying she was quitting, but if you tell Team Leader Two that she’s just taking a break, I think they’ll handle it that way.”

“Alright. I’ll talk to Team Leader Two. I’ll hang up now. Get some rest.”

“Okay. You too—make sure you eat lunch.”

“Yeah.”

After ending the call with Cheolhwan, Jumin shared the details with the members.

“Oh! Good thing we made that salon appointment,” someone said.

“Yeah, the timing is perfect.”

“Hajin, is it okay to go with Sejin?” someone asked. “If it feels like too much, we can tell Cheolhwan hyung and meet without Sejin—”

Hajin laughed.

“Haha, it’s fine. Sejin has to be there for the actual filming anyway. It’s better to greet them in advance and get friendly. And if we went without him, he’d probably sulk.”

“Hahaha! That’s true. He’d sulk so badly.”

“Alright then. Let’s make our Sejin look extra cute at the salon tomorrow.”

“Yeah. We should also try to look neat.”

“Huh? Then do I need to dye my hair?” Roy asked in surprise.

His hair was currently bright blond, so he worried they might make him dye it black.

“No, not at all,” Jumin said. “It’s just blond in color. Your style isn’t flashy.”

“Phew. That’s a relief.”

After chatting about the variety show, they all went down to the first floor together.

As soon as they got downstairs, they saw Sejin racing through the living room, riding his beloved toy car with Bokdoli sitting on it.

Startled, Hajin ran toward Sejin.

“Lee Sejin!”

“Skreeech!”

Surprised by his uncle’s shout, Sejin slammed on the brakes and stopped the car.

“Huh? Uncle, why?”

“Who told you to drive so fast inside the house? What if you crash into furniture and get hurt? And you even have Bokdoli riding with you—it’s dangerous!”

At that, Sejin puffed out his lips.

For a man, speed was everything…
His uncle really didn’t understand.

“I’m good at driving now! Ddori is sitting nicely too!”

As Sejin protested, Hajin pressed a hand to his forehead.

He should have taken that car away earlier, but because Sejin loved it so much, he let him keep it—and now the kid was turning into a speed demon.

The other three burst out laughing and stepped in to calm things down.

“Hajin, Sejin is really good at driving. I’ve never seen him crash into anything.”

“Yeah. I think he drives better than me.”

Jumin, who had played a big role in awakening Sejin’s love for speed, smiled awkwardly.

He was happy that Sejin loved the car he gave him, but he could clearly see Hajin’s disapproval as a guardian.

“Sejin, do you really like cars that much?” Jumin asked.

Sejin nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah! I love them! I can go vroom-vroom really fast!”

“I see. I’m glad I gave it to you. But like Uncle Hajin said, no matter how good you are at driving, riding it in the living room can be dangerous. So how about riding it on the terrace instead? If you promise to drive there, we’ll move all the stuff from the terrace somewhere else. How does that sound?”

Sejin thought about it for a moment.

The terrace was wide and long, honestly better for driving.
If the table, chairs, and plants were removed, it would become his own personal track.

“There was no reason to refuse.

“Okay!”

“Alright. So it’s a promise? No riding inside the house anymore?”

“Yeah! I promise! I’m a man, so I keep my promises!”

“Hahaha. Right. Since you’re a man, you have to keep your promise, okay?”

After making the promise with Sejin, Jumin turned to Hajin.

“Hajin, if we clear the terrace and install some shock-absorbing boards on the walls, Sejin can ride more safely. I’m sorry—I feel like I shouldn’t have given him a car.”

Hajin quickly shook his head.

“Why are you sorry? That kid’s the problem. Seriously.”

“Hahaha. Because I awakened Sejin’s need for speed?”

At Jumin’s words, Hwan and Roy laughed and added on.

“That’s true. This is your fault. Sejin’s going to become the world’s youngest speed racer at three years old!”

“Hahaha. But just imagining it is so cute.”

In the end, even Hajin chuckled and gave Sejin one last warning before stepping back.

Once things settled down, Jumin broke into a cold sweat internally.

‘Uh… what do I do? I already bought another car as Sejin’s Children’s Day present…’

Seeing how much Sejin loved cars, Jumin had bought another one—different model, different color—and was currently waiting for it to be delivered.

After Sejin got scolded like that today, Jumin worried that if his gift arrived, Hajin might grab his neck and collapse.

‘…For now, I’ll hide it as much as I can. After a few days, Hajin will probably calm down.’

Having decided to hide his gift, Jumin smiled awkwardly.

After the commotion, the members finished lunch and came out of the kitchen when they heard the front door open.

As expected, Bokdoli came charging out, and a moment later, Jaewon entered holding him.

“Hyung, you’re back?”

“Did you talk things through well with Jiwon’s parents? Did they cry a lot?”

“Hyung, you haven’t eaten yet, right?” someone said. “If you’re hungry, eat first and then talk.”

Greeting them, Jaewon sat on the sofa with Bokdoli in his arms.

“Yeah. Everything went okay. I’m pretty hungry, so I’ll eat first.”

“Okay.”

Jaewon put Bokdoli down and went into the kitchen to greet their aunt.

“Auntie, please give me some food.”

“Welcome back. The others just finished eating… you were a little late.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just eat with the leftover side dishes. Just rice is okay.”

“No. I thought you’d be back soon, so I set some food aside for you. Just wait—I’ll heat it up.”

The aunt quickly set the table and placed rice and soup in front of Jaewon.

“Aren’t you eating too, Auntie?” Jaewon asked. “Eat with me.”

“Shall I?”

At Jaewon’s words, she scooped rice and soup for herself and sat across from him.

They finished their meal while chatting.

“Thank you for the meal,” Jaewon said.

“Alright. I’ll clean up, so you just go out.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

After Jaewon went to the living room, Jumin quickly brewed some coffee and brought it over.

“Alright, tell us already. I’ve been dying of curiosity.”

“Yeah. What did Jiwon’s parents say?”

With the others urging him on, Jaewon took a sip of coffee and spoke.

“Okay, okay. I was going to tell you anyway. Let me drink my coffee first.”

“Come on. It’s iced coffee. You can drink it when you get thirsty while talking.”

“Seriously… fine.”

Jaewon set the cup down and began talking about his visit to Jiwon’s house.

“First of all, the conversation went well. Jiwon’s parents were pretty upset at first, but thankfully, both of them are reasonable people. After listening to me, they agreed to wait until the company resolves things.”

“Really? Wow, that’s a relief.”

“Yeah… that must not have been an easy decision.”

“Jiwon also helped explain things from the side.”

“So… did you tell them everything that happened?” someone asked.

“Yes. Jiwon told them herself.”

Hearing that, everyone felt heavy-hearted, imagining how painful it must have been for Jiwon’s parents to hear it all.