Chapter 2
“……”
“……”
Um. This is bad.
I jumped in without thinking, just to avoid getting dragged back by my fake uncle—but now…
What am I supposed to do about this awkward silence…?!
Yewon broke out in a cold sweat as she looked up at the man she had called “Uncle Doha.”
His face was hidden beneath a baseball cap pulled low and a black mask, but his delicate, well-defined features couldn’t be concealed.
Lee Doha—the leader of the seven-year-old boy idol group Glit.
Was there really anyone in South Korea who didn’t know this man?
In their first year, they won Rookie of the Year.
In their second, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.
And in their third, even the Grand Prize.
A group that swept everything domestically and internationally, truly standing at the pinnacle of a generation—Glit.
And if you had to name the most famous member of Glit, it would unquestionably be Lee Doha.
Why?
Because people widely agreed that Glit’s meteoric rise to the top was eighty percent due to their outstanding songs.
And every single one of those songs had been created by Lee Doha himself.
Everything he made turned into a hit—no, a mega-hit—so calling him a genius wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
‘…And he even debuted at nineteen….’
But was that all he was good at?
Of course not. His singing was easily main-vocal level, his dancing pulled its own weight, and—
‘…He’s the visual center of the team.’
A completely unfair, balance-breaking existence.
And this guy… was my uncle? My real uncle?
She’d blurted it out in desperation because she wanted to live—but it was impossible to believe.
And look at him now. He was staring at her with a stiff expression.
If he were really my uncle, shouldn’t he be hugging me instead of glaring like that—
“…Fine.”
“!”
Huh?
“Let’s go.”
Huh—?!
He’s really just taking me with him like this?
Startled, yet compliant, Yewon let herself be picked up into Doha’s arms.
“Wait!!”
That was when—
Yewon wasn’t the only one flustered. Someone stepped in front of Doha.
“W-What do you think you’re doing? This isn’t what we agreed on!”
It was the fake uncle.
Afraid that Doha might take Yewon away for good, his face had gone pale.
…Well, of course he’d panic. He was about to lose not one, but two easy cash cows.
“……”
Yewon rolled her eyes slightly and glanced at Doha’s face as he held her.
Even Yewon, who was skilled at reading people’s expressions, couldn’t tell what Doha was thinking right now.
What was Uncle thinking?
‘…Come to think of it, there must’ve been a reason he didn’t raise me himself and left me with someone else.’
Ignoring all that and suddenly asking him to raise me himself…
Of course he’d be flustered.
‘What if he’s thinking it’d be better to leave me with the fake uncle after all?!’
That couldn’t happen…!
I have to do something.
“U-Uncle… I’m scared… I don’t want to go with that man….”
Yewon buried her face into Doha’s shoulder.
“!”
“!”
She couldn’t see it with her face pressed into his shoulder, but she could hear both men sucking in a sharp breath at the same time.
You still going to abandon me now?
When I’m this pitiful?
“M-Mr. Lee Doha. This isn’t what we—no, what we promised.”
From behind, the fake uncle could be heard clinging to Doha again.
The more he clung, the tighter Yewon gripped the hem of Doha’s clothes.
“……”
Sometimes, a single action is more persuasive than a hundred words.
“…The child is frightened. Let’s talk about this later.”
“!”
“W-What? No, you can’t just—this isn’t—”
“Please calm down.”
“What do you mean calm down right now—!”
The fake uncle raised his voice again in protest.
“You can’t change your mind now. Hand over the kid!”
Growing desperate, he reached out, trying to forcibly snatch Yewon from Doha.
“Please stop right there.”
At that moment, a timid but firm voice came from behind them.
“And who are you supposed to be?”
“You’ve met me once before, haven’t you? I’m Park Young-oh, Lee Doha’s manager. And judging from the situation….”
With a small but practiced voice, Young-oh redirected the fake uncle’s attention from Doha to himself.
“The child is clearly refusing you. Trying to drag her away by force could become a legal issue. If you lay hands on her like that, it could be reported as assault—and suspected child abuse. In that case, it would fall under both physical and emotional abuse.”
“W-What? Child abuse?”
At the words child abuse, the fake uncle’s face drained of color.
‘…No wonder.’
If Yewon’s memory was correct, the fake uncle had always been particularly afraid of the police.
He was probably trembling at the thought that a report might actually be filed.
“So let’s talk first. Doha. You take the child and go to the car.”
“But—!”
“Our company lawyer is here too, so speak with the lawyer first.”
“W-What? A l-lawyer? No, I—”
At the word lawyer, the fake uncle’s already flustered voice shrank even further.
Under Young-oh’s seasoned intimidation, he immediately shut his mouth.
He glared at Doha and Yewon for a moment longer, but eventually spat out a curse and stepped back.
‘That shameless uncle… can really be shut down like this.’
Yewon felt bitterness rise in her mouth.
It made her realize all over again that the reason he had tormented her so mercilessly was simply because she’d been an easy target.
“You made a wise choice. This way, please—”
“No, I—”
“Yes, yes. I know, I know. Yes, yes….”
The voices of the manager and the fake uncle faded into the distance.
And then—
The smells of incense and false sympathy were gone.
‘…We’re outside.’
Feeling the cold air fill her lungs, Yewon unconsciously clutched Doha’s clothes even tighter.
“…Let’s go.”
“!”
Before Yewon could even ask where—
“Let’s go home… for now.”
Doha whispered.
‘…Home….’
Even though it was a foreign word, she didn’t feel anxious.
Relief at having escaped the fake uncle made her eyelids droop.
The hellish memories of her previous life were drifting away, along with the sight of the fake uncle’s retreating back.
‘I did it….’
Yewon pressed her small, fern-like hand more firmly into the collar of Doha’s coat.
This is just the beginning.
In this life, I’ll never let anyone control me again—
Yewon’s resolve.
Was slowly, gently melting away in the warmth of Doha’s large hand.
[Breaking news that has shocked the music industry today.]
She dreamed.
It was something from so long ago she couldn’t even remember when.
[…Lee Doha, leader of South Korea’s top idol group Glit, has suddenly passed away. The agency stated that it will not disclose the exact cause of death. Fans and colleagues are mourning the deceased in deep sorrow…]
She still remembered the shock and grief she’d felt when she first heard that news.
Unable to believe it was real, she’d just stared blankly at the screen.
‘…Why are you so kind to me?’
She’d once asked Doha that, when they met as co-stars on a commercial shoot.
‘…It’s just… a whim, I guess.’
At that hollow answer, Yewon had laughed without realizing it.
Doha had asked why she was laughing—and then laughed along with her.
The Lee Doha Yewon remembered had been incredibly gentle and warm.
When her reputation had plummeted because of her uncle, when everyone on set had turned their backs on her, he had been the only one to protect her.
She couldn’t believe that someone like him had left the world.
Watching that news, Yewon had thought—
That a world already cold and unimpressive had become even more horrible.
And when she opened her eyes again—
“…Won-ah.”
It was a truly strange feeling.
“Yewon, we’re here. Let’s get out.”
Not a fake family.
But her real family—
Looking down at her.
