Chapter 5
“Why?”
Yewon asked with the most innocent look she could manage.
“Well, Yewon, that’s because—”
Just as Yeong-o was about to explain—
“We don’t get along.”
“!”
Doha answered bluntly.
“Yewon, you’ve got at least one friend you don’t get along with, right? It’s like that.”
…Let’s not bother saying she doesn’t have even one friend.
Yewon nodded vaguely.
“Would Yewon want to live together with a friend she doesn’t get along with?”
She shook her head side to side.
Well, not really.
“Adults are the same. We don’t want to live with members we don’t get along with.”
“But why don’t you get along? On TV you looked close…?!”
“!!!!”
At Yewon’s continued blunt questions disguised as innocence, Yeong-o could be felt breaking out in a cold sweat.
But Yewon had no intention of giving up the advantage that came with being seven years old.
Kids at this age were pure evil, after all.
“….”
Even Doha seemed quite taken aback by this question and stared straight at Yewon.
“My members and I are like a lottery.”
“A lottery?”
Yewon was about to say Then that’s a good thing, but she remembered she was seven and shut her mouth.
“None of the numbers match.”
Doha’s firm answer followed.
Ding!
A message window suddenly filled Yewon’s vision.
[Tutorial Complete!]
[Main Quest Unlocked!]
[▶ Main Quest
Before you become an adult, win a Best Actress award!
※ Movie or drama, genre doesn’t matter. As long as it’s a Best Actress award, anything goes!
If the quest fails: Glit disbands, Lee Doha dies]
“….”
Damn it.
It looked like her second life wouldn’t be easy either.
‘I’ll come back tomorrow for sure!! Don’t worry. I’ll apply for all the overtime pay!! Please, just let me come back!! Huh?! I don’t want you to get arrested for child neglect… okay?! If you get arrested, what am I supposed to live on?!’
…Leaving behind those sorrowful words of a working adult, Yeong-o departed.
“I’m sleepy, so I’m going to bed!!”
“What? Wait—”
“Good night, uncle!”
“W-wait!”
Ignoring Doha calling out behind her, Yewon hurriedly used sleepiness as an excuse, rushed into her room, and shut the door.
Why?
Because—
[You are now a newly debuted child actor!
Your only role so far is as an extra, ‘Classmate No. 1 of the protagonist’!
Take it one step at a time toward a Best Actress award!]
[It may feel overwhelming, but don’t worry!
Your new contractor is destined to help you!
Clear the sub-quests one by one, and before you know it, you’ll be right on the doorstep of becoming a top actor!]
…Messages like these were floating right in front of her eyes!
Yewon steadied herself and looked at the quest window again.
[If the quest fails: Glit disbands, Lee Doha dies]
“…If I fail, Uncle Doha dies?”
Yewon muttered hollowly.
After finally gaining a real family, she would lose it like this?
Just because she failed to win a single award?
Could it be that this was the “penalty” that cotton-ball thing had mentioned?
—Correct.
A voice she’d grown familiar with after hearing it only once rang out.
“!”
When Yewon looked up, something with fluffy white fur appeared.
“You…!”
\—You got a second life. Did you really think it would be easy? A penalty like this is only fair.
“…!”
Had it read her mind?
The cotton ball grinned slyly.
—You’ve already succeeded once before anyway. What’s so hard about doing it a second time?
“!”
That wasn’t wrong.
In her previous life, Yewon had won a Best Actress award at fourteen. But…
So many things have already changed. Who’s to say the future won’t change too?
From Yewon’s perspective, that was definitely possible.
—Of course, different hardships await you in this life… but with your real family, you’ll be able to overcome anything!
Easy for you to say.
Yewon glared at the cotton ball.
“…If the penalty were just for me, I’d accept it. But Uncle Doha has done nothing wrong. For him to be sacrificed just because I fail…”
—Then just succeed. What’s the problem? I need to give you this much motivation so you don’t just settle into a cozy, comfortable life.
“…….”
—Look around you. Such a ridiculously nice house, and a kind, warm, rich uncle. Living in a place like this, wouldn’t your resolve to succeed as an actor fade away? I can’t allow that. Absolutely not. I don’t do losing deals.
Looking at the cotton ball laughing wickedly, Yewon frowned.
“I wasn’t planning to half-ass it anyway. The penalty for failure is this extreme.”
She turned her gaze to the message window still blinking beside her.
[If the quest fails: Glit disbands, Lee Doha dies]
She couldn’t let Uncle Doha die.
Never.
Yewon resolved to do her absolute best to save him.
—…Looks like Lee Doha is pretty important to you too. Even though you just met him?
The cotton ball looked at Yewon curiously.
“Isn’t Uncle Doha important to you too?”
—What are you talking about? No, he’s not!
“Then why do you look so anxious about this mission failing?”
—No, I don’t! You little bean!
The cotton ball snapped, then floated away from Yewon.
—I knew this was why I didn’t want to contract with kids. Tch. Anyway, don’t worry too much.
Yawning, the cotton ball drifted backward.
—I’ve prepared plenty of sub-quests for you.
“!”
Sub-quests? What were those?
—I’m not exactly thrilled about having to accommodate you this much just because you’re a minor… but it can’t be helped.
The cotton ball’s expression twisted, clearly displeased, its fur bristling as it suddenly flew right up to Yewon’s nose.
“…Sub-quests? What do you mean?”
—Since we’re talking about it, want me to give you one right now?
[▶ Sub-Quest (1)
Reunite the Broken Family! ~From Dust to Glit~
Until now, Lee Doha’s family wasn’t you or your mother, but the members of <Glit>.
Becoming Lee Doha’s family means becoming the family of Glit’s members as well.
But families aren’t always on good terms.
Sometimes, a little effort is needed.
Because right now, the members’ relationships are far from stable.
First, you must bring back the member most favorable toward Lee Doha—‘Han Woo-yeon’—into the family.
Bring Glit member Han Woo-yeon back to this house.
Quest Success: Maternal grandparents revealed
Quest Failure: Lee Doha’s mental collapse (your backing and future manager)]
“Reveal… my maternal grandparents?”
Yewon frowned.
“What kind of reward is that? Uncle alone is more than enough family for me.”
—Of course you’d say that. You don’t know who they are yet.
The cotton ball sneered.
—But you need to know who they are, just in case. If you want to keep being an actor.
“!”
If I want to be an actor…?
Then could it be… were they connected to the entertainment industry?
As Yewon was trying to piece things together—
The cotton ball suddenly opened its mouth wide and chomp, swallowed Yewon whole.
“!!”
Startled, Yewon screamed—
“Kyyaaaaaah!”
“What’s wrong?!”
The door flew open, and Doha rushed in.
“U-uncle!!”
Yewon shot upright in bed.
At the same time, she looked down at herself.
Not a single injury—her perfectly fine seven-year-old body.
“I-I’m alive…”
“Of course you are. What are you talking about…?”
Doha, clearly startled, clutched his chest and let out a long sigh.
“You scared me.”
He really did look shocked—his face was pale.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Yewon apologized sincerely.
“…Did you have a nightmare?”
Seeing how genuinely sorry she was, Doha seemed to calm down a bit and asked in a gentler voice.
“Yes…”
I dreamed some weird cotton ball swallowed me, was the answer that rose to her throat.
But Doha seemed to be thinking of a different kind of nightmare, his expression dark.
Yewon stared at him.
It must have become night while she slept—inside the dark room, Doha stood with the moonlight behind him, softly glowing.
Uncle always shines. From the first time I saw him, and even now.
…In this life, I want to protect him, so he can keep shining like this.
To do that, she’d have to stay by his side.
“Uncle.”
“…Yeah?”
“Um… are we going to live together now? Can we keep living together?”
