There Are Four Top Idol Uncles - Chapter 195

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Part 2, Episode 21
* * *
“Hey, Yewon. Could you lower the blinds for me?”
“Of course!”
Yewon answered brightly at the teacher’s request.
As she stood before the window to lower the blinds, she spotted Euno standing among the flower beds in front of the school.
He held an old film camera, aimed squarely at her.
The camera obscured his face entirely, yet Yewon recognized him at once—some instinct told her it was Euno.
And that she was the subject in his viewfinder.
……
Yewon forgot all about lowering the blinds, staring blankly at him instead.
Between the flower beds stirring faintly to life, sunlight gleamed through the last of winter’s chill, heedless of early March’s cruel frosts.
Euno stood there in an impeccably neat school uniform, looking up at her—and he was the embodiment of early spring itself.
Not yet warm, but carrying the delicate promise of winter’s final breath.
From the second floor, she could make out every detail: the way his fingers tightened on the shutter, the subtle shift of his hand.
He took a photo of me. Just now.
The moment that realization struck, Yewon hastily lowered the blinds.
Then, masking the frantic thud of her heart, she quickly returned to her seat.
That person just now—I think he took a photo of me. Or was I imagining things?
I thought he disliked me. He definitely seemed to find me tiresome….
So why? Why would he photograph me?
Yewon was bewildered.
Since childhood, she’d stood before hundreds—no, thousands if she counted her past life—of cameras.
Yet here she was, rattled by a single humble film camera.
…It was probably just the shock. He thought he disliked me, but he photographed me anyway—and I was simply startled by the unexpectedness of it all.
It wasn’t a situation I’d prepared for, after all. On set, I position myself before the cameras deliberately, but just now I had no warning whatsoever.
Of course I’d be thrown off balance.
Yewon pressed her pen hard against her textbook, trying to ignore her still-racing heart.
With each stroke, the afterimage from moments before seemed to burn itself into the page.
The boy’s silhouette—holding the film camera in pale hands.
* * *
She was flustered.
Siwo, who had been checking on Yewon every fifteen minutes even during class, felt his chest tighten.
His idol appeared more shaken than he’d ever seen her.
Why?
Siwo had never witnessed Yewon panic, startled, or tense.
Not on the world’s grandest stages, not on red carpets swarming with photographers, not at press conferences or fan meetings where she faced hundreds of admirers.
Not once had she shown a hint of nervousness.
Siwo knew this with absolute certainty—he followed her every footstep.
Yet now, even as her cheeks flushed slightly, she was plainly flustered.
Ever since the teacher had asked her to lower the blinds.
‘…Could lowering the blinds be…her weakness…?’
What on earth…?
Though he dutifully searched for Yewon’s weaknesses at his aunt’s behest, Siwo had always been certain he would never find any—that she was simply invulnerable.
That certainty had actually made it easier for him to follow her without reservation.
Because someone like Yewon could never have a weakness.
Yet now Siwo had a sudden premonition: he’d discovered something. Her weakness—or at least, *something*.
‘…Could she be afraid of the dark, or something like that…?’
He had no way of knowing.
Siwo found himself caught in a spiral of speculation.
* * *
The first week at Hyunbong Middle School had ended, and the second week began.
In practical terms, it meant the Drama and Film classes—and club activities—were about to commence.
‘And Mun Hyeok still won’t stop avoiding me.’
True enough. Mun Hyeok steered clear of Yewon as if she were an unexploded mine.
[Mun Hyeok]
Hey, do you have a minute to talk about the club?
Just a quick word?
It’s important. Please?
……
He ignored me for a whole day… ugh
???
Did he block me…?
Yewon’s messages went unanswered, his calls unreturned, and she couldn’t find him anywhere at school.
The moment the break bell rang, she’d dart out to search for him, only to come back empty-handed.
It was absurd.
‘What am I even doing that he needs to avoid me like this?’
How could he know what I’m about to say?
Yewon was baffled.
At least if he’d heard me out and refused, she could understand. But to ghost her entirely without even meeting? It made no sense.
She glanced anxiously at the Quest window.
This won’t work. Getting a third-year to switch clubs is only possible at the start of the semester—if too much time passes, it becomes impossible.
Which means I could actually fail this Quest, and if that happens, Uncle…
Her chest sank with a heavy thud.
But then.
“…Hey.”
An unexpected person spoke to her.
‘Siwo?’
What’s he doing all of a sudden?
“Can I… ask you something?”
He spoke with visible hesitation.
“What?”
“Today’s the last day to register for clubs, and I was wondering… which club are you thinking of joining?”
Yewon studied Siwo’s face intently.
He was clearly uncomfortable—he couldn’t even meet her eyes.
His shoulders, usually held so rigidly that it seemed almost painful, had sagged slightly.
“Of course, you’d probably hate it, but I was thinking—”
“I’m applying to the Film Production Club.”
“!”
“If you want to join too, go ahead. But it’s such a popular club that I’m not even sure I’ll make it.”
At Yewon’s casual response, Siwo looked genuinely stunned.
But from her perspective, it was perfectly straightforward.
Even if he joined the same club just to compete with her…
‘Unless it’s something like a math problem-solving club, there’s not much to worry about.’
When it came to Acting, Yewon didn’t feel threatened by anyone.
The only thing she held herself accountable to was her own laziness.
“You’ll definitely get in. Obviously. Why would you even worry…?”
“Well. They said if the competition ratio goes beyond one-to-one, the seniors pick from there. But as you know…”
Yewon shrugged.
She meant: You saw the whole mess I made with those third-years, didn’t you?
Siwo’s face darkened further.
“I think that’s unfair.”
“The world isn’t always fair.”
This world had never been fair to Yewon, so she’d grown used to it.
Nothing was more unjust than a world that constantly pushed the person she loved most—her Uncle—into danger.
Her calm answer seemed to strike something in Siwo; for the first time, his gaze met hers directly.
“Anyway, since I’m not even sure I’ll get in, you should just apply to whichever club you actually want. If only you make it and I don’t, we both lose—you’d end up in some random other club, and—”
Yewon paused, then added:
“You don’t seem interested in Acting or Directing anyway.”
In other words: don’t waste your effort.
Though truth be told, his whole presence at this school seemed like a waste to begin with.
“…!”
Siwo flinched as if caught off guard.
Why the shock? Did he think I wouldn’t notice he was forced here by overprotective adults?
“…I’m not disinterested. I do care.”
“Then I’m glad.”
Yewon hoped this unfortunate boy wouldn’t waste his time because of her.
But that was all the effort she could spare for him.
With the Quest already consuming her, she didn’t have the capacity to worry about him too.
“Do you… have something on your mind?”
That was when Siwo carefully opened his mouth.
At his question, Yewon looked at him as if surprised.
She usually tried to answer most things, but this question wasn’t one she wanted to answer.
“I’m not trying to find your weakness… it’s just that your expression looks too troubled. Did I…?”
Siwo trailed off before finishing his sentence.
So it showed that easily. She wasn’t being professional enough.
The moment Yewon heard those words, she instinctively swept the shadow from her face and put on the smile she always wore.
“Not at all. Nothing’s wrong. I guess I’m just a little tired from adjusting to school. Ha ha. I should ask my uncles to do a cucumber face mask when I get home.”
……
As Yewon tried to brush it off,
“You have a habit of smiling when you want to hide something.”
!
His words struck like an arrow.
“…You don’t have to smile. Keeping it up like that must be so exhausting. Your face muscles hurt, don’t they?”
Siwo said that and blew out a breath through his mouth. Then he swept his hand across his face as if frustrated.
Ah.
So that was it.
That was when Yewon finally understood the sense of déjà vu she’d felt from him, and the source of her subtle unease.
Why Siwo seemed both pitiful and unsettling at once.
She knew this expression.
Right now, Siwo resembled the seven-year-old Yewon.
That Yewon who wanted to help her uncles at GLEET but didn’t know how, fumbling in her attempts.
“I’m sorry. I overstepped. I just wanted to help—”
“Then help me.”
!
Whether Siwo’s eyes widened or not, Yewon looked at him straight on.
She didn’t know why, but this boy wanted to help her right now.
And she knew well that such a desire could never be resolved until it actually became real help.
So then.
“If you want to help, then help me. And I’ll help you too.”
…Maybe, just maybe, we could help each other.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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