There Are Four Top Idol Uncles - Chapter 200

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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 26
At those words, as if someone had poured cold water over them all, the room fell into a chill silence.
Sung Ji-won regarded Yoo Eun-oh with steady eyes.
Yoo Eun-oh wasn’t the type to say something like this in jest—it had to be sincere.
If anyone else had suggested bringing Mun Hyeok back, they would’ve been buried under a barrage of curses, but because it was Yoo Eun-oh speaking, everyone’s lips remained sealed. Sung Ji-won was certain of that.
She knew Mun Hyeok was a good person, but the others had suffered plenty because of him.
‘That’s surprising, though.’
She hadn’t expected Yoo Eun-oh of all people to suggest bringing Mun Hyeok back.
It was Yoo Eun-oh who had inadvertently suffered the most because of Mun Hyeok.
Sung Ji-won looked at him with obvious surprise.
“Why?”
Ju Chae-jeong, who had been lying sprawled out the whole time, slowly lifted himself up to ask.
Even playing listless like that, once filming began, he worked harder than anyone else and earned considerable respect in the club—which was precisely why he could serve as an evaluator for the new member selection.
“Don’t you have to give us a reason? Why specifically Mun Hyeok?”
At Ju Chae-jeong’s question, the other children nodded vigorously.
Even for Yoo Eun-oh, this was simply too much.
Everyone stared at him, their expressions demanding he produce a convincing explanation.
“Because that boy was unfairly expelled from this club.”
……
But the words that came from Yoo Eun-oh’s mouth didn’t resonate with most of the children at all.
‘He’s right.’
Sung Ji-won agreed completely with what Yoo Eun-oh had said, yet she was certain the other children wouldn’t accept it.
‘It’s true, but… honestly, no one’s going to listen to that.’
Everyone had suffered too much for that.
“I don’t see what’s unfair about it. Sure, fine, the seniors treated Mun Hyeok wrong.”
……
“But all of us went through the same thing, and he threw a fit about it and tore the whole club apart. That was Mun Hyeok’s doing too, wasn’t it?”
At Ju Chae-jeong’s words, everyone recalled that time and chimed in with comments of their own.
“Right. Nobody tolerated the seniors because they were kind to us. We bit our tongues because we knew that tattling to teachers or adults would only make things worse.”
“I don’t see what the seniors did so terribly wrong. So freshmen can’t wear the outer robes and can only do extra work? The seniors didn’t even hit us.”
“Was it really about the roles? Wasn’t he making a fuss because they collected extra dues? Is that really such a big deal?”
“It’s only collected once every three years, and even if second-year students don’t have to pay dues, he couldn’t understand that. What’s the amount? The kid’s family is loaded anyway.”
“It wasn’t about the dues. Wasn’t it because the seniors wouldn’t let him go home at night? He said he had to sleep at home instead of pulling an all-nighter, and the seniors went crazy over that.”
“Who knows. Anyway, he reported everything to the teachers, so we couldn’t do any activities for a whole year…. We almost lost all our sponsors, and Yoo Eun-oh and Sung Ji-won barely managed to save it through sheer effort.”
“Yeah. We first-year students had to work incredibly hard just to get recognized again after the seniors cut us out of the productions.”
From various corners of the room, people kept asking why Mun Hyeok had gone after the seniors, but opinions remained scattered and far from unified.
Then.
“I agree with what Yoo Eun-oh said.”
Sung Ji-won spoke up quietly.
“Back then… I didn’t have the courage to say it…. But I honestly thought what the seniors did—expelling Hyuk—was unfair.”
!
Yoo Eun-oh gazed at Sung Ji-won calmly, as if he’d known all along that she would step forward.
The moment Sung Ji-won sided with him, the children who had been airing their grievances fell silent.
“That 500,000 won in dues the seniors demanded from us? It wasn’t even for filming—it was just money the seniors wanted to spend on themselves. It wasn’t even part of the normal budget, just something they collected that year.”
They hadn’t known it then, but they learned later.
The Film Production Club received enough sponsorship that there was no need to collect dues from first-year students at all.
The second and third-year students that year were simply rotten, and they were just demanding it from the freshmen.
“In any case, thanks to him, we got to skip paying the dues. The all-nighters too… They wouldn’t have us do anything, but they wouldn’t let us sit either—just stand and watch. The seniors got to rest in between, but we weren’t allowed to.”
Sung Ji-won laid bare the truths that the Film Production Club members had buried beneath their resentment of Mun Hyeok.
Truths that should have been spoken long ago.
“When Hyuk pointed out that there aren’t actual rules like this on real film sets, and asked why we had to do this stuff at a school where people are learning… that’s when the seniors abolished those rules.”
As Sung Ji-won continued speaking softly, someone cut in with a resentful tone.
“But then we first-year students got ostracized the whole time. The seniors tormented all of us together, saying we were all collectively responsible. They’d come to the first-year floor during breaks and scare us half to death.”
“That’s something the seniors did wrong, not something Hyuk did wrong.”
Sung Ji-won pressed the truth one more time.
……
At Sung Ji-won’s words, the children who had been talking a moment ago now said nothing at all.
“Is there anyone who still doesn’t understand?”
At that, Yoo Eun-oh opened his mouth again, his expression and tone no different than before.
Yoo Eun-oh remained unchanged, but the only difference was that no one contradicted him now.
Such a stubborn one.
Sung Ji-won watched Yoo Eun-oh, muttering under her breath.
If he just softened his tone a little here, all the kids would relax and fall all over themselves. But he’d never manage a soft tone even if he died trying.
Despotism is his nature, I swear.
Yoo Eun-oh turned his head toward Ju Chae-jeong.
“Ju Chae-jeong?”
“….”
Ju Chae-jeong adjusted his glasses with a sullen expression.
“I didn’t say I don’t accept it. I just asked why, that’s all.”
“You’re joking, Ju Chae-jeong. Just now you were going on like, ‘This is totally unfair, so what are we even—’ and now look at you.”
At Sung Ji-won’s words, the kids burst into laughter.
Ju Chae-jeong’s face burned bright red, but Sung Ji-won just laughed while slapping his shoulder repeatedly.
“So if our cool guy Chae-jeong accepts it, then everyone accepts it, right? Honestly, if Chae-jeong says okay, we all say okay?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I accept it.”
“Ju Chae-jeong accepted it too, so.”
“I guess… it’s a bit much, but Mun Hyeok really has been living like a total outcast all this time. We can give him a break now.”
“I accept.”
As the mood relaxed, Sung Ji-won let out a long breath of relief inside.
Finally lifted a weight off my shoulders.
‘…At last I’ve paid back even a fraction of what I owe you, Mun Hyeok.’
For the past two years, her heart had been so heavy.
She still hadn’t repaid even half of what she owed him….
‘That five hundred thousand won is a burden on you, isn’t it?’
‘….’
‘It’s a burden for anyone. For me too. So asking you to pay it is unfair, isn’t it?’
‘So what? I have to pay it if I want to do the Film Production Club.’
Sung Ji-won recalled their conversation from two years ago.
Mun Hyeok had offered to pay the five hundred thousand won on her behalf, but back then, struggling amidst the wealthy friends who were a hallmark of Arts Middle School, Sung Ji-won had firmly refused.
All her close friends had the attitude of ‘Five hundred thousand won? That’s pocket change compared to our tuition, right?’ which had hurt her pride even more.
Sung Ji-won was attending on a full scholarship from the foundation.
‘It’s fine. I’ll just do some part-time work myself. I’m not taking money from you.’
‘….’
‘I’m not a beggar, so stop it. You too.’
She thought the conversation had ended there.
But the next day, all hell broke loose.
Mun Hyeok had reported to the club’s faculty advisor the issue of excessive membership fees, along with all the misconduct that had been rampant in the Film Production Club.
When no one else would help her, Mun Hyeok alone had come to her aid.
Yet Sung Ji-won had been a coward, unable to say a single word for him.
Even as the entire Theatre and Film Department—from third-year seniors down to first-years—tormented him and subtly shunned him, she hadn’t uttered a single word of support.
At that time… it couldn’t be helped.
Whenever anyone tried to talk to Mun Hyeok or help him, the seniors would show up immediately and make their displeasure obvious.
But Mun Hyeok never once showed resentment toward Sung Ji-won. Rather, whenever she tried awkwardly to approach him out of guilt, he’d laugh as if he understood and quietly avoid her.
And the one person who had truly helped Mun Hyeok was.
‘That’s enough.’
Yoo Eun-oh.
‘If this kid keeps telling the teachers, it’ll be a problem for us. And you seniors are graduating soon—it wouldn’t be good to have school violence on your record, would it?’
At the time, his tone had been so cold that she hadn’t realized Yoo Eun-oh was actually helping Mun Hyeok.
But looking back now, Eun-oh had helped in every way he possibly could.
After Eun-oh’s words, the seniors stopped tormenting Mun Hyeok.
But from that day on, the arrows somehow turned toward Eun-oh instead.
Whenever odd jobs came up, they’d call on Eun-oh specifically to do them, or they’d invent unnecessary tasks just to give him more work.
Yet Eun-oh never complained and quietly got everything done, taking on his friends’ work as well.
And then finally, when the third-years graduated.
At last, the first-years and Eun-oh could graduate from all that torment.
Because Eun-oh showed no signs of his suffering, the other friends didn’t fully realize the extent of his efforts, but Sung Ji-won knew every bit of what Eun-oh had endured.
And that was why.
“So then, will you be the one to tell Mun Hyeok?”
“No. You do it, Sung Ji-won.”
“Why won’t you tell him yourself—”
“I have something to take care of at home, so I’m heading out first. Everyone, don’t stay in the meeting too late and get home soon.”
“Oh, yes….”
“Right then. Take care!”
And with that, Yoo Eun-oh left.
Sung Ji-won watched the space where he’d been standing for a long time. It felt as though he’d given her a chance.

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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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