There Are Four Top Idol Uncles - Chapter 253

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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 79
* * *
A few days later, during lunch at school.
“…A booth for the festival?”
“Yeah. We have to prepare one, obviously. What did your Class 1 decide to do? We’re doing a Haunted House.”
Yewon was taken aback by Jeongyun’s words, which had hit her like a bolt from the blue.
Wait, the festival—wasn’t it just a matter of submitting work?!
“I… I didn’t know. I thought we only had to prepare a short film.”
“What? That’s what the club is preparing. The teacher told everyone to prepare a booth for their class. Didn’t your homeroom teacher mention it yet?”
“She did.”
Seoa, who had been listening quietly to their conversation from the side, answered in her stead.
“You were completely lost in thought at the time, so you didn’t hear. We decided to do a Four-cut Photo Booth.”
“?!?!”
What on earth was that…?
“It’s nothing special, really. We just take four-cut photos for people. Of course….”
Seoa looked Yewon up and down appraisingly.
“We also offer a service where customers can request one of us to pose with them in the photos.”
“P-pose… together…?!”
“Oh yeah. I can totally see you scheming to profit off yourself.”
Yewon blanched, while Jeongyun laughed openly.
“Of course. Plus, all the narcissists in our class are already hoping people will ask for them specifically.”
“In a school full of celebrities or trainees, what possessed you all to even think that way?”
“No idea. Not my problem.”
Seoa shrugged cynically, then looked at Yewon.
“Get your head in the game. You spend all day thinking about your shoot—it’s obvious.”
“Is… is it really that obvious…?”
“Extremely.”
Not just Seoa, but Jeongyun and even Harin, who had been quiet until now, all nodded in agreement.
“We’re genuinely amazed how you even manage to get food into your mouth. Even when you’re eating, you’re memorizing your script in your head—we can tell from here.”
“I’m sorry….”
Caught red-handed for not focusing on her friends, Yewon laughed with a sheepish expression.
“Don’t apologize. Anyone who knows you understands that happens when you get into a project. Honestly, you’re exactly like Yoo Eun-o.”
Jeongyun rolled her eyes as she spoke.
“Just thinking about being dragged back out this weekend makes me feel like the world is closing in and I can’t breathe. Isn’t this child abuse? If this isn’t school violence, then what on earth is? The senior is exploiting our labor…!!!!!”
“So what. I liked it.”
“!!!!!”
At Seoa’s unexpected response, all three girls snapped their heads toward her simultaneously.
“Seriously? Did something positive actually come out of your mouth? I must’ve misheard, right? Your brain circuits got crossed while you were about to curse, didn’t they? That’s gotta be it, right?”
“I said I liked it. Why don’t you believe me?”
Seoa spoke curtly, then added,
“That senior has no manners, but she does direct with real precision. I can actually improve my skills. It’s not vague directing like ‘flashy but simple’—it was directing that helps me fix my actual weaknesses.”
…….
Even with Seoa’s explanation, Jeongyun shook her head as if she still couldn’t believe it.
Another person just as obsessed with acting as Yewon existed? The world really was heading toward destruction….
“Anyway, I hope the shoot ends soon. Honestly, I just want the festival to come already. Our school has so much money that the foundation does a lot of preparation, I heard. Last year was legendary, apparently.”
“Really?”
Since Yewon had barely participated in events like that before, her eyes lit up at Jeongyun’s explanation.
“Yeah. After the foundation changed last year, they even brought in idols. They called a bunch of food trucks, and seriously, there were tons of event game booths too. And in the evening, they apparently set off fireworks.”
“…How much money does this school even have?”
At Seoa’s comment, all eyes turned toward Yewon.
A question about how much money Hyunbong Art Middle School had was, of course….
“Well, I… I’m not sure….”
Since she still couldn’t gauge the scale of Haion’s wealth, Yewon fumbled her words.
If she actually tried to find out, her grandmother would definitely say something like ‘Oh my! My dear finally has interest in the company! Come here. Let me tell you how our Hyun Family founded Haion and how we brought it to prosperity….’ so she couldn’t even ask out of curiosity.
“Speaking of which, what about Siwoo? Everyone’s been saying he transferred schools since he never shows up.”
“Oh, that.”
Finally, a topic she could speak about with confidence, Yewon straightened her shoulders proudly.
“Siwoo didn’t transfer! He’s just staying at our grandmother’s house for a while.”
“?!”
“Wait…. You mean… your grandmother….”
“Yeah. Our grandmother.”
“You mean…the one who looks incredibly graceful but is actually kind of terrifying?”
At Jeongyun’s words, Harin nodded quietly but emphatically.
“Um, yes… I only have one grandmother, so it must be her…?”
How exactly did other people see her grandmother?
Yewon found herself puzzled for a moment.
“Father asked her. As you both know, Siwoo and I are distant relatives….”
Yusong had decided to entrust Siwoo, who had no other family, to his mother while he worked out matters with Siwoo’s adoptive parents.
“Ah, I see.”
Jeongyun nodded as if she understood, but Harin’s expression remained skeptical.
That was strange.
According to her parents…that grandmother supposedly didn’t care for Siwoo very much.
They’d said something like, “With that lady’s temperament, she wouldn’t exactly welcome some stranger trying to swallow down her precious grandson’s company…”
Could it be…?
* * *
“What’s your dream, child?”
“…!”
In the elegant mansion in Pyeongchang-dong.
Mrs. Ju asked Siwoo with a sharp smile.
“I… I….”
“Don’t you dare repeat the dreams of your pathetic adoptive parents. I’m asking about your dream, not theirs.”
“…”
My dream….
Under the piercing gaze of Mrs. Ju, Siwoo’s spirit wilted even as his expression grew serious.
It had been quite some time since he’d thought about such a thing.
Five years had already passed since his parents died in that sudden accident.
Since being placed in his aunt’s care, her dreams had become his.
At first, the grief of losing his parents had kept him from recognizing what treatment he was actually receiving.
‘Your uncle comes from such an important family. Our Siwoo is still too young to understand that now. But as he grows, he’ll realize it. How fortunate he is.’
‘You must be grateful to your aunt. She not only raises you entirely, but gives you so much support.’
‘Be thankful. Look at the wonderful house you live in, the wonderful education she provides.’
With everyone around him drilling these things into his ears endlessly, it only sank deeper.
Never once had he asked for such grand support. He’d only wanted to grow up ordinarily.
He’d just wanted to live with his mom and dad.
But he could never say such a thing.
After all, the ‘support’ his aunt had given him was overwhelming.
More than adequate food, clothing, and shelter, and always warm words….
Of course, the price of enjoying all that was living exactly as his aunt had planned.
Every day felt heavy, but with everyone telling him to be ‘grateful,’ he had no room to think otherwise.
“Did I ask something too difficult? Then you can think about it gradually. You’re still young after all—”
“…I… I….”
“!”
For the first time since coming to Mrs. Ju’s house, Siwoo’s mouth opened.
“I… I want to become someone cool like Yewon.”
Hmm.
Mrs. Ju’s eyes brightened slightly at an answer far better than expected.
The boy was frail, practically useless in any real situation, and ever since she’d brought him here, he’d been unable to lift his head.
She’d thought him completely unsuited to the Hyun family, but it seemed he had at least decent judgment.
“You want to become like our Yewon?”
“Of course… Yewon is… such a cool person that it might be impossible to reach that level… but I still want to try.”
“What about our dear girl struck you as so cool?”
Compliments of her granddaughter were a subject Mrs. Ju would never tire of hearing. She smiled warmly and fed Siwoo a piece of fruit.
“Well, um….”
Though he couldn’t quite adjust to Mrs. Ju’s sudden gentleness, Siwoo answered honestly.
“…How Yewon knows how to help others, and how she always speaks her convictions confidently…. I want to become that kind of person. And she shines when she does her work… I want to know what I like and what I’m good at too.”
“You’re describing our granddaughter perfectly.”
Mrs. Ju nodded and gave Siwoo an appraising once-over.
Well. She’d thought him nothing but chaff, but the boy showed some promise after all.
She couldn’t simply hand Haion over to him outright… but bringing him into the Hyun family didn’t seem like a bad idea. After all, Yewon would need ‘family’ by her side as she grew.
‘…Kim Manager comes to mind….’
He must have been just as stiff when he was younger.
“Hmm.”
The house had felt empty for some time anyway.
Even if her three sons were failures she couldn’t show to the world, now that they’d grown and left, the space they’d occupied felt impossibly large.
Good.
Mrs. Ju rose from her seat with a faint smile.
“This house has exactly three rules. First, eat well and sleep well. Second, never talk back to your elders. Third, live like a child should.”
“…?”
Rules, all of a sudden…?
Siwoo looked at Mrs. Ju with confusion in his eyes.
“Living like a child means playing happily when it’s time to play, and working hard toward your dreams like a proper student should. Do you understand?”
“Um… yes…?”
“I have no intention of pushing you to your limits the way your adoptive parents did. I won’t even tell you to study. But whatever support you need, I’ll provide it, no matter what.”
“!”
“Go to school tomorrow. You’ve rested long enough. I’ll need to iron your uniform. Goodness.”
That meant….
Siwoo stared up at Mrs. Ju in a daze.
“You’re… saying I can keep living here…?”
“Don’t state the obvious.”
Mrs. Ju spoke with firm resolve.
This child was far too naive—so different from her own sons, who’d been either mad, spiteful, or greedy from the moment they could speak, that she was struggling to adapt to how normal he was.
“Let’s have dinner first. As for you….”
Mrs. Ju looked him up and down, then clicked her tongue.
“You need to gain at least forty pounds. What in the world is this? Your bones are showing through! My goodness. From today on, you’re eating three full bowls at every meal. There’s nothing you can’t eat, right?”
“?!?!?!”
And so Siwoo gained a new grandmother.

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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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