There Are Four Top Idol Uncles - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 4

“…Mother did.”

Yewon quickly came up with an answer.

“Mother told me about it a long time ago.”

“My sister did?”

Doha raised his eyebrows as if truly surprised.

However, Yewon noticed that the emotion appearing on his face was closer to joy than displeasure.

…So their relationship wasn’t bad?

They barely kept in touch, and Mother had asked me to tell Uncle she was sorry… I thought it might be because they didn’t get along.

But that didn’t seem to be the case.

Rather, it seemed like there was some more complicated story behind it.

While the two were lost in their own thoughts for their respective reasons.

Yeongeo called Doha with a serious expression.

“Doha.”

“Yeah.”

“We brought her here for now… but what are you really going to do?!”

Yeongeo’s voice lowered. It was probably consideration to prevent Yewon from hearing, but Yewon’s ears were sharper than expected.

No, she was quick to catch on. It was obvious what the adults would be worried about in this situation.

“I did request the company to block the reporters for now, but if the child stays at home…”

“…I know.”

Doha furrowed his brow and rubbed his face with dry hands.

“Uncle… I’m scared… I don’t want to go to that man…”

At the funeral home, he had brought her without thinking ahead or behind, just thinking he had to protect the child.

But an active top idol, and a leader who had to handle a killer schedule, raising a child?

And without any preparation? It was close to impossible.

‘And more than anything…’

Doha glanced at Yewon.

If Doha were to raise that child.

That would mean having to reveal that child’s existence to the world…

Doha bit his lip. That couldn’t happen.

“Should we hire a nanny for now? Even if we ask the company to rush it…”

“No. Not something we hire in a rush.”

Doha cut him off firmly.

“It has to be someone we can trust. If it gets out that she’s my niece… No, I can’t entrust her to anyone. Right now… I can’t trust anyone.”

“…”

“…The atmosphere has been bad lately anyway, and strange rumors will spread again. I don’t want to hurt the child.”

“Then what do we do. You have to go to schedules, and it might be okay for a while… but you know we can’t keep doing this.”

Yeongeo looked at Doha with eyes full of concern.

“I have to follow you around. Leave the child alone in this big house? What about meals? Sleep?”

Yeongeo’s points were all valid.

From one to ten, everything was a problem that needed to be solved.

Doha also seemed to have no answer as he kept his mouth tightly shut.

Heavy silence pressed down on the living room.

‘…If this continues.’

Yewon tightened her grip on the water cup.

She might be sent somewhere else again because of ‘realistic problems.’

Even if not to Fake Uncle, there was a high possibility she’d be entrusted to a boarding school or educational institution.

Judging from Cotton Ball’s words, given Doha’s personality, he would think it was right to send her to a better environment rather than something he couldn’t handle.

‘Absolutely not.’

This was such a hard-won opportunity. If she got pushed out here, she could never come back.

More than anything, she didn’t want to live a life of being ‘entrusted’ to someone again.

She had to become a necessary ‘family’ to this house, not a ‘burden’ that needed protection.

Thunk.

Yewon put down the water cup on the table and jumped down from the sofa.

“U-Uncle…”

At the sudden call, both Doha and Yeongeo’s gazes fixed on Yewon simultaneously.

Yewon stood confidently in front of the two adults.

“I, I can stay home alone!”

“What?”

Instantly, Doha’s expression darkened considerably.

Yewon’s spirit was slightly dampened, but she forced herself to smile brightly.

“I know how to eat meals alone, and I know how to wash myself. I won’t touch the gas stove, and I’ll lock the door properly. I won’t interfere with Uncle’s work.”

Because she had always lived that way.

…She was really confident she could do all of that well.

She was confident she could do even better than that.

“So…”

So.

“Can’t I… live with Uncle?”

So please don’t abandon me.

This was sincere. Yewon didn’t want to be abandoned by Doha twice.

Yewon tried not to shed tears.

…She had often tried to cry, but this was the first time she was acting to try not to cry.

“…What is this kid saying.”

However, at the desperately returning answer, Yewon hung her head.

Ah.

…So it still wasn’t possible after all, she thought, closing her eyes tightly.

“Why should you have to be good at those things.”

Doha’s voice rang in her ears.

“Even if you can’t do any of that, we’ll live together.”

“!”

Yewon quickly raised her head again.

Then she saw Doha’s expression, his face completely contorted.

‘…I’ve seen this expression before…’

Who would have thought someone else’s contorted face could be this welcome.

Ridiculously, this expression that was so welcome, Yewon knew it.

* * *

It was the summer when she was 12.

“Hey, stop eating. What are you going to do if you gain weight?”

Thud.

Uncle whispered so others couldn’t hear and snatched away the lunch box Yewon was holding.

Yewon looked at the lunch box with a devastated expression.

This lunch box was the first ‘proper meal’ Yewon had eaten in two days.

Her uncle never provided her with proper meals.

When she had an agency, the manager sisters took good care of her, but after Uncle broke the contract, she had no memory of being taken care of by anyone.

At least when she went to school, she could eat lunch, but Uncle didn’t even send her to school properly.

He didn’t want to hear about child abuse, so he would send her to school in the morning, then arbitrarily make her leave early just before lunch time using schedules as an excuse.

And today.

Uncle, excited about a commercial that came in after a long time, had dragged Yewon to the filming site without even asking her.

And the person who gave her this lunch box was-

“Hey there.”

It was Lee Doha, who was scheduled to film an advertisement together today.

“What are you doing to the child right now?”

Uncle seemed to flinch momentarily at Doha’s murderous attitude, then immediately frowned deeply.

“Why? What’s the problem?”

“You just took away the lunch box I gave the child. Can’t you see the kid is hungry?”

Doha shot back at Fake Uncle with fiery eyes.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been… treating the child like this all along?”

“…No, it’s all necessary for work, putting her on a diet. What’s it to you now? Seriously…”

Even at Doha’s angry voice, Uncle just picked at his ear dismissively.

Then cracks began to appear on Doha’s face.

“…What’s it to me now? Are you seriously saying that right-“

“That’s right. You’re way too late, and now you want to act like family? Don’t make me laugh.”

“This bastard really-“

“What, if you want to try something, go ahead! Let’s see who loses out.”

“Doha!!”

At that moment, Yewon glanced up at the voice calling Doha.

“Hey, Doha. Calm down. Huh? No violence, man. Ah, excuse me, sir. Yes, please calm down too…”

Yeongeo was sweating profusely as he tried to stop both Doha and Uncle.

Whether Yeongeo was stopping them or not, Yewon watched Doha continue glaring at Uncle and thought.

…This person.

He really does shine.

She had even dreamed the hopeless dream of how wonderful it would be if this person were her uncle.

Of course, even then she thought there was something strange about their conversation-

But at the time, the filming was urgent so she had to let it slide.

And not long after, news came that Doha had passed away.

* * *

“Then I’ll come tomorrow! You two… uh… take… care…?”

Yeongeo gave an awkward farewell to Doha and Yewon at the entrance.

“Don’t come.”

“!”

At Doha’s words, both Yewon and Yeongeo looked at Doha simultaneously.

D-don’t come?

“Huh?! Why, why?!”

Yeongeo asked with a flustered face.

Right, why?

Yewon wanted to know too. If even Yeongeo wasn’t here in this empty space, it would be really awkward!

“Don’t come and rest at home. There’s no schedule tomorrow anyway. You should rest too.”

“Th-that’s true, but…”

Yeongeo scratched his head in confusion.

“What if I’m not here? Doha, do you even know how to raise a 7-year-old…?”

“…”

That’s right. Uncle, have you ever raised a child?

Yewon also looked at Doha with eyes containing the same question.

Doha fell silent at Yeongeo’s innocent question.

“I can just watch YouTube.”

“You’re going to learn how to raise a 7-year-old from YouTube?”

“Do other parents… go to child-rearing school or something? If there’s something I don’t know, I can just search for it.”

He definitely wavered. He wavered when he said the word ‘parents.’

“Still, Doha, you taking care of Yewon alone is a bit…”

I’m against it too! If I stay next to Uncle Doha, I probably won’t even get proper meals. Purely as a matter of life skills.

Yewon nodded with a very pale face.

“What’s wrong with me?”

“You can’t even take care of yourself properly. But for you to take care of a girl, not even a boy, all by yourself is hard to imagine…”

Right, exactly.

Yewon kept agreeing, then asked about something she’d been curious about.

“But why are you alone?”

“Huh?”

At Yewon’s question, both men turned their heads toward Yewon.

“Where did all the other GLEET member uncles go?”

“!”

Awkwardness flashed across Yeongeo’s face.

Even though Doha himself remained calm.

Wait, what’s so awkward about that question? Don’t idol groups usually live together?

“We don’t live together.”

“!”

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