There Are Four Top Idol Uncles - Chapter 88
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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 88
* * *
Yewon’s room.
“!”
Lee Doha came into the room to wake up Yewon, who was sleeping in later than usual, and was startled.
“Yewon!”
Because Yewon was sitting on the bed, hugging a pillow while sobbing.
“Uncle…”
For Lee Doha, who knew that Yewon was a child who rarely cried, it was truly bewildering and his heart sank.
“What’s wrong, Yewon? Did you have a nightmare? Hm? Are you hurt somewhere? Do you have a fever?”
Lee Doha frantically placed his hand on Yewon’s forehead. She didn’t have a fever.
What should he do if the child was sick?
“Pediatrician? Should we go to a pediatrician? Yewon, let’s quickly get dressed. Uncle will take you to the hospital-”
“No… Uncle. I’m not sick.”
“Not sick? Are you really not sick? Then what’s wrong, Yewon? Did you have a bad dream?”
“No…! I had a good dream. A really good dream.”
“Huh…? You had a good dream but you’re crying?”
Just as Yewon nodded with her puffy face.
“Hey!!! Lee family!! The sun is high in the sky, why aren’t you coming out!!! This uncle’s stomach is going to stick to his back, hurry up and come out!!”
“You’re so noisy from the morning, Hanwon. Shut your mouth.”
“…Why does it take forever to wake up a kid.”
The three uncles burst through the door all at once.
And.
“?!?!!??!”
“!”
“…?”
The three people who saw Yewon wiping her tears with her puffy face froze on the spot.
Wait a moment.
What would GLEET members do if they found one of their members crying?
[Lee Doha: Other than crying when we win first place? …I’d try to understand the situation first. What happened, and how we can solve it.]
[Weon: Huh? Our members crying when it’s not a concert or winning first place?? That can’t be right? Then something really big must have happened? Hup. I’d film it first, right?!? And save it to tease them at fan meetings later?? Wow, just thinking about it is fun?!]
[Eon: Why would they cry when they’re not even kids. I’d tell them to snap out of it on their own. I’d mock them.]
[Yeonho: …Ah… I’d give them space. Let them compose themselves alone.]
That’s right.
GLEET members had rarely seen each other cry, and they had no immunity to seeing a crying member.
That’s why the video of Eon crying had become GLEET members’ laugh button to this day.
But if Yewon cried?
“Yewon!!!!!!!! No, why is my little baby cider crying!!! Who made our baby cider cry!!! Hey!!! Lee Doha, is it you? Come here!!!”
Weon was completely shocked and threw away the phone he was holding and rushed to Yewon.
“What. Why are you crying. What happened. Why are you like this. I, first ice cream, ice cream…”
Eon panicked for a moment, then unconsciously ran to the kitchen to get ice cream.
“…What. Is the kid sick somewhere? Lee Doha, did you check her temperature?”
Yeonho frowned and checked Yewon’s condition first.
And.
Yewon could feel her uncles’ worry and affection, and unconsciously cried even more sadly.
Of course, the fact that the uncles panicked even more as a result was a secret among the five of them.
* * *
Kitchen.
Yewon was sitting on Weon’s lap, unlike usual, and the GLEET members were sitting around the two of them.
Lee Doha strongly argued that ‘I’m the uncle so I should hold her,’ but Weon countered with ‘I probably have the most experience comforting crying kids here. Life goes by experience,’ and won in the end.
“…Have you calmed down a bit?”
Eon looked at Yewon with a voice full of bewilderment.
“Yes.”
Yewon answered with a stuffy voice and nodded.
Then all the GLEET members quietly sighed in relief.
They were so flustered by the child crying from the morning that they all forgot about going to practice and only watched Yewon’s complexion.
“Then can you tell us now, Yewon? Why you were crying? Uncle is worried.”
“….”
At Lee Doha’s gentle voice, Yewon hesitated for a moment.
…Normally, she would have made up some excuse and moved on. She would have made up childish excuses like waking up to find everything dark and scary, or having a scary dream.
But…
“…I miss Mother.”
Yewon was determined to complete the special mission Mother had left for her.
“…!”
“So, I cried a little…”
Because it was a mission given by Mother, not just anyone else.
At the word ‘Mother’ spoken in a stuffy voice, the GLEET members couldn’t even answer and closed their mouths.
At seven years old, how much would she need and miss her mother?
Because they all understood that feeling too well, the members couldn’t offer any words of comfort.
‘…Sorry, Uncle.’
She had absolutely, absolutely tried not to talk about Mother because Uncle might worry.
Yewon felt her heart being pricked by Lee Doha’s gaze looking down at her with such complicated eyes.
But Mother said this was all to give Uncle an opportunity too.
Yewon steeled her heart again.
“…Uncle.”
“Yeah?”
Yewon looked up at Lee Doha who was sitting next to her, holding her hand tightly.
Sorry, Uncle.
“You know. Uncle. Mother is… I mean, I… don’t have a grandfather?”
Really, really sorry.
Yewon felt so sorry that she couldn’t even look at Lee Doha’s eyes and just fidgeted with their clasped hands.
“Mother said before. Grandmother passed away early, so she threw away all of Mother’s photos. But… Grandfather would have lots of Mother’s photos from when she was really little.”
“…!”
“I want Mother’s photos… And I want to hear stories about Mother from Grandfather too…”
At those words.
Lee Doha couldn’t give any answer.
* * *
Time Enter building, practice room.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Along with the new song, the perfectly synchronized footsteps of GLEET members and the choreography team echoed through the practice room.
Then.
Everyone stopped and turned to look at Lee Doha.
It was Lee Doha’s part so he should have been in the center, but Lee Doha was standing still, staring blankly into space.
“…Lee Doha.”
Eon placed his hand on Lee Doha’s shoulder.
“…Ah.”
At Eon’s touch, Lee Doha finally came to his senses and looked up.
“Hey, are you okay…?!”
Weon also watched Lee Doha’s mood and offered him an ion drink.
“Let’s take a break for a moment.”
When Yeonho asked the choreography team for understanding, the members dragged Doha over and sat him down in a corner.
“Hey hey. Should we take a day off from practice today?! I mean, what. How many years have we been doing this, and just because we rest for one day, what?! Are we people whose quality would drop?! I already memorized everything! The choreography! Huh!”
“Right. Honestly, it’ll be over quickly anyway. Let’s rest today.”
“…No.”
Though Weon and Yeonho urged him with worried voices, Doha shook his head.
“I’m fine. Sorry for losing focus. Let’s start again-”
“What are you sorry for. If we were sick, would you be that cold to us too? As a leader, can’t you put yourself in our shoes? If you act tough like this, how can we show our weak sides.”
At Eon’s irritated words, Doha blinked blankly.
“…Ah. I guess… that’s true.”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
At those words, Doha hung his head low.
Actually, Yewon’s words from earlier had been echoing in his ears, making it impossible to concentrate on practice.
“Can’t I meet Grandfather… just once?”
Actually, there was nothing stopping him from doing that.
Since he had no intention of meeting his biological father, he just needed to send Yewon alone.
He knew that if he asked the members to take Yewon to Director Yeon Taejung, they would agree to it.
But.
Doha could instinctively feel that what Yewon really wanted wasn’t a one-time meeting with her grandfather.
She was longing for it. The framework of family.
No matter how hard he tried to fill that empty space in place of their mother, there would inevitably be small gaps.
Just like how Doha himself lived with somewhere in his heart still empty, even after gaining a new family in the members.
The child was instinctively seeking something more that could fill those gaps.
He understood Yewon’s feelings so well.
Because Doha had been the same way.
At first, it seemed like the members filled the gaps.
The emptiness that remained after that was filled by the fans.
That’s how he could endure it. No matter how many sleepless nights increased, no matter how much he was pointed at for crimes he didn’t commit.
Still, as long as he stood on stage, there were people who looked at him.
So maybe he had instinctively chosen this work. Knowing that what could ultimately fill this crack in his heart was another kind of love.
So.
So… taking away that opportunity from Yewon would be unfair.
“…Hey.”
Doha opened his mouth with difficulty.
The three members frowned as much as they could while focusing on Doha’s words.
“…Could you all come with me. When I go to meet that… person.”
“!!”
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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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