Episode 28
After about a 30-minute drive, Cheolhwan arrived at B-One’s residence.
He entered the passcode and stepped into the house.
At the sound of the door opening, a small figure came scurrying out.
It was Bbokdol, who had recovered overnight and came out to greet him.
“Oh, Bbokdol! Did you sleep well?”
“Woof!”
Cheolhwan bent down and patted Bbokdol’s head. Soon after, Roy appeared.
“You’re back, hyung?”
“Yeah. Where are the others?”
“They’re eating. Did you eat yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Then join us. We just started.”
“Sure, I’m hungry too.”
Cheolhwan set down his bag in the living room and headed into the kitchen.
“Oh? Hyung, you’re here? Come on in!”
“Hi~~”
“Auntie! I’m here too. Could I have some food, please?”
At Cheolhwan’s greeting, the aunt smiled and quickly scooped rice into a bowl and placed it at a seat for him.
“Come and eat. You need to eat regularly, even when you’re busy.”
“Yes, I was going to, but lost track of time while working. But thanks to that, I get to eat your delicious food, so I guess it worked out for the best. Haha.”
“Oh, you and your smooth talk. Let me know if you need more.”
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
As Cheolhwan picked up his spoon, the members of B-One began to talk.
“Hyung, we didn’t think you’d come today, but here you are.”
“Yeah, I had some things I needed to go over with you.”
“Alright, let’s eat first and talk afterward. We’ve got to feed Sejin.”
“Sure. Sejin, how are you? Did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes! Did you sleep well too, Uncle Cheolhwan?”
“Haha. Yes, uncle slept well too. Looks like you’ve already settled in nicely here. So has Bbokdol.”
“Yup! I like this house!”
Sejin swallowed a bite of food and shouted happily.
“Haha. You like the house? That’s great. We uncles are also happier now that you’re here. The house feels brighter.”
“Totally. With a kid and a dog around, it’s like the gloomy atmosphere has lifted.”
Everyone chatted like that as they finished their lunch.
After eating, they made coffee and headed to the living room, finding comfortable spots on the sofa or floor.
Sejin sat on the living room floor to play with Bbokdol.
Then Bbokdol quickly grabbed a ball and ran over to Sejin.
“Ddol-i, do you wanna play ball?”
“Woof!”
“Okay, I’ll throw the ball for you.”
Sejin threw the ball as hard as his little arms could manage, and Bbokdol quickly ran after it, grabbed it in his mouth, and came back.
After throwing the ball a few times, Sejin soon grew tired.
“Ddol-ah… hyung is tired…”
“Woof!!”
Despite Sejin’s plea, Bbokdol just barked loudly as if urging him to throw the ball again.
Watching the scene with amused smiles, the members of B-One eventually stepped in and began tossing the ball for Bbokdol.
As they drank their coffee and observed Sejin playing with Bbokdol, Jaewon turned to Cheolhwan and asked.
“By the way, hyung, didn’t you say earlier you had something to tell us? Is it about our schedule?”
At that, Cheolhwan quickly put down his coffee cup and replied.
“Well, we’ve been getting casting requests from all over, but for now I’ve told the staff to sort them and put everything on hold. Your contract renewal comes first.”
“Oh, right. Why do I keep forgetting about that? Haha.”
“You guys might forget without a care, but the CEO and everyone at the company are basically losing their minds waiting for you to come in and sign already! Just come to the office and put your seal on it.”
“Alright, we’ll go tomorrow. Everyone free tomorrow?”
“No plans here.”
“Same for me.”
The members all responded to Jaewon’s check.
“Then we’ll head to the office around 10 a.m. tomorrow. Let Minsu know to come pick us up.”
“Got it. I’ll let the CEO know too.”
“Thanks.”
“But hyung, did you really come all the way just for the contract stuff? I mean, we already said we’d renew.”
Joomin asked Cheolhwan again.
“Well, that’s part of it… but also, our Team 1 staff have been overwhelmed with something else. That’s why I came.”
“Overwhelmed with what?”
The members all tilted their heads curiously at Cheolhwan’s words.
“You guys know PD Park Hwanwoong from VTM’s variety department, right? You’ve been guests on a few of his shows before.”
“Yeah, we know him.”
“After Sejin appeared on U-App, we got flooded with offers from tons of networks wanting to film shows with you and Sejin. Among them, PD Park contacted us to do a parenting variety show.”
“A parenting show?”
“At our age? That’s a bit…”
“Yeah, you didn’t seem interested back then, so the company turned him down. But now, after yesterday and today’s articles about Sejin and Hajin, he’s back at it, constantly reaching out.”
“Ah…”
Everyone nodded at Cheolhwan’s explanation.
“PD Park’s nickname is ‘The Leech of Mapo.’ Once he targets a celebrity, he sticks to them like glue until they say yes—practically a stalker. And now, he’s got his eyes on you.”
“Haha!”
“I think I’ve heard that before.”
“Me too. Remember when actor Choi Minhyuk talked about it on a show? He said Park somehow got hold of his filming schedule and followed him around the set until he agreed to appear on the show. He said it was like being chased by a sasaeng fan.”
“Exactly. Now he’s flooding our office phones and staff mobiles, begging us to set up just one meeting with you guys.”
“Man, I feel sorry for the staff, but this is kinda funny. Haha.”
“That’s why I came—to ask you guys again how you feel about it.”
“Hmmm. We honestly don’t mind, but the issue is Sejin and Hajin. If it’s a parenting show, Sejin would basically be the main star.”
“Right. Hajin, what do you think?”
When the older members asked, Hajin fell into brief thought.
Honestly, he wasn’t very keen on putting his nephew—who’d just been discharged from the hospital the day before—on television.
But considering who the PD was, he figured it might be best to at least meet and talk.
'Whoa! Am I finally going to debut on TV? I doubt uncle will say yes… But if I film a parenting show with my uncles, it could be a great memory too. B-One’s already super famous, but honestly, older people don’t recognize them as much. If it’s a parenting variety show, the ratings are pretty much guaranteed. It’d even help my uncles when they start solo activities later... How do I get permission for this?'
Sejin started scheming as he listened to the conversation.
But a child’s greatest weapon is always: pestering.
If Sejin begged to do it, his soft-hearted uncle would surely cave.
“Uncle!!”
Sejin raised one arm and called out to Hajin.
Startled out of his thoughts, Hajin turned to his nephew.
“Huh? What is it, Sejin? Do you need something?”
“No! I want to go on TV!!”
Everyone was stunned by Sejin’s sudden declaration.
“Huh? You want to be on TV?”
“Yeah!”
“Whoa! After what happened with U-App, looks like Sejin has a taste for the spotlight!”
“Seriously. That kid has natural talent—it seems like he’d do great on TV.”
Roy chimed in in agreement with Hwan’s comment.
Snapping out of it, Hajin quickly turned to Sejin.
“Sejin, do you understand what this is about? If we do this, there’ll be cameras filming you all day. And when we go out, people might recognize you and come up to you—it could get annoying. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“Yeah! I like it!”
“You like it??”
“Uh-huh! I want to be on TV like my uncles!”
Sejin’s answer made Hajin recall the time in the hospital room when his nephew said he wanted to become an actor while watching dramas.
Back then, he thought it was just a passing comment. But now, hearing Sejin seriously say he wants to be on TV made Hajin pause.
Sensing his uncle's hesitation, Sejin added.
“And if I do this, I can make memories with you guys too! I’ll be able to watch it when I’m all grown up!”
The members of B-One were touched by that.
“Whoa! Sejin…”
“Oh man. You wanted to make memories with your uncles? Let’s do it, then!!”
“Yeah. When I think about it, having videos of Sejin at this age would be such a great keepsake. It’ll be fun to watch together when he’s older.”
“Exactly. That kind of sentiment is so sweet. I’m seriously getting emotional here… I might cry.”
Seeing the guys get all emotional, Hajin shook his head in disbelief.
They were always a bit much, but when Sejin was involved, they really took it to another level.
“Sejin, wouldn’t it be okay to go on TV later? You just got out of the hospital yesterday, so I’m worried you might overdo it. Being on TV sounds fun, but there can be some bad sides too. And once filming starts, even if you want to quit halfway through, you won’t be able to. Are you really okay with that?”
Hajin asked, genuinely concerned.
“I’m okay! There’ll be lots of nice people. And you guys will protect me, right? I really wanna do it. But… if Uncle gets really worried, then I won’t.”
Sejin’s honest and thoughtful reply prompted the B-One members to jump in.
“Hajin, we get where you're coming from. Honestly, that’s why we were hesitant when the offer first came in. But hearing how much Sejin wants to do it—maybe we should give it a try?”
“Right. Like Sejin said, we’ll all be filming together. He’s not going to be out there alone. If we’re unavailable, we’ll make sure someone is assigned to watch over him. Let’s not worry too far ahead.”
“Yeah. We’ll help out however we can, so don’t stress too much.”
“Plus, this is the perfect chance to capture Sejin’s gorgeous little face on camera! I mean, even if we take photos or videos ourselves, it’s not the same as a professionally filmed show.”
"Right. Once it’s edited and put together, it’ll definitely feel different.”
From what the members were saying, it was clear they were all on Sejin’s side now.
“Agh, seriously. Whose nephew is Sejin anyway? Why is it that whenever he wants something, everyone just says yes? What if he turns into a spoiled brat?”
“Oh come on! He’s our nephew! Whose nephew do you think he is?”
“Yeah! That’s kinda rude. Sejin is our nephew!”
“That’s right!”
“And besides, where are you going to find a sweeter kid than Sejin? So what if he gets a little spoiled?”
Hearing his uncles defend him, Sejin quickly added.
“Yup!! I’m the uncles’ nephew! We’re family!”
At Sejin’s words, the B-One members all rushed over and scooped him up in a big hug.
“Aww! That’s right. We’re family.”
“What is family, really? Even without blood, as long as there's love, that’s all that matters!”
“Seriously, what did our Sejin eat to become such a sweet-talker, huh?”
They all gathered around Sejin in a circle, hugging each other with him in the middle. The sight made Hajin burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! I give up. Fine, fine—we’ll do it! Let’s do the show!”
“Yaaay~~!”
“Sejin! You got the green light!”
“Are you happy, Sejin?”
“Yeah! I’m happy!”
Cheering and jumping around with joy, the members and Sejin celebrated Hajin’s approval.
Watching all of this from the sofa, Cheolhwan let out a dry laugh.
“Man. If you guys ever say you don’t want to do a project again, I’m just gonna use Sejin to get you on board. You changed your minds way too fast. You guys usually hate these observation shows. You always complain about how uncomfortable it is to have cameras around 24/7.”
The members replied with grins.
“Come on, hyung. If our nephew wants to do it, how could we say no?”
“Exactly. If Sejin wants to, then we’re doing it.”
“Oh wow…”
With the decision to do the parenting variety show finalized, Cheolhwan eventually stood up.
The members, who had been playing with Sejin and Bbokdol, stood up as well to see him off.
“Hyung, heading out?”
“Yeah, I should get going.”
“Back to the office?”
“Yup. I need to report the decision to upper management and get in touch with PD Park.”
“Got it. Good luck.”
“It’s my job. You guys just make sure to be ready by 9 a.m. tomorrow. I’ll send Minsu to pick you up.”
“Alright. See you tomorrow.”
“Okay. I’m off. Take it easy.”
“Bye!”
“Uncle! Bye-bye!”
“Woof!”
“Okay. Bye, Sejin, Bbokdol. Uncle’s heading out now.”
With loud and cheerful goodbyes, Cheolhwan left the house.
He was slightly dumbfounded by how easily the filming permission had been granted, but he knew things would get busy from here—coordinating with the network and handling other logistics.
On top of that, with news of B-One’s contract renewal spreading tomorrow, the company would likely be bombarded with calls. He had to take care of whatever he could today.
Despite the growing list of tasks, Cheolhwan started the car with a happy heart, ready to return to the office.
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