UAI Chapter 34

 

Episode 34

Hajin's worries, as expected, were all about his nephew.

He believed in what his nephew said about seeing the "black cloud," and he also acknowledged that it had been helpful to him.

But lately, he was beginning to wonder if he was seeing it too often in too short a time.

Even as an adult, it was difficult for him to handle these situations. So how could such a young child possibly deal with it all?

He was worried whether his nephew could navigate through such things.

Sure, he and Seongjun would be there to help him, but would the two of them really be enough to protect him?

And what if he saw the black cloud again when he wasn't around?

These thoughts suddenly gave him a headache.

As Hajin remained lost in thought, little Sejin, who had been waiting beside him, tugged on his sleeve.

"Uncle."

Hajin snapped back to reality at the sound of his nephew's voice and quickly responded.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Sejin. Uncle was just thinking about something. What is it?"

Sejin pressed his palms against his forehead and looked at him.

"Uncle, your face looked like this. What's wrong?"

"Oh, you were worried because Uncle looked strange? I just had a lot on my mind."

"Worried?"

"Yeah. I was thinking about how I can protect you from now on… something like that."

Hearing this, Sejin could somewhat understand what was going on in his uncle's mind.

'Of course he'd be worried. His young nephew keeps seeing weird things. And in situations like the recent one, when he couldn't do anything himself… it's even more concerning. We need more allies. Maybe we should let the B-One Uncles in on this too. I don't think they'd reject me even if I told them I see strange things, they'd probably want to help. Besides, we live together, so we can't keep it a secret forever. At the very least, I think we should tell them and ask for help…'

Sejin made up his mind and spoke to Hajin.

"Uncle! Can we tell the B-One Uncles about the black cloud?"

"Huh? The B-One Uncles?"

Hajin looked surprised.

"Yeah! Let's tell them and ask them to help us too!"

"You're okay with telling them?"

"Yeah! They're good people."

Hajin had considered it before.

He trusted the members of B-One to believe him and to help protect Sejin, even if he revealed his secret.

But he'd hesitated, just in case.

There was also the possibility that Sejin himself wouldn't want it.

But now that Sejin was the one suggesting it, Hajin felt a little relieved.

"Alright. Once aunty comes home tonight, we'll all sit down and talk it over together, alright?"

"Okay! Sounds good!"

Hajin gently patted Sejin's head, then picked him up in his arms and walked out into the living room.

The members, who had all been resting in their rooms, had somehow ended up gathering on the couch.

"Oh? Hajin, Sejin. What were you two doing in the room?"

"We were just on a short call with a guy Sejin met while he was at the hospital."

"Oh, I see."

"But didn't you guys say you were going to rest? Why are you all out here?"

"Cheolhwan hyung just called. He said he set up a meeting with VTM's PD Park Hwanwoong for tomorrow. I was just filling the others in."

At Jaewon's words, Hajin nodded.

"Then we'll probably know the full details soon."

"Yeah. Cheolhwan hyung said he'll finalize things tomorrow and let us know. Apparently, the production team's in a rush, so we might even start filming as early as next month."

"Next month? That soon?"

"Well, we don't really need to scout locations or build sets, right? We're filming at our place anyway…"

"True, that makes sense."

As the members were chatting away about this and that.

Roy suddenly clapped his hands as if he'd remembered something.

"Oh! That's right!"

"What is it?"

"Talking about next month reminded me. Isn't Children's Day next week?"

"Ah!!"

"No way! You're right!"

Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"We've never really celebrated Children's Day before, so it always just passed by… But now we have Sejin!"

"Exactly. Wow, Roy, you actually remembered something useful for once!"

"What's going on with you? You're surprisingly thoughtful today."

Roy shrugged smugly at his hyungs' compliments and playful teasing.

"Ahaha, what can I say? I'm just that good."

Sejin let out a quiet sigh at Roy's boastful attitude.

'Children's Day? Isn't that just another red day on the calendar? I mean, I'm not a little kid or anything. It's not like I need anything special just because it's Children's Day. Sure, back when I was at the orphanage, I used to feel sad seeing my school friends getting gifts from their parents… But now I have everything I need. I don't really want any presents. And yet, why does it feel like the uncles are more excited than I am? Is it just my imagination?'

Unaware of Sejin's thoughts, the members of B-One were now all eagerly gazing at him.

"Sejin, it's Children's Day next week! Is there anything you want?"

"Or do you want to go somewhere fun?"

"An amusement park? Or the zoo?"

"That day's all about you, Sejin. So you can do whatever you want!"

"Yeah! We can eat yummy food, buy presents, go out and have fun!"

As the uncles each chimed in with excitement, Sejin let out a long sigh.

At his reaction, the members all suddenly paused.

Seeing them go quiet, Sejin finally opened his mouth.

"Uncles! Where would we even go? Wouldn't it be dangerous if we go somewhere crowded? What if people recognize you and start gathering around? Something bad could happen! Don't you all get that?"

At Sejin's scolding, the B-One members awkwardly looked at one another, exchanging sheepish smiles.

"Haa… Why is our Sejin so smart?"

"Right? It kind of feels like the roles have reversed, like he's the adult and we're the kids."

"Seriously. Getting scolded by a three-year-old is kind of embarrassing."

Roy and Hwan muttered awkwardly.

Their expressions made the B-One members chuckle quietly.

"Yeah, Sejin's right. If we took him to an amusement park or zoo, it would be chaotic. There'd be way more people out than usual for Children's Day. Something could really happen."

"Exactly. I only brought it up because Children's Day made me think we should go somewhere fun."

"Then… Sejin, would you be okay if we didn't go out for Children's Day?"

The members felt a pang of guilt, thinking he wouldn't get to go anywhere because of them.

Sejin looked around at them and nodded.

"It's okay. I like just staying home and playing with you guys. And I don't need any presents, either."

"Huh? But it's Children's Day, you should get a present!"

"Yeah! Even if we don't go out, you should still get something."

At their protest, Sejin shook his head firmly.

"No, really. I don't need anything. I already have Ddol-i, and you guys always buy me stuff anyway. I'm fine."

"Aish… alright."

"Then let's at least eat something super delicious that day, okay?"

"Okay! Sounds good!"

Even though they agreed out loud, the members were already thinking of secretly preparing a gift.

After all, it was Sejin's very first Children's Day with them. Not getting him a present just didn't sit right.

They exchanged glances, silently agreeing to discuss it later when Sejin wasn't around.

That evening at 7 PM.

After dinner with Sejin, the housekeeper finished up and got ready to leave.

She usually worked from 10 AM to 8 PM, but the members had urged her to head home early today, so she clocked out an hour early.

Before she left, she prepared some fruit and tea and placed it on the table in the middle of the room. Everyone gathered around the couch.

Talking together after dinner was a routine for the members, so the atmosphere felt familiar.

While they chatted, Jaewon suddenly remembered something.

"I was supposed to bring this up yesterday, but everyone looked tired, and the housekeeper was still here, so I'm only saying it now. First of all, I just want to say thank you to everyone for renewing your contracts. As the leader, I'm seriously grateful. Let's keep supporting and trusting each other, and keep having fun like we always have."

At Jaewon's heartfelt words, Hwan responded with a slightly awkward smile.

"Aww, our leader! Why are you suddenly getting all serious? It's making me cringe a bit."

"Ahaha, cut Jaewon some slack. He's just saying that because Hajin mentioned leaving the group for a while and stressed himself out over it."

Joomin jumped in to support Jaewon.

Hearing that, Hajin looked apologetic.

"Sorry, guys. I just thought that would be the best way to avoid being a burden to the team. I'll do my best moving forward."

"Hey, it's fine. What matters is that in the end, we all renewed our contracts. Let's keep working together and have fun, just like we've been doing."

"Yeah, absolutely."

As the heartfelt conversation was coming to a close, Roy suddenly brought something up.

"I know it's a bit late to ask, but… are we really okay with the CEO giving us that much company equity?"

"Oh, right. I was wondering about that too." 

Hwan added.

Jaewon responded.

"Well, I'm sure the CEO thought it through. Like it said in the article, he took our contract renewal seriously. And as the legal team explained yesterday, we can't sell those shares during the contract period anyway. If we ever want to sell them, we have to offer them back to the CEO first. So I don't think it'll affect his management rights much. It just shows how much he values us. We should be thankful, and do our best going forward."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

After all, it wasn't easy for a company head to hand over equity.

It wasn't an investment or a business deal, it was giving company shares to signed artists in place of a signing bonus, something nearly unheard of.

It was clear how much CEO Kang cherished B-One.

The members felt a renewed sense of gratitude toward him and started talking about their future plans.

While the group was deep in conversation...

"Yaaawn~~"

Sejin, who had been lying on the couch playing with Bbokdol, let out a big yawn.

Seeing this, Hajin quickly picked him up in his arms and headed for the bathroom.

After bathing him and putting him to bed, Hajin returned to the living room.

"Sejin asleep?"

"Yeah. He passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow."

"He was running around playing with Bbokdol all afternoon. He must've been exhausted."

"Seems like it."

"What time is it now?"

"Just before 9."

"Then maybe we should all head to our rooms for the night?"

The members started to stand up and scatter...

But Hajin spoke up quickly.

"Uh… guys."

"Hm? What's up?"

"I have something to talk to you about."

The members, who had just been getting up, sat back down on the couch.

"What is it?" 

Joomin asked.

Roy chimed in before Hajin could answer.

"Oh! Is this about Sejin's Children's Day gift? You want to plan that with us, right?"

"Oh, right! I totally forgot, we were supposed to discuss this when Sejin wasn't around."

"Huh? Now that you mention it, yeah. Let's figure it out now, while he's asleep. That way, we'll have time to either order something or go out and buy it."

"Exactly. I heard that the most popular toys for Children's Day sell out super fast, even if you line up for them."

"Wait, then… are we already too late?"

"Yeah… Children's Day is just a few days away. I wonder if we can even get something that's in demand."

"Should we look some stuff up?"

"Yeah. What are boys into these days?"

The members suddenly got busy searching online for toy recommendations for Sejin.

Watching his hyungs rushing around like that, Hajin couldn't help but stare in disbelief.

It was almost as if they knew what he was going to say, and jumped ahead of him.

It was a little absurd, but more than that, Hajin felt genuinely touched by how much they cared for Sejin, like he was their own nephew.

Seeing them like this, Hajin felt certain: he didn't have to worry about telling them Sejin's secret.

With that, Hajin opened his mouth to speak again.