UAI Chapter 36

 Episode 36

That weekend passed by, and before they knew it, it was the last day of April.

After running around busily taking care of various things, Cheolhwan finally dropped by B-One's dorm for the first time in a while.

As always, the first one to greet him was Bbokdol, the dog.

"Woof! Woof!"

Bbokdol ran over wagging his tail excitedly and circled around Cheolhwan, expressing his joy.

"Aigoo, Bbokdol, have you been doing well?"

Lifting Bbokdol up in his arms, Cheolhwan walked down the hallway and entered the living room.

"Hyung, you're here?"

"Welcome! It feels like we haven't seen you in a while."

The members gathered in the living room greeted him.

Still holding Bbokdol, Cheolhwan sat down on the sofa and looked around the house.

"Auntie's not here? I don't see Sejin either."

At that, Jaewon replied with a smile.

"Auntie went to the mart to pick up a few things. She said she was bored, so Sejin tagged along."

"Oh. But did just the two of them go? It'd be hard for Auntie to carry groceries and look after Sejin at the same time…"

"Hehe, there's someone else not visible here, remember?"

Joomin giggled as he replied.

Cheolhwan's eyes widened as he asked in surprise.

"Don't tell me Hwan and Roy went with them?"

"Yep."

Cheolhwan felt a sudden throbbing pain in his head.

"Sigh... You guys just let those two go along like that?"

As Cheolhwan scolded them, Hajin quickly explained.

"They were feeling cooped up, so they went for some fresh air. It's just the mart near the house and it's a weekday morning, so there shouldn't be many people. Besides, they were all bundled up, so it'll be fine."

"Aigo! You fools. Do you really think fans won't recognize you just because you're covered up? They can tell who you are just from your silhouettes."

"Hahaha. Don't worry. We've gone to the mart by ourselves before, and nothing ever happened. We knew what we were doing, that's why we let them go together."

Even as Jaewon reassured him, Cheolhwan could only swallow a deep sigh.

'Sigh... These kids really don't realize how popular they are. After all these years in showbiz, they're still this naive. No wonder I can't ever feel at ease. Aish… what a life I have.'

Completely unaware of how much Cheolhwan was worrying, Roy and Hwan were excited about their rare outing.

Last week, they had gone to the company and grabbed a meal at Joo-ah noona's restaurant, but… that didn't quite count as a real outing.

So now, with upbeat music playing in the car, the two were singing along as they headed to the large supermarket near home.

"Auntie, do we have a lot to buy?"

"Just some groceries. If I end up getting this and that, it'll probably take about an hour. Why?"

"Well, while you shop, we thought we'd take Sejin around the mart to look around."

"Alright then. I'll call you once I finish shopping."

"Okay. Sejin, is there anything you want to buy at the mart?"

Roy, sitting in the front passenger seat, turned to ask Sejin.

"Uuuhm… No."

Sejin shook his head.

"Then is there anything you want to eat?"

"Nothing! I said I don't want anything."

"Whyyy~! Don't kids usually ask for all sorts of things at the mart? How come our Sejin doesn't ask for anything?"

"Seriously. When I was little, I used to throw fits begging my mom for snacks and toys whenever we went shopping."

"Exactly."

Sejin sat quietly listening to Roy and Hwan's conversation.

'I'd only ask for something if I actually needed it. But uncles are always ordering me clothes and toys through delivery. What would I possibly need to ask for…? Not to mention Grandma gives me three meals a day, and even snacks, without fail.'

In his previous life, Sejin had been an orphan, constantly hungry and deprived.

At the orphanage, they had meals, but with a tight budget and many children to feed, meat dishes were rare, and the portions were always small.

Strong kids would often snatch food when the teachers weren't looking.

After turning 18 and receiving the government's settlement allowance upon leaving the orphanage, things became even more uncertain.

Trying to live alone with limited funds was never easy.

Fortunately, things changed a bit when he met someone through a part-time job who introduced him to Ain Entertainment.

Even though the job didn't have regular hours and there were no real holidays, the monthly salary and the kindness of the people around him gave him strength to keep going.

It was all possible thanks to the B-One members and the manager hyungs, who understood Doyoung's situation and looked after him in many ways.

Even though he had died young in his past life, the life he was living now in Sejin's body was a world apart from that.

Just like before, he didn't have parents now either, but this time, he had uncles who loved him enough to fill that void.

On top of that, the abundant environment made it so Sejin never even had a chance to feel lacking.

Because of all this, Sejin never felt the need to beg for anything.

While he was lost in thought, the car pulled into the underground parking lot of the large supermarket.

Maybe because it was a weekday morning, the parking lot was fairly empty.

"Alright. We've arrived!"

Hwan exclaimed after parking the car.

"Wow! Has it been almost a year since we came here?"

"For real. Last time was when we came late at night to buy snacks."

"Let's get out. Masks on, and pull your hats down low."

"Don't worry. You just make sure yours is on properly."

The two of them covered their faces with masks and hats, then turned to look in the back seat.

"Auntie, we're heading in."

"Okay. Make sure to hold Sejin's hand tightly while you're inside. Kids can disappear in the blink of an eye, you know. Got it?"

Their aunt reminded Roy and Hwan firmly.

"Don't worry. The two of us will each hold one of his hands."

"Good. You really need to keep a close eye on him, okay?"

"Yes~!!"

At their confident response, Auntie nodded and got out of the car.

Roy and Hwan quickly unbuckled Sejin from his car seat and helped him out.

Auntie headed toward the store entrance, pushing a shopping cart.

Seeing that, Roy grabbed a cart as well.

"Sejin, do you want to ride in the cart?"

Sejin paused to think for a moment.

It looked like it might be fun to ride in the shopping cart, but... it could be dangerous.

If something happened and he got hurt, his uncles would panic.

"No, I don't want to."

"Huh? Why not? Lots of kids ride in these. Doesn't it look fun?"

"Uh-uh! No! It's dangerous!"

Roy and Hwan were both surprised by his firm answer.

"Whoa~!"

"Why is our Sejin acting so grown-up all of a sudden?"

"Seriously. I'm speechless."

Auntie, who was walking ahead, turned back and added.

"Don't let him ride. I heard on the news that a lot of kids get injured from those carts."

"Oh, really?"

"Well then, definitely not."

"Yeah. Just hold his hand. I'm heading off to do the shopping now. You guys take a look around. I'll call you when I'm done."

"Okay. Let us know if you need help."

"Sure. Sejin, have fun looking around with your uncles, okay? Grandma will bring back lots of yummy things."

"Okay~."

As Auntie disappeared into the store pushing her cart, Hwan said to Roy while grabbing a cart himself.

"Roy, you hold Sejin's hand tight and follow me."

"I'll just carry him instead. Sejin, the mart might get a little crowded, so how about going in Uncle's arms? Is that okay?"

"Yeah. Okay."

At Sejin's reply, Roy immediately lifted him up into his arms.

"Alright, let's go in. We should head to the food section first, right? I wonder what new stuff is out. If we find anything tasty, let's buy some."

"Yeah. Let's go!"

Nestled in Roy's arms, Sejin turned his head left and right, curiously taking in all the sights inside the mart.

It had been so long since they'd last been to a supermarket that everything felt new and exciting.

"Come try a sample!"

"Domestic pork belly is on sale today only!"

"This is a new product, dumplings made with 100% domestic ingredients. We're having a promotion, so take a pack home!"

As they entered the food section, there were promotional events happening all around.

People were lining up at the sampling stations to taste the food.

Watching the crowd, Sejin's mouth started to water. He stretched out his arm and pointed eagerly toward one of the sampling booths.

"Uncle! I want that!!"

At Sejin's enthusiastic shout, Roy and Hwan burst into laughter.

"Haha, of course! Sampling is the best part of coming to the mart!"

"Our Sejin knows what's up. What do you want to try?"

After a brief moment of thought, Sejin responded clearly.

"All of it!"

That made the two uncles laugh even harder.

"Hehe. Alright. Let's try everything and buy whatever tastes good!"

"Perfect! Let's start with that sample booth over there."

Pushing the cart, the three of them made their way over to the dumpling sampling station.

A staff member who was cutting steamed dumplings in half and placing them in little paper cups handed one each to the group.

"Please try these! They're made with 100% domestic ingredients, perfectly safe for kids, too. The wrappers are thin, so they're great steamed like this, or you can pan-fry them as potstickers. Delicious either way! Here, our cute little customer, would you like one?"

Hwan took a cup and handed it to Sejin.

"Sejin, these are steamed dumplings. They might be a bit hot, so eat carefully, okay?"

"Okay!"

The small paper cup in his hands gave off a warm, savory aroma.

"Fuu fuu~"

Puffing out his cheeks, Sejin gently blew on the dumpling to cool it down.

The sight was so adorable that people around them couldn't help smiling.

"Look at those cheeks! So cute!"

"Oh my, what a beautiful child."

But Sejin was too focused on his dumpling to notice the compliments or stares.

Watching fondly, Hwan leaned in and whispered.

"Sejin, I think it's cool enough now. Try a bite."

At his uncle's cue, Sejin nodded and popped the whole dumpling into his mouth.

The dumpling's thin, moist skin and the combination of meat and vegetables had Sejin chewing enthusiastically.

With his chubby cheeks puffing out, Sejin finished chewing, swallowed, and nodded hard, exclaiming.

"It's yummy!!"

At that, not only Roy and Hwan but also the people around them burst out laughing.

"Aww, is it that good?"

"If a baby says it's delicious, I guess I have to buy a pack. It's this one, right?"

"I'll take one too!"

Thanks to Sejin's adorable "mukbang" (eating show), more people began lining up to try the dumplings and started placing packs into their carts.

"Yes, yes! It's this one! And we're doing a promotion, if you buy two packs, you get this 500g bonus pack for free. So be sure to grab two!"

The excited sample staff eagerly handed out dumplings to the crowd.

Shoppers began grabbing two packs each as the staff worked quickly to keep up with the demand.

Seeing the scene, Roy whispered to Hwan.

"Wow. Sejin is amazing! People are buying like crazy."

"No kidding. If Sejin did a commercial, it'd be huge."

While the two talked in surprise, Sejin tugged on Roy's arm.

"Huh? What is it?"

"Uncle! We want dumplings too!"

At Sejin's request, Hwan nodded and went to the staff.

"Can we have two packs of the dumplings, please?"

The busy staff saw who it was and smiled brightly as they handed over the dumplings.

"Aww, thanks to the little one here, we've sold so many dumplings today. Here, take an extra gift too!"

"Oh, thank you."

A bit flustered, Hwan took the extra gift and returned to Roy and Sejin.

"They gave us a bonus gift because of Sejin's help selling so many dumplings."

Roy laughed.

"Hahaha! Thanks to Sejin, we got a freebie. Not bad!"

"Haha, yeah. This is a new experience."

Up until now, people had given them gifts as fans, but getting bonus dumplings was definitely a first for Roy and Hwan. It was unexpected, but fun.

From there, the three of them went from sample booth to sample booth throughout the mart.

And every time Sejin said something was delicious, people would start placing that product into their carts too, creating a bit of a shopping frenzy.

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𝟯𝟴-𝟯𝟵 [Added, Sept 09]

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