By Zephyria 
Starting the next day, Yeom Cheon-ho and Moon Gyeon-woo began going back to work, as they could no longer neglect the tasks they had put off. Moon Gyeon-woo left early in the morning and returned late at night, while Yeom Cheon-ho left for a long business trip to the United States. Only Choi Hwan, who was on a break, had no schedule, making him a temporary unemployed person along with Yeon-rok.
“…….”
Choi Hwan, who had been following Yeon-rok around since morning, kept glancing at him. Since Yeon-rok had been pretending to be angry for several days now, Hwan simply lingered nearby.
‘Should I stop being angry now?’
Looking at his own improved condition, Yeon-rok figured that everyone else would have started having nosebleeds by now, and he was contemplating whether to let it go. Just then, Choi Hwan, who had been crouching miserably nearby with his backside glued to the floor, checked his phone, and his face stiffened.
“Damn it…….”
The tone of the curse he muttered was ominous, putting Yeon-rok on edge. With a fierce scowl, Choi Hwan sprang up from his seat and called his manager.
“Yeah, Hyung. What on earth does that mean?”
Jo Jun-ho was saying something on the other end of the line, but it didn’t reach Yeon-rok’s ears. Had another accident happened? Since Choi Hwan frequently got caught up in unfair situations in addition to the accidents he caused himself, Yeon-rok pricked up his ears.
“Are those people really trying to take this to the end? Sigh… I get it. Yeah, bye.”
Seeing how dark Choi Hwan’s expression was after the call, Yeon-rok became worried and forgot to pretend to be angry, speaking up first.
“What’s wrong? What happened? Did another scandal break? Or is it something with your family?”
Yeon-rok had finally spoken first, but there wasn’t a hint of joy on Choi Hwan’s face. The way he was biting his lip suggested that this wasn’t a simple scandal. Sure enough, it was a family matter again.
“I have a younger sister. She’s thirteen this year.”
“An elementary schooler? She must be cute.”
If she was thirteen, she was a late-born sibling with a significant age gap from Choi Hwan. Unlike when he spoke of his parents or older siblings, there was a uniquely soft quality to Choi Hwan’s voice.
“Yeah. She takes after me, so she’s pretty and cute.”
“What happened to her?”
“……I heard she started internet broadcasting.”
An elementary schooler already? Even if it wasn’t a guardian like Choi Hwan’s parents, it wasn’t something one would easily recommend to a minor, so Yeon-rok had a bad feeling. Instead of explaining further, Choi Hwan showed Yeon-rok a video he had received from Jo Jun-ho. The two put their heads together to watch the video.
On the screen, a young girl who appeared to be Choi Hwan’s sister stood with a nervous expression. She tried her best to smile, but her anxiety was evident. Seeing how she kept glancing to one side as if seeking support, Choi Hwan’s parents were likely standing there.
— Hello! I am Choi Yeon, the younger sister of Korea’s national actor Choi Hwan, and the host of the toy review channel Yeoni Toy! Today is my first broadcast! I’ll do my best. First, the toy I’m reviewing today is…….
The child, who had given a polite bow, proceeded with the broadcast with a bright smile. Her lines were awkward, and her fingers trembled throughout, likely due to nerves. After watching the ten-minute video, Yeon-rok muttered in disbelief.
“Are those people using your name to broadcast right now? And with an elementary schooler?”
In other words, since Choi Hwan was no longer sending them plenty of money, they were now trying to exploit another child. Choi Hwan, who had been infinitely docile and sweet lately to appease Yeon-rok, now contorted his face in a brutal scowl. Running a hand roughly through his hair, he spoke in a grinding voice.
“I guess I wasn’t enough for them.”
Yeon-rok had heard stories about Choi Hwan’s childhood from Manager Jo Jun-ho. He had heard that it was basic for Hwan to film until late at night without sleep, and that the mental abuse he received on filming sets was a daily occurrence that was simply ignored. Perhaps that was why Choi Hwan felt a sense of loathing toward parents who were trying to make his sister walk that same path.
Fuming, Choi Hwan immediately called his parents. They picked up almost before the signal could even finish ringing. Their attitude, as if they had been waiting, only made Choi Hwan angrier.
“Are you in your right mind? You’re putting a child on an internet broadcast using my name?”
Choi Hwan couldn’t stand still and paced back and forth. He closed his eyes tight and opened them again while listening to the other party, then raised his voice.
“What? You think I’m doing this because of the value of my name? You’ve already taken so much money, why are you dragging Choi Yeon into this?”
Choi Hwan did his best in his own way. He tried persuading them, getting angry, and even threatening them, but nothing seemed to work. Seeing his face turn redder by the second, Yeon-rok couldn’t even imagine what kind of nonsense he was hearing. Eventually, he hung up the phone in disgust.
“Fuck, they really are impossible to talk to.”
As if trying to calm down, Choi Hwan went to the bathroom to wash his face and then flopped onto the sofa. The frustration was palpable in his slumped posture. Worried as if it were his own problem, Yeon-rok approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Why? What are they saying?”
Choi Hwan’s downward gaze looked so sad. He scoffed self-deprecatingly.
“They told me someone like me isn’t even their son anymore. They said we’re strangers now, so I should stop caring about family matters.”
While patting Choi Hwan’s shoulder, Yeon-rok searched through his phone. It was to ask Secretary Kim Jeong-seong for help. However, Choi Hwan stopped him.
“Don’t contact him. He probably knows everything by now anyway. Above all, this is my family matter, and I don’t want to borrow Yeom Cheon-ho’s hand any further. I already feel like I’m deeply in debt.”
“Alright. I won’t contact him.”
As if suffering from a headache, Choi Hwan held his head and remained silent for a long time. In this situation, the only thing Yeon-rok could do was simply stay by his side. After a considerable amount of time, Choi Hwan finally spoke.
“Right now, my family is being cursed at by people. Of course, my parents and older siblings deserve it, but in the midst of that, she’s the only one who revealed her face, so what do you think will happen? From experience, malicious commenters don’t care whether the target is a child or not.”
Yeon-rok groaned upon hearing the words of Choi Hwan, who had once been an active child actor. Since it was openly stated that she was Choi Hwan’s sister, the public’s reaction was predictable.
“Above all, she’s still just a child.”
Yeon-rok understood Choi Hwan’s distress. It seemed he couldn’t help but be emotional as his own childhood was projected onto her. While he was contemplating, Choi Hwan looked at his phone and clenched his fist. A text message appeared on the screen.
[Hwan Oppa, can’t you help me? I’m having such a hard time ㅜㅜ]
[I don’t want to do it, but Mom and Dad keep telling me to broadcast]
[All the kids in my class are making fun of me]
Yeon-rok sighed, thinking about how hard it must be for the child. If it felt this way to him, how much worse must it be for her biological brother, Choi Hwan? He sprang up from his seat.
“I can’t do this. I’m going there myself to settle this once and for all.”
“What are you going to do there?”
A surprised Yeon-rok quickly tried to stop him. Based on Choi Hwan’s usual behavior, there was a high probability he would cause a scene.
“I’ll try to persuade them first, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll report them to the police for child abuse. If all else fails, I’ll just take her with me. She asked for help.”
A firm determination was etched on Choi Hwan’s face as he spoke. One could glimpse his will to ensure his sister didn’t suffer emotionally as he had. After some thought, Yeon-rok grabbed Choi Hwan’s wrist to calm him down. As he touched his name partner for the first time in a while, a pleasant feeling surged through him. Choi Hwan seemed to feel something similar, as his sharply furrowed brows softened slightly.
“Then I’ll go with you.”
“It’s okay. I can do it alone. I’ll clean this up as quietly as possible so there’s no noise.”
Choi Hwan had a tendency to be ashamed of his family history and wanted to hide it from others. Furthermore, he seemed worried that Yeon-rok might be insulted if he came along, just like last time. Nevertheless, Yeon-rok shook his head and stuck to Choi Hwan’s side. He had a feeling that he shouldn’t let Choi Hwan go alone.
“Still, I’m coming. It’s not because I think you can’t handle it alone. This is the kind of thing family does together.”
At those words, Choi Hwan’s eyes widened. As he muttered the word ‘family,’ vitality slowly returned to his face. Even though he had been the one to say they weren’t like family before, hearing it directly from Yeon-rok’s mouth seemed to evoke new emotions.
“Won’t you feel more energized if I go with you?”
“Of course, of course I will.”
After answering immediately, Choi Hwan fell silent for a moment before speaking in a sincere voice.
“Thank you for saying that. For calling me family…….”
The gaze he cast down at Yeon-rok was very mature. Flustered by this side of him that was different from usual, Yeon-rok unconsciously avoided his eyes.