Chapter 78: Concerns (5)

Early the next morning.

“Yaaawn…”

Waking from sleep, Gyeonwoo blinked dazedly at the scene before her, mouth hanging open.

While Pureumi had her face buried in Gyeonwoo’s shirt as usual…

“…Uncle?”

On the opposite side of the bed.

Guild Master Lee Sunghwan lay asleep on the white sofa without even a blanket, looking lonely.

Being so tall, his calves dangled uncomfortably in the air below the sofa’s end.

Why is he sleeping like that?

Did he come looking for me with something urgent to say?

Gyeonwoo carefully extracted her shirt from Pureumi’s tiny clutching hands, trying not to wake her from deep sleep, and crawled down in a prone position.

Usually uncle had sharp hearing, so his lack of response meant he must be exhausted and sleeping deeply.

Without realizing it, Gyeonwoo rose up on her tiptoes and crept right up to Lee Sunghwan’s face.

“Hehe…”

Uncle’s defenseless expression!

So peaceful, unlike his usual furrowed brow!

Seeing this side of him for the first time naturally brought a playful smile to her face.

So uncle can make expressions like this too?

Maybe it was because she’d always depended on him.

Until now she’d somehow felt uncle could solve any problem without batting an eye…

But even as an adult, uncle was human just like her.

I hope I haven’t been too much of a burden?

Guilt crept up as she worried she’d only added to his troubles.

Her past self would have been paralyzed by this guilt, but not anymore!

“Uncle is the strongest person in the world, so you won’t suddenly die like my parents, right?”

Hug-

Gyeonwoo spread her arms wide and buried herself in his broad chest as she watched him.

Basking in his warm temperature in that sturdy embrace, she whispered:

“So live for a long, long time, and I’ll work hard to make you happy too!”

It was a timid confession she could only make thinking he was still asleep.

“Uu, uuu…!”

How embarrassing it was even to say it!

Acting like a child at her age probably looked bad, right?

Gyeonwoo quickly backed away, trembling all over.

Come to think of it.

“Hehe, lying there like this, he looks like a goose dad.”

Uncle lying there so lonely.

Her greeting him reminded her of the goose dads she’d seen in dramas.

The dad who collapses in exhaustion after working hard.

And me being happy to see dad after so long!

A good idea occurred to her.

This was her chance to repay uncle’s unconditional love!

Just as Gyeonwoo was about to summon a fluffy blanket with her wish…

“Mama…”

“Huh?”

Having woken up without her noticing, Pureumi sat on the bed staring obviously at her.

Still drowsy, she swayed side to side uncontrollably.

Her half-closed eyes sparkled with irrepressible curiosity like stars.

“What’s a goose dad?”

Flinch!

Aaah! D-did she hear that embarrassing mutter?!

Flustered, Gyeonwoo tried to casually ask:

“Y-you heard?”

“Yeah. Goose. Peep peep? You said dad.”

Thank goodness Pureumi’s attention was elsewhere.

She knew the word “goose” from playing word chain games at kindergarten, but.

Goose dad? Did uncle give birth to a goose? Where’s the goose? And so on.

Not even noticing Gyeonwoo’s panic, Pureumi flapped her arms making bird sounds and bombarded her with questions.

“Uh, um… w-well. Kids don’t need to know about that.”

But the goose dad Gyeonwoo knew about wasn’t something she could explain to children.

Usually in dramas it involved things like…

A-adultery.

Adultery.

Leading to adultery and such.

She couldn’t teach such bad things to young Pureumi, nor could she tarnish innocent uncle’s reputation like that.

“Whaat? Pureumi’s grown up! Tell Pureumi too!”

Though Pureumi puffed her cheeks and whined in her clearest pronunciation, trying to act grown up…

“Gyeonwoo, Pureumi. What did you learn to do first after waking up?”

“Eek!”

“Oh no!”

Their noisy chatter made it impossible for Lee Sunghwan to pretend sleep any longer.

He’d planned to quietly watch since Gyeonwoo was adorably making resolutions for once.

Were kids just being kids?

When they started bickering about strange topics, seeing Gyeonwoo’s discomfort, he couldn’t stay quiet.

Gyeonwoo and Pureumi threw up their hands in shock as he rose like a ghost without a sound.

“Go wash up. If you don’t wash properly, you’ll need shots at the hospital.”

“S-shots!”

Both children rushed toward the bathroom at the mention of shots, but.

“Huh?”

“Oh?”

Flinch.

They’d jumped up confidently, but.

Where was this…?

Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, they belatedly realized this wasn’t the sisters’ house.

Ah. Right.

I got angry at the sisters and came to uncle’s house without thinking about the consequences…?

Only then did Gyeonwoo understand why uncle had to sleep so uncomfortably.

She and Pureumi had taken the bed, leaving only the sofa!

“Oh no! U-uncle, I’m sorry! You couldn’t sleep properly because of me…?”

No wonder uncle was crouched sleeping in the room without saying anything.

Even with his card, barging in without permission and taking over the bed…

“Uwaah… I’m so sorry…!”

It was a clear mistake with no excuse.

But this time, even Pureumi who usually copied all of Gyeonwoo’s actions shook her head.

“Not Mama’s fault! Mama was sick!”

After all, Gyeonwoo’s hazy memory was from fainting due to anemia.

For Pureumi who could do nothing when Gyeonwoo fainted, seeking out a trustworthy adult didn’t seem wrong.

“Even if I was sick, uncle had to sleep on the sofa because of us…”

“No! If Mama’s sick, Pureumi’s sick! If Mama dies, Pureumi dies too!”

So unlike usual, she puffed up angrily and raised her voice.

“Right. What did I say when I gave you the key? I’m sure I said you could come in freely.”

Lee Sunghwan also comforted Gyeonwoo in his own gentle way.

“But still…”

“Family doesn’t worry about things like that. Using your ability until you collapsed is the real mistake. Do you know how worried Pureumi and I were?”

“Ah…”

Decades of abuse and brainwashing by the cult wouldn’t heal easily.

So until she found confidence someday.

Until she learned to value herself, he planned to help her always.

Lee Sunghwan silently pulled Gyeonwoo and Pureumi into a hug.

“Heehee.”

Unlike when scolding Gyeonwoo, Pureumi innocently laughed and rubbed her cheek against him.

And.

“I-I’ll really be more careful from now on!”

Gyeonwoo couldn’t hide her shyness as she answered his feelings in a tiny voice like a baby’s babble, her ear tips burning red.

“…Thank you always, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Me too! Me too love you!”

The room’s air warmed with love.

Gyeonwoo made a resolution.

Something had felt off since leaving Pureumi enjoying the party yesterday, and she’d ended up troubling both the sisters and uncle.

She’d even broken her promise to Mia not to use her ability enough to harm her body…

All of this seemed connected to that strange emotion she’d felt yesterday.

She’d thought it would naturally get better with time, but she couldn’t keep causing trouble like this!

This time, instead of worrying alone like usual, she’d consult with the adults!

“Pureumi, want to wash up first?”

“Yeah!”

Since it involved Pureumi, she sent her to the bathroom first to avoid misunderstandings.

“Uncle, I want to talk to you about something.”

Gyeonwoo faced Lee Sunghwan with a determined expression.

Pressed lips, raised eyebrows.

Lee Sunghwan felt an ominous chill.

This… usually this was the expression Gyeonwoo made before causing trouble.

What absurd thing was she going to say this time?

“…Alright, tell me.”

But he couldn’t ignore a child who’d gathered her courage, so he decided to listen.

Let’s try not to be shocked no matter what she says.

He bent his knees to sit in place, meeting her eyes as he waited for her to continue.

Then.

“My chest feels strange whenever I look at Pureumi.”

“…Hmm.”

“When I see her playing with other friends, I feel anxious somehow. And irritated somehow. I don’t know why… but I can’t control these strange feelings.”

“…Hmmm.”

What’s this.

No matter how he thought about it.

It sounded like Gyeonwoo had fallen in love with Pureumi.

Just listening to her words, it was nothing but jealousy.

They say even kindergarteners date these days, but weren’t Gyeonwoo and Pureumi family?

There was an age gap, and they were both girls.

Could leaving her with Han Dayeon have somehow affected Gyeonwoo’s sexual identity?

“Um, uncle? What should I do? I didn’t mean to run away yesterday… The sisters must be really worried…?”

No wonder she’d suddenly acted so emotional yesterday.

The problem was that though he’d confidently agreed to listen to her troubles, this wasn’t something he could answer.

Given Gyeonwoo’s usually warped common sense, it might not be love…

“This… would be better asked to an expert than me.”

“An expert?”

“Yes. I was planning to introduce you today anyway, so this works out. Shall we go after washing up?”

“Okay! I’ll wash quickly!”

For the first time in his life, Guild Master Lee Sunghwan chose to pass his duty to someone else without a word.

Guild Master Kang Hari would give a better answer than him.

Sorry, but it was an unavoidable choice.