I arrived at the family home to coincide with my parents’ rest day.
Originally, the visit was supposed to happen on the previous rest day but had been postponed.
The reason was Mother’s decree: since my mother’s daughter had received a holiday today coinciding with the debut of her activities, we were told to align our schedules to meet up.
Father had apparently argued that coming once at that time and then again today wasn’t necessary, but he was reprimanded by Mother.
She supposedly even delivered a “back-smashing” for continuously calling upon her busy children.
Our mother, who rarely interferes, was someone not to be trifled with once she put her mind to something.
“…That girl.”
Upon arriving at the house and getting out of the van, I noticed another van coming from the opposite direction.
It belonged to my mother’s daughter.
Like clockwork, her van quietly dropped her off in front of our house and disappeared.
“Indeed, camera makeup does wonders.”
The rookie girl group Pentaring, which had debuted recently, had started off quite well.
They were steadily growing their size by naturally absorbing the fanbase from the large PMC group.
Their ranking not only in music chart show ratings but also their streaming statistics exceeded expectations, solidifying them as the next top-tier group according to industry insiders.
The music video I contributed to also received a very positive reaction.
Among the visually striking group Pentaring, that girl stands out the most.
Impressively, she is even acknowledged as the visual center even within the harsh world of the music industry.
Still, I couldn’t help but wonder why. Compared to Moon Suyeon or Heavenly Yuah, she falls short by a significant margin in visual appeal.
K-pop truly is incomprehensible.
Maybe it’s the camera makeup, but her glossy face seemed better lately, though still, not the top visually.
“Eh? What is it?”
As soon as the young woman got out of the van and spotted me, she frowned.
Her arrogant demeanor was an obvious invitation for a New Religion punch.
If possible, I would have immediately delivered a well-deserved reprimand, but I had to restrain myself. After all, it’s the proper conduct for a well-educated individual to avoid violence.
However, since her audacity towards someone of heavenly lineage was unforgivable, I instead yanked her head roughly in lieu of a proper punishment.
“Hey! You’re dead!”
Of course, after exacting revenge, I immediately fled into the house. Watching her chasing me with an irritated look brought a sense of relief.
“Ah, you’re here. Our son and our daughter.”
“Yes, Father. Have you been well?”
“I’ve returned~ Daddy.”
“Yes, come on in. How did you two end up arriving together?”
“Yes, we met on the way. It was unfortunate.”
“Bad luck.”
“You two haven’t changed a bit, no matter how much you grow.”
Well, people don’t just suddenly change or they die. So, just live how you are.
By the way, why did they prepare so much food?
Ribs stew, seafood soup, and chicken stir-fry—mother must have worked hard knowing we were coming after so long.
Given the spread she prepared, it would have been reasonable for her to feel it unnecessary for the two of us to come separately.
Shall we begin the meal then?
“Ah, I’m so annoyed. Why is the waiting time 7 hours?”
“Our daughter has worked hard.”
“Yes, I was really tired~”
Mother’s daughter was complaining to Father about the lengthy waiting time at the music show.
True, the waiting time for music shows is excessive.
The drama industry also has long waits, but nothing compared to music shows—it’s like a legend of legends.
Moreover, someone who had trained for years would’ve surely known about long waits at music shows.
So, it was her way of being charming in front of Father.
Seeing Father affectionately ruffling her hair, it seemed her charm attacks were successful once again.
I don’t find anything inherently wrong with that.
While I love Father as well, given that I’m the son, it would be excessive to put on such antics.
Perhaps this is her unique value?
One must admit merit where it’s due—yes, highly commendable.
“Ho ho, let me tell you, I saw something truly astonishing. Our son and daughter were gazing at each other so affectionately.”
“I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me and wiped them several times.”
“It was quite a touching scene. It’s something we won’t likely witness again.”
The moment the music video was mentioned, Nana kept quiet. The metallic taste in my mouth was so bad, I even put down my utensils.
Though Father seemed pleased with what he saw, the feeling of being violated was hard to shake off.
Of course, Mother’s daughter in front of me was also on the verge of embarrassment.
“Indeed, it’s a great company.”
“Right? I think so too.”
To escape the humiliating topic, I boasted about my company a little.
This was also a story that would capture Father’s attention.
There isn’t a father who wouldn’t be pleased to hear that his son is being treated well.
“Ho, such an incident happened?”
“Yes, so I intended to check as well.”
“Yes, good thinking.”
However, as company-related stories continued, it led to mentioning the fact that the boss was in the hospital.
True to form, Father empathized deeply.
Then Father proclaimed:
“In light of such a situation, we can’t just stand by. Are we strangers?”
“…Yes, something is wrong…”
“You too, dear, prepare yourself. Let’s get checked as well.”
“…Alright.”
Father also declared he would get tested, including Mother, and insisted strongly.
While it might not be necessary, there was no real reason to argue against it, so I let it be.
It wasn’t something that could be stopped even if one tried; there wasn’t really any issue with it either.
Since donating bone marrow only causes temporary fatigue without impacting health, it was best to let Father do as he pleased.
“Hey! Then I’ll go too!”
That meddlesome mosquito was someone I wished to exclude as much as possible.
You, did you get permission from your company to say that?
Even if chosen as a donor, one must leave the position for a few weeks.
Still, that person was simply hopeless.
After taking a day off, I returned to the company.
The office atmosphere was somewhat hectic.
It seemed that the company was encouraging its employees and their families to participate in compatibility tests to become potential donors.
Since most employees had been with Heavenly Yuah from before, they were very proactive in getting checked.
“I got tested too.”
“Even you, Su-yeon?”
“I didn’t realize just how serious the situation was with our boss. But if we’re at the same company, we should do something to help.”
Moon Suyeon had become much more well-behaved lately.
Once, during Heavenly Yuah’s absence, she often played quirky pranks, but after learning about her mother’s illness, she became extremely cautious in her actions.
Given her attachment to family, she seemed to understand how precious other people’s families could be.
I was also satisfied to see her exhibit at least the minimum sense of propriety and restraint.
“Ho, headquarters is also taking active steps.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, their numbers are impressive. Our mother has a tremendous reputation within the company.”
“She might find someone soon.”
“Heavenly Yuah’s mother, ‘Olivia Cheon,’ is currently running a foundation under S&M, actively participating in charity and donation work.”
All the scholarship recipients from S&M have been nurtured by her, so she naturally enjoys immense popularity.
Especially in her passionate work of taking in orphans from impoverished areas, she has even built her own guard within the company.
Given the sheer number of S&M staff alone, it’s highly likely that a match will soon be found.
By the way, the Demon Queen is still seriously collecting orphans here and there.
Could she possibly have picked up someone like me in this world and assigned them to Heavenly Yuah?
Out of curiosity, I slightly inquired with her and received an unexpected answer.
“…So, you’re talking about Selly?”
“Yes, Selly.”
“Is this the Selly I know?”
“Yes, it’s the Selly who works as Moon Su-yeon’s coordinator.”
The “elder sister-like friend” that her mother had assigned her when she was young turned out to be Selly.
No wonder she seemed inexplicably competent; it appears they had intentionally nurtured her.
Moreover, it turns out Selly’s real task was…
“Heavenly Yuah used to get too many men sticking to her, so Selly would preemptively cut them out, sometimes physically.”
“…”
She was guarding Heavenly Yuah from unwanted men.
So the green light Selly had given me was simply a landmine clearing operation?
Despite appearing sincere, it was all part of the clearance process. What a world.
So, was assigning Selly to Moon Suyeon also part of Heavenly Yuah’s hidden strategy?
Currently, Selly and Moon Suyeon get along very well, making it truly terrifying.
Today, once again, I felt the legacy of the Old New Religion in Flame.
It’s already been a few days since we earnestly began searching for a suitable donor.
Results are starting to come in.
First, the U.S. side has failed, as there appears to be no match.
And the test results in Korea are slowly being revealed.
“Siwoo, we found a match! We found someone who matches!”
“Ah, really?”
“Yes, I’ve been so anxious. This is amazing.”
They managed to find just one person in Korea.
That’s fortunate.
If we hadn’t found anyone here, we would have even considered appealing to fans in Heavenly Yuah’s name.
If we announced an exclusive fan meeting, dinner, and hug with Heavenly Yuah, we’d probably get a flood of people wanting to be tested.
If I were a fan of Heavenly Yuah, I’d rush to the hospital immediately.
In any case, since we’ve found a match, there’s no longer any need to worry.
“Who is it, though? This person.”
“Uh… It’s Mr. Baek Daehyun.”
“…What?”
Mr. Baek Daehyun… Our father?
Why would father…
-Wow, I won the lottery?
“Uh-huh.”
-I mean, I’ve never won even the 5th prize in the lottery before… but this is crazy, cool, cool.
“Of course, you’ll need to go to the U.S., and it’ll take several weeks. Additional tests will be required, and there’s some preparation needed.”
-Yeah, I’ve already looked into it. It’s about saving someone’s life, after all. If I hadn’t known, it wouldn’t matter, but since I do, I must help.
“Yes, the company will take care of everything necessary. Just bring yourselves, Father and Mother.”
-Exactly, it feels like I’ve won an overseas tour package. I’ve never been to the U.S. before, so this is fantastic.
Together with Father, Mother set out for the U.S. right after closing down the shop.
Of course, all expenses, including a U.S. tour guide, were fully covered by S&M—that was a given.
“You mentioned your mother is British, right?”
“Yes, she’s British-American.”
“But how did this match our father?”
“Same here, I also find it intriguing. Though there’s no restriction based on nationality or race, it’s usually more common to find a match within the same country.”
Perhaps there’s some hidden lineage of British aristocracy within our father.
Looking back, our father did have a somewhat high nose bridge for a Korean.
Still, it’s astonishing that it would be our father.
The world is truly unpredictable.
“Mr. Actor, scandal. Please head to the conference room immediately.”
“Uh?”
And two days after Father left for the U.S., a scandal regarding me unexpectedly erupted.
