Chapter Sixteen: Momo Is Your Fan.

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Minseok quietly observed Lina. Jisoo was already known to be her uncle’s good friend, so could this older sister be her aunt? But that didn’t seem quite right... The little one was very eager to understand Mingyan, this elder relative who already lived with them, and so she absorbed all relevant information with hunger, hoping to quickly form a complete image of her uncle. An actor, an elder, humorous, nervous.

“If Minseok wants to join JYP, I have lots of experience I can share,” Lina said gently, squatting down to look kindly at the slightly nervous Minseok. Mingyan smiled and said, “I’m worried Minseok will be led astray by you and Jisoo, so I want her to try S.M.” Since they were at JYP, directly saying Minseok wanted to go to S.M might seem disrespectful, but Lina didn’t mind; there were others around anyway.

“Hey, watch your words.”
“Also, both JYP and YG just debuted new girl groups, but S.M’s Red Velvet debuted two years ago. The next new girl group can’t be far off.” Mingyan had researched since learning Minseok wanted to become a trainee. S.M really seemed suitable. Given the major companies usually debut a new girl group every three to four years, the timing was perfect for the little one to start training now. As for unexpected situations... major companies wouldn’t fail to debut a new group, right?

The other members of Twice nodded in agreement. They had debuted only a year ago, so the next girl group from their company might not appear until 2019 or 2020 at the earliest, while S.M could have one as soon as 2018.
“Oppa, has Minseok ever studied singing or dancing before?” Yujeong asked, holding a blonde, doll-faced girl.
“No, but Minseok is quite talented,” Mingyan said, subtly shifting his gaze away from a towering place nearby—a skill he had nearly perfected: to glance with respect, then smoothly divert attention. One word: politeness.

Minseok listened to her uncle’s praise, her toes almost ready to build a new skyscraper at JYP out of nervous energy. Am I really that good? Mingyan, like a parent visiting relatives during the holidays, was eager to show off his niece’s talents. “Minseok, come show everyone a dance.”

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“Uncle, I can’t.” Minseok never imagined she would have to dance in front of Twice—these were senior idols who had already debuted, a top girl group.
“When I went for my audition, I didn’t know anything. I just went up and sang,” Mingyan said, even willing to reveal his embarrassing past to encourage Minseok.
“Uncle, you actually went to a trainee audition?” The members of Twice laughed softly upon hearing the little one call Mingyan “uncle,” the two seeming more like siblings. Lina chimed in, “He came with me.”
Mingyan had always protected Jisoo and Lina since childhood and wouldn’t miss such an important event as a trainee audition, even if he knew nothing and was just there for moral support.

“How did your audition go?” Before Minseok could speak, the blonde girl held by Yujeong asked in a wise tone.
“It went well. The judges begged him to stop singing,” Lina said without mercy. “Others sing for money, but he sings for his life.” Of course, this was somewhat exaggerated.

Perhaps understanding her uncle’s intention in revealing his past, Minseok hesitated before stepping forward and performing a short dance to EXO’s “Growl.” She hummed along as she danced, blushing deeply once she realized. Mingyan saw the blush spreading rapidly across his niece’s face, even threatening to reach her whole body.

“Clap, clap, clap.”
He led the applause, followed by the rest of Twice, encouraged by Lina and Yujeong. At this moment, children most needed encouragement, and as an elder, Mingyan firmly stood by Minseok’s side.
“Minseok, listen...” Lina began her role as a teacher, pulling Minseok aside to share her experience. Several Twice members gathered to listen, occasionally offering advice. Humans often enjoy teaching, especially when it comes to such a sweet young girl. The shyer Minseok became, the more excited these women got.

Of course, not all Twice members joined the scene; some went aside to practice the choreography for their upcoming group comeback. After all, nine members shared only one trainee, so not everyone needed to stay.

...
“Sana unnie, Lina unnie’s friend’s surname is quite unusual,” said Twice’s youngest member, Tzuyu, quietly to Sasaki Sana. She had come to Korea very young and this was the first time she’d heard the surname Ming.
“Yeah, I thought it was a stage name at first, but it seems not,” Sasaki Sana said, having watched “Descendants of the Sun” with Hirai Momo, so she knew the actor’s name.
Hirai Momo disliked Song Joong-ki but really liked the secondary couple’s storyline.
“There really is the surname Ming in Korea, but it’s rare,” explained Kim Dahyun, Twice’s Korean member, educating the two foreigners.
Sun Chaeyoung, another youngest member, frowned. “Dahyun unnie, I’ve never heard of the surname Ming before.”
“Because you don’t meet many with it,” Dahyun tapped her sister’s head lightly.

“Hey, what do you think—does Lina unnie have something going on with that actor oppa?” Sasaki Sana winked. “Lina unnie often calls him.”
Because of their busy schedules, Twice members spent nearly every day together and knew each other’s little habits well.
“I don’t think so,” said Mina Myoui quietly.
“Why not?”
“If he were her boyfriend, Lina unnie wouldn’t bring him to the company so casually.”

...
Mingyan didn’t interrupt Lina’s guidance. As an outsider, he sat in a corner scrolling through his phone, casually searching for news about himself. Since “Descendants of the Sun” aired, his search volume had surged, leading to many endorsement offers. He was curious about the new script Lina mentioned.

“Hey.”
A cold voice sounded, and Mingyan looked up to see Yujeong approaching.
“Yujeong, I already apologized. The last time I patted your butt, it really was a misunderstanding,” Mingyan hurried to explain.
Yujeong looked like she wanted to tear his mouth apart. “Who said I wanted to talk about that!”
“Then what is it?”
“Momo wants your autograph. She’s a fan of ‘Descendants of the Sun.’”