Chapter Four: Brothers for Life.

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Jin Minseong carefully observed her surroundings. At fifteen, it was her first time away from her mother’s side, and she felt a mix of unease and curiosity about everything around her, even though the person standing in for her mother was her own uncle.

That uncle… was quite interesting.

The prefix “little” before “uncle” was a nickname Jin Minseong had silently given to Myungyun in her heart.

The girl gently touched the soft quilt on the bed, lowered her head to sniff its scent, then suddenly jumped up like a little puppy, as if afraid of being caught.

Fortunately, Myungyun hadn’t appeared at the door, so he didn’t see her little act.

The bedding was new, the desk was new, and even several stuffed toys were placed beside the pillow—a bear, a puppy, a rabbit, and a frog.

Though the frog seemed a bit odd, it was quite cute.

Had all this been prepared by her uncle?

Jin Minseong recalled what her mother had told her once, “Minseong, your uncle may seem unreliable, but he’s actually very thoughtful.”

She hadn’t yet noticed the unreliable part, but her uncle was indeed attentive.

Perhaps agreeing to come to Seoul as her mother wished wasn’t a bad choice after all.

Moreover, her uncle even supported her dream of becoming a trainee.

Jin Minseong had forgotten when she first dreamed of stepping onto the stage, but with that business card in hand, a tiny seed of ambition named "dream" began to sprout within her young heart.

After a moment of daydreaming, the girl opened her suitcase and started unpacking. Later, her uncle had said they would go out to eat.

...

In the living room, Myungyun had just hung up the phone.

He glanced toward Jin Minseong’s room, making sure he hadn’t missed any summons from his niece, whose soft voice was barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz.

To be honest, Myungyun was still a bit unaccustomed to having someone else in the house.

Apart from his two childhood friends, he hadn’t even brought his ex-girlfriend home, avoiding any messy entanglements after breakups.

In this world, safety came first.

“Ding dong...”

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Before long, the doorbell rang in Myungyun’s home.

Jin Minseong heard it too. Being sensitive, she didn’t rush out but quietly listened to the sounds outside her room—maybe it was one of her uncle’s friends.

“Jisoo, you know the code to my house, why are you ringing the doorbell?” Myungyun got up to open the door and spoke to a figure wearing a tracksuit and a cap who hurried inside.

“I’m holding something, no time to punch in the code,” the figure replied.

Removing the cap revealed a delicate face, though her looks didn’t quite match her voice.

Myungyun inspected the items the girl named Jisoo brought: “We’ve known each other for so many years, and this is the first time you’ve come over with gifts. What’s all this?”

“Snacks. Didn’t your daughter just arrive? Kids love these,” Jisoo said as she casually tossed her shoes aside and plopped down on the sofa with no pretenses.

“Jisoo, you and Nayun have gotten bad. That’s my niece,” Myungyun corrected helplessly.

“Isn’t it basically the same thing?” Jisoo shrugged.

“Not at all. Where would I suddenly have such a grown daughter? Did I give birth to you?” Myungyun retorted.

By the timeline, the girl in front of him fit the criteria, and they had known each other for over fifteen years.

“If I had a daughter that old, the company would be in trouble. Our group just debuted; this isn’t the time for scandals,” Jisoo said boldly, sitting cross-legged on the sofa. If fans saw her like this, their image of her might shatter completely.

So that’s what the saying about “two sides of the door” meant.

Myungyun set the bag full of snacks aside: “I thought YG didn’t care about dating?”

“Who said that? The three-year dating ban only applies after debut, and I’ve only been out a little over a month.”

“Debuted just over a month and already took several number one spots. BLACKPINK is the best, Kim Jisoo is the best.”

The girl was none other than Kim Jisoo, a member of the girl group BLACKPINK, which debuted in August 2016 and was hailed as a “monster rookie” after winning first place within thirteen days of debut.

“That’s such a lie. No matter how good I am, I’m no match for Nayun,” Jisoo rolled her eyes at Myungyun’s cheerleading slogan.

Yeah, right.

“By the way, didn’t Nayun say you two were coming together?” Myungyun suddenly remembered something. Two out of the three had arrived, but the most enthusiastic one was conspicuously absent.

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Kim Jisoo lazily got up and fetched a bottle of water from the fridge. Being here felt just like being at home. “Nayun’s too busy. We had planned to come together, but she got a last-minute schedule.”

“That makes sense. They’re a trending girl group with tons of commitments.” Myungyun thought to himself that unless it was an unavoidable emergency, Nayun would never miss out on an event.

Nayun loved to join in the fun.

“If she weren’t so busy, she’d definitely come support you when you were promoting ‘Descendants of the Sun,’” Jisoo said, taking a big gulp of water, not even minding the water stains on her shirt—no idol awareness there.

Myungyun handed her a tissue: “You’re an idol now. You should be more careful and not act like this at home.”

“Just like you on TV,” Jisoo raised her eyebrows. “I can’t help but laugh when I see you so serious in interviews. Being an actor really changes a person.”

“I’m a professional actor. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have gone to the arts high school,” Myungyun grumbled.

He remembered getting a slap from his sister all because of Jisoo, who had suddenly decided to become an idol. She used to be a mischievous kid, and no one knew when she suddenly grew so pretty.

Looking back, he felt bad for the fights he had with Jisoo as a child—those who teased her for being ugly deserved what they got.

Jisoo waved it off: “You should thank me. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be the popular actor you are now.”

“Right, thanks to the world’s cutest Kim Jisoo.”

“I’m not talking to you anymore. Where’s our niece?” Jisoo sniffed at the socks on the floor but abandoned the idea of throwing them at Myungyun’s face.

Not smelly enough.

She hadn’t come here for him. Having seen him grow up, she was thoroughly unimpressed.

Myungyun was about to call out but thought better of it. He stood up and said, “I’ll go get her.”

Jisoo also stood and followed in small steps.

“Minseong, let me introduce you—this is my good friend, Kim Jisoo.”

“Ah, don’t say that in front of the child,” Myungyun’s sister chided.