CHAPTER: 009 I Thought Dasomi Was a Shining Star?!
CHAPTER: 009 I Thought Dasomi Was a Shining Star?!
When Yoonseul held the envelope out again, Han Mira—like she was possessed—took it and pulled the contents out.
It was a musical ticket she had wanted to see but couldn’t because it was sold out.
“Oh? This… I gave up on it because I couldn’t get a ticket…”
From her muttering alone, Yoonseul could tell how grateful she was as she stared at the ticket in her hand.
After looking at it for a long while, Han Mira lifted her head.
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“I’m glad. I’m happy you like it. And… thank you for taking care of my siblings today too.”
“Yes. Thank you for the ticket gift, Doctor. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After greeting him, Han Mira left through the gate.
Hoo—
Yoonseul took off his coat, quickly changed into lounge clothes, washed his hands and feet, brushed his teeth, then approached the babies.
“Dasomi, did you have fun today?”
He spoke to Dasomi first.
She still felt a little awkward around him since she hadn’t been here long.
“I heard from Ms. Han today that you two rolled over and even sat up… and you did it smoothly.”
At his words, the babies giggled—kkya-reu-reuk.
They definitely understand…
Not knowing what he was thinking, the two babies wore their bright baby smiles.
Yoonseul smiled too.
At that moment, the sitting Dasomi flopped backward.
“Oh— Dasomi—”
Startled, Yoonseul caught the back of Dasomi’s head and gently laid her down.
“You scared oppa… Dasomi.”
“Awu— aaah—”
It felt like the baby was trying to say something, but…
Yoonseul tried his best to read her eyes and expression.
“I don’t really know what you’re saying, Dasomi…”
“Awu— aaah— uaaang— heee-eeng—”
After a few babbled syllables, Dasomi suddenly burst into loud tears.
Yoonseul lifted her up and patted her.
“Dasomi… were you sad because oppa wasn’t here?”
At his words, Dasomi burrowed into him like she was truly wronged and cried.
She smeared snot and tears all over his clothes.
Then—
~I thought Dasomi was a shining star~
Yoonseul hummed as he sang.
Maybe it was his tone.
Dasomi lifted her face even while crying.
~I didn’t know… that I was a bug~
Dasomi’s eyes went wide.
Why was this person calling himself a bug?
~But it’s okay, because Dasomi is dazzling~
~I’m a little star who grants Dasomi’s wishes~
Hearing him sing a rewritten version, Dasomi let out a “kkahit—” and laughed.
From the living room, Garam sat with his mouth hanging open.
Because Yoonseul’s singing voice was too good.
Wow… seriously. That voice… What a waste to keep him only as a doctor. Can he play an instrument too?
Watching Yoonseul, Garam saw the dark circles under his eyes.
Garam wanted Yoonseul to do well.
And more than that, he wanted him to stay healthy and live strongly with them.
Every night, when Yoonseul fell asleep, exhausted from work and childcare, Garam quietly woke up and used magic to ease his fatigue.
And because he didn’t want Yoonseul to suffer on that steep hill, he also used magic that boosted strength.
“Kkaa— kwaaah—”
When Garam shouted excitedly from the living room floor, Dasomi, in Yoonseul’s arms, also stretched both arms toward Yoonseul’s face.
Smack— smack—
For some reason, whenever Dasomi felt good, she slapped both of Yoonseul’s cheeks.
Her hands were tiny, but they stung like hell.
Since it was a baby hitting him, Yoonseul endured it.
“If one song can make Dasomi feel better, I should sing for you often, huh?”
“U—”
“A—”
Both babies answered at the same time.
Yoonseul burst out laughing at the sight.
“Hahaha— why are you two so cute? You want to hear hyung sing?”
“U.”
“A.”
Garam answered from the floor, Dasomi answered from his arms.
They were saying they wanted to hear Yoonseul sing.
“Yeah? If you want it, then wait a second.”
Yoonseul stood, stepped out the front door, went up to the second floor, then came back down fast.
When he returned, there was an instrument in his hands.
At the sight of it, Garam and Dasomi’s eyes grew huge.
That’s… a classical guitar.
A guitar.
Watching Yoonseul sit on the sofa and tune the guitar, Dasomi was shocked.
Perfect pitch?
Without a tuner, Yoonseul finished tuning.
Then he plucked the strings.
Diri-ring—
“I thought I was a shining star~ I never doubted it even once~”
Dasomi stared at Yoonseul as he played guitar and sang.
What is “family,” anyway?
Her gaze sank.
When she first came to her senses after being born, a woman called her mother carried her to a lawyer and handed her over.
While raging—
“If I’d known he was going to die, I wouldn’t have given birth. You’re saying there’s not even a penny of inheritance—so why should I raise this baby?”
Hong Jiyeon’s sharp voice, screaming at Han Gisu.
From the stroller, hearing that voice, Dasomi thought—
I wasn’t welcomed… not in my past life, not here either…
Her past life as a high elf.
The forest city, Elsidra.
Even there, she was abandoned.
More precisely, her parents died.
Her past-life name was Aurella.
She became an orphan young, but because high elves were rare, she was raised through communal childcare.
They were all good elves.
Just when she thought, Is this happiness?
A great calamity arrived.
The Gate disaster.
Caught in it, she lost consciousness.
And when she woke up again, it was Earth.
A dimensional refugee on Earth.
And in a place called Korea.
Koreans were warm, if you put it nicely.
If you didn’t, they were nosy.
Without even getting close, they shoved in all kinds of meddling.
It was hard.
So she shut herself away in a place called Seoraksan.
True to being a forest race, she could live alone there just fine.
There were no kin, so she was lonely, but she had forest animal friends and spirits to ease it.
Family… I never had it in my past life either. No. It’s something far from me.
The guitar in her ears sounded beautiful.
So beautiful it dragged her past-life memories up.
Dara rala— ding— dara— diri-ring—
When Yoonseul’s song ended, Garam shrieked a dolphin scream in delight.
Dasomi just quietly watched Yoonseul smiling.
Why… does that person look at me warmly?
Their eyes met.
“Dasomi, do you not like oppa’s singing? Why do you look so down?”
A low, pleasant voice spoke to her.
It was a gentle tone she had maybe never heard even in her past life.
From the beginning until now.
His touch was gentle too.
Careful. Kind.
Why… is he cherishing me this much, when I’m a spirit summoner who can’t even call spirits?
That was as far as Dasomi’s thoughts got.
Her body wobbled sideways because of an infant’s oversized head.
In that instant—
Yoonseul threw himself forward.
“Dasomi!”
The moment he saw Dasomi tipping over, his heart dropped.
Tadadang—
He tossed the guitar aside and lunged to catch her.
Garam’s eyes went wide.
“Dasomi… are you okay…?”
Checking Dasomi in his arms, Yoonseul let out a hollow laugh.
“Hey…”
“Su— su—”
Dasomi was sleeping, breathing evenly.
Garam had run a fever and gone to the hospital several times after collapsing like that, so Yoonseul had panicked.
Stroking the sleeping Dasomi’s hair, Yoonseul murmured,
“Dasomi… it’s not as good as Mom and Dad’s arms, but your oppa will love you and cherish you a lot, so don’t get sick—grow up healthy.”
Garam watched quietly, then crawled toward Yoonseul.
“Huh? When did you get here, Garam?”
With a bright smile, Yoonseul lifted Garam.
“Garam… even without a mom, hyung will love you enough to replace Mom and Dad. Don’t get sick—grow up healthy.”
Kiss—
Yoonseul kissed the top of Garam’s head.
“Kkeureuk—”
Garam patted Yoonseul’s chest like he was comforting him.
Feeling it, Yoonseul looked at Garam and said,
“Garam… are you patting me because you’re worried hyung is having a hard time?”
“Eheuak—”
Garam babbled like he was answering, and Yoonseul laughed.
“Dasomi’s asleep, so I’ll lay her down in the crib. Garam, want to sleep too? Your eyes are all droopy.”
“Kkeureuk—”
After watching Garam smile brightly for a moment, Yoonseul laid Dasomi into the baby crib first.
When he laid Garam into the crib next to her, Garam kicked at the air a few times, then quietly fell asleep.
Looking at the two sleeping babies, Yoonseul closed the door softly and went back out to the living room.
“Ms. Han is really meticulous. She cleaned, did the babies’ laundry, sterilized the bottles—everything.”
When he opened the fridge, he saw a few side dishes.
He pulled one container out and tasted a bit, and his eyes widened.
“Wow— her cooking is insane. When the babies start eating baby food later, she’ll probably make that really well too.”
He was looking forward to it.
Compared to typical hourly babysitters, he’d set Han Mira’s pay at 15,000 won per hour at first.
Now it was higher—20,000 won per hour, five days a week.
One weekday off was allowed.
That was how Yoonseul’s work schedule ran.
Wednesday was his day off, and instead he worked Saturdays, so after discussing it with Mira, she agreed to watch the babies on Saturdays too.
“And she even makes side dishes… and does housework so thoroughly, and takes care of the babies so well…”
Han Mira didn’t know, but there were micro CCTV cameras installed in the living room and in Yoonseul’s room (now the room where he slept with the babies).
During babysitting hours, Han Mira didn’t hold her phone.
She always stayed beside the babies, watching their behavior, and read picture books out loud.
“The impression I got that she’s diligent and meticulous wasn’t just a feeling…”
Now he could trust her and leave the babies with her.
Sometimes, when he got stressed at the clinic, checking the home cam to see the babies made him feel better again.
When he first got siblings, it had felt hopeless.
Then Garam’s “revealed” lotto numbers hit first prize, and the inheritance the lawyer sent came in.
His bank account grew thick.
“Next year… the babies will turn one. I should throw them a first-birthday party…”
There was still plenty of time.
He could look into it one or two months before.
Or just do it at home.
Thinking that, Yoonseul looked around.
The house was spotless.
Since Han Mira had done all the housework, there was nothing for him to do.
Ah—!
There was.
He had briefly forgotten that he had to wash his own clothes.
“While they’re sleeping, I should run the laundry.”
As he carried the laundry basket into the laundry room, Yoonseul didn’t know he was being watched.
Hng— so hyung does his own laundry?
It was Garam, lying down with a video floating in the air.
“Su— saek—”
Beside him, Dasomi was sleeping quietly.
Sniff—
She was crying in her sleep for some reason.
Garam stared at his present-life sibling Dasomi as she slept with tears running down.
Past life, huh…
Garam watched what Yoonseul was doing.
Yoonseul looked impressive—someone who had given up part of his life and was devoting himself to them.
If you told me to live like that, I’d never be able to…
When Garam sensed Yoonseul might open the bedroom door, he canceled the magic, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep.
Click—
Yoonseul tiptoed into the room, grabbed his laptop.
They’re sleeping… yeah. Sleeping angels…
He tiptoed back out.
Soft, soft—
Click—
Even after the door closed, Garam didn’t feel like opening his eyes.
Even while watching the video, he’d been a little sleepy.
Thinking, This damn body—
he fell asleep.
That night, Yoonseul turned on his laptop in the living room and searched online.
“Awu— a—”
He noticed the two babies babbling like they were talking.
They’re babbling like they’re talking again…?
Yoonseul quietly lifted his phone and recorded them.
“Aua— (Dasomi, why are you acting distant to hyung Yoonseul? We’re family.)”
“Huuang— (I’m not family.)”
“Huh? (What?)”
“Hua-u-a-a (I’m not family with oppa Seul—)”
“Hee— huaaaang—”
Mid-recording, Dasomi suddenly burst into tears, and Yoonseul jolted and picked her up.
“Why is Dasomi crying?”