Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Yu-na's Karaoke Debut
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It was already time for Yu-na to come home.
As we finished getting ready to head out and walked toward the apartment entrance, Shin Dong-hyun looked around with a gasp of admiration.
"Should I move here too?"
I let out a chuckle.
"What's that all of a sudden?"
"There's tons of amenities, the mart's close by, and the security's top-notch, right?"
He had a point.
The security here was excellent, and the amenities were better than most places.
I didn't choose this place for nothing.
Grinning, I gave his shoulder a light nudge to show some camaraderie.
"If that's what you think, go for it."
"Hmm, yeah? Guess I should look into it."
We kept up this pointless banter as we walked, and soon reached the front gate.
"Hey, how much longer do we have to wait?"
"About... ten minutes?"
"Then I'll call that karaoke place nearby. Gotta secure a spot for the broadcast first."
"Sure."
A cool breeze blew as I quietly waited for Yu-na to arrive.
Off in the distance, a yellow bus came into view.
She's here.
Just then, Dong-hyun, who'd stepped away to make his call, strode over and pointed at the yellow bus.
"Jun-seo, that's the one, right?"
"Yeah. Did you find a place to film?"
"Yeah, it's close by. They said we can do whatever—live stream or anything. Just mention their karaoke place."
"Easy request."
"Tell me about it."
We wrapped up our chat and headed over to where the bus had stopped.
The bus doors swung wide open.
The kids' chatter hit my ears like a wave. It felt extra loud today, so I stepped back a bit.
"Everyone, quiet! Clap once—begin!"
Clap!
"Clap twice—begin!"
Clap! Clap!
The bus went silent in an instant.
The teacher who stepped off gave me a warm smile by way of greeting.
Then she turned right around.
"No running—come out slowly."
"Yes!"
I heard Yu-na's cheerful reply.
Held in the teacher's arms, Yu-na finally touched down outside the bus.
"Daddy!"
"Yu-na, welcome home."
She ran straight into my arms. Meanwhile, the teacher hopped back on the bus and was gone.
"Yu-na, hi! It's Uncle Dong-hyun."
"Uncle Dong-hyun! Hello!"
At "uncle," Dong-hyun flinched, his body going rigid like stone.
Was that such a shock?
"Hey, we gotta sort out the titles now. No more 'oppa'—it's 'uncle' from here on out."
"Y-Yeah, you're right..."
He snapped back to his senses but could only manage an awkward smile.
After a simple dinner, we followed Dong-hyun to the karaoke place near the house.
The boss had a calm demeanor.
Ignoring Shin Dong-hyun, he rushed over to me first, grabbing my hand warmly.
"Oh man! Finally getting to see you and your daughter, Jun-seo. I knew you lived around here."
"Excuse me, boss. Am I invisible?"
"Haha. Dong-hyun's here too. Just like you said on the phone, I've got the biggest room cleared out."
Shin Dong-hyun pulled out his card with a sulky look and handed it over.
"...Please charge it to this."
"Got the card. Two hours, right?"
"Yes."
"Uncle! Uncle! Buy this too!"
In the blink of an eye, Yu-na had grabbed a drink from the fridge.
She sure moves fast when she wants something.
"Add three of those drinks then."
"Got it. Head to room 10 and start broadcasting whenever you're ready."
I scooped Yu-na up to keep her from wandering off and bowed to the boss.
"Let's go, Yu-na."
"Hee hee hee. Daddy! Daddy! Sing with me later!"
Her innocent words made my stomach twist. The original plan was to fake a sore throat and bail...
But things weren't going my way.
Maybe she was just excited to see her friend after so long.
'What do I do...'
No matter how much I agonized, no answers came. Fine then—I'd just have to reveal I was tone-deaf and had no rhythm.
I'd better stay off the internet searches for a while.
"Ah, this must be it."
The door flew open, and dazzling rotating lights greeted us first.
Shin Dong-hyun followed, scanning the room and frowning.
"What? It's darker than I thought. This'll make live streaming tough..."
"There's lights right there. Turn 'em on if it's dark. Dumbass?"
"Oh, right!"
Click!
The lights flicked on, brightening the room.
While Shin Dong-hyun unpacked the streaming gear from his bag, I sat in the middle seat and settled Yu-na on my lap.
She hummed a little tune.
Watching her happily bob her head side to side brought a smile to my face.
"Hee hee hee. Daddy! Know this song?"
"Hmm... What song?"
"La la la— la la la la— la la la la—"
Even to me, with zero musical knowledge, her humming sounded perfect.
What song was this?
Closing my eyes, I savored her humming, and it calmed my mind.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
"Huh? What is it, sweetie?"
"Know this song?"
"...No clue, Daddy doesn't."
"Woo-hoo! All set!"
Dong-hyun, who'd been fiddling with the gear, suddenly yelled.
Yu-na and I jumped at his voice.
"Hey, why yell?"
"Whoa, you scared us."
Shin Dong-hyun just shrugged off our scolding.
"Start the broadcast right away?"
The moment we went live, comments poured in like a waterfall.
Look at the phone in front of us.
-Whoa! Finally!! Part 2? Praise me—I got chicken ready.
-1st!
-It's starting!
-Squid away! Hurry!
-Type pretty in chat, guys. Yu-na's joining this time.
-Dong-hyun hyung, bow out?
-Hyung, when's it start?
-No! Clear the squid already!
"Hello, everyone. As announced, Part 2 features actor Lee Jun-seo's daughter too. For this part 2 content... we'll sing songs requested by viewers...."
Shin Dong-hyun took charge of hosting right away, and I waited on the side for my turn.
"Oh, you want me gone? No thanks. This is my broadcast."
As he bantered with viewers, he finally turned to me.
My turn at last.
I cleared my throat with a cough.
"Ahem."
"What're you doing? Greet 'em already."
The phone on the tripod had swiveled toward me.
"...I was just about to."
I turned to the camera lens, smiled wide, and waved.
"Hello, everyone. Seems like some new faces, so let me reintroduce myself. I'm Lee Jun-seo, the actor."
"Uncle! Daddy! Yu-na wants to say hi too!"
Yu-na climbed onto her chair, clasped her little hands at her belly button.
She bowed slowly, straightened up, and beamed.
"Hello. I'm Lee Yu-na."
A flawless, polite greeting.
I rested my hand on her head and gently stroked it.
"Good job. Our girl greets so nicely."
"We learned at kindergarten that greetings should be polite."
"Our girl's so smart."
I glanced at the phone on the table. The reaction was explosive—comments flying too fast to track.
From what I could make out...
Mostly praise for how adorable Yu-na was? A few rude ones popped up here and there, but nothing too bad.
Shin Dong-hyun's broadcast manager was handling the trolls.
"Alright! First, we'll each sing what we want, then vote on viewer requests. Sound good?"
"Yu-na first!"
"Haha! Okay, Yu-na goes first."
Yu-na struggled with the remote but managed to pick her song.
The music started.
The song she'd picked with such effort? A children's TV theme.
"Twinkling sky—wanna hold hands? Sarararak! The door opens—yes! No—you're—not alone!"
Her surprisingly good singing got me hyped, so I shook the tambourine.
"That's it! Good job! Our girl!"
As I cheered, Dong-hyun suddenly poked my side and pointed at the phone.
'Why's he telling me to check reactions now?'
Following his cue, I peeked—and dropped the tambourine in shock.
Everyone was saying they couldn't hear Yu-na over it—telling me to drop it.
-No, stop the tambourine!
-Can't hear the song!!
-Dong-hyun hyung! Confiscate it!
-Finally... hear her now.
-No way lololol first time seeing tambourine in karaoke. Be real—27?
-Yeah! Good job! our girl! Thought it was our boss lololol.
I stopped cheering as viewers wished and sat quietly till Yu-na finished.
"So, what score for Yu-na's song? Nah, that'd be biased. Oh, got it. Yu-na gets 100 points!"
"Yay! Daddy! 100 points!"
She bounced on the sofa like a bunny at "100 points."
"Yeah, Daddy thinks 100 too."
While I chatted with Yu-na, Dong-hyun queued the next song.
"Shh, listen quietly now."
"Okay. Eep!"
"Heh heh, no need to cover your mouth."
We listened obediently, and Shin Dong-hyun was... neither great nor awful at singing. Well, duh—he had to be better than me, right?
Soon the song ended, and viewers scored it.
"Oh! So I get 89? Stingy bunch. Next up, actor Lee Jun-seo's turn...."
My turn.
"Sigh..."
Couldn't be helped.
Time to own it.
I took the remote, found the most upbeat song, and hit start.
['Sweet Love' by Yusia]
Shin Dong-hyun peeked at my pick and poked my side, flashing a sly grin that made him look smug.
"You a Yusia fan too?"
"...Nope."
"Yusia's pretty cute, huh."
Truth be told, I had zero interest in music, so I barely knew who Yusia was.
This was just one that played a lot at the shop where I worked part-time to make ends meet.
The upbeat melody kicked in soon, lyrics on screen.
I gripped the mic tight.
"...Sweet love comes always—"
As expected.
The second I sang, Shin Dong-hyun clutched his stomach laughing.
"Hahaha! You're a riot."
I squeezed my eyes shut.
His constant snickering burned my face. But I couldn't just stop mid-song.
Fine, see it through.
Boosted by Yu-na's cheers amid his laughter, I gripped the mic and focused.
How much time passed?
The song finally ended...
But Shin Dong-hyun wouldn't stop laughing.
I wanted to crawl into a hole.
"Got so many hilarious clips today. Haha! Reactions are great. What next? Viewer votes?"
"Daddy sang really well!"
"Right, score... Pfft! Zero?"
"No! 100 points!"
Yu-na...
That's not helping.
I set the mic down weakly.