The Kind of Adult You Want to Lean On

"You must really care about him."

Yoon Jay soothed the thoroughly wary Ji Yeon-woo with a gentle voice.

"It's nothing serious. I was just wondering — could you tell me what you said about me to Do-jun?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm not trying to interrogate you. He just wouldn't give me the details."

Yoon Jay laid out, unhurried and precise, everything he himself had heard.

"So he was upset — no idea what he thought was so unfair, but he'd decided his hyung just had to make it big. I'm curious what exactly he heard from you. Take your time. It's all right."

There was something in the atmosphere that seemed to pull the truth out of you. Ji Yeon-woo, who would normally have played innocent, found himself sobering up.

"W-well, I did say some things..."

"You weren't trying to mess with him, were you?"

"No! No, sir."

The words came out of Ji Yeon-woo like rapid fire. Yoon Do-jun was the youngest of their group. The group had blown up lately, which meant all sorts of strange people had started circling, and he'd been worried the kid might get taken advantage of somewhere — that was his excuse, anyway, the "I gave him a good talking-to" defense.

"Honestly, it's true that I started suspecting you after I saw you at Do-jun's father's funeral."

Yoon Jay motioned for him to slow down and reassured him.

"It's fine. I'd have thought the same thing. It's exactly the kind of situation that invites misunderstanding."

"No, no, I wasn't trying to — what's the word — slander you? I really wasn't trying to badmouth you or anything."

Ji Yeon-woo hastily waved his hands and tried to smooth things over. Maybe twenty percent of it had been genuine worry; the rest had honestly been meant to needle Yoon Do-jun. But hearing it laid out so bluntly, he felt like he'd committed some enormous offense.

The tone never wavered, the expression never hardened, and the man even gave his shoulder a gentle pat to put him at ease — yet an inexplicable pressure bore down on him. The kind that made you want to spill your whole family history unprompted.

"It's just that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I don't really know you... uh, my mom went through something similar, and it was hard on her."

"I see. That must have been rough."

"I mean, it's not like it was hard on me, exactly..."

"It was your mother's business, but of course it hurt you too, being right there beside her. Is that why you said it to Do-jun as well?"

Caught dead center, Ji Yeon-woo pressed his lips together and nodded. Somehow, he'd ended up being comforted instead.

To be fair, Yoon Jay had packaged it kindly — the original intent had leaned heavily toward Good grief, that idiot, keep spacing out like that and you'll get fleeced.

"Hmm... Still, I'd rather you didn't worry about me. I didn't debut to look after a half-brother fourteen years my junior, or to help my mother out. I have my own reasons for being here."

A faint edge crept into Yoon Jay's presence. But Ji Yeon-woo, head bowed, never noticed.

"And I can handle hearing things like that. But Do-jun... if he keeps hearing them, I think it'll wear him down."

"Ah, uh... actually our leader already chewed me out over it. I stopped after that."

"Your leader? Ah, Ji-hyuk."

Anyway, that's probably enough said. Having finished his business, Yoon Jay broke into a wide smile.

"Still, I'm glad he has someone next to him willing to be this blunt."

"D-do you think so?"

"Take good care of him from here on out. He's a little fragile, and..."

Ji Yeon-woo looked up at Yoon Jay, his face transformed with emotion. So this is what a real adult looks like?

'But fragile? Seriously?'

This hyung clearly hasn't met the real Yoon Do-jun yet. That kid is a rabid chihuahua.

'Though now I get why Yoon Do-jun lost his mind a little.'

He seemed like... such a genuinely good adult. The kind of hyung you'd want to lean on.

The kind of person you couldn't help but argue wasn't the leech you'd suspected. In an instant, Ji Yeon-woo's heart tilted even further toward Yoon Jay, and his insides churned with conflict. He was asking so sincerely... maybe he'd go a little easier on Yoon Do-jun.

"Yeon-woo hyung! What are you doing right now!"

"What! Why!"

"You didn't say something to my hyung, did you?! That's my hyung!"

"Oh, for God's sake, I have never in my life seen anyone throw a fit like this. Is he like this at home too?"

Yoon Do-jun, having caught the two of them together, was stomping toward them in a huff.

"No?"

"Doesn't seeing him like that ruin the whole image?"

"I find it kind of endearing, actually."

"Huegh..."

Chills. Actual chills. Ji Yeon-woo grimaced in disgust. Yoon Do-jun came bounding over in a clatter. Yes — that. Rabid chihuahua form.

"Director! Director! Over here! Hey! They're filming!"

"Aw, come on!"

Watching Yoon Do-jun summon the camera with practiced ease — clearly not his first rodeo — and swap on his broadcast-ready face in a heartbeat, Yoon Jay laughed out loud.

FLAVA had felt like a litter of adorable hamsters, but this group was a fun crowd too.

"So, hyung. Anything you're curious about?"

Yoon Do-jun's face was flushed with excitement. His hyung might have debuted back in 2001 as a major senior in the industry, but he probably didn't know the first thing about idols — and his mixed determination to show off how cool he was was written all over him, so Yoon Jay simply laughed.

"I followed Do-hwa around yesterday, so I got the general idea."

"Ah! We were supposed to go first!"

Yoon Do-jun latched onto Yoon Jay again like a sloth.

"By the way, hyung — what's that on the back of your hand?"

"Ah. It's nothing."

Yoon Jay cupped his hands together as he always did, hiding the wound.

FLAVA was a girl group, after all, and he'd deliberately kept a certain distance to head off any potential controversy. Do-hwa had read that mood perfectly well too, and hadn't come any closer than necessary.

"Who's the culprit?"

"Me!"

"Ah!"

But Buster was a different story. Everything about them felt... gloriously scattered. They didn't even seem tired — playing games nonstop, utterly incapable of sitting still in their seats.

"Jay hyung, come play with us!"

"I'm working."

"Aw, come on. That's just a variety-show gimmick anyway."

It is not. I'm dead serious. From the very start, the whole thing had been less about raising his own profile than about shining a bigger spotlight on the twins.

But Buster was relentless. Eventually even the production staff of Manager's Daily Life asked him to humor them a little, for the sake of the show.

"Hyung, do you know Mafia?"

"I've played before."

Thanks to the reward vacation from Along Along, where he'd sampled every game known to man, joining in was easy.

"I'm sorry — I never meant to bring up something like this."

"No, it's fine... but is it okay for you all to be telling me this?"

Should they really be telling me all this? Somehow he'd ended up listening to their very real, very practical worries. The Buster members, taken as a whole... resembled Yoon Do-jun. They'd disarmed their guard and bared their hearts to a complete stranger they'd met only today.

"Hyung. Could I get your number?"

"Sure."

"Me too! Can I text you sometimes?"

Before he knew it, Yoon Do-jun wasn't the only one hanging off him — every single member of Buster had latched on.

What is this...

Things were taking a curious turn.

Afterward, naturally, the topic came up again in the solo interviews.

"Yesterday with FLAVA, and now the Buster members too — everyone seems really attached to you, Jay."

"They do, don't they. I wonder why?"

"Maybe it's because you take such good care of them?"

"I don't really feel like I did anything like that..."

The youngest writer smiled at Yoon Jay's bewildered face. There had been plenty of standout, swoon-worthy moments across the entire shoot, and yet the man seemed completely unaware that he'd been the one looking after them.

"The twins said something similar in their interviews. The way you look after the kids — it's like... a habit? You just seem so used to it."

Yoon Jay let out a small, sudden breath. The memory had come rushing back without warning.

After a moment, he masked his expression and answered.

"I just... I feel like kids that age are the kind you're supposed to look out for."

"Why do you think that?"

"Hmm... I wonder why?"

Yoon Jay only shrugged, as if he didn't know either.

The episode with Yoon Jay and the twins had to air before both groups' promotion cycles ended, so the pre-recorded footage was broadcast the very following week.

"You really haven't helped that boy out at all?"

"I told you, no, Mom. Who was that on the phone — a reporter?"

"No, it's not that..."

The twins' mother, Park Hyun-ah, found herself periodically tormented by her own side of the family. If even Yoon Do-jun had caught flak from Ji Yeon-woo over all this, one could only imagine what she endured.

"Why would that Mr. Yoon do a thing like that..."

"Mom! You knew everything all along, and now you're giving me grief about it?"

"You said you'd never see him again!"

"Then what was I supposed to do — when their birth father was dying, keep it a secret?!"

At the funeral, a tall, strikingly handsome young man had stepped in and handled all the unpleasant tasks on the twins' behalf, and she had been charmed by how obliging and well-mannered he was.

"Honestly, how much could that Paju studio even be worth, and they're still kicking up this much of a fuss!"

But Yoon Jay had been gifted the small house that was his birth father's studio. And so, every time people managed to forget, this uncomfortable topic surfaced again.

Worse, she'd started hearing absurd rumors that the moment he suddenly debuted as an actor, he'd snatched up a supporting role by sweet-talking her good daughter and the twin grandchildren. Things only grew more strained.

It's not like I can explain any of this to them...

Park Hyun-ah felt stifled, too. She had fallen for Yoon Su-heon's face and clung to him; even after learning he was divorced with children, she hadn't stopped.

After his ardent courtship, they had married, and with her husband's help she had grown into a proper, respectable drama screenwriter. And the reason her husband had managed to stand back up at all was Lee Youngchang, who had never stopped missing Yoon Jae-hee.

Since the man himself wanted his time as Yoon Jae-hee buried, there was nothing she could say. She could only sit there, stifled.

"Just watch the show with the grandchildren on it."

Right on cue, the episode of Manager's Daily Life featuring the twins and Yoon Jay began. The panel delivered their opening remarks, and then Yoon Do-jun, Yoon Do-hwa, and Yoon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jay filed into the studio to introduce themselves.

(Hello. I'm actor Yoon Jay.)

The highlight reels from Along Along, the pictorial shots from his fashion campaign — the show rolled them out one after another, complete with a breathless caption proclaiming him the hottest rising actor of the moment.

"My, he's gotten even more striking than back then."

Park Hyun-ah's mother couldn't take her eyes off the screen, as if nothing had ever happened between them.

The production team of Manager's Daily Life had woven a narrative of family devotion into this episode — and no small amount of the youngest writer's fandom had gone into it.

Yoon Jay came across as the dependable eldest brother throughout, with the cameras quietly zeroing in on the way he looked after his younger siblings and their group members without ever making a show of it.

Catching Seong Jia of FLAVA as she wobbled in shoes that didn't fit, with reflexes so sharp they bordered on supernatural. Watching the Buster members shoot hoops outside on their break, then casually plucking a stray ball out of the air from the neighboring tennis court and turning back around as if nothing had happened. Again and again, the footage showed him quietly watching over them from just out of frame.

(Do-jun really looks up to you, Jay.)

(Honestly, after Dad passed, things were really hard for me — and hyung was just... there, beside me, the whole time.)

(What about you, Do-hwa?)

(I got a lot of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠help from oppa during our breaks too.)

Park Hyun-ah and her mother both noted how thoroughly the twins deferred to Yoon Jay — quite thoroughly, in fact. Almost to the point of excess.

(Oppa, that wound on the back of your hand — is that from back then?)

(It hardly hurt at all.)

The incident where a fan had flung an album that nearly struck Yoon Do-hwa — and then, all the way through, the image of Yoon Jay concealing the wound on his hand afterward, never letting on that anything was wrong.

And then, footage of Yoon Do-hwa in the studio discovering it all belatedly, and of Yoon Do-jun clinging to Yoon Jay at every possible opportunity, made it abundantly clear just how deep the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bond between the three of them ran.

"...The kids must really love him. To go that far."

"See? Isn't it nice?"

"Is that the only thing you have to say?"

By then, Park Hyun-ah's mother — realizing how foolish she'd been to quibble over the inheritance — cleared her throat and, at last, fell quiet.