The Existence of Family
After conquering the massive hurdle of the semifinals, a rare peaceful air settled over the training camp. It seemed the production team wanted to give the finalists—facing the grand finale—a kind of bonus, so they granted us a free day with just one or two cameras lingering around.
The menu was, of course, meat.
Top-grade Hanwoo beef, supposedly sent by one of Blooming's parents. Compared to the cheap feed they served at Evergreen Sky Nursery, this was premium stuff. I was drooling even before it hit the grill as I claimed my spot at the outdoor table.
In the midst of it all, Yoo Seolha grabbed the tongs alone and made her declaration.
"Okay, everyone, listen up! Today, there's no designated grill master—just eaters!"
But that declaration lasted barely five minutes before it flipped. The reason? Yoo Seolha was butchering the meat.
"...Unnie, you gotta flip that. It's gonna burn."
I couldn't stand by any longer and piped up.
Seeing that prime sirloin meant for my mouth sizzling to charcoal on the grill was too heartbreaking.
"Hiiing... B-but where'd Jinwoo oppa go...?"
Probably for a smoke, obviously. From what I'd heard, he didn't smoke before the army, but picked it up there.
'See? Nothing good comes from going.'
I'd lost something precious, but in exchange, no army service. Fair trade, right?
"D-does anyone here know how to grill?!"
Not a single member of Blooming raised her hand. True to form for these delicately raised rich young ladies.
In the end, I sighed and snatched the tongs from Yoo Seolha like they were mine.
A 9-year-old kid wielding tongs and flipping meat perfectly must've been a bizarre sight.
Finally back from his bathroom break—or whatever—Joo Jinwoo stared in disbelief.
"Kid, is there anything you can't do? Grilling at your age?"
"Thanks for the compliment. Guess they taught me at the nursery?"
My snarky, offhand reply filled Joo Jinwoo's face with guilt.
"...Sorry."
"Ah, no, that's not the reaction I wanted... Honestly, I'm kinda glad I'm an orphan. No one to meddle."
"Sob... That's so sad."
Kim Seoli was suddenly squeezing out tears beside us—what a nightmare.
They all seemed to see me as this pitiful orphan forcing a bright smile, so I decided to let them do their thing.
Meanwhile, Joo Jinwoo took over the tongs from me and grilled till the end, then brought over plates to us.
"Here you go. Meat for the young ladies."
"Kya. As expected of a guy for the big jobs."
Kim Seoli popped a fresh piece into her mouth and gave a thumbs-up.
He'd grilled it damn well, so I flashed him a happy smile and a thumbs-up too.
Fundamentally, aside from gender, he was the only real adult here, so it made sense for him to handle the grill.
Mid-bite, I checked the charts.
'Jellypop's at number one, as expected.'
Last week's Christmas of the Day was second, Jellypop first.
Glassy Sky at third, Starlit Night at seventh.
Even further down in the TOP 100, Play On and Pray For had spots, and the OST from that detective manga I'd sung barely clung on too.
Terrifying firepower.
If I could drop a proper full album in this situation...
'I could stuff five songs into the top ten.'
Of course, by the time Singer Star wrapped and I prepped a full album, things would change completely—but hey, popularity always feels good.
"Siyeon, whatcha doing? Oh, checking charts?"
"Yeah. Number one feels pretty great."
"Insane! Number one at your age!"
She was right.
But honestly, with infinite cheats, I didn't feel that impressive. Like massacring NPCs in GTA with god mode—fun, rewarding, but not genius-level.
'Of course, Seo Siyeon's innate talent is legit genius-tier.'
Looks, voice—even dance, with a bit of practice, she'd master it quick.
Without her raw talent, relying solely on my originals might've been tough, but thanks to her body's gifts, I could save my "peak" songs for later and make it this far.
For that talent to emerge from a place like Evergreen Sky Nursery...
Honestly, without my possession, she'd have lived a so-so life, probably marrying some average guy. Stunning looks, but no opportunities without family backing.
'Born without parents—can't be helped.'
But now, everything had changed.
Thanks to me, Seo Siyeon was a star.
No marrying some dude for her.
"Nom."
That aside, time to devour this meat.
Who knew when I'd get it again back at the nursery.
Escaping might take real time, realistically. My status and fame would complicate the process.
Unless some chaebol descended to fund my independence, it'd be a hassle.
"Try this too! Siyeon."
"Mmfph."
What Blooming's keyboardist, Choi Yeona, fed me was...
"Pthbbt! Wh-what'd you make me eat?!"
"Huh? J-just mushrooms..."
"Oh."
Come to think of it, had I ever eaten mushrooms since possessing Seo Siyeon? Not once.
In my past life, I didn't love them but ate them fine...
'Wait, onions too? No green onions either?'
Sudden reality check on my eating habits.
* * *
As always, the community regulars were pissed off as usual.
Popular posts were usually cringey hate-bait.
So they griped about the endless hate threads daily, yet devoured the high-view ones—a contradiction they endured.
But even there, rays of light shone through: pure, hate-free posts like this.
Posts sharing beautiful things or desire-fueled gems.
Singer Star's ripple across every major community was beyond imagination.
After the Winter Olympics ended, forums drowned in hate—then this audition show dropped.
They figured it'd just be fandom wars to spectate, but unexpectedly, they met her.
Seo Siyeon.
Honestly, even without her pretty face, she'd thrive in communities.
Because she's a genius.
Genius anywhere monopolizes attention and love—communities included.
If she were older, jealousy and inferiority would spawn hate, but at just 9? No one could muster it.
The emotion most felt boiled down to "cute."
Even calling her a genius, familiarity set in—leaving only her unreal beauty.
In the rare wholesome comment section of cute GIFs, one question sparked a firestorm.
Later, that user proved it with their own blue eyes, spreading the comment across communities and SNS.
"Hmm..."
So even I, swamped with finale prep, ended up seeing it.
I'd long suspected relatives existed.
Old folks usually had multiple kids.
Uncles probably out there, and thus nieces/nephews too.
But it wasn't a big deal. Even if they claimed family now, I had zero intention of accepting.
"This feels pretty good, though?"
More importantly, the finale song was finally complete.