Season 1_Jang Ma-eum, an orphan with a family of 13

#35_Jang Ma-eum, an orphan with a family of 13

‘I’m sure my older brother will do a better job of comforting me, right?’

Seungwoo spoke to me with his eyes. I nodded, telling him to believe me. He looked at Yeoju with longing eyes.

‘I understand how you feel about the heroine, but I don’t oppose it.

What can I say? But as the female protagonist's friend, I have a favor to ask.

Please do well. I will trust you.'

Seungwoo whispered and left. My heart… I was the only one ignoring it, but now I understand. I like Yeoju more than I thought.

“Brother…”

"Yeah, tell me."

I spoke with a hint of respect. Of course, I wasn't saying it to get excited. Right now, I was just trying to comfort her.

“I could have done better…”

“Yeah, I get why you’re upset.”

A child much smaller than me buried his face in my shoulder and wept. He sometimes seemed larger than me, but he was still a child.

“You worked hard at the audition today. You practiced hard too.

If the results are good, that's great, but if they're bad, that's okay too.

“I did well enough.”

I pat her small back. How cold must this world have been to her, whose only concern was self-esteem? How many hours must she have shed tears?

“I’m on your side, always, without exception.”

At my words, her hand came up to my shoulder, as if to hide herself. "Yes, you can hide for a bit today. I'll help you hide. Hide and cry comfortably. But when you're done crying, come back."

“Thank you, oppa…”

I stroked Yeoju's head. Her tear-soaked face was more beautiful than I'd imagined. I took her hand and headed back to the car. I sat Yeoju in the back seat and took out my phone.

‘The heroine might be feeling a little off.’

Leave a message in the group chat. Now that Yeoju is part of the same family, we need to discuss issues related to Yeoju together.

‘Why… did you do it wrong?’

Jisoo, who is known for not checking KakaoTalk messages often, responds right away.

‘I guess there was something like that.’

‘Our heroine… I guess the pressure was too much.’

Jun-Hwi's drooping figure was visible from here.

‘I… got too caught up in it.’

‘There was something like that.’

I send a text message saying that I agree with Chan's words.

‘But… I wish I could do better…’

‘I’d rather do better than give that advice.

A word of praise seems to make things more effective.

Seungcheol knew Yeoju well. Perhaps he observed her more than the other members. As the overall leader.

"Still... she's already good at it. Her practice volume is no joke."

‘I know how you feel, but I.

I'm sure it was done well, but it's a shame'

This is what Seokmin does the most. He records well and then cries about how it's too bad. In that way, Yeoju and Seokmin seem similar.

‘You know your own abilities too well, our heroine.

So if I can’t do it, I can only feel regret…’

Seung-kwan also seems to understand the female protagonist's feelings. Well, sometimes Seung-kwan does that too.

‘Please comfort me first, hyung.

‘If you bring him, we’ll take care of the rest.’

‘Lee Chan, why are you being so polite? Okay, when you get home, just comfort me.

‘Because thirteen is better than one’

'okay'

'…huh.'

Why did Min-gyu say he knew? Yeah, I told you that he and Yeo-ju aren't just friends. He really likes her.

"Come quickly. Oh, and buy me something sweet."

"Oh, that's a good idea, Choi Han-sol. Just let Han Seung-woo go first."

‘Ah, that was the right choice.’

Wonwoo sends a heartfelt text message. They say text messages can be misunderstood because intonation isn't conveyed, but if this is the case, there will never be another misunderstanding.

"I don't like that guy named Han Seung-woo. There was something wrong with him."

It's Vernon. Hansol's intuition wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly good.

‘What, you’re saying we were dating?’

‘Not to that extent, but maybe a little something?

‘Don’t you think that’s possible?’

"It's credible. You should have seen the honey dripping from his eyes."

When I sent a message, all the members lowered Han Seungwoo's score.

"Anyway, I'll go quickly. I'll be waiting."

The female protagonist asks from behind.

“Who are you chatting with?”

“Kids. I have something to say.

Han Seung-woo, you live in Samsung Hillstate Complex 2, right?”

"yes that's right."

There was no traffic jam and there weren't many traffic lights, just like I wanted to get him off as quickly as possible.

"thank you."

But… I think you have good manners. If you didn't have good manners, you might have already been punished.

“Oh, good job.”

“Thank you for today, Seungwoo!”

At her words, Han Seung-woo snickers and says.

“You keep your promise?”

“What… promise?”

"Oh, I promised to buy chicken if we got together. But that won't happen. Han Seung-woo, don't get your hopes up. Today was the worst day ever."

Ha… She’s still feeling low. It was hard to see her, with her high self-esteem, feeling bad.

"Well then... let's go. Have hope, Yeoju."

Han Seung-woo walks home and Yeo-ju asks me.

“Can I… listen to music with earphones on?”

“You don’t have to wear it. Do whatever you want.”

Yeoju took a pair of white earphones out of her bag and plugged them into her phone. What song was playing? Was it a sweet, sentimental ballad, a song that suited her mood, or some upbeat dance music to lift her spirits? Either way, I hoped it was a song she liked. I hoped it would bring her happiness. Instead of heading home, she turned toward a famous dessert shop. Yeoju was looking out the window, but she didn't seem to know where she was going. Her nerves, so focused on the audition, seemed to be fading.

“Oh, brother.”

“Yeah, tell me. Why?”

“I want to meet my brother and sister named Yoon Jeong-yeon…”

“Why do you want to see me? No, I can let you meet me.

“I’m just curious.”

“Just. I unintentionally received a lot of help from Jeongyeon.

The clothes I wore when I first went to the dorm were also Jeongyeon's clothes.

And… I brought you here because I thought of you, Jeongyeon.”

“I can’t refute that. Jeongyeon already knows you,

Let's go according to schedule. Probably after the CSAT.

“We can meet anytime.”

“Yeah. Tell me separately. The one with the name of “Mind…”

“I want to become closer to you, people born in 1999.”

"Mind," it was a name she loathed intensely. She resented her parents, whom she knew nothing about, and hated the name they gave her. Only her heart knows what it feels like. Perhaps she's decided to accept herself and live again. Whatever the reason, if that's your choice, then by all means, go ahead.

“Okay, mind.”

She smiles at my answer. It must be her feelings for calling me "heart." Don't worry, I'll call you "Yeoju" in front of the members until you tell me.

After finishing the story about Jeongyeon, we arrived at the dessert shop.

"here…"

The female protagonist seems to know the store.

“Do you know this place?”

“I saw it on the internet. It’s a famous store.”

Her mouth was hanging down to her ear. Thank goodness. I think that made her feel a little better.

"Choose whatever you want to eat. I'll buy it for you."

“It’s expensive here.”

If you say that with eyes full of anticipation, with no hint of worry about money, I'll be very worried.

“Do you still feel that way? We’re family?”

She's so pretty, smiling brightly at my words. She's seriously crazy, really crazy. As I said before, she's still a minor... She's not even 17 yet, just a young girl.

"okay."

After saying that, I went around to a relatively large store, but in the end, the female protagonist didn't choose many things.

“What, I can choose more.”

“You have to know something to choose.

I don't know anything other than macarons and meringue cookies.

“I don’t even want to eat”

It doesn't matter what you know. Each food is conveniently labeled. Some even have instructions on how to make them and their origins.

"Lies. You're saying you want to eat snow?"

“…I got caught, hehe.”

He must have been trying to be nice for no reason and not burden us as much as possible.

“It’s okay if it’s expensive. We make good money.

"Shall I show you my annual income? Then I can eat whatever I want?"

I went a little too hard, but if I didn't do this, she'd probably never get it right. I hoped she wouldn't get hurt, but she did, and the corners of her mouth were tucked up to her ears in a kind of excitement.

“Then I’ll choose whatever I want!”

Only then did I start to choose freely, and I smiled at her. She was cuter than anyone else.

“Honey, have you tried this?”

She smiles brightly and holds something out in front of me. It looks like an eclair.

"huh"

“Really? How does it taste?”

“Hmm… it was so sweet.”

“Hehehe, it’s always new to see you swearing at me.

Anyway, I'll buy this too"

“Did you want to eat something sweet?”

“Yeah! There are a lot of things I’m seeing for the first time, right?

I want to try something sweet enough to make my tongue tingle.

When I'm depressed, that's my go-to place."

I admit it to myself. I don't enjoy it, but nothing works as well as it. Dacquoise, brownies, choux pastries, cake, tiramisu, waffles—she was finally choosing what she wanted.

“It’s 84,500 won.”

I chose a lot like crazy, but the price is reasonable compared to what I chose.

“Please calculate it for me.”

I take out 90,000 won in cash that I haven't seen in a while.

“Usually… don’t you use a card?

“It’s my first time seeing you use cash.”

"I finally pulled it out. I wanted to flex it on you."

“Heh heh heh, oh~ Isn’t it cool?”

I pat her head. She smiles faintly. The part-timer who's packing the food looks at her with a look of relief. "Do we look like a couple? That's not right... She's still a minor..."

“Brother?”

The call of the heart barely frees me from unrealistic thoughts.

"Okay, let's go."

Naturally, I pick up the packaging bag and take her hand with my other hand. She comes out, holding the macarons in her other hand, as if nothing had happened.

"delicious?"

"Yeah, damn it"

“Are you going to swear again now?”

"It's Lee Ji-hoon's fault."

He's three years older than me, but seeing him call me Lee Ji Hoon so casually, I wonder if he's into Seventeen.

“You’re three years older than me?”

“Aren’t we friends until we’re 4 years old?”

“Does that mean I’m like a friend to you too?”

“My brother… feels more like an older brother than a friend.

“All 95 brothers. But I like that one better.”

“Can I ask why?”

“Hmm… I think I can lean on it.”

"I see…"

In that moment, a yawn escaped my mind.

“I’m sleepy. I’ll wake up early.

"I was extremely nervous again and just relaxed."

“Can I sleep?”

I nod. It doesn't take long for you to fall asleep, leaning against the seatbelt. I think you'd rather have an older brother than a friend. I can hold you when you're tired. I can cover you with a warm blanket while you sleep.