For a second, Jihoon just stood there—mid-chew, mid-thought, mid-life crisis.
Jieun's words echoed in his head like they were bouncing off the kitchen walls.
"Oppa! I want to be a singer in the future!"
He blinked. Slowly. Like his brain needed a moment to buffer.
She said it so casually—so confidently, as if declaring she wanted another glass of strawberry milk instead of a dream that could change her entire life. And it caught Jihoon completely off guard.
He didn't know why.
Maybe because, despite all the memories from his past life—despite everything he knew about the future—he'd never once actually thought about what Jieun wanted.
Not really. Not beyond vague ideas like "keep her safe," or "don't let her get hurt," or "don't let the media found out the real identity of hers."
He always told himself he was just a temporary guardian. A stand-in older brother until her parents came back.
But now... here she was, standing in the middle of the living room, her face lit up with pure, innocent ambition—the kind only a kid could have, wide-eyed and fearless.
And for the first time—across two lifetimes—Jihoon felt something strange and unfamiliar.
A weight.
The kind of weight that comes with the realization: You might actually matter in someone's future.
He'd never carried that before.
He cared about people, sure. He looked out for his team, his cast, his crew.
But that was different. That was professional. Manageable. Detachable, even.
This?
This was a bright-eyed girl looking at him like he was someone who could help her build a future—someone who should help her.
And the truth?
He had no idea how to do that.
After all, this whole arrangement wasn't meant to be permanent.
Jieun's parents might come back. They called occasionally, checking in, asking how she was doing.
He knew her father and mom were doing well overseas. He could tell from their voices that they still felt guilty, but also… relieved.
Like they'd pressed pause on a stormy chapter and were trying to rebuild somewhere far away from the suffocating web of Samseong politics.
Jihoon wasn't dumb. He understood why they left. The scandal, the whispers, the inheritance vultures circling like hawks.
It wasn't safe for Jieun to be caught in that crossfire. So they disappeared. For now.
But someday, when things cooled down, they'd probably come back.
And when they did?
Jieun would go with them.
She'd return to a life she barely remembered and he—he'd go back to being just Jihoon again. Just some guy who cooked too much, cared too deeply, and made movies because it was the only thing that ever made sense to him.
So, really—was it even his place to get involved in her dreams?
Even if he knew she had that spark—he'd seen what she became in his past life—how could he possibly be sure she'd reach that height again?
And if she didn't? If things went sideways?
Could he live with that?
He didn't know.
But then he looked over—and there she was, spinning like a clumsy little idol-in-training, laughing so hard her ponytail slapped her in the face.
And something in him softened.
"…Being a trainee's no joke, you know," he said as he brought the tray of food to the table, trying not to sound too much like a worried parent.
"It's really hard. Like… really hard. You sure you can handle that?"
Jieun instantly lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oppa! I love singing sooooo much! And I'm not afraid of hard work!" she beamed, grabbing his hand and swinging it like it was a rope swing on a playground.
Jihoon let out a breathy chuckle, shaking his head. "You're such a handful, you know that?"
"I learned from the best," she said proudly, puffing up her cheeks like a smug little puffball.
He rolled his eyes, but his heart was already melting. "Alright, how about this. Tomorrow, after school, I'll take you to SM and see if we can find someone to give you a few vocal lessons. Just to see if you really like it."
"YESSSSSSSSSS!!!" she shouted, leaping off the couch like she'd just won a Grammy. "OPPA YOU'RE THE BEST! DAEBAK! I LOVE YOU! AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
"Yeah yeah, calm down, rockstar. Wash your hands, dinner's ready."
"YES SIR!" she saluted, then darted off like a rocket toward the bathroom, singing at the top of her lungs—off-key, but passionate.
Jihoon sat down at the table, watching her disappear down the hall.
He smiled.
A quiet, tired, but genuine smile.
The next afternoon, right after school, Jihoon rolled up in front of the school gates, waving at Jieun like a dad picking up his kid from daycare.
"Oppa! Are we really going today?" Jieun bounced into the car, her little backpack swinging behind her.
"Yeah, yeah. Buckle up, superstar. We're going to SM today," Jihoon grinned, ruffling her hair until she squealed and tried to swat his hand away.
He had already made a few calls earlier. Thanks to Taeyeon—who mentioned she had a vocal lesson today—Jihoon figured it was the perfect opportunity to sneak Jieun into a real practice and see if she could start picking things up.
The teacher running today's class was Johan Kim—a legend in the Korean R&B scene, who'd debuted way back in 1993.
Now, Johan wasn't your typical scary, stiff sunbae. Having grown up in the U.S., he was lively, loud, and didn't give a damn about half the formal Korean etiquette others obsessed over.
Half the time, his Korean sounded like it was being dragged through a meat grinder, but that only made him more lovable.
Jihoon had crossed paths with Johan before, when he was working on some OSTs for his film projects.
Thanks to his natural, accent-free English from his past life, they'd hit it off pretty quickly.
Johan liked him immediately—probably because Jihoon didn't butcher English like half the staff did—and they'd stayed friends ever since.
So when Jihoon called up asking if he could bring someone by, Johan was all, "Hell yeah, bring her!"
Now, walking into the SM building, Jihoon spotted Johan leaning against a studio door, looking like he owned the place in his giant hoodie and backwards cap.
"Johan-hyung! This is my sister, Jieun," Jihoon introduced with a grin, gently nudging Jieun forward like she was a shy puppy.
"She said she wants to learn singing, so obviously, I had to find her the best teacher. That's you, right, hyung?"
Jihoon waggled his eyebrows in a mock-serious way.
Johan barked out a laugh. "Ya! Stop trying to butter me up, you punk!" He crouched a little to Jieun's height, giving her an approving nod.
"Aigoo, she's adorable. No problem, leave it to me!"
Then Johan turned his glare on Jihoon, eyes narrowing.
"But YOU—kid—when are you gonna start learning vocals, huh?"
"You're shameless, you know that? Singing those OSTs with that raw, no-technique voice of yours like it's a public service announcement!"
Jihoon just laughed, brushing it off like dust on his sleeve. "Hyung, please. I'm a film director, not a singer. My voice is just… flavor."
"Flavor my ass!" Johan barked, smacking Jihoon lightly on the back of the head. "You're hopeless!"
Jieun giggled, covering her mouth like she was watching a live comedy show.
Johan grumbled but shook his head with a small smile.
Truth was, Jihoon did have a good natural voice—clean, rich, emotional. It was just criminal how little he cared to polish it.
"Oppa," Jieun tugged at his sleeve, looking up at him with those big pleading eyes, "can you stay with me during class?"
Jihoon melted instantly. He could never say no to that face.
"Alright, alright," he said with a dramatic sigh, before turning back to Johan. "I'll sit in too, hyung. You happy now?"
Johan beamed, clapping him on the shoulder. "Good! About damn time you learned something. If you'd gotten serious earlier, your singing might be on par with Taeyeon's by now!"
Jihoon puffed up proudly. "If I beat that shortie at singing too, she'll have no reason left to live!"
"Bold words from someone who got dragged into the composing room by his ear by that 'shortie'!" Johan snickered.
Jihoon blinked. "How the hell do you know that?"
"I know everything, kid. I also know she bit you too yesterday," Johan said, cackling like it was the funniest thing he'd heard all year.
Jieun's eyes widened like saucers. "Oppa! Who bit you?!"
Jihoon cleared his throat, puffing up like a big, serious brother trying to salvage what was left of his dignity.
"Don't listen to this crazy hyung," he muttered under his breath, quickly grabbing Jieun's hand and marching toward the door with fake solemnity.
"Come on, let's go home. This company's full of bad influences. Especially this person!"
"YA! Where do you think you're going?!" Johan roared from behind them. "Class is about to start! Get your butts into the practice room!"
Jihoon sighed dramatically like a man going to his execution, but secretly… he was smiling too.
Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.
[Author's Note: Heartfelt thanks to Wandererlithe, JiangXiu and Daoist098135 for bestowing the power stone!]