Chapter 934: I’m going to buy New Black at the supermarket (5)

Our maknae was scooping up chocolate from the floor.

“Jiho.”

“Yes?”

“That... was laid out so the kids could pick them up one by one on their way here.”

“Oh, was it?”

I smiled kindly.

“If you see chocolate scattered on the floor, shouldn’t your first thought be, ‘Ah! This must be for the kids’?”

“Ah. That makes sense.”

Jiho nodded, then asked,

“But since it’s already like this, can I eat it?”

“Hey!”

“Aww......”

The maknae shot me a look and put the chocolate back where it had been.

Biju chuckled.

“Go get the kids.”

“Okay~”

Jiho trotted off.

Watching his back, Yeoul leaned toward me.

“When will Uncle Jiho become an adult?”

Biju and I burst out laughing.

“That uncle is a bit immature.”

“But he’s cute.”

Even if he was immature, he was cute to us.

Our precious troublemaker.

“Is Uncle Jiho cute?”

“Yeoul thinks Minwoo and Yuna are cute too, right?”

“Yeah.”

“We also think our younger uncle is cute.”

Yeoul thought about it, then nodded as if that made sense.

“Baby uncle.”

That perfect summary made both of us laugh.

“What? Why are you laughing?”

“Is something funny?”

As if summoned, the others came back with the kids.

While seating everyone around the table, Yeoul patted an empty seat and called Jiho.

“Uncle Jiho.”

“Yeah?”

“Sit here.”

“Huh! Really?”

Jiho, the only one assigned a seat, widened his eyes.

Then he looked at me with a smug expression.

As if declaring victory.

“Heh heh heh.”

“What.”

“Did you see that? Yeoul told me to sit next to her. Not you.”

“Yeah. I see.”

To anyone else, it was clearly more like, “Baby uncle, sit here,” but he interpreted it however he liked.

I just patted his back.

Meanwhile, I looked at the kids sitting at the table with reluctant expressions.

“Uncle~”

Yuna, the older twin, spoke.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Me neither.”

...Hearing that, I looked at Biju.

He nodded.

Like a scene out of a cooking show, Biju lifted the lid of the japchae pot.

Ta-da!

“Whoa...”

“Ohh!”

The smell rushed out instantly.

The kids’ eyes widened.

“!”

“!!”

Yuna and Minwoo swallowed.

It was like their internal radar had detected “delicious food.”

As they reached out, I stopped them.

“We’ll give you forks and plates.”

I served the japchae onto plates and handed them over with child-sized forks.

Of course—

“They’re not using them...”

The twins were scooping the japchae with their hands.

Ri Hyuk fidgeted, clutching wet wipes.

“Ah... um...”

I turned to Yeoul, who was neatly twirling japchae with her fork.

“Wow!”

I called out, deeply moved.

“Yeoul!”

“Yeah?”

“How are you so good with a fork? You’re like an adult.”

“An adult...!”

At the enthusiastic praise, Yeoul straightened up proudly.

‘I’m an adult!’

For some reason, she started eating even more properly.

The others began picking up their forks too.

I signaled to the members.

‘Praise them.’

The compliments poured in.

“Wow, you’re so good with a fork!”

“Amazing. Like a crane—ugh, my side hurts.”

“Nice fork skills.”

As we praised them, we watched their expressions.

Just moments ago, they had claimed to be full.

Now they were vacuuming up the japchae.

We served ourselves too.

“Mmm~”

Jiho exclaimed.

“Biju hyung’s recipes never fail. It’s always delicious.”

“Seriously, this is amazing.”

“The seasoning’s perfect. Not bland, not salty. Just right.”

It really was good.

Well-balanced, with plenty of meat—every bite of noodles came with meat.

Soon, the twins held out empty plates.

“More...!”

“More!”

They devoured three plates in no time.

But no matter how good it was, they eventually got full.

Their pace slowed. Their movements grew sluggish.

We smiled.

‘Operation successful.’

‘Success.’

We shared wicked grins.

What happens when you’re full?

You get sleepy.

We looked at the kids, their eyes drooping.

‘They ran around a lot at the mart.’

‘And played a lot here.’

‘It’s about time they got sleepy.’

‘You will sleep. You must!’

At first, that wasn’t the plan.

But after the mart, we realized—

—They had to sleep for us to rest.

Taking turns playing with them didn’t work.

If one of us disappeared, they’d ask, “Where’s Uncle Ri Hyuk?”

The only solution was sleep.

As we watched the well-fed kids, smiling in satisfaction—

“Sleepy?”

“Mm.”

They rubbed their eyes.

“Then let’s get up and—”

Just as we were about to suggest a nap—

Hop!

Hop!

The kids jumped down from their chairs like gymnasts.

Their bodies straightened like machines powering on.

Their eyes sharpened.

‘No...!’

‘Why?!’

It felt like defeating a boss only for it to revive at full HP.

Like fresh batteries installed, they were suddenly full of energy.

“Kyaaa!”

“Waaah!”

Fueled by japchae, they ran wild.

We stared blankly.

‘This isn’t right.’

‘What...?’

The others looked at me.

“Hyung. What do we do?”

“Hyung.”

“Give us any plan. I’ll approve it no matter what.”

Even Ri Hyuk looked desperate.

I closed my eyes briefly.

They had to sleep.

Then—

“There’s a simple solution.”

“What is it?”

I smiled confidently.

“We sing Lullaby.”

“!”

“!!”

Their faces lit up.

“Right! Why didn’t we think of that?”

“Of course. Lullaby.”

It was simple.

Kids always got sleepy listening to it online.

If I, the original artist, sang it?

“It’ll work.”

“This is guaranteed.”

We huddled and planned.

Then approached the kids.

“Kids!”

“Yeah?”

“Want to hear a song?”

“A song!”

Jiho gathered everyone.

“Alright! Come here!”

“Yes!”

“Time to hear Uncle Wooju’s song.”

We sat on the sofa.

I took out a ukulele.

Strum.

The kids gasped.

I smiled and began.

May your night

Be the same as mine

I sang softly.

Like humming waves brushing the ears.

A song to help you sleep beneath the stars.

With me by your side.

Close your eyes

Little by little

You’ll fall asleep

Little by little

I sang gently.

Softer than at a concert.

So the kids could nap and recharge.

When I finished—

Silence.

Only soft breathing.

I opened my eyes.

“Success—”

...and froze.

Three pairs of wide-open eyes stared back.

“......”

“......”

Yuna and Minwoo gaped.

Yeoul clapped with sparkling eyes.

“...Didn’t you get sleepy?”

“Not at all.”

Why?

“Uncle was too cool.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sleepy but not sleepy.”

Translation:

—We can’t sleep because this is too amazing!

They were more awake than before.

The plan had failed completely.

“...I see.”

I looked around.

“......”

“......”

The members were passed out on the sofa.

Why are you sleeping...?

Later—

“Why...”

“Why aren’t they getting tired?”

Two hours had passed.

We were sprawled across the living room.

“I’ve burned out...”

The kids kept running around us, laughing.

Endless energy.

Then—

Buzz.

A call.

“Hello?”

“...One hour?”

I stood up.

“What is it?”

“The other kids are coming in an hour.”

“....”

“....”

Everyone froze.

Ri Hyuk collapsed.

“This won’t work...”

“We need a solution.”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll lose control at this rate.”

The kids tugged at us.

“Draw me something!”

“Time for a shot!”

We nodded.

—This won’t work.

Then—

“I think I found something.”

Jiho showed us his phone.

A kids’ show.

The MC guiding children.

Then—

A puppet.

“That’s it.”

I sketched quickly.

“Biju.”

“Yes.”

“Can we make this?”

“I think so.”

We improvised.

A baguette.

Tomato slices for eyes and lips.

Done.

I held it up.

[Hello. I’m Uncle Baguette.]

Applause.

“This is it!”

I turned to the kids.

[Hi. I’m Uncle Baguette.]

“......”

“......”

Three seconds.

Silence.

Thud.

Minwoo dropped his chocolate.

“...Uh...”

“Hmm?”

“WAAAH!”

He burst into tears.

Then all the kids started crying.

“!”

“!!”

...That wasn’t it.