CTFI 09

Chapter 9

“The Kid We Raised on Our Backs”

<Our Family’s Youngest> Episode 1 was released.
The first episode was simple. It introduced Luha and the LUMIS members, showing snippets of their everyday lives.
There was no flashy editing or sensational plot—just the plain, gentle depiction of five young men and one child.
The view count wasn’t exactly satisfying yet, but it was climbing much faster than the teaser.
And it wasn’t just that.
Small sparks started to appear in the comment section.

― “OMG, the eyesight I lost when I left home is back!!! Right?”
└ “They’re LUMIS, a group under Clef Entertainment. They debuted three years ago and have released four albums so far.”
└ “Thanks, Speedwagon!”
― “Ah~ so these are LUMIS? They look pretty good like this.”
└ “Wow, their visuals are insane.”
― “So what’s the group’s name again?”
└ “Smith”
└ “Swiss”
└ “Rumors”
― “There was a reason they failed.”
└ “Yeah, it’s their company’s fault. They give weird songs to their own idols while other groups get good tracks.”
― “What’s so handsome about them? The era where idols succeed just by looks is over. They need skills.”
└ “Ugh, another one full of inferiority complex, geez.”
└ “Haha, this person copies and pastes comments everywhere.”
└ “They’re all handsome enough.”
└ “At this level, it’s god-tier//”

Unlike the teaser, which focused on producer Lee Gun-woo, Episode 1 was full of reactions about the cast.

“Hmm… not bad.”

Producer Lee Gun-woo of <Our Family’s Youngest> turned his gaze.

♪♬-

“Huff, huff—”
“Phew, ha—”

Squeak—
The sound of music, heavy breathing, and sneakers scraping the floor filled the practice room.

“Okay!”

Lee Gun-woo raised his hand and shouted.
The LUMIS members stopped moving.
Their backs were soaked with sweat, and they were panting heavily.

“I think that’s enough. Great work, everyone!”

Lee Gun-woo took out the bottled water he had prepared and called out.

“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Good job!”

The LUMIS members held their trembling legs and bowed repeatedly.
Their faces were clearly tired, yet there was a faint sense of pride.

“Next week is RE:VIVAL, right?”

At that moment, the atmosphere in the practice room shifted slightly.
Perhaps unaware, some staff from <Our Family’s Youngest> cheered, “Great!” to encourage the members.

“Ah… yes. I heard the producer took care of it. I should have greeted you earlier—thank you so much.”

Leader Baek Do-ha wiped the sweat from his cheek and bowed again.
His voice trembled slightly, almost on the verge of tears.
A subtle mix of emotions played across his face.

“Oh, it’s nothing I did.”

Lee Gun-woo waved his hand dismissively.

“If anyone deserves thanks, it’s Luha.”
“Huh? Luha?”

The unexpected name made the members blink.

“How clever that little kid is.”

Lee Gun-woo teased before hastily waving his hands.

“Ah, I don’t mean anything bad by it.”

He smiled faintly and continued.

“Luha asked to have our older brothers appear on RE:VIVAL. Said they’d do well.”
“Lu… Luha? To the producer?”

Baek Do-ha repeated the question in confusion.
Then, as if realizing something, he quickly bowed.

“S-Sorry! We’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again and teach him properly!”
“After spending a few days together, he really feels like a younger sibling?”

Lee Gun-woo chuckled playfully.

“Huh?”
“Well… he’s the youngest in our family… so technically, he is family.”
“Ah…”

Baek Do-ha scratched his arm awkwardly and smiled.
Lee Gun-woo gazed silently at him for a moment, as if lost in thought.

“They’re really a remarkable group.”

He murmured as his eyes swept over the members scattered around the practice room.

“Visuals, skills, personality… there’s nothing lacking….”
“T-Thank you.”
“But well, this year is okay, right? Maybe it’s because a lucky little kid came along?”

Baek Do-ha blinked.
Lee Gun-woo turned to him and smirked.

“Try doing well. Luha doesn’t have the power to make you appear, but things have been going smoothly since meeting him, right?”

The practice room fell silent.
He wasn’t wrong.
This year, LUMIS had continued to receive new opportunities:

• Meeting Korea’s top producer Jin Do-hyun.

• Appearing on <Our Family’s Youngest> (even if just a pilot program).

• And now a competition program.

‘What is all this…’

It really did feel, as Lee Gun-woo said, that everything had gone smoothly since meeting Luha.
Suddenly appearing, small and cute, constantly yelling at the older members, trying to climb on them with a back scratcher…

Heh.
Baek Do-ha’s lips curved into a smile.

‘What a cute little guy.’

Just thinking about it made him laugh.

“Just pick one.”
“Hey! Kid, why are you whining—!”

‘What a kid.’ Luha scolded the adult, Yoon Tae-jin.
They were now in a toy store in Jongno.
The store was filled with merchandise, figures, buildable robots, and remote-controlled cars—dozens, even hundreds of toys.
Luha had dragged Tae-jin here for one reason:

Quickly, Luha ran and grabbed the last remaining “Doremi” figure.

“Got it!”

It was for the <Piano Fairy Doremi> figure—a tiny, palm-sized fairy character.
Shiny eyes, fancy decorations—a design obviously meant to appeal to children.

“Eek—!”

Luha’s smile turned into a grimace.

“Why?”
“Is this even reasonable?”

Luha frowned and looked up at Tae-jin.

“How can a palm-sized piece of plastic cost 20,000 won?”
“That’s how it is these days. Parents even call it the ‘Empty Bank Account Doremi.’”

Tae-jin chuckled and crossed his arms.

“…Empty bank account?”

It was a new term among parents with young children.
Although the <Piano Fairy Doremi> characters were limited, including pre-transformation, post-transformation, and their items, there were dozens of variations.
New characters and items were constantly released each season, meaning the number of goods kept increasing.
Collecting them one by one would indeed “empty the bank account,” hence the nickname.

“How do you even know that?”
“I have a niece too. Not you, a real niece.”
“Well, what a remarkable uncle.”

Luha clicked his tongue. After thinking for a moment, he put a few figures back in his arms.

“Why? So I can buy something else?”
“I have some conscience. I can’t empty your bank account, you know.”
“Oh.”

Tae-jin added with a grin, “What’s gotten into you?”

Beep beep—
The barcode scanner rang loudly.
Two palm-sized figures, three finger-sized ones.
The total number was one hand, but the price exceeded what two hands could hold.

“O-Over 100,000 won?”

Luha was shocked. He took a deep breath, hypnotizing himself, and looked up at Tae-jin.

“Uncle… pay for it—”
“……”

Tae-jin shook his head and pulled out his wallet.
Only at moments like this was he the uncle, the adult.

“Ha ha ha!”

Luha beamed, holding all the toys in his arms.

“You like it that much?”
“Of course! It’s free, so why wouldn’t I?”

Had he really become mentally younger?
Just holding these tiny figures made him smile.

Suddenly, Luha stopped and pointed somewhere with his short finger.

“Ah! Let’s go there too.”

It was Nakwon Musical Instrument Arcade.
A holy place for anyone in music—a must-visit spot. Every sound, every instrument in the world could be found here.

“I have no money!”
“…I’ll buy it with my own, so let’s go for now.”

Luha dragged Tae-jin into the arcade.

“Hmm~ smells nice.”

As soon as they entered, Luha took a deep breath.
A satisfied expression spread across his face—a different feeling from the toy store earlier.
Tae-jin glanced at him and thought:

‘Yeah, this place suits him better.’

From tiny 10-pyeong offices to large stores over 30-pyeong, the arcade was packed.
Guitars, basses, keyboards, drums, synthesizers, controllers, speakers, and even the latest recording equipment—it was truly a “paradise for musicians.”

Luha entered a store without hesitation.
It was a regular store he often visited as Jin Do-hyun.

“Hello, boss~”

Luha greeted warmly.

“Heh heh heh. What a cheeky kid.”

The owner, unaware that this was the young Luha, simply patted his head, thinking he was cute.

‘Ah, right.’

He had forgotten in his excitement—he wasn’t Jin Do-hyun now.
The store looked as familiar as ever.
Instruments were neatly arranged, and the walls displayed new and popular products.

“Anything you want to buy?”
“Just looking. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find something good.”

Luha wandered around excitedly, stopping at the keyboards.

“Hmm.”

He touched his tiny chin with his small hand.

“Should I get a keyboard…?”

Because his body had shrunk, working with his old equipment had become inconvenient.
It was usable, but with shorter hands and fingers, moving across long keys was difficult.

“Yeah, let’s get one.”

He needed equipment suited to this body.
A 61-key keyboard might be too big… maybe a 37-key one would do.
Having calculated this in his head, he ran toward the keyboards.

“Hmm…”

Testing keys and listening—then.
♪♬-
A beautiful melody drifted from somewhere.

“…?”

Luha’s ears perked up.
The greatest charm of Nakwon Musical Instrument Arcade: playing and listening.
With various brands and designs, each instrument had unique characteristics.
Musicians often visited to try instruments and hear their sound firsthand.

But the melody he heard now was different from the usual ones.
Raw and unpolished, yet strangely captivating.
Curious, Luha’s steps instinctively moved toward the sound.
He stopped, tilting his head.

“What… why is he here?”