While Dohee’s family was spending a happy birthday, a woman with the same birthday had been wandering the Han River alone and finally flopped down on the lawn.
“Disgustingly pretty.”
Contrary to how she felt, Seoul’s night sky, free of even a speck of fine dust, was giving off a soft glow.
What business does a night sky have being this bright.
Just as the woman, heartsore, shut her eyes tight…
— Yellow Pong!
A voice rang out, so absurdly out of the blue.
“Huh?”
Before long, lights rose high in the sky.
— Hey, ho! Mama Bear!
The woman jerked upright and pulled out her phone.
— Hey, ho! Big Brother Bear!
She zoomed the camera and checked the lights floating overhead. What is that? A polar bear?
— Hey, ho! Baby Bear!
As if bewitched, she pressed the video‑record button.
— Hey, ho! Our family is happy!
Soon after, people strolling nearby also stopped one by one and raised their cameras.
“Wow, look over there! I think it’s a polar bear! So cute!”
“Do they advertise a children’s song with a drone display these days?”
“Isn’t the song kind of addictive? Hey, ho! Ho!”
As the crowd gathered, the woman lowered her phone and took it in only with her eyes.
— Mama Bear loves Baby Bear.
For some reason, her face was darker now than when she had first come to the river.
— Big Brother Bear loves Baby Bear, too.
On the verge of bursting into tears, she bit down on her lower lip and furrowed her brow.
— Baby Bear loves Mama Bear and Big Brother Bear most in the whole world.
Even bears have a mom.
— We’re happy, our family.
So why don’t I?
— We’re happy, our family.
More than that, does a family only count as a family if there’s a mom?
“Shouldn’t have come….”
She had always been alone. But simply because she didn’t want to be alone even on her birthday, she had walked and walked and come out to the Han River.
But even here, she was alone. People had come out to roam the night with family, friends, lovers. Even the characters in the sky had a mom and a big brother.
“So annoying….”
A mother who, she was told, died right after giving birth to her, and a father who worked himself ragged to fill that empty space. Whether it was because of the shadow on her face or because she had no mother, she had no close friends either.
So even on her birthday today, she was alone.
“Guess I’ll just go home.”
Just as she dusted off her backside and started to walk…
— Hey, ho! Peekaboo Family!
As the song ended, the characters scattered from the sky like sparks.
After that, letters floated up in the quiet night sky.
“What’s that?”
As she slowly read the letters with her eyes…
[Even if your family isn’t the ordinary form the world decided on,]
[may every family, whatever form it takes, please be happy.]
… tears finally welled up.
Then, like rain, her tears fell to the ground.
Drip, drip.
Why does that one simple sentence stab straight into my heart?
Right.
Who gets to decide what a “normal” family is?
Yes.
Even if I don’t have a mom, I have a father who, to raise his one remaining daughter, is surely spending another grueling day at work right now. That alone is enough, and I didn’t see it.
All I did was resent the world. Why did you take my mother from me, why did you take my family… when my family, in this form, was right here beside me.
Thud.
At the final line the woman collapsed to the ground, as if her legs gave way.
[Maybe not every day, but may you be the happiest today.]
Surely it wasn’t meant for her. And yet—
[Happy birthday.]
—it felt like a warm hand held out so that today’s “me” wouldn’t fall.
Manager Kim came to the studio and thrust his phone toward him with unusual insistence.
“Hyunseung, take a look at this article.”
“I don’t think I need to.”
“Hey, come on, just look.”
With a put‑out expression, Hyunseung checked the article.
As expected, it covered the event he had prepared over the Han River the night before for Dohee’s birthday.
[Yellow Pong’s new song “Peekaboo Family” rises above the Han River]
What, they write articles about things like this now?
— [Video attached]
Last night, a drone display suddenly appeared in the Seoul sky. Yellow Pong’s new character “Peekaboo Family.” In tandem, the children’s song played over the Han River Park speakers…
In particular, after seeing the closing lines that appeared like a letter at the end of the video, many were moved to tears.
[Photo attached]
Even if your family isn’t the ordinary form the world decided on, whatever form your family takes, may you all be happy.
Maybe not every day, but may you be the happiest today. Happy birthday.
Because of this, speculation is growing that this was not an official Yellow Pong event but something someone personally prepared. As yet, however, nothing has been confirmed…
Yellowpong’s newly released “Peekaboo Family” is a children’s song modeled on a polar‑bear family; unlike other songs, it features Big Brother Bear in place of Papa Bear…
↳ I was there, and seriously, “hey ho” has been looping in my head ever since; I’m going nuts.
↳ Song + visuals + message = my instant tear button..
↳ If Yellow Pong planned this, it’s a huge success.
↳ Me, 31 years old… never thought I’d add a children’s song to my playlist…
↳ Come to think of it, most kids’ songs only show mom‑dad‑baby families—this one breaks that bias.
Setting the phone down, Hyunseung shook his head.
Is this really article‑worthy?
Manager Kim, however, was bright‑eyed with interest.
“Looks like Yellow Pong’s dead set on pushing your song.”
Apparently, it hadn’t even occurred to him that Hyunseung himself had staged the event. Well, fair enough.
“Seems so.”
He nodded, playing along.
Then, out of nowhere, Manager Kim ruffled Hyunseung’s hair.
“Anyway, I’m proud of you, kid.”
“What’s with you all of a sudden.”
“The song’s good, but the intent is even better.”
He then played the “Peekaboo Family” video and spoke.
“You swapped in Big Brother Bear for Papa Bear on purpose for Dohee, didn’t you?”
At that question, Hyunseung let out a quiet hum before answering.
“Manager Kim, do you know much about polar bears?”
“Not really, no.”
“I’ve read that polar bears are born without paternal care.”
“Hyunseung, are you a capital T by any chance?”
“What even is a T1?”
“You’re definitely an uppercase T.”
“Anyway, polar bears, despite how they look, have high aggression, so the mother lives separately to protect her cubs.”
Manager Kim let out an “Ah,” nodding.
“In the polar bear world, a family made up of just the mother and cubs is natural. In some other animal worlds, it’s natural for the father to raise the young; some species send their young off to live independently right away.”
Looking at the family photo on his worktable, Hyunseung continued in a calm, even tone.
“I just wanted to tell people that there are families in this world made in all sorts of forms.”
He tapped the screen dark as the video ended and added,
“There’s no such thing as a normal, taken‑for‑granted family form.”
For some reason Manager Kim’s nose stung.
“Are you… crying?”
“No.”
“Want me to do peek‑a‑boo for you?”
“Cut it out, punk!”
In truth, Manager Kim’s father had died early. Whenever the word “father” came out of his mother’s mouth, he would clamp his lips shut and avoid it because talking about it made the absence hit home. He didn’t even want to grieve. Without a father, he was the head of the household; he had no time to crumble.
“Thanks for making a song like this.”
“What’s with you today.”
But now, he felt he could face it. He could talk easily with his mother about his father, and take time to grieve the absence, knowing there was a mother who would hold him while he did.
And he wasn’t alone.
↳ Listening with my child, I suddenly thought of my late husband and ended up crying in front of my kid. It hurt a little, but it made me resolve more firmly to live happily with the son who’s by my side now. I hope more songs like this are made. To every family of every kind—be happy! (Likes: 4,541)
Even now, views on the Han River event video were soaring.
From that day on, “Peekaboo Family” was headline fodder day after day.
The content video’s view count, of course, and thanks to the event video, the public’s response was explosive.
[Everyone, don’t listen to this. The moment you do, you’ll find yourself chanting “Hey, ho!” on loop. I almost had to write a statement just now because I blurted “Hey, ho” while my boss was chewing me out. You’ve been warned.]
There were comments saying the addictiveness was insane, but most people said the meaning the song carried was wonderful and threw their support behind it.
“Tsk….”
Executive Director Park let out a murmur with an unreadable expression.
“I don’t get it.”
In his hand were documents related to HS’s private project.
He had partnered individually with Yellow Pong and even put in some personal funds.
Normally, the HS Park watched was remarkably clear‑headed for his age. If he truly had no monetary ambition, fine. But if he did, would he really make a children’s song that doesn’t make money just to convey the message “there are many kinds of families”?
Of course, judging by the current reaction, the royalties looked to be quite nice….
No, if it’s that guy, maybe he calculated even this situation and moved accordingly.
“Hm….”
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Executive Director Park decided to listen to “Peekkomi Family.”
He even remembered to plug in earphones, lest someone walking past his office hear.
— Hey, ho! Mama Bear!
Before long, a lively voice flowed through the earbuds.
— Hey, ho! Big Brother Bear!
Perhaps his expectations had been too high. Musically, it wasn’t a piece of overwhelming virtuosity.
— Hey, ho! Baby Bear!
Granted, a children’s song should be simple.
— Hey, ho! Our family is happy!
Rather than a song people would go wild over, it felt like a well‑made children’s song.
— Hey, ho! Peekkomi Family!
As soon as it ended, Park brushed off his pants and stood.
“Nothing special.”
He then stepped straight out of his office toward the large conference room.
For the full Team 1 meeting about to begin.
Right now, at this very moment, Executive Director Park regretted it.
“BRYDN’s debut date is set for the first half of next year.”
He shouldn’t have attended the meeting.
No, he shouldn’t have listened to that song beforehand.
“If we get approval, we’re thinking of scheduling K.O.K members’ solo activities by quarter.”
Nothing being reported was reaching his ears.
Hey, ho! Our family is happy!
On and on.
Hey, ho! Peekaboo Family!
It buzzed in his head like a “do‑not‑listen‑before‑exams” earworm.
Then one sentence shot clean into his ears.
“…We’ve picked ‘Say Hello’ as the title track.”
Without thinking, Park said,
“Hey, ho?”
For an instant, silence fell over the room.
“Continue your report.”
Feigning nonchalance, he lowered his eyes to the papers.
And with a rush of belated regret, he thought:
[Everyone, don’t listen to this. The moment you do, you’ll find yourself chanting “Hey, ho!” on loop. I almost had to write a statement just now because I blurted “Hey, ho” while my boss was chewing me out. You’ve been warned.]
He really should have heeded the warning.
- From MBTI; T = Thinking, F = Feeling in the MBTI pair T/F.
People teased as “T” are seen as prioritizing logic, facts, and impersonal reasoning over empathy‑first, harmony‑seeking responses (associated with F). ↩︎
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