Siblings Work in Business (81)
“I gave them a separate table with their stylist so they could eat comfortably when they arrived. Ah, there he is. Hyun-woo!”
Senior Ji Ye-chan.
Lee Eun-ho casually mentioned that I was successful before the regression.
What if I was close to the senior, like Lee Eun-ho was now?
It was possible.
With regression already happening, anything was possible.
“When are you going to guess?”
“Is it too difficult?”
Meanwhile, Oh Hyun and Seo Seung-yeon were taking turns pressuring Eun-ji.
Eun-ji, dispelling her distracting thoughts, smiled at them.
If her guess was correct, these guys were evil.
“My answer!”
“Oh, who?”
“Senior Seo Seung-yeon!”
“Wrong.”
“I didn’t say it was just one person. Senior Seo Seung-yeon, Senior Oh Hyun, and Senior Joo Seung-min!”
“…Huh?”
That’s the answer!
Seeing Seo Seung-yeon’s flustered expression, I was 100% certain.
But just as I thought that, Oh Hyun interjected.
“Are you sure? Really?”
“I’ll give you one more chance to change your answer.”
Look at this?
Seo Seung-yeon, who had been flustered just a moment ago, added those words shamelessly.
It made me even more certain.
I hesitated for a moment when Senior Joo Seung-min chuckled and looked back at his phone, but I answered, trusting my hunch.
“I’m good. I’ll stick with the three of them.”
“The answer… is correct.”
“Wow, how did she know?”
“Yes!”
I cheered, pumping my fist in the air, as Oh Hyun announced the correct answer.
“Sorry, hyungs.”
Seo Seung-yeon said sheepishly to the other seniors.
Choi Tae-hyun quietly ordered him,
“Bang your head.”
“Yes.”
Seo Seung-yeon cleared the space in front of him and banged his head on the table.
Knowing it was a joke, he lightly tapped the table with his head and then looked up.
The twist was Senior Joo Seung-min.
He flicked both of their foreheads and yelled,
“What are you two doing? I even acted for you!”
“Huh?”
Just as I was confused…
“Eun-ji.”
“Yes?”
“Look at this.”
Senior Ji Ye-chan showed me his phone.
It seemed to be the Toxin members’ group chat, flooded with messages from Joo Seung-min.
Reading the messages, I realized that Joo Seung-min’s previous ordinary and quiet demeanor had all been an act.
[Seung-min — I think I’m going to laugh.]
— Help me.]
— Lol the kid’s struggling, it’s so cute.]
— Oh? She seems to have figured something out?]
— But she doesn’t know we’re all the same age.]
— Hyun, now’s your chance! Encourage her!]
— He’s doing well lol]
— Seung-yeon, now’s your chance! Is it too difficult? Go, go, go!]
— Huh?]
— Does she really know?]
— Seung-yeon messed up there, didn’t he? If he reacts like that, of course she’ll know!]
— Hey, pretend you don’t know and try to dissuade her.]
— We’re screwed.]
— Sorry, hyungs.]
[Me — If you want to live, Hyun and Seung-yeon, you better flick her forehead.]
Now I understood why Joo Seung-min was looking at his phone the whole time.
He was discreetly following Ji Ye-chan’s orders.
The image I had of my senior artists was shattered, but they felt more approachable now.
Ji Ye-chan took his phone back and rested his chin on his hand.
“Congratulations, Eun-ji. Five wishes.”
Wow, this senior was really good at charming people.
My instincts screamed a warning.
There were people who could captivate others with their slightest actions and glances.
And my instincts told me Senior Ji Ye-chan was one of them.
“What are you going to wish for?”
“Um, before that, is there a time limit on these wishes?”
“Hold on. Guys, what should the deadline be?”
“Too long is a disadvantage.”
“Hyung, you said you’d send the songs tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s make it until then. Oh, and—”
The Toxin members quickly discussed and came to a decision.
The time limit for the wishes was one day.
And they wouldn’t grant any wishes related to CEO Park.
It was a sudden after-party with intimidating senior artists…
But surprisingly, perhaps because of the common ground of CEO Park…
I felt closer to the Toxin seniors after the game.
Meanwhile, Lee Eun-ho, oblivious to the situation, was asleep, covered with a blanket the manager brought.
The Unknown
After dinner, the long after-party finally ended.
Seul-gi left early, saying she had to feed her cat.
“Contact me anytime if you need anything. I’ll help you with anything within the five wishes.”
“You said the deadline was tomorrow!”
“You can use one of your wishes for ‘Come and help me whenever I ask until tomorrow.’”
“There’s… such a method. Thank you.”
“Get home safely! I’m leaving! See you later, hoobae!”
“Goodbye, seniors!”
PD Cheol-soo, the manager, Joo Seung-min, Seo Seung-yeon, and Oh Hyun left the darkened restaurant with the designated driver, along with other unfamiliar guests.
Only Choi Tae-hyun and Ji Ye-chan remained.
“We should make sure everyone gets home safely.”
The two seniors said they would wait until the CEO and we left safely.
But the problem was that the CEO got extremely drunk and even made Manager Hyun-woo drink.
—The subscriber you are calling cannot be reached…
Was it because of the time, or the location?
“They’re not answering?”
“No…”
They couldn’t get a designated driver, and even taxis weren’t answering.
‘Ah, this is a headache.’
Only the manager and I were sober.
Both the CEO and Lee Eun-ho were drunk and out of it.
Eun-ji, the only sober one, sighed deeply.
“He only had one drink, but drunk driving is…”
“This is troublesome. I think we should ask for help…”
Just as we were discussing how to get home…
“Is there a problem?”
“Well…”
I hesitated for a moment.
‘Tomorrow’s our first day off in weeks!’
Worried about not being able to get home, I spoke up.
“Manager oppa drank because of the CEO…”
“Ah, our bulldozer Team Leader is at it again.”
Was this a common occurrence?
Ji Ye-chan seemed unfazed and called out to the other senior,
“No wonder he was so quiet today… Tae-hyun!”
“What.”
“Take me home.”
“You have your own car and a manager, why are you asking me?”
“The Team Leader had an accident.”
“Don’t tell me he still hasn’t broken his habit of making his manager drink?”
“Haha. Seems like it. Eun-ji was panicking, not knowing what to do.”
It seemed like it was a common occurrence.
The seniors were calmly handling the situation.
“Hyun barely managed to get a designated driver, so if he’s asking you, it must mean he couldn’t get one either.”
“Seems like it. Yeon-i barely got one too.”
“Tsk, I’ll give you a ride. Send Eun-ji in your car.”
“That’s what I was going to ask.”
As soon as Choi Tae-hyun agreed, Ji Ye-chan turned to us and asked,
“You heard that?”
“Yes. Thank you, Senior.”
“Thank you.”
Hyun-woo and I bowed our heads gratefully.
“Oh, Manager-nim, what about the van?”
“My house isn’t far from here, so I can pick it up tomorrow.”
“That’s good.”
The troublesome situation was quickly resolved.
Except for the person who caused it.
“Um, Senior, what about the CEO?”
“He can sleep over at our place. It’s not his first time.”
“Ah…”
The answer made them seem even closer to the CEO.
“My car’s over there, so go wait there.”
“Okay.”
Ji Ye-chan turned around and looked for his manager.
“Yeong-hee!”
“Yes, hyung!”
Manager Yeong-hee came running from the direction of the restroom, seemingly having just returned.
“You understand?”
“Yes, hyung!”
“Consider the trouble compensated by the meat the CEO bought today. I saw you order a lot since you weren’t drinking.”
“Haha, yes.”
“Take good care of Eun-ji and E-UNG’s manager, and then report back to me. You can go home after that.”
“Yes!”
While the senior was talking to his manager…
Hyun-woo and I went to where the senior’s car was parked.
We couldn’t see what kind of car it was because of the thick fog, but when we got closer, we were speechless.
‘As expected of Toxin…’
The senior’s car was a luxury sedan, befitting the leader of Toxin.
And people with expensive cars usually drove themselves…
The fact that he had a manager drive for him suggested he might have other cars.
The thought made me envious.
Someone like him probably had all the real estate, stocks, bitcoin, or whatever Lee Eun-ho talked about…
“Get in!”
Just then, the car’s headlights flashed as the manager unlocked it, interrupting my thoughts.
As the manager opened the door for us, I couldn’t help but be impressed.
Our company had two cars.
One was the CEO’s personal car, and the other was the van driven by Manager oppa.
And Ji Ye-chan’s car was far more comfortable than any of ours.
“It’s dangerous.”
“Manager oppa, I’m really, truly okay with this.”
It was quite a distance from the restaurant to our dorm.
But Hyun-woo’s house was only about 15 minutes away.
Hyun-woo insisted on driving us all the way to the dorm and then taking a taxi home.
But after a long debate, persuaded by Manager Yeong-hee, who was also a manager, Hyun-woo finally agreed to be dropped off at his neighborhood.
“See you in two days!”
“Get home safely, and please contact me if anything happens.”
“Yes, don’t worry!”
After dropping off Hyun-woo, the manager drove straight towards our dorm.
Perhaps because it was a luxury car…
The ride was smooth and quiet, without even the sound of the engine.
It was so comfortable that I didn’t even bother retaliating when Lee Eun-ho kept nudging my shoulder annoyingly.
As we entered our neighborhood, the car couldn’t go any further because of other cars parked in the alley.
“Oh dear, our Eun-ho. I should have given you more meat.”
“Haha.”
As we got out of the car, the manager effortlessly lifted Eun-ho onto his back and started walking.
“Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been here! When the CEO said he kept this place for sentimental reasons, I thought he was joking, but it looks much better now.”
“Oh? You’ve been here before, Manager-nim?”
“Of course.”
The manager, after putting Eun-ho down in front of the gate, looked up at our dorm, now the old office building, with a nostalgic expression.
“Eun-ji, you’ve heard of Toxin, right?”
“Yes, they’re famous.”
“Back then, when Toxin was being chased around by their former agency, five of them lived here.”