Siblings Work in Business (9)
Love Song
[AM 6:52]
I opened my eyes and checked my phone. It wasn’t even 7 am.
“Ugh.”
On a typical weekend, I would have woken up after 10 am…
I couldn’t go back to sleep because of my upset stomach from the hangover.
I stubbornly tried to stay in bed a little longer, but it didn’t last.
I didn’t think I was this bad at handling alcohol at this time…
I was seriously worried that my stomach might burst.
Only when I reached that level of concern could I finally tear myself away from the bathroom.
Lee Eun-ji’s door showed no signs of opening; she was still in dreamland.
‘I think I have some of that…’
When I was playing the good older brother and diligently grocery shopping, I stocked up on it just in case.
With the rustling sound of a plastic bag, a welcome bundle of ramen appeared from the corner of the cupboard.
‘Nice!’
As if it were a trophy, I raised the ramen towards the ceiling and cheered silently.
There was nothing better than this when you needed a hangover cure.
I had heard that it was medically worse, but my instincts craved spicy ramen.
‘Bean sprouts would be nice…’
I opened the refrigerator and sighed in disappointment.
There was no way there would be any fresh produce.
I usually ate a kimbap roll or two outside, so I couldn’t remember the last time I went grocery shopping.
It was a refrigerator devoid of anything edible.
‘There are eggs.’
Gratefully, I took out the eggs and closed the refrigerator.
I hadn’t imagined I would see such a horrifying thing beyond the door.
“Oh, fuck.”
“Heehee.”
I almost threw the eggs I was holding.
Honestly, if I was holding a pot instead of precious eggs, I would have already thrown it.
“What are you making?”
Annoyed, I just pushed Lee Eun-ji’s grinning face away roughly and straightened up instead of answering.
“Are you making ramen?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, enjoy your meal.”
Enjoy my meal…
I had a bad feeling about this, so I picked up a pot, a bit too big for one serving, and two packets of ramen.
Lee Eun-ji, seemingly having forgotten about her face being pushed in her sleep, stumbled towards the bathroom looking like something scarier than a ghost.
“Ugh…”
Her shuffling footsteps, her dangling arms…
Her long, black hair swaying with her movements…
Seriously, although in a different sense, I could understand the saying, ‘Humans are scarier than ghosts.’
By the time I cracked the eggs into the ramen…
Lee Eun-ji finally emerged from the bathroom and headed to her room, looking somewhat human again.
‘Hmm~’
With the aroma that made me hum involuntarily, I took a deep breath and placed the pot on the table.
I could have just eaten it straight from the pot, but I grabbed a bowl for my plan.
I glanced at Lee Eun-ji’s room and scooped some ramen into the bowl, bringing the yellowish noodles to my mouth.
Slurp.
Just one mouthful.
At the same time, as if I had precognitive abilities, I could clearly see the future.
It was a scenario I had fallen for countless times, both before and after the regression.
“Is it good?”
As expected.
Lee Eun-ji poked her head out from behind her door.
“Dear brother~”
“Shut up.”
“Ah, just one bite!”
“One bite, my ass. You’ll devour the whole pot with one chopstick.”
“No, I won’t!”
I squinted at Lee Eun-ji, who yelled back, and casually said,
“Do you want some?”
“Yes.”
“Bring your own bowl and eat.”
“Yay, as expected! My brother is the best!”
Grinning, Lee Eun-ji grabbed her chopsticks and took a seat as if she had been waiting.
The moment Lee Eun-ji’s chopsticks dipped into the ramen broth…
I delivered the most crucial line in my scheme.
“Do the dishes afterward.”
“Ah, shit.”
Clack.
Lee Eun-ji put her chopsticks back down on the table.
“You’re so cheap!”
“Then don’t eat!”
Since I had nothing to lose…
I retorted shamelessly to Lee Eun-ji and scooped a large portion into my bowl, anticipating her attempt to steal some.
“Fine! I will! I’ll do them!”
As if she could see her portion decreasing, Lee Eun-ji hurriedly picked up her chopsticks again and shouted.
I finished my last bite and got up from the table.
Meanwhile, Lee Eun-ji, having taken some noodles, was stirring the pot, searching for something.
“Little sister.”
“What. What is it?”
As if sensing my mischievous intent, Lee Eun-ji raised one eyebrow and glared at me.
I smiled.
“I said ramen, I didn’t say anything about the eggs.”
As I added those words with a somewhat dramatic flair, Lee Eun-ji looked like she was about to flip the table.
But since I had already finished eating, it would only be her loss if she did.
“Ah, Lee Eun-ho, you’re so annoying!”
Lee Eun-ji roared.
Having cured my hangover, devoured two eggs, and secured someone to do the dishes!
Thanks to my numerous gains, I could easily ignore Lee Eun-ji’s outburst.
“Are you done?”
“Yeah!”
A moment later, Lee Eun-ji grumbled and got up with the empty pot.
She started doing the dishes right away, seemingly disliking putting things off.
A full stomach, a relaxed body…
Warm sunlight streaming through the window…
‘It’s the weekend…’
I think I just closed my eyes for a moment…
When I opened them, the living room was quiet, the dishes seemingly done.
“Why are you passed out here?”
“…What?”
“What what? Your voice is all hoarse. Didn’t you wake up?”
Lee Eun-ji burst out laughing in front of me.
Embarrassed, I cleared my throat and roughly wiped my drool-covered mouth with my sleeve, straightening my posture.
“Are you going to sleep more?”
“Uh… no.”
“Are you going to sleep or not?”
“Not.”
Now that I was awake, I didn’t feel like sleeping anymore.
Was this the answer she wanted?
Lee Eun-ji smiled and called me.
“Lee Eun-ho.”
“Yeah.”
“You have nothing to do, right?”
The song wasn’t finished, and practice time was still far away.
Honestly, Lee Eun-ji was much busier than me, with composing and practicing, although I hated to admit it, she was more talented.
“…Yeah, nothing.”
I felt a surge of rebelliousness, wanting to pick a fight, but I managed to hold back and answer calmly.
“Then come to my room for a second.”
“Why?”
“Just come.”
“Ouch.”
I was dragged to her room by the hood of my hoodie, as if it were a leash.
“Let go of me!”
I pulled my hood free and looked around. The room was clean… not.
Lee Eun-ji’s room was a mess, as if a bomb had exploded in every corner.
An 88-key electric piano filled the small space, and a bare two-tier clothes rack with no clothes hanging on it.
“Hey, you have one more drawer than me, at least put your underwear away…”
“I’ll take care of my room, so just sit down.”
“With the room in this state, are there no bugs?”
“Ah, shit.”
Lee Eun-ji gritted her teeth and glared at me.
Honestly, I flinched, a little scared.
“Get out if you’re going to nag!”
“You’re the one who told me to come in.”
“I called you to listen to the guide for the new song I finished.”
I instinctively shut my nagging mouth.
What good would it do to be on the bad side of our team’s genius composer?
I put on a shameless grin, as if I hadn’t been nagging just moments ago.
“Oh, you should have said that from the beginning, teacher.”
Lee Eun-ji burst out laughing in disbelief at my behavior.
“Make yourself comfortable and sit down.”
The only place to sit was against the wall opposite Lee Eun-ji’s bedding.
But as if this were the front row of a concert, I quickly sat down and sparkled my eyes.
Lee Eun-ji opened her laptop and fiddled with something.
After a moment, a small performance began in the corner of the small room.
A bouncy melody, like tapping on a glass bottle filled with clear water, first captured my ears.
It was a playful trap beat with a fast BPM of around 160.
Even I, as rhythmically challenged as I was, started bobbing my head to the beat.
The shoe without its partner can’t go out
The day without its enemy can’t touch the end
As the song started, the melody shifted, becoming a singing rap somewhere between R&B and hip-hop.
Lee Eun-ji’s familiar voice layered over the dreamy melody of a Rhodes piano.
Even though you’ve come this far, run away
Escape this glass-covered path
Lee Eun-ji’s low, recorded voice contained a subtle vibrato.
As the song entered the hook, the beat shifted its mood once again.
While the trap beat remained the main element, the progression highlighted a sensual minor chord feel.
Although the lyrics seemed melancholic, the overall atmosphere of the song was overwhelmingly sensual.
Similar but different
Because we’re close
Because it’s a light distance
I couldn’t sing along because the lyrics were still unfamiliar, but…
The addictive melody of the chorus was so catchy that I hummed along involuntarily.
Moreover, the moment I heard the chorus lyrics, I realized that this song focused on the ‘separation’ I had casually mentioned earlier.
Vaguely, right there
Blankly, right here
Lee Eun-ji seemed to have completed the guide by using autotune for the high notes that were too much for her.
I chuckled at that, and Lee Eun-ji, embarrassed, hid behind her laptop to avoid my gaze.
“The title is ‘DUO.’ What do you think?”
“DUO…”
Lee Eun-ji asked, her face still hidden behind her laptop.
Judging by her unusually shaky voice, she seemed quite nervous.
This song was completely different from the previous one, which had a heavy bassline, whether it was cat footsteps or a mountain god’s stroll.
It was a difference that showcased Lee Eun-ji’s wide musical spectrum.
However, despite her wide range, Lee Eun-ji had a definite style of her own.
“So, what do you think?”
Perhaps bothered by my lack of response…
Lee Eun-ji moved her laptop away from her face and asked again, more aggressively.
“I like it.”
Perhaps still lost in the lingering feeling of the song…
I answered nonchalantly, as if in a trance.
“That’s it?”
I said I like it.
What more did she want?
Lee Eun-ji seemed dissatisfied with my indifferent reaction, pouting.
“Wow! Amazing! Freaking awesome! You’re a genius, Lee Eun-ji! Wow! You’re going to dominate the charts!”
“Hey! Stop messing around!”
As I cheered excessively, even clapping like a seal, Lee Eun-ji scowled and yelled.
“Can’t you express it a little more delicately?”
“I said I like it…”