Siblings Work in Business (23)
“Are they celebrities?”
“Did you see her? She’s so pretty.”
“Are they twins?”
The siblings, exuding a similar aura, drew the attention of passersby.
As they walked past the stores lining the street, their neat attire and sophisticated appearance…
They were chatting amicably, their voices only audible to each other.
“Hey, Lee Eun-ji, your lips look like you just ate a rat.”
“This is this year’s trendy ‘burgundy’ color, you idiot.”
“Date color?”
“It’s wine-colored burgundy. Date is the size of your brain.”
“It just looks like you ate a rat. Oh, by the way, Eun-ji.”
“What now.”
“A pumpkin head with red stripes doesn’t make it a watermelon.”
“Yeah, well, go fuck yourself, rockfish head.”
Despite their seemingly amicable appearance, their conversation was filled with hostility.
Still, the two walked side-by-side towards the center of Rodeo Street, where the stage was set up.
Then…
“…”
“Why are there so many people?”
Eun-ho, who didn’t even use social media…
And Eun-ji, who used social media but hadn’t had time to check it recently…
Completely unaware of Ji Ye-chan’s promotion, the two were frozen in surprise at the unexpected crowd.
「Weekend Busking with Sibling Duo ‘E-UNG’!」
The banner, at least, was flashy, as if it were a proper performance.
「‘E-UNG’s Special Performance with <He is 1+1=1>!」
This busking event seemed to be prepared for the promotion of the upcoming drama ‘He is 1+1=1,’ with a sentence under the banner proudly announcing the sponsor.
Eun-ji read the banner and let out a nervous sigh.
But when she looked up again, she had an excited smile on her face as she walked towards the stage.
“Let’s go, Lee Eun-ho. Huh?”
She would have continued walking if the figure beside her hadn’t suddenly disappeared.
It wasn’t Eun-ji’s shadow.
“Lee Eun-ho! What’s wrong! Hey!”
Just as Eun-ho collapsed, as if his legs had given way…
Eun-ji barely managed to catch his large frame and asked urgently,
“What’s wrong?!”
“Sorry… I-I suddenly felt dizzy…”
“What nonsense! Did you suddenly get hypotension or something?”
Eun-ji asked, but Eun-ho’s condition only worsened, his breathing becoming ragged.
“What is it! What’s wrong?!”
Eun-ji’s voice was laced with irritation.
Despite her sharp tone, her expression was close to tears.
Eun-ji’s hand, holding Eun-ho’s wrist, was trembling.
But Eun-ho, his vision blurry, was waving his hand in the air, as if it wasn’t a joke.
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
Eun-ji’s voice trembled with a mix of anger and worry.
Fortunately, thanks to arriving a bit early, there was still time before the performance.
And thankfully, only Eun-ji knew about this situation.
The people gathered around had seen Eun-ji and Eun-ho, but they only assumed that the male-female duo were the main performers.
Since E-ung weren’t well-known yet, they weren’t recognized.
Eun-ji discreetly helped Eun-ho to a shaded area.
“Here’s some water.”
She handed him a bottle of water she bought from a nearby convenience store.
After about 20 minutes of placing the cold water bottle on his forehead…
Eun-ho finally regained his stable breathing and took a sip of water.
“Tell me. Why did that happen?”
Relieved by Eun-ho’s improved condition, Eun-ji asked, wiping her brow and sighing.
Eun-ho seemed a bit nervous at the shop, but his condition wasn’t bad when they got in the car.
‘He was chatting and teasing me all the way here. Then why…’
Ah, could it be?
Eun-ji’s train of thought suddenly stopped.
The moment he froze at the sight of the large crowd…
Lee Eun-ho’s pale face she saw from the corner of her eye.
“Could it be…”
Eun-ji muttered, and Eun-ho looked up, tilting his head.
“Lee Eun-ho, do you have panic disorder?”
“What?”
Eun-ho looked up at Eun-ji with bewildered eyes.
“How do you even know that word?”
“I’m not joking.”
“I know. I’m asking because I’m surprised too.”
A few days ago, a singer Bae Jin-soo was working with had a panic attack and was rushed to the hospital.
He was currently undergoing treatment with medication and therapy.
Composer Bae Jin-soo had advised Eun-ji that ‘mental health management’ was as important as the music itself.
If it weren’t for that incident, Eun-ji wouldn’t have known about this unfamiliar disorder.
“I heard about it recently. That such a disorder exists.”
Eun-ji looked at Eun-ho worriedly, hoping it wasn’t the case.
Eun-ho seemed lost in thought for a moment, then shook his head and answered.
“It’s probably not panic disorder. I just felt anxious for a moment, I think I was just really nervous.”
“Anxious?”
“Yeah.”
“About what?”
Eun-ho hesitated and then spoke.
“…About standing in front of people.”
Eun-ji frowned.
Lee Eun-ho had dreamed of being a singer since he was young, playing “concert.”
He was someone who had auditioned countless times and faced many challenges to get here.
“Standing in front of people, why? Why, Oppa?”
Eun-ji was his only family, the one who had watched him from closest.
That’s why she couldn’t understand what he just said.
She knew better than anyone how much he had longed for a performance like today.
“This is what you’ve always wanted, Oppa.”
“Yeah…”
She was right.
There was nothing wrong with what Lee Eun-ji said.
I still wanted, and still want, a performance like today.
It wasn’t something I couldn’t do, or something I wasn’t used to.
Singing and interacting with the audience had become a part of my daily life.
Because it was my job.
‘But why am I so anxious?’
Now of all times.
I looked at the ground covered in chewing gum and cigarette butts, then slowly raised my head.
I looked at the crowd again.
Just looking at them made me breathless and nauseous.
It felt like someone was slowly choking me.
‘Why?’
I asked myself, but the only answer that came back was, ‘I don’t know.’
‘Do you not want to sing?’
That wasn’t it.
I wanted to sing in the center of that crowd more than anything.
But their gazes were scary.
I couldn’t shake off the feeling that someone among them would hate me.
“Lee Eun-ho.”
Then…
“If you don’t want to do it, don’t.”
“What?”
“You don’t have to. Don’t do it.”
“What…”
Lee Eun-ji squatted down in front of me and looked me in the eye.
“If you can’t do it, let’s just quit. We worked our asses off for years to get here, but it can’t be helped. If Lee Eun-ho doesn’t want to do it, we should quit. Right?”
If it were anyone else, it would have sounded like an attack.
“Ha… haha.”
But for some reason…
I burst out laughing at Lee Eun-ji’s provocation.
After laughing like a madman for a moment, I suddenly felt like I had come to my senses.
As my laughter turned into a sigh…
I took a deep breath and answered Lee Eun-ji’s question.
“I’ll do it. I’m not quitting.”
Why would I quit something this good?
‘It’s okay.’
‘It’ll get better.’
‘Cheer up.’
‘I’m rooting for you.’
‘We’re here for you.’
Various words of comfort are sweet.
‘It’s okay if I fail here. I’ve worked hard enough.’
…Because…
Comfort allows me to justify my failures.
Of course, there are people who overcome their struggles with such comfort.
But I couldn’t.
Only those who have received comfort, or know how to receive it, can do that.
“Are you going to collapse on the street again like before?”
“If I collapse, I can sing lying down.”
“Bullshit. Did those people come here to see you lying down? I said quit if you can’t do it.”
Lee Eun-ji and I couldn’t say such embarrassing, comforting words to each other.
Besides, no matter who said nice things to us…
We weren’t innocent enough to readily accept them with a smile.
If we had relied on such comfort…
‘The day Lee Eun-ji was kidnapped would have been our last.’
This country wasn’t always kind to us, not as kind as words of comfort.
Only then could I shake off my anxiety and stand up.
“If you really can’t do it, just watch me do well from the side.”
“Wow, me? How can I just watch? I’m not quitting, I’m not lying down, I’m not giving up.”
Just a moment ago, I felt like I was going to die from anxiety, but thinking about it, death had always been close.
‘I hate to admit it, but…’
Both then and now, I kept getting back up because of Lee Eun-ji.
After Lee Eun-ji passed away before the regression, I survived because of a single word she left behind.
Come to think of it, my heart festered from the malicious comments back then too, and I was just as scared.
‘They’ always attacked from the shadows.
But back then, I could ignore them.
‘How did I do that?’
The reason was simple.
I just kept repeating the word “live” that Lee Eun-ji said.
With determination, I hid ‘myself,’ but I didn’t lie.
Perhaps it was from then on, when I started working so fiercely…
That the reason I feared the world disappeared.
Now that I thought about it, Lee Eun-ji was beside me now.
Right.
Lee Eun-ji was alive here.
If the malicious comments I received back then were directed at Lee Eun-ji again, she would fester without even thinking of fighting back.
Lee Eun-ji, despite her tough exterior, was a fool who would rather hurt herself than hurt others.
Before the regression, because of my careless words, I dragged them into reality and faced them directly.
And there was no leniency.
Some fans frowned and turned away, but there were also many who supported me, saying I did the right thing.
The tension finally left my shoulders.
Both my mind and body.
I stepped out of the shadows on my own.
Because now, I had someone to protect.
I walked towards the stage with Lee Eun-ji, who had also stood up.
“If you collapse again, I’ll stomp on you.”
“Make sure you don’t crush my face.”
“No, I’ll only stomp on your face.”
“Hahaha.”
I laughed out loud at Eun-ji’s reply as we walked.
I left the lingering anxiety, which I couldn’t shake off, to Lee Eun-ji.
‘Right.’
She was the type to actually do that if I collapsed again.
She would help me come to my senses, even if it meant stomping on my face.
“Lee-eung? That’s a funny team name.”
“Why Lee-eung?”
Eun-ho and Eun-ji walked through the murmuring crowd and onto the stage where the banner was set up.
Did they see us when we got out of the car?
“There, the twins from earlier…!”
Some people recognized them and seemed excited.
They make me sick..beautifully ugly bond 🫂💕