Siblings Work in Business (34)
On the way home…
Eun-ji was sitting in the back seat.
‘I’m scared she’ll appear in my dreams.’
I thought, looking at Lee Eun-ji lying grotesquely.
Her lower body seemed to be sitting normally.
But her upper body was bent at a creepy angle, lying sideways.
Hyun-woo flinched after checking the rearview mirror and gripped the steering wheel tighter.
“Grrrr…”
“Doesn’t she sound like a motorcycle starting?”
Hahaha!
I asked half-jokingly, and hyung burst out laughing, seemingly having the same thought.
Eun-ji’s upper body twitched, as if startled by the loud laughter.
“Grrrr…”
However, the sound wasn’t enough to fully wake the heavy sleeper. Eun-ji just groaned and remained asleep.
“When we were young, there was an abandoned plank from a construction site in the empty lot, and we used to play ‘concert’ there…”
I sat in the passenger seat, intending to keep hyung company while he drove.
But perhaps because of the aftereffects of the energetic performance…
I couldn’t stay awake for long.
My reason, trying to stay awake, and my eyelids, succumbing to instinct…
After about 10 minutes of internal struggle, instinct won.
It probably wasn’t even 10 minutes…
That’s how long my memory lasted.
“Eun-ho, go inside and get some rest.”
“H-Hyung…”
When I opened my eyes again, we were already parked in front of the dorm.
“I’m sorry, I tried to keep you company, but…”
“It’s okay. I was thinking about the performance today.”
It was probably a casual remark, but hyung’s answer was quite touching.
“Grrrr…”
Click.
I got out of the car and opened the back door to get Lee Eun-ji.
She was sprawled across half the back seat like melted slime.
I deliberately let the cold air hit her to wake her up, but…
‘Whose sibling is she, really?’
She showed no signs of waking up.
‘Should I just smack her awake?’
I seriously considered it for a moment.
I probably would have done that at home, but I decided against it, thinking about Lee Eun-ji’s hard work on stage.
And of course, hyung being there was also a reason.
“Need some help?”
“It’s okay. It’s late, you should go inside.”
I said, hoisting Eun-ji onto my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
The moment I lifted her…
‘What the, she’s so heavy!’
I almost screamed.
I briefly considered asking for help.
But out of stubborn pride, I pretended to be fine…
And climbed the stairs to the second floor with trembling legs.
“See you tomorrow, hyung!”
Eun-ho, reaching the second floor, waved his hand, his breath slightly ragged.
Hyun-woo waved back and waited until Eun-ho was completely inside before leaving.
‘There were some mistakes…’
Hyun-woo, after deciding to become the manager of the singer he had become a fan of, joined NRY Entertainment and got the opportunity to both earn money and learn.
He could only do small things to help them due to his lack of experience, but his days were different now.
‘This is what it feels like to do what you love.’
Before seeing Eun-ho and Eun-ji at Suwon Station, he had never even thought about what he wanted to do.
He thought that was something only people with leisure time could think about.
He was someone who always had to worry about tomorrow’s expenses.
‘I finally feel like I’m truly living.’
Hyun-woo looked at the dark night sky and sighed.
His white breath appeared and then faded in the wind.
‘Eun-ji…’
He was trying his best, but for various reasons, he still couldn’t make eye contact with her.
But today, at Hongdae, he saw an unexpectedly firm and strong side of Eun-ho, whom he thought was just gentle.
He liked being able to see new sides of them.
‘Before, I used to start my day thinking, ‘Let’s get through today,’ but…’
Now, he started his days with ‘anticipation,’ wondering ‘What will we do today?’
This feeling was new to him.
‘Because of the piling hospital bills, I only lived for money, not for what I wanted to do.’
But not anymore.
‘I’ll work harder tomorrow.’
And even harder the day after tomorrow!
Just like he had been doing.
Now, as a fan, as E-UNG’s manager.
For the job he loved, the job he started because he wanted to.
Just like always.
‘I have to do my best.’
Hyun-woo turned his head.
He smiled, looking at the lit-up second floor, and continued walking.
Choreography
A few days after the performance at Twenties Live Bar…
It was a series of meetings for our official debut preparations: choreography meeting, album cover meeting, meeting with Dark Ocean Production team for the music video.
And as if the performance at Twenties Live Bar had inspired her…
Lee Eun-ji seemed busy creating melodies in her room as soon as she got home, despite the tiring meetings.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“This is how I relieve stress.”
“Haha…”
I used to be jealous of her talent.
But now, perhaps because of time…
I just admired her.
Bzz.
I took out my phone at the familiar vibration, and there was a KakaoTalk message from CEO Park.
[Eun-ji, you stay, Eun-ho, come downstairs for a moment.]
I wondered what was going on.
“Who is it?”
Lee Eun-ji asked, her eyes still fixed on the monitor.
“The CEO. He asked me to come downstairs.”
“Me too?”
“Just me.”
“Go quickly.”
“I was going to anyway.”
We bickered over nothing, and I went downstairs.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
As I knocked, the CEO said, as if he had been expecting me.
I opened the door, and there was a guest inside the CEO’s office.
“Hello.”
“Yes, hello…”
He was wearing a neat suit with a gold badge shaped like scales on the lapel.
I flinched slightly, wondering if he was someone from the political world.
But thankfully, he had an intellectual smile that seemed harmless, so I relaxed a bit.
“Then I’ll be going. Please contact me when you’ve decided.”
“Yes, thank you. Goodbye.”
The man and the CEO exchanged polite greetings, and he left the office, passing by me.
“He’s a lawyer.”
“Ah.”
I tilted my head slightly at the word “teacher,” but then I understood from the CEO’s explanation.
“Here.”
As I sat down on the sofa, the CEO handed me an A4 sheet with messy handwriting.
“What is this? Ah…”
I asked before even receiving the paper, but…
「I apologize.」
I knew what it was the moment I saw the first sentence.
But before I could even finish half the page, I put the apology letter back on the table.
“I sent a complaint to the guy who sexually harassed you. This is his apology letter. He wants me to drop the charges.”
“I… see.”
My eyes were still fixed on the A4 sheet.
“CEO.”
“Yes.”
“You taught us when we were young that adults are responsible for their actions.”
“That’s right.”
CEO Park smiled warmly, looking at Eun-ho, as if reminiscing.
He was deeply moved that Eun-ho, the most troublesome of the two, was saying such things.
Eun-ho gave the apology letter a cold look and continued.
“Lee Eun-ji, despite her foul mouth, is incredibly kind.”
“Is that so?”
CEO Park asked back, and Eun-ho smiled playfully as usual.
Before Eun-ji passed away…
The internet was flooded with malicious comments and sexual harassment directed at Eun-ji, as much as her sudden rise in popularity.
But Lee Eun-ji, believing that ‘all problems between people can be solved through conversation,’ pardoned the commenters and even did volunteer work with them.
Lee Eun-ji believed in her philosophy.
「“You’ll definitely see them again. And they might see you as even easier prey than before.”」
I said that to Lee Eun-ji back then.
Human nature doesn’t change easily, just like how I only changed after almost going insane.
And as expected…
A few months later, familiar names and faces from the volunteer work appeared on documents handed to me by the lawyer.
「“You were right, Oppa…”」
I was right.
After Lee Eun-ji acknowledged that, there were no second chances.
Back then, I took the lead for Lee Eun-ji, who was crying in her room.
There were quite a few of them.
And all the hateful words they directed at Eun-ji came back to me after she passed away.
But I couldn’t do what Lee Eun-ji did.
‘Volunteering with the people who told me to die countless times…’
I was in so much pain that I thought about death several times a day, just as they wished.
But I wanted to live.
I didn’t want to be swayed by those keyboard warriors.
After the third encounter with them, I shut off my emotions.
Even when they cried and begged for forgiveness, I pushed forward relentlessly.
‘It’s laughable.’
Perhaps because of those experiences…
Seeing this piece of paper with an apology written on it only made me laugh.
‘Because of alcohol…’
‘I was drunk…’
‘I don’t remember, but…’
The apology letter from the drunkard, filled with excuses about alcohol.
Was this even a sincere apology?
“Lee Eun-ji, despite her foul mouth, is kind. So kind that it’s frustrating for those around her…”
Eun-ho’s eyes turned cold.
His expression, stiffer than before, was calm yet menacing.
“You contacted me, CEO, because you knew Eun-ji would just let it go.”
CEO Park momentarily held his breath.
He wasn’t wrong.
He hadn’t said it out loud, but he had vaguely thought that ‘she might let it go.’
That’s why he called Eun-ho.
Although the siblings’ faces were so similar that they startled people who saw them for the first time, they were very different.
Eun-ji’s feelings and thoughts were easily visible on her face.
She would get angry when someone crossed the line, but she would also give them another chance.
And she tended to downplay any harm she received.
‘But Eun-ho…’
Eun-ho seemed considerate and kind on the outside.
But he rarely revealed his true feelings.
And if someone crossed the line or hurt Eun-ji, that was the end.
‘He wasn’t this cold before the debut talks…’