Siblings Work in Business (78)
“Wow, I’m the unnie (older sister)?”
“Yes.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m 18.”
Eun-ji seemed to like being called “unnie,” since she was usually around people older than her.
“Did you go to school today?”
“Today’s a school holiday, so I came here.”
“Oh! Lucky.”
“Not really. School is boring.”
“Hehe. It’s good to be able to go to school.”
The student, with his characteristic bowl cut, spoke bluntly, but his eyes sparkled as he looked at Eun-ji.
Perhaps noticing his unwavering gaze, the student asked, seeing Eun-ji’s slightly downcast expression,
“Couldn’t you go to school, noona?”
“Hmm, it’s a secret. Here! Come and take a picture with me!”
Eun-ji smiled, a hint of sadness in her eyes, and took the student’s hand.
The student, his ears bright red with embarrassment, sat next to Eun-ji and made a V sign with his fingers.
Click.
“Thank you.”
After the picture was taken, the student bowed his head shyly.
Eun-ji smiled and handed him some bread and milk.
“I’m looking forward to your next song, noona.”
The boy took the bread, mumbled his thanks, lowered his head, and scurried away.
Eun-ji seemed surprised, then chuckled at his cuteness.
“Eun-ji unnie! Take a picture with me too!”
“Unnie…?”
After the cute boy left…
The next person to approach Eun-ji was a woman who looked to be in her 20s.
“Wow, am I really the unnie?”
“I might be older, but if you’re pretty or handsome, you’re the unnie!”
“Haha, that’s not how it works!”
“Here!”
As Eun-ji questioned her playfully, the woman laughed heartily and continued the banter.
As Eun-ji laughed, the woman looked at her adoringly and held out her phone.
“Can you take a picture with me too, like you did with that little boy earlier?”
“Of course! Come here. Just a picture?”
“Huh? Can I ask for something else?”
“Sure! Anything I can do.”
“Oh, then…”
As Eun-ji smiled and replied, the woman playfully nudged her shoulder and asked, her eyes crinkling,
“There’s a good dakbal (spicy chicken feet) restaurant nearby, want to grab a drink later?”
“Sure! But!”
“But?”
“Only if you can ditch our stylist unnie and manager oppa!”
“Oh, really? I’ll be waiting!”
“Haha.”
The fan also wasn’t serious, so the atmosphere remained lighthearted despite the indirect rejection.
Meanwhile, unlike the cheerful atmosphere around Eun-ji, the air around Eun-ho felt quiet yet intense.
“What’s your name?”
“I-I’m Lee Ji-min.”
The fan standing hesitantly in front of Eun-ho answered, startled by the question.
“Oh, we have the same last name. Where are you from?”
“S-Suwon.”
“Oh! I performed at Suwon Station once.”
“Yes! I-I missed it because I saw the announcement too late…”
“I’m glad you could make it today. Ji-min, thank you for coming all this way.”
As Eun-ho smiled and made eye contact, Ji-min’s face flushed crimson.
“Um, O-Oppa.”
“Yes?”
“I-I’m really sorry, but…”
“Sorry? If you’re not sorry, I’ll still listen.”
“Th-Then I’m not sorry!”
“Haha. Okay. Tell me. What were you going to ask, even while apologizing?”
“C-Can I hug you…?”
Ji-min’s face and even her fingertips were red, as if she had mustered all her courage.
Eun-ho seemed surprised for a moment, then he quietly put the bread he was holding back into the bag.
After tidying up, he opened his arms wide and said,
“Come here.”
“Oh my god! Thank you!”
Ji-min covered her mouth, then, as if afraid to miss the opportunity, she rushed towards Eun-ho with a mix of a scream and a greeting.
As he hugged the fan tightly…
He turned his head, and Eun-ji was also hugging a young female student.
As they made eye contact, in the same pose, Eun-ho and Eun-ji smiled at each other, genuinely happy.
We took pictures and greeted every single fan during the impromptu fan meeting.
It was a pleasant experience, enough to make us forget about the exhausting morning we had after pouring all our energy into the broadcast.
By the time we finished handing out the bread, two and a half hours had passed.
‘It’s almost time to leave.’
Hyun-woo, who had been watching them, checked his phone and signaled to Eun-ho that they had to go.
“It’s time to go.”
Eun-ho also seemed reluctant, his voice filled with regret.
Sighs of disappointment came from the fans.
“I want to stay longer.”
At Eun-ji’s complaint, Eun-ho discreetly nodded towards Hyun-woo.
‘Hyung must be relaying the CEO’s message.’
It was clearly a longer message than the short gesture implied.
But Eun-ji seemed to understand, letting out a sigh and saying,
“It’s a shame, but let’s meet again soon. Definitely!”
“We’ll prepare our next song quickly and make this happen more often. Eun-ji kind of surprised us with this today…”
“Just trust me! I’ll do this more often!”
As Eun-ji exclaimed, the fans cheered and showed their support.
Hyun-woo and Seul-gi simultaneously rubbed their foreheads, as if they had headaches.
But they didn’t seem genuinely annoyed, as they both still had smiles on their faces.
“Thank you all for coming today—”
Eun-ho, feeling sentimental, tried to prolong the moment by saying something, anything.
But even that didn’t last long.
As we headed towards the car…
“We’ll be waiting!”
“Waaaaah.”
“I love you!”
Some fans cried, some confessed their love.
“It’s getting late, so go home safely! And those who get home safely, please leave a message on E-FAN saying you arrived!”
“Okay!”
“Bye!”
Eun-ji waved until the fans were out of sight.
Eun-ho didn’t yell like Eun-ji, but he craned his neck, watching the fans until they disappeared.
Perhaps because she had held back until now…
“I just wanted to give them gifts because I’m so grateful they came.”
Eun-ji muttered sadly, looking at the letters, dolls, and placards piled up in her arms.
“Let’s record the new song soon. We have a lot of material, right?”
“Sniff, sob.”
“You’re ugly.”
Eun-ho chuckled at her teary reply, and then, bam!
Eun-ji’s fist landed on his shoulder.
“Ow. What was that for, you rockfish?”
“Haha.”
Eun-ho kept laughing, even as he clutched his shoulder.
“Stop crying and talk.”
“Damn it, I can’t help it.”
“You’re so ugly.”
“I don’t care. Damn it. I was so happy today. Sniff, damn it. Waaaaah.”
Eun-ji buried her face in the gifts and sobbed.
“Your words are harsh for someone who’s happy. Speak nicely.”
“It’s just… sniff… ‘happy’ isn’t enough… sniff… it’s like…”
“Not enough?”
Eun-ji nodded vigorously.
Although I wasn’t crying, I felt the same way.
Eun-ho was also carefully reading the letters he received, as if handling precious treasures.
“Some of your fans might not like your cursing, so you should try to fix it.”
“That’s…”
“That’s what?”
“No. You’re right. I should.”
“And now you’re listening, after ignoring me for so long?”
“That’s because it’s you.”
Eun-ji wiped her tears and replied seriously, as if it was obvious.
They continued bickering while she fixed her smudged makeup.
“You’re such a weirdo.”
“Look who’s talking, rockfish face.”
“Yeah, pumpkin head, I’m more normal than you.”
“No, you’re not, rockfish head.”
Seul-gi, sitting in the passenger seat, and Hyun-woo, who was driving, exchanged glances and sighed, a mixture of amusement and exasperation, listening to their childish bickering.
‘You must have had a hard time all by yourself.’
‘It must have been tough. Thank you for your hard work.’
They silently acknowledged each other’s struggles with a sympathetic smile.
After-Party
“Where are we going, unnie, oppa?”
A moment later…
Eun-ji, who had just assumed they were going somewhere the CEO told them to…
Suddenly realized she hadn’t asked where or why.
Eun-ho, seeming to know where they were going, ignored Eun-ji’s question and leaned his head against the window, carefully holding the fan letters he received.
“Hey, why am I the only one left out? Where are we going?!”
Eun-ji, after complaining for a while…
Started an impromptu puppet show with the dolls she received from fans, expressing her frustration.
“We all know except you.”
“Why?! Tell me too!”
“Shecret.”
Actually, Seul-gi and Hyun-woo had initially intended to tell her.
But Eun-ji’s pouting was so cute that they found it amusing to tease her.
So, they also kept quiet, following Eun-ho’s lead.
“You guys are so mean. Are you really not going to tell me? You don’t actually know either, do you?”
“No way. If they didn’t know, Manager oppa wouldn’t be driving like this.”
“Hmm, this road… I know this road. I only remember bits and pieces because I was dozing, but I’ve definitely seen it before. So we’re going somewhere I know? Where is it?”
Eun-ji’s puppet show turned into a detective drama.
“Pfft.”
Seul-gi, unable to hold it in any longer, burst out laughing.
“What? Unnie, what is it? Why are you laughing?!”
She quickly waved her hand dismissively, saying it was nothing, but Eun-ji’s suspicion had turned into certainty.
“But why isn’t Oppa using the navigation?”
“I know. This road is familiar. We’re going somewhere we know. Right?”
Eun-ji’s unfounded certainty was quickly shattered when Hyun-woo, distracted by her chattering, made a wrong turn.
“Huh? I’ve never seen this road before. If it’s not that place, then where?”
Where did she think they were going?
“Seriously, where are we going?”
Hyun-woo quickly corrected his mistake, but he seemed to have made Eun-ji even more confused.
“Don’t tell me! OMG, is Manager oppa just driving around?!”
“That’s it! That’s what’s happening!”
“You’re just messing with me! This is a hidden camera prank, isn’t it?!”
Oh, she was getting close.
But no one in the car intended to give her a straight answer.
“I knew it.”
“I knew this was a prank!”
“I told you I knew!”
“…Why are you all so quiet?”
Jimin you’re so lucky OMM