Siblings Work in Business (92)
Still…
“Thank you for the compliment, E…Percenters.”
I was still embarrassed saying it, so I made an effort to use it more often.
While the tteokbokki simmered, various questions popped up in the chat, starting with questions about cooking.
Since we had some time…
We answered the E-Percenters’ questions.
[How did you meet Toxin?]
“The CEO organized an after-party after ‘DUO’ promotions ended, and the seniors were there.”
“Oh, and Lee Eun-ho seemed to already know Senior Ji Ye-chan from working on a song together before, so they greeted each other.”
Since the bet was something we should discuss with the seniors first…
We decided to keep it at that.
[Ji-ji and Rangi, your profiles don’t have your ages. How old are you?]
“I’m 20! Lee Eun-ho is 22!”
“Our ages aren’t on our profiles? They’re not?”
I leaned closer to the CEO and asked, and he smiled, saying he intentionally left them out for a later reveal.
‘Creating a sense of mystery?’
I thought it was some kind of concept, but I later heard he just… forgot.
I understood, since he was doing so much by himself.
“Why does Ji-ji speak informally to Rangi? Because I can!”
“He only calls Eun-ho ‘oppa’ when he wants something.”
[LOL]
The chat was filled with laughter.
“Where are Ji-ji and Rangi from? It was somewhere in the countryside… near Daegu, I think? Right?”
“I think so. Maybe a bit further north, or south?”
“Hehe. We moved to Seoul when we were young, so I don’t remember clearly.”
It wasn’t a pleasant topic, as most of my memories from that time weren’t good ones.
Eun-ji also seemed to feel the same, as she quickly changed the subject with a smile.
“Gyeongsang-do. No wonder I heard a dialect. So that’s why you speak like that. Is it that noticeable?”
[Yes]
[Yeah]
[Your intonation is unique!]
[Yes]
It seemed noticeable, as the chat agreed.
[Your parents must be so proud of you, Eun-ho and Eun-ji.]
After our hometown, questions about our parents came up.
It stood out because it used our actual names, not our nicknames.
But perhaps it was still a difficult topic…
Eun-ji and I both ignored the comment.
“Ji-ji looks really tall, how tall is she? Between 173 and 174cm? Probably!”
“Wow! She’s tall. Lee Eun-ji is tall. And her head is big too, haha.”
“Do you want to die?”
“Why? Having a big head is a compliment overseas.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. But you’re an exception.”
While Eun-ji tilted her head, wondering if I was joking…
The chat was filled with laughter and comments about her being cute.
I hated to admit it, but she was funny when she acted clueless like that.
[She’s the same as me!]
“Oh, there’s someone like me! Nice to meet you!”
Eun-ji, realizing I was teasing her, ignored me and focused on the chat.
‘Is it because of the memories she said she has?’
I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as Eun-ji seemed to be showing the same experienced composure she had before the regression.
“How tall is Rangi-nim? How tall is Rangi? Lee Eun-ho, how tall are you?!”
Now they were curious about my height, after finding out Eun-ji’s.
“The last time I checked, I was about 181 or 182cm. I haven’t grown since then, so it’s probably similar.”
I thought that was a sufficient answer, but I was wrong.
The staff suddenly became busy after my reply.
I watched them, wondering what they were doing, and then…
A staff member returned with a measuring tape.
“You want to measure it now?”
I asked, seeing the measuring tape, and the staff members nodded in unison.
[Ooh.]
[Wow!]
The chat seemed to be on board.
The staff member handed the measuring tape to Eun-ji, avoiding the camera.
While I stood there, Eun-ji measured my height…
“One hundred… eighty… three… point…”
Why was I so nervous?
It was because of Eun-ji, who was reading out each digit slowly, instead of just saying the number.
“…seven!”
“Ah, seriously! Just say the number! Why are you taking so long?”
“Then you read it.”
“You learned how to read numbers!”
“No, these numbers are tiny! Can you even see them clearly?”
“Are you stupid? Just mark it with your finger and then check.”
“No—”
Eun-ji was about to argue, then she tried it and tilted her head.
“…Oh.”
“You idiot.”
“Wow… Lee Eun-ho, you’re a genius!”
“Everyone in the world knows that except you.”
“Ah, so that’s how you do it.”
I chuckled, seeing her amazed expression.
“Anyway, it’s 183.7cm. You’ve grown.”
As I announced the result, the chat was filled with “LOL.”
‘Lee Eun-ji’s stupidity is funny.’
I chuckled again, remembering what just happened.
Then, I measured Eun-ji’s height.
I checked much faster than that idiot, and her height was exactly as she said, 173.7cm.
Eun-ji had suddenly become taller than me in 6th grade and was already over 170cm by the time we graduated elementary school.
I was a little over 160cm back then and remember growing rapidly after entering middle school.
‘I hate those who call themselves our parents, but…’
I heard height is genetic, so maybe I should be grateful for this.
At least I wasn’t looked down upon because of my height.
After the impromptu height measurement, the Q&A session continued.
[Unnie ㅠㅠ I’m so stressed because of a senior at school.]
[Unnie, how do you relieve stress? ㅠㅠㅠ]
“Pfft, haha.”
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because of that question.”
“What?”
Eun-ji finally saw the question.
She looked at me, dumbfounded, then turned back to the camera.
“I stomp on trash.”
[?]
[?]
[???]
[?]
“Why? It’s true.”
“Hahaha, she’s a hook collector.”
The question marks in the chat were amusing.
“Hey, straighten out those question marks!”
[!]
[!!!]
[!]
Wow.
As Eun-ji exclaimed, the E-Percenters started filling the chat with exclamation points.
‘Cute.’
Well, she wasn’t wrong.
But it sounded like she was violently destroying trash.
“Just saying ‘I stomp on trash’ sounds violent, doesn’t it?”
“Ah.”
As if realizing the nuance, Eun-ji explained further.
“You see, there are many plastic bottles without their labels removed in the recycling bins.”
[????]
“They can’t be recycled like that! So I remove the labels, open the caps slightly to let the air in, and then stomp on them!”
The problem was that the more she explained, the weirder it sounded.
[That’s an eco-friendly way to relieve stress.]
“That’s right! You should try it too. It’s surprisingly refreshing, even if you’re not stressed. They say plastic bottles with labels are separated and discarded as regular trash during recycling.”
Listening to her, I chuckled, remembering the bakery owner who first told Eun-ji about this.
‘I wonder if the bakery owner is doing well.’
The hero who saved us when we were young, whom we just called ‘Bakery Ajusshi,’ without knowing his name.
People would normally report dirty, wandering kids.
But we were so scared of them back then, even though they were there to help us.
What could clueless kids like us do?
We were terrified and hid, not even imagining a helping hand.
「“You’ll be sent back to where you came from if you’re caught. Tsk, tsk.”」
We were worried about being sent back to that house…
…about being caught by that person again.
It was the homeless people, those who understood our situation, who hid us.
Perhaps their presence was even more frightening, making us hide even more.
‘Was that a blessing or a curse…?’
I was grateful back then, but now, after meeting the CEO, I wasn’t sure.
‘If I had known earlier, maybe I could have lived more like a human, and Eun-ji more like a child.’
At least we didn’t have to go back to that hellhole.
We were content back then, in our own way.
Eun-ji and I never stepped out of the shadows.
We lived like stray cats, going out in the evenings and returning to our dilapidated shelter before dawn.
All we knew were the names we gave each other, running away, and hiding.
Those days of survival, when we had to steal to eat.
Despite having parents, we were unregistered, our existence unknown to the world.
We only learned about resident registration numbers thanks to the bakery owner who reported us, and our names, ‘Lee Eun-ji’ and ‘Lee Eun-ho,’ were registered in this country thanks to him, not our parents.
That we didn’t have to go back to that place.
That there was a place in this country that accepted people like us.
That we could go to school.
That we could wear school uniforms.
We learned all of that thanks to the bakery owner’s support and guidance.
“We need a lot of good quality plastic to sort, shred, and then, sob— recycle… sniff…”
Eun-ji’s voice wavered as she explained, her emotions getting the better of her.
I patted her back, a bit too hard for a comforting gesture, but it was also meant as a warning to snap out of it, ‘since we’re on camera.’
‘You said it yourself. Smile for the camera.’
Eun-ji wiped her tears and said,
“I just remembered the old days, hehe. Sorry.”
[Don’t cry ㅠㅠㅠ]
[Why are you crying, Ji-ji? ㅠㅠㅠ]
[ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
It was strange, reading the chat and realizing there were actual people beyond the screen.
So many people liked us that they downloaded this app and were watching this broadcast.
The shining idols I used to see on TV when I was young…
Beloved celebrities…
Wearing fancy clothes and appearing in front of the camera…
‘Ah.’
I had become the person I aspired to be.
It finally hit me.
“I love you, our E-Percenters.”
“Pfft.”
I was about to tear up with Eun-ji, but the fandom name “E-Per” made me laugh.
E-Percenters.
[Rangi, you too!]
[Rangi!]
[Eun-ho too!]
[Eun-ho-nim, please!]
Urged by the chat, I wiped my tears and said, my voice thick with emotion,
“I love you too, E-Percenters.”
My voice was a bit hoarse, but it was the happiest I had ever been.