Siblings Work in Business (97)
Eun-ji released Jo Kwang-soo’s arm.
Just as Jo Kwang-soo was about to get up…
Wham!
Eun-ji stomped on his back with her heel, hoping to break his spine.
“Ugh! Cough!”
Although he wasn’t hurt that badly, Jo Kwang-soo coughed, seemingly from the impact.
Eun-ji walked towards Eun-ho, her face dark with anger.
“Kwang-soo, are you okay?”
Jo Kwang-soo’s gang rushed to his side.
Eun-ji stopped in front of Eun-ho, looked him in the eyes, and asked,
“Oppa, are you an idiot?”
“…No.”
“Then why?! Why do you let those pathetic little shits beat you up?!”
Eun-ji punched Eun-ho in the stomach.
Eun-ho clutched his stomach for a moment, but that was all.
I didn’t understand him.
I wished he would yell in pain, like Jo Kwang-soo.
But at the same time, I didn’t want him to be hurt.
“Lee Eun-ji.”
“Fuck, you just keep being an idiot. It’s easier for me to beat them up!”
Eun-ji yelled, preempting Eun-ho’s usual disapproval of her using violence.
“…I’m not going to scold you for hitting him today.”
But Eun-ho’s reply was different this time.
“Then what…”
Eun-ho looked past Eun-ji.
Jo Kwang-soo’s gang was helping him up and disappearing down a back alley.
Birds of a feather…
Eun-ho turned back to Eun-ji.
“…I’m sorry.”
“You idiot.”
“I thought it would be okay if I just endured it. I’m sorry.”
“You’d be furious if I was getting beat up like that!”
“I would be. If anyone’s going to hit you, it should be me.”
“I feel the same, damn it! I… I should be the only one getting hit! Agh! Why are these stupid tears falling?!”
Eun-ji sobbed, cursing between hiccups.
Eun-ho watched her, wiping his tears.
That I looked mean.
That I had bad grades.
That I didn’t have parents.
That I lived in an orphanage.
That I was a beggar.
Rumors, spread for fun regardless of whether they were true or not.
Those rumors, piling up, created prejudice against us, even from strangers who didn’t know us.
Those formless rumors took shape, turning our very existence into a sin.
Even though it wasn’t my fault, even though I wasn’t guilty.
That happened often.
「“Did you do it?”」
That was a question we often heard whenever there was trouble, whenever there were no witnesses or evidence.
Lee Eun-ji and I, at the bottom of the social ladder, were treated as dangerous individuals.
As the misunderstandings piled up, I became cautious, avoiding trouble.
Eun-ji, on the other hand, was fueled by a desire for revenge, determined to ‘prove them right.’
But she never actually hurt anyone.
“Stop crying, and let’s go home.”
“…Okay.”
Eun-ji sniffled and nodded.
Not expecting anything made things easier.
No disappointments, no exhaustion.
Let’s forget about those assholes and just focus on ourselves. Our success would be the best revenge.
I still believed that.
Back at the orphanage…
I was lying on a mat, exhausted after the hectic day.
“Oppa.”
“Why?”
“Can I come in?”
“Yeah.”
Had Eun-ji been crying again? Or was it because of what happened at school?
Her eyes were bruised and swollen.
“Wow, you’re ugly.”
“Shut up!”
At least she had the energy to yell; she seemed to be feeling better.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, this?”
Eun-ji was holding a bag.
“I’m leaving.”
“What?”
I thought I misheard.
What was she talking about?
“Who said you could? Suddenly?”
“I did. I’ve been thinking about it.”
My mind screamed, ‘No!’
But I needed to hear her out first.
“Why?”
“I want to leave this town.”
I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
“Suddenly?”
“Yeah.”
I looked at her, and her eyes held a strange determination, as if she had made up her mind.
“I want to go somewhere… far away from here.”
“What are you even thinking? Why would you—?”
“Oppa getting beat up by those guys… it’s all because of me. So if I’m gone—”
“That’s nonsense.”
I hadn’t meant to interrupt, but her words were so ridiculous.
“If I’m gone, you won’t have to hold back anymore.”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but Lee Eun-ji, you’re mistaken.”
“What?!”
“I would have been the same even without you. And even if that’s not true, I made my own choices. It has nothing to do with you. Stop with the delusions.”
“But!”
“What ‘but?!’”
I explained calmly, but she wasn’t listening…
I considered smacking her to get her attention, but decided against it.
“Sniffle, Oppa is managing his image… because of me… sniffle…”
“What… what?”
Tears suddenly rolled down Eun-ji’s swollen cheeks.
I was so taken aback that I was speechless.
She was crying…
Well, it wasn’t entirely wrong.
If both Eun-ji and I acted like crazy people, it would be a disaster.
So I tried to be calm and collected.
But it wasn’t entirely because of Eun-ji.
It was also because it was easier that way, and it suited my personality.
I explained further.
Eun-ji remained stubborn, refusing to listen.
I patiently refuted her illogical arguments one by one.
After what felt like an hour, she finally seemed to understand.
An hour…
“You’re so dramatic, seriously. Blow your nose, dummy.”
Sniffle
As I handed her a tissue, she grabbed my hand and blew her nose.
By the time I pulled my hand away in disgust, it was too late.
“Seriously…”
I wiped my hand with another tissue and looked at Eun-ji.
“Hehe.”
Eun-ji stopped crying and stared out the small, arched window in my room.
She sighed deeply, seemingly calming down.
‘Her tears have stopped…’ I thought, relieved, but then…
“I want to leave this town.”
I couldn’t let my guard down around her.
Eun-ji threw her bag on the floor and sat down.
‘She’s physically grown, but that’s it.’
She was still the same Lee Eun-ji who used to throw tantrums when I didn’t buy her 100-won gum.
The only difference was her size.
“Let’s leave! Let’s go!!!”
“Why are you bringing this up again, Lee Eun-ji?”
“Ugh, I hate that! It sounds so weird! Stop imitating the director!”
“Okay, okay.”
I quickly covered my face as she tried to throw the used tissue at me.
She seemed serious about leaving, staring at me intently and trying to convince me.
“You said we could survive anywhere as long as we were together.”
“That was when we were young. We’re settled down now.”
“Is this what you call ‘settled down’? Not trusting anyone and struggling?”
“When did I ever struggle?”
“That’s what I’m saying! It’s been years since you came here, Oppa, but do you trust anyone at school, the orphanage director, the teachers, the nuns, the kids, your classmates—?”
Eun-ji counted on her fingers, then gave up and asked,
“Do you trust anyone here besides me?”
“What if I do?”
“What if…? If there’s even one person, then I’ll admit you’re ‘settled down’ here.”
“Besides you?”
“Yeah. Besides me.”
She knew me so well.
“So?”
“No one.”
I nodded.
“See!”
Eun-ji smiled, her face still puffy from crying.
“Then—”
“But there’s still no reason to leave.”
“What about that flatfish-looking bastard?!”
Flatfish…
I tilted my head.
Was she traumatized by fish after the bakery owner took us to a seafood restaurant sometimes?
Eun-ji had a habit of comparing people she disliked to fish.
“Well, he’ll probably leave you alone now that you’ve taught him a lesson.”
Eun-ji, dissatisfied with my answer, pouted.
“Do you want to go to school that badly? Do you like school that much?”
“Not really. I don’t like it or dislike it. Everyone goes.”
It was normal.
“That’s ridiculous. Just because ‘everyone’ goes? Since when did we live like ‘everyone’ else? Are you planning on going to college or something?”
I had no answer to that.
“Where do you want to go?”
I asked, trying to understand her persistence.
Eun-ji, as if having thought about this already, answered immediately,
“Seoul!”
“Why Seoul? You’ve never even been there.”
Eun-ji sniffled and yelled,
“Because you said you wanted to sing!”
“You can sing here too.”
“But there are real singers in Seoul! I saw on TV that many celebrities live in Seoul!”
Even though I tried to act mature, maybe I was still a kid back then.
‘Celebrities.’
Like sister, like brother.
I was swayed by her silly logic and ended up packing our bags.
NRY Entertainment
A few days after the live broadcast, the attic was bustling early in the morning.
“Should I pack this too? Unnie, unnie! Do you not like this outfit? It’s pretty.”
“Just pack everything for now, just in case.”
Eun-ji’s room was a disaster, clothes everywhere.
Eun-ho, looking at the mess with an exasperated expression, said,
“That’s why I told you to pack yesterday—”
“Ah, Lee Eun-ho! If you’re not going to help, at least be quiet!”
“…”
I couldn’t finish my sentence as a red t-shirt hit my face.
I pulled the shirt off my face and entered Eun-ji’s room.
“Just give me whatever you’ve packed so far. I’ll put them in the bag.”
“What’s gotten into you?”
“Hyun-woo hyung has been waiting in the car for 30 minutes because of you.”
Eun-ho said, picking up a neat beige leather trunk from a corner of the room.
It was a gift from CEO Park, anticipating this trip.
Three days ago, even.
“I knew this would happen. Fine.”
Oh I’m gonna slime myself out wtheck😂💔