Siblings Work in Business (113)
“Okay.”
After answering, instead of leaving, Lee Eun-ho entered my room and held out his hand.
“What?”
As I stared at his empty palm, Lee Eun-ho said, looking at me as if I was an idiot,
“Give me the money.”
“Weren’t you going to buy it for me?”
“You have to pay with your own money. Are we breaking the deal?”
“Ugh, fine, you cheapskate. Wait.”
I reluctantly took out a 10,000 won bill from my wallet and gave it to him, annoyed but also wanting the chocolate.
“If you rip me off—”
“Do I look like an amateur? We have a trusting relationship.”
He said it so convincingly.
Of course, it was sarcasm.
“You’re the one who always rips me off.”
“Yes, boss. I’ll be back.”
Eun-ho left my room, waving the 10,000 won bill.
Eun-ji already knew what would happen.
He always said that, and then he would come back with a single ice cream cone, bought with her money.
I thought I was just feeling unwell, but now that I knew the reason, it all seemed to be because of… that.
I felt lazy, then suddenly wanted to destroy everything…
My stomach, which had been fine until now, felt uneasy…
I felt sluggish…
“Ugh, this is so annoying.”
I didn’t know what was annoying, I was just annoyed.
I felt like a ticking time bomb.
Or maybe it had already exploded.
“Ah— ugh— ah…”
Eun-ji’s usually loud voice was weak and deflated, like a balloon losing air.
As Eun-ho left the house after our transaction…
“Eun-ho?”
“Oh, CEO. Are you leaving work?”
“Yes.”
I saw the CEO across the alley, heading home from work.
“Where are you going?”
“Ah… just to the convenience store.”
I said, showing him the 10,000 won bill in my hand.
“What are you buying?”
“Chocolate for Lee Eun-ji. And painkillers.”
“Painkillers?”
The CEO asked, tilting his head.
I hesitated, wondering if I should explain, then just shrugged and smiled awkwardly.
He seemed to understand, as he laughed heartily and patted my back.
I ignored the rumbling in my stomach.
“Even if I try, I can’t take care of Eun-ji as well as you do. Go get it for her.”
“Okay.”
“If you’re going somewhere far, call Hyun-woo and go together.”
“Okay.”
“And eat properly.”
“Okay.”
The CEO waved goodbye and disappeared down the street.
I bowed my head as I watched him leave, since the convenience store was in the opposite direction.
After parting ways with the CEO, I went to a pharmacy that was open late and bought painkillers.
Then, at the convenience store, I chose Lee Eun-ji’s favorite chocolate.
I was tempted to buy a new flavor as a prank, but I refrained.
‘It’s not a good idea to mess with her when she’s sensitive, it might affect her performance.’
If it weren’t for the upcoming recording, I would have definitely bought the new one.
“Thank you.”
I received my change and was about to leave the convenience store when…
“…”
The freezer filled with ice cream by the entrance caught my eye.
‘Should I…?’
My deliberation was short-lived.
I was already standing in front of the freezer.
‘He won’t notice 1,000 won missing.’
I chose the injeolmi (roasted soybean powder) flavor after debating between sweet potato, injeolmi, and dark chocolate.
I had the dark chocolate one last month, and it was too sweet…
「“Are you an old man?”」
I ignored Lee Eun-ji’s voice in my head, paid for the ice cream, and took a bite.
I ate the chocolate coating first, then the white ice cream inside.
It had a subtle chewy texture like chapssal-tteok (glutinous rice cake), which was both appealing and slightly off-putting.
But it tasted good today, perhaps because it wasn’t my money.
‘If I bring it home, she’ll notice.’
I sat down on a chair in the convenience store, finished the ice cream, and threw away the evidence before heading home.
I didn’t run into anyone from the company on my way back.
When I got home, there was a lot of black fur in the cat bed, which Eun-ji had been meticulously cleaning since the cat’s visit.
At first, I disliked the cat, thinking it was a hallucination of the pale Eun-ji, but after hearing that the hallucination was actually Eun-ji, I felt…
‘…Guilty?’
“I’m home.”
The aluminum door rattled loudly as I opened it.
I took off my shoes, washed my hands out of habit, and went to Eun-ji’s room.
“Hey, I’m coming in.”
Since her door was closed, I called out and opened the door. Eun-ji was sprawled on her bedding, looking even worse than before.
“Here.”
I tossed the bag with the chocolate and painkillers next to her and was about to leave when…
“Change.”
“Ah, here.”
I had almost forgotten.
I rummaged through my pockets and gave her the change, and Eun-ji’s eyes, as she counted the money, were sharp.
‘Did she notice?’
Eun-ji slowly looked up and held out her hand.
What?
What did she want?
“Receipt.”
“Huh?”
“Receipt.”
“I… I thought I told you to throw it away?”
I had it in my pocket, but I couldn’t bring myself to show it to her.
Eun-ji suddenly rummaged through the bag and frowned.
“Hey.”
“…”
She should be saying, “Hey, Oppa,” but her eyes were terrifying.
“Ha…”
“…”
She knew.
“If you bought it with my money, you should have at least bought something for me too.”
She did know.
“You knew?”
How?
“Of course, there’s exactly 1,000 won missing, enough for an ice cream.”
“Wow, Lee Eun-ji, you’re smart…!”
“Don’t try to sweet-talk your way out of this.”
“Wow, how did you know?”
“I’m only doing the dishes once.”
“We agreed on three…”
I wanted to say, “We made a deal,” but her glare was too scary.
“There’s no brother like me. Be grateful. I’m only doing this because it’s you.”
“…”
Eun-ji frowned and got up.
I sensed danger.
I instinctively ran to my room.
A few days before the live broadcast, after returning from the pension…
Joo-yeon and Seul-gi met after a long time.
Joo-yeon had been receiving updates about E-UNG through Seul-gi, who had become a staff member.
“Hand microphones?”
“Yeah. They decided to focus on the live vocals rather than choreography and performance for this concept.”
“Holy shit, that’s amazing.”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what to have Eun-ji-nim wear.”
Seul-gi said, sipping her coffee.
“That’s great!”
“Ah! You scared me!”
Joo-yeon suddenly exclaimed, and Seul-gi, startled, almost spilled her coffee.
“Sorry, hehe. If I prepare something, can you use it for their styling?”
“What?”
“It’s a secret. I’ll send you a package in a few days.”
“What is it? Give me a hint.”
“Just wait and see. It might arrive after the live broadcast.”
“So, what is it?”
Joo-yeon refused to elaborate.
Seul-gi, wondering what she was planning, just shook her head.
A few days later, in the evening…
“The broadcast is soon, but I still haven’t decided on their outfits. I don’t want to just put them in anything…”
Seul-gi’s sighs deepened as the deadline approached.
“What’s that?”
A mysterious package was sitting neatly in front of her door.
She had completely forgotten about the package Joo-yeon promised to send.
“What is it?”
The name on the box was definitely hers.
Seul-gi’s curiosity grew as she lifted the surprisingly heavy box.
She went inside, grabbed a knife, cut the tape, and opened the box.
Then, she remembered Joo-yeon’s promised gift.
She recognized it immediately.
“She’s… serious.”
Seul-gi, looking at the carefully packaged item, was impressed.
And the moment she saw the gift, her worries about the outfits vanished.
“…This… has to be a uniform. There’s no other option.”
“Give it back!”
“How can I give it back when I already ate it? And you said you’d only do the dishes once.”
“That’s a separate issue! You have to pay me back!”
“How can I spit it out after I’ve already swallowed it?”
“Give me my money!”
“You’re so stingy over 1,000 won!”
“You’re the stingy one, Lee Eun-ho! You crazy—”
“Crazy?”
“Yeah!”
“Okay. I’m crazy, so I’m not giving it back.”
“Aaaaagh!”
What was with all the commotion this early in the morning?
Eun-ho and Eun-ji were supposed to come back after the dry rehearsal at the broadcasting station.
20 minutes before the agreed time…
They were already on their way back, their arguing voices clearly audible from the end of the alley.
“Fine! I’ll give it back! I will!”
“Give me everything you’ve stolen so far.”
“You should have said that back then.”
“You bastard!”
“Cough, cough.”
Seul-gi opened the frosted glass door of the company to greet them.
Eun-ho was clutching his throat, coughing, as if something had happened.
“What happened…?”
“Unnie! Lee Eun-ho!”
Eun-ji, the moment she saw Seul-gi, clung to her like a child—although Eun-ji was taller—and recounted the incident of Eun-ho stealing her errand money.
Seul-gi, after hearing the story, sighed and looked at Eun-ho.
“Eun-ho…”
“I was going to give it back later…”
Eun-ho, embarrassed about being caught, looked away and rubbed the back of his neck.
‘They seem so mature normally, but why do they turn into children when they’re alone…?’
Seul-gi, along with Hyun-woo and the other staff members who had arrived early, shook their heads.
After the chaotic morning subsided, Seul-gi called the two over and handed them their outfits.
“Wow, is this our outfit for today?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll go change!”
“Do you need any help?”
“No, I’ll call you if I do, unnie.”
Eun-ji smiled at Seul-gi and took the white uniform with gold tassels, disappearing into the changing room.
“Is this mine?”
“Ah, Eun-ho, yours is this one! That’s Eun-ji’s jacket.”
“I see.”
Seul-gi, looking at Eun-ji with a fond gaze, then turned to Eun-ho with a startled expression and handed him a black uniform with silver tassels.
Eun-ho changed in the meeting room and came out.
The staff members stopped what they were doing and stared at him.
Seul-gi covered her mouth, thinking,
‘Good thing I included the tie. Joo-yeon will faint.’
Eun-ho, oblivious to the attention, was adjusting his tie in front of the full-length mirror.
He seemed dissatisfied with it, as he untied and retied it several times.