Siblings Work in Business (114)
“Unnie, where does this go?”
Eun-ji emerged from the dressing room, holding a gold tassel. It seemed like she had finished changing.
“Ah, that goes on your shoulder. Let me help you.”
“Okay.”
Seul-gi took the tassel, and Eun-ji lowered her upper body slightly so Seul-gi could reach.
“Done!”
“Thank you.”
“Gasp.”
As Eun-ji smiled brightly, Seul-gi dramatically clutched her chest.
“Unnie? Are you okay?”
Eun-ji asked worriedly, and Seul-gi gave her a thumbs-up and nodded vigorously, her eyes shining.
“I’m fine. I’m just so touched that I made the right decision quitting CK.”
“Oh? Ah, haha.”
Eun-ji, realizing it was a joke, chuckled along with Seul-gi.
“Unnie, do I have to wear this too?”
“Wear… what? Ah.”
She thought Eun-ji was fully dressed, but she was holding the tie in her hand.
“You don’t like it?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it, but I’m not used to wearing things around my neck, so it feels a bit constricting. Can I unbutton one button?”
“Hmm…”
Seul-gi thought for a moment, then looked at Eun-ho, who was still adjusting his tie.
Since it was a uniform, the neck area would look a bit empty without the tie…
‘Ah.’
Seul-gi rummaged through her bag and pulled out a simple silver necklace with a moonstone.
“Then let’s remove the tie and unbutton the top button! This necklace will fill the empty space.”
Eun-ji, seemingly happy with the decision to remove the tie, nodded and followed Seul-gi’s suggestion.
After they finished with the outfits, they did their makeup to match.
A cool, black look for Eun-ho, and a brighter look for Eun-ji.
Overall, they aimed for an elegant, almost sacred, vibe.
“Did the CEO choose today’s outfits?”
“Hehe, I did.”
“Wow.”
“I chose well, right?”
“Yes. I should request these for the album photoshoot.”
Not just Seul-gi and Hyun-woo, but the other staff members were also raving about the outfits.
“Finally, it’s stage day.”
“Right, it’s been a while since we’ve been under the spotlight.”
Eun-ho and Eun-ji were excited about the performance.
“I look so pretty today.”
As Eun-ji admired herself in the mirror, Eun-ho, watching her from behind, said,
“You look like a painted pumpkin.”
“And you look like a made-up rockfish.”
Their bickering was short-lived.
“Let’s finish up and get going!”
“Okay.”
“Okay!”
As Seul-gi returned with some glitter, Eun-ho and Eun-ji turned away from each other, as if they hadn’t been arguing just moments ago.
After their final touch-ups, Eun-ho and Eun-ji headed to the car for the camera rehearsal.
As they got in, Seul-gi handed them two luxurious boxes covered in black velvet cloth.
“These are gifts from Joo-yeon. Today’s outfits were also coordinated with these.”
Eun-ho and Eun-ji, surprised by the gifts, opened the boxes and stared at Seul-gi with wide eyes.
Eun-ho looked touched, while Eun-ji, clutching the box, teared up.
“Oh my god. Unnie, tissues, please. Sniff.”
Eun-ji frantically looked for tissues, worried about ruining her makeup.
Meanwhile, Eun-ho, his eyes still glued to the gift, said to Seul-gi,
“Please tell her thank you.”
“She’s waiting to watch your performance today.”
“I… I should do my best.”
“Yes!”
Joo-yeon took out her phone and took a picture of the number ‘12’ on her wristband.
It was for Seul-gi.
Seul-gi, who seemed to be checking her phone, replied quickly.
[Seul-gi – You wanted a front row number, right?]
[Joo-yeon – Of course!]
[Seul-gi – Good for you. Make sure to bring tissues today.]
[Joo-yeon – Why? Why? (Tilting head puppy emoticon)]
[Seul-gi – It’s a secret, just like your gift.]
Joo-yeon understood why Seul-gi kept it a secret after she found her seat and Eun-ho and Eun-ji appeared on stage.
Eun-ho, in a black uniform with silver tassels, walked onto the stage.
He was holding a black hand microphone.
It wasn’t an ordinary microphone; the body was decorated with silver cubic zirconia, sparkling under the stage lights, matching the tassels on his uniform.
Eun-ji, on the other hand, was wearing a white uniform with gold tassels.
She was also holding a microphone decorated with cubic zirconia, but hers were gold, matching her tassels.
It was a gift from Joo-yeon.
The fans who came to watch the pre-recording erupted in cheers as Eun-ho and Eun-ji appeared.
“Wow, are all of you here E% (E-Percenters) today?”
A brief moment of interaction before filming began.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji, startled by the loud response, smiled.
“These microphones are so pretty, right?”
Yes!
“We received them as gifts today. Our stylist coordinated our outfits with them too. Do they look good on us?”
Another wave of cheers, almost screams, followed.
“E-UNG team, please get ready. We’re starting the pre-recording!”
A staff member called out, and Eun-ji instinctively replied, “Yes!”
Meanwhile, Eun-ho calmly looked at the fans and greeted them.
“Thank you for waiting, we’ll do our best.”
Everyone, those are the microphones I gave them.
Joo-yeon felt a bit frustrated that she didn’t have a light stick to wave like during Toxin’s performances.
‘Get to work, CEO Park!’
Instead, she cheered at the top of her lungs.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji, as if they hadn’t been bickering just moments ago, focused on their performance.
Cloud Dance Team also got into their starting positions.
♩♩♩♩
“Wise” began with the cymbal sound.
Careless words become chains that bind him
As the verse began, Eun-ho and Eun-ji sang, holding their sparkling microphones.
Eun-ji’s charm was her powerful voice.
Although she didn’t have Eun-ho’s high notes, her voice was deep and resonant, like the deep sea.
After Eun-ji’s part, Eun-ho sang the part originally sung by Oh Hyun.
I smile because I’m afraid of the daggers you throw, smiling
Joo-yeon wanted to scream but held back.
There was a fan chant planned for the hook.
Eun-ho’s singing voice was very different from his speaking voice.
His usual low, calming voice was far from the so-called “cave voice.”
It was a pleasant, low voice similar to Eun-ji’s singing voice.
But when he sang, his voice would rise to a unique high tone.
‘That difference is what drives people crazy…’
It was one of the reasons Joo-yeon was so captivated by Eun-ho.
Three monkeys dancing above my head
Eun-ho and Eun-ji continued singing, adding the choreography from the live broadcast.
The difference from the previous live broadcast was that Cloud Dance Team was with them today, completing the choreography.
As Eun-ho pointed above his head, and Eun-ji mimed three monkeys…
The Cloud members, wearing white masks, leaned closer curiously, like children.
As Eun-ji’s fingers moved, mimicking the dancing monkeys, the Cloud members also moved their bodies in sync with her rhythm.
What are you doing now?
As Eun-ji tapped Eun-ho’s head and stepped forward, a black camera followed her.
Eun-ji’s hand, still on his head, was swatted away by Eun-ho as part of the choreography.
Evening will soon greet me
Then, the Cloud members, each making surprised expressions, moved into formation as Eun-ho sang.
Their presence added depth to the previously empty stage from the live broadcast.
(Hear no evil)
Cover your ears if you hear their voices
(See no evil)
Close your eyes if you see them
(Speak no evil)
Cover your mouth lest you make a sound
Just like Eun-ho sang Oh Hyun’s part, Eun-ji sang Tae-hyun’s low-toned part.
Tae-hyun’s voice sounded like the whisper of a great demon, while Eun-ji’s was more seductive and alluring.
But since Eun-ji also had to sing this time, she couldn’t cover Eun-ho’s ears like she did during the live broadcast with Toxin.
Roa from Cloud took over that role.
Roa covered Eun-ho’s eyes, nose, and mouth with her gloved hands, following the lyrics, “Cover your ears, close your eyes, cover your mouth.”
The other members acted as if they were whispering to Eun-ho.
Three wise monkeys
The wise monkey reaches out its hand
As Eun-ho and Eun-ji extended their arms in opposite directions, like mirror images…
The Cloud members also extended their arms in different directions behind them.
From the front, it looked like they were spreading their wings.
And takes a hand it shouldn’t have taken
Following the lyrics, many hands reached out towards Eun-ho and Eun-ji.
The hand movements were a reflection of choreographer Lee Gu-reum’s style.
As Eun-ho and Eun-ji turned to face the front, Roa covered Eun-ho’s ears, and Ena (Oh Byeol) covered Eun-ji’s.
Meanwhile, Eun-ho covered his eyes, and Eun-ji covered her mouth.
Who knows, maybe it will be okay
After the hook, which had the point choreography, Eun-ho continued singing, his hands now free.
Pretending hides your flaws, but it’s not perfect
When the thin veil shatters, the shards will fly towards you
Although Eun-ho wasn’t using his high notes, Joo-yeon stared at him with wide eyes.
‘How should I describe this?’
At least one thing was certain.
‘It’s not as intensely captivating as Ji-ji-nim’s…’
The recording didn’t fully capture Eun-ho’s charm.
His stable vocals and effortless ad-libs, only possible during a live performance…
His skillful control over his voice was mesmerizing.
I’m sorry
Actually, I’m not okay
As the song neared its end, and the playful rewind sound effect played…
Joo-yeon, who had watched the live broadcast, chuckled.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji were pressing their index fingers against their lips, as if saying “Shhh,” as part of the ending pose.
It seemed like they couldn’t raise their middle fingers like they did during the live broadcast with Toxin because this was a public broadcast.
As the song ended, Eun-ho and Eun-ji said their goodbyes and left the stage.
The fans also had to leave early for the next recording.
“The uniforms were amazing.”
“Totally.”
“I always feel a lingering emotion after watching E-UNG’s performances.”
“I agree. Is it because of Eun-ho-nim and Eun-ji-nim’s unique aura?”
On their way to a nearby cafe…
Joo-yeon overheard an interesting conversation, seemingly between E%.
She nodded in agreement.
Their YouTube videos were mostly of them joking around and bickering.
But the mood of E-UNG’s songs was completely different.
It was partly due to their professional choreography, but also their mysterious, darker side.
It was captivating.
‘Perhaps that’s why…’
Recently, more and more E% were becoming interested in Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s past.
Although the general consensus was ‘Let’s not pry if they don’t want to reveal it,’ some fans disagreed.