Siblings Work in Business (120)
Reversal
Slap!
“Ow!”
Lee Eun-ji’s slap stung, and I saw stars.
It hurt even more because her hand was still wet from washing up.
“Get hit first, and then we’ll talk, you idiot!”
“Ow! That hurts! Why?!”
Eun-ho quickly backed away, dodging Eun-ji’s hand.
‘This is bad,’ he thought, as…
“Hey, hey, hey, hey!”
Eun-ho saw the glint in Eun-ji’s eyes.
Bang!
It was pure chaos.
He rushed into his room, and Eun-ji started pounding on the door as if she was trying to break it down.
“Are you an idiot?! You moron! Why are you pandering to that bitch?!”
It felt like I was facing the return of Rabid Eun-ji.
She continued her tirade,
“You’re such a saint! Are you going to ascend to Nirvana or something?”
“Is this funny to you?!”
“You idiot! You should have thrown away the lunchbox and stayed there! You should have told me!”
Her curses, strangely, felt cathartic, as if she was venting my frustrations.
Then, I slightly opened the door.
As if waiting for this moment, Eun-ji’s fist came flying through the gap, aiming for my stomach.
I managed to block it with my arm, but it still stung, as if she had put all her strength into it.
“Haha, that’s why I told you this time.”
“That’s why? You should have told me earlier! I thought you were avoiding me because I was getting all the work, you asshole!”
Eun-ji’s eyes glistened with tears as she yelled.
So, she was upset back then.
It was also the moment I realized that Eun-ji’s memories from before the regression had returned because of what I said.
“…But six months plus six months is a year.”
“Yeah, it was exactly a year.”
“Then what happened after a year? What did you do about Aeseul?”
“What do you mean ‘what did I do’? I was always the same.”
Eun-ji tilted her head, confused.
As I said, I always disliked Aeseul.
Even when she changed her perfume to something I liked, or released a love song out of the blue, or sent coffee and food trucks to my music video shoots and Eun-ji’s filming locations… I still disliked her.
Aeseul always seemed to want something from me, but all I could ask was “Why?”
I genuinely couldn’t think of anything else.
That’s how it was until our relationship ended.
Exactly one year after we signed the contract…
She suddenly asked me to buy her porridge, so I did, and went to her hotel.
As I placed the porridge on the table, I saw the contract.
“I’m leaving.”
I turned to leave, but…
“Do you know what day it is today?”
“Let go, I have work.”
Aeseul, who had appeared out of nowhere, grabbed my sleeve.
I turned around, and she was kneeling.
“What are you doing?”
“Oppa, I knew you never liked me from the start. But didn’t you ever feel… even a little bit attracted to me? It’s been six months. I tried really hard.”
The word ‘tried’ made me laugh.
It was ridiculous.
“Are you asking me to say something nice because I’m your errand boy?”
“I want the truth.”
The truth.
I answered without hesitation.
“No.”
Aeseul’s face crumpled, but I didn’t care.
I brushed her hand off my sleeve and headed for the door.
“So… you’re saying…”
Aeseul’s voice trembled.
“…that you never… felt anything for me?”
“No.”
It was a clean, final answer.
“Why? I tried…”
“The fact that you’re using the word ‘tried’ is the problem.”
I stopped, feeling suffocated, and turned around.
“I’ll admit I was mean to you at first. It’s late, but I’ll apologize now. I’m sorry. I was wrong, Oppa.”
Aeseul pleaded, as if clinging to a sliver of hope.
“I really love you, Oppa. Please.”
The word ‘love’ made me cringe.
I took a deep breath to compose myself and spoke, a hollow laugh escaping my lips.
I couldn’t understand. All I did was run errands for her, where did this ‘love’ come from?
“Eoiseul.”
“Yes…”
“If you button your shirt wrong from the start, it will be crooked no matter what you do. That’s me.”
Some people might like that kind of relationship, but I didn’t.
I had lived my whole life in fear, and I didn’t want to continue like that.
Aeseul, seemingly understanding, remained kneeling, her head down.
Then, she slowly stood up, her face resigned.
“I’m sorry for bothering you.”
I looked at her, worried about what she might say next.
“You’ve worked hard, putting up with my childish whims.”
Aeseul reached for the contract on the table.
Rip.
Rip.
She tore it into pieces.
I was surprised.
The contract was a leash.
Aeseul showed me my red fingerprint on the corner of the page and said,
“Just so you know, this is the original.”
She took the torn pieces and walked towards a lit candle.
She placed the paper on the flame, and it caught fire.
I was momentarily worried about a fire, but…
The living room was spacious, and there was nothing flammable nearby, except for the marble and glass table.
Just as I was wondering if she would use the torn contract to stir up trouble about our past…
“I’ll keep my promise.”
She said it before I could even ask.
“Okay.”
I knew she wasn’t the type to lie.
Having been unwillingly close to her for the past year, I knew she meant it.
That was the end of my errand boy days.
The CEO and Do-jin hyung were keeping my relationship with Aeseul a secret from Eun-ji, at my request.
So, to let them know it was over, I casually told them I broke up with her the next day.
Perhaps because I was as indifferent as when I told them I was dating her…
The CEO and Do-jin hyung seemed to not believe me at first.
button
Our relationship was a mistake
You were a nightmare to me
Now, wake up
Then, Aeseul released a song about the breakup.
Only then did the CEO and Do-jin hyung seem to accept that we had broken up.
The CEO later told me that Aeseul went on blind dates and eventually got married.
I wasn’t interested enough to ask who she married, but I wished her well.
However, until Eun-ji’s death, I was still anxious about our past resurfacing.
But perhaps because Aeseul kept her promise…
Nothing about our past ever came up before I regressed.
She kept her word.
So, when I ran into her again in front of the shop after the regression, she seemed less repulsive than during our first encounter, still retaining some of her ‘student’ vibe.
It was just… a strange reunion.
I didn’t have any feelings for her anymore.
As soon as I finished explaining, Lee Eun-ji smirked and said,
“Wow, look at the saint.”
“…It hasn’t even happened yet, why would I be upset?”
“Right, that’s so like Eun-ho.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just… so Eun-ho. So, that’s why you said you weren’t interested in dating?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm, but why are you telling me this now?”
After arriving home…
I told Eun-ji I had something to tell her and revealed what happened with Aeseul before the regression.
Eun-ji, who had initially asked, “Why are you suddenly telling me this?”, gradually became engrossed in the story, cursing and exclaiming.
After I finished, she finally asked why I told her.
“You know there’s a conflict going on in E-FAN about our past, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I messed things up last time trying to handle it alone, so—”
“Wow, you’re so self-aware.”
Eun-ji clapped sarcastically, a wide smile on her face.
I felt annoyed, but she wasn’t wrong. Even I wondered why I did that back then.
“I didn’t reveal it last time, and it caused problems, so I’m thinking about revealing it this time.”
“You said you didn’t want people to pity you.”
“I don’t.”
So I thought about it.
The conflict with Aeseul started with her provoking Eun-ji.
But the underlying reason was our ‘past.’
That time was the most difficult period of my life, besides Eun-ji’s death.
But at the same time, it was also the time I cherished the most.
I didn’t want to go back, but…
It had taught me how to overcome hardships, and it was also a ‘special’ story, a source of endless anecdotes, even though I didn’t like alcohol.
Did I really need to reveal everything?
“Maybe I can just… filter it and tell them some parts.”
“How?”
“Through a music video.”
“Which song?”
“‘Footsteps’ would be perfect.”
“Hmm.”
Eun-ji seemed lost in thought.
Before the regression, she didn’t want to reveal their past.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
But after hearing my story, her reaction was different this time.
“It’s not a shameful story. If it’s going to come out anyway, it’s better if we reveal it.”
It wasn’t shameful.
That past was what made us who we were today.
But I was worried about how our fans and the public would react.
‘That’s ridiculous.’
‘It’s a lie.’
‘That’s impossible.’
Even Aeseul had questioned the truthfulness of some parts of my story.
If even she, who had researched it herself, had that reaction…
I was scared that our experience would be dismissed as a lie just because they couldn’t believe it.
“You’re good at that, Oppa.”
“Good at what?”
“Just throwing things out there and letting people decide for themselves.”
“Hey, when did I ever—”
“When you told me about the regression.”
“How could I avoid it when you were digging like a detective?”
“You could have just denied it. Anyway, so you’re saying you’ll reveal it through a music video. How? Are we going to act?”
“Hmm…”