Siblings Work in Business (135)
“Wow, what should we do?”
“I know, right?”
Eun-ji lamented, looking at the stairs.
I felt the same.
‘What choice do we have?’
We had to climb if we wanted to rest.
I grabbed the railing and dragged myself up the stairs, my legs heavy.
As soon as I reached the second floor, I collapsed on the floor.
Too tired to even lift my head, I just stared at the ground. My legs felt like lead.
“Meow.”
The sound of a cat’s meow made me look up.
“Briquette!”
“Meow.”
Eun-ji called out, greeting Briquette.
Briquette let out an annoyed meow, seemingly disliking the name.
“Ah, wait a minute.”
Eun-ji stopped petting Briquette and stood up.
Perhaps because of the difference in our workout routines, Eun-ji still seemed to have energy.
‘She’s amazing.’
I couldn’t help but admire her stamina.
I, on the other hand, struggled to even lift my head, slowly tilting it back.
“Ugh, my stomach hurts… is the toilet unclogged now?”
Why the toilet?
I rolled my eyes, looking at Eun-ji.
「“It’s… bad. I clogged the toilet.”」
Ah, I remembered what she had said that morning.
Eun-ji left Briquette and went inside.
Only I and Briquette, abandoned, remained on the rooftop.
『What are you looking at?』
Briquette said, its tone accusatory.
I chuckled, surprised, and asked,
“Why do you only act cute with Eun-ji and not talk to me?”
『That’s my business, so mind your own. Besides, shouldn’t you be more curious about your problems?』
“If you’re not going to tell me, don’t even bring it up.”
I already had enough on my mind.
I didn’t need more unanswered questions.
『Fine, I won’t tell you.』
Briquette, its black tail twitching, slowly approached me.
Now that it refused to tell me, I was even more annoyed.
‘Because of this cat, I couldn’t sleep, I embarrassed myself in front of Eun-ji…’
Last night, this morning, and just now… that was three times.
Its tail twitched again, as if mocking me.
It was within reach.
I poked its side.
『Hey! What the—!』
Briquette’s eyes widened in surprise as its body was suddenly lifted.
I swung it back and forth, ignoring its struggles.
“Tell me, tell me, tell me!”
『Meow! Put me down!』
Briquette scratched my hand and jumped down.
It stung, but it wasn’t that bad.
Hiss!
Briquette, its fur bristling, hissed angrily.
It moved out of reach, as if not wanting to be caught again.
『So eager to know? Want me to tell you?』
“Yes.”
『Then keep me.』
“Keep what?”
『Me.』
“…?”
What was it talking about?
“What?”
『Keep me as a pet.』
I wondered if I misheard because I was tired, but… it seemed serious.
…Was this the legendary “cat choosing its owner”?
Eun-ji turned her head at the sound of the door opening.
She was holding a toilet brush, seemingly having just cleaned the bathroom.
And she froze.
Because of Eun-ho, who had just entered the house.
“What… what are you doing?”
Eun-ho was standing by the front door…
…holding a limp black cat.
Eun-ji, slightly scared by his expression, craned her neck and asked cautiously,
“I said, what are you doing?”
“Let’s keep it.”
“What?!”
Eun-ji’s already bewildered expression crumpled further.
“You were so scared of it before… what’s with the sudden change of heart?”
“It said it knows why I regressed.”
“What?!”
“It said it’ll tell me if we keep it.”
Eun-ji’s eyes, initially filled with disbelief, then anger… then turned to concern.
“…Lee Eun-ho, are you sick or something?”
Normally, she would have organized her thoughts before speaking.
But she was too exhausted from dance practice.
Eun-ho, his grip loosening, dropped the cat.
“Meow.”
Briquette jumped down and ran towards Eun-ji.
Thud.
Eun-ho’s knees hit the floor.
Eun-ji, who had been looking at Briquette, turned her head at the thud.
Her eyes widened.
“Lee Eun-ho! Hey, Lee Eun-ho!”
Eun-ho’s body slumped forward.
Eun-ji dropped the brush and rushed towards him.
“…Got you, you idiot.”
Thankfully, she caught him before his face hit the floor.
My heart had almost stopped.
Was he seriously hurt?
Just as I was worried…
“Huu…”
Judging by the sound coming from Eun-ho’s mouth, he had just fainted.
Well, even if he slept on the floor the day before yesterday, it wasn’t enough to recover from his exhaustion.
“You scared me, you idiot! Ha, seriously.”
Smack!
Eun-ji slapped Eun-ho’s back in frustration.
“Seriously…”
Although she tried to sound angry, her voice trembled, tears welling up in her eyes.
Briquette was staring at her.
As their eyes met, Eun-ji, embarrassed, quickly wiped her tears.
Eun-ho didn’t even flinch; he was completely out cold.
It started after hearing about the cancellation of their schedules.
As the days passed, she remembered more and more from ‘that time,’ when Lee Eun-ho regressed.
The day Lee Eun-ho collapsed was one of those memories.
「“Lee Eun-ho!”」
He collapsed just like today.
His manager back then… Do-jin, or was it Do-jeon?
She took Lee Eun-ho’s phone and called the manager, whom she disliked because of his nagging.
「“Hello.”」
「“Who is this?”」
「“Um, it’s Eun-ho’s…”」
Thankfully, the manager seemed to be about to leave work, as she heard the CEO’s voice in the background.
「“CEO…?”」
「“Huh? Why is a woman calling… oh, is this Eun-ji?”」
「“Eun-ji called?”」
At the sound of the CEO’s voice, tears welled up in her eyes, and she started crying.
「“L-Lee Eun-ho… c-collapsed… i-in front of the… d-door…”」
The manager arrived a few minutes after she hung up.
Lee Eun-ho was carried on the manager’s back to the hospital.
She waited for him at home, alone.
But he didn’t come back, even after midnight.
He wasn’t home the next morning either, after she finished recording.
He still wasn’t back the following day, after her broadcast MC gig.
The anxiety and fear grew.
The house was too quiet.
She played the keyboard and her beats loudly, trying to fill the silence.
That day, she wrote in her diary twice, worried.
「Come back quickly, Oppa. Even if I die, you have to live, you bastard.」
She had written that for a simple reason.
‘I just… wanted him to come back.’
She hadn’t imagined she would actually leave him alone.
Or that she would die so suddenly.
Lee Eun-ho, clinging to her diary like a lifeline…
“Seriously…”
She roughly dragged Lee Eun-ho to the middle of the living room, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. She had stepped on the heels of his shoes to take them off earlier.
Having done everything she could, she was about to go to her room, but then, anticipating his complaints when he woke up, she covered him with a blanket.
It wasn’t exactly ‘covering him’; she just placed the folded blanket on his back. But still, she did it.
He could cover himself properly later.
“Meow.”
Briquette was staring at her.
Its black fur was surprisingly clean, despite seemingly having been outside.
“You’re good at grooming yourself, aren’t you, Briquette?”
As she stroked its head, Briquette purred and rolled over.
‘Black fur, yellow eyes…’
The cat she saw back then seemed similar to Briquette, or maybe not…
And it seemed slightly smaller than Briquette. Or maybe not?
Black cats all looked the same.
And she wasn’t exactly good at remembering faces, let alone a cat’s.
“Briquette, have we met before?”
Eun-ji asked, and Briquette, its yellow eyes sparkling with anticipation, looked at her.
Before Lee Eun-ho’s regression, back then…
And before I died…
I met a cat.
Shiny black fur and yellow eyes, just like Briquette.
It was a sudden visitor at my door.
I wanted to give it something, but I didn’t know anything about cats.
Maybe the CEO, who had cats, would know?
“What? You’re still home?”
“I was about to leave! What should I give a cat?”
“A cat? What cat?”
I called him and explained, and he told me what not to give a cat: canned tuna, milk, and so on.
“Then what should I give it?”
“Just plenty of water.”
His answer was surprisingly simple.
“Just water?”
“If it’s a stray that’s used to getting fed, its sodium levels might be high, and giving it the wrong food could make things worse. And clean water is the most important thing for stray cats.”
I was a little overwhelmed by the rapid explanation.
Anyway, he said just water.
I went back inside, found the cleanest bowl, and filled it with water.
I opened a new bottle of water, making sure it wasn’t too cold.
“Drink slowly.”
“Meow.”
The cat meowed, as if thanking me, as I placed the water bowl down.
I went downstairs, feeling a sense of accomplishment, and saw the manager waiting.
“You fell asleep at the studio again?”
“Yeah.”
“Go to sleep at home.”
“That used to be my home too.”
It was an ordinary day when I left.
Except for meeting the cat.
My body lurched to one side.
I had flipped the seatbelt behind my back and hit my head against the window.
It happened so fast that I didn’t even have time to register what was happening.
I opened my eyes and saw the manager slumped against the deployed airbag, his head resting on it.
My ears were ringing, and my body ached all over, as if I had shards of glass embedded in my skin.
“Meow, meow.”
As I looked around, I heard a cat’s meow nearby.
It was a desperate, sorrowful meow, as if begging for attention, despite its hoarse voice.