Siblings Work in Business (157)
Perhaps because of their energetic beach activities on the first day…
Unlike Eun-ji, who had been in and out of the water at least six times in two days, Eun-ho hadn’t even touched the water, despite the beach being so close.
“I’m lazy.”
“Ah, come on, let’s play!”
“Go play by yourself.”
“What’s the fun in playing alone?”
“What’s the fun in playing with me?”
“Splashing each other?”
“No.”
“Why not?!”
“I don’t have any other clothes.”
“Don’t lie!”
“I seriously don’t.”
“You’re just lazy.”
“You got me.”
As Eun-ho grinned mischievously, Eun-ji instinctively raised her hand, and Eun-ho, also instinctively, raised his arms defensively.
“Seriously? That’s your reaction?”
“It’s disgusting.”
“You’re one to talk.”
“Eun-ji, hey.”
Thankfully, the CEO was watching from nearby. Eun-ho smirked at Eun-ji.
“Ouch!”
“Eun-ho, you deserved that.”
He had gone too far. Even the CEO shook his head, seemingly approving of Eun-ji’s punch.
“Go play with Hwa-rang. You two seem to get along.”
“That’s what I was planning to do anyway!”
Eun-ji huffed and headed towards the beach.
“Unnie!”
“Senior.”
Hwa-rang, who was already at the beach, her feet in the water, greeted Eun-ji.
“Lee Eun-ho’s not coming. That lazy bum.”
“Is he lazy?”
“Yes, extremely. He’s so lazy he’d rather control his diet strictly than exercise. And what else… Oh, right. I’ve never seen him leave the house on his days off.”
“Haha. I also just stay in the dorm on my days off. Where do you go on your days off, Senior?”
“I visit my teacher’s studio, or go to the company…”
“Your teacher? You mean, your trainer?”
“Ah, no. My composing teacher.”
She was referring to Composer Bae Jin-soo’s studio, but Hwa-rang tilted her head, confused.
“Don’t you write E-UNG’s songs, Senior?”
Before their ‘break,’ before they left for the vacation home…
…CEO Park had secretly given Hwa-rang the mission of getting a song from Eun-ho and Eun-ji. So, she hadn’t realized they had a separate composer.
“I do.”
“But you have another composing teacher…?”
“Top li— no, um, how should I explain this? I create the basic melody, but I lack the technical skills and equipment.”
“Ah.”
“So, I have a teacher who taught me how to compose… um… well, more specifically, how to arrange and other technical stuff.”
“I see.”
“So, whenever I have time, I visit my teacher’s studio. They have a lot of expensive equipment there. The sound is great, it’s fun to work there, so I try different things—”
Eun-ji waved her arms, trying to explain in detail.
For some reason, Hwa-rang found her gestures cute, a smile appearing on her face.
Although Eun-ji was much larger than her, she seemed like a cute senior.
“They look like sisters.”
CEO Park muttered, watching them from a distance.
Eun-ho, sitting on his usual bench, looked up from his notebook at the word “sisters.”
“Who?”
“Hwa-rang and Eun-ji.”
At the mention of Eun-ji, Eun-ho’s gaze shifted to Hwa-rang.
‘Hmm.’
Thanks to Eun-ji styling Hwa-rang’s long hair with a binyeo earlier that morning…
Their hairstyles, seen from behind, looked similar.
The hairstyle was definitely similar, since Eun-ji had done it.
But…
“They don’t look alike.”
Their aura, their physique…
Eun-ji seemed more mischievous, while Hwa-rang had an elegant, almost aristocratic aura, like a noblewoman.
She didn’t resemble that loudmouth at all.
Then…
“Haha, so you’re protective of your younger sister, despite all the fighting?”
CEO Park chuckled, and Eun-ho looked at him, dumbfounded.
‘What are you talking about?’
He was only holding back because it was the CEO.
If it were Eun-ji, or anyone else, he would have retorted, “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Ahem.”
CEO Park, embarrassed by Eun-ho’s serious expression, coughed.
“Well, you know…”
“No, I don’t.”
“Are you starting to talk back to me now?”
“Ah.”
Eun-ho, realizing his mistake, looked at the CEO, flustered.
CEO Park chuckled and continued,
“Eun-ji said she’ll give Hwa-rang a song. What about you?”
“She said she might.”
“Right, she did. But it seems like she’s made up her mind now.”
CEO Park crossed his arms and looked towards the beach where Eun-ji was playing. Eun-ji and Hwa-rang were laughing brightly, their happiness infectious even from a distance.
“Give me a hint. How can she get the lyrics from you?”
CEO Park knew Hwa-rang and Eun-ji had been plotting to persuade Eun-ho all night.
But Eun-ho, at the CEO’s subtle pressure, shook his head.
“There’s no hint.”
“Why not?”
“Hwa-rang isn’t the problem.”
“…?”
“I write lyrics based on our stories.”
“That’s true.”
“Those are our stories, not something other singers can relate to.”
CEO Park tilted his head, as if he didn’t understand.
“You wrote songs for Toxin.”
“We sang those songs too. It’s different.”
“Hmm, so you’re saying you can’t write lyrics other singers can relate to?”
“That’s right.”
CEO Park looked back at the beach, then, after a moment of thought, he turned to Eun-ho and said,
“Then just write as you always do, and let her sing it.”
“Huh?”
“You said you didn’t know.”
“Right.”
“Just write as you always do and give it to her. Then listen to how she sings it.”
“Will that… be okay?”
“It might even… open a new path for you.”
“A new path?”
CEO Park nodded and continued,
“When there’s a song, some people listen to it because of the melody, some because of the lyrics, and some because of the chorus.”
“…”
“The audience interprets it in their own way.”
Eun-ho still looked confused.
“Don’t you remember? You two threw a fit about singing love songs.”
“It was weird of you to ask us to sing love songs, CEO.”
“But you did it.”
“Well, that’s true…”
“And your songs now are also love songs, in a way.”
He wasn’t wrong.
‘Love’ is ‘love.’
Not romantic love, but familial love.
“Your lyrics, Eun-ho, they have multiple interpretations.”
“…”
“Use that. Leave the interpretation to the singer. Just write as you always do.”
CEO Park’s casual advice gave Eun-ho something to think about.
“I’m going to buy some meat for dinner.”
Eun-ho, who seemed to be deep in thought, turned his head sharply at the word “meat.”
“Beef, please.”
“Alright. Haha.”
CEO Park burst out laughing, remembering the two kids who were obsessed with meat.
Eun-ji and Hwa-rang’s plan to convince Eun-ho started with their invitation to play at the beach.
But their first plan failed before it even began, thanks to Eun-ho’s laziness.
Hwa-rang’s second plan was during dinner.
“I-I know a good restaurant!”
“Oh? Y-You do, Hwa-rang?”
“Yes!”
She had planned to win him over with a delicious meal at a well-known restaurant.
But that plan also failed miserably.
“Oh dear, what should we do?”
There wasn’t a restaurant in the area that could rival the thick-cut pork belly and premium Hanwoo beef CEO Park had prepared.
“CEO.”
“Yeah?”
“It’s a bit of a hassle, but… can we eat out?”
“Sure, but what’s the occasion?”
“It’s our last night here, I want to enjoy a meal with an ocean view.”
Although he didn’t go in the water, Eun-ho had spent the most time looking at the sea, sitting on the bench, writing lyrics while listening to the waves.
“That’s a nice idea. Let’s do that.”
While CEO Park and Eun-ho were talking, Eun-ji and Hwa-rang exchanged glances.
This might be their last chance.
Just as Eun-ji was about to tell Hwa-rang their plan…
“Hwa-rang.”
“Yes?”
“Could you come to our studio after the trip?”
“Yes. Yes? Ah, yes! Of course!”
He gave no further explanation. Eun-ho then immediately left to help CEO Park set up for dinner outside.
Hwa-rang stood there, repeating Eun-ho’s words in her head. Then, Eun-ji’s eyes widened, as if she had just understood.
“Unnie!”
Just as Hwa-rang began to understand… Eun-ji’s sudden yell made her jump.
“Hahaha!”
The two burst out laughing, a mixture of relief and amusement at the situation.
CEO Park and Eun-ho, watching them from afar, shook their heads in amusement.
Just as CEO Park was pouring charcoal into the barbecue grill…
Boom.
Boom, boom.
Fireworks exploded over the sea in the distance.
“It seems like they’re having a fireworks show at the festival.”
CEO Park muttered, watching the fireworks light up the sky. Eun-ho also looked up at them, a wistful expression on his face.
“There’s a stage there, right?”
“Of course.”
“Now that our break is over, you’ll get us a lot of gigs, right?”
CEO Park laughed out loud at Eun-ho’s insistent request. He had raised many artists, mostly following a set process, not experimental projects like Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s ‘E-UNG’. But he always gave his artists vacations.
Their reactions were varied: ‘I want to rest more,’ ‘I don’t want to go back to the dorm,’ ‘It was nice,’ and so on. Most of them expressed regret that the break was over. Meanwhile, Eun-ho’s black lyric notebook lay open on the bench where he had been sitting, evidence that he had been working even during his break. Knowing Eun-ho, CEO Park just shook his head.
“Workaholics Eun-ho and Eun-ji will be happy starting tomorrow.”
Two short days, sandwiched between a busy schedule…
Their ‘break’ ended with a pleasant barbecue under the fireworks. It was time to return to work.
「Amidst the recent buzz surrounding Toxin’s potential agency transfer, NRY Entertainment’s sibling idols, E-UNG, are back with a new, dreamy song, . …(omitted)… Lee Eun-ji, the composer of E-UNG, also collaborated with Ji Ye-chan of Toxin on , expressing the feeling of ‘sunset’…」