Siblings Working in Business (164)
Change
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「E-UNG’s first mini-album showcase date revealed……」
Despite the flood of articles filled with anticipation…
…a gloomy atmosphere hung over the NRY Entertainment office.
And the rain clouds seemed to originate from the CEO’s office.
“Haa…”
Every time CEO Park sighed, the passing employees looked at him with sympathy.
Just then…
Tinkle.
The frosted glass door opened, the bell chiming, drawing everyone’s attention.
Standing at the entrance were two familiar siblings, identical in appearance but different in aura.
“…?”
“Hmm?”
Eun-ho and Eun-ji, the moment they stepped inside…
…sensed the heavy atmosphere and recoiled slightly.
‘Haha.’
CEO Park, whose face had been clouded with worry, let out a hollow chuckle at the siblings’ quick and wary reaction.
Then, as if shaking off the gloom, he beckoned them,
“Come in quickly. I have something to tell you.”
“Okay.”
“Yes.”
As Eun-ji, holding the door, answered with a slight lisp and entered first…
Eun-ho, who had heard it, frowned and shook his head.
Eun-ji sat down across from CEO Park.
Eun-ho pulled out a chair a bit further away.
Seeing this, Eun-ho asked with his eyes, ‘Ah, should I not sit here?’
CEO Park shook his head, indicating it was fine.
As soon as they sat down, he sighed deeply again.
A sigh so deep it felt like the NRY office on the first floor would sink into the basement.
“I really want to say no…”
“…?”
“But this is a good opportunity…”
Eun-ho and Eun-ji exchanged glances.
‘Did you hear anything?’
‘Do you think CEO Park would tell me first if you didn’t hear anything?’
‘Right.’
Since they hadn’t heard anything beforehand, Eun-ho and Eun-ji were completely lost.
Just then…
CEO Park, as if having made up his mind, removed his hand from his forehead and spoke,
“Get out.”
“Huh?”
“No, sorry. I missed the subject. I meant, you two.”
CEO Park, flustered by their surprised reactions, waved his hands and clarified,
“I got a call from SNJT.”
“A broadcasting station?”
“Yes.”
“Then isn’t that a good thing? But why do you look so down—”
Just as Eun-ji was about to make a mistake…
Eun-ho stretched out his leg and stomped on her shin with his heel.
Eun-ji, suppressing a scream, glared at Eun-ho and muttered,
“You little… why the hell…?”
“Don’t talk like that.”
“Th…”
Eun-ji, about to curse, clamped her mouth shut, noticing CEO Park’s gaze.
“What kind of offer was it?”
Eun-ho continued where Eun-ji left off.
“They want you on Change Partner.”
“…”
Eun-ho’s face hardened at the mention of the variety show.
CEO Park’s expression was just as grim.
“Wow! I’m finally going to be on a variety show?”
Only Eun-ji, the source of the gloomy atmosphere, was delighted.
‘…’
Eun-ho wasn’t worried about her making verbal slips.
Eun-ho’s singing was impeccable, it was hard to find any flaws.
And his hosting skills, and so on…
Honestly, he wasn’t worried about those aspects either.
Eun-ho was quite good at managing situations during their live streams on the E-FAN app.
However, CEO Park was worried about Eun-ho for a different reason.
His sense of humor, or rather, the lack thereof, which was crucial for variety shows.
Eun-ho was serious.
Without someone to play off of, he would just be… stoic.
‘…?’
‘Ahem.’
CEO Park, feeling guilty under Eun-ho’s intense stare, shifted his gaze to Eun-ji.
‘Change Partner. ’
This variety show focused on completing various missions given by the PD.
CEO Park also watched it occasionally. It was an entertaining show thanks to the chemistry between the regular members, who had worked together for years.
However, perhaps because of that…
It was also known as a show where guests struggled to fit in.
And he had to send Eun-ho, who lacked variety show skills, and Eun-ji, a walking time bomb, to that show.
As their first variety show, no less…
Change Partner was characterized by the changing of partners with each mission.
And the show progressed with a secret ballot at the end of all missions, where all members voted for the best partner.
This meant separating Eun-ho and Eun-ji.
They might be paired together if they were lucky…
But would the writers and PD allow that?
What if Eun-ji made a verbal slip when Eun-ho wasn’t there to help?
Or what if Eun-ho was so boring that his scenes were completely edited out?
CEO Park, shuddering at the potential outcomes, closed his eyes and continued to generate his gloomy aura.
Meanwhile, unlike the worried CEO Park, Eun-ji was beaming.
Eun-ho looked at the excited Eun-ji and asked,
“Have you seen Change Partner?”
“Of course! It’s my favorite show.”
“You don’t watch TV.”
“I didn’t, until recently.”
“Until recently?”
“Yeah. I saw some short clips on O-Tube, and it was so funny that I’ve been watching it lately.”
“Really?”
“See, you don’t even know what your only sister likes.”
“What am I supposed to do with that information?”
Having said that, he seemed to have become curious, and Eun-ho tilted his head and asked,
“Hey, is there anything you know?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“What?”
“What I like.”
“…?”
Eun-ji looked at Eun-ho with a disgusted expression, as if asking, ‘What’s wrong with him?,’ and replied,
“What am I supposed to do with that information?”
“…”
Eun-ho finally realized he had been played and stared at her, dumbfounded.
‘Is she crazy…?’
Since CEO Park was right there, he couldn’t curse out loud, so he glared at her instead.
Eun-ji, delighted at successfully teasing Eun-ho, smiled brightly, the corners of her eyes crinkling.
Eun-ho casually commented on her smile,
“You look like a Hahoe mask.”
“Yeah, and you look like a sea cucumber.”
“Wow, that’s harsh. You look like a sea slug.”
CEO Park’s sigh deepened as he watched them bicker.
‘How can I send these two on a variety show…?’
Sigh.
But he couldn’t pass up such a good opportunity.
So, after much deliberation, CEO Park finally decided to let them appear on the show.
“Have a nice meal. Don’t worry about the money.”
“Okay. We’ll be back.”
“Be careful.”
“Yes.”
“Okay!”
As lunchtime approached, Gi-hoon, representing the employees, received the company card from CEO Park.
“Enjoy your lunch!”
“You too.”
When Eun-ji said goodbye, the employees waved and left the office one by one.
It seemed there was more to discuss regarding the variety show appearance, so CEO Park had Eun-ho and Eun-ji stay behind as lunchtime arrived.
“What are we eating?”
“I ordered pork kimchi jjigae and rice.”
“Oh!”
Eun-ji gave a thumbs-up, seemingly satisfied with CEO Park’s choice.
Eun-ho, meanwhile, searched for ‘Change Partner’ on his phone.
Change Partner had been quite a popular show before the regression as well.
But he rarely watched TV, and he wasn’t the type of singer who frequently appeared on variety shows.
‘Ahem.’
He felt a bit embarrassed, remembering those days.
Back then, he didn’t do much promotional work other than singing.
‘…’
Actually, there weren’t many places inviting him anyway, so he became even more stubborn.
There were some senior artists who refrained from appearing on variety shows to focus on their music.
He thought they were so cool back then.
The problem was, he had a huge fight with CEO Park because of his stubbornness…
‘Hmm.’
Embarrassed, he scratched his temple, even though it wasn’t itchy.
Anyway, that was him back then, but Eun-ji was different.
The company advised Eun-ji against appearing on variety shows.
So, perhaps because of that…
Eun-ji loved variety shows.
“Lee Eun-ji.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know anything about how to prepare for that show, or what to be careful about?”
Eun-ji, who had been humming into a recorder, seemingly having come up with another song idea, stopped recording and spoke,
“Ah, there are more Unnies there.”
“I know that.”
He thought it was something important since she said it with sparkling eyes, but it was something he already knew from his recent search.
There were five regular members on Change Partner.
Excluding the MC, Ryu Seok-hyun, and another comedian, three of the members were women.
And from what he saw, most of them were strong personalities, like Eun-ji.
Eun-ji, seemingly thinking about something else, crossed her arms and fell into deep thought.
“Th-, th-, Je-, Je-, who was it?”
“Jeong?”
“There was someone I thought was really serious, but turned out to be nice.”
Who was she talking about?
Just then, as he watched Eun-ji murmuring to herself…
“Th-, th-, th- that!!!”
“Why are you screaming?”
Her voice, already loud enough to boil a train’s boiler, grew even louder as she struggled to remember.
Eun-ho winced and covered one ear.
“No, one of the regular members on Change Partner was in a drama, th-, what was it, th-.”
As Eun-ji continued to struggle, CEO Park finally chimed in,
“Eun-ji, I’m getting a headache.”
“Ah, it’s there, th-!”
“What? Give us a hint.”
Eun-ho sighed.
“You know, that drama that was supposed to be a ‘romantic thriller,’ but turned out to be a comedy and became a hot topic. It was about, th-, the house next door or something…”
At the mention of ‘the house next door,’ Eun-ho’s eyebrows shot up as if he remembered something.
“Senior Jeong Bae-chan from The House Next Door is Suspicious?”
“Yeah, yeah! That House is Sus! Jeong Bae-chan!”
“…If you had just asked for the name of the other male member besides the MC, I would have told you. Why did you have to make it so complicated?”
“Ah.”
“Haha, there’s that dumb Lee Eun-ji face again.”
Eun-ho laughed, looking at Eun-ji, who was staring blankly with her mouth open.
The Jeong Bae-chan Eun-ji was trying to remember was the name of the second male member, a comedian, on Change Partner.
“Hmm? Jeong Bae-chan was in a drama?”
Just then, CEO Park tilted his head and murmured.
“I only heard he was studying acting, I didn’t know he was in anything yet.”