Siblings Working in Business (214)
“…!”
Tae-hyun’s eyes snapped open, blinded by the bright sunlight streaming through the window.
“…?”
He stared at the kitchen, dumbfounded. The only evidence of last night’s meal was a paper bag.
Normally, there would be dirty dishes and spilled wine everywhere.
But the kitchen was spotless.
Since the cleaning lady didn’t come in the mornings, this was impossible…
Tae-hyun mumbled the name of the only possible culprit,
“A house fairy…?”
He was still half-asleep and had forgotten about Eun-ho.
Fortunately, he remembered Eun-ho’s presence shortly after.
“N-no. I’m human!!!”
Gasp, pant.
Eun-ho shot up from the sofa, yelling.
He patted himself down, checking his face, shoulders, chest, waist, and stomach.
Only after confirming he was intact did he let out a sigh of relief.
“Eun-ho?”
When Tae-hyun called out to him, Eun-ho, sitting on the sofa, turned and looked at him.
“Uh… Hyung-nim, did you sleep well?”
“…Yeah.”
An awkward silence, bordering on uncomfortable, hung between them.
30 minutes after waking up.
Eun-ho was on his way home in Tae-hyun’s modified Gak Grand X.
“Sorry about yesterday. I got a bit drunk.”
“It’s okay. More importantly, Hyung, you said you don’t usually open those curtains, right?”
“Yeah.”
“…That’s a good thing. Large windows aren’t always a plus.”
“Why?”
Eun-ho chuckled wryly, as if he didn’t want to relive the experience.
“The sunlight was so direct. Ugh, I had a dream about turning into a dried squid… ”
“Hahaha!”
Eun-ho, embarrassed by Tae-hyun’s laughter, self-consciously touched his short stubble.
“No wonder you screamed when you woke up.”
“Seriously, I felt like I was being dried and roasted, so I checked as soon as I opened my eyes.”
“Hahaha.”
Eun-ho shook his head, his face pale, as if it had been a truly terrifying nightmare.
“By the way, you cleaned up the table, right?”
“Ah, yes. Why? Did I do something wrong?”
“No. I thought a house fairy had visited.”
“Haha. Because it was all cleaned up?”
“Yeah. It’s usually a mess, and the cleaning lady always scolds me.”
Eun-ho chuckled and shook his head.
“I was expecting you to spill something, so I managed to save the wine glass I was holding. I wouldn’t have been able to clean it up if you had spilled everything.”
“Sorry. I kept sipping while we were talking…”
“I started getting worried when you suddenly opened another bottle.”
“Ahem.”
Tae-hyun, embarrassed about being seen drunk by his junior, coughed and thanked him.
“…Thanks for cleaning up.”
“I just paid for my meal.”
“Yeah. But Eun-ho…”
“Yes.”
“Why did you even wash the paper plates?”
“Ah, haha.”
Tae-hyun had been surprised to see that the paper plates Eun-ho had cleaned were spotless, as if they could be reused.
Eun-ho replied with a smile,
“I learned that it increases the chances of them being recycled. I’ve been doing it ever since, so it’s become a habit.”
Tae-hyun, tilting his head, asked at the mention of ‘learned,’
“From CEO Park?”
“No. From the bread guy I told you about.”
“Aha.”
“He said if I wanted to live like a human, not an animal, I should act like one…”
Eun-ho trailed off.
Tae-hyun, seemingly understanding, stopped the small talk and focused on driving.
A moment later…
The car exited the expressway.
“We haven’t heard from Eun-ji. You said she’s sensitive about you staying out.”
“That’s true. She usually calls, worried, but she’s been quiet.”
As Eun-ho replied, looking at his phone, Tae-hyun glanced at him and cautiously asked,
“I was going to ask yesterday, but why were you two fighting ‘this time’?”
Tae-hyun knew they fought every day, but he seemed curious because it was the first time Eun-ho had left home like this.
“Ah…”
If he started explaining that Briquette was a talking cat, he knew how they would react.
Eun-ho thought for a moment and then said,
“We fought because of our cat.”
He didn’t want to lie, so he just omitted the crucial details.
“Speaking of cats, when the kids — the Toxin members — were living together…”
Tae-hyun, assuming they fought because of having a cat, started talking about the time Seung-yeon brought home a kitten.
Joo Song-min had strongly opposed it, as they were already struggling financially.
Although he was angry, when it came time to find a new owner for the kitten…
Joo Song-min was even more meticulous than Seung-yeon, making sure it went to a good home.
“Wow, is Song-min hyung a tsundere or something?”
“Haha, yeah. He pretends he doesn’t care, but he’s softhearted.”
As they chatted, Tae-hyun’s car arrived at the familiar alley.
“Thank you, Hyung-nim.”
Eun-ho unbuckled his seatbelt and thanked Tae-hyun as the car slowed down.
“Don’t mention it. Get home safe. See you at filming soon.”
“Yes. Thank you. Drive safely, Hyung-nim.”
“Okay.”
Tae-hyun, after Eun-ho got out, immediately closed the window and drove off.
Watching the Gak Grand X disappear, Eun-ho suddenly remembered Tae-hyun’s words about ‘Toxin’s last promotion.’
‘Dream.’
Because of that single word…
He had been so preoccupied with it that he had a nightmare.
From ‘Why did I think I wanted to be number one when I’m not interested in rankings?’ to other thoughts, he had replayed many events while lying on the sofa, looking at the night view, until late at night.
And at the end of it all was Eun-ji before the regression, whose life had been a smooth, upward trajectory.
Lee Eun-ji belonged at the top.
That was why.
But being number one wasn’t something Eun-ji herself wanted.
Then, was he interested in being number one?
Considering Eun-ji, he wasn’t sure.
‘What I want…’
For a moment, he felt like an empty shell.
But after further reflection, he realized he wasn’t.
Just as Tae-hyun had found something he wanted to do so badly that he was willing to throw away his established career…
Eun-ho also spent the night thinking.
He didn’t have an answer yet.
He was living a fulfilling life, making music with his sister, happier than he could have ever imagined.
But if Eun-ji, like Tae-hyun, one day decided to chase her dreams and leave… would he find something too?
He was fine until then.
That was, until a sudden thought, ‘But…,’ stopped him in his tracks.
The day he regressed.
‘What happens when the same date comes around again?’
What if…
What if, somehow…
All of this was a dream?
What if everything disappeared?
His heart pounded anxiously.
His breath hitched.
He closed his eyes, trying to force himself to sleep.
And he dreamed of turning into a dried squid.
“…?”
Eun-ho, not wanting to worry about something that hadn’t happened yet, shook his head and entered the gate.
Come to think of it, he had to ask Briquette about the nightmare…
“I’m home.”
Just as he climbed the stairs and reached for the doorknob…
The door opened without resistance.
His heart sank.
‘Is that girl crazy…?!’
She should have locked the door.
Just as he was about to barge in and scold her… he heard familiar snores coming from Eun-ji’s room.
He opened Eun-ji’s door. On the phone, she had been calling Briquette a “pervert,” but…
“Seriously…”
Instead of scolding her…
Eun-ho chuckled, looking at the two of them sleeping soundly, cuddled up together.
Briquette also seemed to be in a deep sleep, unaware of his return.
He still had time before his next schedule.
‘I’ll let them sleep.’
Eun-ho left Eun-ji’s room and went to his own.
As Eun-ji’s door closed quietly, Briquette’s bright yellow eyes flickered open, checking on Eun-ho.
As if recognizing him, Briquette closed his eyes again and snuggled closer to Eun-ji.
5:30 AM.
Hwa-rang started his day by sending Eun-ho and Eun-ji a message reminding them to eat breakfast…
It was his daily routine, but his expression was unusually gloomy today.
“Should I tell them…”
Hwa-rang kept picking up and putting down his phone.
<I’m>
Lyrics: Lee Eun-ho
Composition: Lee Eun-ji
Hwa-rang’s single album, featuring Eun-ji’s genius, with a powerful bass line and a hook that made your heart race and your breath catch.
Since it was a reworked version of , which had been a huge success, the original’s raw energy was gone, but the overall quality was much higher.
The result was, naturally, number one on the music charts.
The day <I’m> reached number one…
Hwa-rang’s father told him that his mother, who had supported him more than anyone, cried tears of joy.
The attitudes of his relatives, who had opposed his career as a singer, also changed drastically.
Of course, some still said ignorant things, like urging him to get married now that he was successful…
Even if you know the foolish me
Who stumbled and faltered
I made it here after all the failures
The me who was on the edge of a cliff
Is gone now
Just like the lyrics Eun-ho wrote…
The Hwa-rang who was swayed by such words was long gone.
Meanwhile, the reaction of his older brother, Kim Ho-rang, who had been pressuring him to get married, also changed.
Stop worrying
Stop worrying
Your blood-related
Eldest brother says
Stop your nonsense
Ho-rang, at first, was embarrassed, perhaps realizing his own words were in the lyrics, and got angry.
But then, unexpectedly, his sister-in-law, who had a straightforward personality, became his staunch supporter, scolding Ho-rang, saying, ‘How much did you give your younger brother a hard time for him to be so stressed?’
And when she found out he was with NRY Entertainment, she became even more supportive, as she was an E-UNG fan.
So, Hwa-rang started visiting his family home more often whenever he had free time.
This incident also happened when Hwa-rang visited his family home for Chuseok.
「“Hey, Kim Hwa-rang. Are you close with the E-UNG members?”」
「“We eat together often, why?”」
Although it was more like him being dragged out and force-fed… still…
「“There’s a guy from Gyeongsang Province who recently joined the company.”」
「“So?”」
「“We were talking, and your name came up…”」
Hwa-rang wondered if his brother, Kim Ho-rang, had hit his head or something.
He grumbled, asking what gave him the right to talk about him, and then finally heard the main point.
「“He said he went to the same school as the E-UNG kids.”」
「“That girl was apparently infamous for school violence—”」
Hwa-rang, listening to Ho-rang’s story, burst out in disbelief.
「“What’s the name of the bastard who said that bullshit?”」
「“He said his name is Jo Kwang-soo—”」