Siblings Working in Business (226)
Wednesday, October 28, 2015.
6:57 PM.
Eun-jeong looked out the window at the clear sky, her heart fluttering with anticipation.
It had looked like it was going to rain until yesterday, but as if welcoming E-UNG’s comeback, the weather cleared up this afternoon.
A chilly breeze blew, making her shiver slightly.
Just then, a tray with their drinks arrived: a cafe mocha topped with whipped cream and an iced Americano.
“Did it start?”
“Not yet. Hurry up and sit down.”
Eun-jeong bought the coffee.
It was because her laptop, which had been acting up, finally gave up the ghost.
She had heard about E-UNG’s comeback, and since she couldn’t focus at a PC cafe, she enlisted the help of her fangirling buddy, Shin-il.
Shin-il, feeling guilty for just watching on her screen, had offered to buy the coffee.
Of course, they were definitely not dating, just pure fangirling buddies, friends.
As if to prove their platonic relationship, Shin-il had E-UNG’s O-Tube channel playing on his laptop and was staring intently at Eun-ji’s profile picture on the NRY website on his phone.
“…Wow.”
Shin-il, usually apathetic and listless, was completely smitten with Eun-ji, his affection practically dripping from his gaze whenever he saw her pictures or videos.
Eun-jeong, hearing his admiring sigh, asked curiously,
“What are you looking at?”
“Eun-ji.”
“Figures.”
Eun-jeong chuckled and turned back to her screen.
“It’s 59 minutes! Ahh.”
Eun-jeong clasped and unclasped her hands, trying to calm her nerves.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she rummaged through her bag.
“Hey, hey, Shin-il, look at this.”
Eun-jeong pulled out an EG Bong (E-UNG light stick) from her bag.
“Haha, you came prepared.”
Just as Shin-il was admiring her preparedness, the video appeared.
“Ah.”
Just then…
Even while taking out her EG Bong, Eun-jeong had been keeping an eye on the screen. She instinctively reached for the wireless mouse and clicked play.
[E-UNG ― Curse MV]
A heavy orchestral melody began, and a fake moon, drawn on a cardboard box, hung from a string in the center of the night sky on screen.
Poof!
With a playful trumpet sound, the camera panned down, revealing a colorful circus made of paper panels, also hanging from strings, just like the moon.
A clown juggling, a clown precariously balancing on a unicycle on a tightrope, a clown releasing a tiger from a cage… the paper panel circus performance began.
As the bass thumped along with the trumpet, building excitement…
Snap!
A man in a black jacket, his black-painted nails prominent, snapped his fingers, and thud…
The strings connected to the circus props snapped in unison.
All that remained of the vibrant circus were the fallen paper panels.
Clap, clap, clap, clap
In time with the man’s steady clapping, the music transitioned to a new melody.
The instruments were different now: bass, drums, and snaps.
“Oh, this!”
Just then…
A familiar black envelope appeared on screen.
Eun-jeong recognized it.
It was the same envelope that contained Eun-ho’s letter.
She let out an involuntary gasp of delight.
“Shhh.”
Shin-il shushed her.
Eun-jeong mouthed an apology and returned her attention to the screen.
Tearing the red wax seal
An invitation arrives
The color is black
Nothing, nothing at all
The world feels like a joke
My reality feels like a curse
Eun-ho started singing, not in his usual sweet falsetto, but in his normal speaking voice.
The low voice, combined with the now-quiet circus scene, created a melancholic atmosphere.
Then, the trumpet, which had disappeared, suddenly blared.
A bright white light flooded the screen, and a pair of captivating eyes opened.
The scene shifted, and a string of shimmering crystals swayed, followed by Eun-ji in a white dress.
Shin-il quietly covered his mouth at the sight of the dress, which exposed her right shoulder and left side, from ribs to hip.
So curse me, curse me
(Bad dreams, unwanted dreams)
As Eun-ji sang with a sweet smile, Eun-ho’s melancholic voice followed in the chorus.
But Eun-ji, unfazed, continued singing with a smile,
Yeah
It happens sometimes
As if displeased by Eun-ji’s cheerful response, Eun-ho’s eyes opened in a dark scene, contrasting with Eun-ji’s bright one.
Cast a spell and tell them to take it away
His red eyes, which had glowed momentarily, returned to their normal brown color.
Give me the curse
(Unwanted dreams, those kinds of dreams)
Yeah
You just had a dream
The black and white world disappeared, and Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s outfits changed.
It happens sometimes
It happens sometimes
Eun-ji, strolling under a tree in a blue hanbok, and Eun-ho, dressed as a languid scholar fanning himself, appeared.
Every day I open my eyes
As Eun-ho opened his eyes, the scene rapidly changed, showing various worlds.
Among them were close-ups of Eun-ho from the “TIME” album music videos.
The last scene showed Eun-ho as Ho-nyang, before returning to his initial appearance.
The good are rewarded
A female silhouette in a hanbok, being embraced by a god-like figure, appeared and disappeared.
The wicked are punished
A man, holding a bloody knife with trembling hands, as if he had just killed someone, was suddenly devoured by a tiger-like silhouette.
The scene then shifted to a white background, where Eun-ji nodded and smiled brightly, as if agreeing with Eun-ho’s lyrics.
They stood in separate black and white spaces, diagonally across from each other.
Eun-ho, in the black space, smiled along with Eun-ji, who was in the white space.
But when Eun-ho opened his eyes, his gaze was cold and sharp.
Black and white logic is too simple
There are too many colors
As if to illustrate the meaning of Eun-ho’s gaze, the previously seen silhouettes became clear.
Eun-ji, in a hanbok, was being embraced by the god-like figure, a look of displeasure on her face.
Then, Eun-ho, in a blood-splattered hanbok, was smiling, his hands trembling.
Just then, as the tiger approached, Eun-ho, covered in blood, smiled and said,
‘Why are you so late?’
‘You took too long.’
As Eun-ho smiled, the tiger transformed into a shadow and consumed him.
So curse me, curse me
Eun-ji, in the white background, was still smiling.
The similar hook repeated, but the scenes didn’t.
Bad dreams, unwanted dreams
(Yeah, it happens sometimes)
Scenes depicting Eun-ho’s past repeated.
In most scenes, Eun-ho was either a bystander or the perpetrator, always playing the ‘villain.’
And each time, Eun-ji from the same time period seemed to appear alongside him.
Eun-ho, his eyes filled with a melancholic sadness, as if he was about to cry, sang,
Cast a spell and tell them to disappear
I don’t want mercy
Eun-ji, still smiling, sang the chorus, as if responding to Eun-ho,
(I don’t even want an apology)
Eun-ho, looking at Eun-ji with a warning look, as if telling her not to speak so lightly…
…continued singing, his gaze fixed on her with a disapproving smile.
It was a twisted smile.
Trying to overcome one,
Another one weighs me down
The scene of his first death, mauled by a tiger.
Trying to get up and run,
Another one weighs me down
A drunken death, his eyes closed, after reliving his life multiple times.
In every death, Eun-ji, who had died before him, was always by his side.
Reached the finish line
But there’s no trophy
As the word ‘finish line’ was sung, the black and white backgrounds reappeared, and Eun-ho looked at Eun-ji.
I’m always afraid
That if I close my eyes, it will all disappear
Like my cursed future
‘Like my cursed future’
In a fleeting moment, the black shadow that was the tiger surged towards Eun-ho, seemingly saying something.
Eun-ho’s manic grin slowly faded.
It’s not a victory
Because the finish lines are different
The ends we reach are different
You are you, I am I
We are too different
Eun-ho, looking at Eun-ji with a warning look, as if telling her not to speak so lightly… sang,
The world feels like a joke
Someone said
That reality is hell
A tiger silhouette, its red eyes glowing, appeared before Eun-ho, like smoke.
Eun-ho, as if speaking to the tiger, smiled and continued singing,
Then tell them
That this hell is perfect for me
The smoke cleared, and Eun-ho, leaving the black background, stepped into the white one and continued,
My reality feels like a curse
(So curse me, curse me)
Bad dreams, unwanted dreams
(Yeah)
Meanwhile, Eun-ji stubbornly insisted,
It happens sometimes
Eun-ho, as if warning her to stop, smiled wryly.
Cast a spell
And tell them to take it away
Unwanted dreams
Those kinds of dreams
As if finally giving in to Eun-ji’s stubbornness, Eun-ho continued singing in a softer, almost resigned, voice.
However, it felt more peaceful than the initial melancholic tone.
Eun-ho’s form, against the black background, disintegrated into dust, scattering like ashes.
Yeah
You just had a dream
Eun-ji, watching Eun-ho disappear, sang,
For you, who suffered alone
I’ll share your burden and stand with you
Next time, and the time after that
So that we can live under the same sky
So that we can live
Everything disappeared, and a bathtub filled with blood-red water appeared in the white space.
(If that’s all it takes)
Yeah
As if responding to Eun-ho’s voice, Eun-ji, standing at the edge of the bathtub, looked up at the sky and smiled.
A moment later, she closed her eyes, turned, and threw herself into the bathtub as if falling onto a soft bed.
The red water in the white-tiled bathtub erupted, splashing towards the screen.
After the red wave covered the screen…
Two figures in hanboks appeared on the surface of the water.
Eun-ji, drawing a picture on the dirt ground.
Eun-ho, watching her quietly.
When Eun-ji proudly showed him her messy drawing, Eun-ho’s smile widened, and then he burst out laughing, his hand on his forehead.
It was a scene that seemed to be showing their past.
The red water gradually turned black, as if casting a shadow.
When Eun-ji reappeared on screen, she was in a room filled with spider lilies.
Eun-ji, in a white dress, stood before Eun-ho.
A black stain marred the hem of her dress.
The stain slowly spread, consuming the dress and Eun-ji.
When the stain completely covered her skin, turning her black, Eun-ji opened her mouth and continued singing,
Only that
I wish for
After the song ended…
The music video wasn’t over yet. A slimy, squelching sound replaced the music.
Eun-ji’s white dress, the cutout on her left side, and the shimmering crystal strings were all gone.
Her right shoulder was still exposed, but the dress was now a simple, knee-length one.
“Ah…”
Shin-il, who had been anticipating Eun-ji’s transformation, sighed in disappointment.
But just then…
The remaining black substance spread like a wave, and a chiffon fabric embroidered with spider lilies grew from it.
The chiffon fabric transformed into a long dress, draped over Eun-ji’s left shoulder, its hem trailing on the floor.
“Wow.”
Shin-il’s face lit up, as if saying, ‘That’s it!’
And the final scene of the video…
“Gasp…”
The video ended with Eun-ji, not with her usual kind smile, but with a wicked grin.
Shin-il, looking at Eun-ji’s close-up smile, placed his hand over his heart, his breath catching in his throat.