Siblings Working in Business (238)
The ten seconds of frozen silence felt like ten minutes.
Only after the sound subsided did Eun-ho snap out of it and hurriedly finish washing his hair.
He dried his hair roughly with a towel and left the bathroom.
‘Whoa.’
A dark silhouette was swaying in front of the door.
It was Tae-hyun, who had been sleeping near the bathroom, sitting up, his upper body swaying as he dozed off.
Eun-ho’s calm demeanor hid his surprise, but if Eun-ji, with her low tolerance for scary things, had seen it, she would have screamed.
“Hyung-nim?”
“…Yeah.”
Tae-hyun’s voice was groggy as he replied to Eun-ho’s cautious call.
His voice was still raspy with sleep.
“I tried to be quiet, but the metal tub… I’m sorry.”
“…Ah, that’s what it was. I thought it was raining.”
“Haha. Ahem, sorry.”
“…It’s okay.”
Tae-hyun chuckled at Eun-ho’s hurried apology and stifled laughter.
‘Brr.’
Now that Tae-hyun had reassured him, Eun-ho’s tension eased, and he finally noticed the chilly morning air seeping in through the window frame.
Perhaps because he had just been in the warm bathroom…
He was shivering.
Eun-ho quickly wrapped himself in the blanket he had been sleeping under.
The blanket, warmed by the ondol (underfloor heating), was comfortably toasty.
Although his wet hair was still cold, the contrast in temperatures felt oddly comforting.
“Um, Hyung… nim?”
Just as Eun-ho was about to speak and turned towards Tae-hyun…
He froze again.
“…?”
He was confused.
‘What is that?’
That was his first thought.
The lights in the room were off.
The only light source was the faint blue glow of a bug zapper outside.
So, he thought he was mistaken.
Tae-hyun looked incredibly tired, dark circles prominent even in the dim light, as if he hadn’t slept well.
‘Is it just… shadows because he’s tired?’
Just then…
“Eun-ho.”
“Yes?”
Tae-hyun’s voice, slightly irritated, jolted him awake.
“I’m giving up this room. You can have one of the three beds in the other room.”
“Suddenly?”
“Yeah.”
His hyung, who had fought so hard for this room yesterday, had suddenly changed his mind overnight.
Eun-ho, surprised, looked at Tae-hyun. He was glaring towards the main room, as if something had happened during the night.
“I don’t like this room anymore.”
Eun-ho, tilting his head at his sudden and firm change of heart, asked,
“Why? Did you have a nightmare?”
“No.”
Just then, Tae-hyun’s eyes flashed with genuine anger.
“That bastard Seo Seung-yeon stepped on my face on his way to the bathroom.”
“Ah… ah!”
His first “ah” was a sympathetic, “Oh dear.”
His second “ah” was a realization, “Ah, that’s why!”
Eun-ho’s eyes widened in understanding, and he bit his lip.
He was trying to hide his amusement from the angry Tae-hyun.
“Why?”
Tae-hyun, seeing his reaction, asked, tilting his head.
Unable to hide it any longer, Eun-ho buried his face in his wet towel.
But it wasn’t entirely effective.
Although he made no sound, his shaking shoulders clearly indicated he was either laughing or crying.
“Why?”
Tae-hyun asked again, and Eun-ho pointed towards the bathroom.
“Bathroom?”
“Mirror…”
“What about the mirror?”
“Look…”
There was a narrow hallway between the sarangchae and the main room where the other three were sleeping.
The courtyard was dirt, and there were no windows, so dust would inevitably accumulate when the wind blew.
‘…Or maybe Seung-yeon hyung’s feet are just incredibly dirty…’
Tae-hyun, shaking off his sleepiness, went to the bathroom.
And as Eun-ho suggested, he checked the mirror.
Under the bathroom light, a dirt footprint was clearly visible on Tae-hyun’s face.
Eun-ho knew.
‘Seung-yeon hyung is screwed.’
“Hyung!”
“…”
“Hyung, Hyung!”
Seung-yeon and Tae-hyun were facing off across a wooden platform in the middle of the dirt courtyard.
“What’s going on?”
Jikki, seemingly having just woken up at the commotion, rubbed her eyes and came outside.
She seemed to have tidied her hair before coming out, as it was relatively neat compared to Eun-ji’s usual bedhead.
“Um…”
Just then, as he was about to explain…
“I’m really sorry.”
“Come here.”
“It was an accident! Hyung, I really—”
Seung-yeon’s outburst drowned out Eun-ho’s explanation.
“Okay. I understand. Come here.”
Tae-hyun gave him a benevolent, older brother smile, as if he was ready to forgive everything.
Of course, it was a fake smile, meant to lure Seung-yeon in.
‘He’s… still my hyung…’
Seung-yeon, initially wary, gradually lowered his guard, remembering Tae-hyun’s usually gentle nature.
Just as he came within reach…
He fell for the obvious trap.
‘So that’s why your usual behavior matters.’
Eun-ho’s eyes sparkled with a newfound understanding.
“Aagh! I’m sorry!”
“Sorry? Are you being disrespectful to your hyung?”
“I’m sorry!!! Hyung-nim!!! Hyung!!! Aagh!!!”
Tae-hyun flipped Seung-yeon onto the platform, his arm twisted behind his back, as if arresting him.
“Eun-ho!!! Help me!!!”
Tae-hyun’s gaze turned sharply towards Eun-ho at Seung-yeon’s desperate cry.
Eun-ho raised both hands in the air and smiled serenely.
It was a sign that he wouldn’t interfere.
Tae-hyun, satisfied, grinned and continued to torment Seung-yeon.
“Seung-yeon hyung stepped on Tae-hyun hyung’s face while he was going to the bathroom last night.”
“Oh dear.”
Jikki was watching Seung-yeon with pity.
But after Eun-ho explained the reason, she nodded in understanding.
“Only you two slept in the small room, right?”
“Yes.”
“Was it comftable?”
“What, ah, are you asking if it was comfortable?”
“Yes. Comftable.”
“Comf-, table. Comfortable! Right?”
“Yes. Good job.”
Jikki smiled, repeating Eun-ho’s pronunciation after he corrected her.
Eun-ho then thought about Jikki’s question, remembering last night and early this morning.
“It had its pros and cons. Being close to the bathroom was nice, but the smell…”
“I know, right!”
“…?”
Eun-ho, surprised by Jikki’s knowing response, looked at her.
“This room also smelled. Especially at those times.”
“Those times? Ah, after people used the bathroom?”
“Yes, exactly. Eun-ho, you’re very good at, um…”
Jikki pressed her fingers to her temples, her eyes closed, as if searching for the right word.
Then, her eyes snapped open, and she exclaimed,
“Ah! Even if you speak gibberish, I can perfectly understand you!”
“…You mean I’m articulate.”
“Ah! Articulate. Arti-. Articu-. Articulate.”
“Perfect.”
Eun-ho corrected her pronunciation.
Jikki liked correcting her mistakes immediately.
He had done it knowing her personality from before the regression.
“What’s going on?”
Just then…
Eun-ji, her hair a mess, as if she had just woken up, stumbled out onto the hallway.
She looked at Jikki and Eun-ho with half-closed eyes, then raised an eyebrow.
“Are you two flirting?”
Eun-ho, ignoring her ridiculous question, changed the subject,
“Don’t talk nonsense first thing in the morning and go fix your hair. CEO Park will have a fit.”
“What’s the big deal? It’s real.”
“Yeah, ‘real’ for our fans to see.”
Eun-ji snapped to attention at Eun-ho’s playful remark.
If Eun-ho desperately wanted to shed the ‘no-jam’ label from this show… Eun-ji also had her own goal.
To get rid of the ‘messy’ image that earned her the nickname ‘Ji-ji.’
“Oh, right, Lee Eun-ji.”
“Yeah?”
Just as Eun-ji was about to go back inside…
“My glasses are in your bag.”
“Why would your glasses be in my bag? You—”
“Jjom.”
“…”
Unable to finish her “You crazy…”, Eun-ji pouted.
“I put them in your bag because mine was full.”
“When?”
“Before we got on the bus yesterday.”
Eun-ji’s eyes widened, asking, ‘How?’, her expression incredulous.
Still, she went back inside and brought out her bag obediently.
At least, that’s how it seemed until she came back out.
Thud.
She must have intended to hit him with the bag, but it was ineffective.
“Nice shot.”
Eun-ji threw the bag at Eun-ho as soon as she came out.
But Eun-ho, seemingly anticipating it, caught it effortlessly and said,
“Thanks, pumpkin.”
“Who are you calling a pumpkin, rockfish face? You’re so annoying.”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
When Eun-ho teased her further, Eun-ji raised her ring finger instead of her middle finger.
Just as Eun-ho was about to say the magic word, ‘jjoom’…
“Don’t ‘jjoom’ me. Look closely, this isn’t a curse.”
“Oh, really…?”
“Didn’t see that coming, did you? You can’t control me, Lee Eun-ho. Haha.”
Although she technically avoided cursing, Eun-ji’s expression clearly conveyed a “fuck you.”
Eun-ho’s brow twitched, caught off guard.
“Okay, I’ll give you that.”
Eun-ho knew that acknowledging defeat would only embolden Eun-ji.
So he just nodded nonchalantly and rummaged through her bag, pretending to look for his glasses.
And also looking for something to tease her about.
“Ew, Lee Eun-ji, why is your bag so dirty?”
“Shut up.”
“Why are you carrying used tissues?”
“I used it to wipe off my mascara!”
“Yeah, you probably wiped your ass with it. Ew, gross.”
“Ah, shut up! Jikki Unnie will get the wrong idea!”
The tissue Eun-ho pulled out of her bag with his fingers looked like it had been used to wipe off black ink.
Eun-ho knew it was a makeup wipe.
He was just teasing her.
But Eun-ji, since her cursing was now restricted, had become more skilled at finding and exploiting her opponent’s weaknesses without resorting to profanity.
Eun-ji, searching for Eun-ho’s weakness, noticed his frequently worn cardigan and white t-shirt combination and smiled mischievously.
“You’re the dirty one. How many days have you been wearing that ‘uniform’ at home?”
“…Hey, that’s not true. And what do you mean ‘uniform’?”
The ‘uniform’ Eun-ji was referring to was simple.
Black pants or dark jeans.
A white t-shirt, short or long-sleeved, and a beige or brown cardigan.
It was a nickname for Eun-ho’s go-to outfit for casual outings.
“That same poop-colored cardigan.”
“It’s not poop-colored, and the one I wore at home was beige.”
“Yeah, poop-colored.”
“It’s not, pumpkin head.”
“I think you should ‘jjoom’ yourself, Oppa.”
“Look who’s talking, trying to climb all over me just because you’re taller.”
“Being 180cm isn’t exactly tall, so I can climb all over you.”
It was 7:30 AM.
While the E-UNG siblings bickered, Seung-yeon’s screams continued from the yard.
Jikki, seemingly witnessing this for the first time, stared blankly at the rising sun.
‘This place… is chaotic.’