Siblings Work in Business (102)
“I’ll be back with your orders shortly!”
The manager said cheerfully and left the room.
Since Cheol-soo and Yeong-hee were sitting far apart, Ji Ye-chan and Choi Tae-hyun took the two empty seats between them.
Although it was a round table, it was for four people, so there weren’t enough seats for everyone.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji naturally sat at the next table, not next to each other, but with an empty seat between them.
Hyun-woo and Seul-gi filled the remaining seats.
As we waited, the manager returned, slightly out of breath, as if he had rushed up the stairs.
“Here are the menus.”
The atmosphere was calm.
Until we opened the menus.
“Wow, our Team Leader must be making bank…”
Even Ji Ye-chan and Choi Tae-hyun, who knew CEO Park well, chuckled in surprise.
The prices were exorbitant.
“300,000 won per person…”
Ji Ye-chan muttered, and everyone at the table nodded silently.
The group today included Eun-ho, Eun-ji, the five Toxin members, Yeong-hee, and PD Cheol-soo.
Including CEO Park, that was ten people.
And there were at least five more staff members coming…
“Is this the first time we’re being treated to something like this by the Team Leader?”
“Yeah.”
“He used to be so stingy that he’d buy us thinly sliced frozen pork belly instead of regular samgyeopsal…”
“The CEO did?”
Eun-ho and Eun-ji tilted their heads. He always took them to nice restaurants, saying they should eat well.
“You two ate at places like this often?”
“Not often, but…”
Thinking back, we did eat at nice restaurants every few weeks.
“Well, now that I think about it, yes, we did, quite often.”
Ji Ye-chan looked at Eun-ho and Eun-ji with a mix of surprise and envy.
“But Senior, you can afford this anytime, can’t you?”
“That’s true. But it’s different when someone else is treating you, haha.”
Ji Ye-chan replied casually to Eun-ji’s blunt question.
As Ji Ye-chan turned his head, Eun-ho warned Eun-ji,
It was fine now, since they were among understanding acquaintances.
But what if Lee Eun-ji spoke like that on TV or a variety show?
‘I don’t want her to suffer from malicious comments again…’
Worried, Eun-ho said, trying to be gentle,
“You shouldn’t talk to our senior like that.”
“Like what? How else should I talk?”
“You could have just… not asked, or at least asked more politely.”
“You’re one to talk.”
“What, am I that rude?”
“We’re the same.”
“Hey, that’s a bit harsh.”
“Why are you being like this at a nice restaurant?”
“It’s not ‘being like this.’ I’m giving you advice as your older brother.”
“Yeah, right. Whatever.”
“You’re going to get in trouble on TV if you—”
Eun-ho stopped mid-sentence.
Eun-ji also looked away, knowing the reason for his sudden silence.
CEO Park, along with Oh Hyun, Joo Song-min, and Seo Seung-yeon, was coming up the stairs.
But he must have overheard them. He was smiling, but not happily.
“Seriously, why are you two fighting even here?”
“…We’re sorry.”
“…It was Lee Eun-ho who…”
“No excuses. Don’t fight outside. I understand at home, but not outside.”
“Okay…”
“Okay… but CEO, you scold us even when we fight at home.”
Eun-ji grumbled, perhaps feeling the need to defend herself, and Eun-ho looked at her, exasperated.
The CEO smiled patiently, like a saint.
“Do you want me to scold you here too?”
“No. We were wrong.”
Thankfully, at the CEO’s warning, Eun-ji’s face paled as she lowered her head.
Toxin and the others, except for the sulking Eun-ho and Eun-ji, chuckled, looking away.
“They’re funny, those two.”
“They fight at least once a day, but that’s part of their charm, especially Eun-ji’s honesty.”
As Ji Ye-chan chuckled, watching the two, Seul-gi, her eyes shining, added,
“You seem to really like Eun-ji.”
“…She’s… cute. Ah, yes.”
Seul-gi, praising Eun-ji’s cuteness, seemed to have forgotten that Ji Ye-chan had asked her a question.
Her obliviousness made not only Ji Ye-chan, but also the Toxin maknaes burst out laughing.
Ji Ye-chan, after the commotion died down, turned to CEO Park, who was sitting at the table with the maknae line, and said,
“Team Leader, you have some interesting people at your company.”
“That’s why I told them to come join me when their contracts expire next year.”
“I’ll think about it, haha.”
“We’ll see what TaKa offers.”
“Our hearts are already set, though.”
Seo Seung-yeon and Joo Song-min added, smiling, after Ji Ye-chan’s reply.
It was a brief conversation about contract renewals, but those who weren’t aware of the situation just tilted their heads in confusion.
“Are we late?”
“Sorry, it’s our first time here, so we got lost even with the navigation.”
A moment later, the staff members who came in a separate car arrived.
“It’s okay. Please have a seat.”
CEO Park greeted the five staff members.
“Enjoy your meal, and please take good care of our kids during the shoot.”
With the CEO’s greeting, the course meal began.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Thank you.”
The first appetizer was an apricot salad with wild salmon on a fancy blue ceramic plate.
As Ji Ye-chan had said, food tasted different when someone else was paying. Perhaps because of the price tag, people praised the seemingly ordinary salmon salad, saying it was exceptionally tender and flavorful.
However, Eun-ho and Eun-ji, devoted meat lovers, weren’t impressed.
After another appetizer…
The manager asked for their preferences on how they wanted their steak cooked.
They received various answers, from medium-rare to medium-well, and in the end, they settled on medium-rare.
A moment later, when the steaks arrived on a tray, Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s expressions changed.
They had been smiling and saying “Delicious,” but their eyes lit up at the sight of the steak, as if mesmerized.
The atmosphere during the meal was cheerful.
Everyone was enjoying the food, exclaiming “Delicious!” Only when the dessert arrived did they finally have time for other conversations, filling the second floor with chatter.
“Eun-ho.”
As the atmosphere became more lively, Ji Ye-chan called Eun-ho and asked,
“Can I ask who that person was earlier?”
“Earlier? Oh, Jo Kwang-soo…”
Eun-ji’s fork, picking at the strange green dessert, froze.
“Jo Kwang-soo? You mean… ‘Flatfish’? How do you know him, Senior?”
Eun-ji asked, looking at Ji Ye-chan with a surprised expression.
Eun-ho looked at her, exasperated.
“We just met him, dummy.”
“Huh?”
Eun-ji tilted her head, seemingly lost in thought, then her eyes widened in realization.
“OMG, he was Flatfish?!”
“…How could you not know?”
“OMG!”
Eun-ho sighed and facepalmed; he couldn’t believe she hadn’t realized.
“Well, I’ve only seen him twice. How am I supposed to remember everyone’s face?”
“I do.”
“You’ve known him longer.”
“You should be able to remember someone after seeing them once.”
“It’s been years.”
“Whatever.”
Ji Ye-chan, who had been enjoying their banter, smiled at Eun-ho, waiting for his answer.
“Well, um…”
Eun-ho hesitated, then finally said,
“I went to middle school in that area.”
“Oh, did you?”
“Jo Kwang-soo… he was in my class—”
“He was the bully who beat Eun-ho up at school.”
Eun-ho glared at Eun-ji, annoyed at her interruption, while Eun-ji shrugged and said, “What? I’m just telling the truth.”
“I see.”
Ji Ye-chan nodded and looked back at his dessert.
Just then, Eun-ho and Eun-ji started bickering again.
“I was explaining.”
“What’s there to explain? ‘He was a wannabe bully in our small town, pretending to be tough,’ end of story! Isn’t that right?”
He had nothing to say.
She was right, and her explanation was much more concise.
Fine. I admit it.
But her being right annoyed me even more.
“Then you should also mention the part where you beat him up.”
“I didn’t beat him up! I just twisted his arm and restrained him! Don’t you know what ‘restrain’ means?”
“You’re lying. Flatfish was crying.”
“I’m not!”
Eun-ho and Eun-ji were whispering, mindful of the others around them.
“He came at me with a rusty metal rod! What was I supposed to do, just stand there and get hit?! That old man told us that rusty metal can make you really sick.”
“Like tetanus or something. You’re right, but…”
Eun-ho squinted at her playfully, as if he didn’t believe her.
“Hey! Open your eyes! That’s annoying!”
Eun-ji’s voice rose in volume; she was annoyed by his expression. She tried to reach over and force his eyes open, but her arms were too short.
Eun-ji grumbled and sat back down.
“I hate Lee Eun-ho.”
“If you talk that loud, the CEO will give you another lecture.”
“Oops.”
Eun-ji quickly covered her mouth with her hand and glanced at the CEO’s table.
Thankfully, the CEO seemed too busy being pestered by Joo Song-min, Seo Seung-yeon, and Oh Hyun to notice them.
Eun-ji sighed in relief.
After the delicious meal, the car arrangements were different from when they arrived.
Ji Ye-chan, Cheol-soo, Yeong-hee, and Choi Tae-hyun would stay in the same car, as would the staff.
The change was that the Toxin maknaes, who came in CEO Park’s car, would now ride in the van with Hyun-woo.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji would ride with CEO Park.
“Should we go wait in the car?”
“Yes.”
“Where are we going?”
“There’s someone I want you to meet. We’ll make a quick stop.”
Seo Seung-yeon, curious about the sudden change in transportation, nodded after CEO Park’s explanation.
“We won’t be long.”
Maybe it’s just me but I don’t rlly like how Eunji just blurted out how how he was bullied in the past