Siblings Work in Business (106)
Three monkeys dancing above my head
Eun-ho pointed above his head as he sang.
The camera panned up, revealing three animated monkeys dancing.
Eun-ho poked one of the monkeys on the cheek, and it quickly covered its mouth.
What are you doing now?
As one of the other monkeys asked, the remaining monkeys covered their eyes and ears.
The camera returned to Eun-ho’s face, and he shrugged, saying,
Evening will soon greet me
As he walked down a path, the setting sun giving way to nightfall, black smoke swirled around him, whispering,
(Hear no evil)
Cover your ears if you hear their voices
Eun-ho smiled, covering his ears.
He removed his hand and twirled a wooden staff that appeared out of nowhere.
The black smoke formed a human shape, whispering.
It was Choi Tae-hyun, his face expressionless, looking at Eun-ho disapprovingly.
(See no evil)
Close your eyes if you see them
Eun-ho turned his back to Tae-hyun, covering his eyes with both hands, mimicking the monkeys.
Choi Tae-hyun, as smoke, approached and swirled around Eun-ho.
Eun-ho dispersed the black smoke with his staff and threw it into the air.
The staff disappeared in a small explosion of fireworks.
(Speak no evil)
Cover your mouth lest you make a sound
Eun-ho, as if startled, covered his mouth, then smiled at the camera.
It was a brighter music video than “DUO.”
But the lyrics and the overall tone were suggestive and unsettling.
As Eun-ho clapped cheerfully, a shadow passed over him, and he transformed into a bright orange flower.
[That’s a calendula!]
A fan, seemingly knowledgeable about flowers, correctly identified the animated flower.
Toxin, Eun-ho, and Eun-ji, watching the chat, chuckled in surprise.
“Wow, they got that right?”
“E-UNG’s fans are smart.”
“As expected of our E%!”
“E-Per?”
“It’s our fandom name.”
Eun-ji grinned.
Back on screen, the calendula had disappeared in a burst of fireworks, just like the staff.
The shadow that passed over Eun-ho was Oh Hyun.
He was walking down a path, his brow furrowed in thought.
Three wise monkeys
The wise monkey reaches out its hand
Meanwhile, Choi Tae-hyun whispered to Eun-ho,
Your careless words become daggers
Will these words choke me? Will they strangle you someday?
Oh Hyun, staring at the black smoke, said,
Everything must be easy for you
Since it’s not your problem
You cry, crumbling at my thoughtless words
The scene changed, and Eun-ji was sitting alone on a half-visible swing, singing.
Eun-ho was sitting on the other half of the swing, hidden from view.
Three monkeys dancing above your head
Eun-ho pointed above Eun-ji’s head.
What are you doing now?
Eun-ji, looking at Eun-ho, asked with a puzzled expression.
Evening will soon greet you
Eun-ho simply replied and transformed into an animated Chinese lantern plant.
Eun-ji picked up the plant, and it exploded into fireworks, just like the other objects.
The scene returned to Oh Hyun, showing a dark background.
As the camera moved through dark, rain-like clouds, Oh Hyun was walking down a dark path.
(Hear no evil)
Cover your ears if you hear their voices
(See no evil)
Close your eyes if you see them
(Speak no evil)
Cover your mouth lest you make a sound
Choi Tae-hyun whispered, just like he did to Eun-ho.
But unlike Eun-ho, Oh Hyun couldn’t follow the advice, despite knowing it.
He just ran towards a distant light.
Three wise monkeys
The wise monkey reaches out its hand
Although it was Eun-ho’s singing voice, it was Choi Tae-hyun who was speaking to Oh Hyun.
You take a hand you shouldn’t have taken
Who knows, maybe it will be okay
As Oh Hyun reached out and grabbed his hand, Choi Tae-hyun smirked.
The camera zoomed out, and a hand appeared, pressing the power button on a remote control.
Pretending hides your flaws, but it’s not perfect
The remote control’s power button had the E-UNG logo on it.
The remote was thrown away, and a glass marble appeared in Eun-ho’s hand.
Eun-ho crushed the marble, and the shards fell at Eun-ji’s feet.
When the thin veil shatters, the shards will fly towards you
Eun-ji looked up at Eun-ho.
Even if you cover your ears, close your eyes, and shut your mouth
What you hear, what you see, what you say
Eun-ho’s previously playful expression hardened.
Three monkeys dancing above my head
The white scenery shattered like broken glass.
(What are you doing now?)
Evening will soon greet you
(I’ll welcome you on the red carpet)
As Eun-ji said that with a smile, Eun-ho also smiled wryly.
Three wise monkeys
The wise monkey reaches out its hand
Eun-ho reached out to Eun-ji, just like Choi Tae-hyun did to Oh Hyun.
Eun-ji, with a determined smile, took his hand.
And foolishly believe things will be okay
Eun-ho transformed into heart-shaped moss phlox petals and disappeared in the wind.
Meanwhile, black smoke swirled around the small creature from the beginning, whispering,
(Hear no evil)
(See no evil)
(Speak no evil)
The small creature, seemingly playing the role of Oh Hyun, was mimicking Choi Tae-hyun’s words.
Then, Eun-ji kicked the black smoke, and it vanished. The startled creature ran away.
Eun-ji watched it leave with a sad expression, then turned her head.
The wise monkey reaches out its hand
Who knows, maybe it will be okay
A strong wind blew, Eun-ji’s thin clothes fluttering.
As she opened her mouth, Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s voices blended together.
I’m sorry
Eun-ji looked up at the sky, a sad expression on her face.
Actually, I’m not okay
Rewind sound
Eun-ji’s expression suddenly crumpled, as if she was about to cry.
She raised a pixelated middle finger towards the sky, still wearing her elegant dress.
The clouds in the sky were also pixelated in the shape of a middle finger.
There was a reason for the music video’s chaotic nature.
Lee Eun-ji and I were in charge of most of the production.
I considered myself lucky.
At least, I had a way to escape misfortune, and a reason not to give up in the face of death: my sister.
When I was hungry, I had food, and when I was sick, I had my sister to take care of me.
When the world seemed hopeless, the bakery owner appeared, and after finding hope, when I started to have ambitions, I met CEO Park Chang-seok.
While writing these lyrics…
I thought about the things I read in books recently.
Unconscious control.
Emotional abuse.
And Socrates’ triple filter test: Truth, Goodness, Usefulness.
I learned about the Three Wise Monkeys and how their meaning could be interpreted both positively and negatively.
Well, I didn’t delve too deeply.
I wasn’t a scholar. I didn’t have the knowledge or experience to talk about it for hours like those academics.
It was the same with the lyrics.
If I included everything I learned, the lyrics would be boring and preachy.
So, I tried to be open-minded.
To both good and bad.
So there would be something left after filtering everything out.
It was the same with fans and haters.
Before the regression, I sued those who crossed the line, but I tried to accept constructive criticism, even if it hurt.
Because I didn’t know everything.
Because I wanted to learn more.
And as I delved deeper, I found one thing in common.
‘Words.’
Every word I spoke would eventually come back to me in some way.
To elaborate, it meant being mindful of negative influences and information, but…
Simply put, it was about watching my words.
I wasn’t a genius like Lee Eun-ji, and I couldn’t just churn out songs based on ‘feeling.’
So, I used the power I had: the power to create, express, and communicate.
Based on that, I reconstructed the situation.
Just like the last scene in the music video, the world would throw shit at me, even if I was careful.
So, shouldn’t we just smile and throw it back?
That was my thought.
And as you can see, neither Lee Eun-ji nor I wanted to convey this gloomy message in a serious tone.
If we could choose our roles like in a game, we would be counselors, storytellers, clowns, bards, toys…
And since “Wise” dealt with the pain and uncomfortable topics I experienced, I wanted to convey it as lightly as possible.
I hoped our pain would remain only ours.
I hoped that at least the people who listened to our songs, our fans, would enjoy and appreciate us.
So we chose to be clowns.
Those who tell serious stories, but aren’t taken seriously.
We acted in a lighthearted, albeit awkward, manner to convey that feeling.
As a result…
The E% chat, which had been analyzing the video like detectives, was filled with “LOL” at the last scene.
At least, we successfully conveyed the ‘joy’ we intended.
I looked at Eun-ji, and she quietly raised her hand.
She clapped her hand against mine, and her face crumpled with a smile.
“Ow!”
“I thought you wanted me to hit you.”
“No, I wanted a high five!”
“That was a high five.”
“It hurt!”
“Okay, then let’s do a low five.”
I held out my hand towards her feet, and Eun-ji pretended to kick me.
“You were actually going to kick me.”
“Didn’t you ask for it?”
The Toxin seniors and the staff laughed, watching us bicker.
“Stop it, stop it.”
“Why? We’re not even fighting, just leave them be, hyung. Haha.”
Ji Ye-chan chuckled, stepping between us.
Seo Seung-yeon, on the other hand, encouraged us to fight more.
Eun-ji and I exchanged glances.
‘If they keep egging us on, I don’t want to do it anymore.’
‘Agreed.’
We nodded, signaling a truce.