Siblings Work in Business (115)
「Is there anyone among E% who knows about Eun-ho-nim’s past?」
└ Why would you want to know that?
└ Are you an anti-fan?
└ Respect his privacy.
└ These ♥♥s are the problem.
「It’s just curiosity… is that such a bad question?」
└ Yes.
└ You must hear a lot about not reading the room.
└ Don’t you know why other E% aren’t asking?
That evening, after successfully finishing their first “Wise” performance…
Eun-ho was staring at his phone with a serious expression, scrolling through the E-FAN app, lost in thought, as they headed home.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
Eun-ho turned around, startled by Eun-ji’s voice.
“You looked so serious, I was wondering what you were looking at.”
“Was I?”
“Yeah, like this.”
Eun-ji stretched her eyes, mimicking his expression, and Eun-ho, his face relaxing, chuckled.
“Just…”
Eun-ho was about to say something, then glanced at Hyun-woo and Seul-gi in the front seats and shook his head.
Eun-ji was still staring at his phone.
‘Ah.’
She seemed to have seen the post he was reading, as she sighed briefly.
‘I’ll tell you when we get home.’
‘Do that.’
They seemed to have communicated silently.
Eun-ho, satisfied, closed his lyric notebook and his phone, then closed his eyes.
‘The story about Aeseul…’
He should probably tell her this time.
Before the regression…
He had intended to keep it a secret from Lee Eun-ji, and from the world.
He thought it was better for Lee Eun-ji, who was on the right path.
He made that decision and acted on it alone.
But the result wasn’t good.
There were no eternal secrets.
Even if he silenced one person, there were always leaks.
So, he decided to do things differently this time.
‘Since I’ve returned to this time…’
He wondered if he could prevent the series of ticking time bombs from exploding.
‘If I do that…’
He was considering a gamble, one that involved Lee Eun-ji’s life, his own, and the future of E-UNG.
Aeseul
Before the regression…
The ‘incident’ happened after Aeseul and Lee Eun-ji’s fight.
It all started with a trivial misunderstanding.
Aeseul frequently visited Cellas shop back then, just like now.
Just like Eun-ho and Eun-ji became Director Kang Mi-joo’s muses…
…Eun-ji was also her muse back then.
So, naturally, Eun-ji was Director Kang’s top priority.
As Eun-ji entered Cellas, Director Kang rushed towards her, leaving the client she had been talking to.
She had actually handed the client over to another staff member before leaving.
But that happened to be Aeseul, and Aeseul felt a sense of humiliation, of being abandoned.
That was the beginning.
‘Who is that nobody?’
Aeseul didn’t know it then, but Eun-ji was already a well-known musician with a solid fan base.
Aeseul was the niece of the CEO of DI Music Entertainment, a rival company of TaKa Entertainment.
Having been pampered since childhood…
She had a cheerful and charming personality on the outside.
But deep down…
…she had an almost obsessive need to be the center of attention.
And Eun-ji had unknowingly triggered that insecurity.
Aeseul watched Eun-ji and Director Kang chatting and laughing, her eyes filled with jealousy.
Later that day, alone in the waiting room, preparing for her stage, Aeseul quietly made a phone call.
“I need information on a woman named Lee Eun-ji.”
Aeseul had power.
The gift her uncle, the CEO of DI, gave her when she turned nineteen was a personal investigator.
Having never been taught that it was wrong, Aeseul felt no guilt about digging into someone’s past.
A few days later, the investigator brought her the information she requested.
Eun-ji had released many songs over the past few years and was gaining considerable fame thanks to her consistency, fast work pace, and high quality of music.
Aeseul, who had been staring at Eun-ji’s profile with a hardened expression, suddenly smirked.
「She lived on the streets for a long time with her older brother, Lee Eun-ho, both orphans.」
It was the information she was looking for.
「She was a middle school dropout, but she took the GED and finished high school after meeting her current CEO.」
Aeseul thought about how to use this information, then decided to attack first.
At least, in a way she would understand.
Aeseul nudged her manager with her foot.
“Unnie.”
“…Yes, what is it?”
The manager frowned at Aeseul’s disrespectful behavior, but she suppressed her anger and replied.
“Contact Soundmate and ask for some beats.”
“For your new song?”
“Yeah! Isn’t that obvious? Do you not understand?”
“…I’ll contact them later.”
“Do it now.”
“Okay. I’ll make the call now.”
“Whatever.”
As Aeseul waved her hand dismissively, the manager sighed and left the waiting room.
‘She wasn’t like this when she debuted two years ago.’
People who tasted explosive success at a young age were usually divided into two categories: those who became arrogant, and those who remained grateful.
Aeseul belonged to the former.
‘And she was already spoiled and pampered, having never experienced hardship…’
Aeseul considered her training period, which was half as long as other trainees’, the most difficult time of her life.
That’s the kind of person she was.
Her uncle, the CEO of DI, had spoiled her.
There was a rumor in the industry, although everyone kept quiet about it.
‘That the CEO of DI was involved in Aeseul’s success…’
That he manipulated the streaming charts to boost her rankings.
The manager knew it wasn’t just a rumor.
‘Because it was true.’
The moment the CEO of DI stopped his intervention…
Aeseul’s ranking plummeted to its rightful place in the lower-middle range.
Even that was inflated due to the initial boost from the manipulated rankings.
But Aeseul mistook that for her own achievement.
‘She’s so lucky…’
Then, her second song became a hit, thanks to plagiarism.
It inflated her ego even further.
And so, Aeseul, having only tasted success, became an adult, an age where she should be responsible for her actions.
But she seemed to think she could buy her way out of anything, unafraid of the world.
‘The CEO ruined that sweet girl…’
13 years old.
The Aeseul the manager first met was a bit spoiled, but she genuinely loved singing.
She was still like that until the CEO started pushing her aggressively after she turned 19.
‘I couldn’t stop him…’
The manager leaned against the wall and slumped down, covering her face with her hands and sighing deeply, as if she wanted to cry.
Aeseul, oblivious to her manager’s feelings, smirked, looking at Eun-ji’s background information.
A street trash pretending to be something she’s not
The glass shows you, you’ve forgotten your worth
You’re a weed
I’m the herbicide prepared for you
I’ll stomp and pull you out, erase you without a trace
That was her diss track aimed at Eun-ji.
Aeseul had initially just wanted to know who Eun-ji was.
But when she realized the difference in their backgrounds and their current status, she felt a sense of indignation and decided to put Eun-ji in her place.
Four days after releasing the song…
Eun-ji’s response track swept the awards, far surpassing Aeseul’s song.
That creature, who had lived a life she couldn’t even imagine, was now standing on stage, smiling triumphantly.
‘And she’s holding the trophy I wanted the most, showing it off.’
That being, from the very bottom of the pyramid, was now mocking her from above.
“I was able to receive this award entirely thanks to Aeseul. Thank you for throwing such good bait.”
It was the greatest humiliation Aeseul had ever experienced.
Hoping to ruin Eun-ji, she gave an order filled with malice.
“Leak all her information.”
Contrary to Aeseul’s expectations, the news didn’t spread widely.
It seemed to be because of the CEO of NRY Entertainment, whose influence even her uncle acknowledged.
“You can’t go in there!”
“Aeseul! Let’s talk!”
“Hey!”
“Aeseul!”
A few days later…
At the DI Music Entertainment building…
When Aeseul visited the company after a long time, Eun-ho, who had been waiting for her, grabbed her arm as she was about to enter.
Despite the guards’ attempts to stop him, Eun-ho clung to her sleeve.
“What do you want?!”
Eun-ho yelled, unable to contain his anger.
The moment Aeseul saw his face…
…she was mesmerized, her eyes scanning him up and down.
‘Wow, he’s my type. Cold and handsome, with a great body.’
Eun-ho, used to such looks because of Jo Kwang-soo, wanted to curse her out.
But he held back, seeing a chance to talk to her.
Aeseul signaled the guards to let him go.
“Let him go. He’s my guest.”
As the guards hesitated, Aeseul snapped at them.
They reluctantly released Eun-ho.
Eun-ho brushed off his wrinkled blazer and stood in front of Aeseul, glaring at the guards.
Aeseul didn’t care what he was yelling about.
She had always gotten what she wanted, and she assumed it would be the same with Eun-ho.
She was already fantasizing about him, convinced that they were destined to meet, that the unpleasant encounter with Lee Eun-ji at the shop was all part of a grand plan.
“You know why I’m here.”
“No, I don’t.”
“I’m here to find out why you’re messing with my sister, who’s finally getting her life together.”
Aeseul smirked, her eyes still scanning him up and down.
Eun-ho’s face darkened, his expression clearly showing his inner turmoil, despite his silence.
He glared at her as a warning, but Aeseul didn’t stop.
“Stop looking at me like that before I gouge your eyes out, and answer my question, you bitch.”
If this were after the regression, Eun-ho would have been more patient, but he was more impulsive back then.
Although he had always been mature for his age, the constant comparisons with Eun-ji after entering the industry had made him more sensitive.
Aeseul, seemingly snapping out of her daze at his curses, stopped looking at him and met his gaze.
“You’re so… uncultured.”
Eun-ho scoffed at her provocation.
“Bullshit. Judging by your words and actions, you’re no better than me when it comes to manners.”