Siblings Work in Business (116)
“…”
“…”
A brief silence hung in the air.
Aeseul’s sigh broke the silence.
‘Damn it.’
Although he had spoken impulsively, he immediately regretted it.
He had come here hoping to resolve the situation through conversation, but he had practically told her to kick him out.
“Let’s talk inside.”
He had been worried about being dragged away again, but thankfully, Aeseul led him to her studio.
Eun-ho looked around; a small crowd was gathering in front of the company building.
Continuing the conversation here would be advantageous for cornering Aeseul.
But he also had to be careful, considering Eun-ji’s future.
He followed Aeseul into the DI Music Entertainment building.
The interior was as flashy as the exterior.
He followed her into the elevator, which was also decorated in gold, almost blindingly so.
The strong scent of Aeseul’s perfume, a mix of rose and something stale, filled the air.
“Come in. And… turn off your recorder while you’re at it.”
How did she know?
Eun-ho deliberately showed her him turning off the recording function on his phone.
Aeseul opened the door to her studio.
The cloying scent of rose mixed with something stale, which he had noticed earlier, intensified.
He frowned at the overpowering scent, and Aeseul smirked.
“Have a seat.”
He sat down on the red sofa she gestured towards, but despite the soft velvet, it felt like a bed of thorns.
“Let’s continue our conversation. You asked me why, right?”
Aeseul sat down across from Eun-ho, crossing her legs and resting her chin on her hand.
Although he hadn’t said anything, she seemed to interpret his silence as a question and continued, a smirk playing on her lips,
“I don’t like that woman being above me.”
Although he had expected it, her blatant, malicious answer left Eun-ho speechless.
All he could ask was “Why?”
He knew from the rumors she spread how she felt about their past.
He believed that everyone had their own struggles, regardless of their background or status.
So, he initially tried to understand her, thinking she must have her reasons.
Yes.
He tried.
But…
‘This is bullshit.’
This was a capitalist society. Even if someone started at the bottom…
They shouldn’t wallow in self-pity and blame the world.
That’s what the CEO always told them.
Aeseul smiled.
Was she the result of wallowing in self-pity?
When he was struggling with Lee Eun-ji’s talent, the CEO had told him,
Some people soared with wings, but he had a sturdy rope in front of him, so why wasn’t he climbing?
The result was the same: reaching the rooftop.
The process didn’t change the outcome.
But he had to work harder to get there.
「“If your wings are broken, you have to walk. You, who climbed with effort, have something unique that only you can achieve.”」
Whether it was his sister, or someone else…
Instead of comparing himself to others, he should grab the rope and climb.
That’s what the CEO had said.
In the end, even hard work was seen as talent by others.
He believed that.
He told himself to try, at least take a step, instead of blaming others.
He climbed one step at a time, watching Lee Eun-ji soar to the tenth floor.
And those steps, accumulating, had brought him to the first floor, and now, with more strength, he was aiming for the second and third.
That was him.
“We’re not on the same level. You, your sister, and me.”
Despite her words, Aeseul wore a friendly smile.
Lee Eun-ji’s provocations never angered him this much, but Aeseul’s every word made his blood boil.
“You don’t want your and your sister’s past to be revealed… Ah, right. That would be embarrassing. Beggars and orphans.”
Aeseul mimicked his tone when she said “embarrassing.”
“I thought it was a movie plot. Haha.”
“…Defamation of character—”
“Pfft. Are you threatening me with legal action? Seriously?”
“…”
“Okay, let’s say you do. So what? Since we’re already here, should we make it even more interesting? I’m curious what will happen to your sister.”
He had expected this.
‘This is DI Music, after all…’
Eun-ho gritted his teeth, then closed his mouth.
「“There are rumors going around?”」
Lee Eun-ji seemed shocked when she first heard about the rumors.
She wasn’t usually the type to overthink things, but she seemed troubled for days.
She even made jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles) without draining the water.
「“Hey, that’s jjajangmyeon.”」
「“Oh? Ah, it’s okay.”」
And she ate it like it was normal.
「“It tasted a bit bland.”」
She even complained after finishing it.
He understood why she was so disturbed.
It was a complicated issue.
He also didn’t want their past to be revealed, especially not by someone else.
His manager, Do-jin, had said, “Then why don’t you reveal it yourselves?”
He wasn’t wrong.
But he didn’t want to.
It felt strange to suddenly announce to the world, “We lived a difficult life.”
‘What’s the point?’
It would be like asking for pity.
He didn’t want that.
And even if they did…
There were people who would accuse them of lying, even if they told the truth.
Neither of them wanted that kind of attention.
He just wanted to be seen as ‘Lee Eun-ho,’ and Lee Eun-ji as ‘Lee Eun-ji,’ not as ‘poor kids who sing.’
That’s how he felt…
…before meeting Aeseul.
‘So there are people like this.’
Someone who didn’t want them to escape their past.
Eun-ji had often been told “no” by other composers.
But thanks to the success of “Wise,” she had proven that she could do it on her own.
Even if he sometimes felt insecure about Eun-ji’s talent, she was his sister.
He didn’t want to hold her back now that she had finally reached a place where she could freely express herself.
「“Just shut up and do as I say, you beggar.”」
He hadn’t expected to remember him here, perhaps because of the Jo Kwang-soo incident.
He was sick of being someone’s toy.
If this story came out, more people like him would attack them, attack Eun-ji.
It had been a while since he felt this desperate need to be smarter, more capable.
He was angry that this was all he could say to her.
“What do you want.”
“What do I want?”
“What do I have to do to make you shut up?”
“That’s a decent offer, coming from an uneducated mind.”
His words weren’t polite.
Thankfully, Aeseul didn’t seem to mind.
He understood her intention from her next words.
“Run errands for me.”
“Errands?”
“Whenever I need something, you come and do it.”
“Why errands?”
“My manager is competent, but she nags too much, and my current errand boy tells my uncle everything.”
“What if I refuse?”
“If you do…”
Aeseul placed her phone on the table and tapped it playfully.
She quickly took her hand off the phone.
But Eun-ho couldn’t take his eyes off it.
Many thoughts raced through his mind.
DI Music Entertainment was a subsidiary of ‘Divide,’ a large corporation.
Divide was so influential that there was a saying, “If Divide falls, Korea falls.”
No matter how much money the CEO had…
It would be unwise to antagonize them.
He didn’t want to cause trouble…
As if reading his mind, Aeseul added quietly,
“I heard your CEO tried to suppress the rumors, but what if I help spread them?”
A clear, unfamiliar sound made him look up. He saw a luxurious lighter with the inscription ‘S.T.D…,’ the rest of the letters illegible due to the cursive font.
Click.
The lighter closed with a crisp sound.
As he looked at the gold lighter, he saw Aeseul holding a cigarette.
So that was the source of the stale smell mixed with the rose scent.
“Can he sht—op me then?”
Aeseul said, her words slightly slurred because of the cigarette in her mouth.
“No matter how much money or connections CEO Park has… I doubt it.”
“Cough.”
Eun-ho frowned at the pungent smell of cigarette smoke filling the room.
Aeseul, as if amused by his coughing, smirked.
“Your sister even won an award. Remember, the reporters are just waiting for a juicy story.”
Her mocking words, although unpleasant, weren’t wrong.
The CEO had been looking for a new, more secure apartment, concerned about the reporters and other suspicious individuals lurking around their current office, a renovated house.
He didn’t hesitate.
“…So, all I have to do is run errands.”
“That’s right. Do you want something in return?”
“Cough, don’t be ridiculous.”
Aeseul pulled a closed ashtray closer.
As she opened the lid, it was filled with cigarette ash, and the stale smell intensified.
Aeseul flicked the ash from her cigarette.
If he had thought about it more carefully, there might have been other options, but the smoke was clouding his mind.
He felt like he was in a gas chamber.
He hated cigarettes.
The ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’ who raised them used to smoke incessantly.
He gritted his teeth, his fists clenching, but this was the best he could do for now.
“Your phone.”
“Cough.”
“Stop being dramatic.”
“Damn it. Cough. Put out your cigarette first.”
Aeseul took his phone, ignoring his words.
She handed it back, her number saved under the name ‘Master♥.’
‘Fuck.’
He immediately changed the name to ‘ㅗ’ (Korean equivalent of the middle finger).