Siblings Work in Business (127)
After the commotion, inside the meeting room of Longing Project…
…which was actually just a partitioned space in a commercial building…
“Hello. We are E-U.N.G, I’m Lee Eun-ho, and this is Lee Eun-ji.”
“Um… where are the other staff members…?”
Kim Myeong-hun, the PD at Longing Project, looked at Eun-ho and Eun-ji with a puzzled expression.
Usually, when artists from agencies came for meetings, they were accompanied by agency staff.
Especially with rookies, it was quite common for the artists themselves to not even attend.
Kim Myeong-hun had expected the same, and when he saw Hyun-woo and Seul-gi, he thought, ‘Ah, so those two are the agency staff,’ and led them inside.
But Hyun-woo and Seul-gi excused themselves and left.
From then on…
PD Kim Myeong-hun, looking at Eun-ho and Eun-ji, asked,
“Ah, haha. So, you two are handling the meeting yourselves.”
“Yes. We look forward to working with you.”
Although momentarily flustered, PD Kim Myeong-hun managed to maintain his composure and sat down.
The bickering siblings from the car were nowhere to be seen; Eun-ho and Eun-ji participated in the meeting with a serious attitude.
PD Kim first assessed their personalities.
Then, he asked about their songwriting schedule.
Contrary to his initial worries, the meeting proceeded smoothly.
It was largely thanks to Eun-ho’s eloquence.
“We’d like to hear the song first. Is that possible?”
“Ah, yes, of course.”
Eun-ho nudged Eun-ji and nodded.
‘What?’
‘Footsteps.’
‘You have it.’
‘I’m asking you to play it because I don’t have it. You have the track, right?’
‘Why didn’t you bring it?’
‘I thought you would.’
‘Ha…’
Eun-ji reluctantly took out her phone and placed it on the table.
PD Kim, watching their silent exchange, stared at Eun-ji’s phone.
Of course, it wasn’t the phone that was interesting, but their sibling communication.
PD Kim’s wife was a fan of ‘He is 1+1=1.’
So, he knew, whether he wanted to or not, that “Last Day” was E-UNG’s song.
But although he knew about ‘E-UNG,’ he wasn’t particularly interested in their music, as his wife’s singing wasn’t very good. He just thought it was a decent song.
That was, until he heard this song.
A darkened night
Light on this path, stillness
Settling down, I close my eyes
A pleasant acoustic guitar and piano melody played, followed by a voice.
‘This voice…’
PD Kim, although he knew it was Eun-ji singing, was still surprised.
Her image, or rather, her aura…
…was surprisingly gentle and calm, contrasting with her sharp features.
Her deep, resonant voice was perfect for late nights.
Then…
Sleep tight
Like a mother’s goodnight to her child, a father’s goodnight to his child
A farewell I only imagined saying to you
PD Kim looked up at Eun-ho in surprise.
He hadn’t expected such a high vocal range from Eun-ho, whose speaking voice was quite low.
‘Is it the same person…?’
But Eun-ho’s singing voice was different, a stark contrast to his speaking voice.
I’m always afraid
But you’re always cheerful
I hoped my pain wouldn’t touch you
But why are you hurting too?
PD Kim, who had started listening casually, was startled by the sudden wave of emotion. His eyes widened.
Eun-ho’s voice, effortlessly hitting the high notes with skillful techniques, conveyed raw emotion – a sorrowful, yet not entirely melancholic, tone.
It was a complex mix of feelings.
How could he capture this in a video?
PD Kim looked down at the proposal again as he listened.
‘Ah, this is it. That’s why.’
He finally understood the frequent scene changes, which had initially seemed confusing and a bit too much.
“That’s the end.”
Eun-ho said, taking the phone from Eun-ji.
‘Ah.’
PD Kim almost expressed his disappointment, then stopped.
It was his way of preserving the initial impression, which might fade upon a second listen.
Eun-ho casually slid the phone back to Eun-ji.
But the phone, slipping on the smooth table, flew through the air.
“Whoa!”
Eun-ji quickly grabbed it, and Eun-ho, also surprised, stared at it.
A brief silence followed, but thankfully, Eun-ji caught it.
‘We’ll talk after the meeting.’
‘…’
Eun-ho avoided Eun-ji’s furious glare, pretending not to notice.
PD Kim chuckled at their interaction.
‘This… this could be interesting.’
He was now glad that only the artists, not their managers, were present at the meeting.
PD Kim, his interest piqued, asked Eun-ho,
“What’s the deadline?”
“Including the review process, we need it by the end of May.”
“Then I need the final edit by the last week of May.”
“Yes.”
End of May…
That was a tight deadline.
Frequent scene changes, a mix of pop-up book style, 2D, 3D, and CGI…
It would be a challenging project.
“The concept seems good, but with such a short timeframe, the budget will be quite high.”
Kim Myeong-hun was concerned about the lack of agency staff or a CEO at the meeting.
“What’s your budget…?”
It was the most crucial question.
This was a business.
And businesses were about profit, not loss.
So, no matter how good the project was, the numbers had to work.
He wasn’t interested in ambitious projects with insufficient budgets.
PD Kim asked, his tone slightly sharp, but Eun-ho seemed unfazed.
Eun-ho raised a hand and discreetly showed PD Kim a number with his fingers, making sure Eun-ji couldn’t see it.
“Will it be okay?”
“It should be.”
“Even with Eun-ho here, there are still budget concerns and…”
Seul-gi handed Hyun-woo a freshly brewed iced Americano and asked worriedly.
“I don’t think we have to worry about that.”
Hyun-woo answered without hesitation.
He hadn’t been with NRY Entertainment for long, but he was one of the few who had seen CEO Park, Eun-ho, and Eun-ji up close.
So he knew.
He had seen firsthand how CEO Park treated them, and what kind of person he was.
“Why?”
“Because it’s the CEO.”
“Ah…”
While Seul-gi tilted her head, Hyun-woo took a long gulp of his iced Americano and continued.
‘Well…’
He could understand Seul-gi’s concerns.
Although she hadn’t been in the industry for long, she knew that the relationship between CEO Park and the siblings wasn’t a typical CEO-artist relationship.
“That’s true. He wouldn’t let his kids be humiliated.”
CEO Park wouldn’t have sent Eun-ho alone without proper preparation.
‘Gasp.’
As Hyun-woo and Seul-gi expected…
PD Kim seemed shocked by the number Eun-ho showed him.
His eyes widened, and he gasped, his mouth agape.
It was a natural reaction.
It was almost double the usual budget for a music video.
“That’s our budget.”
Any production company that turned down this offer would be doing so because they genuinely couldn’t handle the project.
But Kim Myeong-hun seemed confident, as he smiled in relief and said,
“Haha. It will be a challenging project, but it sounds good.”
“NRY is willing to invest generously, expecting high-quality results.”
“Our company might be small, but producing good work is our pride. You don’t have to worry about that.”
The contract was signed successfully.
After being told that the PPM would be sent later, Eun-ho and Eun-ji left Longing Project.
Hyun-woo and Seul-gi, relieved, sighed, their worries dispelled.
They looked at Eun-ho and Eun-ji, emerging from the building, with pride.
But their pride was short-lived.
“Because of you, I almost dropped my phone.”
“You caught it, didn’t you?”
Thwack!
“You still deserve to be hit.”
Eun-ji punched Eun-ho’s shoulder.
Thwack.
“Not fair.”
Eun-ho retaliated instantly.
“…”
“…”
Even from inside the car, they could feel the tension between them.
“Seul-gi.”
“Yes.”
Seul-gi, seemingly anticipating Hyun-woo’s words, quickly rolled down the window and yelled,
“Get in the car before I film this and send it to the CEO.”
Thankfully, the word “CEO” seemed to be enough to defuse the situation.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji, now docile as lambs, got in the car and fastened their seatbelts, as if they hadn’t been fighting just moments ago.
A few days later…
An hour before the “Hot Afternoon” music video release…
[Waiting 1]
└ Waiting 2
└ Waiting 3
└ Waiting 3
└ I’m 4
└ 5
└ 6, including my sister, makes 7
[6:30 I’m getting dizzy, I can’t wait any longer. What time is it? Seriously, time isn’t moving.]
└ 28 minutes until 7
Just as the excited chatter filled E-FAN…
[OMG E-Percenters, gather!!! Live broadcast!!!]
└ What?!
└ Rangi and Ji-ji will be doing a reaction video!!!
A surprise live reaction broadcast started 20 minutes before the release of “Hot Afternoon.”
[(Live) E% everyone, let’s watch the ‘Hot Afternoon’ MV together with E-UNG!]
Meanwhile, perhaps because of the sudden influx of users…
The server seemed to be struggling.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji on screen were looking worriedly in Sung-min’s direction.
While Sung-min worked frantically, the E% coordinated, “Let’s stop chatting for a while.”
Instead, they flocked to the free board to express their excitement.
[Ji and Rangi’s fashion today is insane…
Rangi, white on top, black on the bottom.
Ji-ji, black on top, white on the bottom.
Both in shirts and slacks, but with reversed colors ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
└ I fainted after seeing them in person.
└ The stylist is a god ㅠㅠㅠ
└ Why didn’t anyone tell me about the chokers?
[To the E-Per above,
Why didn’t you tell us about Rangi’s black choker and Ji-ji’s white choker…?
I almost died from the surprise!]
└ Surprise event ㅇ.<
└ I’m obsessed, seriously ♥♥ What an amazing combination!
└ Their duality! NRY, you guys are amazing! I need to go to the ER, I’m dying from this!
└ I can’t breathe! Is this heaven…?
└ Lol the exaggeration lol
└ I was born to see this stylist.
└ Thank you, stylist-nim, I found meaning in life thanks to you.
└ Stop it lol you guys are so extra lol