Siblings Work in Business (129)
I didn’t think much when I first heard the song Ye-chan gave us.
I just pictured Ye-chan, Joo Song-min, and Seo Seung-yeon, and thought it suited them.
But when Eun-ji suggested ‘separation’ as the theme, I paused.
Separation was often associated with night, dawn, or rainy weather.
Most songs about separation were like that.
But my most painful separation wasn’t on a ‘rainy day’ like in novels, movies, or songs.
It was midday, the sun shining brightly, when Do-jin hyung told me about Eun-ji.
The mood of the song didn’t fit rain or night either.
That’s why it came to mind.
‘I don’t want to admit it, but…’
Lee Eun-ji.
The most painful separation in my life was when she, the one giggling next to me, passed away.
Unlike the usual pain of missing someone at night, I was in pain during the day and afraid at night.
The pale image of Lee Eun-ji, faint during the day, became more vivid at night, or when I was in pain.
‘Now I know ‘that Eun-ji’ and ‘this Eun-ji’ are the same…’
But back then, it was an agonizing time.
‘I was crazy. Completely.’
The part of me that wanted to forget.
The part of me that refused to forget.
And the part of me that wanted to give up and die.
Clinging to Eun-ji’s diary, the part of me that screamed, ‘She told me to live!’
They fought fiercely within me.
There were no winners; I was just… broken.
I forced a smile, not wanting to worry the CEO, who was like a father to us.
But it didn’t work; he was still worried.
‘I could see his heart breaking.’
And that made me feel even worse, guilty and sorry.
I tried to go to a hospital.
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t even step inside. Just seeing a hospital from afar brought back the memory of Eun-ji lying in that bed.
And then came the suffocating feeling of hyperventilation, like drowning but knowing I wouldn’t die.
I wished I could just die, but at the same time, I foolishly wanted to live.
「Even if I die, you have to live, you bastard.」
I had to live.
Because that was Eun-ji’s wish, her last words.
My only lasting memory of separation was that.
The lyrics for “Hot Afternoon” were about how I felt that day.
I wrote them with such force that the pen marks were imprinted on the last page of my notebook.
And singing the song, although I had expected it to be difficult, was even harder than I imagined.
I was so happy
When I left
But why now
Do I just want to cry?
My voice cracked during the high note of the climax. My suppressed emotions burst out, revealing my true feelings.
I wanted to remove that part. The cracked voice wasn’t pleasant to hear, and it revealed the emotions I had been trying to hide.
But perhaps it only sounded bad to me.
「“I’ll re-record it. My voice cracked.”」
Just as I offered to re-record it…
「“No! Leave it. This is perfect. Lee Eun-ho, you won’t be able to sing it like this again!”」
Eun-ji, as if having a sixth sense, caught that part and insisted.
And she was right.
When I reached the part that bothered me, the chat, which had been laughing and joking, was filled with tears.
“Ugh, sniff.”
Huh?
I turned around at the sound of sobbing, and there she was, crying…
Seul-gi, the stylist, hurriedly came over and handed Eun-ji a tissue.
Her own eyes were also teary.
Sniffle
Eun-ji blew her nose loudly.
…I should have just pretended not to notice.
As Eun-ji turned back towards the camera after blowing her nose…
‘She’s such a mess.’
There was a piece of tissue stuck to her cheek.
Eun-ji, completely immersed in the music video, seemed oblivious to it, her eyes still teary.
At first, it was out of kindness.
‘Hey.’
‘What.’
Normally, I would have teased her, but the cameras were rolling.
Should I have just teased her like usual?
It was too late, but I still wanted to tell her before it got worse, so I gave her a signal.
I nudged her and pointed at my own cheek.
‘You have a tissue on your cheek.’
The message got lost in translation. Eun-ji, her eyes and nose red, glared at me.
‘What about your cheek?’
It was a clear miscommunication.
Eun-ho pointed at the tissue in Eun-ji’s hand, then at her cheek again.
‘Tissue, there, on your cheek.’
She should have understood by now.
Then…
“What are you doing?”
“Like you said.”
“Huh?”
Eun-ji suddenly took the tissue and slapped Eun-ho’s cheek with it.
Eun-ho, dumbfounded, his hand on his cheek, asked,
“When did I ever…?”
“Just now!”
Eun-ji said, looking at him incredulously.
“You pointed at the tissue! And then your cheek! Like you wanted me to hit you with it!”
“Look at your own cheek before you call me crazy.”
I said calmly, but then…
I instantly regretted it. I hadn’t expected that single piece of tissue to ruin the sentimental mood.
“What’s on my cheek.”
The moment Eun-ji turned her head…
The piece of tissue fell to the floor.
Eun-ji quickly looked at the camera monitor, but of course, it wasn’t there anymore.
“There’s nothing there.”
“There was.”
“There’s not!”
“There was! She had a tissue on her cheek when she was crying and blowing her nose!”
Eun-ho looked at the camera, hoping for confirmation from the E%.
[Was there? ㅎㅎ]
[I didn’t see it? Lol]
[Rangi… are you okay?]
That’s not what he wanted.
‘Wait, what?’
‘Are they all Eun-ji’s fans?’
‘Or did they seriously not see it?’
‘Did the stream cut out for a second?’
‘It was big enough to see, even if the screen glitched…’
I had all sorts of thoughts, but the ‘ㅎㅎ’ and ‘lol’ in the comments annoyed me.
“CEO, rewind the footage. I can’t go home without clearing this up.”
CEO Park wrote on a board, ‘I can’t rewind it now,’ and showed it to them.
Eun-ho clutched the back of his neck.
“I’m telling you, there was! Look! Look next to you! There’s a piece of tissue on the floor!”
“Why are you being like this?”
“No, look! I said there’s something there!”
“Fine! I’ll look! There’s nothing there!”
“There was a big piece of tissue, and you’re saying there’s nothing there? Don’t lie— huh?”
Eun-ji actually looked.
Eun-ho also looked around.
But the piece of tissue had vanished.
“It was there! Right here!”
“Honestly… just admit you were wrong. It’s embarrassing.”
“It’s not embarrassing, I’m not lying! It was there! E%, didn’t any of you see it? I’m seriously frustrated.”
I asked for help, but the chat was just filled with “lol.”
[Oh no ㅠㅠㅠ]
[Lol I can’t stop laughing]
[Rangi lol]
[Sorry lol]
[I seriously didn’t see it lol]
[Oppa, lol I feel bad saying this since you seem so upset, but it’s cute lol]
[Rangi, are you a masochist?]
Among all the “lol,” the letter ‘M’ caught my eye.
“I’m not a masochist!”
I knew they were teasing me.
But I couldn’t just let it go.
The evidence was gone, they couldn’t rewind the footage, and the fans, who he thought would have seen it, were all feigning ignorance.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Then, Eun-ji added,
“Okay, let’s say it was there. It fell off, so it’s fine now.”
“No, it—”
I suddenly felt like snapping.
“It’s not ‘let’s say it was there,’ it was there.”
“Why are you getting angry?!”
“I’m not angry!”
“You are angry right now!”
“No! It’s because you—!”
Just then, CEO Park, as if anticipating this situation, displayed a picture of his cat on screen with the caption, ‘Adjusting the screen.’
[LOL]
[Real sibling fight lol]
[LOL]
[Aw, why did you cover it? It’s fun watching Rangi get teased lol]
[Show us too! Why are you only showing them?!]
[LOL]
The chat was filled with various reactions.
While the screen was being “adjusted,” Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s bickering intensified.
“No, really, I believe you now, okay?”
“It’s not about believing, it was there!”
“I said I believe you! It was there!”
“Okay!”
“It fell off!”
“Yeah!”
“So it’s fine now!”
“O-Okay.”
“See?”
“Yeah…”
It was fine, but… something felt off.
“It would have been over if you had just admitted it.”
“Okay, okay, I get it.”
“If you talk like that—”
“If I talk like thaaaat—”
“…”
Eun-ho turned his head away from Eun-ji, closing his mouth.
“Gasp, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Oppa, I’ll stop teasing.”
Eun-ji quickly apologized, her hands clasped together, as if sensing the change in his mood.
‘Teasing him in front of E% must have been a critical hit.’
Eun-ho had his usual expressionless face, but his lips were slightly more pursed than usual.
This was ‘real.’
Lee Eun-ho, genuinely sulking after years…
‘I need to write this in my diary.’
I had to commemorate this day.
But I hated getting caught up in things.
That’s why I apologized first.
Unlike Eun-ji, who seemed to be enjoying this… the CEO, witnessing the unusual situation, was speechless.
Eun-ji rarely used honorifics with Eun-ho after becoming an adult.
She thought it felt like admitting defeat.
But she was apologizing.
Eun-ji seemed to sense the CEO’s thoughts.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Eun-ji shrugged and looked at Eun-ho.
“Hey.”
“…”
“I’ll clean the bathroom drain today.”
“…”
“And I’ll do the dishes. Once.”
“Twice.”
“Fine, twice.”
“Deal.”
Eun-ho’s anger was easily appeased.
[What just happened?]
[lol It feels like a lot was omitted?]
[What happened in between?]
[Ji-ji looks tired lol]
After the cat picture disappeared from the screen…
The chat was filled with question marks.
Eun-ho, as if he hadn’t just raised his voice, was smiling nonchalantly, and Eun-ji’s exhaustion was evident on her face.
The live broadcast, which had started as ‘Let’s watch the music video together!’, then inadvertently turned into a live sibling fight, somehow ended on a good(?) note.