Siblings Work in Business (136)
The next day, at dawn…
I woke up on the living room floor again. I pulled the blanket off, feeling a strange warmth on my back, and a black, furry lump rolled off with it.
I was confused at first.
“I…?”
“Yeah, you.”
“Carried it?”
“Yeah, Briquette.”
“Why?”
“You ask me ‘why’? You brought it in like a sack of potatoes and said we should keep it.”
Eun-ji said, looking at me incredulously, when I asked her after she woke up.
I was so sleepy that my memory was hazy.
I vaguely remembered having a conversation with Briquette…
「“Mrow…”」
I clearly remember Briquette making a strange noise, and me shaking it.
But I couldn’t just kick it out now that I had brought it in.
『What are you looking at, punk?』
Should I just kick it out?
After I woke up, it had already made itself comfortable in a corner of the living room, the sunniest spot, on top of Eun-ji’s clothes.
Come to think of it, that looked like Eun-ji’s pajamas.
“Are you sure it’s okay to let it use your clothes?”
“Huh? Ah, it’s fine. It’s cute.”
It was too late to wear it now, anyway, covered in Briquette’s black fur.
And so, we had a new family member: Briquette.
Knowing nothing about cats except for strays, we called the CEO for help.
He readily agreed, and a little later…
He brought a carrier, and we took Briquette to the vet.
“Meow!”
I thought it would be familiar with this, since it could talk, but it seemed like I was wrong. Briquette’s eyes widened in surprise during the examination.
There was a test where they used a cotton swab… well…
…on its anus.
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. Were you surprised?”
“Hiss!”
“Haha, we’re all done. You’re healthy. You seem to have quite the personality—and quite stubborn, too—”
Briquette glared at the vet, seemingly offended by the unexpected intrusion. It looked like it was about to say something.
I couldn’t help but feel a sense of vicarious revenge.
The vet’s kind words didn’t seem to comfort Briquette; it refused to leave Eun-ji’s arms until we left the animal hospital.
We agreed to pay for the vet bills and the litter with the allowance the CEO gave us.
It was our responsibility now.
“Here.”
I tried to maintain a calm expression as I handed over the card, but my hand was trembling.
I didn’t know it would be this expensive.
The CEO even said, “This is a cheap place,” which wasn’t very comforting.
After the checkup, Eun-ji took the sulking Briquette and went home.
I went with the CEO to buy supplies at a store he frequented.
“Cat food is more expensive than dog food…”
“If you feed a cat dog food, it will get malnourished.”
“Do we really need litter…?”
“Would you be able to live without a toilet?”
“Well, that’s… not ideal. But there are so many other types of litter…”
“If you use the wrong kind, you’ll end up paying even more in vet bills, and the house will be filled with dust.”
I paid for the bills and the supplies, each price making me wince.
I was surprised by how much it cost, and that it was a recurring expense.
…The cost of a life.
That evening…
Briquette seemed to think it could get away with not fulfilling its promise, taking advantage of my hazy memory.
But the missing pieces of my memory slowly returned, including the reason why I agreed to keep it.
“Hey, Briquette.”
“Me-meow.”
“You have to keep your promises.”
“Meow.”
Lee Eun-ji was at the company, asking the CEO about how to take care of Briquette.
Which meant, this cat had no allies.
I grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, and its yellow eyes darted around, avoiding my gaze.
“Talk.”
“Meow.”
“…”
I carried the cat, which was pretending to be a normal cat, to the bathroom.
“Hey, Briquette.”
“Meow?”
“Do you know what ‘nyang-ppal’ (cat bath) is?”
“…”
“I can wash you until your fur turns white. Think carefully.”
Its yellow eyes widened in fear.
“Well, if you’re not going to answer, let’s start with a half-bath.”
『S-Stubborn! Good grief!』
“You should have just talked.”
『Just… l-let go of me!』
Briquette struggled, its paws flailing.
I let it go, although I was still suspicious, as it seemed willing to negotiate.
But the moment I released it, Briquette broke off the negotiation and ran to Lee Eun-ji’s room.
“That little…”
I went to Eun-ji’s room to catch it.
Or rather, I was about to when…
『Wh-What is this?!』
Briquette rushed out of Eun-ji’s room, as if it had seen something horrifying.
“What?”
Curious, I opened the door, and it was Eun-ji’s usual pigsty.
The only difference was… the smell?
I sniffed the air; it was a citrus scent, a mix of lime, lemon, and other fragrances.
Briquette, covering its nose with its paws, glared at me.
“Serves you right for going in there.”
I said it as a tease, but I suddenly had an idea.
『Wh-What? What…』
“If you don’t talk, you can’t leave Eun-ji’s room.”
It was a threat.
Briquette’s fur bristled; it clearly didn’t like that.
『I… I can’t tell you everything.』
“Then tell me what you can tell me.”
『I don’t want to.』
I almost cursed, but I managed to hold back. I was close to my goal.
“Then just tell me this.”
『What.』
“When I wake up, or… anytime, I’m not going to find out it was all a dream, right? Or that you were a hallucination, right? That kind of bullshit’s not going to happen, is it?”
『What did you call that time… back then?』
“Before the regression?”
『Anyway, you can’t go back to that time, even if you want to.』
Good news.
But how?
『Don’t ask ‘how.’ I’m not telling you.』
“Give me a hint.”
『A hint? Hmm… I changed it. That’s it.』
“Changed? Changed what?”
『Did you hear me? I’m done. Just enjoy your new life, you got lucky.』
Briquette blinked its eyes, a suspicious glint in them.
It was a cryptic hint that only raised more questions, but whether I believed it or not was up to me.
And even if it was a lie, I didn’t care.
「“You can’t go back to that time, even if you want to.”」
It was what I wanted to hear.
The days were hectic, not only because of Briquette, our new family member, but also because we were preparing two songs at the same time.
We left early in the morning for a music video shoot.
“I’ll be back, Briquette.”
“Meow.”
“I’m leaving.”
“…”
Briquette was very selective with its affection.
I hadn’t had a proper conversation with it since it answered my question.
It sometimes said things like, 『Hey, I’m hungry,』 or, 『Hey, clean my litter box, it’s dirty,』 when Eun-ji wasn’t around, but…
Thinking about it, I was getting annoyed.
“That damn cat—”
“Why are you being mean to Briquette?”
“Meow!”
As Eun-ji scolded me, Briquette meowed in agreement.
We were the humans, the owners of this house, yet we seemed to be serving Briquette.
Feed it, give it water, clean its litter box, give it treats.
And its fur was everywhere, so we had to clean more often.
Even Eun-ji, who used to live in a pigsty, was becoming cleaner because of it.
Since Briquette hated the citrus scent, she even got rid of the air freshener, and she had suddenly started cleaning her room.
I had been worried because they say people change when they’re about to die, but…
Thankfully, Eun-ji seemed to be returning to her usual self.
At least, she was cleaner than before.
‘I wonder how long it will last…’
But for now, it was a positive change.
And Eun-ji still didn’t believe Briquette could talk.
‘And she believes I regressed…?’
My mind, already filled with questions because of that damn cat, was working overtime.
Two Songs
We arrived at the familiar Cellas shop.
After an intense styling session with the enthusiastic Director Kang Mi-joo, we got back in the car, my hair styled and pinned, Eun-ji’s in full makeup.
The music video for “Footsteps” was a mix of 2D, 3D, and other styles, so Eun-ji and I only appeared briefly.
‘“Briefly,” he says…’
The actual filming wasn’t that short.
And today, we were wearing similar outfits to the ones from the “Footsteps” music video shoot.
Eun-ji was wearing a white off-shoulder blouse and black dress pants, her hair slightly more wavy than usual.
My outfit wasn’t complete yet.
My hair was styled, but it looked messy, as if I had been drinking the night before. But that was the intention; Director Kang Mi-joo had meticulously styled it that way.
I was wearing a plain white t-shirt and black dress pants.
Unlike Eun-ji, who was already in her full outfit, I had to change after we arrived, so this was just a temporary look.
Although the outfits were similar, today was for the “Hae-ga” music video shoot, not “Footsteps.”
I felt a little excited, as if I was finally going to do some real work, not just practice.
The car sped up and arrived at a penthouse I had never seen before, even before the regression.
Eun-ji’s jaw dropped at the sight of the swimming pool.
“Wow, there’s a swimming pool and a front yard inside the house.”
“If you lived here, you wouldn’t even have to go outside.”
“Ugh, wouldn’t that be suffocating?”
“I like it.”
Eun-ji shook her head at my answer, as if she couldn’t understand.
After our initial shock at the luxurious, hotel-like interior…
“…Wow.”
“Woooow.”
This time, we were impressed for a different reason.
The lighting and cameras suggested this was the filming location, but…
…it looked like a house party had just ended.
It was a mess.
Empty bottles, scattered potato chips, colorful plastic cups…
And sticky stains on the floor.
“Wow, it really looks like there was a party here.”
“There was a party.”
“…?”
“It’s more authentic to film after a real party, just cleaned up a little.”
As I tried to hide my surprise, I saw a familiar face.
“PD Kim Cheol-soo?”
“Yes, Eun-ho, it’s been a while.”