Siblings Work in Business (145)
CEO Park looked at Hwa-rang, who was sitting across from him, her eyes filled with a desperate plea.
“Please accept me.”
“I understand, but…”
“Please, CEO Park.”
“Hwa-rang-ssi…”
CEO Park sighed, rubbing his face, as if he had been given a difficult request.
“As I said before, you’ve already debuted as ‘B&C,’ so…”
“My contract wasn’t extended, it could be terminated at any time.”
“No, that’s what I don’t understand…”
Just then…
“100,000 won!”
A familiar voice echoed from nearby.
“If you received the money, you should have said so!”
“Why? The CEO didn’t tell me to.”
“Seriously, even if you took 50,000, which is half, I would understand! But you took 77,000! Lee Eun-ho, are you even human?!”
“Guess I’m not human anymore.”
“Ugh, I hate Lee Eun-ho!”
“Oh, such high praise, thank—”
“Agh!!!”
Normally, CEO Park would have sighed at the familiar sound of their bickering.
But today was different.
He was already worried about the stranger in his office.
So, the familiar sound of their fighting was strangely comforting, a smile appearing on his face.
“Give it back! Now!”
“I already spent it on food.”
“Don’t lie! There’s still some left!”
“I said I spent it all.”
“Right, in your stomach.”
“Oh, our idiot is getting smarter. How did you even figure that out?”
“You bastard!”
Their escalating argument grew closer.
“Hey, you also had oven-baked chicken the other day.”
“That was just one chicken! Where’s the other 77,000?!”
“Where do you think? My bank account.”
“You…!”
The small bell on the office door jingled.
The door opened, and although they seemed to have used an umbrella, judging by the way they were folding it…
…Eun-ho and Eun-ji looked like drowned rats, Eun-ho’s hair disheveled as if he had been pulled by it, and Eun-ji’s as if she had been the one pulling.
“It’s pouring outside, but good morning!”
“Give me back my 50,000 won!”
Eun-ho, his hair a mess, brazenly greeted the staff, and the office erupted in laughter.
Hwa-rang, witnessing this scene for the first time, looked back and forth between the chaotic siblings and the laughing staff, her eyes wide with shock.
“Oh, we have a guest.”
“…?”
Just then…
Eun-ho noticed Hwa-rang.
Eun-ji, who had been clinging to Eun-ho’s arm, also turned to look.
“Hello, Senior!”
Hwa-rang bowed her head.
“I’m Kim Hwa-rang, and I’m here to be a trainee at NRY.”
“…Huh?”
Eun-ho, dumbfounded by her words, turned to CEO Park, his eyes silently pleading for an explanation.
But the CEO, also seemingly confused, just shook his head.
‘I’ve seen her somewhere before… ah…’
Eun-ho, as he made eye contact with Hwa-rang again, finally remembered.
“Aren’t you from ‘B&C’?”
“Not anymore, Senior.”
“Not anymore?”
“No, Senior.”
Hwa-rang smiled and replied to Eun-ho’s question.
“I disbanded the group before coming here.”
I knew they disappeared after their disastrous debut stage, but it wasn’t exactly something to be said so lightly, especially by the person involved, so we all froze at the word ‘disbanded.’
I managed to compose myself and asked,
“I understand. But weren’t you with TaKa Entertainment?”
“My contract with them only covered B&C promotions, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
What? What was she talking about?
I had asked to clear my confusion, but her answer only multiplied my questions.
I looked at the CEO, but he also seemed to be unaware of the situation, shaking his head.
‘Then what do you know?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Then why is she here?’
‘I don’t know. She just showed up.’
‘She debuted in our place, and now she’s here? At our company?’
‘That’s what I’m saying.’
‘Why?’
‘Don’t ask me. I want to know too.’
While Eun-ho and CEO Park communicated silently, Eun-ji looked at them with a puzzled expression.
Then, her gaze shifted to Hwa-rang, the source of this confusion.
‘Hmm.’
Her hair was in a tight bun.
Her features were… ordinary. But she looked young, perhaps in her early twenties, because of her youthful aura.
“Unnie, unnie.”
“Yes?”
“How old are you?”
“I’m 26.”
Huh?
I was surprised by the unexpected answer.
“Wow, you look so young, unnie.”
I was genuinely surprised.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, please don’t call me ‘Senior.’ I’m only 20, so please speak comfortably.”
“No, even a day or two, or even a few months’ difference matters in this industry. So, you’re my senior.”
“Well, ah, okay…”
Hwa-rang’s politeness was almost excessive, despite being much older than me.
I didn’t mind being called “Senior,” but…
I disliked such formalities.
But before the regression, many people called me “Senior” because of my experience.
I even asked people to just call me “Eun-ji” or “unnie.”
An awkward silence filled the air.
“I’m Lee Eun-ji.”
“I’m Kim Hwa-rang.”
Another awkward silence.
“I saw your performance as B&C.”
“I’m embarrassed you saw that disastrous performance. I’ve also heard a lot about you, Senior.”
Another awkward silence.
Every pause felt suffocating.
“Please, just call me Eun-ji, unnie.”
“I can’t, Senior.”
Another awkward silence.
‘Kim Hwa-rang…’
This unnie…
I liked that she was straightforward.
But she was also… uncomfortable to be around.
Unlike her soft features, she seemed incredibly stubborn, just like her tightly pulled-back hair.
I decided to get straight to the point.
“You were a member of the group that stole our debut stage, weren’t you, unnie?”
“Yes, I was.”
“What’s the real reason you’re here? Besides the excuse of wanting to be a trainee? Don’t you have any shame?”
Eun-ji asked, maintaining her smile.
‘Well done.’
‘That’s my Eun-ji.’
CEO Park and Eun-ho seemed to have been wanting to ask the same question, impressed by Eun-ji’s directness.
“As I said, I sincerely want to join NRY Entertainment.”
“Don’t joke around. You’re from TaKa Entertainment, one of the Big 4 agencies. You even debuted, even if it was a failure.”
“…That’s true.”
Hwa-rang’s expression hardened for a moment, then she smiled faintly.
“Why… do you want to transfer?”
CEO Park and Eun-ho, initially relieved by Eun-ji’s question…
…were stunned by Hwa-rang’s answer.
‘The CEO bribed reporters and spread false rumors.’
That much, he could understand. He had expected that.
But that wasn’t all.
The atmosphere at TaKa Entertainment was that everyone wanted to quit.
“And Director Yoo…”
“Director Yoo left the company over a year ago, after a falling out with CEO Song Nam-chul. I heard he settled his affairs and went overseas.”
“Ha, haha. Then it must have started around that time.”
“Started what?”
CEO Park muttered in response to Eun-ji’s question,
“That must be when CEO Song started ruining the company…”
TaKa Entertainment.
The company he had devoted himself to for over 10 years, growing it from a small agency to a large corporation.
It was bittersweet to hear that the company, which he had once considered a rival, was falling apart.
“But, unnie…”
“…?”
Eun-ji, who had been listening, suddenly asked Hwa-rang aggressively,
“You know we have a hostile relationship with TaKa and B&C, right?”
“I do.”
“Then why, out of all the agencies, did you come to ours?”
Eun-ji emphasized the word ‘ours,’ and Hwa-rang’s gaze intensified.
“Because NRY Entertainment has the biggest reason to hate them.”
“…What do you mean?”
Eun-ji’s sharp eyes narrowed.
Hwa-rang, meeting her gaze, continued,
“I want to see TaKa Entertainment and Song Nam-chul completely destroyed, beyond any hope of recovery, for wasting seven years of my life.”
Wow.
She was… purely twisted.
Her eyes were sincere, but her words were filled with resentment.
It was hard for anyone to relate to her emotions. Everyone here was currently enjoying the most peaceful time of their lives.
“NRY Entertainment is the company founded by CEO Park Chang-seok, who saved Toxin.”
“…”
“It’s been considered the most likely destination for Toxin, besides Ji Ye-chan’s ‘G-MISIC.’”
CEO Park, who had been listening quietly, tilted his head and asked,
“Wait, wouldn’t it be easier for you to achieve your goal by going to Ye-chan’s company?”
“No.”
Hwa-rang’s answer was firm.
“Song Nam-chul owns the third largest share of G-MISIC.”
“Share?”
Eun-ho whispered to Eun-ji, who didn’t understand,
“She means stocks.”
“Ah. But don’t we also have stocks in our company, Lee Eun-ho?”
“No, we don’t.”
“Huh? Really? Why not?”
“The CEO likes to be in control. He doesn’t like being indebted to anyone.”
“That’s true.”
“And we don’t need the money.”
Eun-ji nodded in agreement.
“He doesn’t need to share if he can do it himself.”
“Ah—”
Eun-ji nodded again.
Eun-ho’s explanation also seemed to answer Hwa-rang’s question.
“So you’re saying… you want to help bring Toxin to our company so that CEO Song will be ruined? Is that it?”
“Yes.”
“How can you help us, Hwa-rang-ssi?”
CEO Park asked coldly, and Hwa-rang, as if waiting for that question, rummaged through her bag.
She took out a pen, an MP3 player, and other items, placing them on the table.
“What are these?”
Instead of answering, Hwa-rang pressed a button on the pen.
—Toxin leaving TaKa? Haha, they’re human too. They’re just as afraid of scandals as anyone.
—Did Toxin cause a scandal?
—A scandal? No. But if there isn’t one, we can create one. The easiest way is, you know—
It wasn’t a pen, but a voice recorder.
Hwa-rang stopped the recording at a crucial point.
“You asked ‘what these are,’ right?”
“…”
“If I say ‘bombs,’ would that be a sufficient explanation?”