Siblings Work in Business (153)
The Shape of Family
“Are you not on good terms with your older brother?”
CEO Park asked. He had noticed the sudden shift in her previously bright mood as she talked about her family.
“It’s not that we’re not on good terms… haha. It’s just that… he doesn’t approve of me being a trainee at this age. He’s already married and living on his own, so I consider him… out of the picture.”
Hwa-rang was smiling, but her furrowed brows betrayed her true feelings.
“But my mom and dad support me. They believed in me, even when I couldn’t debut after seven years of training.”
“Oh… they sound like wonderful people.”
“They are. That’s why I tried even harder, because I felt guilty.”
Mom and dad.
‘Those words…’
Perhaps because of the alcohol…
Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s faces darkened.
The young restaurant owner was projecting KM Music Channel onto a white wall.
Upbeat, trendy songs were playing on the music channel.
While CEO Park and Hwa-rang were talking…
Eun-ho and Eun-ji closed their eyes, focusing on the music.
Their eyes met when they opened them.
“You’re so ugly.”
“You too.”
‘A normal family’ was a topic they couldn’t relate to.
Eun-ho, instead of asking if she was okay, teased Eun-ji, trying to hide his feelings.
Eun-ji replied in kind.
A hollow, empty chuckle escaped their lips.
They tried to hide their feelings, but they knew each other too well.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji looked away, for each other’s sake.
Thankfully…
CEO Park and Hwa-rang, engrossed in their own conversation, weren’t paying attention to them.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji were relieved. They didn’t have to pretend.
Then…
A darkened night
The light on this path, stillness, settling down, I close my eyes
A familiar voice and lyrics filled the air.
Eun-ho looked up, and the music video for “Footsteps” was playing on the wall.
He felt a mix of emotions, wondering if he should be grateful to KM Music Channel.
‘Of all songs, “Footsteps”…’
Eun-ji also seemed to feel the same, as she leaned her forehead against Eun-ho’s shoulder, a childhood habit she hadn’t shown since the alcohol loosened her inhibitions.
Her face was hidden behind her long hair.
Eun-ho, watching the two cats in the “Footsteps” music video, closed his heavy eyelids.
Thankfully, Eun-ji’s homeroom teacher in elementary school, after we moved around several orphanages, was a kind person.
She approached the wary Eun-ji cautiously and helped her adjust to the class.
So, Eun-ji didn’t seem to feel much different from her classmates back then.
If she had felt the difference, would it have been less painful?
Eun-ji participated in the school’s sports day for the first time.
It was an exciting day.
Her first experience of a ‘festival.’
But then, a shadow fell over Eun-ji’s excited face.
“Hey, your ahjumma (aunt/older woman) is here!”
“Huh? Mom! Wow, Dad’s here too!”
It was the day she realized she was different.
Most of her classmates had parents, grandparents, or other relatives as guardians.
I was going to join Eun-ji for lunch when…
“Eun-ji, your brother…”
A classmate, leaving with her mother, noticed me and called out to Eun-ji.
Although I was young, Eun-ji was even younger.
She seemed embarrassed by my presence.
She seemed ashamed of being the only one whose guardian wasn’t a parent, but an older brother.
She ran away.
I found her in front of the refrigerator in the deserted back kitchen, where the milk was stored.
Back then, milk was only provided to those who paid extra, so Eun-ji often lingered there, saying it made her feel full just by looking at it.
I went there, hoping… and thankfully, she was there.
“Lee Eun-ji.”
I understood how she felt.
I felt the same.
But unlike me, who was alone back then, Eun-ji at least had me.
I had to be both her mother and her father.
“You’re shorter than me, so stop acting like an adult! It’s annoying!”
I was 12, and Eun-ji was 10.
I had a growth spurt when I was in 6th grade.
Before that, I was still short, and since girls usually matured faster…
Eun-ji had quickly grown taller than me.
And around the time we were the same size…
Eun-ji started to dislike me, or rather… my attempts to act like an adult.
We argued.
I yelled at her, saying things like, “I’m your older brother!” and “How dare you act like my equal after I raised you!”, things I don’t even remember now.
But the more I yelled, the louder she yelled back.
Things like, “We’re only two years apart, and we’re the same height!”
We both said hurtful things, and her words stung, because they were true.
As we were fighting…
“Sob… sob… waaaah… waaaah…”
Eun-ji started crying, snot bubbles forming, in a corner of the storage room.
We were both young.
Seeing her cry made my eyes well up.
“Why are you crying?!”
“Shut up!”
I sat down next to her, trying to comfort her. Even though she cursed at me, she didn’t push me away.
She leaned her forehead against my shoulder, crying, neither pushing me away nor hugging me.
That was her way of showing affection.
I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and leaned my head against the wall.
The humming of the refrigerator vibrated against my head.
Sleep tight
A mother’s farewell
A father’s farewell… I wonder
Our song, “Footsteps,” pulled me back to reality.
Eun-ji, her forehead still against my shoulder, seemed overwhelmed with emotion, perhaps because of the alcohol.
…A farewell I only imagined saying to you
I pray that the end of this road…
Even without looking at her, I could feel her trembling through our touching foreheads.
‘Is she crying?’
I could tell.
Although her face was still hidden behind her hair, her sniffles confirmed it.
“Why are you crying, dummy?”
“…Shut up, Lee Eun-ho…”
“Haha.”
I understood.
I had read her diary countless times.
I tried to be a parent to her, a father-like older brother.
But that’s not what Eun-ji wanted.
In her diary, she was always angry whenever I tried to act like an adult.
She wanted me to be her comrade, her friend, someone who shared her struggles.
I didn’t know that before.
So, I never shared my burdens with her, always thinking I had to take care of everything.
The incident with Aeseul before the regression was also because I tried to handle it alone, without telling Eun-ji.
I still wasn’t telling her everything.
And neither was she, but… we were being more honest with each other this time.
As honest as we could be, as mature as we could manage.
Sometimes, childish despite our age.
Because that’s who we were.
…isn’t what I’m thinking of
Every day, I wonder when this dream-like day will end
Eun-ho hummed along to the familiar tune of “Footsteps.”
After practicing so much, singing along to the music was almost instinctual.
Meanwhile, Eun-ji was crying.
At first, neither CEO Park nor Hwa-rang noticed, but then, Eun-ho started humming along.
CEO Park and Hwa-rang turned to look at them.
Hwa-rang looked at Eun-ji with a bewildered expression, unsure what was going on.
“Um…”
“…”
Just as Hwa-rang was about to speak…
Eun-ho put his index finger to his lips, his eyes crinkling with a drunken smile, signaling her to be quiet.
CEO Park watched Eun-ji and Eun-ho, then took a sip of his soju.
“Ahh.”
The bitter, strong scent filled his throat. He sighed and quickly picked up a piece of sashimi.
“This is fresh and delicious.”
Then…
Eun-ji, who had been leaning her forehead against Eun-ho’s shoulder, suddenly lifted her head and flipped her hair back, as if awakened by CEO Park’s words.
But Eun-ho wasn’t fooled.
“Done crying?”
“Shut up, I wasn’t crying.”
“Yes, you were.”
“No, I wasn’t!”
Eun-ji punched Eun-ho on the shoulder, annoyed.
But both Eun-ho and CEO Park, and even Hwa-rang, knew she was lying.
Her nose was red.
“You were crying.”
“No, I wasn’t!”
“You were.”
“Lee Eun-ho, if you keep messing with me, I’ll slice you up and serve you with this sashimi!”
“Go ahead.”
As Eun-ji pointed at the plate of assorted sashimi, Eun-ho calmly cut a piece of sweet pumpkin, a side dish, with his chopsticks.
Eun-ji felt a strange sense of annoyance at his deliberate action. But she ignored him and picked up a piece of sashimi, putting it in her mouth.
That was the beginning.
Hwa-rang hadn’t been lying about the restaurant; the sashimi and the shellfish were incredibly fresh and delicious.
She had intended to have just one drink, but she ended up having three, exceeding her limit.
“That was delicious!”
“Daebak(awesome)!”
“Haha, have a safe trip back!”
After the satisfying meal…
They left the restaurant, receiving farewell greetings from the young owner.
CEO Park, as promised, called a designated driver and returned to the vacation home.
Thud!
‘Ha…’
Thud, bang!
‘Damn it…’
Clatter…
‘One last time.’
Crash!
Eun-ji, who had said she would shower in the evening, was struggling. Taking a shower after drinking wasn’t easy.
Eun-ho, his head heavy with alcohol, was trying to sleep when, after the fourth loud crash from the bathroom…
He sat up and yelled,
“Hey, Lee Eun-ji!”