Siblings Work in Business (154)
Eun-ji didn’t answer.
I went to the living room, and the only sound was the running shower.
“Hey!”
“What?!”
I yelled again from the living room, and Eun-ji’s slurred voice finally replied.
“What do you want?!”
“What do you think I want?! What else do you do in the bathroom?!”
“What are you talking about?! I’m just taking a shower! I… I just… slipped.”
“Don’t crack your skull! Please!”
“Shut up! I’m not drunk! Lightweight Lee Eun-ho is the one who’s drunk!”
“You’re the drunk one.”
Eun-ho had sobered up after hearing Eun-ji’s bathroom crashes for the third time.
Since then, worst-case scenarios kept playing in his head.
What if she hit her head? What if something bad happened?
Eun-ho, massaging his temples to relieve his stress-induced headache, finally calmed down.
And a while later, as he waited on the sofa in the living room…
The shower stopped, and then, after a long while, the bathroom door opened.
Eun-ji was dressed in her pajamas.
But she still seemed drunk, stumbling out of the bathroom.
I waited in the dark living room, ready for her.
“Ahh!”
I was worried, but I also wanted to scare her, to get back at her for worrying me.
But her scream startled me too.
“Holy shit, you scared me!!!”
“Your scream scared me.”
“No! Why are you sitting there like that?! I almost had a heart attack…”
“Did you think I was a ghost?”
“Yes!!!”
Seeing her clutch her chest, I felt a sense of satisfaction. I laughed, and Eun-ji glared at me.
They stared at each other. Eun-ho looked like he was about to say something.
“What.”
“…”
“Why are you staring at me like that.”
“Seriously…”
“What?!”
Eun-ji, her eyes still unfocused, stared blankly at Eun-ho and then asked,
“Forget it, what’s the point of talking to a drunk…?”
“Hey, I’m not drunk! Why are you picking a fight?”
“Just go to sleep.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going to bed too.”
“What were you doing until now?”
“…”
Was she seriously asking?
Eun-ho glared at her, annoyed.
He looked like he was about to say something, but…
He just shook his head and went to his room, closing the door with a bang.
“What’s wrong with him?”
Eun-ji muttered, looking at Eun-ho’s closed door, then went to the other room she was sharing with Hwa-rang.
“Oh, unnie. You’re still awake?”
“Ah, yes.”
Hwa-rang was sitting on the bed, organizing her luggage.
“Are you done showering, Senior?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, r-right. You’d be here after showering… I…”
Hwa-rang was rambling.
Eun-ji, now familiar with her personality, smiled and said,
“I’m done showering too. Don’t you need to shower, unnie?”
“I already showered in the bathroom by the entrance while you were showering, Senior.”
“I see.”
Eun-ji took out her phone from the pocket of her hoodie.
“Wow, I was in the shower for an hour?”
Her eyes widened as she checked the time.
“Yes. Ah, well… Lee Eun-ho was a bit worried because you were making loud noises in the bathroom, so he waited outside for about 40 minutes.”
“40 minutes…”
Hwa-rang thought Eun-ji would apologize for making him worry, but… this was Eun-ji.
“What the hell, he sat there in the dark for 40 minutes just to scare me? That jerk…”
“…Huh?”
Eun-ji’s focus was completely different from what Hwa-rang had expected.
‘That’s not—’ Hwa-rang tried to correct the misunderstanding, then she met Eun-ji’s gaze.
‘…’
Her eyes were burning with anger at Eun-ho.
“Um… why?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Eun-ji, noticing Hwa-rang’s gaze, quickly composed her expression.
Hwa-rang shook her head and hands frantically, denying it.
“Oh, by the way!”
Then, Eun-ji clapped her hands as if remembering something and sat down heavily next to Hwa-rang.
The bed dipped, and Hwa-rang was momentarily lifted into the air.
“Unnie!”
“…Yes?”
Eun-ji, still slightly drunk, leaned in close, her face almost touching Hwa-rang’s.
Startled by the sudden proximity, Hwa-rang held her breath.
“You said you have an older brother, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
Hwa-rang, momentarily surprised by the mention of ‘older brother,’ quickly regained her composure.
“What’s he like? Is he like Lee Eun-ho?”
“Like… Lee Eun-ho… what do you mean…?”
“Well, Lee Eun-ho acts all mature, but he’s actually like a child, and sometimes he’s just… dumb? But he does try to act like a responsible older brother… something like that?”
Hwa-rang was unsure how to answer.
Eun-ji, as if she hadn’t been expecting a specific answer, just smiled and asked again,
“So, what’s your brother like?”
“Well, my brother…”
Hwa-rang’s face darkened as she started talking about her brother.
“Lee Eun-ho and you seem very close, but my brother and I aren’t.”
“Lee Eun-ho and I are close?”
“Haha. Yes.”
Hwa-rang chuckled, as if it was obvious.
“What about your family, unnie? Ah, is this too personal?”
“Haha, no, it’s fine. Well, my family… we’re like strangers.”
“Strangers?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t we all strangers to each other?”
Eun-ji, seemingly not understanding, tilted her head.
Hwa-rang chuckled and explained,
“You and Lee Eun-ho talk to each other often.”
“Of course, we live together.”
“Well… there are siblings who don’t talk even if they live together.”
“Are they not on good terms?”
“We used to be close, holding hands everywhere we went, before middle school, but…”
“But?”
Eun-ji tilted her head, still not understanding.
“As time passed…”
“…?”
“I think the last time I had a proper conversation with my brother, or went out with him, was before middle school.”
“Ah…”
“Even those memories are fading. That’s the kind of relationship we have. And after he got married…”
As time passed, we both grew older, and more important people and things came into our lives, creating a distance between us.
The distance grew even wider after he started his own family.
「“Don’t you have any sense of responsibility?”」
「“This is my responsibility! My years of training, my efforts to debut, that’s my responsibility!”」
「“That’s not responsibility, it’s being delusional, Hwa-rang. Your parents have been so understanding.”」
「“Worry about your own family instead of giving me useless lectures.”」
「“I am doing well. You’re the problem child in our family, you know that more than anyone. It’s been seven years, Kim Hwa-rang. You’re already in your mid-20s.”」
「“Me, the problem child? Bullshit. I’ll live my life as I please, so mind your own business.”」
「“How long are you going to waste your time? Don’t you think about anything when you see others your age getting married and having kids?”」
「“If you know what’s good for you, stop acting like that.”」
「“You’re the one who started talking like that. When have you ever said anything ‘good’ to me?”」
「“Ha… what’s the point of even talking to you? I’m leaving.”」
「“Good riddance.”」
「“I’ll be praying for your debut to fail, Kim Hwa-rang.”」
「“Fuck off. Die on your way out.”」
「“You first.”」
The distance between us grew with every harsh word, until we couldn’t even understand each other.
I hadn’t known Lee Eun-ho and Lee Eun-ji as long as the other NRY staff…
…but I had spent enough time with them.
Lee Eun-ho and Eun-ji talked to each other. And they played pranks on each other often, at least once a day.
…According to the CEO, sometimes even multiple times an hour.
But even with their roughhousing, they had clear boundaries, a silent understanding. Like a duo who had been performing together for years, walking a tightrope.
「“Is she going to fall and crack her head in the shower again?”」
Lee Eun-ho, worried about Eun-ji, waited outside the bathroom for 40 minutes.
「“Ugh, my head…”」
Although he looked like he wanted to lie down, his head throbbing from the alcohol, he waited until she came out.
And Eun-ji was the same.
When Lee Eun-ho went to take a shower earlier that afternoon…
「“Ah, there are no towels inside.”」
She muttered, then went to her room and brought her own towel, hanging it on the doorknob.
It was a stark contrast to her earlier behavior of charging 5,000 won for retrieving his phone.
「“Hwa-rang, did you bring the towel?”」
「“Ah, that wasn’t me…”」
Just as Hwa-rang was about to answer, Eun-ji interjected.
「“Wow, Lee Eun-ho, you even forget your towel now?”」
「“No, I just… there wasn’t one, so I was just wondering who put it there.”」
「“Then you should have at least said ‘thank you’ first.”」
「“At least I know it wasn’t you who brought it.”」
「“Haha.”」
When Lee Eun-ho came out of the shower,and asked who brought the towel…
Eun-ji didn’t say a word about it being her.
And she didn’t show any sign of disappointment either.
They teased each other relentlessly, but they cared deeply for each other. They were like good siblings, a completely different dynamic from my brother and me, who barely spoke even when we lived under the same roof.