Siblings Working in Business (166)
Sway, sway.
The wigs hanging from the ceiling started swaying in unison, just like when Eun-ho was in the room.
Eun-ji’s face, visible despite her hands covering her mouth, gradually turned pale, then blue.
‘I-I’m okay so far.’
She was startled, yes.
Her heart was racing, yes.
But still, this much, this much was okay.
…Eun-ji tried to reassure herself.
But just then…
Thump, thud, thud, thud.
As the wigs fell, just like with Eun-ho, one of them, hanging near the desk, tickled the space between Eun-ji’s big and second toes, which were peeking out of her open-toed shoes.
“…S-shit…”
Being caught cursing on camera was dangerous.
There was no telling how it would be edited and used.
But Eun-ji, that day, established a new paradigm.
If it was going to be recorded anyway, she would make sure it was so extreme that it couldn’t be aired, guaranteeing it would be bleeped out.
“Oh my.”
The PD, watching through the monitor, sighed deeply when it happened.
‘I wanted this kind of reaction, but wow…’
The Change Partner PD had seen Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s O-Tube content.
So, he knew about Eun-ji’s spicy personality.
However, he didn’t expect that the “spice” shown on O-Tube was so heavily edited.
‘Should I add a scene with waterfall and bird sounds and a caption that says “Adjusting Screen”?’
The PD pondered for a moment.
After all…
The staff around him were cracking up at Eun-ji’s genuine screams.
It was a shame to just cut the scene out.
So, after much deliberation, the PD decided to cover Eun-ji’s mouth with dog and bird stickers and then dub over her colorful cursing with a text-to-speech (TTS) program.
—I’m so scared!
As a result, Eun-ji’s loud screams were aired, but her curses were covered with a flat, emotionless TTS voice.
The incongruity of the two created a hilarious effect.
Moreover, Eun-ho’s reaction, worrying about his sister’s mouth rather than her well-being, also became a hot topic.
“You fucking son of a—! Aaaagh! Fuck—!”
“Ah… Lee Eun-ji, please. Oh my god.”
Eun-ho, witnessing the eruption of the curse volcano, facepalmed and slumped to the floor in front of the door.
After Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s antics were aired on Change Partner…
Some people became interested in their… chemistry(?).
The E% enthusiastically promoted them, saying, “Every video on their O-Tube channel is like this lol,” and thanks to that, E-UNG’s O-Tube subscribers more than doubled in the blink of an eye.
Naturally, their album sales also increased.
Meanwhile, Eun-ho, unsure how Eun-ji’s cursing scene would be edited, spent several sleepless nights anxious until the episode aired.
Only after confirming that the scene had been edited in a harmless way could he finally get a good night’s sleep.
“Ha, haha, ha, ha… gasp…”
Tear.
CEO Park, who heard the news later, tried to laugh it off, as if he had expected it.
But a single tear rolled down his left cheek.
Partners
After filming the horror hidden mission, Eun-ho and Eun-ji took a car to the next location.
There, they finally met the regular members of Change Partner: Ryu Seok-hyun, Jeong Bae-chan, Jo Sa-rang, Choi Su-min, and Seo Seo-un.
“Hello!”
Were they nervous because they were meeting celebrities they had only seen on TV?
Or were they still reeling from the horror hidden mission?
Eun-ji’s greeting was… unusual.
“I’m Lee Eun-ji from E-UNG!”
Perhaps because she continued her greeting confidently, without being flustered…
The members seemed to accept it naturally, thinking, ‘She must be this kind of person.’
“I’m Lee Eun-ho from E-UNG. Please take care of us.”
Only after Eun-ho greeted them did the members reply warmly, “Welcome,” and “Nice to meet you.”
“Eun-ji, do you want to clap the slate?”
“Oh! Yes! I’d love to! How do I do it?”
“Just go in front of the camera and clap this.”
During the short break before filming…
Eun-ji, somehow having already befriended the female members, was being doted on as the youngest, nestled among Seo Seo-un, Jo Sa-rang, and Choi Su-min.
“One, two, three!”
Clap!
The clapperboard’s sticks made a sharp clapping sound.
Filming resumed after changing the tape, but the atmosphere on set remained relaxed.
Perhaps because they weren’t used to this…
Eun-ho and Eun-ji tilted their heads, puzzled.
Just then…
“The results for the hidden mission are in.”
The PD announced.
“That weird room with the cards was the hidden mission, right?”
Ryu Seok-hyun asked, but the PD just smiled, keeping quiet.
The previously relaxed atmosphere among the members shifted, a subtle competitiveness arising.
Perhaps because it had been a while since they’d experienced this kind of intensity…
Both Eun-ho and Eun-ji were tense as they waited for the PD’s announcement.
“Third place, Lee Eun-ji. Tied for fourth, Jo Sa-rang and Ryu Seok-hyun. Fifth place, Choi Su-min. Sixth place, Jeong Bae-chan.”
The PD announced the rankings, reading from the cards.
“Who are first and second?”
Seo Seo-un asked expectantly, her name not having been called yet.
“Second place is…”
The PD, seemingly wanting to build suspense, deliberately drew out his words.
“Hurry up!”
“I’m dying here!”
Jo Sa-rang and Seo Seo-un, impatient, snapped at him, and the PD, intimidated by their glares, quickly continued,
“Second place! Seo Seo-un!”
“Huh? Unnie? Second place?”
“Then who’s first?”
Jo Sa-rang and Choi Su-min asked with wide eyes.
“First place is Lee Eun-ho.”
“Wow!”
“The perpetual first place winner, ace Seo Seo-un! Ah, she’s in second place!”
Jeong Bae-chan shouted, holding a sunscreen bottle as if commentating on a baseball game.
Ryu Seok-hyun, as if taking the baton, took the sunscreen bottle from him and continued,
“Lee Eun-ho, who defeated ace Seo Seo-un, is a newcomer!”
“That’s right!”
“Wow! Lee Eun-ho! A player with a promising future!”
“He defeated the witch Seo Seo-un from the moment he appeared! Is Seo Seo-un… crying?”
“You guys, stop messing with my name!”
Their commentary ended with Seo Seo-un’s playful kick.
After the situation calmed down, the PD explained the prize for the hidden mission to Eun-ho.
‘The right to choose partners.’
The winner of the hidden mission had the opportunity to assign the teams for the first mission.
However, due to the nature of Change Partner, everyone would eventually be partnered with everyone else at least once.
Since the number of members wasn’t even, sometimes the teams would be split into groups of three, four, and so on.
And since they wouldn’t know the advantageous team size for each mission until they arrived at the location, that was also random.
‘Hmm.’
Eun-ho, after hearing the explanation, fell into thought.
Eun-ji, watching him with her arms crossed, thought,
‘He’s pretending to think hard.’
It was because CEO Park had asked them to choose each other as partners whenever possible.
But the other members didn’t know about their prior agreement.
‘How should I tease him? Should I say, “See, Lee Eun-ho, you can’t live without me”?’
Eun-ji suppressed a giggle, imagining Eun-ho’s dumbfounded expression.
Meanwhile, the PD handed Eun-ho puzzle-shaped name tags.
The name tags had the names of the regular members and Eun-ji.
Combining the name tag puzzles of the members who would be on a team would finalize the teams.
Eun-ho quietly pieced the puzzles together.
“Have you decided?”
“Yes.”
Eun-ho answered firmly when the PD asked.
After Eun-ho left, the staff had a brief meeting with the PD and prepared the outfits for each team.
“The first teams for Change Partner have been decided.”
After the preparations were complete, the PD announced the teams.
“Red Team, Ryu Seok-hyun, Jo Sa-rang.”
“Blue Team, Jeong Bae-chan, Lee Eun-ji, Choi Su-min.”
“Huh?”
Eun-ji tilted her head with a puzzled expression, her name being called unexpectedly.
“Yellow Team, Seo Seo-un, Lee Eun-ho.”
Eun-ji’s expression turned to disbelief as Eun-ho’s team was announced last.
“What about me?”
When Eun-ji asked, looking at Eun-ho, he tilted his head and asked back,
“What about you?”
“Why didn’t you pick me?!”
“Why would I pick you? You’re bad at games.”
Eun-ho looked at the dumbfounded Eun-ji with an equally dumbfounded expression.
“But CEO Park…”
“He said to do it if possible. He didn’t say we had to.”
Although Eun-ji trailed off, Eun-ho smiled knowingly, as if he understood what she was talking about.
Change Partner was ultimately a competition.
Eun-ho knew himself.
Since he wasn’t confident in his variety show skills, he chose the ace partner to secure victory.
“Huh! Ha! Wow, you. Huh!”
As Eun-ji let out a series of disbelieving chuckles, the other members, watching her, added with a laugh,
“It seems Eun-ji follows her brother around a lot.”
“No! I-.”
She almost said, ‘Are you crazy?,’ but stopped herself just in time.
“Yes.”
Eun-ho, unlike Eun-ji, who vehemently denied it, nodded with a smile.
“Yes, she’s quite a bother.”
“What, don’t lie! When did I—.”
You bastard!!!
Eun-ji, frustrated beyond belief, pounded her chest.
But even then, as if about to explode with curses, she clenched her jaw and kept her mouth shut.
The members and staff chuckled at her reaction.
Eun-ji, gritting her teeth, warned Eun-ho,
“Just you wait.”
“Yeah, there’s no one scary among those who say ‘just you wait’.”
“Seriously, I’m going to beat you, Lee Eun-ho.”
“Try it. You’re bad at games.”
“Huh, ha! Just you wait!!!”
“Good luck with that. You’ll lose anyway.”
They bickered as usual, no…
Their argument was actually toned down for the broadcast. But even so, Eun-ho and Eun-ji caught the attention of the regular members.
The PD looked at them with interest.
Usually, the main focus of the show was ‘Will Seo Seo-un win again?,’ the set predictable and unchanging.
But today, someone different, a guest no less, had disrupted the established order.
Especially since no one had easily defeated ace Seo Seo-un before.
Even the guests usually couldn’t easily blend in with the regular members’ chemistry.
But with Eun-ji taking care of the chemistry aspect…
It seemed Eun-ho could create a rivalry with Seo Seo-un.
Although Eun-ji had caused a scene with her fear…
She was quite good at controlling her temper.
Or rather, the way she controlled her emotions…
Covering her mouth or clenching her jaw to suppress her curses…
Those moments were hilarious.
The PD was delighted, as if he had unexpectedly discovered a gem in the variety show world.
Of course, it was still just a guess, and he had to observe them throughout the filming…