The Siblings Do Business Together 2

Siblings Work in Business (2)

“Hey, what are you doing? Wake up! Wake up!”

“Eun-ho.”

You, you’re not the type to die like this.

The line indicating her heartbeat gradually flatlined.

I couldn’t even hear the manager’s voice.

The doctors tried their best, but Eun-ji’s heart eventually stopped.

“What are you doing? Why did it stop! Lee Eun-ji, she’s the type who’d revive after a meal even with a bad cold!!!”

Someone like that, so easily…

It can’t be, it can’t be, there’s no way.

Tens, thousands of times, I denied it internally.

Over and over again.

“Wake up! Lee Eun-ji! Hey!!!”

“Eun-ho!”

I shook Eun-ji, calling her name countless times with a cracking voice, pushing away the manager’s restraining hand.

“Wake up!!! Hey!!!”

Unaware of the manager and doctors trying to stop me, I screamed until my voice was hoarse.

But the end was the end.

No matter how much I screamed, nothing changed.

---

Because of Lee Eun-ji, I wore a black suit, which I hated because it was stuffy, and greeted mourners all day. While taking a short break…

The manager handed me a black notebook wrapped in a thick cover.

“It’s Eun-ji’s diary.”

“Uncharacteristically, when did she even write this?”

The manager looked like he had something to say, but he held back and excused himself.

Under the black cover…

A tiny white ‘凸’ meticulously drawn in white.

‘It’s definitely Eun-ji’s.’

Letting out an empty chuckle, I flipped open the thick cover.

「I regret it.

When the CEO suggested it, I was annoyed because it was disgusting.

But thinking about it, if we had done it together, it would have been just like when we were young.

We’d be promoting exactly like that. Thinking about it again, it’s a bit of a shame.」

My fingertips holding the paper trembled.

It wasn’t a diary she wrote in every day.

Most of the other pages were just notes on how much she practiced or memorable events.

「1 minute before the debut song release. Ah~~~ I’m nervous!」

Turning the page, as if confirming the explosive success of her debut song, the entire page was filled with the single word, “Whoa.”

Lee Eun-ji’s debut song, in addition to being written and composed by herself, received significant attention from experts for its remarkable use of various chords that were incredibly catchy.

「This song was originally made for Oppa to sing, but it became mine. Don’t be jealous! Lee Eun-ho lol~」

My eyes moved to the next page, and I burst out laughing in disbelief.

「It’s Oppa who wanted to sing and get people’s attention, so I feel a bit sorry.」

What is there to be sorry about?

It’s a natural result of your talent and hard work.

‘Jealousy.’

Being human, I was jealous of the damn talent gap.

Lee Eun-ji, who exuded talent as naturally as breathing, and me, who had to ‘work’ at music.

The difference was a natural consequence.

Moreover, Lee Eun-ji was the type who worked hard despite being talented.

Although she said she wasn’t interested in being a singer, Lee Eun-ji never did anything half-heartedly.

Always diligently.

That ‘diligently’ was on par with the effort I put in through gritted teeth.

So what could I do?

In the end, I had no choice but to accept it.

「I had so much fun on stage today….

It reminded me of the concert play we used to do when we were young.

If we had done it together, you would have been here having fun too, which is a shame.」

In an empty lot…

Lee Eun-ji would create instruments by filling rusty drums and picked-up plastic bottles with sand from the lot, using them as maracas.

Using those crude instruments, she would create a rhythm similar to songs we heard on the street.

I would stand on an old, thorny wooden plank and sing, making up lyrics to the rhythm Lee Eun-ji created.

It was our siblings’ ‘concert play.’

‘Fuck.’

The moment I remembered our childhood…

I tried to hold back, even to the point of pulling my hair out, but it finally burst.

I sobbed in a corner of the funeral home.

There were still mourners remaining, but they seemed to be intentionally pretending not to see me.

But somehow, that made me feel even more miserable.

The realization that my only family was gone finally hit me.

I ended up wailing.

---

“Sleep well, Lee Eun-ji.”

I sent Lee Eun-ji off with a tree burial, scattering her ashes around a tree.

My sister wasn’t small enough to be contained in a headstone or an urn, and she wasn’t the type to stay put quietly anywhere…

…That was my excuse, anyway.

But honestly, I didn’t want to confine her, and I wanted something visible to remain, so I chose this out of my own selfishness.

I continued my activities, overcoming Lee Eun-ji’s absence.

There were supportive comments online, but there were also quite a few malicious comments saying that I killed Lee Eun-ji, which was absurd.

「Pocketing your sister’s life insurance and album profits? The nobody’s life got better after his sister died.」

Eun-ji was in an accident caused by a drunk driver.

As that malicious commenter said, the compensation for Lee Eun-ji’s life and the profits from our album were quite substantial.

That damn money, money.

Were they that envious of the money received as compensation for a life?

‘I guess they would be.’

Having lived in poverty, we used to get excited or disappointed over a single 100 won coin we found on the street.

I was envious of kids our age who went to school in nice houses, and I sometimes took my anger out on those who made fun of our poverty.

‘Thinking back then…’

I understood the twisted minds of some malicious commenters who were obsessed with ‘money, money.’

But I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, use this money from the start.

Insurance money, album streaming revenue, etc.

All the earnings in Lee Eun-ji’s name were accumulating in one account.

‘It’s just numbers…’

I knew that, but I couldn’t bring myself to easily spend it, as if it were Lee Eun-ji’s soul.

At first, I was bothered and exhausted by every single malicious comment.

But now I don’t care.

No malicious comment could ever shock me as much as the moment Lee Eun-ji left.

Besides, most of the malicious commenters were quick to beg for forgiveness when confronted face-to-face.

They were exactly that kind of people.

So, I was okay.

Even if it bothered me, I pretended it didn’t.

I ignored them and focused on my work, music.

As a result, I released 7 songs that year, consisting of an EP and singles.

I kept working, ignoring the CEO’s advice to take a break.

In the month welcoming the new year, I released a full-length album with 10 songs, including “Greeting,” “One Tree,” “Breath,” “Nightmare,” and “Live On,” under the theme of “I’m still living.”

I really ran like crazy.

I wasn’t a star who caught attention immediately like Lee Eun-ji, but with the gradually accumulated fanbase and consistent effort, I was able to earn the title of a skilled singer.

“Hyung, do I have any schedules today?”

“I cleared everything so you could relax.”

“Didn’t the CEO say anything?”

“How could he? He’s been worried sick about you not resting, even losing his hair over it.”

Obsessed with work, a year passed by in a flash.

As the manager said, thinking about the CEO’s half-bald head after just one year made me feel quite guilty.

A day off for myself after a long time, amidst the busy daily routine.

Today was the day Lee Eun-ji passed away.

“Wow! You’re growing well, Lee Eun-ji.”

Arriving at the memorial park to see Lee Eun-ji.

Seeing the memorial tree, which had grown a bit taller, made me realize how much time had passed.

“Have you been well, Lee Eun-ji?”

As if answering, the tree swayed in the wind, showering cherry blossom petals.

One bottle of alcohol I brought for her, and one for myself.

Thud.

After a brief bow, I simply sat down on the dirt floor.

“Hey, Eun-ji.”

As the bottle emptied…

A malicious comment suddenly came to mind, questioning whether I had killed Lee Eun-ji.

“If we weren’t siblings, would you have lived longer, doing the music you loved?”

At that moment, as if to tell me to stop talking nonsense, a cherry blossom petal fell, caught the wind, and brushed against my cheek.

Perhaps due to the alcohol, it felt like Lee Eun-ji had touched me, and I burst out laughing in my drunken state.

“Or, if we had debuted as siblings, just like you said…”

A wind carrying the strong scent of the forest, as if blowing from behind the memorial park, brushed past me.

Perhaps because the park was full of trees…

The sound of the trees swaying in the wind was similar to the crude maracas Lee Eun-ji used to make and shake when we were young.

I closed my eyes, reminiscing about our childhood, and listened to the sound.

The sibling debut the CEO suggested.

If I had accepted it, wouldn’t things have been different?

Wouldn’t you still be alive, Lee Eun-ji?

Weekdays at the memorial park were quiet.

That was, until I heard a familiar voice I thought I’d never hear again.

---

“Oppa!”

At first, I thought it was another visitor like myself.

“Hey, Lee Eun-ho!”

A fan whose voice resembled Lee Eun-ji’s?

Even if they’re a fan, speaking informally is a bit much.

Thinking I should at least see who it was, I opened my eyes.

Instead of the open memorial park, I was in a small room surrounded by tacky floral wallpaper.

As the familiar scenery filled my eyes, all thought processes stopped.

“What the…”

“What the? Did you have day drinks or something?”

“You, why are you here?”

“I went through the trouble of waking you up, and you’re being a jerk first thing in the morning?”

The characteristically sharp, cracking voice she had when she was angry.

What the, it’s really Lee Eun-ji.

“Just get up! The CEO wants you downstairs.”

“Huh?”

“‘Huh?’ what? Stop spacing out and get your act together and come out!”

Slam!

As Lee Eun-ji roughly slammed the door shut, my surroundings finally came into focus.

‘Am I dreaming?’

Not the new building built after Lee Eun-ji’s success a few years ago, but the old, ordinary house the CEO painted and used as the old office.

The dorm on the second floor where Lee Eun-ji and I lived.

Calling it a dorm was generous; it was just a small room in the attic.

I was still disoriented, but my body moved instinctively when I heard the CEO had called for me.

Going down the stairs to the first floor, I glanced down and saw Lee Eun-ji glaring at me with an obviously angry face.

I pinched my cheek just in case.

It hurts.

Since it hurts, it doesn’t seem like a dream…

“What are you doing! Hurry up!”

“Uh…”

“Did you lose a screw or something? What’s wrong with you today?”

Lee Eun-ji grumbled and went inside the first-floor building first.

‘Did time really rewind or something?’

Still filled with doubt, the moment I entered the CEO’s office…

It was CEO Park Chang-seok’s hair that made me realize the situation.

It wasn’t the half-bald head of the CEO I knew.

‘It’s still… full…’

Seriously, genuinely shocking.

Then…

“The reason I called you down in a hurry is because I have an important proposal.”

“What is it?”

Oh? This, could it be?

“How about you two debuting as a sibling duo with this song?”

That moment, that time I regretted the most, is repeating.