Siblings Work in Business (20)
The Last Day we first whispered our love
Our Last Day whispered, drunk on your scent
It was definitely him.
Lee Eun-ho.
The voice that became etched in her memory after listening to “Co-Sign” countless times, unable to forget that gaze.
The drama moved on to the next episode preview, as if that was the last scene.
We’re already trapped on each other’s islands
It’s hard to even breathe
You know
Last Day
Joo-yeon’s interest in the drama was long gone.
Instead, she focused on the search bar on her phone, listening to the OST playing through the preview’s dialogue.
‘Since the VOD is out, the music must be released too.’
There was hope of finding him this time.
And soon, she found it.
「E-UNG – Last Day (He is 1+1=1 OST)」
E-ung?
She tilted her head at the unusual name.
‘Is it a mixed duo…?’
It wasn’t that she suddenly disliked the idea of a mixed duo, but…
She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
Just then…
Joo-yeon noticed the title of an article as she scrolled.
「‘E-UNG,’ the sibling mixed group following in the footsteps of ‘Sibling Musicians’」
Joo-yeon’s finger naturally followed the link to the article.
「A scene from E-UNG’s performance at Suwon Station Rodeo Street」
The article had a brief description and a main photo of Eun-ho and Eun-ji passionately singing.
As Joo-yeon scrolled down…
She stopped at a sentence, her eyes sparkling and her lips curling into a shy smile.
「…Their agency, ‘NRY Entertainment,’ announces the location of E-UNG’s special Saturday performances every Friday at 6 pm through various social media channels.」
Discord
「“I’d like to do some recording.”」
Perhaps that’s where it all began.
On their way back to the office after recording the OST for ‘He is 1+1=1’…
The CEO casually asked a meaningful question while driving.
“Do you prefer working intensely and then resting, or steadily accumulating work?”
Lee Eun-ji and I, without thinking about the consequences, casually answered.
“Intensely!”
“Intensely, of course.”
And this was the result.
Just as we said…
We were ‘intensely’ recording.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday…
Every single day!
My head hurts, stop shaking it (you)
Inside the recording booth, my head felt like it was vibrating along with Lee Eun-ji’s lyrics.
“Eun-ji, ‘My head hurts, stop shaking it,’ exactly on the beat. Let’s go again.”
“Okay.”
My head hurts, stop shaking it (you)
Slipping through my fingers, gone (you)
“Eun-ji, just now, ‘Slipping through my fingers,’ not ‘Slipping,’ but ‘Slipping through.’ And the rhythm, like ‘My head hurts, stop shaking it,’ match the beat, please.”
“Okay…”
To cut to the chase, even Lee Eun-ji’s songwriting was temporarily halted because of this recording.
It happened when Composer Payoff joined us for our debut song.
He was a director who boasted meticulous, down-to-the-nanosecond directing.
Thanks to him, Engineer Yoo Jong-woo, who was in charge of the audio today, sighed every time our eyes met.
Well, we had been stuck in the studio for 20 hours.
It was a natural reaction for any human being.
My head hurts
“That’s it.”
Stop shaking it
“Let’s continue.”
Through my fingers
“Good.”
Slipping, gone
“Yes, next.”
It hurts so, so much
“Not ‘It hurts so, so much,’ but ‘It hurts, so, so, much.’”
“Like this? It hurts, so, so, much?”
“Yes, let’s go with that.”
I didn’t like interfering with other people’s work, whether it was Lee Eun-ji’s composing or anything else I didn’t need to touch.
I trusted them and respected their methods.
But today, I wanted to break that rule.
It was because of the talkback button, which kept stopping and restarting the track every nanosecond.
Lee Eun-ji’s face was already full of discontent.
‘Just one track, just one! I wish he’d let us sing one track as we feel it.’
It wasn’t that I hadn’t tried talking to him.
“Composer, can’t we just run through one track as we feel it?”
“You rookies are too ambitious.”
He followed up with, “Haha, just kidding, just kidding,” but…
Unless he was an idiot, it was clear what Composer Payoff thought of us.
So I didn’t say anything more.
Our voices wouldn’t be heard anyway.
It hurts so, so much
“Good.”
Or so smooth
“Yes.”
Come closer and tell me
“That’s it!”
I can’t hear you there
“Right.”
Whisper
“‘Whisper,’ closer together.”
Whisper
“Yes.”
Payoff’s song wasn’t particularly difficult.
Of course, it wasn’t that Eun-ji couldn’t sing it.
‘If it were like the OST recording, where we could sing the whole track at once, it would have been much better…’
Composer Payoff seemed to work by cutting and pasting vocal sources in nanoseconds.
I didn’t know how other senior artists who worked with him felt.
However…
At least for Eun-ji and me, who needed immersion, Composer Payoff’s method was the worst.
‘Lee Eun-ji and I usually sing the first track as we feel it, and then refine it or re-record the lacking parts.’
I just wanted to sing one song properly, just once.
But for 20 long hours, Payoff didn’t even give us a chance to show our true abilities.
This had been going on for a week, every single day.
We couldn’t refuse this working style.
Because this song by Composer Payoff, not “DUO” by Lee Eun-ji, had been chosen as E-ung’s first title track.
“Good work.”
The recording ended around 9 pm.
The recording, which started early in the morning, was finally over.
“Yeah. That damn button—”
“Thank you for your hard work. We’ll be going now.”
I bowed my head and quickly covered Lee Eun-ji’s instinctively honest mouth, smiling.
Fortunately, it seemed like he didn’t hear her muttering curses.
Payoff smiled leisurely and replied to our greeting.
“It took a long time because you two are inexperienced.”
‘Inexperienced…’
“Yes… I learned a lot from you.”
“Haha, you’re welcome.”
I answered like that on purpose, but I couldn’t hide my discomfort at Payoff’s shameless response.
“Go home safely, and see you next week.”
Leaving behind Payoff’s unsettling farewell, Lee Eun-ji and I finally escaped the studio after almost 20 hours.
A sense of liberation washed over us as we felt the cool night breeze.
‘I have to repeat this next week…’
Before I could fully enjoy the liberation, the thought of the upcoming week made my chest tighten again.
“I’m exhausted.”
“Me too.”
Perhaps because of the nanosecond recording, which felt like an ill-fitting suit…
I didn’t feel the usual excitement and good mood after recording.
I felt gloomy and just wanted to go home and crawl under the covers, but…
‘The CEO said he had a separate schedule today.’
So we had to take the subway home today.
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
I shivered in the chilly night air blowing through the alley.
I zipped up my bomber jacket to my neck, trying to block the cold, but it wasn’t much help.
I sighed deeply, and my breath escaped through the zipper.
Just as I was about to indulge in the sentimental night breeze…
About 10 minutes after leaving the studio…
“I’m getting pissed the more I think about it!!!”
“Ah, you scared me. Why are you suddenly yelling?”
As if she had been holding back all this time, Eun-ji finally exploded.
“Bastaaaaard!!!”
Normally, I would have told her to be quiet…
But this time, perhaps because we were a team…
I understood Lee Eun-ji’s feelings better than anyone.
Unlike me, who just accepted it, thinking ‘it can’t be helped’…
Lee Eun-ji had been holding back for almost a week, caught between her reason, ‘It’s work, so endure it!’ and her exploding instincts.
For someone with her temper, not smashing Payoff’s talkback button was a miracle in itself.
“No. I have to do it.”
Then…
“Do what?”
“That.”
Lee Eun-ji suddenly looked around and walked towards the recycling bins in a corner of the alley.
“Ah, that. It’s been a while.”
“What?!”
“No, go ahead. I’ll wait here.”
I looked around for a place to sit and settled down on the steps in front of a building entrance.
This was Lee Eun-ji’s unique way of venting her anger, something she developed during our childhood.
Eun-ji rolled up her sleeves, muttering in front of the recycling bins.
“It’s dirty. Well, it’s more satisfying this way.”
We were from the streets.
Among the people who approached us or became close to us, the good ones were few and far between.
Lee Eun-ji, because of her decent looks, was often approached by shady people.
‘Especially since Eun-ji was even kidnapped once…’
Perhaps that’s why…
Lee Eun-ji had a prickly, fiery side, like a porcupine.
The problem was that even after we started living a safe life, Eun-ji couldn’t easily control her fiery temper.
At first, it was to protect herself, but as time passed, it seemed to have become a habit, a part of her personality.
‘There was a lot of blood…’
The days of constant fights, someone getting beaten up, or Lee Eun-ji coming home bruised.
‘I don’t know if I should call this fortunate, but…’
Lee Eun-ji always picked fights with people who couldn’t legally retaliate, so thankfully, there hadn’t been any major incidents so far.
The bakery owner we were indebted to disapproved of Eun-ji’s temper.
“You could get hurt, and Eun-ho could get hurt too.”
It was a warning and concern that those around her could get hurt.
So, the owner suggested a healthy way for Eun-ji to vent her anger.
“A friend of mine is starting a business recycling these.”
“So?”
“You said you were angry.”
“I am, but what does this have to do with anything?”
“Step on these.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“If you’re going to ask that, at least step on them first and then ask.”
“Damn it, he asks me to do the strangest things.”
Lee Eun-ji always grumbled, but she listened to the owner.
He was the only adult who didn’t look at Lee Eun-ji with ‘that’ look of pity or sympathy, which she hated.
“How do you feel? A bit better?”
“…Well, yeah. It’s not bad.”
“Wherever you do this, only do it with transparent ones, and don’t just throw the trash anywhere when you’re angry. Collect it properly and throw it away.”