Siblings Working in Business (209)
“No, seriously, what was that? Ancestral rites, descendants… and what else? Persuasion? A pledge? What’s a pledge?”
『A promise…』
“…Now I’m annoyed. There’s a perfectly good word like ‘promise,’ why ‘pledge’?”
Eun-ji glared, but she continued to cuddle Briquette.
『Because your brother treasures the promise he made with you. It’s too precious to be called a simple promise.』
“Well, I guess.”
Eun-ji, sensing the cheesiness, quickly changed the subject.
“Besides that, what about ‘ordained’ and ‘shell’? ‘Shell’ means our physical body, and ‘above’? Is that like heaven?”
『Heaven, yes, that’s right. Because it’s in the sky.』
“Is there really a heaven where good people go?”
『I don’t understand what you mean, but heaven is just where souls live.』
“Ah, okay. Um, I understand.”
Actually, she didn’t.
She just said that to move on, but did he notice?
Briquette, looking sullen, lowered his head in Eun-ji’s arms.
“Are you sulking?”
『No. I studied all that so I could explain it later…』
“You… studied all that?”
『Yes. Very hard.』
Briquette rubbed his head against her palm, as if asking for praise.
“How would you have explained it if you hadn’t studied?”
『Like this?』
She had asked, thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it have been easier to explain without all the fancy words?,’ but Eun-ji immediately regretted it.
As if his earlier mention of ‘hundreds’ and ‘thousands’ of years wasn’t a joke, Briquette started speaking in a language that sounded like Korean but was completely incomprehensible.
『Do you understand?』
Briquette looked at Eun-ji with a hopeful expression, but she shook her head vigorously, admitting that the complicated words were better.
“You really studied hard.”
『I did.』
“You worked hard…”
Actually, she hadn’t completely misunderstood.
She understood parts of it, and since she had seen some of it herself, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
Lost in thought, Eun-ji absently played with Briquette’s pink bean pads, completely forgetting about calling him a “pervert.”
While Eun-ji and Briquette were having a long conversation…
Eun-ho, riding in Tae-hyun’s Gak Grand X, which looked old on the outside but was packed with modern technology on the inside, entered the parking lot of a luxurious apartment building.
‘Wow…’
As he got out of the car, he was surrounded by unfamiliar foreign cars.
For Eun-ho, whose license had been gathering dust, the sight of all these cars was suffocating.
“What are you doing? Come on.”
“Hyung, are you sure it’s okay for me to be here?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
Tae-hyun chuckled dismissively and pushed Eun-ho towards the elevator.
The sleek black elevator doors opened, revealing a polished wooden interior.
The apartment they moved to after leaving the dorm before the regression was also nice.
But this was on a different level.
“Hyung-nim.”
“Yeah.”
“Can I… ask how much this place costs?”
Tae-hyun smiled faintly and held out his hand, palm up.
“Hundreds of millions…?”
“Yeah. Oh, add another zero.”
Wow, holy…
That was an astronomical amount, not an exaggeration.
Could he have even afforded this place with Eun-ji’s bank account before the regression?
No, since it was a few years earlier now…
The price would have been even higher back then.
‘I can’t afford this. Absolutely not.’
It was a price tag that reflected Toxin’s status.
Tae-hyun, amused by Eun-ho’s shocked gasp as he counted on his fingers, chuckled and pressed ‘2’ on the ‘PH’ button, not a regular apartment floor.
Penthouse, second floor.
The elevator doors opened swiftly, revealing an impressive entrance.
Tae-hyun touched his wallet to the door, and the heavy door opened easily.
Huh? What?
‘It’s smaller than I expected?’
That was Eun-ho’s first thought upon entering Tae-hyun’s apartment.
He hadn’t realized the curtains were concealing the living room, not a wall.
“They left it closed again.”
Tae-hyun casually used a remote control-like device on the wall next to the hallway.
Whirr.
As the curtains opened with a quiet mechanical sound, a spacious living room was revealed.
“Wow.”
Eun-ho froze.
He had never seen a living room this big.
Even with a grand piano, there was still plenty of space.
It was much larger than the hotel Aeseul had stayed at before the regression.
Tae-hyun, amused by Eun-ho’s stunned reaction, chuckled as he placed his car keys and wallet on the table.
“You’re more expressive than I thought.”
“No, Hyung-nim, how can I not react to this?”
Eun-ho asked, as if feeling wronged.
“Is that so?”
“Of course. I live in that rooftop room you guys used to live in.”
“Haha. Then you’ll be even more surprised by this.”
“What is it?”
What else was there?
As Eun-ho’s curiosity piqued, Tae-hyun operated the remote control.
“It takes a while and it’s a hassle, so I don’t usually open it when I’m alone—”
Just as Tae-hyun chuckled dryly and pressed another button on the remote…
A louder mechanical whirring sound filled the air, although still subtle.
Eun-ho, watching to see what was happening, gasped.
“The entire living room is a window?”
“Ah, the left side is a balcony, so there’s a door.”
It was the sound of the gray curtains covering the entire living room opening.
“Wow, wow! Wow!!! This is insane.”
Eun-ho, as expressive as when he was with Eun-ji, couldn’t contain his amazement.
Eun-ho loved beautiful scenery.
It inspired him.
Of course, Tae-hyun’s apartment wasn’t facing the Han River, so it didn’t have a river view.
But when the curtains opened, revealing a wall of windows…
Tae-hyun’s living room offered a breathtaking panoramic view of the forest and the city, making even the expensive Han River view seem insignificant.
“Wow, why would you hide this view?”
“I’m not really interested in these things.”
“Did you buy this place?”
Although it sounded like he was interrogating him, he was genuinely curious.
Besides, he had talked a lot with the Toxin members about their upcoming music video.
If he were to explain their relationship, it would be that the Toxin members now knew more about their past than even CEO Park.
At least they were close enough to ask this kind of question.
“I don’t know much about real estate, so I just bought what they recommended.”
“Who recommended it?”
“You know that person who’s good with real estate, the one I’ve known for a long time.”
“Who? Ah.”
He knew immediately.
“Wow, seriously. CEO Park is the best.”
This meant CEO Park had found this apartment for him.
“I thought he found it for me, but he actually just sold me a place he already owned…”
“…”
Come to think of it, the apartment he lived in before the regression… he hadn’t paid much attention to it back then, but it had a nice location and night view.
And that was also a property CEO Park had found for him…
He felt a bit materialistic, but he decided he should treat CEO Park better.
“It’s getting late. Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Oh, are you making it for me, Hyung-nim?”
“Huh? Why would I?”
Tae-hyun continued with his usual deadpan expression,
“Eun-ho, just so you know, I’m only interested in women.”
Tae-hyun’s casual tone, so nonchalant that it was hard to tell if he was joking, gave weight to his frivolous words.
If it weren’t for the chuckle that followed, Eun-ho would have thought he was being serious.
Eun-ho, momentarily confused by his response, laughed and waved his hand.
“Ah, I was so surprised, I thought you were serious!”
“Haha.”
“Whether it’s a man or a woman, I’ll pass, so don’t worry, Hyung-nim.”
“You’re only in your early 20s, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“But you talk like you’ve been burned by a woman.”
“Haha. Well… I guess so.”
A brief silence fell over the spacious living room.
“Um, then I’ll just make something myself…”
“Forget it. I’ll order something. You’re a guest.”
Eun-ho clicked his tongue in disappointment and looked at the kitchen.
Tae-hyun’s kitchen, black and red, had a sleek, bar-like atmosphere.
Eun-ho often cooked in their cramped apartment when he wasn’t busy, so…
He was especially envious of what looked like a large dishwasher. He longed to be free from dishwashing.
He could afford one, but…
He had been putting it off, reluctant to spend money on himself or Eun-ji.
Besides, they weren’t home much because of their schedules.
“I wanted to try using a fancy kitchen like this, that’s a bit disappointing.”
“You need ingredients to use it.”
Just then, as Eun-ho wondered what he meant, Tae-hyun pointed towards the refrigerator.
Eun-ho, curious, opened the refrigerator, froze for three seconds, and then quickly closed it.
“Hyung-nim…”
“It’s obvious you don’t cook at home.”
“No, but filling your fridge with only alcohol and water is a bit… pathetic, isn’t it?”
“That’s not mine.”
“Then whose is it?”
“The kids’.”
Eun-ho tilted his head at the word ‘kids.’
“You mean the Toxin hyungs?”
“Yeah.”
Tae-hyun’s usual deadpan expression, when referring to Toxin, was replaced by a look of exasperation.
It seemed he had suffered a lot as the oldest member.
“Anyway, there’s a family restaurant nearby that delivers, and it’s good.”
“Are you paying?”
“Eun-ho, you’re surprisingly shameless.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Haa. You really sound like Ye-chan’s younger brother when you say things like that.”
“Oh, being compared to Ye-chan Sunbae is a compliment.”
“It’s not.”
“It’s up to the listener how they interpret it. And for the record, I’m happy with anything as long as it’s meat.”
“You’re a funny guy. Seriously.”
Despite his casual tone, Tae-hyun chuckled at Eun-ho’s shameless reply.
He was laughing.
Tae-hyun then made a phone call to place an order.
Meanwhile, Eun-ho looked around Tae-hyun’s apartment.
“Hyung-nim, this door is different. What’s in this room?”
“Oh, they said the delivery will take a while, so go play in there.”
“…?”
He wondered what he meant by “play,” but the moment he opened the door, which was the only one that looked different…
“…Hyung-nim, are you running some kind of workshop?”
“What, a workshop? Haha.”
For the first time today, Tae-hyun burst into laughter.
“No, but you have a lot of computers for someone who lives alone.”
“That’s ridiculous. Don’t misunderstand. It’s the kids’ PC room.”
“Aha.”
At the mention of a ‘PC room,’ he naturally thought of someone in Toxin who enthusiastically promoted the game ‘Formica.’
“Did you set up all the members’ spots, Hyung-nim? That’s thoughtful of you.”
“As if… I didn’t set it up. They made their own little hideout while I was abroad.”
Eun-ho looked at Tae-hyun sympathetically.
He had unintentionally learned how Tae-hyun’s apartment was being used by the Toxin members.
“Hyung-nim, hang in there.”
“Eun-ho.”
“Yes.”
“Wipe that smirk off your face before you try to comfort me.”
“Ah, you saw through me. Sorry. Haha.”