Siblings Working in Business (217)
The song, now titled <Curse>, was track number 66 among Eun-ji’s creations in the cloud.
And back then, before it was finalized, it was exactly 4 minutes and 6 seconds long.
It was a long song, considering Eun-ji’s songs were usually around 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
Those coincidental numbers bothered him.
♩♬♬—
He played the song. The intro began with a heavy orchestral sound, reminiscent of a circus.
Then, a playful trumpet melody and an unexpectedly fitting bass line blended in.
But perhaps because of the unusual, slightly off-beat rhythm…
‘4, 6, 66.’
The unlucky numbers combined created an eerie feeling.
But it was a challenging song, and he wanted to try it.
「“It’s good, but it seems like it would be difficult for you, Eun-ho. Are you sure?”」
「“I’ll consider it a challenge.”」
He ‘kept’ the song, and CEO Park readily agreed.
And so began the lyric writing.
Track 66 was captivating, but he didn’t know where to start.
Even finding a single keyword was a struggle.
Then, he had the first nightmare.
The zelkova tree.
The car accident.
Him searching for Eun-ji.
Reliving the moment of the accident made even good music sound distorted.
He couldn’t write lyrics for an upbeat song.
So he kept working on track 66, even though he couldn’t see a way forward.
But track 66 was no different.
He was just as stuck, even with the keywords.
Then, thankfully, he escaped the first nightmare with Hyun-woo’s help.
But that wasn’t the end.
He had the second nightmare right after.
It was as if the dream was warning him, ‘Did you think you could escape?’
The second nightmare showed him and Eun-ji returning home, from a third-person perspective.
Judging by their clothes, it was after work, the same clothes they were wearing in the car now.
He knew the dream was showing them after work.
「“We’re home! Briquette!”」
The dream, which started with Eun-ji’s annoyingly cutesy voice, showed their ordinary daily life.
They bickered about trivial matters after coming home, ate dinner, and then went to their separate rooms.
What was different was that evening in the dream.
After Eun-ji fell asleep, Briquette quietly left her room and came to his.
「“What are you doing here?”」
『I have something to tell you.』
「“What.”」
He asked Briquette indifferently, lying on his mat, looking at his phone.
Just then…
Briquette looked at him with a worried expression.
『‘Time’ has descended.』
He was about to ask what he meant, but his mouth wouldn’t open, as he was just an observer.
『I’ve been debating whether I should tell you, but there’s no way to save Eun-ji…』
Briquette trailed off, unable to continue.
Unable to bear the suspense, he asked,
「“Save her? What do you mean? Is Eun-ji going to die again…?”」
Even in the dream, he seemed to struggle with the word “die.”
「“…Is she in danger?”」
After a long pause, he finally managed to ask a different question.
Briquette shook his head and replied,
『Someone has to fill the empty space.』
Just then, the scene in the dream changed.
Dozens of scenes flashed before his eyes, like clips from a TV show.
All of them showed him.
Being hit by a car, a light fixture falling on him, being stabbed by a stranger, being electrocuted…
Although the scenarios varied, the ending was always the same.
They were all scenes of him dying.
The dozens of scenes multiplied into hundreds.
He died from a concussion after being bumped by someone while playing with Eun-ji.
Many of the deaths were absurdly comical.
It felt like the dream was threatening him, ‘You’re going to die.’
All the scenes were like that, more absurd than scary.
‘What did I even do?’
As he watched, he suddenly understood what Briquette meant by ‘empty space.’
It meant someone had to be sacrificed to fill the void left by Eun-ji’s death.
And was he the first target because he was closest to Eun-ji?
He woke up and, entering the house before Eun-ji, went looking for Briquette to ask him about the dream.
「“We need to talk.”」
But that alone changed the course of events, completely different from the dream.
Unlike in the dream, Eun-ji now knew that Briquette could talk.
And unlike in the dream, he wasn’t home that day.
‘…’
That evening, staying over at Tae-hyun’s place, admiring the night view…
He had intended to ask Briquette about the dream as soon as he returned.
But that day…
‘What happens when the same date comes around again?’
After that conversation, his mind in turmoil… his thoughts expanded.
He started to suspect that his dream wasn’t just a premonition.
The hundreds of death scenes, as if threatening him, ‘You will die.’
He suddenly thought, ‘What if that’s “Time”’s desperate attempt, the one Briquette mentioned?’
Just then…
He found the keyword for track 66, which he had been stuck on.
‘Our cursed siblings.’
It took him two days to finish writing the lyrics.
The day he finished the lyrics for track 66…
As if in warning, he had the third nightmare.
Actually, he didn’t realize it was a nightmare at first.
In this nightmare, an article was published.
October 31st.
「E-UNG, who recently released a new song, embroiled in online controversy, ‘Famous sibling idols, orphanage background and school bully rumors.’ Agency states, ‘Confirming facts’.”」
「[Latest Entertainment Hot News] Lee Eun-ji, school violence accusations? Victim’s testimony surfaces…»
In the dream, he suddenly committed suicide, saying he would take responsibility.
Watching the scene from a third-person perspective, he was dumbfounded.
‘Me? Doing that?’
It was so absurd that he didn’t even register it as a ‘nightmare’ at first.
But the next morning, he received a message from Hwa-rang.
[Hwa-rang ― Good morning! Eun-ho, please make sure to eat breakfast!]
It was his usual greeting at first.
That was, until he was suddenly added to a group chat with Eun-ji.
He sent a question mark, wondering what was going on, and Eun-ji started bickering with him.
Just then…
[Hwa-rang ― Jo Kwang-soo!]
A familiar name, appearing out of the blue.
After hearing what Hwa-rang’s brother had told him, he finally realized that the dream he had was the third nightmare.
He laughed at first, finding it absurd.
And then, he became certain of his hypothesis.
That those damn nightmares were “Time”’s desperate attempts to get rid of him, threatening him with, ‘You’re going to die!’
Although he found it ridiculous that he would die from something like this, it made it easier to deal with.
“An article will be published…”
Whoever this “Time” Briquette mentioned was, they had chosen the wrong opponent.
‘If I release it first, this stupid nightmare will be broken again.’
He didn’t like anyone messing with his life.
Since it involved Jo Kwang-soo, he decided to have some fun and teach that loudmouth Flounder a lesson.
The problem was, only he and Eun-ji found it fun.
He needed CEO Park’s help for this plan.
‘How… ah.’
He sought advice from a group chat filled with experts in handling CEO Park Chang-seok.
[Me ― Hyungs]
[Seo ― Oh~ our maknae]
[Joo ― Yeah?]
[Me ― I want to do something, but I think CEO Park will object.]
They asked what it was, but he kept quiet, knowing he had to be careful even with his allies to deceive his enemy.
Just as they were sulking, saying they wouldn’t tell him anything then…
[Seo ― Lol A strategy for handling CEO Park]
― Want me to tell you my method?]
Seo Seung-yeon, the only one who was amused, asked.
Seo Seung-yeon’s strategy for handling CEO Park, the same Seo Seung-yeon who taught him how to avoid lectures?
This was valuable information!
[Me ― Yes]
― Please!]
Chang-seok, meeting Eun-ho at the CK headquarters, took him to a nearby makchang (grilled intestines) restaurant.
Since Eun-ho couldn’t drink because he was driving, and he himself wasn’t much of a drinker…
He had chosen the restaurant thinking they would just have some cider.
But the moment Eun-ho started talking…
Chang-seok craved a drink more than ever.
“I want to release an article.”
“What kind of article?”
“A rumor about Eun-ji being a school bully.”
Chang-seok froze, his hand hovering over the grill.
‘What the hell is he talking about?’
Chang-seok sighed and then gradually raised his voice,
“No.”
“Come on, CEO Park, just hear me out.”
“No. There’s nothing to hear. Absolutely not. What kind of crazy idea is that?!”
“I’ve done a good job with the Connection project so far, haven’t I?”
“What does that have to do with releasing a crazy article?”
“I think I’ve been doing well, haven’t I?”
“…Why is he acting like this? You’ve been doing well. You have.”
Chang-seok was confused; Eun-ho wasn’t usually the type to brag out of the blue.
Eun-ho had been in charge of most of E-UNG’s music video and album concepts since their debut.
Of course, Chang-seok had supported him, but…
Simply throwing money at something didn’t guarantee success; countless groups had failed to make a name for themselves despite huge investments.
So, E-UNG’s success was a testament to Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s talent.
“Have you ever disliked any of the lyrics or stories I wrote?”
“No… not really.”
No, he hadn’t.
He had been constantly surprised by Eun-ho’s ability to come up with such emotional lyrics.
‘But!’
Even if he had done well so far…
A school violence article?
That was a step too far.
It was like destroying the stairs he had carefully climbed.
Chang-seok sighed in frustration.
“Let’s hear your reason. Why suddenly?”
“It’s not ‘suddenly.’ We’ve had a subtly villainous vibe so far, haven’t we?”
…Had they?
Chang-seok thought about Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s music videos.
Their debut song, “DUO,” had a fantastical, otherworldly concept.
Then there was the ambiguous vampire/demon concept.
And in the ongoing ‘Connection’ project, Eun-ho and Eun-ji were playing the role of dream demons, connecting different dimensions.
“I can’t say there’s nothing there, but there’s a difference between a ‘subtle’ vibe and bringing it into reality.”
Using villainy as a concept could be appealing.
But bringing it into reality would create a lot of noise.
“Eun-ho, noise marketing can be beneficial, but for E-UNG, the risks outweigh the rewards.”
“Hmm~, so there are some rewards?”
Chang-seok let out an exasperated chuckle at Eun-ho’s shameless reply.
Just then, Eun-ho pulled out his trump card, the one Seo Seung-yeon had given him.
“CEO Park, then how can we make the rewards outweigh the risks?”