Siblings Working in Business (239)
7:30 AM.
PD Yoo, standing at the gate, tilted his head, hearing the commotion from inside.
As the PD and the staff entered…
The first thing they saw was Seung-yeon sprawled on the wooden platform.
“Ah, move! I need to wash my hair!”
“Wow, running away because you lost?”
Although she had improved, Eun-ji was still no match for Eun-ho.
“I’d rather avoid crap because it’s dirty, not because I’m scared of it.”
“Oh, our little pumpkin knows that saying?”
“Ah, agh!”
Eun-ji, annoyed by Eun-ho’s relentless teasing, stormed inside.
The members, too engrossed in their own world, didn’t notice the PD and the staff entering the yard.
PD Yoo looked towards a tent set up in a corner of the yard.
It was the staff’s tent.
The entrance was half-open, and there were no signs of anyone entering or leaving.
He had told them filming would start after 8:00, but that applied to the cast members as well.
He had even told the cast that filming would start after 10:00.
And yet, while the staff were still asleep, half the cast members were already awake and messing around.
PD Yoo greeted the oblivious members,
“You’re all up early.”
“You’re here?”
“How are you already up? I thought I told you to turn off your phone alarms…”
Eun-ho, scratching his head sheepishly, replied to PD Yoo’s question,
“It’s a habit. I wake up at 6:00 even when I’m not at home. And I usually wake up at 4:00, so I actually slept in.”
“4:00…”
Just then, as PD Yoo was expressing his surprise…
“Who’s there?”
Eun-ji peeked out of the room and asked Eun-ho.
Her hair, which had been a mess inside, seemed to have been somewhat tamed.
Eun-ho stepped aside without a word.
As PD Yoo came into view, Eun-ji greeted him with a smile,
“Aha, Director-nim, you’re here?”
PD Yoo looked at Eun-ji with surprise.
According to the notes he received from Chang-seok, Eun-ji was not a morning person and was far from diligent.
And with more than half the cast members already awake, PD Yoo found himself in a slightly awkward situation.
“This is a problem.”
“Why?”
“Well…”
PD Yoo had planned to secretly give points to the members based on the order they woke up.
But with five of them already awake, it was difficult to determine the order, and there were more people than the three he had planned for.
“Then can’t you just give us all the same amount?”
Eun-ho smiled, gave a thumbs-up, and then pointed towards the main rooms.
“Except for the others who are still sleeping.”
Since Eun-ho had been briefed about the ‘points’ during their phone call with PD Yoo the previous evening, the other awake members silently agreed.
“That’s unexpected. I didn’t know you were this kind of person.”
“What did you think I was like?”
Tae-hyun, overhearing Jikki’s mumble, asked with his smooth pronunciation.
“You often tease your sister, but I thought you were always calm, kind, and considerate, so I assumed you would ask for points for everyone.”
“Haha, you’ll be surprised if you think Eun-ho’s like that.”
Jikki tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand Tae-hyun’s warning(?).
Meanwhile, PD Yoo shook his head at Eun-ho’s suggestion.
“I’ll think about it while we’re setting up.”
That morning, after Eun-ho and Eun-ji left for their schedule…
Briquette, alone at home, was lounging in the living room in human form, wearing a white t-shirt and black capri pants — Eun-ho’s clothes.
Although in human form, his senses, as a being with supernatural powers, were sharper than most animals.
He could sense the presence of someone stopping at the gate without even trying.
Despite the unfamiliar sound, Briquette continued to laze around, scratching his belly, then turned over.
Normally, he would have been on high alert, but ever since the sasaeng fans broke into the house…
Chang-seok, who cared for the siblings like his own children, had personally tightened security.
So, anyone approaching the house was either just passing by…
Or had business with the mailbox.
Or was just taking shelter from the rain under the eaves.
‘Did they leave a love letter or something?’
Since it wasn’t unusual for people to stop by the gate, Briquette yawned, unfazed by the presence.
But just then…
He heard something he shouldn’t have.
Click.
“…Huh?”
Briquette, mid-yawn, froze, his mouth still open.
The person he thought was just passing by had unlocked the complicated gate lock with practiced ease.
Briquette hurriedly transformed into his cat form, emitting black, thread-like smoke.
He picked up the discarded pants with his mouth, dragged the t-shirt across the floor with his paws, and hid them in his secret box in the corner of Eun-ji’s room.
Then, he went to the gate, lingered on the first floor, and then went up to the second floor.
Briquette waited quietly by the front door.
The person, now at the door, somehow having a key, unlocked the door without hesitation.
Click.
As the lock turned, Briquette got ready to pounce.
He tensed his hind legs, preparing to jump.
The moment the door opened…
Briquette sprang.
“Gotcha! I caught you!”
The door opened, and a woman with short hair smiled and scooped Briquette into her arms.
“You little troublemaker! I knew you’d be here.”
Briquette, as if recognizing her, rubbed his head against her neck.
“Have you been good?”
It was PD Cheol-soo.
Since Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s filming schedule had been changed due to the meeting and could potentially last for two, maybe even three days, Cheol-soo, who had some free time, came to look after Briquette.
Since this happened often, Briquette had grown accustomed to Cheol-soo, not as much as Eun-ji, but he definitely liked her more than Eun-ho.
“You probably like it here better, but I can’t come every day, so come stay with Auntie for a few days.”
Briquette stopped nuzzling Cheol-soo.
‘Come with you? Where?’
To Briquette, who had been enjoying his freedom after Eun-ji and Eun-ho left, it was unwelcome news.
Cheol-soo, holding Briquette, crouched down and opened the kennel carrier.
“Ouch!”
Briquette scratched Cheol-soo’s shoulder and jumped down.
He didn’t want to hurt her, but he didn’t want to leave this comfortable life.
Hiss!
Briquette puffed up his fur, his back arched, and hissed at Cheol-soo.
“Hmm. I knew this would happen.”
Fortunately, Cheol-soo seemed to have anticipated this and sighed resignedly.
“I told you we needed this…”
She muttered to herself, then made a phone call.
“I told you I should take him.”
Briquette’s eyes darted around, assessing the situation.
“Yeah, come up now.”
Cheol-soo, after answering, hung up and sat down by the front door, trying to appease Briquette.
“I’ve prepared a separate room just for you, so you won’t be uncomfortable.”
‘My own room?’
Briquette felt a strange sense of… something.
Why would she go to such lengths for an insignificant creature like him?
“There’s a door so you can come and go as you please.”
She was saying he wouldn’t be trapped.
“I’ll just come in through the balcony to feed you and clean your litter box. Okay?”
At this point, Briquette was actually starting to think, ‘This isn’t bad.’
But it lacked a certain… oomph.
Just then…
He heard someone hurrying up the stairs.
“I brought it!”
It was Chang-seok.
Cheol-soo smiled brightly and took a black bag from him.
She then emptied the contents of the bag into a stainless steel bowl inside the carrier.
Although Briquette didn’t dislike dry food or canned food, it wasn’t his preferred diet.
And Eun-ho deliberately, and Eun-ji just in case, avoided giving him human food.
Perhaps because of that…
The bowl was overflowing with cubed pieces of meat.
Briquette, forgetting his earlier hostility, his mouth watering, walked into the carrier on his own.
Oblivious to the door closing, Briquette devoured the meat, tears of joy streaming down his face.
And so, Briquette went to Cheol-soo’s house.
“We’ll be back!”
Eun-ji waved to the other members lounging on the platform.
“Have a safe trip!”
Seung-yeon called out, and Eun-ho bowed his head in response.
The filming schedule for ‘Let’s Live Together a Bit’ had been changed to three days, due to the long meetings about the new ‘point’ system.
This kind of flexibility was only possible thanks to the substantial investment from NRY Entertainment and DI Music.
However, since Eun-ho and Eun-ji were currently promoting <Curse>, their schedule overlapped with the filming of Let’s Live Together a Bit for two days.
Since they were the only ones with scheduling conflicts, they decided to commute between Gyeongbuk and Gyeonggi provinces.
「“You’ll have a tough time.”」
Chang-seok had warned them.
Although Eun-ho and Eun-ji had casually replied, “It’s okay,” the long commute seemed daunting now that the time had come.
Not just for them, but also for Hyun-woo, their driver, and Seul-gi, their stylist.
In a way, they were even busier than Eun-ho and Eun-ji.
Seul-gi, finishing a call, got into the passenger seat.
Hyun-woo started driving as soon as Seul-gi fastened her seatbelt, and Seul-gi briefed them on their schedule during the ride.
“Your outfits are ready in the waiting room, so you’ll change when you arrive. We’ll stop at a rest stop for basic makeup, and then finish it when we get there.”
“Okay.”
“Alright.”
Seul-gi let out a sigh of relief.
“By the way…”
“…?”
Seul-gi turned to Eun-ji.
“Don’t make any verbal slips. Okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine now. I’ve been using polite language lately.”
Eun-ji said, lifting her chin confidently.
Eun-ho, who was getting ready, Seul-gi, and even Hyun-woo, who was driving, all gave her a look that said, ‘That’s not true,’ through the rearview mirror.
“Seriously, Lee Eun-ho is worse than me these days!”
“At least Eun-ho on broadcasts…”
“At least Eun-ho on broadcasts…”
Eun-ji’s face crumpled at Hyun-woo and Seul-gi’s simultaneous remark.
Just then, Eun-ho, looking at Eun-ji’s expression, chuckled and muttered,
“Wow, it’s an endangered blobfish.”
“What’s that?”
Eun-ji, tilting her head at the unfamiliar name, searched for ‘blobfish’ on her phone.
A moment later, she yelled at the top of her lungs,
“You, little shit!!!!”