Siblings Working in Business (241)
“Eun-ji, where are you going?”
Seung-yeon asked, stopping Eun-ji as she headed towards the main room.
“Um, I was going to the bathroom. Want to come?”
“Haha, no thanks.”
Seung-yeon, momentarily flustered by Eun-ji’s playful suggestion, chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
Eun-ji took off her shoes, stepped onto the wooden floor, and headed towards the main room.
“Sniffle…”
She heard a faint sniffling sound as she reached the door.
Creak.
The wooden door creaked loudly as she opened it.
Although she hesitated for a moment, she quickly pushed the door open and entered.
The sniffling sound stopped abruptly, as if the person inside had heard her.
“Aeseul?”
“Yes?”
“Are you in the bathroom?”
“Yes. I-I’ll be right out.”
“It’s okay. I’ll come back later if it’s going to take a while.”
Despite her words, Eun-ji walked towards the bathroom.
Aeseul hurriedly stood up from the toilet.
“No, it’s okay. I-I’m done.”
Aeseul, pretending to have been using the toilet, flushed it and came out.
Eun-ji was already standing right outside the bathroom door.
Eun-ji peered inside and asked with concern,
“Were you crying?”
“…”
Aeseul avoided her gaze and shook her head.
“You were chatting and making eye contact last night, but now you’re avoiding my gaze…”
Aeseul opened her mouth as if to say something in response to Eun-ji’s words.
But before she could speak…
“…as if you’ve done something wrong.”
Eun-ji’s eyes widened, as if she had realized something.
Aeseul felt a lump in her throat.
She couldn’t lift her head.
Eun-ji was intense.
It wasn’t because she was intimidated by her sharp gaze.
It was because the moment Eun-ji seemed to realize something, the playful tone in her voice disappeared.
Eun-ji, without her usual smile, exuded a chilling aura, her difficult past seeping through, as if she could see right through her.
That’s why she was scared.
“…”
Eun-ji, seeing Aeseul frozen stiff, lightly patted her back.
“Why are you so tense? Relax and go out. They said filming will start soon.”
“Okay.”
Aeseul hurried out of the bathroom, as if she had been waiting for permission.
Eun-ji pretended to enter the bathroom, then stopped.
She watched Aeseul leave.
The Aeseul she met in this timeline seemed completely different from the girl Eun-ho had described.
She was so different that Eun-ji even wondered if she was the same rude girl from their past encounter.
So, she had been able to treat her kindly.
Sitting together on the bus, sharing a room, chatting all night…
But this morning…
‘When Aeseul saw me…’
It wasn’t just surprise from being woken up; she had looked at her as if she had seen a ghost.
‘Is it just my imagination?’
But…
“This feels… off.”
Her gut feeling, a primal instinct, was sending her warning signals.
A nagging feeling, like she was missing something, just like when Eun-ho suddenly changed that day.
But she had no proof, no evidence.
She would have to observe for now.
After Aeseul left the room, Eun-ji finally entered the bathroom.
After dinner…
As previously discussed, unlike the first day, the members would use their points to choose their sleeping arrangements.
They didn’t know who would end up in which room.
Currently, those with points were Lee Eun-ho, Ryu Seok-hyun, Lee Eun-ji, Aeseul, and Jikki, who had earned 1 point from the ‘5-minute dishwashing’ mission during dinner.
A male staff member, wearing a curly wig with various hairpins, spoke in an exaggerated tone, holding out a container,
“The rooms are numbers 1, 2, and 3, from left to right.”
“We don’t get to choose?”
“Nope, it’s random. Heehee.”
The members cringed at the staff’s over-the-top acting, then…
The five with points “bought” rooms from the shabby wooden “store.”
Just then, Ryu Seok-hyun, who had bought his room first, unfolded the paper and exclaimed in frustration,
“What?! I bought a room with points, and…!”
“Haha.”
“Director-nim, is this right? The room is only for one day?”
The paper Ryu Seok-hyun unfolded said ‘Room Voucher (1 Day).’
“I’ve been tricked!”
Ryu Seok-hyun shouted, looking dumbfounded.
Seo Seung-yeon, his face slightly pale, cautiously asked PD Yoo,
“Excuse me, PD-nim.”
“Yes.”
“Where do those without points sleep?”
“Where do you think? I told you this morning.”
PD Yoo, smiling brightly, spread his hands.
“Here.”
Seo Seung-yeon, as if not understanding, or perhaps pretending not to, asked again,
“You don’t mean… outdoors… do you?”
“That’s right.”
Seo Seung-yeon, at PD Yoo’s shameless reply, sighed and clutched the back of his neck.
Currently, those without points were Choi Tae-hyun, Choi Si-woo, and Seo Seung-yeon, three in total.
If things stayed like this, all three of them would be sleeping in tents outdoors.
But just then, PD Yoo, with a sly smile, said,
“But it’s a bit much for all three of you to sleep in tents, isn’t it?”
“Yes!”
Si-woo and Seung-yeon replied energetically, seeing a glimmer of hope.
“So, for those of you, we offer ‘point loans.’ Are you interested?”
It was a cold day.
Thinking they would catch a cold sleeping outdoors in this weather, Seo Seung-yeon, Choi Si-woo, and even Choi Tae-hyun, who had pretended not to care, were interested in the offer.
“We’ve distributed a total of 10 points today.”
Before dinner…
While preparing the ingredients, those without points — Jikki, Choi Tae-hyun, Seo Seung-yeon, and Choi Si-woo — were given additional missions.
Jikki’s mission was ‘Finish the dishes within 5 minutes.’
Choi Tae-hyun’s mission was ‘Pick green onions from the field within 5 minutes.’
Choi Si-woo’s mission was ‘Pick peppers within 5 minutes.’
Seo Seung-yeon’s mission was ‘Build a cooking fire within 30 minutes.’
“But since one of you failed a mission, 9 points were distributed among you.”
Although Choi Tae-hyun failed his mission by picking chives instead of green onions, they all completed their other missions.
However, except for Jikki, who washed the dishes alone, Choi Si-woo and Seo Seung-yeon received help from others.
Choi Si-woo was helped by Eun-ji.
Or rather, Eun-ji completed the mission for him.
Having visited the garden several times, she knew where everything was, and she picked the peppers, saying she was going there anyway.
And Si-woo simply handed them to PD Yoo.
Seo Seung-yeon’s fire-starting mission was similar.
With only three minutes left…
「“I give up…”」
「“Haha, well, we have to eat dinner, so I’ll do it.”」
Eun-ho, pushing aside the defeated Seo Seung-yeon, took over, as he had to prepare dinner anyway.
As a result, Eun-ho built a proper cooking fire in two minutes, completing the mission that Seo Seung-yeon had struggled with for 27 minutes.
「“So, did I pass!?”」
「“Pass… you did. You and Eun-ji, who went to the garden.”」
「“That’s not fair!”」
「“Here.”」
PD Yoo gave the points Si-woo and Seung-yeon would have received to Eun-ho and Eun-ji.
So, Eun-ho and Eun-ji currently had the points Si-woo and Seung-yeon should have earned.
“You can borrow points from those who have any left.”
The PD was essentially telling them to borrow from Eun-ho and Eun-ji.
“And for your information, the room prices will increase randomly, and there will be 10 missions tomorrow as well.”
PD Yoo casually added an important detail.
“So, if we borrow points, we just have to return them? No interest or anything?”
Seo Seung-yeon, eager to avoid sleeping outdoors, asked the PD with a hopeful expression.
The PD firmly shook his head.
“No. Then it wouldn’t be called a ‘loan’.”
“Then what are the terms?”
Si-woo asked, and the PD’s explanation was simple.
‘The lender sets the interest rate as a multiplier, and the borrower can’t earn any points until they pay back the loan with interest.’
“Oh…”
Eun-ho let out a low whistle.
Although it seemed harsh, E-UNG had to leave for a schedule tomorrow.
They would return in the afternoon, so they didn’t want to lend out their precious points, especially since the points could be carried over to the next filming session.
But the lender could set the interest rate…
And the production team would manage the loan repayments?
That changed things.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji, understanding the implications, exchanged mischievous grins.
‘……’
Tae-hyun, who had been quietly listening from a distance, noticed their smirks.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji were the ones with the points.
Tae-hyun shook his head and made up his mind.
‘…I’ll just sleep outside.’
It was a wise decision.
“Eun-ho, I’ll give you double tomorrow—”
“Come on, Hyung-nim…”
“Hmm?”
“Double is too stingy, don’t you think?”
Eun-ho’s smile at Seung-yeon’s offer was deceptively kind.
He held up four fingers.
“Hey, are you serious, four times? That’s insane! Even loan sharks aren’t that cruel!”
When Seung-yeon exclaimed in shock, Eun-ho, still smiling, said,
“If you don’t like it, you can ask her.”
“Eun-ji…”
“But Hyung-nim, you know Eun-ji, right? She’s even worse than me.”
Meanwhile, a similar situation was unfolding with Si-woo and Eun-ji.
“F-four times?”
“Well, we won’t be here tomorrow.”
Eun-ji, sitting cross-legged on the floor with her chin resting on her hand, asked casually,
“Is that too much?”
“Of course, it is!”
“Then go make a deal with Lee Eun-ho over there.”
“…”
“But he’ll probably ask for five or six times, trying to take advantage of this opportunity. He won’t be cheaper. Why don’t you go ask him?”
Si-woo, intimidated by Eun-ji’s smug attitude, turned away dejectedly.
“He asked for four times from you too?”
“Yes, Sunbae-nim, did he also…”
Seung-yeon and Si-woo, meeting halfway, shared information.
“I’ll at least ask.”
“Yeah, I’ll… ask Eun-ji too…”
Although they were both disheartened by the four times interest rate, they couldn’t bear the thought of sleeping outside in this weather.
Seung-yeon and Si-woo separated and went to Eun-ji and Eun-ho, respectively.
“Hmm.”
Eun-ho, pretending to consider it, sighed dramatically and said to Si-woo,
“Since you’re like a younger brother to me, I can’t ask for four times. How about three times?”
Eun-ji used a similar tactic.
“I can’t ask for four times from Seung-yeon Oppa, especially since it’s cold today… How about three times?”
Not only had they expected four times… their earlier warnings about the other being more expensive backfired.
They were both delighted, having borrowed at three times the rate, which was even more than the two times they had anticipated.
And PD Yoo had clearly stated…
There would only be ten missions tomorrow.
‘Those idiots…’
What were they going to do tomorrow?
“Hyung, I’m sleeping inside!”
“Okay.”
Tae-hyun, oblivious to what awaited them, looked at Seung-yeon, who was showing off his room voucher, with a sympathetic, yet smug, expression, and nodded.
Just then, he realized something.
Tae-hyun looked at Eun-ho.
‘Those two…’
A sudden chill ran down his spine.
After the loan discussion started…
After exchanging a mischievous glance…
Eun-ho and Eun-ji hadn’t spoken to each other, nor had they made eye contact.
That meant…
They had planned this whole thing with just a single look.
‘Team Leader Park, you…’
What have you created?