Siblings Work in Business (57)
Creak—
Bang.
A loud noise, and his vision momentarily whited out.
The smell of burning rubber, a damp, fishy smell…
The unfamiliar scents made him nauseous.
“Eun-ji!”
It was the manager’s voice.
Huh, I don’t usually call the manager “oppa”…
And come to think of it, the face wasn’t Manager Hyun-woo’s either.
But why did I think of him as the manager?
More importantly, where am I?
I looked around and saw that I was in a familiar car.
But it wasn’t the van we usually took.
My eyelids felt heavy, so I closed and opened my eyes.
“Lee Eun-ji…”
I think I had a nightmare.
I don’t remember much, but I clearly heard Lee Eun-ho calling my name.
Lee Eun-ho.
“Oppa…”
I usually hated calling him “Oppa.”
But I felt like it would be my last chance if I didn’t call him now.
And as expected…
As if that was my last bit of energy, drowsiness washed over me.
“Hey, wake up. Wake up!”
“Wake up! Lee Eun-ji! Hey!!!”
Lee Eun-ho, if a singer like him screamed like that, he’d lose his voice…
But my body ached everywhere, my bones and muscles screaming in pain, making it impossible to open my eyes.
It hurt so much that I just wanted to rest.
My heart felt like it was sinking in sand, my breath slowly fading.
“Wake up!!! Hey!!!”
“Hey, wake up.”
The moment the screams in my dream overlapped with the voice in reality…
My eyes snapped open.
Lee Eun-ho was looking down at me with an annoyed expression.
“What…”
“Seems like you slept well. Your voice is all hoarse.”
“Oh…”
I looked around, and the surroundings were familiar.
It was the alley near our dorm, as if we had teleported from the barbecue restaurant.
The CEO, Roa, Jeong-min, and Yeong-guk were nowhere to be seen. They must have gone home.
“Hyun-ji, it’s late, why don’t you sleep over at our place?”
“Should we?”
It seemed like Hyun-ji was asking Mi-eun if she could stay over, since it was late.
Meanwhile, Byeol and In-hyeok, who looked quite drunk…
“Byeol, I’ll take you home.”
“It’sh okay. You drank too.”
“That’s why I’m walking you home…”
“Hey, Oh Dal!”
“Sigh.”
Byeol ignored In-hyeok and called out to Dal.
In-hyeok sighed deeply, watching the drunk Byeol.
“Carry me, you bastard!”
“Is she crazy?”
“‘She’? You little… When we were kids, I carried you and even put you on the jungle gym!”
“Crazy, stop distorting my memories! You put me up there because you thought it was funny when I cried because I was scared!”
“Hmm, I thought you were screaming because you liked it.”
“Bullshit, I was scared! I still can’t go to high places because of you!”
As I turned my head amidst the chaos, I saw Lee Eun-ho looking at Byeol with an enlightened expression.
“When did you get here?”
“Just now. Hyun-woo was the only one who didn’t drink, so he drove everyone home in two trips.”
“From the restaurant all the way here?”
“Yeah. He looked tired, so I told him to go home first. He has to come in early tomorrow.”
“That was considerate of you.”
He must have been tired.
It wasn’t a short distance from the restaurant to here.
“Then what about In-hyeok’s car?”
“I called a designated driver to move it.”
“I see.”
While I was talking to Lee Eun-ho, Hyun-ji and Mi-eun seemed to have finished their conversation.
“We’ll be going then, Oppa.”
“Okay, take care.”
Lee Eun-ho put on a friendly face as he greeted the dance team’s youngest member, who wasn’t even an adult yet.
Meanwhile, Eun-ji was staring at Eun-ho with a disgusted expression, as if looking at a bug.
“Ew.”
Lee Eun-ho’s unusual kindness gave me goosebumps.
“…Disgusting.”
“Disgusting… seriously…”
“Fake kindness is the worst!”
“This isn’t fake, it’s being kind, dummy.”
“Since when were you kind?”
“I’m kind to everyone except my foul-mouthed little sister.”
“You should be kind to your little sister first.”
“Okay, little sister, is this better?”
Eun-ji, who had been provoking him, shut her mouth.
She suppressed her urge to punch Lee Eun-ho in the face, who was smiling with his eyes.
“Seriously…”
As Eun-ho muttered in disbelief, Eun-ji sighed deeply and said,
“…I just showed incredible patience.”
“Incredible… hey, watch your language. Behave.”
“You should set an example first, rockfish head.”
“Stop using ‘rockfish’ already. You’ll wear it out, pumpkin head.”
“He’s so dumb, he only knows pumpkin as a vegetable!”
“Pumpkin is a fruit, and squash is a vegetable, idiot.”
“Huh…? They’re different?”
As Eun-ji asked with a dumbfounded expression, Eun-ho grinned triumphantly and replied,
“Actually, I don’t know either. I just said it because you were being so brazen.”
“Ah, seriously, that bastard…”
“Stop, stop!”
Jeong Hyun-ji, unable to bear it any longer, stepped between the bickering siblings.
“Unnie! You saw that! Lee Eun-ho—”
“Eun-ji, stop provoking him, and Oppa, be patient.”
“Yeah, be patient!”
Eun-ho frowned as Eun-ji seemed emboldened by having someone on her side.
But only for a moment.
“I told Eun-ji to stop too.”
Hyun-ji wasn’t on Eun-ji’s side either.
As Eun-ji backed down, Eun-ho straightened up and smiled.
Hyun-ji, looking at Eun-ho, sighed.
“You’re usually so calm, why do you turn into a fighting cock whenever Eun-ji is around?”
“Just listen to him. Does he look like he wouldn’t fight?”
“You often provoke him too, Oppa.”
“That’s…”
Eun-ho shrugged, seemingly having nothing to say to that.
“It’s fun.”
Hyun-ji sighed and shook her head in disbelief.
“Whatever, just go straight home after we leave, and don’t fight. See you tomorrow.”
“Okay. You’re going to Mi-eun’s house today?”
“Yes. The last train is about to leave, and I have to leave early tomorrow.”
“Okay, take care.”
“Hey—”
Just as the situation seemed to have calmed down, there was still one more thing.
“Eun-hooo?”
Kim In-hyeok stumbled as Byeol rushed towards him.
Byeol, having run out, put her arm around Eun-ho’s shoulder and yelled,
“You! Why didn’t you greet me?”
“Noona, ugh.”
He couldn’t greet her, even if he wanted to, because she had him in a headlock.
Eun-ho tapped Byeol’s arm, signaling for help.
“Why didn’t you greet meee?”
But Byeol…
Seemed determined to get a greeting, not letting go of the headlock.
“Byeol, Eun-ho can’t breathe.”
Eun-ho was finally freed when In-hyeok rushed over and tapped Byeol’s hand.
“Are you okay, Eun-ho?”
“Cough, yes… Noona, cough, please be careful going home.”
“That’sh right! That’s how it should be!”
Eun-ho quickly bowed his head, worried that Byeol might rush at him again.
“Only Hyun-ji and Mi-eun need to be careful. It’s more dangerous for the one who attacks her.”
Just when we thought it was finally over, Oh Dal’s mutter brought a chilling silence.
“Hey, Oh Dal.”
“…”
Byeol’s voice, now cold and sober, made Dal’s shoulders flinch.
“There’s a way to make you suffer.”
“What…”
“If you value your neck, watch your mouth.”
“…Yes.”
Dal zipped his mouth shut.
The other members looked at Dal with pity, as if they had expected this.
One by one, they headed home, and the noisy alley quieted down.
Footsteps echoed through the dark alley with a broken streetlight, as we walked home in silence.
Eun-ji looked around nervously, as if a ghost might pop out from a dark corner.
“Why didn’t you wake me up when we left the restaurant?”
Unable to bear the eerie feeling, Eun-ji closed the distance between them and asked the first thing that came to mind.
Eun-ho glanced at Eun-ji and then looked back at the front, saying,
“How could I wake you when you didn’t even wake up when I stepped on your foot?”
“Damn it. No wonder.”
She then felt a throbbing pain in her foot.
“That’s too much. Why did you step on my foot?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose. It’s your fault for blocking my way while you were sprawled out.”
“You stepped on me because of that?”
“It was an accident. Who told you to lie down there?”
“What was I supposed to do when I was sleepy?”
“What was I supposed to do when you were too heavy to move?”
“Asshole.”
“Asshole?”
Eun-ho smirked at Eun-ji’s provocation.
“Yeah, I’m going to lock the door first.”
“Ah! You crazy bastard!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Eun-ho started running.
It was a short distance, about a 3-minute walk, but with his long legs, he reached the stairs to the second floor in less than a minute.
Eun-ji, also forgetting about her fear of the dark alley, ran after Eun-ho.
“Huff, he’s so fast. Huff, crazy.”
Eun-ji gasped in disbelief, watching Eun-ho take the stairs four steps at a time.
But she didn’t have time for that.
Lee Eun-ho was the type to actually lock the door.
“Uwaaa.”
Just as she reached the second floor, clutching her burning lungs…
“Shit.”
“What? Why are you suddenly cursing…?”
Just as I was about to retort, thinking he was cursing at me…
“Huh?”
Eun-ho was staring blankly at the wall next to the front door, a dumbfounded expression on his face.
“What, is there a cockroach or something?”
Ugh, I didn’t want to think about that.
Just the thought made me shudder.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a cockroach, as Eun-ho quickly calmed down and approached the front door.
“What is it…”
Curious, I peeked over Eun-ho’s shoulder to see what he was looking at.
“Kyaa!”
It was an involuntary scream, although I knew it didn’t suit me.
“It’s so cute!”
“What?”
Then…
Lee Eun-ho looked at me as if I was crazy.
“Are you blind? That’s cute?”
“Huh? Why? It’s adorable.”
“That?”
Did he develop an allergy or something?
I approached the creature Eun-ho was blocking and squatted down.
“Aww, little one, where did you come from?”
Eun-ho, as if horrified by my kindness, shuddered and brushed his arms.
Bang!
Then, he went straight inside.
I heard the sound of a door slamming shut.
“What’s wrong with him?”
Eun-ji looked at the front door with a bewildered expression.
“Oh my.”
But then, she smiled, feeling something soft against her legs.
“Do you like me?”
“Meow.”
The small, black furball with bright yellow eyes meowed in response to Eun-ji’s question.