Siblings Work in Business (63)
As we arrived home and climbed the stairs to our dorm on the second floor, Lee Eun-ji finally spoke, after telling me not to talk to her.
“The cat must have gone back to its home.”
“Huh?”
What was she talking about?
I then remembered the unwelcome black visitor.
‘Ah, the cat.’
The box house Lee Eun-ji prepared outside before we left only had traces of black fur.
As she said, the cat was nowhere to be seen.
I wasn’t fond of the cat, since it was the same one that appeared in my hallucination with the pale Eun-ji…
But its silent disappearance felt unsettling.
‘Well, the cat isn’t my priority right now…’
It was fine for family members living together to not talk.
But Lee Eun-ji and I were family and colleagues.
And today was E-UNG’s first live broadcast.
Normally, I would have been fine, having experienced this many times before…
But the fragmented memories of my past performances…
Made me worry about Lee Eun-ji’s silence.
“Lee Eun-ji.”
“Yeah.”
I called out to Lee Eun-ji, who had entered the house and taken off her shoes.
Lee Eun-ji turned around and looked at me by the front door.
“What? Talk.”
“Did I make a mistake today?”
“…No.”
If it’s no, then why the delayed response?
I frowned at her hesitation.
“If you have any complaints, tell me now. Don’t let it affect our work.”
At the word “affect,” Eun-ji’s eyebrows twitched, and she turned her head away.
“It’s not a complaint. Just…”
“Just what?”
“Nothing. I’ll tell you later when I’ve sorted things out.”
“Hey, Lee Eun—”
Bang.
I couldn’t continue.
Lee Eun-ji’s door slammed shut.
And then, the clicking sound of the lock.
“Why… is she acting like this?”
I couldn’t understand her sudden behavior.
Did I make a mistake during rehearsal?
But according to Cloud, I did better than usual.
So I thought it would be fine, but…
‘Whatever. She said she’ll tell me later.’
I decided to focus on my own work and went straight to the bathroom.
I washed my hair three times to get rid of the hairspray.
As I came out of the shower, the house felt colder than usual.
Perhaps because Lee Eun-ji’s keyboard, which was usually playing, was silent.
Assuming she was busy with something else, I tried not to think about it and sat down on my mattress with my lyric notebook.
“Only a few songs left, so this time…”
Before I could even put on my earphones, Lee Eun-ji’s melody started playing.
It seemed like she hadn’t turned off the music she was playing on repeat in the waiting room.
“Hmm, hmm…”
I hummed the memorized melody and checked the lyrics I had written.
They seemed decent enough, so I turned to a new page in my notebook to write lyrics for the new song.
‘Let’s wrestle with this one too…’
Just as I picked up my pen, determined…
“Lee Eun-ho.”
The timing was impeccable.
Lee Eun-ji called from beyond the door.
“Can I come in?”
“Why?”
“I have a question.”
What was with the sudden formality? She usually just barged in.
What’s with her…
“Come in.”
As soon as I gave her permission, Lee Eun-ji slowly and carefully opened the door.
Something was definitely wrong with Lee Eun-ji today.
Her unusual timidity gave me goosebumps, and I asked, scratching my arm,
“What’s your question?”
Lee Eun-ji plopped down on the floor next to my mattress and asked,
“Did I ever die?”
“Hmm…”
After sending Eun-ho and Eun-ji back to the dorm…
CEO Park sighed deeply and leaned his head against the steering wheel.
The stage, filled with fans of other idols, with little support for E-UNG.
Eun-ho and Eun-ji did well, but the audience’s reaction wasn’t as good as he expected.
Most of the audience members were fans of other groups.
It was difficult to grab their attention.
At least, Eun-ho and Eun-ji were focused on their performance, seemingly unaffected by the atmosphere.
CEO Park looked at the fans, all holding the same light stick, with envious eyes.
Seeing the fans gathered like that reminded him of Toxin’s fans, diligently waving their light sticks, and he sighed regretfully.
But he was no longer part of TaKa.
It was just a past glory.
‘It would be nice if E-UNG also had a dedicated fan base…’
He remembered the O-Tube fans cheering for them on the streets.
O-Tube was a decent way to promote Eun-ji and Eun-ho before their debut.
But it wasn’t ideal for proper communication.
There were fan cafes, but was there a better way?
「“And also, like vlogs, show our daily lives occasionally.”」
Come to think of it, both the O-Tube suggestion and the impromptu Q&A were Eun-ho’s ideas.
CEO Park lifted his head from the steering wheel, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his seat.
“Should I just ask Eun-ho again?”
CEO Park smiled confidently and took out his phone without hesitation.
“Did I ever die?”
“…What?”
A sudden ringing in my ears made me wince.
What did I just hear?
Did I mishear?
“I know I sound crazy, but I’m serious. Just answer me, yes or no.”
“What…”
“Quickly! Say you’ll answer honestly.”
“You just said ‘answer,’ now it’s ‘honestly’?”
“Honestly and clearly, okay?”
“Uh… o-okay.”
I nodded, overwhelmed by her forceful tone.
“Lee Eun-ho, did…”
Lee Eun-ji hesitated, as if struggling to speak.
I waited patiently for her to continue.
“Did… I die in a car accident, and you came back to this time before the accident?”
Lee Eun-ji’s sudden question made my head spin.
What was she talking about?
So, she was asking if she had died… huh?
I tried to process her words, but it didn’t make sense.
“Haha.”
I gave up on trying to organize my thoughts and just laughed.
Lee Eun-ji sometimes jumped straight to the point, skipping the context.
Although I did that too, she was worse.
‘Even if’ she somehow figured out that I had regressed…
It was too early to admit it.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
I needed to hear more.
She could just say she was joking, or “Why are you taking it so seriously?”
Knowing Lee Eun-ji, that was a likely scenario.
But Lee Eun-ji just sighed and straightened her back.
She started explaining how she came to this conclusion, from the beginning.
“A few months ago, you woke up and asked me, ‘Why are you here?’ That’s when I started feeling like something was off.”
“…Yeah.”
“I didn’t think much of it back then, but as I thought about it, it all led back to that moment.”
I was surprised that she considered that the starting point.
Very surprised.
“That’s also when you started having nightmares.”
Back then, I had tried to forget about it because I was anxious.
After falling asleep in the evening, I didn’t want to wake up the next day.
Perhaps it would have been better if I hadn’t regained that peaceful life with Eun-ji.
But I had experienced it, vividly.
I desperately didn’t want to lose this peace again.
I didn’t want to see the pale Eun-ji or be tormented by strange nightmares again.
My biggest fear was that it would all end with a devastating, “It was all a dream.”
Lee Eun-ji hadn’t mentioned that day again.
Since she didn’t say anything, I assumed she had dismissed it as something I said in my sleep.
But I was wrong.
She was still good at remembering trivial details while forgetting important things.
“Is that it?”
“No, that’s not the only reason.”
It seemed too detailed to be based on just that one incident.
The car accident, the specific mention of regression…
“This is going to be a long story, is that okay?”
“Yeah.”
I took out my earphones and answered.
Let’s hear it.
How she came to this conclusion.
Lee Eun-ji recounted in detail the moments she felt something was off since I returned.
Suggestions, advice, English.
My ‘Good Older Brother Project’ had been sincere.
‘I didn’t expect it to be viewed with suspicion…’
And forgetting the combination to my locker.
“And you, you read my diary, didn’t you?”
“Uh…?”
I was speechless at her sudden, accusatory question.
I had nothing to say.
Because she was right.
“Why do you think that?”
“You’re not denying it.”
As I avoided her gaze, Lee Eun-ji glared at me, then chuckled.
“Lee Eun-ho, you’re not good at lying.”
“Suddenly?”
“Just… Like now, you always tell the truth, even when you could easily lie, and then you just throw it at me like, ‘I told you, so figure it out yourself.’”
“You told me to be honest.”
“I didn’t expect you to be this honest.”
Lee Eun-ji laughed.
It wasn’t a genuine smile.
Her eyes seemed troubled, and her smile felt bitter.
Should I tell her?
Or not?
Was there a reason to hide it?
What would our team gain if I revealed it?
While Lee Eun-ji was lost in thought, I seriously assessed the situation, having nowhere left to retreat.
“You’re right.”
My decision was simple.
Lee Eun-ji asked first, and if I told her…
If she truly believed me, we could use this information ‘together.’
“What? What do you mean? What part is right?”
Lee Eun-ji asked, flustered by my answer.
“Everything you asked, it’s all correct.”
“…What?”
She was a funny one.
Now that I gave her the answer she wanted, she seemed to not believe me.
“You… well, you were in a car accident, and…”
Died.
I couldn’t bring myself to say it, so I just mumbled vaguely.
“And it’s true that I regressed.”
Secrets are easier to tell than to keep.
Once I started talking, the words flowed more easily than I expected.
My babies