Siblings Work in Business (77)
“Oh, CEO! When did you arrive?”
“Phew, just now.”
CEO Park, who had been busy with meetings for their next album, thankfully arrived before the live broadcast.
“Are you ready?”
“Of course. We’ve done this so many times.”
“Not nervous anymore?”
“Just… feeling sentimental.”
“Sentimental? You’ll be even busier from now on.”
I felt sentimental about the quickly passing time, but also excited about the next songs we had prepared.
My first performance was a blur.
But after telling Eun-ji about the regression, the following stages became truly mine.
“Fighting!”
“Let’s do well until the end!”
As we headed towards the stage door…
I looked back, and Cloud Dance Team, who had worked hard with us for the past few months…
Roa, Ena (Oh Byeol), Hyun-ji, Mi-eun, In-hyeok, Yeong-guk, Jeong-min, and Dal…
Were all following us.
“Ugh, ah! Fighting!”
And Lee Eun-ji, stretching and warming up, excited for the upcoming performance.
“Feeling sentimental?”
Lee Eun-ji, meeting my gaze, asked with a grin.
“Of course.”
“Let’s come back to this stage with our next song soon.”
“Yeah.”
She was right.
I wanted to be back on this stage with our next song.
“E-UNG, you’re on!”
“Okay!”
A staff member signaled us to go on stage.
The staff member’s loud voice made my heart skip a beat.
But my feet moved instinctively.
As we approached the stage, my heart, which had calmed down from the familiarity, started racing again.
As we stepped onto the stage and looked forward…
Despite the bright lights, I could clearly see the words, and my heart pounded for a different reason.
「♥E-UNG♥」
「I only see you, Lee Eun-ho!」
「ㅇㅇㅇㅇㅇㅇㅇㅇㅇ」
「I love you, Lee Eun-ji」
「E-UNG is the best」
Fans with LED banners on their phones, and fans holding handmade placards…
Our fans, whom I hadn’t even noticed during our first performance, were now visible.
They were still outnumbered by fans of other groups.
And smaller in number than in the past, but my gratitude and affection for them were unchanged.
—Kyaaaaaah!!!
The fans’ screams were deafening.
Although small in scale, it was the most heartwarming sound to us.
When I performed at Ji Ye-chan’s showcase…
Desperately seeking their attention…
The memories flashed before my eyes like a panorama.
Perhaps because I was thinking of this as our last performance…
I felt a lump in my throat.
I looked to the side, and Lee Eun-ji was looking up, trying to hold back tears.
“We’ll be waiting!”
A single voice, from one of our fans, reached us through the screams.
“We’ll wait!”
“We’ll be waiting!”
More voices followed.
“I’ve saved up all my points! I’ll message you soon, Eun-ho oppa!”
“I’ve saved them too! Unnie, just wait!”
“Haha.”
“Pfft, aww.”
For a fleeting moment, happiness overwhelmed my nervousness.
These cheers were all for us, E-UNG.
Lee Eun-ji’s eyes were glistening under the stage lights, tears welling up.
But we couldn’t ruin the performance because of our emotions.
Eun-ji and I smiled and got into our starting positions.
After the formation was set…
The familiar drum and wobble bass intro of “DUO,” which we had practiced countless times, began.
I had a dream, a dream where you disappeared
Somehow it’s strange
The space is quiet
As we entered the verse, a giant moon and a calm lake appeared on the large screen.
It was a similar scene to the music video.
Ah, this is… reality setting in
Suddenly, the space beside me is empty
As I made eye contact with Lee Eun-ji during the choreography, I felt a strange sensation.
It felt unfamiliar and strange to be performing this song with her again, even though we had done it countless times.
I thought it was a dream
I wished it were a dream
Why don’t you answer beyond the door
The memories flashed before my eyes.
Eun-ji’s death, and the cherry blossom tree I visited to mourn her.
Waking up in the dorm, and getting yelled at by Eun-ji for trying to be nice to her.
I smiled at the memory, and Eun-ji smiled along, even though she didn’t know why.
Even if death separates us, we’ll always be together
Hand in hand, we’ve faced it
Despite my racing thoughts, my body moved instinctively to the rhythm.
I took Eun-ji’s hand and dispelled the nightmare created by Cloud Dance Team.
But today, you… why aren’t you saying anything?
My hand, which had been controlling Cloud Dance Team’s movements, stopped as I stood back-to-back with Eun-ji.
Ah, this is… reality setting in
As Eun-ji covered her eyes, we switched places, in perfect sync.
The room I found is empty
As I spread my fingers and opened my eyes…
I saw our fans again.
I thought it was a dream
I wished it were a dream
It really felt like a dream.
I wanted to stay in this happy moment forever, but…
I also felt a sense of unease, as if I would wake up soon.
‘Things are so different from the timeline I knew.’
As we sang the chorus again…
I felt the difference acutely.
I had even featured on a song by and performed at the showcase of senior artist Ji Ye-chan, whom I couldn’t even face before.
We sang the OST that Lee Eun-ji had sung alone before, and even performed it live.
We received gifts from fans…
‘And one of them even became our staff member, haha.’
I chuckled, remembering my first encounter with Seul-gi.
It hadn’t been a smooth journey.
Lee Eun-ji struggled, repeatedly scrapping almost-finished songs, and suffered under Payoff, as she found her own path.
But in the end, we made our debut with “DUO.”
Lee Eun-ji’s composing talent would shine even brighter in the future.
‘That’s how you are, that’s where you belong.’
Sweat dripped down my face as I danced under the hot stage lights.
The days we spent practicing tirelessly for this moment…
Lee Eun-ji, completely focused on the performance, didn’t even notice that one sleeve of her shirt was about to slip off her shoulder.
Thump, thump
The heavy bass drum, like fists pounding on a door, signaled the bridge.
I can’t hear your usual “Why?”
I’m sad, this quiet, empty room is silent
Thump, thump
After Eun-ji’s part ended…
The bass drum signaled my turn.
I can’t see your gentle hand opening the door
I cry
Only one of our paired things remains
I focused on singing and dancing, expertly making eye contact with the cameras.
I followed the cameras, anticipating where they would focus next, making sure not to miss a single shot.
「“Forget it. Forget it. I’d rather poison the broadcasting station.”」
I remembered the CEO’s words, which I had forgotten.
We ended up singing love songs, even though we swore we never would.
And the CEO, after all this time, finally got his wish, unleashing us, the poison, upon the broadcasting station.
A cold, windy attic room
Here, I look at the moon alone
Finishing the perfectly synchronized choreography, I took Lee Eun-ji’s hand.
It was for the ending pose.
‘Here it comes! That pose they were so awkward about during practice!’
Joo-yeon smiled sentimentally, remembering the early practice video where Eun-ho and Eun-ji bickered.
Although their first street performance was good, E-UNG, under the spotlight, seemed like they belonged there.
‘This is the last performance!’
Joo-yeon bit her lip, clutching her 「♥E-UNG♥」 placard.
She had missed many of their performances, but thanks to her friend Seul-gi, who worked in the industry, she was able to see this last one live.
Hoping for you to come, hoping for you to dream
Eun-ji’s waist bent gracefully as she twirled like a waltz dancer.
Right there
Just before the song ended…
Eun-ji’s hand tightly gripped Eun-ho’s shirt.
Eun-ho, smiling leisurely, supported her back and leaned in.
Right here
As the outro ended…
Cheers erupted, filling the previously quiet hall.
—Waaaaah!
Eun-ho and Eun-ji, their faces glistening with sweat, stared at the camera, breathing heavily.
As the director yelled cut, Eun-ho pulled Eun-ji up.
“Thank you for coming!”
“Thank you!”
Eun-ho and Eun-ji bowed towards their fans.
「To those who came to the live broadcast today! Want to meet up before we leave, secretly from the CEO? The location is—」
After the performance…
Eun-ji secretly posted a message on the ‘E-FAN’ app.
I was the first to see it.
And…
“I’m going too.”
“Huh?”
I became Eun-ji’s accomplice.
‘I also wanted to talk to our fans more.’
We tried various tactics to ditch hyung and Seul-gi.
“I-I’m going to the bathroom!”
“No way! Eun-ji! I’m coming with you.”
“Haha, unnie…”
Eun-ji tried to sneak away under the pretense of going to the bathroom, but Seul-gi followed her relentlessly.
“Ah, hyung, I left something in the waiting room. Take Eun-ji and go ahead.”
“What are you talking about? We can go together. It’s not far.”
If Eun-ji had Seul-gi, I had Hyun-woo.
But for some reason, Seul-gi and Hyun-woo’s smiles reminded me of the CEO’s.
“Bread sounds good, right?”
“…Yes.”
Our efforts failed.
Although we said ‘secretly,’ it seemed like the CEO knew everything.
In the end, we all went to a bakery near the broadcasting station.
“Pay with this.”
But the CEO didn’t seem to mind us showing affection to our fans.
As he was about to pay for the bread with his own money, hyung quietly handed him the familiar corporate card.
“Thank you!”
Eun-ji took the corporate card from hyung, kissed it, and smiled brightly.
‘Oh, holy shit.’
I knew I wouldn’t be able to touch that black card anymore.
Eun-ji paid for a mountain of bread with the corporate card.
In the end, we all—hyung, Seul-gi, Eun-ji, and I—carried armfuls of bread and drinks to the meeting place we announced on E-FAN.
“Sorry we’re late.”
“We wanted to come earlier, sorry!”
“Did you wait long?”
Kyaaaaaah!
Although there weren’t many people, their cheers were as loud as hundreds.
We handed out bread and drinks to the gathered fans.
“Noona, can I get a picture…?”
And somehow, it became our first fan meeting.