Siblings Work in Business (80)
In-hyeok was holding up his arms in an X, signaling to me.
It was a “Stay away if you want to live” signal.
I nodded and looked for another table.
Having given up on eating with the Cloud members, I looked around.
‘Is there anyone I know…?’
Then, I saw a familiar, broad back at another table.
‘Those broad shoulders…’
At the table next to the Toxin members, there was Engineer Oh Tae-jin, PD Cheol-soo, and…
Yeong-hee, the big, intimidating-looking guy whose hobby was flower arranging.
From my experience at the barbecue restaurant before, there was a huge advantage to eating at the same table as him.
The meat never burned, and it never ran out.
“Let’s go there.”
“Where?”
“There.”
I led Lee Eun-ji to their table.
“Oh! The applause guy!”
“Hahaha.”
Yeong-hee turned around and imitated the forced applause I did earlier, when the CEO held my hands up.
“It’s good to see you again. Good work on your first promotion.”
I wanted to run away, remembering the embarrassing incident.
But PD Cheol-soo quickly pulled up a chair for Lee Eun-ji, and I sat down next to her.
“Auntie! Two bowls of rice and 4 servings of samgyeopsal (pork belly) please!”
Yeong-hee yelled.
Since it was our last performance for “DUO,” all I had since morning was water.
“Eat a lot!”
Yeong-hee started grilling the samgyeopsal skillfully.
By the time the meat was cooked, rice and doenjang jjigae were placed in front of Lee Eun-ji and me.
Something in my head snapped.
When I came to my senses, I was stuffed.
Our bowls and the grill were empty.
“Eun-ho, Eun-ji!”
“Yes?”
“Are you done eating?”
“Yes!”
“Then come over here.”
We went to the next table at the CEO’s call, and he pulled up two chairs.
“Hello! Lee Eun-ho from E-U.N.G.”
“And Lee Eun-ji!”
We greeted the Toxin members, our seniors, and they gestured for us to sit down, saying, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
As we sat down, I noticed that the drinking hadn’t stopped while we were eating.
The CEO’s face was even redder than when we first arrived.
“Now that the main characters are here, tell them again!”
“Team Leader, don’t you trust me? I won’t run away, haha.”
“Well, they should hear it from you directly.”
“I told you to tell them discreetly. It’s embarrassing to be rejected in person.”
The CEO and Ye-chan were having a cryptic conversation.
Lee Eun-ji and I just looked back and forth between them, feeling like spare tires.
Then, Ye-chan’s gaze shifted from the CEO to us.
“Eun-ji is the composer, and Eun-ho is the lyricist, right?”
“Yes, Senior.”
“Then I should ask Eun-ji first.”
Lee Eun-ji looked up, her eyes sparkling.
“What do you think about me giving you a song, Eun-ji?”
“…A song?”
“Yes.”
“A song you wrote…?”
“Yes. I’ve been thinking about it ever since you two came to my studio. I wrote two songs. I’d like to give them to you as a gift—”
Honestly, I expected her to immediately thank him.
If he hadn’t forgotten that it was Lee Eun-ji he was talking to.
“Can we listen to them?”
“Hahahaha!”
The CEO burst out laughing, as if he had expected this, and I sighed, quickly bowing my head.
“I apologize. My sister…”
“No, no. Hahaha. Just as Team Leader Park said, you’re an interesting one. Ah.”
It was a relief that the senior was close to the CEO.
“I’ll send them to Eun-ho tomorrow. Listen to them together, and let me know if you like them.”
“Okay!”
Lee Eun-ji beamed and replied.
I looked at Lee Eun-ji, and then at the senior, who was smiling at her, and then gave up on trying to understand.
But I happened to turn my head towards the CEO, who was just taking a shot of soju.
“Here.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s have a drink.”
Did he think I wanted a drink too?
The CEO quickly placed a small glass of soju in my hand and filled it.
“Cheers!”
“Ch-Cheers.”
I ended up taking the shot, as if mesmerized by the CEO’s “Cheers.”
I was a little excited about having a drink with the CEO after a long time.
The problem was that my alcohol tolerance, already much lower than the CEO’s, had plummeted due to the exhaustion from the performance.
After that single shot of soju…
My mind checked out.
“Hahaha, Eun-ho, you’re a lightweight!”
A mischievous glint appeared in CEO Park’s eyes.
“Good. You have to learn how to handle these situations if you want to avoid making mistakes on broadcasts. Haha.”
“Learn? Aren’t they adults?”
“They are. Twenty-two and twenty.”
The Toxin members looked at Eun-ho curiously, who had been silent since the shot of soju.
“Eun-ho is twenty-two? Born in ‘92? No… ‘93?”
“That’s right. Then Eun-ji must be ‘95.”
“Yes, that’s right. ‘95, year of the pig.”
“Wow, they’re young. So young. Being in your 20s is the best.”
As the Toxin members joked about their 20s…
Eun-ji, genuinely confused, tilted her head and asked,
“Aren’t you in your 20s too, seniors?”
“Pfft!”
CEO Park, who had been drinking, quickly covered his mouth, seemingly about to burst out laughing at Eun-ji’s question.
“Ah, thank you for that. Hahaha.”
“Wow, I should tell everyone I’m in my 20s from now on.”
“You’ll get arrested for fraud.”
“…Now that Eun-ji asked if we were in our 20s, I can’t even deny it.”
Not just CEO Park, but all five Toxin members were laughing.
“We’re not?”
“No. We’re all in our 30s. The youngest is 29, though.”
Seo Seung-yeon, the Toxin member with the gentlest image, leaned closer to Eun-ji, his face slightly flushed.
“Eun-ji, Eun-ji.”
“Yes?”
“Want to play a game?”
“A game?”
“Yeah.”
“Playing games with them is dangerous.”
CEO Park, seemingly sobering up, muttered, wiping his mouth.
“Hey, Team Leader, stay out of this!”
“That brat, he’s grown up now…”
Seo Seung-yeon ignored CEO Park’s grumbling and continued talking to Eun-ji.
“If you win, we’ll each grant you one wish, so five wishes total.”
“Wishes?”
“Five?”
Eun-ji and CEO Park asked simultaneously.
“Ah, of course, excluding Team Leader Park. Just for E-UNG.”
“Tsk, they say raising kids is pointless.”
“Haha. So, Eun-ji, are you in? No pressure.”
While CEO Park clicked his tongue…
The Toxin members, seemingly having no objections to Seo Seung-yeon’s suggestion, all waited for Eun-ji’s answer.
“What if I lose?”
“If E-UNG loses, two wishes from each of you, so two in total. It’s still advantageous for you.”
“Oh, it would be a shame to miss this opportunity.”
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”
“Lee Eun-ho, did you hear that?”
Meanwhile, Eun-ho, seemingly drunk, was staring blankly at the grill, now filled with charred bits.
Eun-ji waved her hand in front of Eun-ho’s face, then gave up.
‘I was hoping to rely on Lee Eun-ho’s knowledge, but…’
It seemed impossible.
‘Seriously…’
She knew he had low alcohol tolerance, but she didn’t expect him to be out cold after just one shot.
“He’s already gone.”
“Seriously, just one shot?”
“He looks tough, but he’s a baby.”
“Hahaha.”
The Toxin members and CEO Park looked at the drunk Eun-ho in amusement.
Then, Eun-ji, after a moment of thought, asked,
“What kind of game are we playing?”
“Eun-ji, you don’t know our ages, right?”
“No.”
“Then you probably don’t know who’s the youngest either.”
“No.”
“Haha, I like your honesty.”
Seo Seung-yeon smiled, amused by Eun-ji’s bluntness.
“That’s a hint. So, are you playing or not?”
“Okay, I’ll play.”
Five wishes from senior artists.
As the senior said, it was a precious opportunity, even if converted to money.
“So, the game is, who’s the youngest here?”
“The youngest, meaning, who has the lowest age?”
“Eun-ji.”
“Hey! Team Leader Park, be quiet! The hint is void if you give hints.”
CEO Park, eager to help, tried to give a hint but was caught.
Oh Hyun, who had appeared out of nowhere, stopped him.
CEO Park clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“The youngest person…”
“Yes.”
Eun-ji seriously scrutinized each person’s face.
She knew Toxin’s songs and the members’ names, but not their ages or personalities.
She had to judge based on appearances alone.
‘Hmm, first of all…’
She excluded Senior Ji Ye-chan, the leader.
He looked the youngest, but she had never heard of Toxin’s leader being the maknae (youngest).
And then, she excluded Senior Choi Tae-hyun.
She heard he was the same age as Ji Ye-chan and had been friends with him for over 20 years.
‘Five wishes from senior artists…!’
If she won, she planned to use two or three of them to ask for featuring collaborations on their upcoming album.
A featuring with Toxin! She was already excited, thinking about the arrangements.
Eun-ji calmed herself down and refocused.
‘I have to win to even think about recording.’
Could she get any help from Eun-ho?
‘…Help? As if.’
She glanced at Eun-ho, hoping for a miracle, but he was already dozing off, staring blankly at the grill.
Eun-ji gave up on getting help from Eun-ho and refocused.
Then, there was Seo Seung-yeon, who suggested the game, and Oh Hyun, who seemed playful.
And lastly, Joo Seung-min, who had an ordinary aura.
‘Senior Seung-yeon. He seems gentle, but would the youngest suggest a game like this?’
The probability of Seo Seung-yeon being the youngest decreased.
Oh Hyun was grinning at her.
Joo Seung-min was looking at his phone.
Just as she was contemplating, a vivid voice echoed in her ears.
「“Our maknaes always bet on us whenever they see junior artists. They’re like professional gamblers, haha.”」
It was a familiar, friendly voice.
「“Oh, who’s the maknae?”」
And her own voice asking back.
‘What?’
Could this be…?
She quickly found the owner of the voice.
“Eun-ho’s asleep. Team Leader, where’s E-UNG’s manager?”
It was the same voice she just heard.
She turned her head, and there was Senior Ji Ye-chan.