Siblings Work in Business (89)
“Hyun, I’m counting on you.”
Ji Ye-chan’s words made Oh Hyun flinch.
But just as Oh Hyun hesitantly entered the recording booth…
Eun-ji, unable to contain her excitement for Oh Hyun’s solo song “Cistus,” grabbed Eun-ho by the collar and shook him excitedly, his hair flying.
“OMG, OMG, OMG!”
“Hey, what are you doing?!”
“Kyaa, you know I love Senior Oh Hyun’s ‘Cistus’!”
“I know, but calm down— Ow! Let go!”
Eun-ji was surprisingly strong.
She was tall, almost average male height.
And since she loved eating, she worked out even harder than Eun-ho to maintain her figure.
So, despite Eun-ho’s efforts, he couldn’t easily shake her off.
As Eun-ho finally broke free, Ji Ye-chan, looking amused, asked Eun-ji, while Eun-ho sighed, adjusting his clothes.
“Eun-ji, you like Hyun?”
“Yes! ‘Cistus’ is my favorite song!”
“Really? You’re the first person who said they liked Hyun’s single.”
At Ji Ye-chan’s calm words, Oh Hyun, who was about to enter the recording booth, felt deflated.
He felt a bitter disappointment, unable to deny the truth.
Then, Eun-ji asked,
“Really?”
“Yes. ‘Cistus’ didn’t get much of a reaction.”
“Huh? I thought ‘Cistus’ maintained a good streaming rank for a while.”
“TaKa focuses a lot on fan reactions, and for its chart performance, ‘Cistus’ wasn’t mentioned much.”
“Hmm, but just because people don’t express their feelings directly doesn’t mean—”
“Lee Eun-ji.”
Eun-ho quietly called out to Eun-ji, a warning in his voice.
“Stop.”
“Ah—”
Ji Ye-chan was kind to Eun-ho and Eun-ji, but he was also a respected senior in the industry.
Unlike Eun-ho, who was mindful of this, Eun-ji seemed to realize she had crossed a line.
She jumped up and bowed her head.
“I apologize! I’m so sorry!”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Ji Ye-chan smiled, seemingly amused, and looked at Eun-ji with interest.
“It just means you like Hyun’s song that much. It’s okay, you can lift your head.”
As Eun-ji sat back down, she made eye contact with Oh Hyun, who was about to enter the recording booth.
Oh Hyun smiled wryly and turned away.
As Eun-ji stared at Oh Hyun’s retreating figure, Seo Seung-yeon, sitting diagonally across from her, spoke up,
“He’s shy.”
“I hope he wasn’t offended by what I said…”
“Not at all. He’s probably happy.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“‘Cistus’ was Hyun’s first ambitious project.”
As Eun-ji sighed in relief, Seo Seung-yeon turned to Ji Ye-chan and said,
“It’s a bit better today because you two are here, but hyung is usually very sharp during recordings.”
“Ah…”
“He unintentionally hurt Hyun a lot during the ‘Cistus’ recording.”
Both of them.
Seo Seung-yeon didn’t finish his sentence.
Meanwhile, the cymbal sound signaling the intro started playing from the speakers, indicating the start of the recording.
Careless words become chains that bind him
Will these words choke you? Will they strangle me someday?
The recording continued smoothly.
Unbeknownst to the others, Ji Ye-chan was staring at Oh Hyun with wide, surprised eyes.
‘Because he has a fan?’
Hyun usually became timid and withdrawn inside the recording booth.
Ji Ye-chan didn’t like that and wanted him to be more assertive.
‘Cheer up. I’m rooting for you. You’re doing well.’
It was easy to say encouraging words to strangers.
But perhaps because it felt awkward to say such things to his teammates, who were like family…
He only offered negative comments, even when he could have been supportive. “Let’s do well. Don’t embarrass yourself.”
But the more he did that, the more Hyun shrunk.
It was around the time they recorded “Cistus,” if he remembered correctly.
From then on, Ji Ye-chan only gave necessary directions.
「“Just because people don’t express themselves directly doesn’t mean—”」
Eun-ji’s words were right.
Just because they didn’t come to concerts or post on the fan forums didn’t mean Potion—Toxin’s fanclub—weren’t fans.
Hyun’s song hadn’t done badly.
In fact, it performed better than expected, chart-wise.
He wondered what would have happened if he had casually told Hyun that he did well when he was feeling down.
Hear no evil
See no evil
Speak no evil
After Hyun’s recording, Eun-ho’s pre-recorded vocals played.
Ji Ye-chan rested his chin on his hand, a wistful look in his eyes, and watched Oh Hyun record.
If Oh Hyun’s usual performance was at 95% due to Ji Ye-chan’s constant criticism, today, he was at 110%.
The wise monkey reaches out its hand
Who knows, it might be okay
I’m sorry
Actually, I’m not okay
Ji Ye-chan smiled, a look of realization in his eyes.
‘We’ve been together for over 10 years…’
Hyun, for the first time since their debut, was singing with confidence.
After the recording ended, Ji Ye-chan pressed the talkback button.
“That was good. Well done, Hyun. You did well.”
Oh Hyun usually had a stiff expression after recording.
But today, he looked surprised, then smiled brightly and nodded.
Live Broadcast
「E-UNG and TOXIN Collaboration!
Digital Single !
Release Celebration Live Broadcast!」
A new announcement appeared on E-FAN.
“It’s trending.”
“Of course, it is. Everyone’s excited.”
As Eun-ho read the posts with wide eyes…
Seul-gi smiled, stroking Eun-ji’s hair.
“You said you were our fan, unnie.”
“I am your fan. Don’t try to push my affection away.”
“I, I didn’t mean to…”
Eun-ji bit her lip, flustered by Seul-gi’s playful remark.
“Hehe, I’m just kidding. What’s wrong?”
“…”
“Is something bothering you?”
“…”
“What’s on our Eun-ji-nim’s mind? Can you tell me?”
Seul-gi looked at the pouting Eun-ji with an affectionate gaze.
When Eun-ji didn’t answer, Seul-gi pressed again.
“Well, you know…”
“Yes?”
“Other fandoms have fan names, right?”
“Oh! We were wondering when we would get one! Do you have any ideas?”
“Hmm, since our team name is ‘E-UNG ,’ how about ‘Eung-a ?’ Or ‘Eung-i ?’”
“…”
Seul-gi’s hand, which had been styling Eun-ji’s hair, froze.
“You don’t like them?”
“No.”
Seul-gi answered Eun-ji’s question without hesitation.
“Then, hmm…”
Eun-ji seemed lost in thought again.
Seul-gi smiled at her, but she was still reeling from ‘Eung-a,’ a growing sense of unease.
“Eun-ji.”
“Yes?”
“Why don’t we ask the fans during the streaming event?”
She made the suggestion to prevent any more disastrous names, and then…
“Oh, Seul-gi, that’s a good idea!”
It was CEO Park, who had appeared out of nowhere.
“Why wait until the streaming? Toxin’s fans will be there too.”
“Th-That’s true.”
“Hmm, then today. Eun-ji, what do you think?”
“What… what about it?”
“We were going to film a promotional video anyway, so let’s do a test run and go live.”
“Huh? L-Live? Like this? Now?”
“‘Now’? Haha, as if there’s ever been a plan.”
As CEO Park said that with a laugh, Eun-ji stared at him, dumbfounded.
Just then…
The sound of a bell made the three of them turn towards the entrance.
“Why… why are you looking at me like that?”
Eun-ho, who had changed into his outfit for the shoot, looked bewildered by their stares.
“Lee Eun-ho.”
“What.”
“The CEO wants to do a live broadcast today.”
“What?”
Eun-ho looked at CEO Park with an even more bewildered expression than when he first entered.
CEO Park smiled and gave a thumbs up.
“Really?”
“Why not?”
“Well, it’s just… so sudden…”
“So, you don’t want to?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to, but shouldn’t we at least decide what to talk about…?”
“Seul-gi mentioned this earlier, but why don’t you decide on a fan name during the live broadcast?”
“A fan name?”
“Yeah, like Toxin’s fans are called ‘Potion.’”
“Hmm, well, it would be nice to have a name for our fans, especially since we’ll be on broadcasts with our seniors… Okay, let’s do it.”
Eun-ho nodded after a moment of thought.
And the moment he agreed, the staff went into a frenzy, preparing for the impromptu live broadcast.
They had only prepared a plain white wall and some equipment for a short promotional video.
Ignoring CEO Park, who said it was fine as is, the NRY staff started rearranging the set.
They added a bookshelf, dolls, and other props, and even set up a backup camera in case the battery ran out during the broadcast.
Extra batteries, power strips… they prepared everything meticulously.
In the blink of an eye, it looked like a proper broadcasting studio.
“Where did you find these people…?”
Eun-ho, impressed, asked CEO Park.
CEO Park shrugged and replied,
“I, I told you there were a lot of talented people…”
He tried to sound nonchalant, but he was just as surprised by the staff’s efficiency.
A moment later, a new post appeared on E-FAN.
[[Announcement] In 30 minutes, at 7 PM! E-UNG’s surprise live broadcast!]
「To all E-UNG lovers!
Today, during the live broadcast, we’ll be deciding on a fan name for E-UNG, together with everyone on E-FAN.
The person whose idea is chosen will receive an ‘E-UNG photocard’ and a ‘gift certificate’ as a thank you!
We look forward to your participation, see you at 7 PM!
—From everyone at NRY Entertainment
P.S. Eun-ji asks, ‘Would ‘Eung-a’ or ‘Eung-i’ be too weird?’」
└ [Is ‘Eung-a’ seriously a contender for our fandom name?]
└ [No way (firmly)]
└ [Oh dear, Ji-ji-nim…]
└ [Forget the gift certificate, I want the photocard!!!]
└ [I wonder what Rangi-nim’s reaction was when he heard ‘Eung-a’]
└ [Am I the only one who thinks it’s okay?]
└ [Yes… you are…]
└ [‘Eung-a’… is a bit too embarrassing…]
└ [I’m part of the ‘Eung-a’ fandom!]
└ [ㅠㅠㅠㅠNo… this isn’t right…]
└ [LOL]
└ [Sorry, Ji-ji-nim, but this is…]
└ [This is not it lol]
└ [I have a lot to say, but I’ll refrain.]
└ [I set an alarm for 7 PM just to prevent ‘Eung-a’ from becoming our fandom name lol]