Chapter 19: I Became the Older Brother of a Top Star

The capsule coffee machine hummed as it turned.

Enjoying the rich aroma of the freshly brewed coffee, I started another day at the office.

- Lee Daeri, have you seen this video?

It was a message from the team leader, who hadn't even arrived at the office yet.

"Video?"

Lee Daeri quickly replied, not wanting to be seen as disrespectful for a delayed response.

- I'll check it right away.

He followed the video link and watched it.

"Is this Hongdae karaoke?"

The video had only been uploaded 10 hours ago.

But the views...

"750,000?!"

Was this channel always this popular?

I don't think it was as popular as this before.

Lee Daeri returned to his desk, turned on his computer, and searched for the video on Newtube.

As he did, an employee passing by glanced at the screen and said,

"Hey, I've seen this too."

"What? You've seen it?"

"Oh, Mr. Lee, you haven't seen it yet? Lucky you. I wish I could buy new eyes and see it again. Hehe. I'll have to watch it again later~."

"......?"

What's going on?

I didn't check Newtube at all yesterday because I was busy. Did I miss something big?

After the female employee passed by, Lee Daeri played the video.

The video was not a full recording but a 10-minute edited clip from Hongdae karaoke.

And those 10 minutes...

"......?"

Passed by in the blink of an eye.

"What, what is this?"

Shocked, he couldn't even speak properly.

"What did I just see?"

Instinctively, he replayed the video.

"......"

The description of being sucked in like a black hole seemed fitting.

That's how Lee Daeri felt.

He kept pressing the spacebar mechanically.

"Oh, my coffee."

After an hour of mindlessly replaying the video, he finally remembered the coffee he had made.

It was already cold.

I have a lot of work to do, yet I've been watching this the whole time.

"Lee Daeri."

He turned around, startled by the voice from behind.

"Oh, Team Leader Kim. You're here?"

"Yeah. Don't be so surprised. Did you finish watching the video?"

"Yes, I ended up watching it on repeat for an hour without realizing it..."

Team Leader Kim burst into laughter at this.

"Haha. You're not the only one. I bet everyone who watched it did the same. But I have an interesting fact to share."

"What?"

Team Leader Kim pointed to one of the people in the crowd in the video.

"Look closely."

"What? Is that you, Team Leader Kim?"

"Yep. I was there live, you know?"

You were there to see this incredible performance live?

Lee Daeri felt envious of Team Leader Kim for the first time.

"Hehe. When I tell people this, they all make the same face. They look so envious."

"Then, of course, you must have given them your business card, right? Your business card."

"Well, that's the thing."

Team Leader Kim scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

"I didn't."

"What?"

"Don't look at me like that. I didn't do it on purpose. I was just too mesmerized. By the time I came to my senses, they were already gone. Damn."

No, you mean you missed them right in front of you?

A golden opportunity to bring them to S&C Entertainment?

And you, the team leader in charge of scouting talent, missed it?

"Tsk. Don't look at me like that."

"Ah... Yes, I'm sorry."

Still, he couldn't help feeling disappointed.

"That's why I've been trying to find out more as soon as I got to the office today."

"Find out more?"

"You've seen the video. The visuals are already off the charts, and the singing is amazing. Their voices are just incredible. How could I let this slip away?"

It didn't seem right for someone who had missed it to say that.

"Hmm. I'm also checking if they're trainees at another agency. If they are—"

Team Leader Kim said with determination.

"I'll do whatever it takes to bring them to our agency. It would be a mistake for any agency to let such talent go to waste."

"What if they're just regular people, not affiliated with any agency?"

"That's why I'm looking for you. Lee Daeri, find out which school this uniform is from. We need to get there before anyone else does."

"Ah!"

"Right now, every agency is in an uproar. They're all trying to find out who this sibling duo is and if anyone knows anything about them."

So, it seems their affiliation hasn't been revealed yet.

"I need to find out which school they're from as soon as possible."

"Got it."

After finishing the conversation with Team Leader Kim, Lee Daeri returned to his monitor.

It's time to start working.

But,

"Ugh."

Knowing he should get to work, he still couldn't help but...

"Just one more time."

He pressed the spacebar again.

* * *

Knock, knock.

I knocked on the door and spoke softly.

"Yuna, are you awake?"

"......"

Knock, knock.

"Yuna, Jung Yuna? We need to go to school."

"......"

Hmm. Is she still sleeping?

"Yuna, get up quickly. If you don't, you'll be in big trouble."

"......"

Again, no response.

Then,

"What? Yuna, you're still not up?!"

Our mother, who was making breakfast, rushed over with a spatula and opened the door.

"Hey! Jung Yuna!"

"Ughh—"

"You brat! You brat! You brat!"

Smack! Smack!

With a mix of love and anger, Mother's hands made Yuna scream as she woke up.

"Ouch!!"

"Then you should wake up as sharply as your brother, you lazybones!"

"Ouch."

Yuna was finally dragged out of her room by Mother.

Tsk, tsk. I did warn her.

"Why does my brother keep waking up early? He used to not wake up even when I tried to."

"That's because the early bird catches the worm..."

"Ew. Mom, my brother is talking about worms at the dinner table."

"Shut up and eat your rice, In-seok."

"Wow. I'm so sad. Mom really favors my brother, doesn't she?"

Mother patted my head.

"Of course, our handsome, studious, and well-behaved Yoon-sung. Eat up, my child."

"Got it."

Yuna, holding a spoon in one hand and chopsticks in the other, clenched her fists.

"Tsk. Just wait. Starting tomorrow, I'll wake up early and study hard to get all the love for myself."

"Sure, sure."

Mother didn't really expect it.

Well, to be honest, I didn't expect it either.

But then, as if nothing had happened, Yuna started chatting away.

"Mom, did you watch the drama yesterday? Oh, the male lead—"

Even though the atmosphere seemed a bit tense, this is how our family's mornings usually go.

We gather around the table, and time flies with Yuna and Mother's chatter.

Father and I usually just listen quietly while eating.

But today, without Father, it felt a bit lonely.

"But I miss our dad. He said he'd come tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, but he probably doesn't want to see you because you don't study."

"No way! Dad loves me so much!"

"Ugh. Fine. Who would say Dad is a fool? Hurry up and go to school. I need some peace too."

Yuna finished her meal, leaving nothing behind, and got up.

"Brother, get ready and let's go."

"......You just need to get ready. I already did."

"Ugh. Why did you change so much?"

Yuna quickly went in, washed her face, changed her clothes, and came out just in time.

"Hmm~ Hmm~."

She hummed a tune as she walked to school with me.

Watching Yuna, I felt like the stage from yesterday was a dream.

Her words from yesterday still echoed strongly in my mind.

"So, if there's another opportunity like this, we'll do it together?"

Her words, suggesting that if something like this happens again, we should go up together and not alone, and her request for my support, left a strong impression on me.

I also enjoyed the stage with Yuna.

I wanted to experience that moment many more times.

But then,

"......?"

The looks from people on the way to school and at the entrance were not normal.

Usually, we attract a lot of attention, but today, the atmosphere felt different.

Everyone was whispering about us.

"Is that them?"

"Yeah, of course. Are you blind?"

"Right, it really is them."

What are they talking about?

Is there something I don't know?

"Hmm. I've been getting a lot of messages today. They keep sending strange video links."

"Huh?"

"Brother, I'll go ahead. See you later."

I quickly stopped Yuna, who was about to rush up.

"Huh? Wait a moment. Take this."

"Huh? It's a snack?"

"Eat it during break if you're hungry. Don't faint from hunger like last time."

"Hehe. Thanks. I'll eat it well. As usual, only my brother takes care of me."

Yuna took the snack bag I gave her and quickly went up the stairs.

I watched her carefully, worried she might trip and fall, but she made it safely.

Then, I entered the classroom.

"Yoon-sung!"

"Hey! Yoon-sung is here!"

As soon as I entered, the students greeted me enthusiastically.

"Is that you in the video? Right?"

"Huh?"

The students swarmed me, showing me a video.

"This is..."

It was the video of the stage Yuna and I did yesterday.

They uploaded it so quickly.

Not a full video, but an edited one.

I should have checked it.

"I've probably watched this over a hundred times."

"I'm on an endless loop right now."

"Why didn't you check your messages? I even sent you the video link."

"Me too! I sent it too!"

My phone?

In my previous life, I always replied within a minute whenever I got a message.

But now, I can't do that even if I want to.

Today, the message app has +999 notifications.

There are so many messages, from group chats to individual ones, that I eventually gave up on replying.

'I didn't expect to change this much.'

I remember a popular friend once complaining about having too many messages to reply to, to the point where he couldn't use his phone anymore.

Back then, I thought he was crazy and even considered hitting him.

But now, I understand how he felt.

So, lately, I only check messages if they're urgent or from Yuna or my parents.

"Your sister is amazing. How does she sing so well?"

"Yoon-sung, you play the guitar well. When did you start learning?"

"Are you two going to debut as sibling singers like JJ?"

I watched the video the students showed me.

When Yuna's sweet voice started playing, the noisy students around me suddenly fell silent.

It was as if they were reverently receiving something sacred.

It was a fresh reaction.

"Wow... It's so sweet every time I hear it."

"Especially the last song. It's better than the original."

"I couldn't sleep last night because I kept watching this."

The video quality was decent.

Of course, it's not as good as hearing it live.

But the video of Yuna and me looked good.

'The aura is visible too.'

I could see an aura emanating from Yuna as she sang, spreading throughout the area.

If I could show this to people, it would be amazing.

A beautiful scene with cherry blossoms blooming and petals falling.

"This is going to hit a million views soon."

"It's already at 700,000 views in less than a day."

The view count was skyrocketing with each refresh.

Many people were watching it repeatedly, and the algorithm was bringing in more viewers.

The comments were all praise.

-It's so moving.

-What are these siblings? They're so adorable.

-From visuals to voice and song selection, it's a perfect performance.

-These siblings are already famous in our school!

-Oh, which school is it?

"From what I've seen on the community, the school name has already spread."

"There will be a lot of inquiries from agencies."

Anyone with eyes, especially those working in agencies, wouldn't overlook Yuna's incredible talent.

'But what should I do?'

Our father is the CEO of an agency.

Chapter 20