Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 27

Am I Cute, Hyung? 27

It was a dog I had seen before.

I recognized it from when the lady and gentleman on the second floor were talking, the one with the leash.

‘I’m sure it was wearing that necklace, too…’

If I remember correctly, the owner of that dog is the woman on the second floor.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

I was at a loss for what to do. Ignoring it and just leaving felt wrong, especially since Siha seemed to have noticed the necklace as well.

I’m already trying to instill good values in Siha…

‘Hmm… Maybe he doesn’t understand.’

Perhaps he just pointed at it because it’s a dog.

“Doggy.”

“Yeah, it’s a doggy. Siha, let’s go home.”

“Hyung. Home. Doggy.”

“Right. I wonder where the doggy’s home is?”

Siha pointed towards our house with his finger.

I gently closed my eyes.

‘He knows.’

His memory is really sharp. Siha already knew which house this dog belonged to.

I felt a sense of unease for no reason.

‘Maybe it’s lost?’

I might be thinking the worst; maybe it wasn’t abandoned.

The road is nearby, so it could be dangerous if the dog is left alone.

“Siha, what do you want to do?”

“Doggy. Home. Let’s go.”

“You want to take the doggy home?”

He nodded eagerly.

I was really at a loss. I didn’t want Siha’s kind heart to be hurt by a potentially cruel situation.

After much deliberation, I decided to catch the dog first.

“Woof.”

The dog was easily caught.

Siha’s eyes sparkled with amazement.

“Hyung will take you home first.”

“Siha too.”

Where did he pick up that phrase? Come to think of it, Hana often says, ‘Hana too, Hana too,’ right?

“Umm. Okay. Let’s go together for now.”

“Ah ah.”

I don’t know what the right choice is.

I picked up the dog and headed back home. I went up to the second floor and rang the doorbell.

Ding-dong.

“Who is it?”

“I’m the person who lives on the first floor. I need to talk to you about something.”

Click.

The door opened, and the woman came out.

“What is it…”

The woman’s face hardened when she saw the dog in my arms.

“Are you perhaps the owner of this dog?”

“No. I sent my dog back to my parents’ house today.”

“Ah, I see…”

A sticky and dark emotion, a lie so blatant, began to rise within me.

For the first time in a while, I felt a very strong disgust towards someone.

I could feel the dog wagging its tail and panting in my arms. Did she have no conscience, even after seeing this?

“Have you said everything you wanted to say? Then.”

“Excuse me. Just a moment.”

“Yes?”

“May I ask why you decided to get a dog in the first place?”

“Just because I was bored. I got it because I thought I wouldn’t get caught. It just so happened that you caught me walking it… Anyway, is that all? I don’t know who the owner of that dog is, but it’s not me.”

Then Siha said:

“Crossing the line.”

I blinked and looked at Siha.

“Siha?”

“Ah ah.”

Siha looked up at me. I instantly realized what Siha was looking at and saying.

The woman’s foot was crossing the line of the porch.

How could the timing be so perfect?

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Are you laughing now? Ugh. What is he?”

The woman’s face was red.

“The kid is talking nonsense. You need to teach him better.”

I glared at her with dull eyes. She flinched.

“What…”

I softened my tone, conscious of Siha being there.

“You must have been very well-educated to ‘send’ your dog to your parents’ house like that, huh?”

Clang, clang.

I shook the thin necklace hidden in the dog’s fur. Her mouth fell open when she saw it.

“Let’s not say any more and just drop it quietly. I think we’ll only end up embarrassing ourselves. And don’t talk nonsense. Your personality is revealed in your words. Ah, did you already reveal it all by sending it to your parents’ house?”

I told Siha to come on.

She bit her lip once and slammed the door shut.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Doggy.”

“Ah. She said she’s not the owner. Hyung will return it to the owner tomorrow. Let’s take it home today.”

I didn’t go straight home. I needed to prepare first.

I stopped by the stationery store and bought a lot of large plastic bags and came back. Then I stuck them all over the floor and walls.

“I don’t know how well-trained this dog is, so I need to prepare in advance…”

This should be enough for poop, but I don’t know about pee.

I feel like I brought it for nothing…

I sat the dog down and pointed to the newspaper in the bathroom.

“You have to poop and pee there. Got it?”

“Ah ah. Woof.”

Siha also helped, but the dog didn’t seem to understand.

“Um. Siha, play with the dog for now. Don’t let it go into the room.”

I closed all the doors for now.

Siha seemed to like playing with the dog, stroking its fur.

Fortunately, the dog was gentle and didn’t jump at Siha.

I watched Siha and called the landlord.

「Hello.」

“Yes. Hello. This is Lee Si-hyuk, who lives on the first floor with the baby.”

「Oh, yeah. That friend. What’s going on?」

“Actually…”

I told him the whole story and said I would keep it at home for just one day.

「That lady really… Sigh. Okay. Just one day.」

“Yes. Thank you. I thought I should tell you first.”

「Okay. Thank you for telling me.」

“Yes.”

I hung up and wondered what to do with this dog.

I had never picked up an animal before, so I searched the internet.

‘Should I take it to an animal shelter?’

When I searched, I found out something I wish I hadn’t known.

If you leave it at a shelter, they protect it for 10-20 days and then euthanize it.

My heart felt heavy with that fact.

When I turned around, Siha was playing very well with the dog.

‘Sigh…’

My heart was not good at all.

I turned my gaze back to the laptop.

There were a lot of abandoned dogs on the internet, and there were many kinds.

‘Chow Chow mix.’

The type of dog I brought was a Chow Chow mix.

No wonder it looked just like a Chow Chow.

‘Maybe it’s half Chow Chow, so fortunately it doesn’t bark much.’

That was fortunate.

I felt like I could manage for just one day.

“Siha, be careful of the puppy’s paws.”

“Okay.”

Siha held the puppy carefully in her arms.

The Chow Chow mix quietly settled in Siha’s embrace.

It just gently wagged its tail.

“Woof woof.”

Its stubby appearance was undeniably cute.

***

That night, after Siha was asleep, I was filled with worries.

I couldn’t find anyone who could take care of the puppy.

I contacted everyone I knew, but only received rejections.

As I was fretting and staring at the laptop, the puppy came and sat by my side.

I glanced at it.

“I’m sorry. All I can do is try my best to find your owner until tomorrow. Maybe I’ll have to send you to a shelter. And you might… well, you might not make it if your owner isn’t found.”

I calmly told the puppy about its bleak future.

That very clear, yet dark, future seemed so hopeless.

What would this puppy think in a place where no one saves it?

“But you know what? I don’t think I can leave you at the shelter. I was abandoned once, too.”

I felt a sense of kinship with the puppy.

If I didn’t have my father, I might have grown up believing the world had no light.

In fact, I was deeply unhappy when I was in middle school.

If I didn’t have my father, I might have sunk even deeper into that unhappiness.

“So, I’ll do my best. To be a little bit of light for you.”

“Woof.”

“Shh. Everyone’s sleeping.”

The puppy licked my hand.

I couldn’t refuse it.

I just stroked its chin.

***

The next day, I woke up early.

Siha wasn’t next to me.

“Siha?”

“Okay.”

Siha couldn’t reach the door handle and was drawing on a tablet in the corner.

“Huh?”

I carefully looked at the drawing.

A short cartoon drawn with SD [Super Deformed, a style of caricature] characters in a two-headed style.

I closed my mouth as I looked at it, feeling a pang in my heart.

“Siha.”

“Okay.”

“There are bad people and good people in the world. Actually, your brother wants to show you only good things and give you only good education…”

I smiled bitterly.

“Maybe this is the first time for your brother too, so I might not be good at it. I might show you bad things.”

“Okay.”

“But I hope you don’t forget that your brother is always on Siha’s side. I will love you so much. If you see bad things, your brother will give you that much good love. Then it’ll be okay, right?”

“Okay.”

It’s okay if you don’t understand. But this was my resolution.

I lifted Siha high.

“Cute. Siha. I love you.”

“Siha too.”

“Oh? This little one is playing with my heart.”

I spun Siha around.

“Okay!”

Siha was excited and wiggled her feet.

“Then can you say goodbye to the puppy nicely today?”

Gloomy.

Siha looked disappointed.

“It can’t be helped. We can’t raise it here.”

“Okay.”

With that, I finished getting ready and headed to the daycare center.

I met the director while dropping her off.

“Excuse me. Director.”

“Yes. Mr. Si-hyuk.”

“Is it possible to raise a puppy at the daycare center?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s a Chow Chow mix… No, let me explain.”

I told her the situation.

“…So if I tie it up outside, I’ll take care of everything. Kangin University is big, so…”

“Hmm. We definitely can’t raise it inside the daycare center. If the dog hurts a child, it will leave a lasting scar.”

“Yes. I understand.”

It was a method I had thought of with all my effort, but even this didn’t seem easy.

“But there is a way.”

“Really?”

I looked at the director expectantly.

“If you look at the map, there’s a mountain behind the university, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“There’s someone who raises chickens there.”

“Chickens?”

“Yes. I know him, and I think it would be okay to entrust it to him. He wants to raise a dog these days anyway. This puppy is cute, so he’ll like it.”

“Ah… Thank you.”

“I haven’t even heard the answer yet! And we sometimes go to that mountain for picnics, so you can see the puppy too.”

“Siha will like that. Thank you.”

I bowed my head in gratitude.

The director waved her hand dismissively and called her acquaintance.

The acquaintance readily agreed, and I took Siha and the puppy up the mountain.

It wasn’t a steep mountain, but just a hill.

The path was well paved, so it was an easy walk.

As we went along a side path instead of the hiking trail, we heard the sound of chickens.

It seemed like he really did raise chickens.

“Siha. Cock-a-doodle-doo. Cock-a-doodle-doo.”

“Cock-a-doodle-doo.”

Siha looked at the chickens with wonder.

I think I should really take her to a zoo soon.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo.”

“Yes. Cock-a-doodle-doo.”

“Doggy.”

“Yes. Doggy.”

We saw a house built on the mountainside.

There was an old man outside.

“Hello.”

“Yes. You’ve come. Let’s see. Is this the puppy? Hello there!”

“Woof woof.”

The old man held the puppy in his arms.

“It’s a gentle and kind one.”

“Please take good care of the puppy.”

“Yes. Student. I’ll raise it well.”

“Thank you. Siha, you have to say goodbye to the doggy.”

“Doggy…….”

Siha looked gloomily at the doggy.

“You can see it again when you come here later.”

“Okay.”

Siha nodded at my words.

And waved her hand at the doggy.

“Woof!”

The doggy broke free from the old man’s arms and ran straight to Siha, licking her face with its tongue.

“Okay! Doggy!”

“Woof!”

Siha and the doggy will be able to meet again.

Because we live nearby.

***

-Siha’s drawing. Pixiv upload [Online platform for artists to share their work].

1. A picture of a child looking to the side on a supermarket road.

2. A picture of a baby meeting a long-haired woman with a ‘-‘ shaped mouth and [2F] written in the background with a bright face.

3. A picture of a doggy in the place where the child character is, with the door closed.

4. A picture of a happy-looking doggy and a bald grandfather on the mountain.

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