Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 65

Hyung, Aren’t I Cute? 65

I’ve never taken Siha’s words lightly.

The same goes for other people.

I’m the type of person who, if I don’t understand something during a conversation, I’ll think it over and over.

I think that’s how my values have gradually changed, and I’ve come to think in various ways.

Maybe I’m still lacking.

The same goes for Park Jung-hyuk in front of me right now.

‘The person Jiho met at the hospital.’

Since I couldn’t leave the kid alone, I asked the security guard at the front gate to keep an eye on him.

Later, when I had to go back to the hospital, I heard something shocking.

‘The person who brought him was the lady who caused the car accident.’

From here, I made one assumption.

Maybe… just maybe, this accident wasn’t planned.

The reason I can only think this way is that her words of apology and her saying she didn’t see us fit together, creating a plausible story.

‘From here on, it’s just reasoning.’

I looked at Park Jung-hyuk.

He was clearly hesitant, mumbling something.

“The bruises on Jiho’s body weren’t in places where they would occur from falling. If you fall, your knees would hit first, and then your arms would reflexively reach out.”

I pointed to his stomach.

“In cases like this, where there are bruises on the stomach, the assumption that he was hit is much more likely.”

“Th-that’s… N-no.”

“Yes. It’s possible you didn’t intend to. But why were you so flustered when Jiho came? Was there no adult to take him home?”

“That’s…….”

“But you came all the way to the hospital, so you must have been very embarrassed. Do you know who took him home?”

“Didn’t Si-hyuk take him?”

“Did Jiho say that?”

“Yes. I talked to him on the phone.”

From here on, it’s really just my thoughts.

Maybe she had actually noticed Jiho’s bruises before I did.

I don’t know the motive, but maybe she committed the crime because she had similar pain.

She was probably old and had presbyopia [age-related farsightedness].

Her eyes were focused on Park Jung-hyuk, so she didn’t see us.

I thought about what she said.

-I didn’t see you. You weren’t in my field of vision. Really.

Yes, that’s right.

And what Siha said.

-Vroom~ Ahh. Jiho hyung. Siha hurt. Meet. Play with Jiho hyung. Jiho. Soo-woo.

[Interpretation: The woman who hurt us with the car meets Jiho.]

[Interpretation: Played with Jiho hyung.]

[Interpretation: Jiho and Soo-woo?]

I don’t know what that Soo-woo part is, but I have a rough idea.

Looking at Park Jung-hyuk’s reaction now.

“Well, I played well with Jiho and took him home.”

“I see.”

“But what about the bruises?”

“Actually, I didn’t do it on purpose. It’s all because of this alcohol…….”

“Ah. Alcohol.”

I replied dryly.

If everything could be excused with that, why would there be police and laws in the world?

Park Jung-hyuk must have sensed my feelings, as he started saying this and that.

“That day, the kid kept crying and looking for his mom, and my brain was buzzing.”

“So that’s why you did it?”

“I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t control myself.”

I closed my eyes.

I’m listening to that as an excuse.

“Then you wouldn’t mind if I reported you to the police?”

“It was just a mistake.”

“Just a mistake…? That mistake leaves lifelong scars on children. Do you think the child won’t remember it later when he grows up?!”

I glared at Park Jung-hyuk.

The scars left by adults continue even when they grow up.

Just thinking about it makes me nauseous and fills me with anger.

The dark emotions churning inside me pop out every time I close my eyes.

That’s what you call an indelible mark.

“I remember everything. From A to Z. Even a word you didn’t remember saying because you were drunk!”

“I begged a lot. I apologized, too. There’s no problem.”

“Ah. You begged a lot?”

I turned my head and asked.

“Did you do that the day after the child played alone in the playground? To the point where you wouldn’t let him go to the playground?”

“So you saw the bruises then.”

“No. I saw the bruises before that.”

Park Jung-hyuk met my eyes.

He looked flustered.

I barely held back the urge to swear.

“Give your excuses at the police station.”

“Excuse me?”

I opened the hospital room door.

Outside, the police I had called were waiting.

The police who had heard everything.

***

I heard that a social worker visited Jiho’s house.

The child’s mother was currently working as a resident representative in China.

I’m glad that he wasn’t without a mother.

She heard Jiho’s story and said she would return to Korea urgently.

To be honest, I couldn’t understand the choice of leaving the child and going to work in China for several years.

But I tried to understand, thinking there might be circumstances.

At least she seems to love her son.

‘But I couldn’t tell the police everything.’

The suspicion that the 50-year-old woman who caused the accident was actually a planned crime.

I thought a lot about whether to tell this story, but I decided not to.

I thought the shock would be great for Jiho when he found out that she had done such a thing because of him.

This kind of topic is more sensational than an article about careless driving, so it stays in your memory longer.

‘That’s a fact that the police will uncover. It’s not my job.’

I think I’m quite deeply involved for that.

I got up from my seat and prepared to go to the playground.

“Siha, let’s go.”

“Ah ah.”

I took Siha’s hand and headed to the playground where the sand was.

How could that person think of hitting this small, fragile body?

If I put a little more strength, this young hand seems so weak that it would break.

I don’t want to understand, and I won’t understand.

“We promised to meet Jiho hyung today, right?”

“Ah ah.”

“Let’s go do what we couldn’t do last time.”

“Ah ah. Dirt ball!”

“Yes. Dirt ball. Let’s dig there.”

“Ah ah. Jiho hyung. Together.”

“Yes. Together with Jiho.”

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the playground.

In the corner of the playground, Jiho was playing in the dirt, waiting for us.

There was also a plastic bottle next to him, probably brought it thinking of when he played with us.

I called Jiho with a grateful heart.

“Jiho!”

“Jiho hyung!”

Jiho turned his head and looked at us.

He raised his hand and waved, so I waved back.

The quiet child smiled and ran towards us.

He seemed excited.

“Jiho, hello.”

“Ah ah. Hello!”

“Hello. Siha, hello.”

I took Jiho and moved to the place where the dirt ball was buried.

“Jiho, is something good happening? Your face is so bright?”

“My mom is coming.”

“Really?”

“Yes. My mom is going to live with me. I’m going to China.”

“That’s great.”

It’s really good for Jiho too.

“So today is the last time we’re playing like this.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then we should dig up the dirt ball hard for the last time, right?”

“Yes. I’m excited!”

Siha looked at Jiho.

“Ah ah. Jiho hyung.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The two of them toddled under the tree and carefully dug the ground where it was buried.

The dirt ball that was gently revealed.

It wasn’t round and had a strange shape.

“Not a ball.”

“I guess not.”

I smiled and stroked the dirt ball held by the two children.

“If you just take it out, it won’t be round like this. If you gently stroke the painful areas like this, it becomes round.”

That’s why I mixed various soils and covered it several times.

When I carefully removed the outside of the dirt ball, a round shape came out.

“Hyung!”

“Wow! It’s round!”

“Right? I told you.”

Both of them were amazed and held the round dirt ball preciously.

I took a picture because the two children were so cute.

Click.

In the picture taken, Jiho was smiling brightly.

Siha, who made a V sign, also showed a soft smile.

“Okay. I brought a plastic bag just in case. Let’s put it here.”

The two of them carefully put the dirt ball in.

“Let’s wash our hands. Hands.”

Both of them washed various places hard like before.

There were no blue bruises on Jiho’s stomach.

It seemed to have healed while his father was in the hospital.

“Then we’ll take this and go home now.”

Shake shake.

Siha shook his head.

“Play~”, “Want to play more?”

“Ah ah.”

“Okay. Let’s play a little more. Jiho, is that okay?”

“Yes.”

I took the dirt balls from the two children and sat on the bench.

I watched them ride the slide and seesaw in the playground and thought.

Pandora’s box was the worst.

But we move forward because there is hope.

Maybe what was inside wasn’t hope but ‘comfort’?

Jiho may have unknowingly received comfort from someone.

From Siha, who played with him.

To the 50-year-old woman who caused the car accident.

To the police who comply with this law.

To the social worker.

To the mother who is sorry.

I don’t know what kind of life he will lead in the future, but I hope Jiho’s path will be filled with brilliant light.

***

After saying goodbye to Jiho hyung for the last time, Siha drew a picture.

About what happened.

He drew four pictures as if he were writing a picture diary.

Si-hyuk saw it and worried about it before uploading it to Pixiv [Japanese online community for artists].

-Siha’s Pixiv Upload

[Title: comfort]

1. A picture of a child with blue bruises on his stomach.

2. A picture of a child whose blue bruises have disappeared, sitting on the ground and making a dirt ball.

3. A picture with bumpy blue debris on the surface of the dirt ball.

4. A picture of the left hand stroking a round brown dirt ball with the right hand.

[Like] [Heart] [Share] […]

[siha.pepe.] [List of Works]

#comfort #4cutcartoon #SDCharacter [Super Deformed Character – a style of caricature]

As soon as it was uploaded, there were a lot of comments.

-Finally, a 4-cut cartoon has been uploaded!

-Wow! I don’t think there will be any controversy over what this means.

-It looks like the child’s wound went into the dirt ball? It’s bluish?

-Can you call it a child?

-Then?

-I heard that this artist originally drew SD characters.

-Oh, that’s right!

In fact, it’s a child.

Because I saw a child and drew a child.

-So this is someone who doesn’t know if they are a child or an adult.

-Then can we just think of it as a person?

-That’s right. That’s how you can see it.

-More than that, the blue color turned brown by stroking the hand like that!

-The wound has been healed. By someone!

-You’re still delivering a warm message?

People loved this picture so much.

-The title is ‘Comfort’ too.

-We need someone’s comfort.

-That’s right.

-This picture is comforting.

-Sihapepe!

-I hope it’s uploaded again! I like this artist so much!

-There should be pictures like this here.

-That’s right! But I feel like I’m going to go somewhere else later!

-Are you coming up to the surface?!

-That doesn’t mean it’s underground here, does it?

There is no such thing in the first place.

If Siha ever gets a request for work, it will be after he grows up.

-Anyway, I support this artist!

-Me too, me too!

It was about to flow smoothly with such a flat interpretation.

There are always people who interpret it differently everywhere.

-Tsk tsk. Everyone is looking at it in one dimension, so they can’t find the ‘hidden meaning’ of this artist!

-What? What did you find?

It was the appearance of an interpreter who was sure to show off.

-That ball is not a dirt ball. You can see that. Another meaning of Sihapepe, the genius of personification, is hidden!

-So what is it?

-Look closely. That blue bruise is environmental pollution, and that dirt ball is the earth.

-What?! What nonsense are you talking about?!

-Humans pollute the earth, so that dirt ball has turned blue.

-The earth is originally blue, isn’t it?

-Yes. The writer put an implication there. He put in the message that even if it is polluted, the original earth is blue!

-?!?! No. The basis is weak.

-There is another basis for the earth. The picture I put in at the end. That picture is a symbolic picture adopted among this environmental group’s symbols!

-!!! It’s real! It’s similar!

It was a coincidence.

In the first place, Siha didn’t even know what this environmental group’s symbol was.

-In the end, it’s a message that humans themselves must purify the earth. We must pity the earth and ‘comfort’ it.

-!!!

That wasn’t the meaning, but for some reason, this interpretation also received a lot of [Hearts].