Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 346

Hyung, aren’t I cute? Episode 346

I was selected to supply fasteners to the aerospace industry.

Because they were specialized parts, we had to have a meeting, so the boss and I went to share our opinions.

There were specific requirements they were asking for, and the boss was the one conveying them.

I sat next to him, recording every single word.

After the meeting, he entrusted the subsequent discussions to me.

I thought there wouldn’t be much work left, but there was surprisingly a lot to do. It made me realize that a company is indeed a company.

Still, things are mostly wrapped up now, so I’ve become a bit more relaxed.

The book publishing is already well underway.

It’s actually progressing as fast as the English translation, so the first volume was completed quickly.

I had already done about half of the second volume, so I had some leeway.

But there’s no rest for the weary.

Time flew by endlessly while playing with Siha.

That’s how the first semester ended, and July arrived.

“Ughhhhh.”

“Hyung. Air conditioner. Air conditioner.”

“Yeah. I need to turn it on.”

Air conditioning is essential in the summer.

The heat drains my energy, which slows down my writing speed.

More than that, I just didn’t feel like writing. But knowing I have to write quickly and get it over with to make a living, I grab the keyboard again.

“Ughhh.”

“Hyung. Siha is working hard too, so Hyung has to work hard too.”

“Yeah, I have to.”

This time when Siha is drawing is good for working.

It’s about utilizing spare time.

Where’s the motivation? Let’s burn our passion and work hard while we’re young.

Of course, taking care of my health is a given.

Still, people get tired if they only work, so let’s set a relaxed goal of finishing about two volumes this month.

Oh? You think that’s not relaxed?

It’s quite relaxed compared to what I’ve been doing so far.

I’ve already built up momentum from living busily moment by moment, so it’s manageable.

Playing with Siha is sometimes healing or a break, so it’s okay.

“By the way, what are you drawing?”

“Drawing an air conditioner. Pepe [Siha’s penguin plushie] is making an ice rink with the air conditioner.”

“Yeah. Making an ice rink? But wouldn’t it be better to make ice with the refrigerator?”

“If you make it with the refrigerator, the ice is too small. It fits right in Siha’s mouth!”

“That’s true.”

I don’t know how huge the air conditioner is to make an ice rink in the sea.

But can that machine even work?

It probably isn’t a normal machine.

It must be an incredibly expensive air conditioner. You can’t use it for home use.

Curious about the drawing, I sneak a peek and see that he’s drawing a wall-mounted air conditioner.

And it’s outside the igloo.

Pepe is getting air conditioning outside.

What? It’s the opposite of us inside because it’s hot.

This contrast is kind of nice.

“Hyung. Did you finish writing?”

“Huh? No. If I write a little more, I’ll be done for today. What do you want to play?”

“Water play.”

“Water play…”

If I had a yard, I’d make a pool and splash around with Siha while shooting water guns.

But to play in the water, we have to go to the beach or a swimming pool. Hmm.

“Then, after this, should we make water bombs [water balloons]?”

“Water bombs?”

“Yeah. Water bombs. Playing with water-filled balloons.”

I used to play with my friends sometimes when I was young.

It’s fun to watch the water balloon grow as you put it on the faucet and turn it on.

It’s fun to throw them around.

It’s cool even if you get hit.

“Just a moment. I’ll be done in a little bit.”

I finished writing and saved it.

Siha also dusts off his hands, as if he’s done with his drawing.

I grab Siha’s hand and go outside, where the hot sun greets us.

It’s hard to walk back after buying water balloons.

Siha must be tired because he looked for a fan as soon as he got home.

He turns it on with a click and enjoys the breeze.

I turned on the air conditioner to make it even cooler.

Fortunately, the house is pleasant and nice because I turned on the air conditioner before going out.

“Hot.”

“It feels hotter today. I can’t play outside, can I?”

“No. Siha isn’t hot.”

“It’s okay. There’s a way to play with water balloons at home!”

“!!!”

So, there’s no need to say you’re not hot.

But when I bought the water balloons, I found out that they also sell water balloon makers these days.

It was amazing that the water balloons had rubber rings, so you could just pull them off without tying them.

Of course, they say it leaks if you leave it alone. It’s not as perfect as tying it.

Still, tying is part of the fun of water balloons.

If you’re tying them, you’re bound to get hit with a water balloon.

But this item allows you to fill them with water and throw them right away, perfectly reducing that time gap.

Seeing something like this after a long time made me excited.

Look at me.

“Okay, Siha. If you put water in here, you can make several water balloons at once.”

“Siha is watching.”

I put in the water.

A bundle of straws fills the water balloons with water, making them swell.

“Hyung. The water balloon is getting bigger!”

“Yeah.”

You named the water balloon ‘Water Balloon’?

It’s very easy to name things. I think I can use Siha’s naming method well.

“Look closely. If you just take this off, it becomes a water balloon.”

Pop.

The rubber ring at the end of the water balloon blocks the entrance.

I hand it to Siha, and he seems to find the texture interesting.

Squeeze. Squeeze.

Water seeps out of the water balloon.

“Let’s play in the bathroom today.”

Today’s field is the bathroom and the floor in front of it.

You can just wipe up the water if it spills. It can’t be helped if that area gets wet.

“Okay. Water balloons are like this. If you throw them like this, they burst!”

I threw it hard into the bathroom.

Splat! It bursts easily due to the force.

Siha also followed me.

“Eet!”

Thump! Thump! Thump!

It bounced off the wall and onto the ground without bursting.

It was probably because he lacked strength and the bathroom had smooth tiles.

“Ah?”

“Want to try again?”

“Eet!”

What’s with the shout? How cute.

But the water balloon’s tenacious life force didn’t allow it to burst.

How unfortunate.

“Hyung. Water Balloon won’t burst.”

“That’s right. Ah! It’s no fun just throwing it. Just a moment.”

“???”

I brought the styrofoam box that I recently ordered and received.

I only took off the lid and drew a picture with a permanent marker.

“I’m going to draw a bad fire.”

“Fire?”

“Yeah. Do you want to draw too, Siha?”

“Siha wants to draw too!”

I drew a fire shape and drew an angry face on it.

Then I drew arms and legs with lines and made hands and feet with small circles.

Siha looked at my picture and started to copy it.

He drew the same face for the fire, but the body has abs.

It looked very strong.

“This is Baek Dong Hyung [referring to the author].”

“Pfft.”

Baek Dong-hwan. You have abs even when you become fire. But you’re drawing Baek Dong-hwan when you’re supposed to be drawing a character to throw water balloons at?

“All done!”

“Yeah. All done. There’s no more space to draw.”

“What do we do now?”

“I’m going to stick toothpicks in here.”

Toothpicks in the house.

Siha and I stuck them into the styrofoam.

This completes the target.

All that’s left is to fix it to the bathroom wall with tape.

Now Siha’s water balloons will be able to burst because of the toothpicks.

“Today’s game is 119 Rescue Team [Korean emergency services number, like 911].”

“119?”

“Yeah. Firefighters who put out fires.”

“!!!”

It’s no fun to just play a matching game.

You always have to give it a story to increase concentration.

I’m even thinking about these kinds of games because I’m writing a book.

“First, a report comes to 119 by phone. Ring ring. Ring ring. Siha, there’s a call. Answer it quickly.”

“Siha will answer!”

I gave him the phone, and he put it to his ear.

“Hello. This is Siha.”

“Yes? Siha? Is this not 119?”

“Yes, it is. This is 119. Siha is a firefighter.”

“Ah! That’s right! It’s a disaster! There’s a fire here! Save me!”

“I’ll go now.”

Siha hung up the phone.

I said to Siha.

“Siha, you have to hear the location.”

“Oops! Mistake. Mistake.”

“Let’s do it again.”

“Where is the fire?”

“I think my butt is on fire. I’m in the bathroom now!”

“That’s a big deal! My butt is on fire because I ate something spicy!”

“This is a spicy chicken feet restaurant. Please come quickly.”

“Your feet are on fire?”

“No, I mean it’s a spicy chicken feet restaurant. A place that sells chicken feet.”

“Why do they sell chicken feet?”

“They sell them to eat.”

“???”

Siha looked at me with a questioning look.

Even if you look at me with a questioning look about why people eat chicken feet…

“That’s not the important thing.”

“Ah! Okay. I’ll go soon!”

“Yes!”

At this rate, everything will burn down, starting with the bathroom.

I said to Siha.

“Siha, Captain! 119 Rescue Team is ready. We will depart.”

“Depart! Let’s go by car!”

Siha runs somewhere.

Where are you going?

He goes into the room and takes out a car from the toy box.

A car that turns into an animal.

What a unique combination. Well, let’s think of it as a fire truck.

“Hyung, get in.”

“I’m not Hyung, I’m a firefighter. Captain.”

“Yeah. Hyung Firefighter. Get in quickly.”

“???”

Even though I’m a firefighter, I’m still Hyung [older brother figure]. Even the younger brother has a higher rank.

What amazing detail.

“Beep. Beep.”

We finally arrived at the bathroom.

The people waiting must have been very anxious.

Why aren’t they coming quickly? They said they’d be here soon? Why? Please come quickly.

Well, wouldn’t they think that?

“We’re here.”

“Yes! Captain! We will suppress the fire. I will prepare the water!”

“Fire? But this is a bathroom?”

“Um. It means putting out the fire. Fire suppression.”

“Okay. Fighting!”

No. You have to put out the fire too. What are you doing just cheering?

I handed Siha a prepared water balloon.

“Fire suppression! Start!”

“Start!”

We threw water balloons.

Even if you throw it gently, the sharpness of the toothpicks bursts the water balloon.

Pop!

Siha’s eyes sparkle as he watches.

“Hyung. It burst!”

“Captain. The fire is not out yet. We have to hurry.”

“Okay. Siha will try hard.”

The water balloons burst coolly.

It was fun because it felt like my stress was flying away.

I never thought there would be such good water balloons. Children’s toys are developing day by day.

Well, I thought it would be nice if there weren’t these inconveniences, but when something comes out that solves them, you can’t help but buy it.

You can have so much fun without going outside.

“Hyung. All used up.”

“That’s right. We’ve already used them all. I wonder if the fire is out now?”

“No. There’s more left here.”

“That’s true.”

I can’t help it. We have to refill them.

It’s time to refill the water balloons.

It’s a shame to end it already.

So we had fun putting out the fire with water balloons.

***

I don’t think you should go out in the summer.

The heat is too harmful to people. But if you have to go out, I think this July is good.

Summer vacation!

Before, I went to the beach and had a great time, but this year I want to go to the mountains.

Of course, what else is there to do in the summer but go to the valley [a common summer vacation spot in Korea, often with streams and natural pools for recreation]?

“Isn’t camping the best in summer? Kyaa!”

“???”

Baek Dong-hwan came and started praising camping again.

Oh? Over there? Wouldn’t once be enough?

And I don’t want to sleep anywhere in this hot summer. I just want to go somewhere nearby for a day trip.

When I said that, Baek Dong-hwan shook his head.

Why? What?

“How about sleeping in a hotel? Play to your heart’s content in the valley, sleep in a hotel, check in, and then go home. Kyaa!”

“That’s not bad.”

“There are also campsites nearby.”

“Haven’t you given up yet?!”

I refuse to go camping!

There’s too much to pack. I just want to pack clothes and water guns and come back.

“There’s a good valley. Haha. I’m not saying we have to go camping. I’ll bring a simple tent. The kids need to rest while playing in the valley.”

“That’s fine. No. You can play in the valley with your friends.”

“Strangely, when I tell them to go, they avoid me, saying, ‘Is it camping again?'”

“……”

Then Siha said.

“Hyung. Are Seung-joon and Hana going too?”

“Huh?”

“Water play!”

Um. It’s more fun to play in the valley with the kids.

The good thing is that the time spent playing with them is reduced.

The kids play well and sleep well.

It’s surprisingly comfortable.

Based on experience, if Baek Dong-hwan comes, I’ll have more time to rest.

“Okay. This summer is the valley!”

“Hyung. What is dog meat?”

Not dog meat, valley. Be careful with your pronunciation, Siha.