Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 434

Hyung, am I cute? Hyung, am I cute? Extra Story – Episode 9

Extra Story 9: Always Different from Intended

I gently released the arm holding me.

It seemed Siha’s father sensed something was wrong.

His arm lacked strength.

But stopping would seem strange, so he seemed to proceed anyway.

I wonder who taught him this.

A sigh escaped me.

“I think you can stop now.”

“Hmm. I’m sorry.”

Siha, watching our conversation, widened his eyes.

“Hyung. Who, who is it?!”

“Siha, it’s that man we saw in France. He doesn’t have a beard now, though.”

“!!!”

Siha looked again carefully and finally recognized him.

Bae Sanghyun avoided eye contact, looking embarrassed.

“Hmm. I didn’t expect you to be so surprised. I’m sorry. I heard kids your age like this kind of thing.”

He’s been influenced by something strange.

Sure, some kids might like this. If it were simple makeup that wasn’t scary, that is.

If you do realistic makeup like a zombie from a movie, wouldn’t the child be scared?

“Is it a zombie?”

Siha stuck close behind me, still looking suspicious.

It couldn’t be helped.

“Can we go inside now?”

“Ah! Yes, come in.”

We barely sat on the sofa, and Bae Sanghyun was fidgeting.

I felt uneasy. Who gave him this advice?!

“Why did you do this?”

“Well, a friend said kids like this. His son liked it. He advised that special makeup would be good since art should be fun. For the purpose of sparking interest.”

It’s more likely to cause trauma than spark interest.

I was also very surprised at first, but I knew there were no zombies and recognized his face upon closer inspection.

I didn’t recognize him at first because he shaved his beard.

Anyway, I understand the intention. The intention.

Well, the world doesn’t always go as intended.

“Zombies are scary……”

Siha learned the scariness of zombies.

Manga characters have a somewhat cute side, but real zombies have visible blood vessels and blood, making them scary.

Maybe that’s why it’s rated 19+ [Korean rating for content unsuitable for those under 19 years old].

I looked at Bae Sanghyun.

“Um. How about you go wash it off?”

“Ah!”

Bae Sanghyun quickly left.

***

Bae Sanghyun, with his face cleanly washed, began teaching art in earnest.

An easel and canvas were placed in front.

Seeing this, it really feels like doing art. What should I say? It feels like doing classical art?

“Ahem. Ahem. First of all, this isn’t like an art academy, so I’m not going to assess your drawing skills. Today, we’re going to create colors.”

“Colors?”

Siha’s eyes sparkled.

He seemed very interested in colors.

“Color is all about the materials and how they’re mixed. Like using this animal glue here.”

“There’s sand, too.”

“Yes. It’s ground oyster and clam shells. Next to it is saffron.”

“Bracken?”

“It’s not bracken. It comes out as yellow.”

“!!!”

Siha looked at the materials with fascination.

He seemed very intrigued by these materials.

Is he talking about natural pigments?

Modern pigments are good, but this experience isn’t bad either.

“This blue stone is lapis lazuli, from which ultramarine is extracted… Ah, this is difficult, so let’s just say it produces a deep blue color. Think of it as blue. It’s more expensive than gold.”

“More expensive than gold?!”

“Yes.”

Crazy. There’s a color more expensive than gold?! How much are all these materials here?

If one blue color is more expensive than gold, who would do art?

Isn’t this a much more expensive private lesson than what’s taught in academies?

Who would teach this?

Come to think of it, Siha’s dad is a successful artist, so his rates are naturally high.

“Amazing!”

Siha was simply amazed that colors came from these materials.

He seemed eager to see it quickly.

Seeing this, I realize kids are still kids.

I’m surprised by the price, but Siha is just amazed that colors come from the materials.

I’m an adult, so I can’t help being sensitive to money.

“Next to it is a modern fluorescent pigment. It reflects light three times more than traditional pigments… Um. It’s three times brighter.”

“Fluorescent color!”

“Yes. That’s it.”

Today, we’ll make one simple color and then paint with the prepared colors to see what kind of colors come out.

This felt like a science class, which Siha liked.

There were Erlenmeyer flasks, beakers, and droppers.

Some seemed to be prepared even though they weren’t used.

He prepared a lot.

I don’t know if Siha will remember all this, but he seemed to enjoy it.

But doing this, I can’t tell if this person is an art teacher or a science teacher.

Is that why famous people in the past were mathematicians, scientists, and artists all in one?

That’s what I thought.

“Shall we paint now?”

“Yes!”

Siha seemed very interested and started following Bae Sanghyun’s instructions well.

Like a real student following a teacher.

I felt nostalgic, like I was taking an art class in school again after a long time.

“Hyung. It’s fun! What about you, Hyung?”

“Huh? I’m having fun too. It’s more fun with Siha.”

“Then let’s do it together from now on.”

“Hahaha.”

Art class should be once a week.

Too much would interfere with my work. But I can’t just tell him to take the class diligently alone.

“There are so many colors.”

“Indeed.”

We observe the colors, using brushes in front of the canvas.

The feeling of the color on the palette is completely different from the feeling on the canvas.

But is there any meaning in using it like this?

No. There must be meaning. Siha has a good eye for color, so it will probably help him later when he wants to use these colors.

I don’t seem to have as much talent for color as Siha.

“Tap, tap, tap.”

I’m making square boxes to observe the colors, while Siha is drawing something.

This also seems to be the difference between us.

What I’m doing is ‘seeing’ the comparison and clear differences.

Siha is creating and ‘embracing’ flower-like dots spread out on the canvas.

It’s nice to see him drawing so diligently.

Bae Sanghyun’s eyes widened as he looked at Siha’s painting.

“Huh.”

I tilted my head, not knowing what he saw.

Um. Is there something special?

The blue color representing the blue sky. The blue color, which he said was more expensive than gold, had a faint feeling, and he was making the sky while making good use of it.

Actually, I don’t know if he made good use of it, but there was just a feeling.

Below that, flowers with dots as if testing colors were filled.

But the entire canvas wasn’t painted.

As it became more and more complete, I could see what shape the towering empty space in the center was taking.

“A tree?”

“Yes! It’s a tree.”

A huge tree, with neither leaves nor the texture of the tree drawn, stood tall with only white space.

Is this Siha’s idea?

There was a blue sky and flowers, but in the center was the shape of a white tree.

“Done!”

Siha stretched.

It was a painting completed in an instant. It was just a task to check the colors, but he drew this kind of picture. The pigments were also diverse, so it could have been a mess.

But that made the white space stand out even more.

As various colors and pigments were used, that white tree became more noticeable and alien.

“…Hahaha.”

Bae Sanghyun just chuckled.

And he stroked Siha’s head while looking at him.

“It’s a wonderful painting?”

“Yes! I drew it hard.”

“Can you tell me why you drew it like this?”

“I just drew it? Because I thought it would be prettier?”

“I see. What’s the name of the work?”

“The Road to Heaven!”

“Is this tree heaven?”

“No. A door. A door.”

“I see.”

“If you go into this tree, you go to heaven. There’s Mom and Dad.”

“Ah……”

It was a painting that was somewhat religious and that only Siha could draw.

If it wasn’t for Siha’s situation, that kind of painting or title wouldn’t have come to mind.

Still, the idea of expressing it is very good.

“Director Go’s direction is great, not the feeling of being moved. Expressing it with shadows.”

Director Go Dongsoo’s direction is good.

He expresses the movement and situation with shadows without being stimulating or cruel.

Maybe he thought of the blank space from that shadow.

The direction of the movie and the direction of the painting may have something in common.

Of course, there is direction unique to painting.

This idea seems to be thanks to Director Go Dongsoo.

I was worried about Siha because he went abroad with me for my work, but maybe it helped Siha more than I thought.

“And I like the flower paintings. I wanted to draw them too! I saw them a lot at the art museum.”

We saw a lot of natural landscape paintings together.

Of course, there were many people and religious paintings from the era.

Gods or the Virgin Mary. And temples.

Did these complex experiences lead to this imagination?

But Siha, wasn’t this just a task to check the colors?

I feel embarrassed looking at my painting next to him. No, it’s not a painting, it’s just checking what color it is.

“Wow. Siha is amazing.”

“Because I’m Hyung’s younger brother!”

Siha smiles and proudly lifts his chin slightly.

Geez. I’m embarrassed.

This point hasn’t changed.

I laughed along with Siha.

Bae Sanghyun also smiled.

“Siha.”

“Yes?”

“Draw freely.”

“Yes! Teacher.”

“Teacher, huh? Hehe. Yes. There’s not much I can teach you, but I’ll tell you about various experiences. Like making pigments.”

I felt that those words contained the meaning that he wouldn’t interfere too deeply.

Afraid that his bad parts might stain him.

He seemed careful not to reach Siha.

“What about drawing?”

“I think Siha can learn a lot by watching.”

Or he seemed cautious because he was afraid that the talent he saw now would be ruined by his hands.

It was just inferring the hidden meaning from the words, but if it’s Siha’s real dad I’ve seen so far, it wouldn’t be much different from what I think.

“Then let’s put this painting there to dry. Tell me if you want to take it. Or should we leave it here? Teacher made a separate storage room for Siha’s works.”

He even made that?!

He also showed that he cherished Siha, so I thought he wasn’t just stepping back.

Still, his efforts were no less than any other dad.

Of course, I don’t know if that intention will be well conveyed to Siha.

“Wow! Teacher is the best!”

“Hahaha.”

Well, whatever. Siha will know more and more as he grows up. Those actions will accumulate one by one and the day will come when they become trust.

We finished the art class like that.

***

The room left behind after Siha and Sihyuk left.

Bae Sanghyun closed the curtains again.

He likes this faint light coming in rather than bright light.

In some ways, it can be said to be dark.

But he thought this faint light was perfect for him now.

Just a little hope.

He feels that people can live because of that.

That’s why he came to Korea.

Because he wanted to live relying on that hope.

Bae Sanghyun turned around and went to where Siha’s painting was placed.

“Huh?”

He was surprised before, but now he was even more surprised.

In a slightly dark space with a little light, the white tree lost its light and contained a little darkness.

Some of the flowers using fluorescent pigments buried in the brilliant flower garden were arranged like a ‘road’ towards the tree.

Dense fluorescent paint flowers.

Among the many colored flowers, only the fluorescent paint flowers gathered, making the road shape even more prominent.

The numerous colored flowers are the background to create these fluorescent flowers.

The fluorescent road prepared to go to the dark gate of heaven.

It was truly ‘The Road to Heaven’ like the title of the work.

It was a painting where you could only know the artist’s warm consideration when viewed in the dark.

So that you can find your way to heaven even in the dark.

That warm heart was Siha’s ‘signature’.

“Ha. Haha.”

To Bae Sanghyun, that seemed like a small hope.

Even though that wasn’t the intention Siha was conveying to Bae Sanghyun.