Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 14

Hyung, aren’t I cute?

I went over to Siha and stroked his head.

He didn’t have a fever.

It was as if the fever had miraculously disappeared in an instant.

“His fever is gone.”

“There’s no way it could go down that quickly…….”

Song Yena put the thermometer to Siha’s ear.

Beep. 37 degrees.

The child’s body temperature was originally high, so it had to be seen as normal.

Song Yena looked at Siha with a look of wonder.

I took off the things that were cooling Siha down.

“Thank you. Thank you, Siha.”

“Ah ah. Hyung.”

That was all I could say to Siha.

I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

The hand stroking his head became more careful than usual.

“Hyung.”

“Yes. Yes. You don’t hurt anywhere, do you?”

“Ah ah.”

“Is there anything you want to eat? Hyung will buy you porridge.”

“Ah ah.”

I looked at Song Yena.

“Teacher. Can we go now?”

“Well. All possible measures have been taken. Just in case, get some medicine too. I’ll write you a prescription.”

Hearing that, I realized I had forgotten something.

“Um…….”

“Yes?”

“I don’t have any money right now…. I came out in a hurry.”

“Ah…….”

Song Yena chuckled at that.

I felt my face turn red for some reason.

In the chaotic situation, I couldn’t even grab my wallet or phone.

“I’ll pay. You can pay me back when Siha gets his checkup.”

“Thank you.”

“Since we’re on the topic, when should we schedule it?”

“We’re free anytime, so please do it whenever it’s convenient for you, teacher.”

“Then let’s do it today.”

I looked at Song Yena with surprised eyes.

“Aren’t you off work?”

“I wonder. I don’t know what ‘off work’ is. Was there such a word?”

‘She really lives a hard life,’ I thought.

That was the impression I got.

***

I returned home with Siha and grabbed my wallet and phone.

Looking at Siha, he was as healthy as if he had never been sick.

It felt like something unbelievable had happened.

“Huh? But why is the box lid slightly open?”

I closed the lid.

“Siha, let’s go now.”

“Ah ah.”

This time, I put on my shoes and set out with Siha.

The place we went to was a porridge shop.

It seems like he doesn’t hurt anywhere now, but just in case, I wanted to get him something easy to digest.

“It’s expensive.”

What kind of porridge is so expensive?

I guess it’s worth the brand name?

“What do you want to eat?”

“Ah ah.”

Siha carefully chose a menu.

Beef porridge.

Of course, he has to pick the expensive beef.

I nodded and ordered one.

“Okay. It’s hot, so you have to let it cool down before you eat it.”

I blew on it and put it in Siha’s mouth.

“Hot.”

“Ah, sorry. Huh?”

I looked at Siha with surprised eyes.

Did he just say ‘hot’?

“Siha. What did you just say?”

“Hot.”

He blinked.

I didn’t mishear him.

The number of words he spoke had increased before I knew it.

“Hyung.”

“Huh? Ah. Yeah. That’s amazing. It’s like a cartoon protagonist. He overcomes a crisis and becomes stronger. Something like that.”

“Ah?”

“It’s nothing. Here. Ah~”

“Ah~”

Siha ate the porridge.

The protruding cheeks were so cute.

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter as long as he’s healthy.

I wasn’t worried that his words weren’t increasing much anymore.

I just want him to grow up healthy.

That’s exactly how I felt.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah. But Siha, we’re going back to the hospital in a little bit.”

“Ah?”

“You know the pretty doctor we saw earlier? We have to go see her one more time.”

He shakes his head.

“Why? You don’t want to?”

Siha raised his index finger and poked his arm.

“Ah, are you scared of shots?”

“Ah ah.”

“You won’t get a shot. She said she’s just going to do a checkup. Maybe?”

Siha nodded and asked for a spoon.

It seemed like it had cooled down a bit, so I thought it would be okay to give it to him.

I should eat some too.

There was too much for Siha to eat all by himself.

Chew chew.

I burst out laughing as I watched him stuff porridge in his mouth until his cheeks were full.

“What. You’re so cute.”

“Woo?”

I picked up my phone and took a picture.

I hope he never gets sick again.

***

Kangin University Hospital. Genetic Analysis Lab.

Song Yena is currently conducting a detailed analysis of genetic factors.

She is pouring all her passion and effort into personal research, and there are many very interesting points.

Even if the research progress is slow, she has no doubt that meaningful research results will come out soon.

As she was looking at the thesis, Song Yena recalled Siha and Si혁, whom she met today.

‘They were unique.’

When she heard from the kindergarten director, she thought Siha was really strange.

She was able to draw some conclusions about that thought through Siha and Si혁’s conversation.

Delayed language development?

The moment Siha said, ‘Cold,’ she had some doubts.

Isn’t it possible that he can speak but isn’t?

That wasn’t impossible, so there was plenty of room for thought.

What gave her confidence was Si혁’s actions.

‘How can you communicate with just ‘ah ah’?’

It was communication that was absurd, even though she saw it with her own eyes.

A mysterious skill to understand everything by sensing it, without even using sign language.

Rather, she was curious as to whether Si혁’s sense was included in some genetic factor.

‘I have a rough idea of what to say.’

Song Yena looked at the time.

The meeting time was approaching.

She could have just worked the night shift and gone to rest, but today was going to be a day that ended with fulfilling the director’s request.

Because she owes the director.

And also because the two were interesting.

“Then…….”

As she saw the machine signal that the base sequence analysis was complete, Song Yena got up from her seat.

“Let’s go.”

She closed her laptop and moved to the Medical Genetics Center.

When she went to the lounge, Si혁 and Siha were talking.

“Siha. Is the cocoa delicious?”

“Ah ah.”

“Coffee contains caffeine. I would say that coffee is essential for office workers? It’s not good for your body, so Siha should drink cocoa even when he grows up.”

“Ah ah. Hyung.”

“Huh? You want Hyung to eat too?”

“Ah ah.”

“I’ll drink it well. Slurp. Wow, it’s delicious.”

“Hyung.”

“Yeah. You spilled some on your hand. I’ll wipe it off for you. Just a moment.”

“Ah ah.”

That was roughly the content.

Song Yena made an absurd expression.

Knock knock.

When she knocked on the wall, the two turned their heads in unison.

“Pfft.”

It was so similar that she laughed.

Who would say they weren’t brothers?

“I’m sorry. I think you’re both too cute.”

“No. We were waiting. Can we go?”

“Yes. Let’s move to my lab first.”

Si혁 and Siha came into the lab and sat down.

The two looked around as if they were curious.

“This is the pretty noona’s lab.”

“Ah ah.”

“Lab. Lab. Now, repeat after me. Lab.”

“Ah ah ah.”

“Is ‘lab’ still difficult to pronounce?”

Song Yena watched the scene for a while before opening her mouth.

“Is Siha’s body okay?”

“There were no problems at all. He eats so well, you know? And he even said ‘hot’ today.”

“Really? When I checked, Siha had a checkup at the pediatrics department here.”

“Ah, really?”

“Yes. So there’s one thing I’m suspecting right now. I wonder if Siha didn’t say it on purpose.”

“On purpose?”

“Yes. Maybe he thinks there’s no need to say it.”

“There’s no need to say it…….”

“Don’t you feel guilty about something?”

“No. Not at all.”

Si혁 said it as if there was nothing wrong.

Song Yena glared at Si혁.

“Maybe he doesn’t feel the need to speak because his brother understands everything. Um. Do you know much about the brain? To put it simply, the brain tries to go the easy way.”

At that time, Si혁 showed a flash of something.

A strange blue light flickered in his eyes. It disappeared quickly, so Song Yena didn’t see it.

Only Siha stared intently at Si혁’s eyes.

“Are you talking about the ‘variability’ of the brain?”

Song Yena looked at Si혁 as if she was surprised.

She felt it at the hospital, but he seemed to have some medical knowledge.

“That’s right. The variability of the brain. For example, let’s say there’s a person who can’t see.”

“Does that mean the part of the brain that controls sight changes to the part that controls hearing? Because the brain judges that using hearing is easier than sight. This is also why it becomes increasingly difficult for patients with locked-in syndrome to regain consciousness.”

[Locked-in syndrome is a condition in which a person is conscious but has paralysis throughout the body.]

A sad disease in which you lie in bed and breathe depending on life support devices.

I never thought he would know even this.

“Are you studying at Kangin Medical School? My junior [someone who attends the same school but is in a lower grade]?”

“No. I’m in the Korean literature department.”

Do Korean literature departments teach medical knowledge these days?

Song Yena was speechless at the name of the department she had never expected.

Si혁 scratched his head as if he was embarrassed by his statement.

In fact, the knowledge he had gained from translating medical papers had surfaced, but Song Yena couldn’t know that.

“Just. I was interested, so I looked it up.”

“Okay. That’s possible.”

Song Yena nodded to some extent and turned her gaze to Siha.

“He’s just staring at his brother’s face.”

“Haha. He’s like this sometimes.”

“He must be bored.”

“Do you have any A4 paper and a pen? I think he’ll be less bored if he’s drawing…….”

“Here you go. Anyway, to put it simply, Siha’s left and right brains are both well activated and came out normal. Of course, Si혁 didn’t bring Siha at that time. That’s what Dr. Park said. So that’s why the doctor’s opinion said to keep an eye on it.”

“Then I’ll have to educate him so that he can speak naturally.”

“Um. I don’t know if you can do it well.”

Looking at what Si혁 was doing to Siha now, she didn’t have much faith.

He was a man who seemed to be endlessly generous to Siha.

A person who seems to accept everything.

“I think he’ll be able to speak well while attending daycare. Because his brother isn’t there.”

“I’m thinking of going occasionally?”

“……”

At that, Song Yena opened her mouth with difficulty.

“Please only go ‘occasionally’. Siha is three years old, so I understand. Those parents. Um.”

Song Yena stopped talking.

“I. I think it’s important for the guardian to still be there a lot.”

She had roughly heard Si혁’s story, so she used the word guardian, which Siha didn’t know yet.

“I think so too.”

“Anyway, I don’t think you need to do any separate tests. If it doesn’t work out, let’s talk again in a month.”

“Okay. Thank you for your concern. If I had known this would happen, I could have gone to see the pediatrician who examined Siha. I wonder if I wasted your time…….”

“No. It was quite fun after a long time. The sight of you running barefoot with your brother in your arms. And the fact that you have strangely high medical knowledge.”

“Haha…. I just said what was in the book.”

“I heard from the nurse that you have considerable knowledge?”

“That’s because I was out of my mind at the time.”

Si혁 smiled innocently.

Song Yena looked at Si혁 and nodded.

The story was roughly over.

When she looked at Siha to finish, Song Yena’s eyes widened.

“Huh?”

The conclusions she had drawn so far were overturned at once, and her mind became quite complicated.

“Si혁. What’s going on?”

“Yes? What is it?”

Following the tip of Song Yena’s finger, Si혁’s eyes were also filled with surprise.

“Huh? What the heck is this…….”

It seemed like Si혁 didn’t know either.

Song Yena looked at Siha’s painting with trembling eyes.

Looking at the picture alone, it was a very simple character drawing.

A penguin was drawn, and it was colored with one color.

But if you said a 3-year-old drew it, would everyone believe it?

Song Yena doesn’t know much about painting, but she knew one thing.

This is a symptom that appears in geniuses.

“Asperger’s syndrome?”