Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 175

The warm sunlight streamed in.

The sweltering heat outside the glass walls threatened to begin. It was dawn, that brief, bearable time before the black tar on the asphalt turned sticky underfoot.

Marathon runners pounded the road, and as if keeping pace, tropical birds announced the Singaporean morning with their boisterous cries.

Yeah, right. I wasn’t exactly soaking in the ‘Singaporean morning vibes.’

Because instead of those cries, I was jolted awake by a single, repeating song.

[Maria, you see.]

That damn Maria song—or whatever strange earworm it was—was hammering at my consciousness, demanding I wake up.

I’d forgotten to turn it off last night and slept with it looping.

The volume wasn’t even that loud, just subtly audible… like hell it was.

Instead of feeling the wonderful morning in Singapore, my head was throbbing from the repeating lyrics.

Groggily, I reached over and killed the music.

“Koo-”

Siha’s soft breathing was the only sound beside me.

He must have had a blast yesterday because he was showing zero signs of waking up.

A glance at the clock showed it was around 5 AM.

The weather was perfect for venturing out. This brief respite before the full force of summer hit.

Still, Korean summers were no joke either, so this was fine.

“Hmm.”

Today’s agenda: have fun, then fly back to Korea tomorrow morning.

The planned destinations were all places Siha would enjoy.

As for me, I was happy anywhere as long as I was with Siha.

“Hyung?”

“Yeah. Are you awake?”

Siha rubbed the sleep from his eyes and blinked awake.

His hair was sticking up in a comical bird’s nest on one side of his head, which was ridiculously cute.

“Hyung. Maria. Ten times. Ten times.”

“Oh! Maria played ten times?”

“Ah ah.”

Siha, bless his heart, was trying to get the answer right as soon as he woke up.

I hadn’t even thought about counting.

But what *was* the real answer? I had no clue, not having kept track.

“Siha, let’s shower, eat breakfast, and then go see some plants.”

“Plants?”

“Yeah. Let’s go look at green trees. They’re so big, Siha will love them, right?”

“So big?”

“Yeah. We’re going to see something really, really big.”

Kids really do love big things.

The first stop was Cloud Forest and Flower Dome.

I’d seen online that kids tended to be captivated by it.

Plus, it was conveniently close to the hotel.

“There’s even a baobab tree there. You know, the baobab tree from *The Little Prince*?”

“Ah? Prince?”

“Ah. Haven’t you read that one yet?”

Siha’s eyes lit up.

He scrambled off the bed and clung to my leg.

He gazed up at me with those sparkling eyes.

“Hyung. Book! Book!”

“Ahahaha. You want me to read you a book?”

“Ah ah.”

“No. Reading a book on a trip is a little…”

“No. Fun.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll read you a little bit, just enough to know what a baobab tree is.”

“Ah ah.”

Fortunately, the baobab tree appeared early in the story.

I scooped Siha up in my arms and went back to bed.

I pulled out my phone and opened *The Little Prince* picture book. These days, they’re really well-made for storytelling to kids.

“The Little Prince lived on a small planet. There, he worked hard to pull out the roots of the baobab tree.”

Siha asked, “Why?”

“Because it’s in the next picture. The baobab tree is so big that if you don’t pull it out every day, the planet will be eaten. It’s huge, right?”

“Ah ah. Big!”

“But then a red rose appeared on the planet and beat up the baobab trees. Huh? Why is this story like this? This is why you shouldn’t trust bloggers.”

“Ah ah! Hyung! Red rose!”

Siha was completely fixated on the red rose.

I was a little embarrassed by the addition of a red rose that was so different from the original.

No, roses *do* appear, but they don’t beat up the baobab trees, right?

I was in trouble for trusting a strange blogger.

A blog called ‘Strong’? Where did *that* name come from?

While I was racking my brain, Siha tugged on my sleeve.

“Um. Shall we read something else instead?”

“No.”

“Okay. So the two of them lived together, but one day they had a big fight. The Little Prince was angry and went on a trip. UFO round trip 3 nights 4 days course. Why is this like this?”

“Ah ah. Hyung.”

“Yeah. I know. So the Little Prince traveled the stars and saw many roses. But none were as special as the red rose. Because the red rose was already the Little Prince’s friend.”

“Friend!”

“So the Little Prince returned to his planet. But there was no red rose there. Leaving only one letter.”

“Why?”

“Well? Why is that? Let’s read the next one. The letter said this: ‘The FA [Free Agent] market has opened, and I’m going to another planet. Let’s have a voice chat later.’ Voice chat app [Red Pairing].”

The story ended there, with a voice chat app download link at the bottom.

Wait a minute. Was this whole thing just an advertisement?

Ugh. Do blogs get sponsored like this these days?

“Hyung?”

“Huh? Yeah. The story ends here. Anyway, you know the baobab tree is huge, right?”

“Ah ah! Red strong!”

“Hahaha. Red is strong after all. Even if you get hurt, you can revive. Anyway, we’re going to see the baobab tree. There’s a baobab tree there.”

“Ah? Ah ah!”

Siha wriggled out of my arms and hopped off the bed.

He dashed to the chair and grabbed his red hat.

“Hyung. Siha red.”

Siha plopped the Singapore hat on his head.

It seemed he had transformed into Red.

The hat was so big it completely covered his face.

“Siha. Strong. Siha beat rice tree.”

“It’s not a rice tree, it’s a baobab tree.”

“Ah ah. Rice tree.”

“Let’s shorten the hat first. If we make it smaller, it might fit.”

Today, Siha was Red.

***

Baek Donghwan, Siha, and I left the hotel.

Siha was immediately taken aback by the sweltering heat, so different from the cool interior, and retreated back inside.

“Siha. You have to come out.”

“No. Siha later~”

“Puh. Where did you learn to say that? Come on. I knew you’d do that, so I called a taxi.”

“Ah ah.”

Only then did Siha emerge.

He must have been really hot because he stared at the hotel’s glass window and stretched out his hands.

It was as if he was trying to shatter the window and pull the cool air out to himself.

“Even if it breaks like that, it won’t be cool. Well, it might be cool at first.”

“Not cool?”

“Yeah. Not cool.”

“Why?”

“Um. It’s because it’s so hot here that the cold wind quickly becomes warm.”

“Siha. Red.”

“Even Red can’t stand the heat.”

Siha made a shocked face at those words.

His expression seemed to say, ‘My Red wouldn’t do that…’

He glanced at the red hat dangling on his butt.

I tried to put it on his head, but it was still too big, even after shortening it.

So, I hung it on Siha’s waist.

The hat swayed jauntily on one side of his rear.

“Oh? The taxi’s here. Let’s go.”

“Ah ah.”

Actually, it was only a 30-minute walk, but I called a taxi for Siha, who was clearly struggling with the heat.

Still, I was grateful that taxis were relatively cheap here.

“Hyung-nim. Get in.”

Baek Donghwan opened the back door.

Perhaps because he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, his muscles looked even more prominent.

“Thanks. You really do look like a bodyguard.”

“Hahaha. I will protect you two today.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

We piled into the taxi and headed to Cloud Forest.

We got out and went inside, and the first thing we saw was an artificial waterfall.

A magnificent waterfall harmonized with lush green plants.

I immediately felt cooler.

“Hyung! What’s that?”

“It’s a waterfall. Waterfall.”

“Waterpaw?”

“Not Waterpaw, waterfall. Water falls from such a high place, right?”

“Ah ah. Water fall~”

Siha was thrilled and watched the waterfall for a long time before moving on.

I also could have watched it for hours.

Passing through those strangely shaped green structures, we finally found a baobab tree.

“Siha. That’s really big, right? That’s a baobab tree.”

“Ah? Rice tree! Siha protect hyung!”

Siha grabbed the red hat on his butt.

I was curious how he planned to protect me, so I asked.

“Siha. How are you going to protect me?”

“Siha red. Fight.”

“Oh! Siha is good at fighting?”

“No. Siha can’t.”

He was always honest about things like this.

Siha couldn’t fight. He’d never been in a fight in his life.

“Then how are you going to protect me?”

“Siha. Red. Siha attack. Do. Baek Dong go fight.”

“Ah. Donghwan-ah. Siha is telling you to fight?”

“Yes?”

Siha was a genius.

A commander doesn’t lead the charge on the battlefield.

You, with the bulging muscles, go fight instead. Donghwan-ah.

Baek Donghwan threw a punch in the air to match Siha’s words.

“How is it? Am I good at fighting?”

“Baek Dong. Rice tree big. Baek Dong lose.”

“…….”

That’s right. No matter how skilled you are, it’s a disadvantage if you’re outmatched in size.

That baobab tree was so massive that even Baek Donghwan would lose.

Was Siha a genius? Did he already grasp the importance of physical stature?

“Hyung. Escape. With Siha.”

“Haha. Donghwan-ah, buy us time to escape.”

Baek Donghwan made a sad face.

“No. Siha. Aren’t you being too much?”

“Okay. Okay.”

“I’m not okay?”

We joked around like that and spent time observing the trees and plants.

This place, enclosed in a glass dome, was truly pleasant, and the green foliage was soothing to the eyes.

Most Singapore tours were enjoyable inside these glass walls.

Of course, once you got used to the weather, the outside wasn’t so bad either.

Many people avoided the scorching afternoon heat and strolled around at night or early in the morning.

“Siha. Now it’s Flower Dome.”

“Ah ah. Flower? What?”

“It means flower. The glass wall above is round, right? Like a shield in a cartoon. That’s called a dome.”

“Ah ah. Dome.”

The Flower Dome was truly filled with things that kids would love.

From the cute arrangements to the miniature houses, everything seemed to have popped out of a fairy tale.

In particular, there was a windmill that practically begged to be photographed.

We had a wonderful time making memories and then grabbed some lunch.

***

Afternoon.

This was another stop specifically for Siha.

The ArtScience Museum.

It entertained children with various technological displays.

The digital art was a feast for the eyes.

Fruits were drawn on the slide, and when the children slid down and passed over the pictures, they burst open.

Was this what it felt like to be showered in fruit juice?

“Ah ah! Hyung!”

Siha was having a blast.

When we went inside, thick, straw-sized glass strands hung from the ceiling to the floor.

With light shining through them, it felt like walking through the Milky Way.

Siha couldn’t tear his eyes away from the dazzling lights.

As we neared the exit, he started to look dejected.

He was about to turn around, so I stopped him.

“Siha. Look over there.”

The amazing thing was that this wasn’t the end.

There was a desk in front of a large screen, with tablets attached to it.

The children were all drawing on them.

“Oh. Siha. It looks like the picture you draw here appears on that big screen.”

“Ah?”

Various pictures drawn by the children floated onto the screen and began to move.

It seemed that if you drew a picture here and submitted the file, it would be displayed on the screen.

No wonder children loved this place.

“Do you want to try it, Siha?”

“Ah ah!”

Siha eagerly sat down.

As expected, Siha loved to draw.

“Hyung-nim. There are some conditions written in English. It looks like an event.”

“I see. It says to send this picture by email when you submit it. One picture per child.”

“They’re giving away a tablet through a lottery. Oh! It’s only until today? I should draw next to you and participate.”

“I’m going to submit Siha’s picture.”

“I knew you would say that, Hyung-nim. Let’s see. What are you drawing?”

Baek Donghwan was drawing intently next to Siha.

Siha also sat down, thought for a moment, and then grabbed the stylus as if he had a brilliant idea.

You don’t have to be so serious about it.

“Ah ah. Hyung. Rice tree.”

“Are you going to draw a baobab tree?”

“Ah ah.”

Siha’s hand confidently sketched a tree.

But it was drawn as an SD [Super Deformed] character.

Brown hair sticking up, with sparse leaves at the ends.

Boasting a thick waist and drawing hands and feet.

In some ways, it looked like a radish from a commercial.

“All done!”

“Oh! Let’s see. Wow. You drew it really well. But it’s not scary at all, it’s cute?”

“Ah? No. Scary.”

Siha corrected me.

I don’t know where he learned it, but there was a cross mark on the face of the baobab tree character.

Why was that? Was it supposed to represent anger?

“Puh. Is it scary when you’re angry?”

“Ah ah. Scary.”

Anyway, it was undeniably cute.

“I hope this tablet gets chosen. Right?”

“Ah ah.”

“You’ll be selected in the lottery. It’s a sure thing.”

“Ah ah! Pad!”

The latest tablet.

I really hoped Siha’s picture would win.

Just then.

Thud. Someone bumped into my shoulder.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It happens.”

As he walked past, I caught a glimpse of a memo on his phone.

[Pad must be won***]

Seeing the three stars, it seemed that person really wanted to win too.

I smiled and resubmitted the email.

Please be selected. I’m five stars.