Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 178

“Hyung, aren’t I cute?”

We returned home and parted ways with Baek Dong-hwan.

It was already 5 PM, so I decided to call Alisa since I had a favor to ask.

“Oh! Hello.”

「Yes, Si-hyuk.」

“Have you had dinner yet?”

「Not yet. I was working on a design at Parang Mall, and time just flew by.」

“Working on a Sunday?”

「Yeah. Usually, after school, I’m busy packing and don’t have time for assignments or new projects. So, I’m sacrificing my weekends.」

“Aren’t you going to burn out? Take it easy.”

Alisa seems to live so diligently.

Well, she’s in the middle of a busy period, and juggling studies with work isn’t easy.

I’m also balancing studies, work, and childcare.

But it’s manageable if I reduce my study time.

Especially since Siha goes to daycare.

Alisa suddenly said something as if she remembered something.

「Ah! I know what this is about!」

“Suddenly?!”

「Look who’s talking!」

“Hahaha.”

「Is this the right expression to use?」

“Yes. I’m not in a position to talk either. Hahaha. Should I head over to Parang Mall? Let’s have dinner together.”

「Okay, then. Let’s eat something Siha likes.」

“Got it. I’ll head over there.”

I hung up and looked at Siha.

He was already taking things out of his penguin carrier.

Items scattered all over the floor.

It’ll take forever to clean this up.

“Siha, are you going to clean up?”

“Hyung. Siha clean. Toy.”

“Yeah. You need to put them in the toy box. You know?”

“Siha know.”

Okay, he knows. But why does he take everything out before cleaning?

Why can’t he take it out of the carrier and put it directly into the toy box?

I wondered, but Siha was busy taking out toys with a serious expression.

“Siha, let’s clean up later and have dinner with Alisa. We need to ask about the Pepe bag too.”

“Ah! Lisa!”

“Yeah. And ask how the pop-up book is doing. How about it? Good?”

“Ah.”

Siha grabbed his tablet bag and a hippo chocolate and headed to the front door.

Pepe must be more important than cleaning up.

I turned my gaze away from the messy floor.

I’ll clean it up, right? Hmm. Let’s leave it to future me.

Siha will help diligently too.

Whether it’s really helpful is another matter.

The thought is what counts! The thought!

“Shall we go, then?”

“Ah. Siha car!”

“Haha. We need to check if Siha’s car is doing well too.”

We went outside, and Siha ran towards his red car.

Siha’s car, which I hadn’t seen in a while, was parked well.

“Ah. Gone. Come. Good?”

He was patting the car door and talking, which was so cute.

Anyone would think it’s a pet.

“Okay. Mr. Siha. Please get in the back seat.”

“Ah.”

I opened the door, and he slipped right in.

I fastened his seatbelt, and I sat in the driver’s seat and started driving.

“Siha, what do you want to eat?”

“Hyung. What eat?”

“I asked you. Hmm. Hard to decide?”

Siha couldn’t speak for a while as if he was pondering.

Well, choosing a dinner menu isn’t easy.

It’s been a while since I came to Korea, so I should eat Korean food. Korea is all about rice.

“Siha, how about grilled mackerel?”

“No. Siha meat eat.”

“Ah. Really? Then let’s eat meat.”

Korea is all about meat! Meat is the best.

Siha seems to know that already.

“Then shall we eat Tteokgalbi [grilled short rib patties]? Tteokgalbi?”

“Tteok?”

“No. Not tteok [rice cake], galbi [rib].”

“Tteokguk [rice cake soup]!”

“That’s the tteok from tteokguk. But they don’t serve tteokguk. Let’s go eat tteokgalbi.”

“Ah.”

So, we met Alisa and headed to a tteokgalbi restaurant.

***

Alisa’s face looked gaunt after not seeing her for a while.

People can become like this when they’re busy with work.

“Alisa, you look so tired.”

“I stayed up all night working yesterday.”

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“If I sleep now, I’ll wake up in the early morning, so I have to endure it.”

“That’s true. Eat a lot of tteokgalbi today. Your cheeks are sunken.”

Siha also looked at Alisa’s face intently as if he was worried and said.

“Lisa. Okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“Lisa. Go hospital. Hospital.”

“It’s not to the point where I need to go to the hospital. I’ll be fine if I get enough sleep.”

“Lisa. Jomby [zombie]. Jomby.”

“T, that’s how bad my face looks?!”

“Ah. Jomby. College student. Jomby.”

Our Siha has a good memory?

This is too sad of a story, so let’s stop here.

I asked Alisa while the side dishes were coming out.

“By the way, Alisa. How’s Siha’s pop-up book doing?”

“Ah! That was on the website as an event. We received applications in advance, and it’s already sold out on a first-come, first-served basis. There are none left.”

“Wow. So, they’re all gone?”

“That’s right. I was busy for a while because of that. The clothes were also popular, so there were many orders. The problem is……”

“There’s a problem?”

Alisa nodded seriously.

What could it be?

“People are making a fuss asking if we’re not doing another pop-up book event. But what can I do when there aren’t any?”

“It was more popular than I thought?”

“I know, right? It was just a simple event, but people who didn’t get in on the first-come, first-served basis are making a fuss in the comments.”

This was a bit unexpected.

I didn’t think it would be this popular.

Still, it’s a good thing, I guess.

“You don’t have any plans to reprint it, do you?”

“I don’t have any plans to reprint it. It was hard enough selling this, how can I do it again?”

“Isn’t it cheaper from the second printing?”

“That’s true, but I don’t really want to. It’s not like a thousand people are buying it.”

“That’s true.”

“But we could release a version 2 next time.”

“Please come to me then.”

“Hahaha. Alisa has become a salesperson. Then can I ask you for a favor too?”

Actually, I felt bad asking her since she looked so tired.

I hesitated to speak, but Alisa said it was okay and urged me to hurry.

“Um. Actually, I received a Wi-Pad and a bag. The bag Siha carries around, you know?”

“Yes. I see it. I was wondering what it was since he was holding it in his arms, but it was a pad?”

“I was thinking of buying a different bag than this one and putting the Pepe character on it. Because Siha wants that.”

“Wow! That’s a great idea! It wouldn’t be too difficult to do either.”

Just in time, the tteokgalbi came out.

I cut it up and put it in Siha’s mouth.

Chew, chew.

He wiggled his legs as if it was delicious.

“Mashissta [delicious].”

“It’s super delicious, right? This place is delicious.”

“Ah. Lisa. Eat. Mashissta.”

“Yeah, Siha. I’ll eat.”

“Ah. This. This eat.”

Siha slid a hippo chocolate towards Alisa.

“What’s this?”

“Lisa gift.”

I said it was a souvenir gift from my trip to Singapore.

Alisa laughed, thanking me.

That was only for a moment.

Alisa was deep in thought while eating tteokgalbi.

Then, she moved the tteokgalbi behind her neck.

“Ah! How about selling the pad bag? Make it as the second event.”

“Huh? The pad bag?”

“Yes. Actually, a lot of moms carry tablet PCs these days. Cute bags will sell well too.”

“Haha. No way.”

“First, do a first-come, first-served event like this time, and then decide whether to sell it based on the response. How about it?”

“Well, that’s not bad? But if that’s the case, I wonder if we should use Siha’s character?”

“What are you talking about? Of course, we have to use Siha’s character. It’s not like all the emoticons released by K company become merchandise. And I’ve already talked to them about it.”

“Ah, really?”

“Yes. Hey, Siha.”

Alisa looked at Siha with sparkling eyes.

Siha was engrossed in tteokgalbi and answered without looking.

“Ah.”

“Draw a Pepe picture that you like and send it to me. Got it?”

“Ah. Pepe.”

“If you send that to me, I’ll engrave it on the bag.”

“Pepe. Meat eat.”

Maybe he’ll draw Pepe eating meat.

Somehow, things have gotten bigger while talking.

This feeling. It’s very familiar?

Well, I don’t know what will happen, but it’ll be good for me if it goes well.

“We need to rewrite the Sihapepe artist contract.”

“Of course. But aren’t you releasing any more emoticons?”

“When Siha finishes drawing them. This time, with moving emoticons.”

“Wow! Moving emoticons! Does Siha know how to draw those too?”

“Ah, yes. Well.”

Back then, after the Si drawing contest, there were only a few people who knew who drew the moving characters.

Well, only those who saw it believe it, and others won’t believe it even if you tell them.

“Then we can prepare the quantity accordingly.”

“I don’t know when it will be completed. I don’t know when it will be released either.”

“We don’t know when the quantity will be prepared either. Because we’re going to do handmade work.”

“The bags?”

“That’s how the cost is cheaper. It doesn’t matter since we’re going to make it as a limited edition.”

“Um. Aren’t you busy making clothes?”

“Clothes are made in the factory. What? We’re only busy with the design.”

“Shouldn’t you hire more staff?”

I asked while putting rice in my mouth.

Alisa avoided my eyes.

“I need to hire them for now. There’s a lot of work these days.”

“I knew it.”

I feel good seeing the early members doing well.

At that time, a text message came from a Garam Semiconductor employee.

[We will deposit the 50 million won, which is the amount specified in the special contract, into your account together on the 25th of this month. Thank you for your understanding.]

I swallowed hard while looking at my phone.

“Alisa. Eat as much as you want if there’s anything you want to eat. I think I can handle Alisa’s appetite today.”

“Really?! I thought ordering 4 servings of tteokgalbi was too little.”

She ate 2 servings by herself and said it wasn’t enough…….

“Hyung. Siha too!”

“Huh? Siha wants to eat more too?”

“Ah. Mashissta.”

I guess you eat well when you eat with someone who eats well.

“Let’s each order a cider too.”

“Wow! Aren’t you overdoing it today?”

“Haha. I made that much money.”

Today is a tteokgalbi and cider flex.

We ate food aggressively for the first time in a while.

***

The next day.

Siha was putting a lot of snacks in his penguin bag.

Even after the cleaning war yesterday, there are snacks scattered on the floor.

He struggled to put the hippo chocolate in the bag, but it didn’t fit, so he called me.

“Hyung~”

“Yeah. Siha. Why? Doesn’t it fit?”

“Ah. Gift.”

“If the gift doesn’t fit, let’s put it in a separate bag.”

“No. Ta-da. Do. Siha ta-da. Do [Siha will do a surprise].”

“It’s good to show it as a surprise, but the penguin can’t fit it all, so there’s no choice.”

Siha thought hard about that and put four snacks in and closed the zipper.

It’s a relief that at least four fit.

“Let’s put the rest in a bag. Got it?”

“Ah.”

So, we put it in a paper bag and left the house.

There was a place to stop by before going to daycare.

Right, to Moon Do-hwan.

“Moondo!”

Siha ran and waved his hand.

He must be happy to see him after a long time.

Moon Do-hwan also smiled warmly at Siha.

“Oh. Yeah. Welcome. Siha.”

“Moondo gift!”

“Huh? A gift? I didn’t prepare a gift?”

“No. Siha. Moondo. Gift give [Siha gives gift to Moondo].”

“Siha to me?”

“Ah.”

Siha took out the hippo chocolate from his bag and gave it to him.

Moon Do-hwan looked at Siha with an impressed expression.

“Hyung. Siha bought it after going to Singapore.”

“Wow. I’m touched.”

“Siha bought that with the money he earned, so eat it preciously.”

“I really should. Siha. Thank you.”

“Ah. Thank you~”

“No. Why are you saying thank you?”

That’s right. It’s funny at times like this.

Moon Do-hwan was so curious that he tore open the chocolate.

“Oh. Looks delicious.”

He puts it in his mouth and makes a satisfied expression.

I guess it’s an expression to show Siha.

“Moondo mashissta [Moondo, is it delicious]?”

“It’s really delicious.”

The moment it was expressed so exaggeratedly, the employees inside took Moon Do-hwan’s chocolate one by one.

“I’ll enjoy it!”

“Dohwan. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Oh my. Siha really chose well.”

“This chocolate is really sweet.”

Moon Do-hwan looked at the employees in embarrassment.

“No. Why are you taking it!”

At that, Siha said.

“Moondo. Friend. Share eat!”

It was something a daycare teacher would say.

Did he learn it there?

Moon Do-hwan made an unfair expression.

“Did I do something wrong?!”

“Hyung did something wrong. Adults should set an example.”

Anyway, Moondo. No, Moon Do-hwan did something wrong.

Yes! That’s right.

Seeing Moon Do-hwan, I finally felt like I was really back in Korea.

“Siha. Let’s go give chocolate to the kids at daycare.”

“Ah.”

Leaving behind the aggrieved Moon Do-hwan, we headed to daycare.