Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 226

The contract was signed in a daze.

From today, I have to take care of Tyrone and make sure he’s comfortable.

The working hours are flexible and not really fixed.

Of course, I leave work at dinner time.

He said he would be considerate enough not to contact me unless there was something to ask or something urgent.

Since the season is over, there are no games, but many players spend time with their families or train individually.

It’s almost time for spring training [a period of practice and conditioning before the regular season].

They come to regain their senses in earnest in January and February, but that doesn’t mean they take a complete break during the off-season.

“Tyrone, please take care of me from today.”

“Wow, I heard about it, but you really came as an interpreter. Make yourself comfortable.”

“Yes, haha.”

“Actually, my family hasn’t been able to go anywhere. The previous interpreter used to take them here and there, but that’s not easy either.”

“I see. But isn’t Tyrone the most dedicated? He came to Korea and just focused on the game.”

“That’s right. Actually, I’m still adjusting. I’m studying Korean hard, but it’s not easy. My wife feels the same way.”

“How about your son and daughter?”

Tyrone shrugged his shoulders.

“Surprisingly, the kids adapt quickly. Playing is their main occupation. The older one is making friends by playing baseball.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Actually, I’m worried about my daughter. She doesn’t have any friends yet. Her mom is her best friend.”

“Oh? Didn’t she go to daycare? Ah! Maybe there are no spots because it’s not the regular enrollment period.”

“It’s not easy. I want to send her to a good place, but when I inquire, they say it’s full.”

“Haha.”

The only place I knew was Gangin Daycare.

But the barrier to getting her in there was too high, so I couldn’t recommend it.

It’s a place that strictly limits the number of children, and welfare is provided for Gangin University personnel.

“Ah! Let’s go inside and say hello. I don’t know what they’re doing outside.”

“Haha. That’s right.”

I went into Tyrone’s house and said hello.

The wife was Emma. The son was Roy. The daughter was Luna.

Roy didn’t seem interested in me and went straight into his room, put on a hat, and went out to play with his friends.

The daughter, Luna, had been with her mother for a long time, so she had a wary look on her face.

I gently bent my knees to meet her eyes.

“Hello, Luna. Actually, I brought you a gift.”

“What is it?”

“This is it.”

I took out a wrapped box from my bag.

Luna grabbed the box and opened it, and egg tarts came out.

“Wow!”

“Do you like egg tarts?”

“Yes!”

“That’s a relief. I was worried about what to do if you didn’t like them.”

“But there are six in there!”

“I bought them for you to eat with your mom. But they’ll taste even better if you eat them with cocoa.”

Actually, coffee is good, but I thought she would like it better with cocoa because she’s a child.

“Cocoa? I don’t have any.”

“I thought so, so I prepared some. Ah, this is not cocoa, it’s hot chocolate.”

“Wow. Thank you. Mom! I want to eat this!”

I guess her wariness has faded a lot.

I think she likes it more because I’m thoughtful and don’t overwhelm her all at once.

The wife also smiles at my actions.

I guess this is a good start?

Even if it’s only for a month, it’s better to get close quickly if I want to take care of them well during that time.

Tyrone said.

“Hmm. That’s unusual.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I think you must have broken a lot of hearts?”

“Yes? Haha. No. Not at all.”

While we were talking, Luna grabbed my hand.

“Let’s eat together!”

“Oh? Should we?”

Tyrone said with suspicious eyes.

“Really? It seems like you’re quite popular.”

“Hey. She’s still a child. Haha. Kids usually like me a lot.”

“Hmm.”

Did you only live being deceived?

I’m not that popular.

If there’s a really handsome person, people from other classes come to find him during school days, but I don’t have that experience.

“Don’t you know yourself well?”

“Korean people are generally polite. Isn’t Korea called the Land of Eastern Etiquette for no reason? But there are actually a lot of people without manners too. This is also a place where people live.”

The wife said with a smile.

“This kind of scene often appears in Korean dramas! Rich people like ordinary people, right? They throw water on them and give them money envelopes to break them up.”

No. Korean dramas are fiction…

Of course, it may actually exist. The world is wide.

***

He helped me with a lot of small things, more than I expected.

He went with me to take care of banking and picked out a list of restaurants that are good for eating out when I’m not there.

He picked out places with picture menus instead of text and gave them to me.

Of course, there were also restaurants with menus written in English.

I looked at Tyrone’s wife.

“I only went to the places that the previous interpreter recommended.”

“Yes. I went to other places, but I have to say it was a bit of a failure.”

“Haha. If it doesn’t suit your taste, that can happen. There may be differences between where locals go and where tourists go.”

“Definitely…”

“Is there anything else that’s uncomfortable?”

“Korean… It’s not easy.”

The only thing to do about that is to keep trying.

It seemed like it would be good to use it as much as possible.

“Is it hard to go to a language school?”

“I have to take care of the kids. I’m just listening to online lectures.”

“Ah, I see. That’s right. Ah! Would you like to go to a study group? International students gather at our university to study and chat.”

“There’s a place like that?”

“Yes, there is. I taught Korean there a bit, and it’s good. It’s easy to get close. Ah, maybe there’s something about being a college student.”

“If it’s okay, can you introduce me? I think it would be good to meet and make friends.”

“Haha. Well, I’ll ask. It’s not difficult.”

Then Luna pulled my hand.

I tilted my head, wondering what was going on.

“I want to make friends too.”

“Oh?”

“Yesterday, my dad said a three-year-old sibling might come.”

“Ah! I think he was talking about my younger sibling. Her name is Siha. Siha.”

“Siha!”

“It’s written like this in Korean.”

“Wow! It’s cute. The letters are cute. Especially this part. It looks like you’re wearing a hat.”

She really liked the shape of the “hieut” [ㅎ] because it looked like a person’s face wearing a hat.

Foreigners find this kind of shape cute.

I had never thought that “hieut” was cute because it was wearing a hat.

It was fun to notice these differences when talking.

I’m glad I entrusted this job to you.

“Um. Just a moment.”

I wanted to do something for the parents who were worried about Luna, who didn’t have any friends.

Even if I can’t get her into Gangin Daycare, can’t she play with them sometimes?

I called teacher Yoo Da-hee to ask about that.

“Hello!”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“Yes, Si-hyuk! What’s going on?”

“Can I bring a five-year-old girl over sometime? She’s American and doesn’t have any friends, so I thought it would be good for her to play with the kids.”

“Ah~ really?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Si-hyuk has helped us a lot. You can bring her.”

“Really? Is that okay?”

“Hey. What’s the problem with kids playing? The director next to me is also listening and giving me the okay sign.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Then I heard the teacher’s flustered voice.

“Agh. Siha. Don’t pull on my socks. Huh? You want me to switch to your brother? No. How did you know? Ah, I said Si-hyuk. What? You heard the voice? You have great ears? I’m sure it was far away…”

I laughed at the voice.

Siha answered the phone.

“Hyung!”

Always a bright and healthy voice.

It made me smile just listening to it.

“Yes, Siha. It’s hyung.”

“Hyung!”

“Yes. It’s hyung.”

“Hyung!”

Why do you keep calling me?

“Siha. You have to put the phone to your ear. How can you talk like it’s in speaker mode?”

“No. Face comes out. Face.”

“That’s a video call?”

“Hyung!!”

“Ah, you’re so funny. Siha. I’ll go there, so wait a little bit. Okay?”

“Really?”

“Really. I’ll take a new friend with me.”

“Siha Ara. Sister. Sister.”

“Oh! You’re smart?”

I guess she remembers what I said yesterday.

“Siha ten three come?”

“No. You have to count higher than that to go. It takes about thirty minutes.”

“Ah ah. Thirty minutes.”

“Do you know thirty minutes?”

“Siha Ara. Clock. Clock. Ear one, face one is.”

“Huh?”

I thought about what she meant.

30 minutes on the clock. When you look at the number, 3 looks like an ear. 0 is a face.

The expression is very creative.

Anyway, you know 30 minutes?

“One. Two. Three. Four. Five.”

But. Siha. Counting like that is 30 seconds…

It’s not human if you get here in 30 seconds.

“I’ll be there soon.”

“Ah ah!”

I ended the call and looked at Luna to tell her this good news.

But why do you all have that expression?

“Wow…”

“That’s the expression you get when you’re dealing with your younger sibling.”

“I know. Haha. It was full of affection.”

I touched my cheek.

“Did I?”

***

-Daycare.

The teacher thought it was a good opportunity for a foreign girl to come.

Anyway, what’s the big deal about one young child coming to play?

And I thought it might be good for the children to meet people living in other countries.

People say going on a trip abroad broadens your horizons.

In fact, the teacher both agrees and disagrees with that.

It’s meaningless just to go sightseeing.

The moment people meet, talk, build friendships, and feel the difference in culture, that’s when there is growth.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that tourism doesn’t offer growth.

Seeing and feeling is different for each person.

The important thing is the opportunity.

“Ahem. Everyone knows that what we’re learning is Korean, right?”

“Yes!”

“But a fun friend is coming to play today. That friend speaks English. How about it? Do you know what English is?”

At the teacher’s words, Jong-soo raised his hand.

“Me! Me!”

“Yes, Jong-soo.”

“I studied English a lot. I have to memorize words. Words!”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Words!

It was so sad that he had already realized such a sad fact.

But it wasn’t wrong.

Culture is embedded in the English language, and there are so many nouns.

It might be right to say that they value it.

One object. Respect for the individual. Individualism.

It’s something you can understand even more if you’re immersed in an English-speaking culture.

“Anyone else know?”

Jae-hui raised his hand.

“Maker. If you say it in English, it’s cool.”

“Oh? Well, that could be.”

This time, Eun-woo got up from his seat.

“English is good for matching rhyme and flow!”

“Oh, that’s right. There is rhyme.”

There are so many different answers about English.

Yoon-dong was staring blankly at the ceiling as if he wasn’t interested.

Hana and Seung-joon were sticking together and discussing what kind of child would come.

Siha was sticking out his stomach and being proud.

Hey. Siha. What are you so proud of?

“Hyung. Good at English.”

“Ah, that’s right. Hyung is very good. He also works as an interpreter.”

“Ah ah. Hyung red. Hyung. Pababak! Said. Everyone surprised.”

“That’s amazing. You’re doing Pababak.”

“Ah ah.”

The teacher suddenly felt confused.

Oh? Why did it suddenly become like this? What was I trying to say?

“Ah! A friend who speaks English is coming, so be friendly! A very pretty five-year-old sister is coming.”

In fact, the teacher didn’t know if she was pretty.

Then I heard Lee Si-hyuk calling the teacher.

Siha perked up his ears and stood up.

He ran to where Hyung was.

“Hyung… ah?”

Si-hyuk was holding Luna’s hand and coming in. It looked friendly to be talking in English.

Siha’s eyes were shaking.

“Hyung!”

Siha stuck to Si-hyuk’s leg.

He gave Luna a wary look.

“Hyung. Mine.”

“???”

He said it one more time because he couldn’t understand. With the only word he knew.

“Hyung. Get.”

“!!!”

For reference, Hyung is not English.