Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 24

Am I Cute, Hyung? – Chapter 24 (24/500)

-Friday. Gangin Kindergarten.

We received permission from all the parents.

We also found volunteers; it was Si-hyuk’s team from the discussion [likely referring to a university study group or club].

When I asked if they could volunteer, they all readily agreed.

This will allow us to pay more attention to the kids.

I felt like I could take good care of Siha too.

“Hyung!”

“Yeah, okay, Siha. Today, we’re going strawberry picking. Strawberry. Strawberry.”

“Pick.”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

Seo Soo-hyun, who was next to me, said,

“Siha, college students love strawberries too. Strawberries are great. Strawberries are great. Strawberry. Strawberry. Strawberry. Strawberry. Whew!”

“What on earth are you teaching Siha?”

“Sometimes, you need to learn things early in life, don’t you think? Why? It’s a fun game.”

It’s a pretty fun game in its own way.

If it weren’t used so often in drinking games.

“These days, they say ‘Ddu-wal-gi’ for strawberry.”

“What ‘wal-gi’?”

“‘Ddu-wal-gi.’ It’s two beats [referring to the rhythm or syllables of the word].”

“Siha, you don’t need to know things like that yet, okay?”

“Ah-ah.”

Seo Soo-hyun muttered next to me, “It’s fun, though.”

Even so, there’s no way Siha, who can’t even say ‘strawberry’ properly yet, could play that game.

Or maybe he can, since Siha is a genius.

“Okay, everyone, please get on the bus.”

We boarded the kindergarten bus.

There weren’t many people, so there were plenty of seats.

Seung-joon said,

“Siha, let’s sit together!”

“Hana too, Hana too. With Siha! With oppa [older brother or male friend]!”

“Hyung.”

Siha wanted to sit with me.

I couldn’t help it.

“Then shall we sit in the back?”

Everyone scurried to the back.

Hana, me, Siha, Seung-joon.

The four of us sat together.

I thought Hana might be unhappy, but she actually liked sitting next to me.

She tickled the back of my hand and gave me a bright smile.

What is this? Does she perhaps like me?

It would be an honor to become that famous first love oppa [a common trope in Korean dramas and stories].

I snapped out of it and fastened the kids’ seatbelts.

“Okay, you have to fasten your seatbelts properly like this so it’s not dangerous later. Got it?”

“Ah-ah.”

“Ahaha, it tickles!”

“Si-hyuk oppa [term of endearment for an older male], Hana too. Hana too.”

Okay, okay.

Taking care of three kids is hectic.

Seo Soo-hyun, who should be helping, was taking pictures of this.

“Help me.”

“Just taking this one. All that’s left are pictures, you know.”

I agree with that.

I don’t have many pictures from when I was young, so I want to take a lot so that Siha can have memories.

“Then take pictures of the kids, not me.”

“I’m doing that without you having to tell me.”

“Don’t take selfies. It’s a waste of storage.”

“You’re so mean. Really. My SD card is overflowing, you know?”

Once everything was ready, we set off for the strawberry farm.

I wanted to look at the cool, stretching road, but my eyes were always on the kids.

Because I know that the kids always get hurt if I take my eyes off them.

I also received prior training from the kindergarten teacher.

The thing they kept emphasizing was not to take your eyes off the kids.

If you just stick to that, you’re 90 percent there.

“Siha, it’s zooming outside.”

“Ah-ah.”

Seung-joon, who was next to me, said,

“I have a car at home! My dad bought it for me!”

“Hana has a magic wand!”

“Ah-ah. Pepe!”

Yeah, Siha. Sorry. Pepe isn’t at home.

What Siha said was probably a Pepe picture.

Ding.

Then my phone rang.

‘Heart from Siha.’

I uploaded Siha’s emperor penguin drawing to Pixiv [an online community for artists].

Nickname is Siha.Pepe.

I named it that for Siha, who likes penguins.

‘Let’s see.’

The emperor penguin drawing that Siha drew had 10 hearts [likes or favorites].

That’s a lot for the first upload.

I wrote the text in English under the picture, but everyone probably used a translator to read it.

There were also a few comments.

-So cute!

-Fat penguin lol

-Pya Pya! [onomatopoeia for a bird sound]

I showed Siha the hearts on the picture.

“Siha, look. There are 10 hearts on the picture.”

“Ah-ah?”

Siha grabbed the phone and looked at it seriously.

Does he know what he’s looking at?

Seung-joon said,

“Siha, what’s that?”

“Ah-ah. Pepe.”

I told Seung-joon.

“It’s Pepe that Siha drew.”

“Wow! It’s real. Puhaha! It’s fat!”

“Hana too. Hana too.”

I handed the phone to Hana to show her too.

“It’s fat! It’s fat!”

“Oppa, I want to see too?”

“Buy me lunch outside of school.”

“You’re so mean! Siha, hyung [older brother] is bullying noona [older sister].”

Siha looked up at me.

I showed him a beaming face.

“Hyung~”

Siha put his hand on top of mine.

Siha was already on my side.

Seo Soo-hyun had a disappointed expression.

***

We arrived at the strawberry farm.

As we got off the bus, Hong Jin-soo waved and greeted us.

Next to him was a man with tanned skin who looked to be in his 50s.

Martial arts writer Song Taek-soo.

I hadn’t been introduced to him, but I just knew.

The protagonist in the novel had a sharp atmosphere, but Song Taek-soo had a gentle face.

It felt like a mountain.

In some ways, he felt like a Go [a strategic board game] player.

‘I was nervous that he might look scary…….’

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be the case.

“Hello. Siha, you have to say hello. He’s the owner of the strawberry farm.”

“Ah-nyung [baby talk for hello].”

“Hello.”

Siha bowed his head.

A gentle smile flowed across Song Taek-soo’s lips.

As expected, Siha has an excellent ability to melt people’s hearts.

Hong Jin-soo said,

“Teacher, this is Si-hyuk and this child is Siha.”

“I know just by looking. Nice to meet you. I’m Song Taek-soo.”

I shook Song Taek-soo’s hand.

It was very hard, as if it had calluses.

I vaguely felt the traces of years of farming.

“Then teachers and children, follow me.”

We followed Song Taek-soo.

I held Siha in one hand and Hana in the other.

Siha also held Seung-joon’s hand.

“If the four of us hold hands like this, we won’t fall anywhere, right?”

“Ah-ah.”

“Si-hyuk hyung. Strawberries quickly!”

“Hana wants to eat strawberries too!”

We soon arrived at the greenhouse.

The pots were placed low enough for the children to pick with their hands.

Red strawberries hanging in bunches.

What looked even prettier in it were the five white petals and yellow stamens.

“Siha, that’s a strawberry flower. It’s pretty.”

“Ah-ah!”

Siha shrugged his shoulders as if he liked it too.

Song Taek-soo said,

“You can put them in these baskets.”

There were very small baskets that the kids could hold.

The handle part was big enough to put on the kids’ arms.

“Teacher.”

“What is it?”

“Is it okay to give strawberries away for free like this? I saw earlier that they charge for the experience and also for taking the picked strawberries.”

“Of course, I have to charge. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. However, Si-hyuk will pay the price. With a good translation.”

Song Taek-soo smiled.

His impression changes again when he smiles.

It was a more pure feeling.

“That’s an expensive translation fee.”

“Let’s talk a little later after the experience is over.”

“Yes. It’s an honor.”

With that said, I grabbed three baskets.

“Okay, kids. Let’s harvest strawberries.”

“Ah-ah.”

“Si-hyuk hyung. I’m going to pick a giant strawberry.”

“Hana is a pink strawberry!”

Was there a pink strawberry?

“Then let’s all go together.”

We walked through the strawberry field.

I saw red strawberries and blue strawberries [likely an exaggeration or a child’s imagination].

“You pick the red ones like this.”

I picked a moderately sized strawberry and put it in Siha’s basket.

“Ah-ah. Hyung.”

“Yeah. Let’s pick Siha too.”

Siha stared intently at the strawberries.

“Huh? Siha. Is there something there?”

“Ah-ah.”

Shake, shake.

He must be choosing strawberries very carefully.

I turned my eyes to Seung-joon and he was picking the biggest one among the strawberries.

Hana was looking for pink.

‘She’s a princess. A princess. Her clothes are pink too.’

Then Siha reached out his hand.

Tap.

A very small strawberry.

It looked very small even in Siha’s hand.

“Oh? Siha. That’s not fully grown yet. You have to pick the big red ones like that.”

Siha shook his head and pointed to himself.

“Siha.”

“Huh? Did you just say Siha?”

Nod, nod.

Siha took out the big strawberry I picked from the basket.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah. Hyung picked it.”

Holding strawberries in both hands, Siha said, holding them one by one.

Left hand.

“Siha.”

Right hand.

“Hyung.”

I finally realized what Siha was saying to me.

“You mean Siha’s strawberry and Hyung’s strawberry? These two strawberries are brothers?”

“Ah-ah.”

I had no choice but to slap my knee [a gesture of realization or amusement].

Look at this rich emotion.

If he grows up like this and writes novels like Song Taek-soo, he’ll win the grand prize in the spring literary contest [a prestigious award for new writers].

“Thank you. I’m touched.”

“Ah-ah. Hyung.”

“As expected, there’s only Siha…. Hyung will live with Siha in the future too.”

“Ah-ah.”

Siha was excited and danced with the two strawberries.

I was admiring it with satisfaction when I heard Seung-joon’s voice.

“Si-hyuk hyung. I’m so big!”

When I looked at where Seung-joon was pointing, I saw a really big strawberry.

It was really as big as the palm of my hand.

“How did you find it?”

“There!”

“I didn’t say the place. It’s really big.”

Hana showed off her basket as if she couldn’t lose either.

“Hana also found pink.”

“Yeah. It’s too ripe and turned pink?”

“This?”

“No. Good job.”

I stroked Hana’s head.

Fortunately, everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun.

We left the greenhouse without even filling the baskets.

But the kids had satisfied faces.

Did the special strawberries they found become special memories for the children?

I hoped so.

***

The children were eating the strawberries they picked and bread with strawberry jam.

The teachers were also having a pleasant tea time.

I was a little away from them, talking to Song Taek-soo.

“I heard you’re going to do the English translation this time.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“I want you to listen to what you think as a translator without adding or subtracting. Frankly, martial arts is in the Chinese character culture, right?”

“That’s right? So are the names of martial arts.”

“I’m worried about that. I wonder if this can be conveyed well in the English-speaking world…. If the cultures are different, it’s difficult to understand.”

“That’s true, but I’m very positive about it. The number of enthusiasts is clearly different.”

“Hmm.”

“If you look at Japan alone, there are many people who like animation. There will be many people who like martial arts overseas. Maybe there are more numbers than in our country.”

“That’s right.”

“And English translation is a work that has merit.”

“Is that so?”

I nodded.

Various knowledge flooded from my head.

“For example, it is said that a scripture in Sanskrit of Buddhism has been discovered. What was judged necessary to inform the world about it was English.”

“Scalability?”

“Yes. If you translate it properly into English, other countries can easily re-translate it. So I think I’ve been given a very important role.”

“That’s right.”

“The story has gone astray, but there are enthusiasts in every country.”

Song Taek-soo just smiled.

“In fact, what I’m more afraid of than not selling is being forgotten.”

Song Taek-soo picked up a strawberry.

“After eating it, you have good memories of being delicious. But if you ruin the harvest for a year, you can’t even eat it. So it’s forgotten. Can Si-hyuk do well in my writing farming?”

I realized what Song Taek-soo was worried about.

He said it in a roundabout way, but this is what he wanted to say in the end.

Can I trust my abilities?

Isn’t my work being given a different color, like the books created by other translators?

“Martial arts is a genre novel. In the end, it must be fun. I will try to translate in a way that brings out the teacher’s colors well. And…….”

I hesitated for a moment and gave an answer.

“I will receive and summarize the impressions of the first volume from international students at Gangin University. If the teacher doesn’t like it, you can end the contract here.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“Yes. Because I’m confident.”

I smiled softly and picked up a pen.

“Then shall we write a contract?”

For some reason, Hong Jin-soo, who was next to me, had his mouth slightly open.

Why is he like that?