Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 254

Hyung, Aren’t I Cute? 254

It hasn’t even been a month since Siha’s pop-up book was released.

That’s calculating from the point of sale.

But does that really matter?

What’s important is the level of promotion from the online bookstore.

And word of mouth, too.

In that sense, the Christmas timing was good for the event, and it had the added bonus of an award from the superintendent of education that my mother liked, so it probably sold reasonably well, right?

10,000 won for a set of two books.

That’s 5,000 won per book.

Currently, I have a royalty contract, so I get 5%.

If one set sells, I make a profit of 500 won.

“How many have you sold?”

「We’ve sold a whopping thousand!」

“Oh! Awesome!”

Actually, I was a bit anxious.

Even in my case, I wouldn’t have thought about buying a book as a Christmas present.

If Siha’s birthday wasn’t in December, I might have bought him a big toy instead.

In that sense, selling a thousand copies this month is significant.

“You mean about a thousand sets have been sold?”

「That’s right. At this rate, the cumulative sales might be meaningful. And we also received a grant from the government.」

“So, with a simple calculation, about 500,000 won will go to Siha.”

「That’s right.」

It’s an unexpected gain.

Some people might say that’s not much, but selling that many isn’t easy.

For example, it’s not easy for a YouTuber to get a thousand subscribers, right?

You can think of it as similar to that.

No matter how much you advertise, some things just don’t sell.

Sales will plummet in the future, but still, this is something.

‘Come to think of it, books that sell a million copies must earn about a billion won.’

That’s with simple calculation.

Becoming a bestseller isn’t easy, though.

Well, you can’t expect to be full on the first spoonful [a Korean proverb meaning don’t expect immediate success].

“Still, I’m glad we had some sales. But it’s not like it sold a lot, right?”

「Haha. This is excellent for a pop-up book.」

Calculating it, Siha would get 5 million won if we sold 10,000 copies.

If you exclude the cost of making it and deduct various expenses, there’s not much left for the publisher.

No, wait. Still, when you print a lot, the unit price gets really cheap, so…

Hmm. The calculation is getting complicated, so let’s stop.

It seems enough since we’re participating in a government support project with this book.

“How does the government support project work?”

「This is also a competition among the publishers who received it. The book will be reviewed, and they will also support the translation costs.」

“For overseas?”

「Yes. Of course, it will happen. Aren’t we KI’s Lee Si-hyuk and Lee Si-ha? Hahaha!」

Hey. Why do you always include us as part of the KI family [likely referring to the publisher or a related organization]?

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Who is it?”

“It’s Uncle Hong. He called to say Siha’s book sold a lot.”

“Uncle Hong!”

Siha gestured that he wanted to talk on the phone too.

I put it on speaker mode and handed it to Siha.

“Uncle Hong.”

「Yes, Siha writer. I worked hard and sold a lot of books. How is it? Did I do well? Praise me. Hahaha.」

It seems like he wants to hear Siha say, ‘You did well!’

He’s the kind of person who shows off that playfulness, which brings laughter.

It feels a bit like excessive acting, though.

Is that why he’s Manager Hong?

“Uncle Hong!”

「Yes, Siha writer.」

“Our puppy. You did gooood~”

「Huh?」

I was listening from the side and choked, swallowing wrong.

No, what’s with using what you learned right away?

“Ahem. He learned the word ‘our puppy’ today.”

「Puhaha. You’re indeed a writer! Excellent choice of words!」

Siha is a picture artist, though?

“Siha, that’s, umm, an expression used for young people.”

“Why?”

“Because a puppy is a baby. That’s why.”

“Ah!”

“Uncle Hong not baby. Uncle. Uncle.”

“Yeah. Total old man.”

Hong Jin-soo said.

「It’s strangely true, but why is it so sad?」

I unintentionally made Manager Hong sad, it seems.

***

The walk with the puppy ended, and we returned home.

“Siha, what should you do first when you come home?”

“Wash hands.”

“That’s right. You have to wash your hands clean so you don’t catch any diseases. Got it?”

“Hyung. Yoyo also wash.”

“Huh?”

The yoyo pops out of his pocket.

It was dirty, probably from rolling around on the street all day.

“Yoyo. Siha wash for you.”

When are you going to wash your hands?

Siha turns on the water and washes it thoroughly.

“Hyung. Soap!”

“Yeah. Here.”

He diligently makes bubbles and puts them on; it feels like washing a real puppy.

Of course, you shouldn’t actually make a puppy squeaky clean like that.

Looking at this, I wonder what I’m even doing.

“Siha done!”

“What about Siha’s hands?”

“Siha did while cleaning Yoyo.”

“That’s not wrong either.”

After wiping the yoyo diligently with a towel, he runs to the drawer and takes out a hairdryer.

Are you even going to dry it? That’s complete devotion.

Weeeeee.

The warm air dries the string.

I don’t know how long that game will last.

“But Siha, the year is ending now.”

“Ah?”

“Ah, you don’t know the word ‘year’? When December ends, a new January starts. You know how Monday starts new every day, right?”

“Siha know.”

“That… the Earth also has an age, and when December ends, it turns exactly one year old.”

“Earth birthday?”

“Ah, yeah. It’s Earth’s birthday.”

Siha’s eyes widened.

“Siha not prepare Earth gift. Make cake and birthday party.”

“Puhup. Okay. We should have an Earth birthday party.”

Where did the idea of having an Earth birthday party come from?

When explaining, it comes out in such easy-to-understand words.

“Then what kind of gift will you give to Earth? Earth doesn’t have hands, though?”

I was curious about the answer to this question.

Siha grabs his chin and starts thinking seriously.

What kind of answer will come out?

“Ah!”

“Why? Did you think of something?”

“Scarf!”

“Scarf?”

“Earth cold. Outside cold. Earth cold. Need scarf.”

Our Siha thinks the Earth is cold because it’s winter.

He made a good choice with the scarf.

Amazing, isn’t it?

“Then shouldn’t we give it a jacket as a gift?”

“No.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Earth no arms.”

That’s right. Earth doesn’t have arms.

Bringing up that fact here?!

“Earth round and round.”

Following puppy, it’s round and round, I guess.

Ah, I think he’s fixated on the word poop because of today’s story.

“Then the color of the scarf is red, of course?”

“Ah. Red.”

Siha nodded as if it were obvious.

And as if he had a good idea, he gently put down the yoyo and brought the pad.

It looks like he’s going to draw.

“Are you drawing Earth?”

“Gift Earth scarf. Birthday gift.”

Earth is lucky.

Receiving a scarf as a birthday gift from Siha.

Even though it’s just a drawing, if the real Earth were watching, wouldn’t it smile at Siha’s actions?

***

December 31st.

All sorts of award ceremonies are ending on TV.

Entertainment Awards, Drama Awards, etc.

I think of them as awards to wrap up the year and say thank you for your hard work.

Of course, there are actors and comedians who didn’t receive them, but I think the people in those positions are great and deserve applause.

Because they made the year fun.

Of course, I don’t watch those award ceremonies often because they’re not fun.

Watching Siha was much more fun than the award ceremonies.

But that was only for a moment.

The time has come for Si-hyuk to part with Siha.

“Siha, have fun at daycare. Hyung is leaving.”

“Ah. Hyung. Come quickly.”

“Puhup. If I could come quickly.”

Siha waves his hand enthusiastically.

The teacher took Siha’s hand and led him into the room.

The children had all arrived.

Everyone stared at the teacher with wide eyes.

Because they could see the teacher’s lips twitching.

“Hehehe. Everyone. It’s the last day of the year. Do you know what we do when it’s exactly 12 o’clock on New Year’s Day?”

“Siha know. Happy birthday!”

“Huh?”

I was puzzled by the sudden birthday celebration story and the confident voice.

Maybe, maybe it was the daycare kids’ birthday? January 1st? That’s not it, is it?

“Happy Earth birthday.”

“Ah! Are you talking about Earth’s birthday?”

Siha nodded.

The teacher was just stunned by the unexpected direction.

Seung-joon said.

“Oh, that’s right! It’s Earth’s birthday!”

“Hana also know. Tomorrow red day [Korean calendars often mark holidays in red]. Uh? Red day because Earth birthday party?”

“Oh! As expected of my younger sibling. Smart.”

The teacher scratched her forehead.

Surely it’s not a red day to have an Earth birthday party, is it?

I can’t keep up with the pure ideas of children.

“Ahem. Yes. Tomorrow is a red day, right? It’s also a fresh start with a new mindset. When it’s 12 o’clock, everyone listens to the New Year’s Eve bell ringing.”

When the story of the bell ringing came up, the children whispered.

“Of course, they’re ringing the bell and singing to celebrate Earth.”

“Right! Hana also sing happy birthday song!”

“Ah! Siha too!”

Why did it turn out like this?

The teacher let the children talk to their heart’s content before opening her mouth.

“Everyone. Have you ever heard the New Year’s Eve bell ringing?”

Seung-joon raised his hand.

“I saw it in Crayon Shin-chan! Clang! New Year’s Eve! Ahaha!”

You didn’t watch that episode until the end, did you? In the end, it’s just an ordinary bell sound.

The teacher was pleased with the memory recall after a long time.

“Hana know! It cries Emile~.”

Isn’t that the Emile Bell [a famous Korean bell]?

Siha shakes one hand enthusiastically.

“Ting-a-ling. Ting-a-ling.”

Siha, that’s how a small bell sounds.

The only smart Jong-soo said.

“Haven’t you all heard it? It goes Daeng- Daeng- [Korean onomatopoeia for a large bell sound].”

“Correct! Jong-soo knows.”

The children said with disappointed faces.

“What. It’s ordinary.”

“Not fun.”

“Not ting-a-ling?”

The teacher didn’t care about that reaction.

She took out a plain paper cup with nothing drawn on it.

And also the ting-a-ling bell that Siha mentioned earlier.

“Today, we’re going to make a bell. I think it would be good to draw what you want to achieve next year. Next year, as a 4-year-old, I will pick up more trash. Or draw a clean mountain with that kind of feeling?”

The children nodded after listening to the teacher’s example.

Setting goals for the new year.

This is very important to people.

A day to decide where to go, how to work hard, and what to do.

I hope they don’t wander and achieve their goals.

“So, how is it? Sounds fun, right?”

The children received paper cups and brushes.

Today, they were planning to squeeze paint onto the palette and draw on it.

“First, draw with the markers here according to the colors. And I’m thinking of coloring with a brush.”

The teacher showed the paper cup she had drawn in advance.

The sun was drawn with a red marker, and the dumbbells were drawn with a gray marker.

It was a picture of exercising.

“The teacher’s goal this year is to diet. I want to lose about 3 kilos.”

Hana said.

“Teacher. You pretty even if you don’t lose weight?”

“Hoh ho ho. Thank you, Hana.”

“Ah. Teacher. Pretty. Pretty.”

“Siha also thank you.”

Seung-joon said with a playful face.

“Teacher got fat!”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

“Huh?”

Seung-joon had a face that said, ‘That’s not the reaction I wanted?’

He seemed to want her to get angry, but it didn’t work on the teacher.

Because she actually felt like she had gained a little weight recently.

Rather, it was Hana who got angry at that remark.

“Fatty Oh Seung-joon!”

Seung-joon had an unfair face.

“I didn’t say it to you, Hana.”

“You’re not supposed to tell a girl she’s fat. My mom said so.”

“You’re cute with a little bit of fat?”

“Fatty Oh Seung-joon!”

“Hey! You can’t play soccer well if you’re fat!”

Seung-joon showed his belly.

Actually, he’s very active, so his belly wasn’t very protruding.

But it’s not like he had abs or anything.

“Okay, okay. Calm down, both of you. Seung-joon was just joking. You know that, Hana. And thank you for speaking up for the teacher.”

Both calmed down, but they pouted and turned their heads away from each other.

Well, they’re like that now, but later they get along well and giggle.

The two were siblings who couldn’t be separated even if there was discord.

“Ah? Fatty?”

Siha looked at his bulging belly.

He even tapped it with his hand.

Thump.

He started to worry about whether he should exercise like the teacher.

The teacher stroked Siha’s head.

“Siha, you’re normal. Normal.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Would the teacher lie? There’s also a scale over there, do you want to try it? I brought it in the year before last, but it’s still usable. It even makes a sound? Beep. Normal, like this.”

“Ah!”

Somehow, the interest shifted from the bell to the weight.

There are times like that.

“Let’s see. Plug in the power cord. Done!”

This is for adults, but it’ll be okay for kids, right?

“Okay. Stand right here.”

Siha got on the machine.

After a little time.

-Beep! Obese.

“Huh?”

The teacher burst out laughing at the unexpected answer.

So did the director.