Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 269

Hyung, aren’t I cute? Episode 269

-When Lee Si-hyuk was 8 years old.

Lee Jang-hyuk met a friend on Lunar New Year’s Eve.

He didn’t know why his friend, who was affiliated with the CIA, was in Korea, but he was happy to see him.

It had been difficult to see him since he’d come to Korea.

They occasionally contacted each other by phone.

Of course, he couldn’t be reached when he was on a long-term mission.

“You look very tired.”

He shrugged.

“The mission was tough.”

“But it’s over, so that’s why you came to Korea, right?”

“That’s right. I came to see you.”

“You don’t actually have anything to do here, do you?”

“I have nothing to do here. Dangerous places are my specialty.”

“Is Korean too hard for you, so you’re simplifying your words?”

“I can’t help it. I forget everything after going on a mission.”

“You’re lying. Who would entrust you with a mission if you had such a bad memory?”

“Oh ho? I specialize in using my body. Unlike you, I’m not the type to use my head.”

Lee Jang-hyuk smirked.

He didn’t know if it was the joy of meeting after a long time or longing for old memories.

“Is your wife doing well?”

“I’m divorced.”

“Oh, really? What about your son?”

“He’s doing well.”

Watching him brush it off nonchalantly, he was impressed.

He was a considerate guy, which surprised him a bit.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing. Nothing at all.”

Buzz.

Lee Jang-hyuk looked at his vibrating phone.

It was a text from his father. He sighed deeply at the message asking for money.

The man watching from behind said.

“What is it? Are you still in contact with your father?”

“I am. Of course.”

“Why are you still clinging to him? I don’t understand.”

“Because he’s family.”

“What kind of family is that? Once you’re independent, you live your own lives.”

Lee Jang-hyuk gave a bitter smile.

“It’s not easy. Cutting it off, I mean.”

“You’re divorced, so can’t you at least cut off your father?”

“I can’t cut him off.”

He looked at him, uncomprehending.

“It’s not a big reason. It’s because of Si-hyuk.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want family to be treated based on profit and loss. If I abandon my father because I don’t need him, what would Si-hyuk think?”

“Well, wouldn’t he think his grandfather did something terribly wrong?”

“No. The kid often watches my mood. If I abandon him, he’ll think like this: Ah! I must become someone my dad absolutely needs. Or he’ll abandon me.”

“That’s a stretch.”

“Can you really say it’s a stretch for a growing child? There’s an African proverb: It takes a village to raise a child.”

Lee Jang-hyuk remembered this proverb deeply.

The environment isn’t anything special.

Actions, attitudes, money, relationships, etc., from those around him.

All those related elements affect the child.

“If I taught him that his wife can be abandoned if she’s difficult or unnecessary, I want to teach him to embrace regardless of need. Si-hyuk will build a family someday.”

“Indeed. I never thought that far. It’s difficult. Very difficult.”

“I definitely resent my father.”

Lee Jang-hyuk picked up his phone and replied to the text.

“But I can’t abandon him. Because he’s my father.”

“I will never, ever get married. It’s a headache and doesn’t suit me at all.”

“It’s great when you have kids.”

“Great, my ass. There are more troublesome things. I can’t think like you, with all the intertwined interests and how to educate them. Ah, if I don’t like them, I’ll cut ties and just wave goodbye.”

“You get angry and charge headfirst. Right?”

“Charge headfirst, my ass. Bang! Just shoot them.”

“But I know you don’t shoot recklessly.”

Lee Jang-hyuk picked up a pancake in front of him and put it in his mouth.

He picked up the makgeolli [Korean rice wine] and clinked glasses.

“Kheu. As expected, Korea is makgeolli!”

“Speak quietly. It’s embarrassing.”

“Hey, Jang-hyuk. Ask the auntie here for another bottle of makgeolli.”

“No.”

“Auntie! One more bottle of makgeolli!”

“You speak Korean well.”

“I only remember things like this. Ah! Even if the child is so-so, having a niece seems good. Introduce me.”

“It’s niece, not ‘jokka’ [Korean slang for ‘penis’]. Be careful with your pronunciation.”

“Ah, right. Jokka.”

“Are you doing that on purpose? What foreigner in the world can’t pronounce the ‘k’ sound.”

“Han, Hangkookeo jal motaeyeo! [I don’t speak Korean well!]”

“Bullshit. You only pretend you can’t speak Korean when it’s disadvantageous.”

“You cursed at me!”

“It’s an interjection. An interjection. Do you know what an interjection is?”

“Bullshit. Ah! Han, Hangkookeo jal motaeyeo!”

“You’re putting on a show.”

The two of them gulped down the makgeolli.

He took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Lee Jang-hyuk.

“This is pocket money for your niece.”

“Huh?”

“What do you call this? In Korean. Ah! Ssaebee! Money!”

“You mean sebaetdon [New Year’s money]. Are you going to keep pretending you can’t do it? What do you mean ‘ssaebee’!”

“Isn’t Korea giving out a lot of money tomorrow? That’s stealing.”

“You little rascal. You’re doing it on purpose!”

“What, what did you say? I misheard. Hangkookeo. Eoryeoyo! [Korean. Difficult!]”

Lee Jang-hyuk looked inside the envelope with a dubious expression.

“Hey! It’s dollars!”

“A foreign uncle gives dollars. How is it? Cool, right? Maybe your niece too.”

He pursed his lips and made a popping sound.

“Will go ‘ppeok’! [crazy/nuts]”

“Go where? You only learn weird things every day. If you teach weird things to the kid, you’re really going to get hit.”

“Jal moreugesseoyo! [I don’t know well!]”

“I really want to hit you sometimes.”

Lee Jang-hyuk decided not to introduce such an uncle to Si-hyuk.

The whole village has to raise him, but that kind of uncle is excluded.

***

-Present.

I blinked at the lucky bag that my grandfather gave me.

Because there were ten 50,000 won bills in it.

It was a very excessive amount of money to give as pocket money.

“Grand, Grandfather. Didn’t you put something in wrong?”

“Even if I’m old, I can still count well. How good am I at Hwatu [Korean card game]. The problem is that my friends don’t want to play with me.”

Isn’t it because you’re a magician that you can’t join the Hwatu game?

That’s not the important thing.

“But this is too much to receive.”

“Buy Si-ha something delicious. Raising a child doesn’t cost just a penny or two. And I have a lot of money.”

“I know that.”

“No. How did you know?”

Grandfather stared at me with wide eyes.

He just seemed to have a lot.

Living in a place like this too.

“Even if you have nowhere to spend your money, this is.”

“Just take it. I make money anyway, and I even get pocket money. I’m very well-off.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

It’s not polite to keep refusing.

I bowed my head once again with a grateful heart.

“Children in places with many relatives receive about 1 million won [about $750 USD].”

“Yes?”

“Even if it’s not 1 million won, 500,000 won [about $375 USD] is still a lot.”

I widened my eyes.

Grandfather smiled gently.

“Just saying. Well, isn’t it time to go home now?”

“Ah…….”

“My son said he’s coming over for dinner for some reason.”

“Ah! Then we’ll be going now.”

“Okay. Okay. I’ll pack some pancakes for you to take.”

“Really? Is that okay?”

“Of course. My daughter-in-law is bringing something anyway. We can’t eat all this. It’ll just rot in the fridge if we leave it.”

“Thank you.”

Even though I didn’t visit any relatives during the Lunar New Year [Seollal, a major Korean holiday], the journey back home felt just as fulfilling.

Perhaps Grandfather was considering all of this when he offered.

“Here. I’ve packed it for you. It’s enough for the two of you.”

“Thank you. Si-ha, you need to thank Grandpa.”

“Granpa. Tank you! I will come again!”

Grandfather waved his hand, saying, ‘Alright, do that.’

The dogs in front were panting and wagging their tails.

Holding Si-ha’s hand, we came down.

“Hyung [older brother or a term of endearment for a close male friend]. Fun.”

“Huh? What is?”

“Seollal!”

“Did you have fun today?”

“Ah. Chacha also played wif us.”

Everything else was fun too, but I think playing with Chacha was the most fun.

“Hyung. Siha has lots of money.”

“Yeah. You have a lot of money. Ah! Should we raise something other than a dog? I think we can buy one with this money.”

“Wut?”

“Like a fish!”

“Fish?!”

Since we can’t raise dogs or cats indoors, I thought it would be fun for Si-ha if we set up a small fish tank and raised fish.

It seemed like less work than a dog or a cat.

“Hyung. Raise a whale. A whale.”

“That’s a bit much.”

I think you’d have to run an aquarium to raise that.

“It won’t even fit in the house.”

“Why?”

“It’s re~a~lly~! big.”

“Bigger than the house?”

“Yeah. About the size of the house? Maybe? Then the whale would be too cramped to move around? Imagine Si-ha being in Hyung’s arms every day. It would be uncomfortable, right?”

“No. I wike it.”

“Huh?”

Uh… right. It would be cozy and nice. I made a bad comparison.

“Imagine Si-ha living in that wardrobe all the time. You can’t even go to the bathroom. It would be uncomfortable, right?”

“Hide-and-seek is fun!”

Yeah. Hide-and-seek is fun… That’s not the point!

“Ahem.”

“Uncomfotable if I can’t poop.”

“That’s right!”

“Ah. To raise a whale at home, it has to be huge.”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

“Hyung. Siha will earn lots of money and buy a house. A house.”

“Yeah. We’ll definitely buy a house big enough to raise a whale.”

I don’t know how many square feet that would be, but I don’t think I could ever earn that much money.

“No. No whale.”

“Huh?”

“Pepe.”

Wouldn’t you have to run an aquarium to raise that too?

Building the land and building is one thing, but the maintenance costs would be enormous.

Maybe I have to become a chaebol [a wealthy and powerful business tycoon]?

“We’re here.”

“Mart. Mart.”

“That’s right. It’s the mart. Should we grab a cart and buy something?”

“Ah ah.”

Si-ha looked at the cart with excited eyes.

“Hyung. Siha here.”

“Si-ha, you’re four years old, shouldn’t you not ride anymore?”

“No. Siha shouldn’t ride from 5 years old.”

“Yeah. It’s written in Si-ha’s law, right?”

“Wut law?”

“It’s like, do this! It’s something that’s set in stone. Oop-cha!”

I put Si-ha in the cart.

I feel like a racer for the first time in a while.

“Hyung. Go! Go!”

“Okay. Let’s go. Go.”

First, I drifted through the snack corner and moved forward.

Si-ha is enjoying the ride satisfactorily.

“Hyung. Dat!”

“Okay.”

Si-ha puts the snacks he wants to eat in the cart.

It’s like a chairman came shopping.

“Next, we’re going to see the fish.”

“Ah ah!”

“There’s a toy corner over there, should we stop by for a moment?”

“No. Fish!”

“Yes, yes. Whatever Chairman says.”

“No. Siha is an employee. Employee.”

It seems like Si-ha remembered being an employee before.

We have a chairman-like employee!

We arrived at a place with many fish tanks.

The colorful fish were swimming vividly.

Si-ha stood up on the cart, put his hand on it, and looked at it greatly.

It feels like being on the cart is just right.

It looks just right. Surely Si-ha didn’t calculate this, did he?! Si-ha is a genius!

While I was having such absurd thoughts, an employee approached.

“Are you buying fish?”

“Yes? Ah, yes!”

“Do you have anything you like?”

“I’m just looking for now. Is there anything easy to raise?”

“From what I’ve seen here, people usually buy guppies.”

Si-ha said excitedly.

“Hyung. Shrimp! Shrimp!”

“Oh? Okay.”

“Hehehe. They buy a lot of shrimp too.”

“Then give me guppies and shrimp that are good to keep together. Ah! Just three guppies, not too many.”

“Ah! It looks like you’re going to keep them in a small tank.”

“Yes.”

“Then one shrimp?”

“Yes. Just one.”

“Okay.”

Si-ha was fixated on the shrimp, singing shrimp shrimp.

“Si-ha. Do you like shrimp?”

“Ah. Fried shrimp is yummy.”

“The shrimp will be sad if they hear that.”

“Ah?”

The reason he sang the shrimp song was because of the fried shrimp Grandpa gave him today!

I thought he was eating it well for some reason.

It’s delicious, but how can you say that in front of the shrimp?

For some reason, the shrimp in front seems to be trembling.

Maybe it’s because the water is shaking a little?

“I put in one female and two males.”

“Wow! Can I see the small tanks too?”

“Yes. It’s over there. The round one is pretty and nice.”

“Thank you.”

I don’t know what’s what, so I just bought what they recommended.

“Hyung. Fish! Shrimp!”

“Yeah. You have to hold it carefully.”

“Ah ah! One-py, Two-py, Py-py.”

“Did you already name them?”

“Ah ah.”

It’s a name that reminds me of 1 player and 2 player in a game.

He gives the female the name Py-py.

“Did you already name the shrimp too?”

Si-ha said brightly.

“Twigim [Korean word for fried food].”

The shrimp would be very sad if it knew.