Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 270

“Hyung, I’m cute, right?”

I came home and placed the fish tank in the living room.

The three fish were swimming diligently, and the shrimp was slowly crawling on the rock.

They seemed to get along well.

Siha sticks right to the fish tank, observing.

“Hyung! Fish play.”

“Yeah, they’re playing.”

“Ilpi says, ‘Follow me!’”

“Ah, Ilpi says that. But do you even know who Ilpi is?”

“This one!”

Siha confidently pointed to one of the male fish.

Can he even tell them apart? I was so curious that I covered Siha’s eyes for a moment.

“Ah?”

“Ta-da! Which one is Ilpi?”

“This one!”

Yeah. I’ve been watching, and that’s Ipi.

Siha, you can’t tell them apart either?

They look so alike that it’s hard to know who is who.

“Siha, do you want to feed the fish?”

“Wanna!”

I took out the fish food I bought today.

When I opened it, there was a tiny spoon, about the size of a fingernail.

“It’s so small. I can give one spoonful and a little more.”

“Eat!”

Siha scooped up a spoonful and sprinkled it over the fish tank.

The fish went wild.

They moved their mouths busily to eat the food.

“Delicious? Eat a lot. Did a lot.”

What did you do?

Anyone would think Siha cooked the food.

“Hyung, so fast. Fish hungry.”

“Yeah, they’re eating so eagerly.”

“Give one more?”

“No. If they eat more, their stomachs will burst, and it’s dangerous.”

“Why? Good if full.”

“Fish eat until they burst, even when they’re full.”

“Why? No eat.”

“These fish are really serious about eating. They can’t help but eat.”

“Witch curse?”

“That’s right. A curse. A curse.”

“Hyung. Catch witch, uncurse fish.”

“The problem is, I don’t know where the witch is, so I can’t. So, I can’t give them too much. Okay?”

Siha nodded and looked at the fish again.

He talks to them diligently.

“Tigim also eat. Delicious?”

The shrimp is silently eating the powdered food.

The guppies seem interested, wondering if they’ve finished their food.

“Ilpi, Ipi, Pipi. That Tigim food. You three eat. Food. That Tigim food?”

It seems they are interested in the shrimp’s food and are eating it.

You stupid guppies. You’re too greedy for food.

“Hyung. Tigim food all eat.”

“Yeah. Should we eat Tigim’s food too?”

“Ah?”

Siha made a shocked expression.

He kept looking at me with a face that said, ‘How could you do that?’

Hey, Siha. I’m kidding. And you named the shrimp Tigim!

It’s not just me who’s bad.

“I mean, let’s eat the shrimp [saeutwigim] and rice that Grandpa gave us for dinner.”

“Siha eat shrimp Tigim!”

“Yeah. Shrimp Tigim.”

Come to think of it, aren’t you the worst, Siha?

Anyway, it’s okay if we eat it deliciously.

***

After the Lunar New Year holiday, the children gathered at the daycare center.

Everyone boasted about the delicious food they ate, but it was all similar.

Lunar New Year food wasn’t that different from house to house.

Seungjun said.

“Siha, did you get a lot of New Year’s money [Seollal Bebek]?”

“Got a lot.”

“Wow! Awesome! I got a lot too. So, my mom promised to buy me a new soccer ball.”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

Hana, who was next to him, said.

“Hana use for singing class. Mom said good.”

“Hana good!”

“Hehehe!”

The teacher smiled contentedly at the sight.

It seems no one is interested in what happens to the remaining money. In the end, it went into their mothers’ pockets. Of course, a lot of money came out too.

Having many relatives wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Every year, the children get money, but when you think about the money that goes out, it’s about the same.

Or maybe they are collecting the money that has already gone out.

“Siha bought fish. Pretty.”

“Wow! Siha bought fish?”

“Ah. Bought shrimp too.”

“Hana want see!”

“Come play house.”

Siha. Are you inviting kids again without Hyung’s permission?

“Fish name Ilpi, Ipi, Pipi. Pipi girl.”

“Then the shrimp?”

“Tigim. Tigim.”

The teacher swallowed and choked.

Siha looked at the teacher.

“Teacher. Okay?”

“Uh-huh. Cough, cough. I’m okay. Cough. The shrimp’s name is Tigim?”

“Ah. Shrimp Tigim.”

“Um, that’s an amazing name, Siha.”

“Shrimp Tigim delicious.”

“You’re not going to catch and eat the shrimp later, are you?”

“No. Raise.”

“O-okay. Cough.”

At that time, Jongsu, who was assessing the situation next to him, came out.

He roughly estimated the children’s New Year’s money after listening to their stories.

He was now good at information warfare. He puffed out his chest.

“Hahaha. I got a lot of New Year’s money. Grandpa and Grandma gave me a lot.”

“Ah. Congrats~”

Siha waved his hand and turned around.

He had finished talking and lost interest.

Jongsu was surprised and grabbed Siha’s shoulder.

He couldn’t let him go like this.

“Ah?”

“Aren’t you curious about how much I got?”

“Siha know. Got a lot.”

“That’s what I said earlier!”

“Siha heard all.”

“No. It’s true that you heard it!”

Today, Jongsu was once again being played by Siha.

He thumped his chest as if he was frustrated.

Siha had no choice but to ask Jongsu.

“How much got? Twenty thousand [won]?”

“No! A lot. A whopping two hundred and ten thousand! No! That’s not it! Three hundred thousand! Three hundred thousand won. You keep making my pronunciation weird.”

“Two hundred ten thousand? Grandma how many?”

“Six grandmas! No! Six 50,000 won bills! Are you going to keep calling them grandmas?”

“Grandma drawn.”

“Oh? That’s true.”

Siha doesn’t say anything wrong. He doesn’t say anything wrong.

Jongsu was thinking, ‘This isn’t right?’ and was confused about what he came to do.

He clearly came to brag, but the situation wasn’t like that. Everyone was supposed to be like, ‘Ooh! Amazing!’ but Siha’s words made it feel like, ‘Uh-huh? That’s right. That’s correct.’

But he couldn’t give up like this.

“Aren’t you jealous?!”

“Siha ate shrimp Tigim! Jealous?”

“No. Is shrimp Tigim important now?”

If the guppy was serious about food, Siha was serious about shrimp Tigim.

He stuck out his stomach and made a proud expression.

“Haa. Never mind. Never mind.”

Jongsu gave up and stepped back.

Jaehui came up behind him.

“Jongsu, you got a lot. That’s great. You can buy pretty clothes with 300,000 won. What are you going to use it for?”

“Jaehui……”

He thought Jaehui would understand.

“Sob.”

“Uh-huh?”

For some reason, Jongsu wanted to hug Jaehui tightly.

Jaehui tilted his head, not knowing what was going on.

But Jongsu made a wise decision.

Because Siha actually received 500,000 won.

Of course, it was actually the money that Grandpa gave to Si혁.

The truth was buried underground.

“Alright, alright. It looks like everyone got a lot of New Year’s money. But it’s not about how much you got.”

The children looked at the teacher.

“You need to remember the hearts of the adults who gave it to you. They gave it to you with the thought of you eating delicious things and growing up healthy. So don’t get hurt and have a fun day today!”

“Yes!”

Everyone put aside the talk about the New Year and discussed what to play today.

Hana looked at Yeonju.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t asked how much she received.

“How much did you get, Yeonju?”

“I just got a lot?”

“Really? Then what are you going to buy?”

“I gave it to my mom, too.”

Even Yeonju, who was like a princess, couldn’t stop her allowance from going to her mom.

Siha tilted his head at those words and looked at his right hand.

A pink light peeked out from Siha’s sleeve and wrapped around his arm.

“Mom. Give you allowance?”

The pink light moved from side to side as if refusing and disappeared into Siha’s arm.

Siha blinked at the sight.

“Siha.”

The teacher looked at Siha.

She smiled wryly, having heard Siha mutter earlier.

Perhaps everyone is giving their allowance to their moms, so Siha might be missing his mom.

In fact, even professional teachers are at a loss for how to deal with this.

Because no matter what comforting words they say, the child won’t feel it.

All they can do is treat him as usual.

“We have a fun game today!”

“Huh? What is it?”

Everyone looked at the teacher, perhaps because her voice was loud.

“The New Year’s money you received today is actually money you earned by working really hard. Right?”

The children blinked as if they had only thought about how good it was to receive it and hadn’t thought about it that far.

“So, we’re going to try to earn money once. To really have a grateful heart. How about it? Sounds fun, right?”

Hana asked, her eyes sparkling.

“How? Are we going out now?”

“Siha put on shoes?”

Everyone seemed ready to go out.

“No… We’re just going to play pretend with part-time jobs?”

The children looked disappointed.

They thought they would be working and earning money like real adults.

“Ahem. Everyone may be very disappointed, but you can’t just easily get a part-time job like that.”

Then the director said.

“You can, though?”

“Yes?”

The teacher’s eyes widened.

The director smiled gently.

***

Kangin University has quite a few convenience facilities.

Starting with cafes that college students can go to, billiard halls, table tennis rooms, and even convenience stores.

Many people use other places as well, but the convenience store is especially crowded.

After the end of the semester, there are no people, so only flies fly around, but it’s not bad because there are people who use it in its own way.

“Hello.”

“Ah! Yes! Hello, Director. I’ve been waiting.”

“As you were contacted, the kids want to experience part-time jobs a little.”

“Hahaha. They’re young, but they’re amazing.”

“Yes. So, I’m just going to let them experience it for a very short time.”

“Ah, I see.”

The easiest part-time job to find is a convenience store part-time job.

Of course, this convenience store only uses part-timers at night.

This was because people in the dorms come to this nearby convenience store when they are hungry.

The director said.

“Then I’ll hang up this sign.”

“[A 4-year-old part-timer is working! Please understand!]”

The owner said.

“But there are eight part-timers? That’s a lot of labor costs.”

“Hoh ho ho. Not everyone will be working here. Half will go to other places.”

“Where to?”

“To a nearby cafe.”

“Ah, there. Hmm? I wonder if the kids will do well there?”

“We’ll have to see.”

There were a total of four kids who would work part-time at the convenience store.

Siha, Seungjun, Jongsu, and Jaehui.

Originally, Hana and Yeonju should have been included, but they were already hooked on the cafe and went there.

“Then I’ll leave it to you, Teacher Dahee.”

“Yes! Director. Just leave it to me! I’m a part-time job expert!”

“Is there anything you haven’t done?”

“Of course, there are many!”

The director smiled and left with the kids.

The remaining four children were wandering around the convenience store.

“Siha. This looks delicious.”

“Ah ah. Choco. Tasty.”

“Ahem. Hey. Lee Siha. Should I buy you some? I got a lot of New Year’s money, so I have a lot of money.”

“Jongsu. Then I want to eat this.”

They were already customers, not part-timers.

The teacher cleared her throat and drew the children’s attention.

“Ahem. Everyone. You’re not customers now, you’re part-timers. Everyone needs to learn hard.”

“Yes!”

“Do you know what you do here?”

Jongsu raised his hand and said.

“Calculate!”

“Yes! That’s right. You calculate.”

Of course, there are many other things to do besides that, but the basic thing you see is calculation.

“You scan it on that machine and receive money and calculate. Got it?”

“Yes!”

The children said it was easy and talked to each other.

Hoo hoo hoo. Does this really look easy?

“First, Siha and Seungjun, stand in front of the checkout counter? Jongsu and Jaehui, let’s put the items with the teacher.”

“Yes!”

The owner said.

“Be here on the chair. Calculate when customers come. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Ah ah!”

While tapping his feet, a customer finally came.

A man wearing a hoodie and a hat.

It was Park Kyungjun.

He came to school for business after a long time.

“Oh? Siha?”

“Ah ah! Kyungturio [A playful mispronunciation of Kyungjun’s name]!”

“You have to use that when there are three people [Likely a reference to honorifics in Korean]. But what are you doing now?”

“Siha doing part-time job.”

“Really?”

“Ah ah!”

“Wow. It’s really hard to find a part-time job before the semester starts; that’s amazing!”

Park Kyungjun made a fuss.

“What buy?”

“Huh? Ah! I’m going to buy milk.”

Park Kyungjun brought the biggest milk and four chocolate milks.

“Please calculate.”

“Ah ah!”

Siha scanned the item on the barcode.

Seungjun was looking at the POS [Point of Sale] machine, and the owner was explaining hard next to him.

“Now, receive the card and plug it in here.”

“Card!”

Park Kyungjun offered the card to Siha with both hands.

Beep.

After the calculation was completed, Siha returned the card.

“This!”

“Okay. Thank you. Share the chocolate milk with your friends.”

“Really?”

“Then it’s real.”

“Ah ah. Thank you! Kyungturio!”

“If possible, call me Kyungjun uncle. Then sell a lot. There aren’t many people, though.”

“Why?”

“Hmm. Everyone is off today. Ah!”

Park Kyungjun raised his thumb, thinking of a good idea.

“Work hard on your part-time job.”

Siha waved his hand.

“Bye bye.”

I don’t know what a bye-bye greeting would be like as a part-timer, but it was cute.

Park Kyungjun received Siha’s greeting and left the convenience store.

Only then did I see the sign.

Click.

After taking a picture, I uploaded it to the group chat.

-Park Kyungjun: Jackpot! Kindergarten kids are doing part-time jobs. You can’t see it unless it’s now. Come and cheer me on!-

With Park Kyungjun’s one word, the worst situation was coming to the part-timers.