Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 350

“Hyung, aren’t I cute?”

Finally, the water play is over.

We pack up and head back, without a hint of regret.

Only the desire to come again remains, and I can’t help but smile as we walk down the path.

Haha. At my laughter, Siha looks up and smiles too.

The laughter spreads to the other kids like a virus.

Haha. Heehee. Hehe.

We walk along, making silly noises.

Why are you all laughing?

Maybe there’s no reason to laugh along.

Perhaps the feeling of having fun is conveyed and spreads across our faces.

“Hyung. Let’s come again next time.”

“Yeah. Let’s come again.”

“And let’s go play in the maze today.”

“Yeah, let’s go play in the maze…???”

“Baek Dong hyung said there’s a maze.”

Our Siha. Did you hear everything? Weren’t you far away, playing in the water when Baek Donghwan and I were talking about that?

When I look at Baek Donghwan, he proudly answers for me.

What’s with that look? Don’t give me that look. You’re not expecting praise, are you? When did you sneak that game in?

“Wow! A maze?! Going there while soccer training would be great!”

“Siha oppa. Where is the maze? Hana didn’t see it?!”

The two kids also joined in with sparkling eyes.

Seungjun, all you can think about is soccer even after seeing the maze here? Well, I guess it would be good training if you think of it as being surrounded by defenders!

I can’t tell if he’s smart or not.

“Right. When we drove by, we saw trees taller than us, right? That’s the garden, and it’s like a maze.”

Actually, I wanted to go there too.

A maze somehow feels like going on an adventure.

When you reach the exit, you feel a sense of accomplishment for finally escaping.

The only downside is that once you escape, you lose interest.

That’s the disappointing part of a maze.

“Then shall we put our luggage in the hotel and go to the garden?”

“Hyung. Siha is already going.”

“???”

“My heart is going. My heart.”

Siha’s heart must already be in the garden.

You want to go that badly?!

Baek Donghwan says from behind.

“Then, we can go there and have dinner together. The timing will be perfect.”

“You be quiet.”

“That’s too much, hyung. It’s really good information. Ah! And at night.”

“Quiet. Quiet!”

“This is really important information!”

“It’s not important. It’s not important.”

I cut off Baek Donghwan.

Don’t spout nonsense like Wikipedia anymore.

Didn’t the old people advise that all misfortune comes from the mouth?

“Behave yourself!”

“My body is already not behaving.”

“Puhah! What’s with the self-diss [self-deprecating joke]?”

That was a bit funny.

As we were talking, we arrived at the hotel and put down our luggage.

I heard there was a washing machine in the hotel, so I washed the wet clothes.

We decided to wash up a bit and meet up.

Even though we played in the valley water, there was still a lingering stickiness.

After finishing the shower, I lay down on the bed.

I sent a message in the group chat.

[Si혁: Let me know when you’re done. I’ll head out.]

[Professor: (Uncle emoji looking at the smartphone and saying ‘cute’)]

[Si혁: ???]

[Professor: Sorry. Seungjun pressed it. Hana and my wife went in to wash up. I’ll text you when they’re done.]

[Si혁: Baek Donghwan just went in for us.]

[Professor: It’ll be over in 10 minutes.]

Um, um. That’s right. It only takes 10 minutes for guys.

Well, it takes about 30 minutes when you want to enjoy the warm water a bit more.

“Hyung. It’s fluffy.”

“It is.”

“Hyung. I wish we had a bed at our house too.”

“But there’s no space to put a bed.”

Even if we just brought in a mattress, it would fill the room.

Actually, it’s nice to have an open room.

‘I need to save money quickly and move. Or should I apply for a housing subscription [government-subsidized housing program]?’

Siha would be happy if we had a bigger house.

The current house isn’t bad for two people, but it would still be nice to have more space.

Ah, it wouldn’t be good if there was a larger area to clean.

“Hoo. Hyung-nim. I’m done.”

“Already?!”

“Isn’t it just washing your hair and body?”

“That’s true. Ah, there was a hairdryer over there.”

“Thank you. But shouldn’t the laundry be done before we all gather?”

“Won’t it be around that time if everyone washes up? Should we wait a bit even if we just take a quick shower?”

“Siha is drawing, so it’s okay.”

At Siha’s words, my head turned quickly.

I don’t know when he took out the pad. He’s lying on his stomach on the bed, wiggling his feet.

“What are you going to draw?”

“I don’t know. Hyung. What should I draw?”

“Since we were at the valley today, why don’t you draw the valley?”

“No.”

Siha just kept drawing and erasing, as if nothing came to mind.

Hmm. He doesn’t particularly want to draw the valley? I thought he would just draw whatever he wanted, but Siha must have his own ideas.

Maybe it’s because he’s drawn so much until now.

He’s already suffering from the pain of creation [artist’s block].

But isn’t he just going to draw Pepe [popular internet meme] anyway?

Whirr. I stared blankly at the ceiling, listening to the sound of the hairdryer.

Siha also looked at the ceiling with me, as if nothing particularly came to mind.

We were both just staring blankly like that.

Baek Donghwan said.

“Shouldn’t we turn on the TV or something?”

Ignored.

“Siha, shouldn’t we watch TV or something?”

Ignored.

“Don’t ignore me!”

I’m sure he’s making a face like he’s being treated unfairly without even looking.

***

There was some time left for the laundry, but Seungjun’s mom decided to hang it up.

She said she would come to the garden when it was done since she could hang it on the drying rack provided by the hotel.

It seems like she wants to rest while watching the washing machine.

Well, she can go with the professor.

“Hyung. It’s the garden!”

“Yeah. This must be the entrance to the maze.”

It’s made as tall as Baek Donghwan.

Baek Donghwan would be able to see over if he jumped. Still, since it’s that big, you can definitely feel something overwhelming.

Maybe the kids here will feel something even more amazing.

Because their field of vision isn’t high.

“Hyung. It’s so big!”

“It is.”

Seungjun pointed to the entrance.

“Si혁 hyung, there’s a sign over there too!”

“Si혁 oppa. What does it say?”

“Let’s see. Secret Forest.”

The children’s eyes sparkle. Secret Forest. It must be incredibly exciting.

“Let’s go in quickly!”

“Hana wants to too. Si혁 oppa. Quickly.”

“Hyung!”

From behind, the professor was muttering, ‘Kids. You didn’t forget your dad was here, did you? Why are you only looking for Si혁?’

I think I see a dark aura coming out, but I must be mistaken?

“Then let’s go in.”

“Yeah!”

As soon as we entered the maze, there was a prank set up from the start.

It’s divided into two paths.

But what’s unique is that there are three signs here.

[Toddler Problem], [Elementary Problem], [Middle School Problem].

I guess they put these problems out to make us wander around more.

It’s also amazing.

Whether it’s the correct answer or the wrong answer, you’ll end up going to the right or left.

Maybe if it’s the wrong answer, it’ll lead you to a dead end.

“There are three problems here. They’re telling us to choose one? The easiest problem here seems to be the toddler problem. For the youngest child to solve.”

“!!!”

“The middle one is elementary school level, and the one next to it is middle school level.”

The problem selection splits here.

First, Hana.

“Hana wants the easy one!”

It’s reasonable to choose the toddler problem.

But Seungjun is different.

He chooses the elementary school problem.

“I should solve something a little difficult.”

The most difficult one is hard, but he must want to choose a difficult problem since he’s here.

Siha surprisingly chooses the middle school problem.

“Are you really going to solve this?”

“Siha knows everything with hyung. Hyung will solve it all.”

“That’s amazing.”

Is this a strategy to pass everything on to me!

No, originally, things like this are done by division of labor, but it’s more fun if you try to solve it yourself.

“First, I want to see all the problems.”

“That’s true.”

First, the toddler problem.

When I removed the laminated paper hanging on the sign, the problem appeared.

“People ran a race. You passed the second-place runner. What place are you in?”

The answers came in the order of Seungjun, Hana, and Siha.

“1st place!”

“2nd place!”

“Thwee place!”

Siha, do you just want to shout 3rd place?

Visually, 1st place is to the left, and 2nd place is to the right.

The answer is obviously 2nd place.

“Then shall we go to the place we each think is the answer? Siha, there’s no 3rd place.”

“Then two place? Close to thwee [three].”

“No. Only 1st place and 2nd place.”

“Then I’ll do 2nd place. Close to thwee.”

“???”

Can you decide the answer like that? I thought.

“Hyung-nim. Can’t we look at the elementary school problem too?”

“Should we?”

“Let’s see. What is the name of the Egyptian dance? 1. Harocho, 2. Tannoura. Isn’t the elementary school problem too difficult?”

Is this an elementary school problem?! Don’t lie! Well, I know the answer though.

I gently whispered the answer in Baek Donghwan’s ear. 2. Tannoura.

“How do you know?”

“If you know the answer to the toddler problem, isn’t it automatic? Because number 2 tells you to go to the right.”

“Ah…. Is that a method?!”

Well, I said I knew the answer, but I didn’t say I knew the name of the Egyptian dance.

The remaining middle school problem is asking for the quadratic formula.

That’s amazing. Really.

“Then shall we go to the place we each thought of?”

Seungjun naturally went to the left and was with the professor.

Since it’s one child per person, Baek Donghwan and I, and Siha and Hana headed to the right.

Anyway, Seungjun will have to come back here.

Because that’s a dead end.

“Hyung. It’s pretty.”

“It is.”

The blue leaves greet us.

Is the sign problem over there? We wandered around a bit and a dead end came out.

“Baek Dong hyung. Siha wants a piggyback ride.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I’ll tell you from above.”

“!!!”

Oh no. Siha activated a trick.

If you really give Siha a piggyback ride, you might be able to see.

Baek Donghwan lifted Siha up again and gave him a piggyback ride.

“Can you see?”

“I can see!”

“Oh really! Where should we go?”

Siha, that’s cheating!

“But I don’t know where to go. I can see it, but I can’t see it.”

“???”

Ah, I know what he means.

He can see something, but he’s saying he can’t see where the exit leads. Maybe he needs to be a little higher to see the bottom.

“Baek Dong hyung. Siha wants to climb on your shoulders.”

“That’s too dangerous.”

“No. Baek Dong hyung’s shoulders are as big as the ground, so I won’t fall.”

“How big are my shoulders?!”

“Muscle. Muscle.”

“How big are my muscles!”

That’s an amazing muscle.

Even so, it’s too dangerous to stand on his shoulders.

“Siha, it’s dangerous, so let’s not do that.”

“Okay!”

Baek Donghwan had a dumbfounded expression.

“No. When I said it was dangerous, you didn’t react like that! You listen to Si혁 hyung-nim so well!”

“Siha listens to hyung well!”

Siha put his hands on his waist and stuck out his stomach while riding on the piggyback.

He couldn’t come out because he was pressed by the back of Baek Donghwan’s head.

But Siha, is it so proud to listen to me well?

Siha’s heart is something I don’t know even if I know.

“Then let’s go back. This is a dead end.”

We joined Seungjun on the way back.

He was coming to a dead end. What a coincidence.

“Siha!”

“Seungjun!”

They hug each other again after meeting again. Anyone would think they were separated families.

It hasn’t been long since you guys broke up?

Why is it always such an intense reaction when you see each other after a long time? It’s really funny.

“Hyung-nim!”

“Don’t do it.”

“Then if we split up, I will too.”

“Just don’t do anything.”

“That’s too much…….”

We walked again and found a new sign at the point where the blue leaves turned into red leaves.

A fork in the road is visible.

Three more problems came out.

Okay. Toddler problem. It’s unconditionally a toddler problem! An easy one.

“Hyung. Difficult problem!”

“That’s right! Si혁 hyung has to do the middle school problem.”

“Si혁 oppa can solve everything!”

Why are you guys doing this to me?

I’ll be embarrassed if I can’t solve it here!

Looking at those expectations, I opened the middle school problem.

[1111=0, 1981=3]

[6666=4, 5555=0]

[7262=1, 3841=2]

[9133=1, 3333=0]

[8690=5, 8908=6]

[9828=?]

What kind of rule is this?