Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 44

“Hyung, aren’t I cute?”

We lay on the mat, looking up at the green leaves.

The shadows swaying in the breeze enveloped us, making me feel good.

“Siha, how is it? Is it nice and cool?”

“Ah ah.”

“But aren’t you hungry?”

“Ah ah.”

He nodded.

Watching Siha, I got up. The lunch I packed today was fried rice.

I wanted to make kimchi fried rice, but I thought Siha might still find it too spicy, so I just made regular fried rice.

“Ta-da!”

“Ah ah!”

When I showed Siha the lunchbox, his eyes sparkled. I worked hard cooking today just to see that.

Seung-joon and Hana, who were next to him, also drooled.

“Looks delicious!”

“Siha hyung [older brother/male friend]. Hana wants to eat too.”

“Okay. Let’s eat together.”

Seung-joon’s mom took out her lunchbox from the corner, looking a little lonely.

“I worked hard making kimbap [Korean seaweed rice rolls] today too……”

“Haha. Let’s eat together! Wow! Your kimbap looks really delicious!”

“I haven’t even opened the lunchbox yet.”

“I can tell without looking. Haha.”

We ate our lunch like that.

Chomp, chomp.

Siha diligently ate his rice with a spoon.

I ate the kimbap that Seung-joon’s mother had packed. The kids’ attention was focused on the fried rice wrapped in a yellow omelet.

“Siha, is it good?”

“Ah ah. Yummy.”

“I wish Siha hyung lived in our house!”

“Siha oppa [older brother/male friend from a girl’s perspective]. Live in our house?”

I scratched my cheek at those words.

“It’s a bit difficult since we’re not family, right?”

Hana’s eyes sparkled.

“Siha oppa. You can marry Hana! Then it’s a honeymoon home!”

Seung-joon’s mom covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a laugh.

I was a little embarrassed and avoided answering. *If I marry you, it would be a disaster.* I’d be called worse than a thief, a piece of trash.

Song Taek-soo, who was eating kimbap next to me, said, “These days, kids are very… how should I put it? Do they know everything when they say it?”

“I wonder? Teacher, you have children too.”

“They’ve all made their own lives. Well, they had cute sides when they were young, but they were a bit different from the kids these days. Of course, there are many similarities too.”

“Is that so? About Siha’s age?”

“Siha seems a little slow……”

“Hahaha. But he’s cute, right?”

“I don’t know if everything is forgiven if you’re cute, but he is cute.”

I knew he would recognize Siha’s cuteness.

“I’m thinking of taking a walk after eating. Would you like to come with me?”

“Ah. With the kids too?”

“It’s nice to play here, but it’s also fun to walk around and see things together. Actually, I’m thinking of stopping by my house.”

“Wow. I’d like to visit Teacher Song Taek-soo’s house!”

“There’s a swing in my yard too. The kids will like it.”

“A swing?”

I don’t know why he has that at home, but he had a yard and was rich. Well, just the martial arts novel alone must have earned him a lot back then.

“Then let’s finish eating this and go together.”

“Okay. It’ll be nice to have tea too.”

We finished our meal, cleaned up, and headed to Teacher Song Taek-soo’s house.

There really was a house with a yard and a swing. It was made of wood and was big enough for about three adults to sit on.

The eyes of the three children sparkled.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah? You haven’t seen a swing before? Here, let’s ride it.”

The three children sat on the swing in a row.

I pushed them from behind.

Sway, sway.

It was for relaxation, so it couldn’t go as high as the swings in the playground, but the kids seemed to enjoy even this.

“Wow! I’m flying!”

“Hana is floating!”

“Ah ah. Hyung!”

Perhaps because of the children’s commotion, a woman came out into the yard.

Song Taek-soo said, “Honey, you’re out.”

“Why did you come out? Why don’t you just set up a home outside……”

“Haha. We have guests.”

“If you’re going to be so conscious, you shouldn’t have gone out, huh?”

“Haha.”

*He’s completely henpecked?* Still, I liked seeing the two of them looking so affectionate.

“Hello, kids. You have to say hello.”

Everyone said, “Hello.”

She glanced at the children and smiled softly.

“Welcome. Have you eaten?”

“Yes. We had a delicious lunchbox.”

“Then have a cup of tea. It looks like you came for a cup of tea.”

She was incredibly perceptive.

Seung-joon’s mother left to help Teacher Taek-soo’s wife.

The tea came out quickly, and we started chatting. Siha and the kids were gulping down juice next to us.

I stroked Siha’s head.

“Siha.”

“Ah?”

“Grandma. Grandma.”

“Halmeoni [Grandma]?”

“Grandma.”

“Halmeoni.”

“Yes. You can say grandma.”

“Ah ah. Halmeoni.”

Siha looked at his grandmother.

“Halmeoni~”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Ah ah.”

“Hmm. I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Ah ah.”

“Okay. How old are you?”

Siha held up three fingers.

“You don’t know numbers yet? Grandma will teach you. Now, follow me.”

“Ah ah.”

Grandma held up one finger.

“One.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Twoo.”

“Thwee~”

“Thwee~”

“Fowah~”

“Fowah~”

Hearing that, the tea I had in my mouth got stuck in my throat.

Cough, cough.

Song Taek-soo, who was next to me, patted my back.

“Honey, ‘Thwee’ and ‘Fowah’ are not standard Korean.”

“Ah. That’s right! I didn’t realize my dialect came out.”

But Siha, who had already inputted everything, showed three fingers and said, “Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“Siha. Thwee~”

“Ah…. You say three. Three.”

“Thwee~”

Siha learned ‘Thwee.’

*Ah, no. At this rate, the dialect and standard language will get mixed up!* But the way he pronounces ‘Thwee~’ with his fingers is so cute.

*Snap out of it.* Now is the time to show the importance of education.

“Okay. Three. Siha is three years old.”

“Thwee~ years~”

“Good application! Siha is a genius!”

Song Taek-soo, who was next to me, said, “Isn’t that not the important thing?”

***

Perhaps because they played so much, the children were holding hands and sleeping. I quietly watched Siha and came out of the room.

Song Taek-soo, who was in the yard, said, “They were running around and now they’re sleeping. That’s what kids are like.”

“That’s right. They’ll probably wake up and play again.”

“That’s how it is when you’re young. But is the translation going well? The reactions from the international students were good before.”

“Ah. I’m writing it well in a way that preserves the original work. Well, I don’t know if it will be popular.”

“It has to be popular……”

“It would be nice if it sells, but if it doesn’t, there’s nothing I can do. They say it will be released when the translation of up to volume 5 is complete.”

“Really?”

“Didn’t you know, Teacher?”

“Well, I’m writing a new work, so I’m not very interested in how the old work is progressing.”

“I see……”

While talking, I became curious about something.

“Why did you suddenly decide to write a new work?”

“Are you curious?”

“Yes. I heard that something good came to mind, but it doesn’t seem like that to me.”

“Hahaha. Really? That’s how it looked?”

“Yes.”

Looking closely, I could see Song Taek-soo’s touch in these small things, such as the experiential farm for children, the place with pretty azaleas, and the swing in the yard. I was also curious why he was doing this when he had grown-up children. Could it be related to his new work?

I had that thought.

Song Taek-soo stared at the swing.

“My children really liked riding the swing when they were young. Now they’re grown up and don’t come often. I guess they’ve made their own lives.”

“Well, isn’t that inevitable?”

“Yeah. I guess it’s inevitable. It’s natural for children to leave their parents’ arms.”

I thought of Siha. *Siha will leave my arms someday too. No. It might be a problem before that. Am I really holding Siha in my arms? Am I creating a proper fence for him?*

“Don’t worry too much.”

“Yes?”

“When I first saw Si-hyuk, it was very strange. Your face seemed to have joy and sadness at the same time.”

“I knew there was a shadow on my face.”

“Physiognomy [the art of judging character from facial features] is science. Your face changes depending on how you’ve lived. It’s not too late for you yet. Cherish Siha and live together laughing.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Ahem. The story got off track. You asked why I’m writing a new work, right?”

“Yes.”

“I wanted to prove that I can still do it at this old age.”

“Prove it?”

Song Taek-soo looked at the yard and rested his chin on his hand.

“When I meet my children, they treat me like an old man in the back room. Tell me to stop farming. Say they’ll give me a lot of pocket money. That kind of thing.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Well. My wife likes it. But I don’t.”

Song Taek-soo’s eyes looked clear.

“I’m not old yet. I like farming, and I like writing.”

“I see.”

To be honest, I didn’t really understand. But it seemed like a burning passion was alive in Teacher Song Taek-soo’s heart.

“Judging by their eyes, they’re going to take me to a nursing home later.”

“Ah, aren’t they nice these days?”

“Nice my foot. And I’m not old yet! I’m still energetic!”

“I can see that too.”

I smiled softly.

Song Taek-soo also chuckled.

“Funny. Anyway, I’m going to write this article to show that my father is not dead yet. I want to show that my father is still great. Am I too pathetic?”

“No. Not at all. I think it’s really cool.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I grew up looking at my father’s back, so I know it well. My father looks really cool when he’s working. I’ve known that it’s for me since I was 5 years old.”

“You knew too early. I wish you didn’t know anything at that age.”

“Is that so? Haha. Anyway, I liked it even if my father had less time to play with me.”

“He’s a good father.”

“Yes. I knew that my father’s arms were warmer than my mother’s.”

“……”

Song Taek-soo opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. He moved on to another topic.

“Do you do other work besides translation?”

“Yes! I got an interpreting job this time, and I think it will be really fun.”

“Really? I heard that your father was originally an interpreter.”

“That’s why I’m more excited too. Haha. It’s different from what comes out in dramas, right?”

“Huh? What is?”

“It often comes out in dramas. If you’re from a doctor’s family, you have to become a doctor. They force you. I’m voluntarily following in my father’s footsteps.”

“Haha. Well, if you look at the structure, that’s right. But it’s different in that you chose it.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right. Your father will probably like it too.”

I looked at the sky. I felt the warm afternoon sun enveloping me.

“Will I be able to raise Siha well like you, Teacher?”

“I know from farming that it’s hard. Raising children is even harder.”

“Is farming that hard?”

“It’s hard. You can’t just worry about whether the farming is going well. You have to check every policy the mayor has put out regarding agriculture, and you have to run around to see where you’re going to deliver.”

“I see.”

“The guys who say farming is easy are the ones with flower gardens in their heads.”

“But do you like it?”

Song Taek-soo chuckled.

“I like it. When I get a deal and the agricultural products I’ve grown are sold, the sense of accomplishment is no joke.”

“It’s a sales job.”

“I don’t think there’s any job that doesn’t need sales. Novels are also the sales power between platforms and publishers.”

“That’s true. There will be trouble about that too.”

“There are many cases where people get upset because they are secretly narrow-minded. Trouble is essential in life. But you’ll get through it well. I can tell by looking at Siha’s smiling face.”

I tilted my head.

“You haven’t seen Siha’s smiling face, have you?”

“Let me correct that. His bright appearance. You can tell if you’re doing well just by looking at that.”

*Is that really the case?* Hearing those words, I felt a little relieved.

*Let’s continue to make Siha bright in the future.*

“I’ll leave when Siha wakes up. It’ll be hard to go back if it gets too late.”

“If you’re going to do that, sleep over. There are many rooms.”

“Hahaha.”

At that time, the phone rang.

[Nicole]

I answered the phone.

“Hello.”

“Si-hyuk… Haa… We’re in big trouble.”