Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 46

Hey, aren’t I cute? Episode 46 (46/500)

Malfoy relaxes his face and pretends not to know.

「I don’t know what you’re talking about.」

「Come on. Why are you being like this? We’re both in the same game.」

I had been suspicious of Malfoy from the moment he arrived.

Of course, it was about time for him to come to Korea.

But the situation of him bringing me here so naturally was too coincidental.

So I probed him, and I could sense it from his slightly stiff face.

‘Right. I thought there would be someone approaching around this time.’

According to Nikold, he hadn’t told anyone except the person who would actually do the job.

He just said he had prepared a countermeasure.

Then, wouldn’t the industrial spy’s action be to approach me?

It was an intuition that came from that thought.

All of this might be a delusion, but let’s poke at it even if I can’t have it.

I pointed to Alisa behind me.

「You see the person behind me?」

「Yes.」

「Her name is Alisa, and she works in the secretary’s office at Mars Corporation.」

「Yes?」

「Why are you making such a dumb face? Is that how you’re good at lying? I don’t know how much you received, but I need a lot of money too. You know? That I have Siha.」

「I know.」

「Okay. Then. Let’s get in the car and talk.」

I naturally got into the back seat and held Siha.

Malfoy’s expression seemed to be unsure about something.

From the point I naturally accepted his words, Malfoy was an industrial spy.

Vroom.

The car started, and I continued talking.

I could see him checking my appearance in the rearview mirror, and I chuckled inwardly.

‘I naturally had a call with Nikold.’

I fiddled with the phone in my pocket.

「Which company would plant only one spy like a fool? Shouldn’t there be a surveillance role?」

「Is that Si Hyuk?」

「No. It’s right here. The surveillance role who came as my friend naturally.」

I pointed to Alisa with my chin.

Alisa smiled gently and said.

「We also need to know if you’re doing well or messing up. Ah, don’t feel too betrayed. We also need to have a safety pin [backup plan]. You understand? It’s not like we’re giving you a penny or two.」

「I understand.」

He’s spilling everything so easily.

But Alisa is really good at acting.

She had the feeling of a sophisticated secretary who would appear in a drama.

Alisa said.

「The plan was to demoralize you by presenting first at the seminar, but your response was quite good. So the strategic planning team decided to send you off one more time.」

「How do you mean?」

「This time, we’re going to reverse the similar pattern we created and pin it on you.」

Alisa’s lips twisted up.

「We’re going to say that you’re plagiarizing us on the spot. Through a new design.」

「Ah!」

Malfoy opened his mouth in surprise.

「To think you’d try to trick us like that one more time. I never expected it.」

Why are you so surprised? There’s no such thing.

But Alisa’s setting was quite detailed.

It was a story I hadn’t even thought of, but it sounded plausible.

No, it might actually work?

But Malfoy completely fell for our story.

Tsk tsk. He doesn’t even know he’s being scammed by us.

I looked at Malfoy’s back.

「I can understand it’s because of Siha, but why did Malfoy end up doing this job?」

「Ah, me? It’s because of my kids too.」

Unintentionally, I think I lessened Malfoy’s suspicion even more.

「Kids?」

「Yes. Actually, I have some debt. But I need more money to raise my kids in a better environment.」

「Ah, I see.」

「Si Hyuk knows too, right? Kids grow up without worrying about money when their parents are rich. There are a lot of things you can let them do. Haha.」

Kids don’t usually worry about money.

The parents are the ones who worry about money. Malfoy is just fulfilling his own desires under the guise of being a parent.

Malfoy continued.

「It’s not like I’m doing this just for my own benefit.」

「The salary from Habinis Corporation must be considerable, but you made quite a big decision.」

「They’re giving me more money and even a job, so there’s no reason to refuse.」

「How much did you receive?」

「$200,000 and a salary increase.」

$200,000 is about 240 million won [approximately $180,000 USD].

I wondered how much he had given them to get that much money.

This guy has a lot of nerve.

「You’re getting a lot. Should I ask for more too?」

「Haha. Why don’t you ask the person next to you?」

「Should I?」

I looked at Alisa.

Alisa’s face was stiff.

Was she angry?

「Malfoy. There must have been a confidentiality clause regarding the contract? You’re too talkative. That’s why I went out to monitor you.」

「Ah, that’s…. I’m sorry. I’ll be careful from now on.」

It wasn’t anger, it was acting.

It was a lie that even Santa Claus wouldn’t give a present for.

No, wouldn’t Santa be fooled and give a present?

That’s how much Alisa was immersed in her role.

I smiled awkwardly and said.

「I said something unnecessary. Malfoy, I’m sorry.」

「Haha. It’s okay. I guess I was holding onto the secret for too long by myself, so I ended up talking a lot without realizing it.」

That’s what happens when you do something shady.

「That’s possible. I was glad to talk about it too.」

「That’s a relief. Actually, I was going to ask what kind of design you did today, but there’s no need to. That was the plan. I’m relieved.」

Before I knew it, the car had arrived at the subway station near my house.

Before getting out, I looked at Malfoy’s back.

「Malfoy. Do you know that? Children grow up looking at their father’s back. So I hope Malfoy becomes a good father too.」

「Haha. I should only show them a reliable back. And not show them the front.」

I smiled bitterly at those words.

At that moment, Siha’s mouth opened.

“Surup, Maepoi.”

I was dumbfounded by the sudden words.

Could he have said ‘shut up’?

“Hyung [Older brother].”

I looked into Siha’s eyes.

Gloomy.

Looking at that expression, I could interpret what Siha was saying.

He must have meant this.

Surup (sad). Because of Malfoy.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

It felt like I had given Malfoy a punch.

「Malfoy. ‘Seoreopda’ means sad in Korean. Don’t misunderstand. It’s because I talked to Malfoy a lot and didn’t play with him.」

「Ah, I was really surprised. I don’t misunderstand. Haha. That can happen. I’m sorry for taking your hyung away.」

「Then we have somewhere to go, so let’s part ways here. Thank you for the ride.」

Alisa looked at Malfoy and said.

「Be careful.」

She said that very haughtily and got out of the car.

She’s going to maintain her act until the end.

We got out of the car and watched Malfoy leave.

“Siha. Hyung will play with you a lot now.”

“Aah.”

I stroked Siha’s head and took out my phone from my pocket.

「Nikold. You’ll take care of it from here, right?」

「Haha…. Thank you, Si Hyuk. You even caught a spy.」

「Didn’t you suspect it to some extent?」

「Well, I did. It’s because there are a few others besides Malfoy.」

「Then take care of the processing there.」

「The legal team will do well. Thank you.」

「Yes. Good work.」

I ended the call and looked at Alisa.

“You were really good at acting.”

“I told you. To the point where Santa wouldn’t give a present.”

“It was real. I was creeped out.”

At that moment, Siha grabbed my leg and bumped his head against it.

“Hyung~”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll only talk to Siha now.”

“Aah.”

I lifted Siha up.

Actually, Siha’s performance was the best, wasn’t it?

“You were the best, Siha.”

“Aah.”

Siha is really cute.

***

-The day of the Fashion Fair & Textile Expo.

There were many people at the venue.

Reporters, textile-related buyers, interpreters, fashion designers, models, the chairman of the Korea Federation of Textile Industries, the chairman of the Indian Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council, etc.

The participants were distributed in a really diverse way.

The opening ceremony fireworks went off, signaling the start.

I looked at it and adjusted my awkward clothes.

“Siha. How’s hyung look?”

“Aah.”

“Cool?”

“Meosiseo [Cool/Handsome].”

“Siha looks cool today too.”

I was wearing clothes made by Habinis Corporation, but it felt awkward.

I was wearing a henley neck shirt and slacks, and it had a neat feeling while still having the sense of a young person.

It was a fashion that men in their 20s and 30s would like.

“Siha. Do you like the clothes too?”

“Aah.”

Siha was also wearing the same clothes as me.

Since it was work, I was going to leave it to Alisa, but Nikold suggested that it would be better if he was there too.

He wanted to create a feeling that wouldn’t cause problems even for young children’s sensitive skin?

Well, I can’t be with him all day, so I did ask Alisa to take care of him.

Alisa, who was next to me, sparkled her eyes and gave a thumbs up.

“Si Hyuk. Siha. You both look great today!”

“Really? But why do I feel so awkward?”

“Take better care of yourself. Don’t just take care of Siha. You’re more handsome when you dress up; not dressing up is a waste of humanity.”

“Where did you learn those words?”

“My friend taught me?”

“Could it be Seo Su Hyun?”

“Yes!”

I see. I learned everything from Seo Su Hyun.

I don’t know what she’s teaching, but I hope she doesn’t learn strange metaphors.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“That.”

I looked at what Siha was pointing at.

There were really many booths at the venue, and the clothes were diverse.

That must have caught Siha’s attention.

“Do you want to go look around?”

“Aah.”

“Hmm. There’s still time before the seminar starts, so should we look around for a bit until then?”

“Aah.”

I held Siha’s hand and looked around several places.

The first place we went was where there were traditional Korean hanboks [traditional Korean clothing].

The colors were so beautiful that I chose it because I thought it would be helpful to Siha.

But Alisa, who was next to me, was even more eager and was touching the fabric.

“If you make clothes with this fabric, it’ll be really soft. Siha. Touch it.”

“Aah.”

“Soft, right?”

“Aah. Lisa. Boodu [Soft].”

“Hehe~”

I also held Siha’s hand and touched it once.

The really soft feeling made me feel good.

Siha was also feeling good and was burying his face in it.

“Huh? Ah. Siha. You can’t do that with your face. I’m sorry.”

The official guarding the booth smiled and waved his hand.

“Haha. It’s okay. The child likes it so much that other people are paying attention like that.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

Actually, everyone was touching the fabric next to them because Siha was cute.

I’ve touched it enough, so I should go somewhere else now.

“Then have a good day. Let’s go, Siha.”

“Aah. Bye bye.”

We looked around other places without going too far and then headed to the seminar room.

When we went inside, Nikold waved his hand.

「Si Hyuk. Watch our presentation well. It’s just the beginning.」

「We have to give them a punch. Haha. But what happened to the spy?」

「Haha. We caught him properly and leaked false information to them. They probably didn’t notice.」

「That’s a relief.」

「Yes. Ah, can I use that?」

「That?」

「Yes. What Si Hyuk posted on Pixiv [online art community].」

「Ah, that?」

「I liked that phrase, so I thought it would be good to use it at the end. So I put it in, but I can delete it if you don’t want me to.」

「Actually, I don’t care. But it’s a bit embarrassing. Haha.」

「Haha. Why? I think the reaction will be good.」

I just wrote a phrase because I was only uploading one picture of Siha that I drew this time.

I wrote it because I was feeling emotional at the time…….

「Well, please package it well.」

「Don’t worry.」

Shortly after.

The seminar started.

The scenario went as expected.

Mars Corporation confidently introduced the work they released first, and everyone was impressed.

And following that.

Nikold went on stage.

“Siha. It’s Nikold.”

“Aah.”

Siha’s eyes sparkled as if he was looking forward to something.

Nikold opened his mouth.

「It’s easy to imitate, but you can’t copy the emotion. Our Habinis brand proves it.」

I chuckled.

Those words were directed at Mars Corporation.

‘Cool.’

The officials at Mars Corporation probably had distorted faces.