Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 498

Hyung, am I cute? Hyung, am I cute? Extra Story-73

Extra Story 73: Exposed

Bae Sanghyun walked up the stairs.

And he answered the phone.

“Yeah, okay.”

「Why aren’t you answering your phone?」

“I was heading somewhere, so I answered it on the way.”

He naturally settled behind the stand.

He could see the school building around him, so he walked towards it.

Stepan’s voice came through the speaker.

「It’s not like it’s a secret, what’s the big deal.」

“What did you call about? Is it important?”

「It’s nothing like that. You said yesterday that you were going to your son’s sports day. I was just curious about how it went, so I called.」

“It’s all over now. It was really nice.”

「Oh, really?」

Bae Sanghyun smiled.

He felt good thinking about Siha’s appearance today.

“He was working really hard. He seems to be doing well. Ah! He also ran, and he’s pretty fast. He’s smaller than the other kids, but he’s so quick with those little feet.”

「Oh! First place?」

“Of course. It was a relay, so the other kids did well too, but my son did even better.”

「Wow. You must have felt great. It always feels good when your son does well.」

“Yeah. He’s good at drawing and good at sports.”

Stepan chuckled over the phone.

「You used to tell me to stop bragging about my son on the phone, and now you’re doing it.」

“I guess so.”

「I knew you’d be like this. People are all the same. I called just to tease you about this.」

“You called just to tease me about this? Wow. Really.”

「How long do you think I’ve been holding back? Huh?」

“Is it even something to tease about?”

「I can feel how embarrassed you are in your tone. Do you understand my actions now?」

“Still, I’m not as bad as you. When have I ever talked about my son for two hours straight?”

「Ahem.」

Bae Sanghyun lowered his head and kicked the ground once.

Then he walked around and said.

“He seemed really bright today.”

「That’s good.」

“Yeah. I think it’s because my son is surrounded by good people. He’s different from me.”

Thud.

Bae Sanghyun turned his head back at the sound of something falling.

His heart sank.

Siha was there, looking at Bae Sanghyun with wide eyes.

‘Since when?’

He saw the thing that had fallen on the ground.

The bread was on the ground below.

A heart-shaped post-it note that said ‘Good job’ was attached to it.

It seemed like he had come to deliver the bread as a gift.

His mouth felt parched.

“Umm.”

「Huh? What’s wrong? Did someone come?」

Stepan’s voice echoed in his ear, but it didn’t register in his head.

He took a step forward.

Siha took a step back.

“Art Teacher.”

“Huh?”

“Is your son here?”

Bae Sanghyun couldn’t open his mouth to Siha’s question.

His mind wasn’t working on what to say in this sudden situation.

Did he hear the conversation? How much did he hear?

No. He might not have understood much because I spoke in English.

But that expectation was shattered.

“Am I Art Teacher’s son?”

He heard it.

His thoughts stopped at those words.

He calmed his heart and nodded.

“Yes.”

Siha’s eyes wavered.

Bae Sanghyun was so afraid of what thoughts were contained in those eyes.

It was as if the step Siha had taken back earlier represented his heart.

That was scary.

He couldn’t move forward anymore.

Then Sihyuk appeared.

“Siha!”

“Hyung!”

“Did you find the Art Teacher?”

“Yeah.”

Bae Sanghyun’s eyes met Sihyuk’s.

Sihyuk sensed something was wrong and looked back and forth between the two of them before grabbing Siha’s hand.

“They’re gathering in the playground now.”

“Okay.”

Sihyuk said that and shook the bread bag.

“Hyung will give this to him, so go to the playground first.”

“Okay.”

Siha glanced at Bae Sanghyun once and ran down the stairs.

Bae Sanghyun gently closed his eyes.

He could hear Stepan’s voice on the phone, but he pressed the end button.

He heard Sihyuk’s voice.

“What’s wrong?”

“He found out. Siha heard everything. I said I was.”

Bae Sanghyun opened his eyes.

His voice was trembling too much.

“What should I do?”

“Please tell me in detail.”

Bae Sanghyun was scared.

Now. To be so afraid of rejection now.

He felt so pathetic.

But how could he not be scared?

That lovely child.

The child he had already drawn memories with.

He had already been dyed from the heart that he was his son.

He himself had been dyed with color on the tip of the brush.

“I’m so scared.”

He was afraid that the child would be confused and hurt.

He was scared.

He wondered if he had drawn an X in black on the painting of this good day.

“I feel like I’ve ruined everything.”

Bae Sanghyun couldn’t move from the spot where he had taken a step forward.

“I’m so scared.”

Sihyuk came to him and grabbed his shoulder.

“A father.”

Bae Sanghyun looked at Sihyuk’s face.

He had some kind of conviction in his clear eyes.

“Endures everything.”

How could he say that so confidently?

Was that the image that Sihyuk’s father, Janghyuk, had shown?

Was the son who saw such a father now telling him?

It was as if Lee Janghyuk had entered Lee Sihyuk’s body and was speaking for him.

“No matter how hideous the scars are on the front. No matter how sad the face is. Even if you see your father’s face in the future. Show your back now. Never collapsing.”

The hand holding his shoulder was so tight that it hurt.

It was as if he was engraving the words on his shoulder.

“Hero.”

A hero.

“To a child of this age, a father is the greatest hero in the world.”

Bae Sanghyun spoke with difficulty.

“Is that… so?”

“Yes. That’s right. It looks so big. Your father’s back.”

Bae Sanghyun nodded at the words to become such a father.

“Yes. I will try.”

Sihyuk smiled as he let go of his shoulder.

“That’s all you need to do.”

Bae Sanghyun thought.

The young man in front of him was younger than him, but he had already become a father.

Originally, that role should have been played by Lee Janghyuk and himself.

He was ashamed.

He was so scared that he couldn’t move.

“I will really try.”

So he said it again as if to make a pledge.

In order not to be ashamed of Lee Sihyuk, who could see his face.

***

The sports day was over.

On the way back, Siha was staring blankly into the air, unlike usual.

Uncle seemed concerned about Siha, so he didn’t say anything in the car and was signaling with his eyes to ask what was wrong.

“Do you know Morse code? Should I blink?”

“Uncle. Do you think I would know?”

Siha turned his head.

“I want to learn Morse code too.”

“Oh! Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll teach you as soon as we get home.”

“Okay. But Uncle.”

“Yeah?”

Siha asked casually.

“If I had a dad who passed away, and then another dad appeared, what is that?”

“Huh?”

I swallowed hard.

I didn’t expect him to ask that now.

Uncle also rolled his eyes and couldn’t find the words to say.

Because even if he didn’t know what happened, he would have a sense of what that question would be like when applied to Siha.

“It often comes out in the dramas Uncle watches. Like, ‘Actually, I’m your mom.'”

“Oh…. Right.”

I felt sweat on my hands holding the steering wheel for no reason.

I had a feeling that Siha roughly understood what was going on.

Was he getting early education from the dramas Uncle watches?

It was a feeling that was both funny and sad and hard to describe.

“Siha.”

“Yeah?”

“Hyung will tell you about it at home.”

“Okay.”

For some reason, the time to go home felt longer than usual.

“I’m home.”

“I’m home.”

Gulp.

I had to tell him, but I swallowed involuntarily.

How should I say it?

Should I tell him the truth?

I don’t know how Siha is feeling right now.

Has Siha grown up this much already?

Those emotions that I used to be able to know easily were now like tangled threads, and I couldn’t see inside.

“Siha. How much do you know?”

“That Art Teacher is my real dad?”

Uncle gasped behind me.

He finally realized what it was.

Let’s explain the whole story later.

Siha was important now.

“So how was it?”

“I don’t really know. I don’t know why he’s my dad either.”

“I guess so.”

I hesitated a little and said.

“Before Mom met the dad who passed away, she lived with Art Teacher. And Siha was conceived in her belly.”

“Yeah.”

“But Art Teacher did something really wrong to Mom, so they broke up. And she met Dad.”

“Yeah.”

“And Siha was born and became Hyung’s younger brother.”

Siha listened to my story quietly.

I stroked Siha’s head.

“Do you remember when we met Art Teacher in a foreign country and he cried?”

“I remember.”

“He cried so much then.”

“I told him not to cry.”

“Yeah. Siha said that. Actually, he was crying because he was so sorry to Siha and Mom. He said he was sorry every day after breaking up with Mom.”

Siha looked up at me.

“How is Art Teacher?”

“He’s a good person.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

Siha wiggled his fingers and spoke with difficulty.

“Then am I not Hyung’s brother?”

My heart sank at those words.

I didn’t expect Siha to be so worried about that.

Yeah. Why couldn’t I think of this?

I was really stupid.

Siha always thought of me.

Suddenly my lips trembled.

“Hyung is always Siha’s hyung [older brother].”

Siha nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Hyung has never not been Hyung since the moment Siha was born.”

My eyes get hot for no reason.

To think that.

Absolutely not.

“He’s Hyung now. And he’ll be your Hyung in the future. Nothing changes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ll continue to be by your side as Hyung and live with you by your side.”

Siha came to me, raised his arms, and wrapped them around my neck.

I hugged him in the same way.

“Hyung is sorry. For not knowing that feeling.”

I didn’t know.

He was so worried about the moment he wouldn’t be Hyung than the appearance of his biological father.

Siha was hurting about that.

The arms that Siha wrapped around my neck were tight.

As if he would never let go again.

Siha rubbed his face on my neck and said.

“That’s a relief.”

Tears flowed at those words.

Tears from one eye flowed down my chin.

“It’s really a relief.”

I hugged Siha tightly and stroked his head.

“Hyung is so happy to be Siha’s Hyung. There was never a time when I wasn’t happy.”

“I like being Hyung’s brother.”

“Yeah. Hyung too.”

I took Siha out of my arms and looked at Siha’s face.

Siha was also shedding tears from his eyes.

Ah. Damn it.

Why didn’t I know this feeling from the beginning?

I was just trying to make him laugh, but in the end, I made him cry like this.

I wiped Siha’s eyes with my hand and stroked his cheeks.

“Hyung becomes a really special person in front of you, Siha. You don’t know that, do you?”

“Hyung?”

Siha wiped my tears with his clothes.

“You make Hyung Hyung.”

“Me?”

I nodded.

“Yeah. Thank you. For being my brother.”

“I’m also thankful that you’re Siha’s Hyung.”

We said that and burst into a soft laugh.

I just laughed.

I couldn’t even think that it would turn out like this, and Siha seemed more childish than when he was a baby.

I can’t explain it well.

Then Uncle said.

“I’m your uncle too. I’m a foreigner. Okay, thank me!”

Siha and I just laughed at Uncle’s words.

Uncle frowned.

“No. These guys? I told you to thank me, why are you just laughing without saying anything?”

Because it’s too funny to be told to thank him.

Uncle’s lips loosened.

“Hey. If you laugh after crying, you’ll get horns on your butt.”

I laughed again at Uncle’s pointless joke.

I don’t usually laugh at those kinds of jokes, but for some reason, my threshold for laughter seems to be lower today.

Or maybe I’m relieved, so I laugh no matter what I hear.

We just laughed pointlessly for a while.