Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 66

Hey, am I cute? (66/500)

It was a drizzly day.

Siha was looking outside through the veranda [a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, often attached to a building].

He stared with sparkling eyes before running to where Hyung [older brother or a term of endearment for a close male friend] was.

“Hyung~”

Siha patted Hyung’s cheek.

Slap, slap.

“Ugh.”

Si-hyuk slowly opened his eyes.

“Hyung. Rain.”

“Huh? Oh…. It’s raining. It’s dark outside.”

“Ah, ah. Hyung. Rain.”

“Yeah.”

Si-hyuk was so tired that he pulled the blanket over himself.

He wanted to sleep a little longer today.

But Siha had to wake Hyung up.

To accomplish what he wanted.

“Hyung~”

He wriggled under the blanket and burrowed inside.

As always, he naturally climbed onto Hyung’s stomach.

He could feel the warm body temperature and hear the heartbeat.

Then, he heard Si-hyuk’s flustered voice.

“Hey. Hey. Siha. What are you doing?”

“Hyung~”

“How can you crawl inside my clothes?”

“Ah, ah. Siha. Here!”

He popped out up to Si-hyuk’s neck and made eye contact.

Si-hyuk smiled helplessly and stroked his hair.

“If my pajamas stretch out, will Siha buy me new ones?”

“Ah, ah. Hyung~”

“Siha has a lot of money. He even says he’ll buy me clothes.”

Si-hyuk got up with Siha in his arms.

Siha smiled brightly in his arms.

“Oh no. Camera! Camera!”

“Ah, ah. Hyung.”

“Ah…. Missed it again. You’re aiming for when Hyung can’t use his arms to smile, aren’t you?”

“Ah?”

Siha tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

Then, he flapped his body, asking to be put down.

There was something he had to do after waking Hyung up.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll put you down.”

“Ah, ah.”

Siha ran to the drawer and opened it.

Siha’s clothes were always at the very bottom.

It was Si-hyuk’s consideration so that Siha could always see and choose.

“Hyung. This.”

“Huh?”

Siha proudly took out the penguin raincoat.

Today was the first rainy day since he bought the raincoat.

Siha knew that he had to wear the raincoat on a day like this.

Si-hyuk looked embarrassed.

“Well…. It’s right to wear a raincoat when it rains.”

“Ah, ah.”

“But we don’t go out on purpose just to wear a raincoat when it rains.”

“Ah, ah.”

“First of all, we don’t have anything to do, so let’s put that outfit away.”

“Ah, ah.”

Shake, shake.

Siha shook his head.

He insisted that he would wear this and go out.

“Hyung. Siha. This. Wear.”

“No. That’s not it.”

“No.”

“Hmm. Okay. Then if you win rock-paper-scissors, Hyung will go outside.”

“Ah?”

“Rock-paper-scissors is…”

Siha listened to Si-hyuk’s words and understood.

“Hyung will play rock. Got it?”

Si-hyuk was using psychological warfare against Siha.

Siha looked at his hand.

To win rock-paper-scissors, he had to play paper.

“Siha. Paper.”

“Oh! That’s right. To beat rock, you have to play paper. Siha is smart!”

Si-hyuk was thinking of playing scissors.

He couldn’t let Siha catch a cold by going outside in the rain.

He had to stop him from going out for that.

“Then let’s play rock-paper-scissors.”

“Ah, ah.”

Siha watched Hyung shout rock-paper-scissors.

He was going to play paper, but his mind changed.

He wanted to play the same rock as Hyung.

‘Same as Hyung!’

Siha always wanted to do the same thing as Hyung.

“Rock-paper-scissors!”

“Rock!”

“Ugh! I lost!”

Hyung played scissors. Siha played rock.

Siha took the victory.

Si-hyuk stared at his scissors with a dazed look.

“No way a 3-year-old knows how to do psychological warfare…….”

It was a misunderstanding.

Siha just wanted to play the same thing as Hyung.

Gloomy.

Siha was disappointed that he couldn’t play the same thing as Hyung.

“Siha!”

“Ah, ah.”

“You’re a genius! A genius! I can’t help it. Since Hyung lost, let’s wear the penguin raincoat and go out.”

“Ah, ah!”

Siha felt better again.

He was so happy to wear the penguin raincoat and go out with Hyung.

***

In the end, they came out into the drizzling rain.

I held an umbrella, and Siha wore a raincoat.

I didn’t hold his hand.

I was worried his hand would get wet from the rain.

“Hyung!”

“Yeah. Is it fun?”

“Ah, ah.”

Was it fun to get rained on?

I heard kids like water, but I didn’t know he would like it this much.

I was glad the raincoat was sturdy.

His clothes inside wouldn’t get wet.

“Then, should Hyung take you to a fun place?”

“Ah?”

“Actually, this relies a lot on luck…. Let’s go for now.”

“Ah, ah.”

I went to the playground with Siha.

As expected, no one was there on a rainy day like this.

“Siha. Let’s go over there.”

“Ah, ah.”

I entered the bushes near the playground with Siha.

Siha splashed water and dirt everywhere, enjoying it.

I’m glad I made him wear boots.

“Oh?! It’s here! I found it.”

“Ah, ah?”

“Here. Look here, Siha. This is a snail.”

“Snail?”

“Yeah. How is it? Pretty cute, right?”

It’s hard to find them in the city these days, but I was lucky.

Siha squatted down and looked at the snail.

He pointed at it with his finger as it was getting rained on on the leaf.

“Hyung. Umbrella.”

“Huh? Umbrella?”

“Snail. Umbrella.”

“Ah! You’re saying we should put an umbrella over the snail?”

“Ah, ah.”

Siha seems too kind.

He’s saying we should put an umbrella over the snail.

How can he think of this?

But the snail must have come out to get rained on like Siha.

“Siha. The snail doesn’t need an umbrella.”

“Ah?”

“See what it’s wearing on its back?”

“Ah, ah.”

“That’s the snail’s raincoat. It came out wearing a raincoat like Siha.”

“Ah, ah!”

Siha nodded.

I guess he understood well.

“Look closely. If you touch it like this, it goes right in?”

When I touched the snail, it slowly went into its shell.

Siha’s eyes widened as if he was amazed.

Of course, it was only a size that I could recognize.

“Ah, ah. Hyung.”

“Yeah. Amazing, right?”

“Ah, ah.”

We observed the snail for a long time.

I didn’t expect we would be observing it for this long.

Is this how kids are, everything is new and amazing?

I guess there’s a reason why people joke, ‘I’ll buy eyes that haven’t seen it [meaning to experience something with a fresh perspective].’

There are so many amazing things in the world, so you could buy eyes that haven’t seen it.

“Hyung. Croak croak.”

“Huh? Where? Where’s the frog?”

“Ah, ah. There.”

I looked where Siha was pointing.

There really was a frog.

Not an actual frog, but a person holding a frog umbrella.

I couldn’t see their face, but from the curves of their body, it seemed like a woman.

A faint singing voice was coming from afar.

「Cold raindrops run down my cheeks.」

「If I could become lost time.」

「My heart would always be full of rainbows.」

Siha got up and headed towards the frog umbrella.

“Huh? Siha. Let’s go together.”

“Ah, ah.”

The woman with the umbrella stopped singing, noticing us.

I wondered if we had run into her in an embarrassing place.

“Ah. I’m sorry. Did we bother you?”

But the answer that came back was unexpected.

“Oppa [term used by younger women to address older brothers or male friends],?”

“Huh? Oh?”

The person in front of me was Seo Soo-hyun, a junior from the same department.

“Oppa. What are you doing here?”

“Me? Well. I was playing with Siha.”

“In this rain?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re going through a lot. Wow! Siha, you’re so cute. What should I do! Oppa! You should take pictures of this!”

“That’s right.”

Siha greeted Seo Soo-hyun, happy to see her.

He was waving his hand, it was so cute.

Seo Soo-hyun was holding up her phone and squealing.

“Isn’t this a gift, not suffering?”

“Well. That’s right. He’s so cute. But are you singing here? So sadly?”

“Ah…….”

She covered her face with the frog umbrella, feeling embarrassed.

“Sometimes you just feel sentimental, right? Like when you want to sing outside instead of a stuffy place like a karaoke room.”

“I don’t? I don’t think there are many people like that.”

“Oh, come on. You’re so mean. Anyway, it’s the same feeling as wanting to shout ‘Yahoo!’ on top of a mountain. When it rains like this, there aren’t any people, so it’s good to sing quietly.”

“So, did Soo-hyun find the rainbow in her heart that the raindrops washed away?”

“Ah, what! You heard everything! You heard everything!”

She kept covering her face with the umbrella, really embarrassed.

Siha kept looking at the frog umbrella.

“Croak croak.”

“Don’t cover your face like that, let Siha hold the frog umbrella.”

“Ah! Siha is interested in the frog umbrella?”

Seo Soo-hyun handed Siha the handle of the frog umbrella.

There was a roof on the gazebo, so Seo Soo-hyun wouldn’t get rained on.

“Siha. It’s a frog. Right?”

“Ah, ah.”

Siha liked the frog umbrella, so he looked up at it.

It was a bit awkward to stand, so I sat Siha down in the gazebo to look at the frog umbrella.

I looked at Seo Soo-hyun.

“But that’s a song I’ve never heard before?”

“I wrote it.”

“Really? You did a good job.”

“Right?”

“Yeah. It has a vibe. But were you always interested in this?”

“Well, everyone dreams of being a singer at least once.”

“Just dreaming…….”

“Oppa. Just stop there.”

“I see. You don’t want to talk about it?”

“It’s not that, I’m just a little embarrassed. It feels like I still have lingering feelings.”

I glanced at Seo Soo-hyun.

Come to think of it, she wandered around a lot, trying different activities before choosing a career.

It seems like that’s still ongoing.

Finding what you want to do. Not knowing what you should do.

A task that everyone has to worry and think about.

Maybe it’s harder than any assignment in college.

It might be easy for someone, but difficult for Seo Soo-hyun.

“What about you, Oppa?”

“Huh?”

“Have you ever given up on something you wanted to do?”

“No. I never wanted to do anything in the first place.”

“What about now?”

“There’s something I’m curious about, but I don’t know.”

“Really? What is it?”

Seo Soo-hyun looked at me with sparkling eyes, interested.

“Translator.”

“Wow! Translator. That’s cool. It suits you, Oppa.”

I chuckled.

“It’s quite fun.”

“If you ever had to give up, what would you do?”

“I’d give up?”

“Yes?”

“It’s very difficult for something fun and enjoyable to become a job.”

“That’s true.”

“Usually, people enjoy it as a hobby.”

“That sounds like you’re avoiding the answer?”

“You caught me.”

I chuckled.

“If I ever had to give up, it means I prioritized Siha.”

“Ah…….”

“It doesn’t lead to unhappiness. I’d be satisfied even if it’s a shame. That’s all. If Siha is happy, I’m happy too. I don’t know if this is a parent’s heart or a brother’s heart.”

I looked at Siha.

Now that he was no longer interested in the umbrella, Siha was looking at me with a blank expression.

I got up.

“Okay. Siha is not interested in the umbrella anymore. It must be because it looks like your puffy eyes.”

Seo Soo-hyun was surprised and looked at her swollen eyes on her phone.

“Ugh, seriously! You’re so mean! It’s because I didn’t sleep well last night!”

I shrugged.

“I’m leaving. What about you?”

“I’m leaving too.”

We got up and left the playground.

We were walking down the street when a bus came speeding by.

I saw a puddle next to us.

I felt a sense of crisis and quickly moved.

Splash!

As expected, a large splash of water covered us.

I quickly squatted down next to Siha to protect him.

‘Ah…. Siha is wearing a raincoat…….’

Still, if he had gotten hit by that splash, his clothes inside might have gotten wet.

“Siha. Are you okay?”

“Ah, ah. Hyung. Water!”

Siha splashed his feet in the puddle.

Oops. Protecting him might have been useless.

I stood up, looking at my wet pants.

“Huh? Your pants are all wet too?”

“If senior [another term for someone older or more experienced] was next to me, I wouldn’t have gotten wet…….”

“I feel a sense of camaraderie.”

“I didn’t want to feel this camaraderie!”

Then Siha pulled on my clothes.

“Hyung!”

“Yeah?”

“Same!”

“Huh?”

Siha’s pants were already wet.

Siha must have felt the camaraderie.