Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 98

Hyung, Am I Cute? Episode 98

“Gotcha!”

The person who came to catch us was Oh Sang-hwan, Seung-jun’s and Hana’s father.

Oh Sang-hwan grabbed Hana’s inflatable tube and said,

“Hana, let’s play with Daddy!”

“Kyaa! It’s a monster! Save me, Si-hyeok oppa [older brother/term of endearment for a close older male friend or sibling].”

“Hmm hmm. Is Daddy a monster?”

“Yes. Si-hyeok oppa is a prince. Save Hana.”

Oh Sang-hwan looked at me with a cold gaze.

I awkwardly laughed and subtly pulled Seung-jun’s tube closer.

“Shall we all play together?”

I handed him the rope attached to Seung-jun’s tube.

I couldn’t give Hana’s rope, because Hana clearly didn’t want to play with him.

Watching Oh Sang-hwan with complicated feelings, I let myself drift with the waves.

After a while, we got tired of the tubes and came out to the sandy beach.

“Oppa! Is it already over?” Seo Su-hyeon asked, handing me a bottle of water.

“Yeah. But aren’t you going into the sea?”

“I was going to, but I couldn’t see where Oppa was.”

“Really? I’m going to play with water guns now.”

“Then I want to play with you too. I came prepared. But don’t you have anything to say?”

“About what?”

“Isn’t my swimsuit pretty?”

“It’s pretty.”

Seo Su-hyeon glared at me.

“Oppa, you’re answering too casually.”

“That’s not important. How’s Siha’s swimsuit? Isn’t the shark character cute?”

“Yes, it is. Siha is cute, but a shark character doesn’t really suit Oppa.”

“Ahem.”

I know I’m not exactly cool.

But isn’t the important thing that it’s a matching couple swimsuit with Siha?

Just then, Alisa called me.

“Si-hyeok! What are you doing? Hurry up and fill the water gun with water.”

Alisa was holding a huge water gun.

Her face seemed full of excitement.

I can’t believe she prepared that water gun. The water pressure must be enormous.

“Alisa, you can’t shoot that at the kids.”

“I know. I’m only going to shoot Su-hyeon.”

Seo Su-hyeon looked surprised and horrified, but I just laughed. It was nice to see the two of them getting along.

“Siha, shall we go fill up our water guns then?”

“Ah ah.”

“Guys, let’s go fill up with water.”

I took the kids and we filled our buckets with seawater.

For the fun of the game, we decided to create a designated villain.

The role went to Baek Dong-hwan.

A monster role suitable for his large build.

“Look closely. You shoot Baek Dong-hwan, the sea monster, with this water gun.”

“Ah ah. Baek Ddong!”

“I can shoot well!”

“Hana too. Hana too.”

The children easily accepted Baek Dong-hwan as a monster.

Seung-jun’s dad, who had his monster role stolen, looked sullen, but I ignored him.

“From now on, I’ll give a gift to the person who hits him the most. I’ll give you something very, very delicious, so everyone do your best.”

That’s how the water gun fight started.

Baek Dong-hwan dodged, and the kids followed, shooting water guns.

He dodged very agilely, not befitting his large build.

You don’t have to put so much effort into it…….

I watched the kids playing like that and sat down under the parasol for a while.

Moon Do-hwan was leaning back in the chair under the parasol, fanning himself.

“Hyung, thank you for coming like this when Siha called.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t have anything to do anyway.”

“Still, it would have been better to rest at home.”

“Maybe, but relaxing like this isn’t bad either.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Ah, why don’t you take Siha and participate in that event?”

“Pardon? What event?”

Moon Do-hwan lifted his phone and showed me the screen.

There was a fun event being advertised.

A sand sculpture contest.

It was an event where you create a character out of sand on the beach, take a picture, and enter.

Not only that, but the area for creating characters was designated, so it was quite a sight to see.

“This kind of event is very refreshing.”

“Right? And this is a demonstration; they made a Little Prince character.”

“It’s exactly the same.”

Wouldn’t this be an event that Siha would really like?

He might like it more than playing in the sea like that.

He’s still young, so he can’t go deep into the sea or ride a tube.

This would be good for the kids to participate in.

“We can wet the sand with these empty plastic bottles.”

“When did you prepare this again?”

“No, well… just.”

“Thank you.”

I smiled softly.

It seemed like he had prepared this from the beginning.

It seemed to be Moon Do-hwan’s own thoughtful consideration.

“No. I accidentally found out about it and thought it would be good to prepare these plastic bottles too. I really found out today.”

“Still, thank you.”

That must be a lie.

He probably prepared it in advance.

Well, that’s right. Because he took an empty plastic bottle out of his bag when we got here.

He even found the SNS [Social Networking Service] post and told me.

It’s not like I don’t know Moon Do-hwan.

“Why don’t you participate too, Hyung?”

“I won’t. I’ll just watch you guys do it here.”

“Then rest. Or go hunting.”

“Haha. I already did that in college.”

“Really?”

“That’s right. 7 falls, 8 rises! [idiom referring to repeated failures before success, often in the context of academic or career pursuits] After challenging myself repeatedly, I learned the great lesson that what doesn’t work, doesn’t work.”

“Um…….”

I didn’t know how to comfort him.

I quietly turned my head and looked at Siha.

He was having fun playing with the water gun, shooting Baek Dong-hwan for a long time.

Alisa and Seo Su-hyeon had also joined the battle and were aiming for Baek Dong-hwan.

As I was watching, Siha and I made eye contact.

He immediately picked up the water gun and ran to me.

“Hyung!”

“Huh? What’s wrong? You should go play with them.”

“Hyung too!”

“Okay…….”

I was careless.

I overlooked that Siha wanted to play with me.

A premonition that a player change would not be possible flashed through my head.

‘These premonitions are never wrong…….’

I got up from my seat and picked up a palm-sized water gun.

Okay. Let’s play to our heart’s content today.

***

The victory of the game went to everyone.

So we decided to share the prize with everyone.

“Tada!”

I bought shaved ice with red beans [Patbingsu] for the kids.

The kids’ eyes lit up.

Seung-jun said,

“Wow! That looks delicious!”

“Hana wants to eat it quickly!”

“Siha too!”

As I handed Siha a spoon, he immediately scooped up a large spoonful and put it in his mouth.

“Ah! Siha, if you scoop up that much and eat it…….”

“Ew~”

Siha frowned.

I knew it.

“Does your head feel tingly and ringing?”

“Ah ah.”

When I pressed his forehead, he turned his head as if it hurt.

“It happens when you eat something cold all at once. Let’s eat little by little. Okay?”

“Ah ah.”

Siha scooped up the shaved ice with red beans again and ate it.

He scooped it up and ate it well, as if the sweet shaved ice was delicious.

His head might tingle again.

“Is it delicious?”

“Mashisuh [delicious]! Hyung!”

Siha scooped up the shaved ice with red beans and held it out to me.

I gladly accepted it.

“Mashisuh?”

“Yeah. It’s more delicious because Siha gave it to me!”

As we were eating like that, I felt the gazes around me.

Everyone was watching with a pleased smile.

I felt embarrassed for no reason.

“Ahem. After we finish eating this, let’s go to the side where only parasols are stuck without chairs. They’re holding an event there. How about it?”

Everyone liked the idea and decided to participate.

After eating the shaved ice with red beans, we went to the place where the event was being held.

Many people were participating, so everyone was occupying a spot and making characters out of sand.

There were many characters I recognized.

There was a penguin monster, and there were people making a big castle.

It was fun to see the already finished works.

‘They said they’re giving out prizes through a lottery here, right?’

The prize was quite substantial.

It’s a department store gift certificate worth 200,000 won [approximately $150 USD].

For such a simple event, it seems like mothers would be burning with passion.

There’s a reason why there are so many participants.

And you can have fun playing with the kids.

It’s killing two birds with one stone.

Seung-jun said,

“Siha, let’s have a competition to see who can make it better!”

“Ah ah.”

“Hana will make an idol!”

Everyone scattered to make what they wanted.

Dividing the teams like this.

Brother team: Lee Si-hyeok, Lee Si-ha.

Idol team: Oh Hana, Seo Su-hyeon, Alisa.

Sports team: Oh Seung-jun, Baek Dong-hwan.

I told Seung-jun’s mom and dad to spend some time together, even if it’s just a short break.

“Siha, shall we start now?”

“Ah ah.”

I poured water and wet the sand.

It’s been a while since I played with sand after playing with Ji-ho.

“What shall we make?”

Siha started to worry and soon came up with an answer.

“Pepe!”

“I knew it.”

I decided to show Siha the art of embossing on this occasion.

This is probably the first time.

Actually, I don’t know very well either, but shouldn’t I roughly draw the outline and dig out the outer part?

“Siha, let’s draw Pepe first.”

“Ah ah.”

Siha drew a penguin character with his finger.

A simple picture seen in the emoticon bloomed from Siha’s hand.

A picture carved with small hands on a mountain of wet sand.

Because it was sand, I couldn’t focus on the details, but the drawing time was faster, because there were fewer parts to worry about.

“Hyung!”

“Yeah. You’re done drawing? Then let’s gently scrape off the outer part of the body here.”

“Ah ah.”

Siha and I worked together to make the Pepe picture stand out.

The eyes were not dug out, but covered with sand again to make them stand out, and the belly was also worked on in the same way.

“Tada! It’s all done!”

“Ah ah!”

Siha looked around, turning his head this way and that, as if he was amazed.

He stood up and watched, circling around Pepe.

This is probably the first time he’s made something like this, not just a drawing.

I was satisfied to show Siha the feeling of embossing today.

“Hyung.”

“Huh?”

“Siha too.”

“Uh ung?”

Siha grabbed the sand again and supplemented what I had done.

“Wow…. You’re amazing?”

“Ah ah.”

It was just a matter of trimming, but he removed the clumsy parts from Siha’s hands.

The lines are more rounded.

The eyes are a little bigger.

Now he knows the feeling and did well on his own.

“All done!”

“Really! Siha is a genius!”

“Ah ah!”

I was proud to see the finished work.

I sat Siha next to the work and lifted my phone up.

The camera lens was looking at us from above.

“Siha, look up.”

“Ah ah.”

I took a few pictures in selfie mode and finished participating in the event.

At that time, other participants admired our brothers’ work.

“Wow! Look over there. It’s really pretty.”

“It’s really cute.”

“You did a really good job?”

I felt like I was exhibiting Siha’s work.

Of course, this is a place where anyone can create and exhibit.

‘Can I see it as Siha’s first exhibition?’

It’s an unofficial exhibition, but wasn’t this a special experience at the sea?

I’m really glad I came to the sea.

“Wow! Oppa! How did you do so well?”

“Huh?”

Seo Su-hyeon admired Siha’s and my work.

I puffed out my chest and boasted.

“Isn’t it amazing? But what did you guys do?”

There’s Alisa from the pedicure department, so she must have considerable skills.

I’m curious, so I should go see.

Seo Su-hyeon smiled awkwardly and avoided my eyes.

“Why? Is it weird?”

“No. That’s not it. Haha.”

“So I’m getting more curious. Siha, let’s go see what Hana did.”

“Just a moment!”

“Yeah. No way.”

I went to see Hana’s finished work.

But there was no idol character there.

Hana saw me and boasted confidently.

“Si-hyeok oppa! It’s an idol.”

“Huh? You said it’s an idol?”

“Yes!”

“Yeah. You did a really good job.”

If my eyes weren’t wrong, that wasn’t an idol.

There was a hole dug like a crater, and small, needle-like mountains were sticking out inside.

What the heck is that?

“Where’s the idol?”

Alisa smiled softly and said,

“Here.”

I never thought that the small, needle-like mountain would be an idol.

I never expected it.

“This is the Olympic Stadium, and the idol is holding a concert there.”

“Ah…….”

After hearing the explanation, I understood why it looked like this.

This is what you call simplification of things.

But didn’t you simplify it too much?

Let’s praise it unconditionally for now.

“Hana, you did a really good job.”

“Hehe.”

I know Hana likes praise very much.

That’s when it happened.

Some child looked at Hana’s work and snickered.

“Wow! There’s a toilet here!”

“No! It’s an idol!”

“It’s a toilet. A toilet! Is that poop?”

“No!”

Hana frowned.

Oh no. I never thought this would happen.

A mischievous child, who looked like a first grader in elementary school, was teasing Hana and laughing.

He’s a very bad kid.

But I couldn’t get angry because it was a child.

I had no choice but to comfort Hana.

At that time, Siha looked at the work made by the intruding child.

A frog was drawn.

Siha said to the child,

“Frog. Cough. Smelly!”

The child’s expression hardened.

I smiled awkwardly.

Siha, did you say ‘frog is smelly’?

You coughed there, so it became a strange meaning.

I smiled awkwardly and said to the child,

“Hey, kid, it’s a misunderstanding.”

“No, it’s not. He clearly said it was smelly…….”

“No. Oh, that’s right. Do you want to see the work we did?”

I showed the child the work Siha had done.

The child’s eyes widened at the well-made penguin picture.

Yeah. Did you see it?

Your work is smelly.

You have to have that level of quality to not be smelly.

Sometimes, overwhelming skill is more painful than words.

It’s like giving a 되 [unit of measurement] and receiving a 말 [larger unit of measurement]. Well.

“Siha, Hana, what are you doing? Hurry up and look at mine.”

Seung-jun appeared, grabbed Siha’s and Hana’s hands, and left.

We naturally followed Seung-jun.

The remaining child couldn’t escape from the shock and left, calling for ‘Mom.’

“Siha, look at this!”

The sports team’s work was a World Cup trophy holding a ball.

And it was standing, not lying down.

“???”

How the heck did you make it?