Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Manly Brother (1)
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July was just around the corner.
The temperature was pushing past 25 degrees, and the sun shone brightly.
With the weekend upon us, we decided to head out.
Just in case, I slathered sunscreen on Yoon-seule.
She tried to resist at first, saying it was sticky, but she gave in right away when I promised her four pieces of chocolate if she let me apply it.
'Since I tempted her with four, Yoon-seul had no choice but to fall for it.'
Or something like that.
The streets were gearing up for summer.
The roadside trees were gradually turning lush green.
Countless people were wearing short-sleeved shirts.
At least the humidity wasn't too high, so clothes weren't clinging stickily to skin—a huge relief.
"Oppa, Oppa."
"Hm?"
Flutter-flutter—
Flutter-flutter—
Yoon-seule pressed her two little palms together and fanned my face. A faint breeze stirred, but it didn't cool me down much.
The height difference was too great.
"It's hot, huh?"
"You're okay, Oppa? Yoon-seul's hot."
"Yeah, Yoon-seul's gonna sweat."
"Should we head into the department store quick then?"
"Department stowe? Cool?"
"Yeah, department stores are air-conditioned. Nice and chilly."
"Hng, should've bwought Boong-boong. Then we could've gone supew fast. Wight, Oppa?"
"Yeah, too bad."
I couldn't tell if she really thought that kiddie electric car (Boong-boong No. 3) was that speedy or if she was just playing pretend.
Today, we were out shopping for short-sleeved shirts for Yoon-seule.
Grandma had sent over a few from last year, but she'd outgrown them all.
She grunted and struggled just to pull them over her body.
Still, it was proof she was growing like a weed.
These days, our finances were more comfortable than before, so we could splurge a bit. But we'd scored a chance to buy clothes without touching a single won from my wallet.
The source? Uncle Kang.
[Kang Pil-jung: Heard you cleaned our bookstore last time, so I stopped by to check. It was spotless. Must've been tough, so I sent a department store gift certificate to your restaurant address. Use it for whatever.]
The delivery arrived the very same day.
An envelope with two 100,000-won gift certificates.
Getting gift certificates felt exciting, like receiving cash as a present.
"I wasn't expecting payment or anything."
It was just my usual book-payment gig, but if he insisted on rewarding me separately, who was I to refuse?
Uncle Kang and his wife liked me way too much. It was almost concerning.
We made our way to a cafe on the first floor of the department store.
It was crowded, eyes spinning everywhere, but few matched Teacher Mi-jeong's uniform vibe.
A disheveled woman in tracksuit pants sat in the corner, with a kid Yoon-seul's size beside her. Unmistakable even from afar.
"Oppa, Yu-mi-ni's ovew there."
"Yeah, let's go say hi."
Holding Yoon-seul's hand, we approached their table. Yu-min-i spotted us first—Teacher Mi-jeong was slumped against the chair back. He panicked and rubbed his mouth with his hand.
The chocolate cake on the table was down to the base.
He must've worried about crumbs on his face.
"He's still so little... Does Yoon-seul make him that self-conscious?"
I muttered under my breath.
As her big brother and guardian, I couldn't overlook it.
"Yu-mi-ni!"
- Yoon-seul...
"Hi!"
Yoon-seule greeted Yu-min-i brightly first, making him shy away. Teacher Mi-jeong side-eyed her son before quirking her lips up.
- Hey.
"Teacher, you're a teacher, but isn't lounging this casually in public a bit much?"
- What's wrong with it? It's my day off. As long as I'm proper at school.
"Fair enough."
It was Monday, but she'd taken the day off. The classic office worker move: stringing Sat-Sun-Mon into a three-day break.
She'd come along to shop for summer clothes, fellow parent comrades and all. Kids grow fast, so outfits needed frequent refreshing—for Yu-min-i's sake, of course.
I asked if exams weren't keeping her busy. Turns out J High School handled PE with full-semester performance assessments in the first term, exams only in the second.
Gave her more leeway than other teachers. Easier to sync schedules when colleagues couldn't vacation.
Must help that her subject was PE.
"Shall we get up?"
- Yeah, time to move. But you know it's hardest to get up from this position, right? Son?
- Huh?
- Help your mom.
- Urgh.
Yu-min-i grimaced visibly but grabbed her hand anyway. He grunted, pulling, but Teacher Mi-jeong showed zero signs of budging.
- Son! I didn't raise you to be this weak!
- Hnng...!
Face flushing beet red, Yu-min-i strained desperately to lift her. But his eyes kept flicking to Yoon-seul.
This kid.
Showing off his strength to impress her. Too bad Mom was clueless.
She wouldn't budge.
- Urgh...
Disappointment crashed over Yu-min-i; his shoulders slumped.
Only then did Teacher Mi-jeong rise with a refreshed grin.
- Alright, let's go!
"If you were gonna get up anyway, why ask Yu-min-i to help?"
- Huh? For some mother-son bonding. And look at his face now.
A faint shadow crossed it, but Yu-min-i's cuteness (definitely not Yoon-seul level) made it adorable.
She'd wanted to see his range of expressions.
- My boy's handsome, right?
"Yeah, but Yoon-seul's the best."
- Hmph, my boy's number one to me.
While we adults bantered, Yoon-seule comforted Yu-min-i with all her might.
"Yu-mi-ni, good job."
- Yeah... Thanks.
"Gonna get stwonger if you keep twaining hawd. Onui says so."
- Onui?
No clue who Onui was, but Yu-min-i beamed at the encouragement, face brightening instantly.
We headed upstairs with Teacher Mi-jeong and the two kids.
Children's clothes were on the upper floors, so elevator it was.
It stopped at every floor amid the crowds—escalator might've been faster.
Still, the kids buzzed with excitement. The department store elevators had transparent glass walls, offering full views outside.
"Oppa! You can see evewything outside. So cool."
- Mom, cars evewywhewe.
The thrilled little ones.
Noisy, but their cuteness had the other passengers chuckling good-naturedly.
We reached the sixth floor, kids' clothing section. Teacher Mi-jeong took the lead.
- Let's go, Ju-hyeon-ah. There's something I've wanted to dress you in forever.
"Huh...? Sure, lead the way."
Her words felt off—said while eyeing Yoon-seul, not Yu-min-i.
Sure enough, she dragged us to a brand stacked with girls' clothes.
"Not Yu-min-i—you wanna dress Yoon-seul?"
"I've dressed my boy plenty. But Yoon-seul's a girl! I can't resist."
"Resist what?"
- Dresses! Skirts! Blouses! Jumpsuits!
Sadly, stuff Yoon-seul didn't favor much. Her energetic personality shunned blouses or ribboned frills.
Racing jackets were her top pick.
Still.
"Wanna see her in them."
Honest truth.
- Yoon-seul-ah, wanna try on that outfit with Teacher?
"With Auntieie?"
- Oof, yeah... with Auntieie.
Yoon-seule paused at the store entrance, pondering.
She peeked inside, humming um-um-, then nodded decisively.
"Yoon-seul'll twy it on."
Not thrilled, but sensing our expectations, she agreed.
What a sweet 5-year-old.
Then came Yoon-seul's fashion show.
Great call bringing Teacher Mi-jeong.
With such a perfect model, every outfit looked cute and pretty, but her picks were next-level.
Washed denim sleeveless top with shorts.
Unique tartan-check jumpsuit.
Black-frilled blouse matched with a flowy skirt.
Dress dotted with tiny flower patterns.
She tried styles one by one, even analyzing fits.
- Denim's a tad off Yoon-seul's vibe? Still too cute!
- Wow... Kids make jumpsuits work so well? Won't wear it often, though.
And so on.
More excited than us siblings.
Personally, my fashion sense was meh, so Teacher Mi-jeong was a godsend.
Odd, though—such interest in kids' clothes, yet she stuck to tracksuits always, even to the department store.
In the end, we bought the blouse-and-skirt set from her picks.
Yoon-seul's wardrobe was all activewear; nothing formal. Good to have one.
Customers would swoon if she wore it at the shop.
"Need casual stuff too."
Blouse and skirt bought, budget still had room.
As we browsed more.
"Oppa, Yoon-seul needs to buy this."
"What?"
"Matching with Yu-mi-ni."
"Clothes?"
"Yeah."
I'd never felt such intense fury.
Never suggested matching outfits with me! How long had they even known each other to couple up with Yu-min-i?
- Matching with me...!
Yu-min-i blushed shyly.
Made it worse.
"Yeah! One each matching, look like a team."
"A team?"
"Yoon-seul's the Boss."
Ah, that kind.
- Hehe, kids are too cute. Uniforms, huh? Right, Yoon-seul?
"Correct!"
Yoon-seule cutely raised her index finger, tilting her head to declare victory.
Her charm reeled in her three admirers; we hunted duo uniforms after that.
Result?
"Yoon-seul like?"
"Yeah! Wuv the wed! Hee-hee—Oppa buy it."
Yoon-seule and Yu-min-i ended up in matching vibrant red short-sleeved polos.
Brand logo patched on the sleeve, collared like cafe uniforms at a glance.
Far from shady organization gear.
The kids loved them enough to wear home.
- Boss, do I look good?
"Yeah! Yu-min-i's Yoon-seul's right hand. Perfect match."
- Hee-hee.
Watching their honey-sweet chat, I smiled—while my hand trembled like a dropped weight. Worried what I'd do if boyfriends entered the picture later.
Since we were out, we grabbed early dinner together—all four.
Dusk fell, twilight painting the sky faint purple.
Paths home overlapped, so still with Teacher Mi-jeong. In a quiet alley, I spotted a familiar silhouette.
Kwon Su-young.
"Hm?"
Odd part: a sunglasses-wearing guy her age beside her. Looked my age at a glance.