Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 188

Hyung, Aren’t I Cute? (1)

The stage performance concluded.

People left with satisfied expressions after watching Yoon-dong and Eun-woo’s individual talent showcases.

There were quite a few people, so exiting the venue was a bit of a task.

“Alright, everyone. Let’s leave in an orderly fashion. We’ll start with the people sitting on the steps.”

People rose all at once to leave, making it feel like a real theater audience.

Still, they exited in a relatively orderly manner, so no major incidents occurred.

If it had been the main auditorium, there might have been more empty seats, making the exit even more chaotic.

“Everyone did a great job!”

The children’s shoulders puffed up at the teacher’s praise.

Especially Yoon-dong and Eun-woo; they were beaming with pride, their noses practically touching the ceiling.

That’s how satisfying the stage performance was for them.

“Teacher! Are there any more days we get to dance?”

“Yoon-dong, I’m sorry. After doing it this time, it was too difficult to organize, so next time…”

“It’s not like I want to do it again next time anyway.”

Yoon-dong pouted.

He says that, but his body language betrays him, and he’s still grumbling about it.

Eun-woo smiled beside him and playfully punched Yoon-dong’s arm.

“We can do it ourselves later. What does it matter if the daycare does it or not?”

The teacher looked troubled.

‘Hey, wouldn’t it be better to do it at the daycare where there’s supervision and resources? Where are you two even going to perform it?’

Other children also had flushed faces and were excitedly chattering about their performance.

The youngest of the group, Si-ha, looked around.

“Hyung? Hyung?”

“Si-hyeok hyung is over there, picking up trash behind the stage, right?”

Si-ha ran towards Seung-joon’s pointing finger and pulled back the curtain.

Si-hyeok was finishing up the cleanup, thanking his friends from the Korean language department for their help.

Si-ha came down the stairs and ran to his hyung, clinging to his leg.

“Hyung. Si-ha came.”

“Oh! Si-ha came? You did really well today. But Si-ha, it’s not just Si-ha who came, is it?”

“Ah?”

Si-ha turned around and saw Seung-joon and Hana together.

The two were smiling brightly, also clinging to Si-hyeok’s leg.

Seung-joon said.

“Ahaha! I grabbed a leg too.”

“Oppa, you’ll fall over there. Hana will take care of it.”

“I don’t want to~”

Si-ha blinked at the twins.

Then he shook his head.

“No. Si-ha’s. Si-ha’s.”

“Si-ha, the legs are hyung’s, though?”

“Hyung’s. Si-ha’s. Si-ha’s. Hyung’s.”

“To already know those words…”

Si-hyeok covered his mouth as if deeply moved by Si-ha’s possessiveness.

The Kyung Trio, who were watching the scene, commented.

“As expected! The golden maknae! Knows it very well. Hahaha!”

“Since our club member has become an idol magnet, shouldn’t I become the agency’s CEO instead of the president?”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

The two didn’t care about Shin Kyung-hwan’s harsh words.

Park Kyung-joon said, his eyes shining with excitement.

“Wait! This isn’t the time for this. Let’s go eat quickly. We need to grab a spot in advance. ‘Shamble’ is coming today.”

Shamble: a popular female idol group.

They were a rising rookie idol group these days.

As soon as they debuted, they took first place on music shows, and their songs are also gaining popularity.

Hana was also keeping an eye on these older sisters these days.

“Hana too! Hana too! Wanna go! Wanna see!”

Park Kyung-joon smiled and said.

“Really?! If Kangindol’s only flower, Hana, says let’s go, we have to go. Let’s eat quickly, and the oppas [older brothers/male friends] will grab a spot for you. Ha! Ha! Ha!”

At that time, Si-hyeok slightly raised his hand and poured cold water on their enthusiasm.

“Ah. We already have a spot reserved in the front.”

“Hey! Traitor!”

Si-hyeok subtly averted his eyes and scratched his cheek.

‘What can I do?’

Hong Kwang-young, the public relations representative of Kangin University, came to say hello, saying he enjoyed the performance, and even hinted that he had reserved a spot for them.

I couldn’t possibly say I wouldn’t go in that situation.

Because I know that Si-ha and the twins also want to go.

Fortunately, the kids aren’t tired.

They took a good nap in advance before performing.

“But Hana, where did your mom go?”

“Huh? I don’t know.”

“Seung-joon?”

“Huh? Over there in the back!”

Seung-joon’s mom came out from behind the curtain with a slightly embarrassed smile.

Si-hyeok thought.

‘You should have told your mom and come to me.’

***

The highlight of the festival.

There are various events and food booths, but the main attraction is still the stage performance.

Especially when celebrities come, everyone is mesmerized, and a huge cheer erupts.

I don’t know where that energy comes from, but the excitement doesn’t easily subside until the end of today’s festival.

“Wow. The outdoor stage looks good. Si-ha, there’s an empty seat over there. Let’s sit down.”

“Ah ah.”

The chair was placed on the right end.

It was really placed in the front row and labeled as being for children.

It was nice to be able to sit down easily because they had arranged it in advance.

“Idols are coming out today. Idols. Are you interested, Si-ha?”

“Ah? Idols?”

“Yeah. Pretty older sisters come out and dance.”

“Lisa. Frog?”

“Huh? Ahaha. Of course, both of them are pretty too. People as pretty as Lisa and Frog, no, Soo-hyun, come and dance.”

“Fun?”

“Um. It would be fun if you like those people? Maybe? Still, the songs are good, so it will definitely be fun.”

“Ah ah.”

Si-ha doesn’t seem to be that interested in idols yet.

Well, maybe he just followed along because Hana said she wanted to see them.

Will there be a time when Si-ha likes idols a lot in the future?

I can’t really imagine it.

He still likes cartoon characters more than idols.

Or the Red Ranger from Power Rangers.

“Si-hyeok oppa!”

“Huh?”

“When is Shamble coming out?”

“Uh… Well, they said they’re coming around 8:30 after the students perform a bit?”

“8:30?”

“Yeah. They’re coming in the second part.”

“Aha. Second part! Excited! Hana wants to be an idol too.”

“Hahaha. Yeah. If it’s Hana, she’ll become a very popular idol.”

“I’m a soccer player! Soccer player!”

“If it’s Seung-joon, you’ll become a great soccer player.”

“Si-ha! Hyung! Be! Hyung be!”

“Uh… Maybe Si-ha will become a good hyung?”

First, a younger sibling needs to come to the daycare for that to be possible.

He wants to be me. He’s saying pretty good things. Hmm.

“Ah~ I want to be good at everything like Si-hyeok hyung!”

“Hana too, Hana too.”

“Si-ha too!”

“Haha. Then am I the golden hyung? Haha. Si-ha is the golden maknae.”

Si-ha’s eyes widened.

He flapped his hands and hit me.

“Hyung. Gold. No. Gold no.”

“Huh? Isn’t hyung the golden hyung?”

“No. Hyung. Red hyung. Red.”

As expected, Red is better than gold.

Red looks stronger than shining gold.

“Si-hyeok oppa. Who came out!”

“Huh?”

The most important thing in a stage performance isn’t just the celebrities.

The person who sets the atmosphere of the performance that day is the host.

They have to be the conductor who increases and decreases the tension of this performance, so it was more important than anything else.

But that face looks familiar? Isn’t that Hong Kwang-young?

“Haha. Hello, everyone! Student council Hong Kwang~young! It’s Hong Kwang-young.”

“Waaaaa!”

“I came out armed with ‘ppong feel’ [a feeling of excitement and energy] last year, but today I came out as a host. Ah, questions will start to arise here. Why! Why on earth! Didn’t you bring a professional host!”

I also have that question.

Why is that person here?

“Shamble was too expensive, so I came out to save some money. If our tuition was a bit more expensive, we would have hired a host together…”

“Wahahaha.”

“Just kidding. Haha! Who is the main character of the school festival!”

“Us!”

“땡 [incorrect]. Wrong. Think carefully and answer. We’re already giving out prizes. Prizes.”

Hong Kwang-young took out a white envelope from his pocket.

It was obviously a cultural gift certificate, but everyone raised their hands enthusiastically.

Progressing as smoothly as flowing water.

He seemed to have a talent not only for public relations but also for the stage.

He came down from the stage and handed the microphone to a student.

Thanks to the large screen on the stage, people sitting in the back could see everything.

“The answer is?”

“The chairman of the board?”

“Ehey~! If I say 땡 to that, won’t I get fired from school?”

“Ahahaha!”

“Well, that’s wrong. Next!”

Hong Kwang-young passed the microphone to a female student.

“Kangin Foundation?”

“Ehey~ You shouldn’t do that. Are you trying to bury someone! Why is everyone like this! You all know the answer! There’s a word that calls us every year, people!”

Everyone burst into laughter at Hong Kwang-young’s intense reaction.

Even the daycare kids didn’t know what it was, but they grabbed their bellies and laughed because Hong Kwang-young’s reaction was funny.

“Kwangin!”

“Yes! That’s right. Here’s the prize. Aigo [expression of exhaustion/exasperation]. It’s hard to get the answer right from the beginning. Everyone! Are you all ready to become Kwangin [Kangin University students]!”

“Yes!!!”

“Then let’s start the first performance! Korean Language Department! Singer-songwriter and YouTuber! 슈 [Shu]!!”

The curtain of the festival opened.

Seo Soo-hyun came out, blushing slightly as if embarrassed by the introduction.

Hana’s eyes sparkled.

“It’s Soo-hyun unnie [older sister]! Soo-hyun unnie!”

“Oh! It’s Soo-hyun noona [older sister]!”

“Ah ah! Frog!”

The children clapped their hands excitedly.

The music flows out.

Seo Soo-hyun held the microphone and sang.

A ballad sung in a clear voice.

But it’s not a depressing sad song, but a pretty bright song.

People exclaimed at the high notes she sang very easily.

“Wow. Nice tone?”

“I think I’ve seen her on YouTube.”

“I’m seeing her for the first time. Is she famous?”

“Milk-colored! Seo Soo-hyun!”

Strange cheers are mixed in with the ballad.

Well, not everyone knows all the YouTubers.

Only people who are interested know.

“Si-ha. Soo-hyun sings well. Right?”

“Ah ah. Si-ha know. Frog. Good.”

“Haha.”

Si-ha and I already knew Seo Soo-hyun’s skills because we watched the uploaded videos.

Thanks to the song played on the broadcast with Bell, Seo Soo-hyun’s [슈] channel skyrocketed.

Looking at the growth rate, it will be easy to reach 100,000 subscribers soon.

‘The comments were funny too.’

People came in to see the crazy lyrics, but the reaction was why the other self-composed songs were normal.

Since then, she sometimes writes songs with crazy lyrics, but even if she just sings normal (?) songs, they are quite popular.

“Hyung. Si-ha sing.”

“Huh? Si-ha wants to sing too?”

“Ah ah!”

“Haha. Let’s sing when we get home.”

Hyung can’t help you sing on stage.

***

Sometimes celebrities arrive late depending on the schedule.

In that case, you have to buy time, and the host’s role is very important.

Hong Kwang-young asked.

“Where are they now? Are they coming?”

“Ah. Well. They said it would take about 10 minutes?”

“10 minutes? Wow. I have to drag it out for a long time. After Shamble, there’s one more team and then… there’s a band, right?”

“Yeah.”

“The band is always last because of the setup. But you can’t bring one team forward.”

“That’s right. If you finish with the band after Shamble, the atmosphere might be a bit off. You have to fill in the empty parts while setting up.”

“Sigh. Well, there’s no choice. I have to use the ultimate move I’ve been saving.”

“All the cultural gift certificates in your pocket are gone, right?”

“I only have the cultural gift certificates left to use when setting up the band. Well, you can give the cultural gift certificates later!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ah, the stage is over. President. I’m going up?”

“Yeah. Please. Drag it out for 10 minutes with your talking skills!”

“Okay.”

Hong Kwang-young went up on stage.

“Yes. It was a very passionate stage.”

He threw out a predictable comment once.

Now the audience doesn’t even care.

They just nod their heads as if it were natural.

“You’re mechanically nodding your heads at my words now. It seems like you’re not hungry for cultural gift certificates yet.”

“Waaaaaa!”

“Hey, you self-made monsters!”

“Wahahahaha.”

“Our Kwangin University. Ah! Mistake. Kangin University is crazy about cultural gift certificates, but still. Still. Isn’t there kind affection for the young siblings? Won’t you give cultural gift certificates for the young siblings!”

“???”

Everyone looked puzzled.

“Some of you may not have seen it, but there was a dance performance at the daycare today. There were 7 idols there. Before seeing our idols, wouldn’t you like to see the daycare idols first?”

“Yes! Good!”

“The reaction is hot.”

Hong Kwang-young nodded as if relieved.

He believed that if even one of the kids in front of him came up, he could buy time.

If not, there’s nothing he can do.

“I also saw it, and they said there’s a golden maknae among the 7. Is there anyone who is the golden maknae? Can you come up?”

The camera shines on Si-ha.

When his face appeared on the large screen, people murmured that he was cute.

A staff member below the stage hands Si-ha a microphone.

“Si-ha sing.”

“Oh! The golden maknae’s song!”

“Hyung. Together!”

“He says he’ll do it with the hyung next to him! Let’s bring them forward!”

Si-hyeok made a troubled face and went up on stage.

But there were children following behind.

It was Hana and Seung-joon.